Friday, September 29, 2017

A LETTER TO PRAYER LINK

September, 2017

Greetings,
I understand that it is time for Prayer Link to gather together again.  And the need for a deep, Spirit led, prevailing work of prayer is needed more today than ever among the body of Christ.  As each of you represent your respective state conventions, prayer ministries found within the SBC, I would share with you from afar what the Lord has laid on my heart.

Long have many of us sought and waited for God to manifest Himself to the church.  The testimonies and accounts of revival have long been our prayer, hope and hunger.  Unfortunately, on our present course a time of revival may be through much sorrowing & severe judgement that brings revival upon us.  Not that we had to go through this sorrow, but we chose to be judged.  "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord:  and shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" - Jeremiah 5:9, 29   We have had amble opportunity within this century, 2000-2017 to recognize our nation and the church's condition greatly provoking the Lord to anger.  And we have only feignedly turned to Him, even though we knew better.  We may have known better, but we did not do better.

Now in these last weeks, we have seen the terms, 'historic', 'record', 'once in a generation' titles of calamities on our nation.  The prayer topics and targets against evil are known by all of you praying people.  but the conditions to meet  this evil have not been met.  'When evil comes in like a flood, the Lord raises up a standard against it"  As evil has risen and multiplied, we have only scarcely rose to meet its challenge to our nation, families and future.  Now in these times it is 'time to seek the Lord'.

I proposed recently to church & prayer leaders the need for day of prayer and fasting.  The call's to prayer have been under scrutiny and we must center the focus more.  The call for prayer have largely been after the calamity has already taken place; and dealing with only the immediate need.  Usually to get us out of trouble, and get us back to our sin and self.  We must have a prayer time that is addressing and doing the following:
1. Lack of holiness upon the church and in the church is one of the grossest sins that is rarely discussed, or prayed about;  But in order to see and experience personal & corporate revival, we must return to holiness (Greg Frizzell's book).
2.  Deep time of understanding Scriptures on sin and time spent in confession.  This is achieved by the recognition of wherein our fall from holiness has been, in our compromising, unfaithful, neglectful, lives of sin.  sin must be acknowledged, set forth out of Scripture and a cry of 'the broken and contrite' over the church's sins, and our nations sins.
3.  Repentance & time of renewing of our vows to the Lord individually, and as His church.  This confession to lead to repentance of a change of our priorities, lifestyles and future.  "Come ye out from among them and be ye separate"  "Spend and be spent' for the cause of the Gospel and the kingdom.
4. such a time of prayer cannot be done in the norm SBC way of prayer.  A protracted time of prayer to deal with these issues and wait before the Lord.  I know, an extreme concept, to people that are so busy, schedules full and time limited.  But the consequences of judgements are in our path, our very future and the future for our children & grandchildren is in jeopardy, unless we meet the rise of evil.  And meet it with a rise of brokenness, despair, urgency, fervency and faith that says to the Lord, 'I will not be denied the burden of Your Presence that You have put upon me."

The blog post below, is my attempt at securing among the SBC an united, deep, continual, prevailing spirit of prayer among the body.  (It is not complete, it is my attempt at a solution).   It is only a suggested format, clearly can be altered, adapted or improved; but one that must be engaged, employed and involved now.  Time is of the essence; the hour is late and the need is great.  the failure to respond in September, only precipitates the next round of judgements.

 http://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-proposed-response-of-continual.html

Thank you for giving attention to my words & my heart cry.

until,
dan biser
rdbiser@live.com

A PROPOSED RESPONSE OF CONTINUAL, PERSISTENT, PREVAILING PRAYER FOR THE NEED OF OUR HOUR

September 28, 2017

An Attempt to Promote & Employ a spirit of Prevailing, Sustained Prayer for our nation and the church to meet the need that is presently upon us to impact our near future.

(Yes, I have attempted to use such a long title after the manner of Jonathan Edwards did for the revival of prayer among the churches in the 1700's, here in America).

Jonathan Edwards and Scottish pastor, Rev. John Erskine, both approached the days of their ministry that the church was largely & greatly lacking the power of the Holy Ghost.  And that the need to address this and overcome this sin was by days of prayer, fasting and coming together each month.  They set the standard for such a time of prayer, that was to their day and ours, abnormal.  They rose above the standard of church prayer to bring others with them, to grow in holiness before the Lord.  all of which we know led to the Great Awakening.  a burden, a response, a result by God, for God and in God.  such is needed today.  

The historical accounts of prayer meetings of old, serve as valuable testimonies of God's desire to implement His will and power upon His church.  To see such a prayer meeting accomplish the task of reaching the ends of the earth with the Gospel is our goal in front of us.  This can only be done, with the Divine breath of His Holy Spirit to fall just as it did on the day of Pentecost.

Let us look at 3 such prayer meetings that God did what He wanted to do when He found a praying people:
1.  The day of Pentecost;
--the Lord had commanded His followers, 'Go into Jerusalem and wait there until you be endued with power from on high.'  The disciples and followers of Christ gathered in the Upper Room for 10 days, in fellowship, in prayer and the Lord came in power.  For on the 10th day, early in the morning, the HOly Ghost descended on those there and filled them with power of God's right hand.  Peter then speaking the Word in that power, witnessed 3000 souls be saved.   They waited 10 days, before the Lord, in prayer and fellowship and God came.

