Session 3
"You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Comes Upon You"
Terry Virgo
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Terry Virgo leads the Newfrontiers team, which is currently serving over 700 churches in over 60 nations. He travels widely and has written several books, including No Well Worn Paths. he and his wife, Wendy, are based at Church of Christ the King, Brighton, UK.
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Acts 1:4 ff.
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Many have said that verse 8 is the key to understanding the book of Acts. And in fact, in light of the history we see, it is the key. How else can a set of people who just days before were huddling in fear in an upper room go from that mindset to a people totally unafraid and filled with boldness?
When Jesus said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you," it was not a totally foreign thing to Jews. They would have recalled a story like that of Gideon who was called out of fear and into a warrior mindset, after having experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Him, clothing him as it were with power. So he is transformed from being a frightened, hiding man into a bold warrior leading a people into triumph.
The story of Samuel would have also come to mind, when he anointed David as king. The David was filled with power, and we have subsequent stories like David and Goliath. There is power there when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person. This is what happened when God took a portion of the Spirit in Moses and gave it to the 70 elders. It happened also to Joshua who received the same power in order to lead the same people Moses did, into the promised land. The bottom line is that an actual change occurs when the Spirit's power comes upon us.
As a young man Terry asked, "Is that something I should covet? I feel very ineffectual." So he began to read. Later his sister led him to attend John Stott's church where he was eventually converted. However, Stott's answer to Terry's question was that he had already received it all at salvation...the Spirit, His power, everything...at conversion. This was contrasted later with the ministry of Dr. Lloyd Jones who asked Terry the question, "If you've got it, then where is it?" Thus the question, "If Stott and Lloyd Jones disagreed, where does that leave me?"
Terry's lifestyle continued on and ended up in backsliding, living the same sort of bad life he had already been living before conversion. Later however, Terry felt God asking him, "Are you with Me, or not?" This led Terry to throw himself into church life. But as he tried to live the Christian life, he felt more and more his own inability to do what God wanted. This was brought home particularly one day when he had led a Bible study that morning, and in preparation for a meeting that night, his walk along the beach one day led him down a different path. He saw a crowd, shouting, throwing things, and investigated the scene. He saw old ladies singing gospel songs, holding banners, and receiving persecution. Terry felt, "That's terrible." God seemed reply, "Why is that terrible? I've led young men to do that!"
Terry was the young man of moment who also needed to join in and participate with the ladies. However, despite the pressure of the Spirit, he felt he simply could not. There was just no power to do it. And Jesus said we would be His witnesses after receiving power. It's hard to bear witness boldly with Jesus without Spirit power. This led Terry constantly to miss opportunities to minister because of the lack of power.
He contacted someone the next day for help in answering this plaguing question. The answer his friend gave him was found in Acts 1:4 and following. The first thing Jesus told them to do was to wait in prayer to receive it. This however is the only place where Jesus commanded disciples to do this. And this was, of course because it preceded the most significant moment in history next to the cross, which was Pentecost.
Should we build doctrine from narrative then? If Jesus said wait only once, in a story about church history, should we look to that part of the story to build a pattern? Not necessarily. The story simply gives us a beginning point. The giving and receiving of the Spirit was repeated throughout the book of Acts. Waiting in an upper room for Him was not. Therefore, while this narrative does not teach us normative practice, the pattern that emerges in other narratives does in fact do this for us. So let's look at Acts 1 and see how this unfolds.
When Do We Get the Spirit's Power?
Some say we get it all at conversion. Others say everyone gets it after conversion. But a look at the Scriptures reveals it can sometimes be both.
First, look at Acts 8 in the narrative about Philip.
Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
If you were to ask a Samaritan's testimony, he would simply respond that hands were laid on him/her and they the Spirit fell upon them. It's that simple.
Second, look at Acts 9, in Paul's conversion experience on the Damascus Road.
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;
19 and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
A regular, ordinary disciple...no one particularly remarkable...was led by God to call Saul brother, meaning he was already converted, and then led by God to pray for the receiving of the Spirit.
Third, look at Acts 10, in the case of Peter and Cornelius.
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,
47 "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
We see a sudden coming upon with the Holy Spirit for these people. On that one day, they are converted and then receive the power of the Spirit all at one time.
Finally, in Acts 19 we have the situation of the Ephesians.
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."
