Scripture: 2Chronicles 7:11-16, 2 Chronicles 7:19-22, Mark 11: 23-25,
Proverbs 28:9-10, James5:13-16
As
we continue to examine Wesley’s teachings in his tract the “Character of a
Methodist”, we have already seen that his call is basically to live out this
life in solid, Christian ways. Now this
may seem to be pretty obvious to us, but the truth is that very few in the
Church actually do! Unless we dedicate
ourselves to searching the scriptures on a regular basis, unless we commit to
living and serving in the model that Jesus established for us, faith can easily
fall into a simple, shallow, and routine effort.
As
an example, in Wesley’s introduction to his tract, he writes “We believe Christ
to be the eternal supreme God, and herein are we distinguished from the
Socinians and Arians. But as to all
opinions which do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let
think.” I have known people who love
to quote those last 5 words, but totally ignore the ones that precede them! The point of this statement is that if all
of our opinions and thoughts are not Christian in any way, shape or
form, we should begin working to cleanse our life of those that are not. They aren’t even worthy of our thoughts!
Consider
our concluding passage from last week - 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to
rejoice constantly, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all things! In general, we can easily remember the verbs
(rejoice, pray, and give thanks), but how well do we live out the
modifiers? For today, we will be looking
at what it means for our lives if we truly are committed to “pray continually”.
Read 2 Chronicles 7:11-16
The first temple, sometimes
known as Solomon’s Temple, had been completed, dedicated, and sanctified, and
God, through the king, claims the temple as the place for His presence. And the point is made that whenever the
nation angers the LORD through their sinfulness, they can always reach out to
His divine grace and ask for mercy and forgiveness.
But while God tells the nation
that they can always come to Him, He also explains that an attitude of humility
must accompany their prayers of repentance.
Prayer for forgiveness is, of and by itself, insufficient. God doesn’t forgive unless there is a change
in the way we live our life - from the way that ignores Him, to one that
glorifies Him.
Think about that – why would
God, or any of us for that matter, want to restore the relationship that a
friend has destroyed, unless the reason for the damage is acknowledged and removed from their heart and life?
Obviously, God doesn’t, and none of us should either! But there is one more issue at play here –
prayers for forgiveness, it appears, must come first, before any other prayers
of petition are lifted up! In John
15:7-8, Jesus tells us that whatever we ask for will be done, IF our
life is in Him, and His word is in us.
Read 2 Chronicles 7:19-22
As
we continue in 2 Chronicles, and relate it to our own faith, the LORD is quite adamant that if we try to play games with
His word and promises, that it will not go well with the temple (or in our case,
the Church!) or with Israel (the people)!
And it will become so obvious to others that they will know that something
was done to cause God to turn His back on us.
If faith doesn’t give God the praise and honor for all that He has done on
our behalf, why should He continue to bless us if we aren’t going to appreciate
it?
Read Mark 11:23-25
In
this passage, Jesus is describing to His disciples the power that they will
have through a faithful prayer life.
Notice that we aren’t to just ask Jesus to do things for us, but that
even as we pray, we are to believe that it not only can be done, but that it has already begun to happen! Unwavering faith is crucial in a Christian
life.
In
Wesley’s tract, he writes “Whether he lie down or rise up [the
person who has given their heart and life to Christ Jesus], God is in all
his thoughts; he walks with God continually, having the loving eye of his mind
still fixed upon Him, and every where seeing Him that is invisible.” Sounds a lot like 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
doesn’t it – pray (and live for Jesus!) without ceasing!
Read Proverbs 28:9-10
For
Israel, the worst thing that anyone could do is to intentionally go against the
law of Moses. For the world of today,
that “worst” has come to mean the result of turning against the Law of God, or
in other words, to ignore the teaching of Jesus. And when we take on the role of a god to
deceive the hearts of others, the failures that come will be our own
responsibility, and we will be taking those who have trusted and believed us into
the “trap” right along with us.
In Luke17:1-3 Jesus tells us that everyone “stumbles” from time to time, but when
we teach others that there is nothing wrong with our going against Christ’s
teaching, the punishment that will come is by our own hand, and we both will suffer
for it. And when we pray, our prayers
for mercy will fall on deaf ears. This
is why in James 3:1 we read that those who teach will be judged by a
much higher standard.
Read James 5:13-16
This
passage tells us to pray, praise and anoint, all of which are means of reaching
out to God, seeking His goodness, His joy, and His blessing on whatever
situation we may find ourselves in. And
while these verses seem to be offered in the singular tense, the call is
actually upon the Church as a whole. We
notice that James encourages us to seek out the elders of the church, those who
are seen as leaders, teachers, and preachers of the word. These are the examples that we all need if we
are to grow in faith and to live and love in the way of Jesus.
By
everyone being included in all the ministries and missions that God places upon
His Church, we learn what John Wesley meant when he wrote these words - “In
retirement, on company, in leisure, business or conversation his heart is ever
with the LORD.”
Is
our heart “ever with the LORD”? Are we willing to step back to allow others
the opportunity to discover the blessing of leading, teaching, preaching, and
praying? And are each of us willing to
do all we can to grow in those same 4 areas of faith?
Won't you give
Christ and His Church a chance to shower you with God’s blessings today!