2.  The 100 year prayer meeting;
Count Zinzendorf had opened his home to persecuted brethren.  These brethren were of different beliefs and conceptions of Christianity.  But organizing this group and instituting small group prayer for the group led to a conclusive, ordered form of theological beliefs that set the tone for unity among the brethren.  And on aug. 13, 1727 the Lord came down on this group which ushered in a 24/7 prayer meeting lasting over 100 years.  And out of this continual prayer movement, great evangelistic theme for missions were born and engineered by the Holy Spirit to usher men into the nations with the Gospel.

3.  New Year's Eve outpouring on Wesley's, Whitefield in January 1, 1739 ;
The Wesley brothers, George Whitefield, and others had gathered for a night of prayer for the New Year.  during those hours of prayer, God was getting ready the great work of the 1700's to be set forth by these men.  And at 3:00 AM in the midst of prayers, God came and showed up.  And all at the same time they uttered, 'WE praise Thee O God; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord".  They went out from that meeting, filled and ready to be used by God.  The Wesley to form the groups of Methodists to procure holiness and after their death, the Methodist denomination.  And George Whitefield to be anointed to become a great catalyst for revival in England, but more so for the US.  such a powerful moment, that God used of men being in prayer before the Lord for the purpose of the Lord.


What is Needed?

The prayer that is needed is that which accomplishes all that the Father desires.  This is composed of some of the following:  (not focused here on physical, carnal, temporal; but rather spiritual, eternal & divine)
--prevail with Him;
--glorify Him;
--sweet aroma to Him;
--His Divine will done;
--it is spiritual and eternal;
--His promises fulfilled;
--His purposes attended too;

What it is not:
--it is not selfish;
--it is not contrary to the will or ways of God;
--it is not unbelieving;
--it is not humanistic;
--it is not sinful;
--is not obtained or sustained in the flesh;


An active look to see where the prayer movement is; accomplishing the purposes or not accomplishing the purposes of God.

Priority/Purpose of Prayer
1.  It glorifies the Lord.
2.  It maintains and sustains and permeates church with holiness.  (Without holiness no man shall see the Lord)

3.  It accomplishes the will of the Father in the lives and purpose of His kingdom. (Thy will be done, here on earth, just as it is in heaven;  How is the Father's will done in heaven?  perfectly)

4.  Provides  that which only God Himself can give for the spiritual needs.
(It is not my intent to overlook the needs, wants and prayer for the necessities of the physical, sick, provisions of our needs.  However, the focus of this writing on prayer is for the focus of the spiritual, the eternal, the purposes of His kingdom.) 


Implement a Divine saturated moment(s) of time filled with the prayers of the saints for the will of God to be done.

what is it that I am requesting and see the need for?
1.  A Concise, Cumulative approach to prevailing prayer.
--for the greater part of those that wish to continue to emphasize that the prayer movement is growing, I will not debate nor disagree with here;  However, as we would look at the whole, we cannot say that the church body is spiritually healthy in engaging in prevailing prayer.  That somewhere between 80 - 90 % of congregations have no established corporate prayer times.  This is consistent each week of services, each month, yea and the whole year.
--prayer is not experienced by most Christians and they often confess that they have no prayer life, in the pulpit and in the pews.
--therefore an established pattern of teaching, modeling, encouraging, establishing, set prayer times in churches, in associations, regions, and states for the absolute necessity of prevailing for our Lord's will and growth of His kingdom;
--the necessity of this is that we are in a critical junction of time/history and much will be done and dealt with in the near future;  The very hope of the church is to finish the task, of reaching the world for Christ and the Gospel into their languages, hearts, tribes, homes, families and areas.  A finished, successful praying movement much like the 3 examples in opening can complete the task at hand.  Supernaturally prevailing with God for the Divine outpouring will lead to finances provided, technology increased, missionaries raised up and sent and God's Divine Presence covering the world. 


2.  Pray without Ceasing.  
a 24/7 movement, that is generated for the whole of the nation, for the church.  Focused on the spiritual truths and appetites mentioned in #1;
We know the commands:
Pray with ceasing;  I give myself unto prayer; the prayers of a righteous man availeth much; continue in prayer;  all of these Scriptures commanding a right response with the people.  and yet, the greatest confession out of the church is that we are a people/person greatly affected with the sin of prayerlessness.
Protracted meetings.  Too long we have become more prone to an hour, rarely two of prayer meetings.  We sing, 'Sweet Hour of Prayer' but few ever know the truth of a sweet hour in prayer.  Set times, meetings, days to be before the Lord is necessary.  and too often when such meeting are in place, much time is given to music, fellowship, food, preaching/teaching but little time is devoted to prayer.  Prayer must become the real thing, the main thing, and give time and place to the other things after prayer, not in place of it, or before it.  

3.   Gather the body together to implement and employ this task.
There are several groups that in most recent years have undertaken this task and I agree with their plan.  The remnant is largely scattered abroad in remote places, and sometimes heavier concentration of people in prayer.  It is always encouraging to see and hear of the remnant gathered together in prayer.  However, the issue is that this normally at a conference, a remote gathering of one and done.  the sustained work that is needful is a prevailing, consistent, permeating spirit of prayer that is continual, consistent, and contagious.

