Prayer, the Supreme Expression of Our Faith

Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Prayer, the Supreme Expression of Our Faith « The Old Guys.

Prayer, in many ways, is the supreme expression of our faith in God and our faith and confidence in the promises of God. There is nothing that a man ever does which so proclaims his faith as when he gets down on his knees and looks to God and talks to God. It is a tremendous confession of faith. I mean by this that he is not just running with his requests and petitions, but if he really waits upon God, if he really looks to God, he is there saying, ‘Yes, I believe it all, I believe that you are a rewarder of them that diligently seek you, I believe you are the Creator of all things and all things are in your hands. I know there is nothing outside of your control. I come to you because you are in all this and I find peace and rest and quiet in your holy presence and I am praying to you because you are what you are.’ That is the whole approach to prayer that you find in the teaching of Scripture.

~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~

The Assurance of Our Salvation (Wheaton, IL; Crossway Books; 2000) p. 35

via Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Prayer, the Supreme Expression of Our Faith « The Old Guys.

The Unknown

Last week, I copied a quote from a friend’s Facebook page about trusting God. The quote first caught my attention not just because it was by Oswald Chambers, or because I thought it was about solid biblical truth, but because I often struggle to trust God. When I’m faced with the unknown, I stress out, freak out, and throw trust out the window. The decision to pursue going to Papua New Guinea, with a departure date as early as July, freaks me out. “What if?” questions flood my mind. The possibility of a job at a local high school seems more probably than ever. I really enjoy working with Campus Life, leading a middle school small group at church, and just hanging out with students who want to develop a personal relationship with Christ. There is an awesome gang of college kids that I finally feel a connection with. None of these things are bad. None of these things are truly “distractions” or hindrances from leaving in July. They are equally good things with as much potential to give God glory, but I have to choose. I have to do one or the other next year. I can’t do both. The future–as soon as July–is completely unknown. At this point, nothing is sure. My prayer is not that I would choose the “best” thing; I don’t think that is a truth. My prayer is that I would trust. I don’t have to pray for God to lead–I know He will. I am so thankful that I serve an incredible, awesome, and personal God who is intensely concerned with my heart, who faithfully leads me, and gives grace even when I fail to trust Him.

Daily Trusting (Oswald Chambers)

A friend posted this on his Facebook page and I found it both encouraging and challenging:

—–The Knowledge of the Holy pg.63—–
We must by the exercise of faith and by prayer bring it [God’s infinite wisdom] into the practical world of our day-by-day experience.
To believe actively that our Heavenly Father constantly spreads around us providential circumstances that work for our present good and our everlasting well-being brings to the soul a veritable benediction. Most of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly afraid that we will miss the way. This is a tragic waste of truth and never gives rest to the heart.

There is a better way. It is to repudiate our own wisdom and take instead the infinite wisdom of God. Our insistence upon seeing ahead is natural enough, but it is a real hindrance to our spiritual progress. God has charged Himself with full responsibility for our eternal happiness and stands ready to take over the management of our lives the moment we turn in faith to Him. Here is His promise: “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”

Let Him lead thee blindfold onwards,
Love needs not to know;
Children whom the Father leadeth
Ask not where they go.
Though the path be all unknown,
Over moors and mountains lone.
Gerhard Tersteegen

God constantly encourages us to trust Him in the dark. “I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”

Rejoice

My pastor is leading our church through a study of the commands of Christ and yesterday he discussed “Rejoice.” He made many challenging points, leading me to question my own heart and actions. How fitting, then, that I read the following quote from J.C. Ryle Quotes this morning:

Is your heart right? Then be thankful. Praise the Lord for His distinguishing mercy, in “calling you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Pet. 2:9). Think what you were by nature. Think what has been done for you by free undeserved grace. Your heart may not be all that it ought to be, nor yet all that you hope it will be. But at any rate your heart is not the old hard heart with which you were born. Surely the man whose heart is changed ought to be full of praise.

~ J.C. Ryle

Old Paths, “The Heart”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 356.

Application 2012

Every year there is another application to be filled out for something or other. This year, I am filling out the application for the New Tribes Mission Associate position. Acceptance means that I would serve as a NTM missionary, teaching at a school for missionary students in Papua New Guinea or elsewhere. Those of you who have read my blog for any length of time probably realize that I first went to Papua New Guinea in January 2010 on a four-week mission trip as a part of the NTM Interface program. While there, I visited one of the missionary schools (see “Miracles”) and was encouraged to pursue my education as a teacher with the goal of returning to the mission field at some point in the future. Two years later, I am finishing up my teaching degree from Liberty University, and am beginning the process of returning to Papua New Guinea.

