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| God Not Answering Your Prayers? |
| Thursday, December 10, 2009 |
Many Christians I know have lived with the frustration of feeling like they're talking to the walls when they pray. "I'm ready to give up" I sometimes hear. "God obviously doesn't care about my problems. I'm finding it really hard to believe Christ's prayer promises anymore." But is the problem with God's promises, or is the problem somewhere else?
God's Word gives us very specific direction regarding the practice of prayer. Without question He wants us to come to Him in prayer -- day in and day out -- and with great expectation, hope, and trust. But He also makes it clear that the door is closed if we don't meet certain expectations.
Listen to the Apostle John in his first letter to the Church:
1 John 3:22
And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
Short, sweet, and to the point! John has great confidence in his prayers. Why? Because he knows that he's met God's requirements to be heard: "we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." That's the positive side of this equation. Now let's look at the negative side.
Psalm 66:18 says this about unanswered prayer: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not listen."
You see, we might have all the faith in the world that God CAN answer prayer and accomplish anything, but if we are not obeying His commands and doing the things that please Him, we should not expect that we will receive anything from the Lord "being double-minded and unstable in all our ways" (James 1:8) The reason that God holds back on His promises is not that He isn't faithful to keep them with us, but that we have hindered our prayer lives by not keeping His commands and not doing the things that are pleasing to Him. Conversely, those who have a demonstrated pattern of answered prayer in their lives are the ones who have been keeping His commands and doing the things that are pleasing to Him. The problem with unanswered prayer isn't ever with God; it's always with you and me.
So what do we need to know? Well, "keeping His commands" isn't the toughest thing to figure out if you've been reading His Word. If we've been studying His Word and praying for enlightenment we will know quite clearly what God's will is on many matters. But God wants us to go beyond the "do's and don'ts" that are so clear and to the point! He also wants us to learn how to use a sensible spiritual judgment in pleasing Him, especially in what we call the gray areas -- things He hasn't specifically spoken on. For example, whether or not we should be smoking, or doing a little drugs from time to time.
Here then, friends, is where the "do the things that are pleasing to God" principle comes in. Having drawn close to God through our study of His Word and prayer as we've been commanded, we will have a greater intuition about all the gray matter that we encounter in life. And instead of asking "what would Jesus do?" we might be better off asking "If I do this will my heavenly Father be pleased with me?" Of course, if you don't know God very well you're going to have a tougher time answering that question. But if you have spent even a modest amount of time with Jesus over the years you'll likely realize that God's not going to be too pleased if you poison your body with tobacco, pot, or 14A movies, ....even though His Word doesn't specifically forbid any of these. And that's because you've been sanctifying your conscience with His Word, and learning to lean on the promptings of His Spirit to move you in directions that are pleasing to Him -- especially in those gray areas.
So if you've been struggling with the question "Why does God hardly ever answer my prayers?" consider John's words another time:
"Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."
God's promise to bless us is always there, but the fulfillment of those promises must be met with certain conditions before we can receive them. Are you doing everything that you know that God has commanded you, and are you eagerly seeking to be pleasing to Him in all you do?
 Labels: prayer |
posted by Alan Harstone @ 4:10 PM   |
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| Has Your Pastor Become Dull-Hearted? |
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 Does your pastor look more like this or like this? Notice...they're both spending time in green pastures.
There are a lot of churches in North America that have grown stagnant and are dying. And while sometimes it's because God has removed His lampstand as a result of persistent disobedience and sin among His people, it might also be because their pastors and elders have switched pastures. They've traded their shepherd's staff for a 9-iron, if not physically, certainly emotionally and spiritually.
I've had my turn at this more than once. Struggling in my ministry I would look down the road with envy at the huge churches that seemed to be reaching the community and saving souls. And I'd think to myself "I'm a better preacher than that guy...how come he's doing so well? How come his church is prospering and my church is barely making it? Maybe I should just quit and go sell cars."
Then I'd move into a period of complacency and self-pity, where I'd switch my shepherd's staff for a 9-iron, spending too much time in my office on the computer, or literally golfing when I should have been praying or visiting.
Finally, at the end of my rope and complacency, I would search the Scriptures for an easy answer (all the while knowing what the answer probably was). And sure enough, God would bring me back time and again to Jeremiah 10:21
"For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord; therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered."
There it was in black and white...and I knew it applied to me. I had become dull-hearted and distracted. I'd go to my office and think about anything but God and His precious people. Blaming exhaustion and stress I'd let my mind wander out to The Links or to the Internet and waste a lot of time in the wrong pasture.
Do you suspect your pastor has become dull-hearted? It might be because he's been forced into it by the unreasonable demands of your church's culture. Or it might be that he's just grown soft and lazy. I don't know your church or your pastor, so I can't say for sure.
But if your church has become dull and listless, or fallen into a mess the last few years, it's likely that he's spending too much time in the wrong green pasture. Friends....the calling of our pastor and elders is to seek the Lord's will for His sheep through diligent prayer and Bible study (Acts 6:4). If they are not doing that i's either because your church has forced them away from it, or they've grown soft and lazy. Either way, you will need to pray for them that God will revive them and release them to return to their first love and calling. You might even need to advocate for them if the demands of your church have become too unreasonable.
But whatever you do, don't just let it drift along. They need your help!
Labels: laziness, shepherds |
| posted by Alan Harstone @ 12:01 PM |
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| Retirement Plans? |
| Thursday, December 03, 2009 |
 Thinking of retirement, the good life, sun and beaches, and lots of golf? Then stop it! This isn't God's will for you.