A devoted means of energy to establish, set, employ times, dates and places for accopmlishing this.  To be considered in churches, areas, other denominations, ready to meet and pray.  
 

Why is this needed?

the need of the hour should press the church to lean in to the throne room of God and prevail for His Name sake.  However, in the present age of the church, the greater part of the church is not where they should be in relationship and obedience.  They are not where they need to be with the Lord.  There is a powerlessness among the church today.  Of which, Satan makes the most of, and the kingdom of God struggles against Satan, sin and self.  where is the victory? where is the power? where is the holiness? where is the prevailing? where is the miracles?   And in all these things the need for enduement of power from on high has never been greater.

1.  Holiness is eroded away to a lesser standard than what the Scripture clearly teaches.
2.  Powerlessness within the church is evident.  There is growing cry for this, 'We need Your power O God'.  This power is not for selfish means, but overcoming, victory, souls, gain ground and push back darkness.
3.  Too much gain by hell and evil in the minds, hearts, lives, homes, cities and our nation.  Impacting an even worse scenario for the near future of greater evil.


God's purpose and intent, yea, His Divine will is that all should be saved.  His glory is manifest by His glory and those that are imparted with it through holy living and being.  The power of the Spirit works through such people for the fulfillment of His desired end that all the world should hear, see, know and experience the truth of the Lord; there is no other god but MeWithout the fullness of the Spirit, the church labors along in weakness, in pathetic attempt to do the work, often by humanistic means.  This only enables Satan to thrust sorely upon the body of Christ even more so.  Thus many of the brethren, have given an occasion against the Lord.

When the church leaves its first love it creates the vacum need for central truth.  Satan is so quick to rush in and fill it with deception, lies and wickedness.  False preachers, teachers, sordid miracles, emotionalism all of which to crush the faith and truth and cause men to doubt and say, 'Hath God said?'  The church causes the greater evil in their departure from the good and right way.  If you are not gaining in holiness and righteousness then evil and sin will be the dominant force in the minds, hearts and lives of so many.      

Started:  September 28, 2017

Continued: 9/29;

Finished:

Saturday, September 16, 2017

AN APPEAL TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE SBC

Greetings,
"Watchman, what of the night?  Watchman, what of the night?" Isaiah 21:11

"I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them for Me." - Ezekiel 33:7

I remember listening to the SBC convention tape, over and over of Evangelist E J Daniels preaching this text to our convention.  Thundering away the warning not to be silent, not to be negligent, not to be disobedient unto our Lord.  Almost 40 years later, here we are as a nation, as His church, His bride, facing the most uncertain and perplexing of times in our history.  In these 40 years we have not gained ground for our Lord, but have lost considerable ground.  The mighty moves of old have sustained us, but are absent from our midst these days.    It is time to warn the people of our plight.

It is not popular to sound the warning, but it is biblical.  The Lord is judging our nation with remedial judgements.  Our gross sins have been legalized, passed with judicial edicts, with a multitude that live for sin and self.  All the while the clear Gospel message is waterdowned, largely unknown what it is to die to self and lives that are not holy and pleasing to our Lord.  Great sin is found in the pulpits and pews of the Lord's people.  We have 'left our first love'; we have been prayerless for a long time; we have been silent about eternity for the souls of men; we have surrendered much ground to Satan and hell.  These disasters are historic, record setting and worst yet, they are not over yet.

These remedial judgements are sent, caused, allowed and permitted by God to come upon our nation, to speak directly to the church.  Remedial means to correct to make better.  It is God's desire that we understand these truths and embrace them for our correction so that He may get the greater glory out of us.  Failure to acknowledge this only precipitates His greater anger and wrath.  He waits for His church to respond.

You, my beloved brethren, are in a place of leadership for such a time as this.  You are there to set the tone, to lead by example, and to mandate the right response for these times.  You know the Scripture; 'failure to warn the people means their blood is on your hands.'  None of us would ever want this.  So warn them!  Let us understand that the hand of the Lord has gone out against us in a way never known nor seen before by us.   And we, as Daniel, read the 'writing by God's hand on the wall'.   but God's not done with us.  He is speaking for us to respond.

How marvelous to go through Scripture and see that when God's people humbled themselves and sought Him, He was found of them.  His mercy extended, power given and renewal in His image was done to His church.  Many of us have long sought for revival, real revival.  where God shows up, His Manifest Presence is dominate and all our ways are forsaken, so that God gets the glory.   For His power can take back the ground surrendered; His glory can cleanse us wholly; His Spirit can empower us to finish the work of His kingdom to the nations.  We are so close to reaching all nations, all people.  One more mighty move of God in revival can complete it.  'When all men have heard, then the end shall be.' Matthew 24:14

You have a seat, a voice, an opportunity to 'warn the people' of God's anger against us. He is staying His hand right now, waiting to see what you will or will not do with this Divine moment of time.  I plead with you hear the warning, see the warning and know God's anger against us.  Too long have we forsaken and forgot Him and now it is time to seek the Lord with all our hearts.