As I was filling out the extensive application, I came to the question, “Why do you want to be a missionary?” An appropriate question, to be sure, but one that made me do a double-take. Scripture, in my opinion, supports the claim that all born-again believers are called to be missionaries, as defined by sharing the Gospel with those around us. Missionaries are not made when one makes the choice to move overseas to a desert or jungle to share the Gospel with another culture. Thus, my response to this particular question may have been a little non-traditional:

I strongly believe in the idea of discipleship–that God has called each and every believer to be a “missionary,” to share what God has taught them with other people around them. As a single young adult, I feel as if I am more able than others might be to leave “stuff” behind and go overseas to advance the spread of the Gospel among unreached people groups, while at the same time actively discipling the students I am working with in the classroom.

Being limited by writing space on the application, I hoped that this was able to fully summarize my belief of missions. Were I to more fully describe why I want to be be a missionary, I would need to re-define the question. I am already a missionary each and every time I walk out my door. When I play volleyball, I am a missionary. When I smile and converse casually with the person checking me out at WalMart, I am a missionary. When I teach riding lessons, or teach in a classroom here in the United States, I am a missionary. The question then, is not so much, why I want to be a missionary as it is why I want to be a missionary as a teacher in Papua New Guinea.

To be quite honest, when I was first presented with the idea of teaching overseas, I thought I wanted to teach at Sahel Academy in Niger, West Africa. Teaching in Africa, or South America, or another country besides Papua New Guinea is certainly something I am still willing to do, however, Papua New Guinea is my first choice. The reasoning behind that leaves me looking far less spiritual, and far more human than one might think. When I went to Papua New Guinea in January 2010, I was greeted by warm weather, beautiful mountains, and a trade language I picked up relatively easily. As I got to know many of the missionaries serving at Interface and in Lapilo, I experienced a sense of community similar to the discipleship school in Pennsylvania I had just graduated from. In a certain fairy-tale sort of way, I have been “haunted” by Papua New Guinea ever since, a desire to return to that beautiful country stirring deep within me. If there is not a need for teachers in Papua New Guinea and a need opens up elsewhere, I am certainly willing to go. If the Lord closes the doors to teaching overseas at all, I am content to earn a regular salary and teach in the United States. At this point, however, I am walking in obedience and faith towards a “career” of teaching in Papua New Guinea. Doing so does not make me any more of a “missionary” than any of my friends and family who remain here in the United States, working at normal jobs, and leading “normal” lives. It does not make me any more godly, honorable, or anything else.

That being said, I want to be a missionary because I am a sinner saved by grace. 

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I’ve Ever Read – Justin Taylor

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I’ve Ever Read – Justin Taylor.

David Powlison says that the last page or so of B. B. Warfield’s sermon “Imitating the Incarnation” “offers the most riveting description of the goal of Christian living that I’ve ever read.”

via The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I’ve Ever Read – Justin Taylor.

Resolved

The lyrics to one of my favorite hymns begin with “I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delights…” Each new year, the majority of the American population engages in a frenzy of resoulution-making. Every February, the majority of those resolutions are forgotten. I started off this year rather apathetic towards resolutions. On Facebook, I posted that my resolution was to love God and love people. This glib resolution was, in theory, all-encompassing.

Nearly two weeks later, my resolutions are slightly more defined. While traveling to Colorado and spending seemingly endless hours crammed with five other people into a minivan, I discovered several key areas of needed growth. Initially, my attitude was more of arrogance and fixing others than of humility and a searching for grace and growth. As the long miles wore on, I began to reflect. Where do my words antagonize more than calm? Where do I create emnity and discontentment rather than joy? What areas of laziness and sin need to he addressed?

2 Peter 1 was the topic of discussion by the pastor of Life Fellowship church where we stopped en route. This passage is one that I studied for two years during Bible school, one that I have memorized, and, unfortunately, one that I often overlook out of familiarity. Francis Chan gives a frightening example of the paradox of Christian “obedience” when he says that parents asking their daughter to clean her room will not be satisfied if the daughter comes back to them saying, “I memorized what you said. You said, ‘Go clean your room.’” In the same way, if the daughter comes to them and says, “I started a study group with my friends and discussed what it would look like if I cleaned my room,” that won’t fly. How dare I go to my Heavenly Father memorizing and studying but never truly obeying.

With that in mind, I am resolved to:
- apply 2 Peter 1 so that I will no longer be blind, nearsighted, and unfruitful. – read books (specifically, my goal is 3 books per month)
- speak truth IN LOVE (this means the reforming of my tongue to speak only that which will glorify God instead of those things that discourage, incite emnity, or are unedifying) – seek to serve others and give joy regardless of circumstances

I am confident that there are many other areas of my life that require reformation, grace, and growth. This is merely a beginning. There are distinct goals that I would love to attain physically and educationally, but those things must come second. Most of all, I desire to nuture a passion for Christ in my heart in all areas of my life, engendering obedience and love for God and others that lasts beyond February-even for a lifetime.