4 And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus."
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
These twelve had only been baptized into the message John the Baptist preached, which was simply a message that prepared them to follow Jesus. Yet they had never been baptized into Jesus Christ, and therefore had not received the Holy Spirit yet. That's why they had never even heard of the Spirit. Yet when Paul laid his hands on them, perhaps dripping with baptismal water, the Spirit fell upon them. So here, as in Acts 10, there is this simultaneous activity of conversion and Spirit-empowering occuring.
What also is evident in EVERY case is that when ALL of the people in these narratives did receive the Spirit, it was evident and noticeable, both to them and to others around them. The evidences are manifold: miracles, tongues speaking, signs and wonders, etc. All of these things came by the hearing of faith, as Paul taught in Galatians 3, and not by doing works of the law.
So what about the doctrine that teaches that when we've been saved, we must move into making Jesus Lord of our lives later on in life...rededicating our lives to Him...emptying ourselves to be filled with fresh commitment, etc.? But as with the other view, this happening doesn't fit the narratives we read in Acts. There is no later crisis every Christian must experience in life in order to be freshly renewed and redidicated. That is much akin to getting a soldier excited about going into battle, and later on when they have come to the end of themselves, telling them that now they will get a gun!
What about the doctrine that teaches tarrying, or waiting and waiting to receive the Spirit? Well, we see that once on the days before Pentecost. But afterwards, no one is ever told to wait again. How does that fit? The key lies for us in John 7.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Notice the text doesn't say that the Spirit wasn't given yet because they had not come to the end of themselves, or because they weren't mature yet. Rather, it was clearly because Jesus had not yet been glorified, meaning He had not yet ascended to heaven. But when that would and did occur, the prophecy of Joel would be fulfilled. The fulness of the Spirit would be poured out on all those who were thirsty for Him. It was also the prophecy of John the Baptist who promised that Jesus would come Who would baptize us with water and fire, referring to regeneration by and empowering through the Holy Spirit.
Today, if there were someone who desired to push through the crowds and take Jesus up on His offer for something to drink, He would not turn around and say, "Not Yet...you're just not ready." No! He would say, "Not yet...because I'm not glorified yet...I haven't ascended to heaven yet." But after He DID, the first group waited, received the drink He promised, and no one else was ever told to wait again. Now that the drink had been offered, no one needs wait anymore, because Jesus has been glorified.
Terry's Recollection of Thirsting for the Spirit of Jesus
Terry recalls his frequent cries of, "I just can't do it!" referring to the change he knew he needed. He was very thirsty and he wanted something to drink. He recalled being around a friend who with unfettered freedom handed out tracts and witnessed...while Terry sat aside asking himself, "Why can't I do that?" He went to that guy's church the following Sunday and saw the laying on of hands to receive the Spirit. They laid hands on Terry to receive the Spirit, his heart growing greater in thirst for this power. He stood in line asking, "Can I receive this?" As he waited in line, he got his eyes off Jesus and said, "This guy's gonna do it for me." However, all the guy did was lay his hands on Terry and went to the next person.
This discouraged Terry. He went away feeling that nothing had happened, after having travelled all that way to get what he wanted. However, he realized that Jesus had said, "Come to ME..." and Terry had gone to the man laying hands on people. That is hugely important because we are to come to JESUS to receive, and not other people. Other people simply become a mode through which Jesus gives what He promised.
Terry found himself waiting for a funny feeling of some sort. This led him to back away for a while out of discouragement. But he came back to the promise of Jesus again, realizing he had to believe in Jesus, and not in anything else...no feeling...no great preacher or prayer warrior...no one else and nothing else. It is believing in Jesus, and believing in the promise of His Spirit.
What About Speaking on Tongues?
The promise in John 7 also speaks of an abundant lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that is vastly and evidently different from whatever it was before. One of the greatest evidences of this lifestyle is reflected in the book of Acts as speaking in tongues. This is not to say that if you don't speak in tongues you haven't been filled with the Spirit. But it is to say very simply that speaking in tongues is something that happens to those who are filled with the Spirit. You don't get filled BY speaking in tongues. You come a take the drink Jesus offers, and THEN then the abundant lifestyle begins flowing, usually with the gift of tongues.
So how does this thing work? The Bible says that we speak in tongues, not God. God doesn't speak through us. WE speak by God's power. In short, if YOU don't speak in tongues, you WON'T speak in tongues. This excludes passivity. It is not about tarrying until God somehow divinely lifts our heads up and opens our mouths and putting words in them.
What we find often in the Bible is that God's people do something out of faith and belief and what they had faith in actually happened to them. When Joshua put his foot in the river, it parted. When Peter stepped out of the boat, he walked on water just like Jesus. When the leper Jesus pronounced healed presented himelf to the priest, he was healed.