I have submitted my Proclamation and my appeal to leadership to respond.  Brethren, I await to hear from you!

 http://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/09/proclamation-for-day-of-fasting-prayer.html

 http://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/09/greetings-uganda-pastor-that-had-seen.html 

until,
dan biser
rdbiser@live.com

Thursday, September 14, 2017

AN APPEAL FOR THE CHURCH TO RESPOND

Greetings,
An Uganda pastor share what he had seen with the churches and his nation ravished, attacked, and a great slaughter of souls; and out of that devastation they prayed in desperation, he shared.  That same pastor asked the pastors of North America, "the question for the American church is, will you pray out of desperation or out of devastation?"  

The devastation has been 'record' and 'historic'.  Much need, money and time is given to help and recover; and which it should, restoring life and living conditions is priority.  But there is another issue that is not dealt with of greater consequences,'Why are these things happening?'  These are remedial judgements by God on our nation and the church for their failure to live life for His glory and honor.  We have not responded in brokenness and contrition; we have not acknowledged our sin before God.  Therefore, the judgements are getting worse.  You are called to respond immediately due to the sensitivity of the times.  Our failure to address, and respond to our great sin will only draw us closer to the next judgement or rounds of judgement.  Of which, after the next calamity, we may not have time and opportunity to respond rightly before the Lord.  Therefore, it is of the most urgent hour that we immediately assemble before Him;  call upon Him; confess before Him and repent of our sinful ways.    Many do not know and are not aware of our plight; therefore,  I come before you again pleading in urgency, let us come broken before the throne.  The hour is late, and the need is greater than it ever has been before in our lifetime.

You can only provoke the Lord so long before His wrath and anger is extended to a nation, to His church, to our families and to our own lives.  We cannot continue like this!

I have sent out a proclamation for a day of fasting and prayer on September 24.  The date is tentative, if there is a better option to allow greater impact for the churches and for our nation I am more than willing to work with them.  But in light of these judgements, we have not dealt with the cause of these judgements.  The following is my plea for a right response from the church to understand and acknowledge our plight:
1.  God is God; God of all things, this earth, and His ways are right and just.  He demands holiness from His people.
2.  We have through years and decades eroded the 'good and right way' of pleasing God in our nation, in the church, in our homes, and in our own hearts.
3.  These actions of sin and self have corrupted our society, damned souls to hell, destroyed the foundations of our nation and jeopardized the future of our nation.
4.  God requires of us to recognize our faults and failures.  We must understand wherein we have provoked the Lord to anger.  These things are found in His Word of that which is acceptable to Him, and that which is not.
5.  Confession of these sins specifically against God is necessary by the church that they may know wherein they have fallen.  Specific sins to be read, studied and confessed in the hope that He may turn from His fierce anger against us,  'in wrath remember mercy, O Lord'.
6.  To acknowledge these sins is one thing, God requires repentance, a complete turning away from these evils.  Failure to turn from these sins, nullifies the confession.  'You profess Me with your mouth, but your hearts are far from Me.'  the heart of repentance must match the words of the mouth in confession.
7.   A covenant to enter into with the Lord to do right, live right and serve Him with all that we are.  Sinners to be saved, back-sliders to be reclaimed and His church to be that which pleases Him.

This set day of prayer and fasting is to accomplish these goals of God's people getting before Him and waiting.  Having such a time of prayer and Scripture to address these things is necessary.  Other judgements are still coming, but let us remember that God is watching and listening, and stands ready to repent of the evil that He thought to do unto us, if we respond now, while there is time.  Failure to respond, delay, put it off, will only accelerate the remedial judgements upon us.  This is not just to 'get us out of trouble' but for God to be glorified in His church once again.  With such a right response by the church we could rise up in His power to finish the task of His kingdom's business and His Divine will.  'And when all nations have heard, then shall the end come.' 

I have sent out the Proclamation and am now pleading with you to respond.  The other blog posts is a suggested format and 'helps' to lead this day of prayer.  These materials are to aid in this time of assembling to worship - to confess - to hear the Word.   'Let us seek the Lord, for who knows if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind Him.'  Today is the day, now is the accepting time.  Be faithful to respond brethren.
http://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/09/proclamation-for-day-of-fasting-prayer.html
http://danbiser.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-day-of-prayer-fasting-before-lord.html

until,
dan biser

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

THE DAY OF PRAYER & FASTING BEFORE THE LORD FOR OUR NATION & THE CHURCH

The call for the day of prayer & fasting is still up for discussion and debate.  Most still do not understand the dire times we are in as a nation.  For over 50 years we have spat at God and His Word and His ways.  Legalizing just about everything that God said, 'Thou shalt not', we said, 'well I guess we will if we want'.  this attitude of not adhereing, not listening, not obeying the Word of the Lord is due to many reasons.  This day of fasting and prayer is set to bring those things before us and deal with them.  For those that are in ignorance, and just do not know, may light be shown in their darkness.  For those that do know, but have not followed through and been obedient, you know the verse, James 4:17, 'To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.'