Don’t Die to Beauty

RT: Desiring God

John Piper read G. K. Chesterton at the advice of Clyde Kilby, one of his professors of English Literature at Wheaton College back in the day. And this book recommendation from Kilby didn’t come in a vacuum. Piper writes about how Kilby himself was amazed at the world, and that, with a pastoral heart and a poet’s eye, he influenced his students to really believe Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

In a 1976 lecture, Kilby gave ten steps on how to stay alive to the beauty of God’s world:

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above me and about me.
2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death, when he said: “There is darkness without and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendour, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing.”
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
4. I shall not turn my life into a thin straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.
5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.
6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic” existence.
7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the “child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder.”
8. I shall follow Darwin’s advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.
9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, “fulfill the moment as the moment.” I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is just now.
10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life in the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls Himself Alpha and Omega.

Quoted in John Piper, “Sky Talk” (1980).

 

Resolutions for a New Year

RT: JC Ryle Quotes

Walk more closely with God, get nearer to Christ and seek to exchange hope for assurance. Seek to feel the witness of the Spirit more closely and distinctly every year. Lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily besets you. Press towards the mark more earnestly. Fight a better fight, and war a better warfare every year you live. Pray more, read more, mortify self more, love the brethren more. Oh that you may endeavor so to grow in grace every year, that your last things may be far more than your first, and the end of your Christian course far better than the beginning!

~ J.C. Ryle

New Year’s Sermon: Are You Ready?

Silence

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

- Psalm 62:5

Over the weekend, I talked to a dear friend that I have not seen in several years. Throughout our discussion, the Lord spoke to my heart, reminding me of how difficult it is to come to a place of desire, a place of hope, only to find that thing we seem to desire most, unattainable. My prayer for my friend, and myself, was that God would bring our hearts to a place of complete trust and rest in Him. I do not believe that desire, nor hope, is bad. I do believe it can quickly create an idol out of an otherwise good and valuable object. Thus, regardless of how much I might long for one thing, my true desire and hope must always be firmly rooted in Christ. It is then that we see that what is humanly impossible is only an opportunity for God to be glorified.

Desire is a powerful thing. It leads us to attain greatness unlike those who wallow in contentment. Desire is also a source of great evil, for it takes those who refuse to be content and entices them to sin. What then, is the purpose of desire? I believe that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:12, 16 epitomizes healthy passion, “We endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ….For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (ESV).  His desire and passion and life was consumed by one single purpose: the Gospel. This is my prayer, that my life, like Paul’s, would be engulfed by a desire for the Gospel. As applied to my chosen profession of education, Pastor Michael Lederman, plainly stated, “Grammar without grace, ‘rithmetic without righteousness, and history without holiness will puff up the mind. Education must begin with the fear of the Lord, lest our children ‘perish for lack of knowledge.’” If that is not a Gospel-centered philosophy of education, I don’t know what is. Whether I teach in a public, private, Christian, or mission school, my purpose is singular — to be a light that points the next generation to the true source of knowledge and truth, Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, torn between desire and contentment, I prayed the following:

Lord, if I cannot go to Papua New Guinea in 2012, I pray that You would provide a teaching position in a public school–Lord, even at CFC, if I can dare to hope. In either context, let me be a light shining, a hope that there is hope in You. Even as a substitute teacher, may I shine with Your love and light in each classroom I enter. While my plans may have been “PNG or bust 2012,” I know that your timing and purpose is good–thus I ask that Your will might be done. Wherever You lead, I will go–even if “going” is really staying. May my heart be set only on You, not on a place, or a people, or a time–only You. Make me strong in faith, frequent in prayer, and full of humility, that You might be glorified in me.”

With the conclusion of that prayer, I was reminded of Isaiah 42:5-7. These verses are what I consider my “missions promise.”

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath tot he people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ‘I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness’” (ESV).

Subsequently, this afternoon, I discovered that going to Papua New Guinea in 2012 is still a possibility. Until today, going in time for the 2012-2013 school year was humanly impossible. Today, it still might be impossible. I am not bothered by impossibilities. What concerns me more is that this hope would consume me and distract me from what is truly my hope, Jesus Christ. Regardless of whether I go to Papua New Guinea in 2012, 2015, or never go at all, my heart must be set first on Christ. Thus, the verses from Psalms at the top of this post have become my new prayer…that though I would hope, my hope would be in Christ alone.