I've pastored long enough to know that many Christians retreat from church life once they hit their senior years. Sometimes it can't be helped; poor health has put them on the sidelines. But most retirees still have lots of energy; they're just spending it in all the wrong places. Suddenly being a grandparent is the most important thing in their lives. Or touring the country. Or hitting the links. And little thought is given to what God might have in mind for them now that they're free from work. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die" seems to be the creed for far too many seniors. Some even believe that this is God's will/reward for sticking it out to 65.
But one verse in Revelation 14 seems to put that lie to rest:
Rev 14:13
Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me: "Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on". "Yes", says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them."
Somebody once told Mother Theresa, who was still hard at it in her 80s, that it was time for her to step back and take a well deserved rest. Her response? "I'll rest when I get to heaven. Right now there's lots of work to do." Bless her! She understood God's heart.
How about you? Hasn't God freed you up from "work" so that you can now pour yourself into local ministries and/or missions? Death is our official retirement! It's at death that we get our rest and rewards. Labels: faithfulness, laziness |
| posted by Alan Harstone @ 10:47 AM |
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| DISCIPLESHIP: You Can't Fool Jesus! |
| Tuesday, December 01, 2009 |
There's so much "easy believism" in the Church today that it's scary. I myself have fallen prey to this error from time to time, and have needed a wake-up call from the Holy Spirit to get me back on track.
Jesus asked His disciples if He'd find faith on the earth when He returned (Luke 18:8). He was wondering out loud how many professing Christians He'd have to confront by saying, "I never knew you. Depart from Me you who practice lawlessness."
Jesus gave some very stern warnings about easy believe-ism in Matthew 7:13-29. "The gate is wide and broad that leads to destruction. Enter by the narrow gate." He then goes on to immediately warn professing Christians that what they do for Him, or in His name, will carry no weight whatsoever on Judgment Day. "For every good tree bears good fruit; a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So you will be known by your fruits. Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven; but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
True Christianity....the faith that Jesus measures.....is weighed by the fruit of the Spirit ( "for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth" - Ephesians 5:9). Christian character will be weighed on the balance; fruitful obedience to God will be the measuring stick. You cannot belong to God and live any old way that you please. The evidence of conversion is the growing fruit of truth and righteousness in your life.
"Therefore, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to the wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And....." well, you probably know the rest of the story. If you don't, you'll find it in Matthew 17.
Easy believism says "Yee-haw. Got my ticket to heaven thanks to Jesus death on the cross. Now let's eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die."
True Christianity is the display of godly character and temperament, as I've already explained. Labels: faith |
| posted by Alan Harstone @ 3:07 PM |
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| The Curse Of Catholicism? |
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 Let me start by saying that I spent my formative Christian years in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. It was a rather happy mix of evangelical fervor and catholic (small 'c') ritual. I came to know the Lord in this setting, and learned the richness of catholic symbolism.
But that being said, in my early twenties I left the Lutheran church seeking a setting with more emphasis on God's Word and less emphasis on liturgies and rituals. My pendulum swung me all the way over to a conservative Baptist seminary, where I trained for ministry. I have long since settled into the Evangelical Free Church of Canada, where I have pastored for many years. But I tell you all this because I have a soft spot in my heart for the catholic movement.
However, I've long been concerned about the growing desire within evangelical circles to repatriate our Protestant flag into the Catholic camp in the name of spiritual unity. Some very good men (e.g. Chuck Colson, J.I. Packer, the late Bill Bright) have been promoting this union for over a decade now, and while they shun the notion of a common church polity, they are open to shared doctrines and purposes. I think this could be a slippery slope.
This morning while I was reading God's Word I was reminded again of the great error of Catholicism which led to the Protestant Reformation. Christ was rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees for adding traditions and new precepts to God's Word. This, of course, has long been the practice of catholicism, and we should not take it lightly. Christ got pretty hot under the collar when He was faced with a church system that "taught as doctrines the precepts of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." (Mark 7:8-9)
Just a cursory look at the the past and present history of Catholicism reveals the same mistake entrenched in their system. Like the Scribes and Pharisees they have long maintained that the papal edicts and decrees issued to their Church through the centuries have been God-given interpretations and additions to God's Word, even though they often contradict it. This, as well as the old practice of hiding God's Word in Latin so the people can't read it, has led to great distortion and misunderstanding of the heart of God among Catholic people.
And lest we think this is a thing of the past, let me tell you about the summer class I took at a Catholic seminary for extra credit. I was the only Protestant in a room full of Catholic "priest-wannabes". I felt a little like a sheep among the wolves. Our teacher (himself a priest) knew that I was a Baptist and so took great delight in highlighting my position. In fairness, he was a kind and generous man, not malicious at all, and he was trying to get his seminary students to understand some of the advantages that we Protestants had when it came to personal Bible study. But I will never forget the day when several of the Catholic students protested vigorously that lay people should not be allowed to study God's Word on their own, and that permitting this in the local church was a very dangerous practice. I was then confronted about it again in the hallway after class. These men were incensed that we Protestants were so "careless" with God's Word. I was a little stunned, since I thought these attitudes in Catholicism had changed somewhat since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Guess I was wrong.
Yes, the curse of Catholicism remains: it is still an organization that neglects and/or trumps God's Word by relying on the traditions of men. We must be careful not to join hands with this.
Labels: faith, truth |
| posted by Alan Harstone @ 11:33 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Alan Harstone
Home: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
About Me: Senior Pastor
Saskatoon Evangelical Free Church
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