The church leadership and pastors and prayer leaders have not been faithful to rally and stir the church to a proper response.  We have continued to cut corner, compromise, and carelessly teach the people.  I believe that this all boils down to a few simple understandings:
1. We do not know Who God is;  His activity, His Names, His attributes; His Word, that He has pronounced about HImself.
2.  Because we do not know the Word, we do not understand how grave this time is and what is needed to do to correct these days of remedial judgements.

Therefore, I am setting this forth in writing to post for those that may give time, attention and heart to, to respond rightly before the Lord while we have time.  Our delays have increased the judgements against us.  and as the judgements increase, due to our sinfulness, wickedness and evil ways, the response of the church should match and meet that need of reconciling with God, cleansing His church and renewing our vows to Him.

(This would be an exhaustive work of a lifetime to cover fully.  Therefore, I am simply putting forth suggested themes, Scriptures and prayer emphasis to offer that may help and guide those that desire to seek the Lord more fully.  And that there are numerous other websites, materials available by prayer leaders covering the issues brought forth here to prayer before the Lord.  I will attempt to locate and post these for your help.)

Examples that when God's people respond rightly, He will show mercy:
1.  Jonah & Nineveh
God sent His prophet to the city of Nineveh for their wickedness was great.  there is not great description of what evils was going on there.  They were not the chosen of Israel, but a heathen city; yet God was prepared to destroy them.  the message was simply, 'You have 40 days to repent, or God will overthrow this city."  Jonah 3:5 - 10"So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them.. .And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not."  

2.  King Jehoshaphat against the great army of Moab & Ammonites
In II Chronicles 20 we have the account of a great army coming against Judah.  v. 3 'and Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  v. 4 And Judah gathered themseves together to ask help of the Lord , they came to seek the Lord.  and what did God do?  in v. 15 'thus saith the Lord, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude for the battle is not your's, but God's. v. 21 the Lord set amubshments against them. . .v. 29 they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of ISrael."

3.  I Chronicles 21
God was angry with Israel, for a sin that is not specified.  David is led to sin and number the people.  God responds with 3 choices for David in punishment.  Three days of pestilence is unleashed, an angel with a sword is drawn and slays 70,000.  But God in mercy for David and His people speaks, 'Stay thy hand' and gave David time to build an altar and stop the death.  God heard, received and repented.

4.  Hezekiah and the Assyrians Isaiah 37

5.  Asa and Judah - II Chronicles 15:1 - 16;

Examples when God's people didn't respond and God judged them in wrath
1.  I Chronicles 21
This same moment is mentioned in the above section of David finding mercy and restraint by God.  However, it is also a clear picture of God moving agains them in their sin.  'and God was angry with Israel'.  God is angry when His people disobey and go away from Him.  And God met them in judgement by allowing for David to number the people and judgement to fall on them and 70,000 people died.  but as we showed above God repented in the midst of that devasting time to allow David to respond with altar and atonement.

2.  II Chronicles 36
"Til there was no rememdy"  God worked for 400 years to call His people into a right relationship and be the witness to the world of His Divine grace and mercy.  They failed.  They forsook Him, forgot Him, worshipped idols and would not listen to Him.  and He for 400 years, sent His prophets rising up early and sending them, but you would not listen nor repent".  and God judged them with famine, sword and pestilence and sent them away into captivity for 70 years.

3.  Struck down in a moment
Cain slew Abel and was cursed and all his family line died in the flood.  Removed from the earth;
Jeroboam caused ISrael to sin and all his family line was removed from the earth.
Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and was struck dead in the moment.
Uzza put forth his hand and touched the ark and was struck dead.
Children of Israel look into the ark when the Philistines sent it back and God judged them.
Ananias and Sapphira lied and God struck them both dead for their sin.


4.  Jeremiah & Zedekiah Jeremiah 38:14 - 39:10;


5.   Jeremiah & Jehoiakim - Jeremiah 36:1 - 7; 20 - 31;


I.  WORSHIP

With all my heart, mind and soul I believe the purest beginning of prayer is adoring worship of the Lord God.  Many have been taught to start there prayer like a letter, 'Dear God. . . ' and then unload all their needs and requests as a grocery lists.  And certainly, the Scripture does tell us, 'make your requests known unto Him'.  But long before we start asking for things, prayer should acknowledge to Whom we are praying.  'Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. . .' compels us to stare with the heavenly, spiritual eye upon the throne of God.  That we may come before Him with lover, reverence, fear and desire for His will to be done and not just our will.  (And may these two wills' be one and the same.)

so as we approach Him, it is good to know more and more about our God that we prayer unto.  To know each of the Trinity, more fully to be able in faith to believe that not only do we make our requests known, but that He will hear us and answer.  Most may ask for things from the Lord in prayer, but they have no confidence that they have been heard, or that they will receive what they have asked for, simply because, they know not the Lord to Whom they pray.

Names of God:

There are numerous lists that you can go down through that give you the Names of God.  Robert Murray McCheyne states that there are 105 Names of Christ in the Scripture.  How many of those do you know?  and understand that it is not about just 'reading off' a lists the Names, but praying the Names is about knowing the relationship between that Name and us in our relationship to Him.

For example:
'You are Holy' - God declares in Isaiah 57:15, '. . .Whose Name is Holy. . .'  So you pray, 'Lord, You are Holy.  Not only in Name but in description as well.  And as You are Holy, void of all sin, You desire for us to be holy in You and by You.  Praise You for Your holiness.'

'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. . .' - Ecclesiastes 12:1  Here 'Creator' is in capital letter, meaning it is a proper name.  We know through Genesis 1:1,2 that 'in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. . .' but this is an attribute, a description of His work and activity.  And in worship these Names and attributes may interchange.  For all worship of the Lord is all about Him and Who He is and what He has done.  so you pray, "Lord, You are the Creator of all, including me.  You have created all things for Your glory and honor.  thank you for creating me and sustaining me in all Your perfect ways."

Jesus said in John 14:6 & 7, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'  so we pray, "Blessed One, You are the way, truth and life; Your ways are perfect and right; and my ways are not mine, but Yours.  I love Your truth, and there is no error, or lies found within it.  You are absolute truth.   And You gave Your life so that I might have life.  My life I forfeit to live full life, eternal life in You, Who is the way, truth and life for ever and ever.   Praise Your Name!"

Three example of identifying the Scripture that gives us the Name/attribute/activity of God and honoring Him for what it means to us and to His church.  so here are a few lists of those Names/attributes/activity of God found in the Scripture



II.  CONFESSION & RECOGNITION OF OUR GREAT FOLLY BEFORE THE LORD

The cause of remedial judgements is the sin, practice, choices, laws and neglect of a nation and God's Own people from that which is right and holy in His sight.  Long has our nation been spiraling down, away from God's Word and ways.  The church has not been any help in this, as they too have 'left their first love'.  The recognition that these behaviors by our nation, by the church have angered and provoked the Lord to wrath.   And even though, as in the Scripture, God has been long-suffering, patient, kind, gracious and merciful, we have pushed Him further and further away by our judicial edicts and laws.  God will not allow such evil to continue.  It is completely against Him, antagonizing, and set at enmity against Him.  and the only way to correct this, is to deal with the sin.  This day of prayer and fasting is set aside to address these sins specifically.  naming them, confessing them and repenting of them.  Failure to do this allows for the sin to remain, and the wrath of God to increase against us.  This is a fragile thing, for who knows how much time we have?  so while we have time let us understand, according to the Word of God, wherein our sins are, speak them, recognize them and repent of them.  As we did in the mentioning by Names and attritbutes of God, and then associating that out of prayer time to pray those things in relationship to us, so will we do with the sin.

Names of sins:
Examples:
Adultery - illicit sexual intercourse between or by a married man/woman/couple;  In this day of our nation, lusts has gripped us like few other demons have.  It holds the minds and lives of so many in and out of the church.  Pornography has only thrown gas on this fire of lust and sin in the hearts of men and women.   Divorces have happened by the 1000's because of such gross sin.  Many have fallen in their Christina walk and testimony because of this sin.
So we pray:  "O Father, as a nation, in your church, in our own hearts, we have broken the covenant of marriage in thought, intent and deed.  For You said Lord, even if one does not commit the act, simply by looking and lusting they have already by intent done the deed of sin.  Forgive us O Lord for eyes that filled with lusts, for homes that are broken over this sin, for Your churchs witness is not better than the lost sinners in the nation.  Great is our sin against You in this one sin of adultery."

Humanism - the act of self;  Ingrained in our way of life as Americans is this self-reliance, self-promotion, self-do it.  All of these things keep us away from trusting, abiding and following after the Lord.  Yea, in our salvation vow, did we not promise? have we not been instructed to 'die to self'?  and yet far too many in the church are guilty of humanisitc efforts and ways.  It is an underlying sin greatly afflicting our nation and the church.
so we pray:  "O Lord, forgive us for looking at self; for trusting in my own right hand/arm; for planning and organizing ways rather than calling and waiting upon You. Forgive us for not dying self but living for self and aiding hell in its advancement over the souls of men."

Unholy - God commanded His church, His people, 'Be ye holy, as I am holy' and yet when we look at the church today, its people, its pulpits, its pews, its actions/reactions we are so unholy in His sight.  thus, we know that we have failed in our attempts, lives, choices and witness to be holy, as He is holy.
So we pray:  O Father, You are Holy; Your ways are Holy, Your Word is Holy; Your church is supposed to be holy.  But Lord we are not!  We have defiled our garments with the world; we carry the stinch of sodom on our aroma, rather than being a sweet smelling aroma; we have word, lives, and homes that are unholy in Your sight and Presence.  O God, forgive us for our sin of being unholy as You are Holy.  Forgive us for the acts, decisions and ways that unholy according to what You have spoken and required.  Turn us back to Thee and make us holy like Thee in all our ways.'

Let us lists these sins of our nation, of the church and of our own hearts before the Lord from the Word of God as well as that which we know to be deeds of sin.

Herein is several passages identifying the sins that anger God:
Galatians 5:19 - 21 (fruits of the flesh, sin) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Matthew 15:18 - 20, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  these are the things which defile a man:  but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

National Sins:
--having forsaken You and Your ways;
--pride and arrogance;
--adultery fills our nation, homes, marriages; often leading to the sin of divorce;
--drugs; illicit addiction to prescription, medicinal, recreational drugs is costing lives lost, ruined, destroyed, money spent for treatment, care and purchasing leads to exceptional waste;
--'Thou shalt have no other God, but Me" and our nation has replaced You, O Lord with so many other gods of money, sports, entertainment, family, self, etc.
--nation blessed with great advancement, technology, and potential, wasted and used for things of this world rather than working toward the Lord's Kingdom;
--legalizing of homosexuality; acceptance of our society for 30 years to bring it to pass, where it once was an illegal act; an abomination according to Scripture in the sight of God;
--gambling; billions of dollars, and time wasted on this excess of sin;
--from the days of prohibition being overturned to these days of acceptance for drinking alcohol; we have seen the death, health destroyed, lives abused by alcoholics and the money and waste of time invested in it;
--lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life which is enemity against God;
--increase of unbelief, atheism, agonosticism and other false religions;
--streets are filled with homicides; police being shot and killed and police killing and shooting;
--absence of God in the homes, in the minds and in society;  replaced with evil in the thoughts, actions and ways of life;
--abortion legalized; 60 million babies have been murdered, and there blood cries out for justice and vengeance;


Church sins
--we have left our first love of Christ & to Christ;
--neglect and forsaken of His Word in study, memorizing, reading, meditation and sharing;
--prayerless churches, pastors and people;
--failure to share the Gospel and speak eternity with lost souls;
--money invested and used for vanity, entertainment rather than kingdom business;
--compromise with the ways of the world, sin and evil;  departure from God's ways;
--set our affections on carnal, worldly and self rather than spiritual, heavenly and Christ;
--erosion of time in church services and growth of fellowship;
--unbelief; unholy; unfaithful;  unrighteous;
--Sales in the church: yard sales; bake sales; soup sales;
--music over worship; emotions over knowledge;
--neglect of the Word of God in reading, knowing, memroizing and sharing;

III.  A PLEADING FERVENT DESIRE FOR GOD TO MANIFEST HIS PRESENCE TO HIS PEOPLE FOR REVIVAL

After worshipping the Lord God, knowing His power, might and ability to help us , to deliver us, to restore us.  and after our recognition that 'His ear is not heavy, His hand is not shortened, but our iniquities have separated us from Him'  We have wept and cried to make the wrongs' right in His sight.  And further know we can do nothing without Him.  The greatest need of the church is to be revived again.   His Presence in fullness can undo decades of powerlessness and prayerlessness.  He can send Holy Ghost fire on His church and revive us again.  Causing the church to be a power house to evangelism and salvation to bring floods of His light into this world of darkness.  Such great movements of God in days gone by on His church have created and accomplished much for His kingdom.  And our greatest need now is to finish the task of reaching the world.  We cannot do this apart from Him.

Let us see that the process is the following
1. Meet God in this time of prayer and assembling;
2.  Recognize Who He is and what He has said about Himself;
3.  Recognize that we are not the people He wants us to be as His church;
4.  Calling upon Him in confession and brokenness before Him; He is faithful to forgive and renew us;
5.  when the church is clean and restored, the great need is to be filled with His power through the Holy Ghost;
6.  When the church is filled, power in Him is restored to win the world; conquer the enemy; and finish the taks

Let us not revert to old ways of 'trying to do missions, evangelism, church or life' without Him or apart form Him.


Started:  September 12, 2017

Continued:

Finished:
  

  


 

Friday, September 8, 2017

PROCLAMATION FOR DAY OF FASTING & PRAYER FOR OUR NATION & THE CHURCH



September 8, 2017
Proclamation for a Day of Prayer and Fasting before the Lord for our nation and the state of the church.
Let this day, of September 24, 2017, the Lord’s Day, be a day set aside for fasting and prayer by His people and/or the nation.  Let it be recognized that our nation is experiencing, one of the most troublesome times in our history.  Let us recognize that we have sinned against the Lord repeatedly as a nation and as His church.  By our sin, we have provoked the Lord to anger and wrath.  His anger and wrath is sent to a nation, a people, His church, our families, yea, our own individaul lives by punishment and remedial judgements.  We have provoked Him to remedial judgements by great sin.  These sins are found in our actions and neglects of: legalizing sin, compromising with sin and the world, leaving our first love and allowing for evil and wickedness to grow and multiply. 
We recognize that our sin, and the choices of our government, of the church body/bodies, families, businesses, schools and individuals have provoked the Lord to anger.  And we are set this day facing a deluge of remedial judgements by God on our nation, home’s and cities.  WE recognize that these judgments of wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, disease, drugs, and economic debt are allowed, sent, and commanded by God to move us to seek Him and turn to Him with all our hearts.  His past judgements upon our nation that we have experienced, due to our sin and folly we have only feignedly given time and attention too. We have not turned from our sin, we have not confessed our sin and we have not repented of our sins.  Thus, the wages of sin is still upon us. 
We understand that if we, as the church, do not respond to His provocative acts against our land, we may face even worse scenarios and greater tragedies and loss of life.  We know it is not God’s desire that ‘any should go from Him’; but that all ‘would be saved’ through His Son, Jesus Christ.
We cry out for mercy in this time of wrath.  We seek You, O God, for forgiveness, for help, for restoration, for cleansing that you might be pleased with us and not angry with us and forsake us. 
And we recognize that the church is not holy, as You would have us to be.  We are so carnal, worldly, and in the flesh .  We have failed You in our service to You.  Therefore, we set this day of fasting and prayer to seek You, call upon You, and renew ourselves in You.  “If I regard iniquity in my heart, You will not hear me.” 
Revive us again O Lord. Turn us unto You, and we shall be turned.  And let us finish Your kingdoms business and be what You want us to  be. 
The hour is late, and the needs are great; and we have no where else to turn but unto You. 
Hear our cry for help this day O Lord and work a work of redemption, restoration, recovery and repentance in us and through us.  

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION - "STAY THY HAND"

September, 2017

Greetings,
"So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel:  and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it:  and as he was destroying the Lord beheld, and He repented Him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand.  and the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite."  
I Chronicles 21:14 - 15

In verse 1, Satan came against David and caused him to number the people.  But over in II Samuel it reveals that Israel was still practicing sin against the Lord.  And this is the reason that God allowed for Satan to tempt David to number the people.  God's marvelous ways are much beyond us.  "For My ways are not your ways.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."  God was going to mark off the temple ground for Solomon to build after David's death.  And through the midst of Israel's sin, David's sin, 70,000 deaths, God glorified His ways.  Even in the midst of the destruction of the people, we read these powerful Words from God, 'Stay thy hand'.

1.  Our nation is under severe judgement.
I don't hear anybody talking about this.  I'm not even sure if the church understands or believes in remedial judgments.  But we read here in I Chronicles 21:14, 'So the Lord sent pestilence. . .and the angel destroyed 70,000'.
Why?
Because Israel had angered the Lord ( I Samuel 24:1).  It is not specified what that sin was.  But due to the repeated transgressions of Israel, it may have been there continued worship of idols, high places and refusal to obey the Lord in all their ways.  But needless to say, God doesn't just get angry for no reason at all.  He is provoked by man's response to His anger; and it is a just anger.  and then follows His judgement and wrath.  This can be light to heavy upon the land and the people.  But let us not ever forget that our choices have consequences; our responses have a response awaiting from God.  They are either blessings or cursings; favor or wrath.   and the remedial judgments are always brought on by a disobedient, wayward, sinful people.  'The wages of sin is death'.

And so as these sins had provoked the Lord, so it was met with God allowing for Satan to come and tempt David to number the people, thus bringing on His wrath against them.  God is the same as yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He is immutable, He changes not.  And as He did to His Own children, will He not do it to our nation? the church? and we as individauls?  Most assuredly He has and He will.  Sin sets all this into motion of remedial judgments.

What are these judgements?
They come in numerous facets of God's wrath.  But there are many throughout the Bible that teaches us God's consistency in some of them.
--natural disasters;
--pestilence/disease;
--war;
--famine/drought;
--poverty/collapse of economy;
--removal of wisdom/common sense;
--horrible leaders;

These are a few of the things that God may employ against a sinful people.  but He is not limited not limited to these alone.  For there are numerous ways in which the absence of God for protection and deliverance, will allow Satan and hell its worst work on our lives and people.

II. The Response of the people must be to address the sin that causes the Remedial Judgement.

Remedial judgements on a nation come because we have disobeyed the Word of God and the ways of God.  You cannot as an individual, family, church or nation break God's ways and not expect to pay a price.  'The wages of sin is death'.  and by God's grace and mercy, He disciplines us to correct us.  However, when the people continue in their sin and deepen their wickedness against Him, the judgements increase.  The knowledge of the ways of God's consistency throughout the Scripture and throughout history is needed.  but if the leadership and people are in ignorance on why this is happening, and what they should do in response.  Satan and hell will have their way and sins turn into abominations and God 'gives them over to a reprobate mind'.  Thus accelerating the destruction of a people/person who have violated the ways of God in His order of His creation.

And the church is judged as much, or even more so, for they had the Word of God and they remained in ignorance.  They negelcted the Word, they did not give ear to His servants, they hardened the heart and neck against doing that which was required to atone for the sins.  and God, Who entrusted His people, with sharing and declaring His ways of what is right and wrong, holds them accountability.  'You knew better, but you did not do better' saith the Lord.  This is demonstrated in Ezekiel 33 and 3 where God declares the work of the watchmen to sound the warning. 
III.  Opportunity for restoration and/or revival from a proper response

During these times of tragedy, disaster, death and destruction leadership in our nation has called for 'days of prayer'.  when such moments of devastation has happened, social media and church leaders use the words 'Pray for _____'.  These are moments that should compel leaders and all people of our great need for God's help in times of need.  This is dealing with the aftermath by praying for help.  Spiritual leaders should be the ones that recognize 'why' these things are happening.

And the spiritual leaders should answer the question to 'why these remedial judgments are happening to us'.  Found within the word of God, God is very clear on why He causes and allows such things to happen to a people/person.  And after that remedial judgment occurs, God awaits their response to correct what has provoked Him to anger and wrath.  Prayer leaders and intercessors understanding these things plead on behalf of God to 'stay His hand' in mercy.  Understanding that God is righteous in His judgement, yet 'in wrath we seek mercy'. 

Started:  September 5, 2017

Continued:  9/6;

Finished;