This is not an attitude of, "it'll happen to me any minute now." No! It is stepping out by faith and doing what is normal, but in another dimension. Peter used his own legs, but in a different dimension. When we speak in tongues we use our own voices and tongues, but in a different dimension. There is a spiritual dimension to this which opens up by our active faith.
Opening our mouth begins with praising God. But arguments will seem to prevail in our minds that we are making this up. However, as all the tension disappears in praising God, the words begin to flow. Terry recalled that one woman said, "If you're making this up, you're doing a great job of it!" The sense of closeness with God and a feeling of His great love for us is overwhelming. His presence produces and promotes power in this way.
When Terry returned to his Baptist church, they had noticed by his countenance that something had happened to him. He told them he had been to a Pentecostal church, hands were laid on him, and he was filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues. The pastor and brothers were listening. When he was done sharing the pastor said, "Terry, you must lay hands on all of us, and I will be the last in line to receive it." From that day forward he had the privilege of laying hands on many more to receive the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Location:N Starr St,Tacoma,United States
Session 2
"What Kind of House Will You Build For Me?"
Terry Virgo
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Terry Virgo leads the Newfrontiers team, which is currently serving over 700 churches in over 60 nations. He travels widely and has written several books, including No Well Worn Paths. he and his wife, Wendy, are based at Church of Christ the King, Brighton, UK.
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Acts 6:11 ff.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."
12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
13 and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us."
15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Acts 7:45 ff.
45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,
46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
49 "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?
Acts 11:19 ff.
19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).
29 So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 11:25 - 12:1 ff.
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
This new international community called the church was finding its way into the life of the culture at that time. It was a new wine that would not fit into the old wineskin. So it spills outward to the nations becoming the emerging people of God. Outside of Jerusalem, the most prominent place in which this emerging people of God began to build a new house of God was Antioch. Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed and a different kind of house of God would be constructed, one made of living stones, the people of God.
1. What do we find about this house in Acts 13? In Antioch we find first of all prophets.
There were people who prophesied. A supernatural element was found in this house. Indeed this was the beginning of the age of the Spirit. The dispensation of the law was over, and the dispensation of the Spirit had begun. Condemnation was gone and righteousness was ushered in.
This was all a part of the prophecy of Joel spoken hundreds of years earlier with regard to the outpouring of the Spirit on all people. That prophecy was fufilled at Pentecost and has not been consummated yet. Under the Old Covenant, you might be fortunate to run into the prophet Samuel while he was doing his prophetic rounds and receive a word. But a new day came in which the Spirit was poured out on ALL people who followed Jesus. It was a widespread outpouring, which was the mark of the age we are living in. Surprisingly it is NOT an age of committees and meetings!
God had come back to dwell among His people, not in a glory cloud found in a temple or tabernacle, but in a glory that dwelt among and in His people by means of the Spirit. Thus the significance of the question that Paul asked at Ephesus in Acts 19, "Have you received the Holy Spirit." They had no earthly idea what he was talking about. So he explained it to them, prayed for them, laid hands on them, and they received the Spirit. What resulted was a planted church and a whole culture undermined...all because the Holy Spirit's presence was manifested among His people. And this continued to repeat itself by means of unlearned, uneducated fisherman.
Even when Paul goes to Galatia and plants a church, he moved along only to have the Judaizers follow behind him and deceive the believers into moving AWAY from the Spirit, and back to the Old Covenant. This infuriates Paul and he writes his angriest letter, asking the most crucial question in the entire letter: "Did you receive the Spirit by faith, and were miracles done among you by doing the law and proving yourself as lawkeepers externally?" This was the stamp of the early church then: the Holy Spirit and His miracles and faith among His people. The coming of the Spirit was the mark of the new age, and the church was the place where it was worked out, the place where God dwelt on earth by His Spirit.
Returning again to the first mark of the presence of the Spirit, we find the presence of men through whom the Spirit spoke, or prophets. This included the presence of miracles by which the Spirit authenticated His presence and communicated God's love. People were attracted to this because they wanted to meet God personally. God was among them prophetically and miraculously. He was among them in the prophet Agabus, who would come up from the church in Jerusalem to Antioch who seems to resemble something like an OT prophet in the New Covenant. He was among them in the four daughters of Philip who were noted prophets in the early church. This was an ongoing ministry that continues in His church even today. That is the model which we followed today.
2. The second mark of this new house of God is the presence of teachers.
These are men who are filled with the Spirit to instruct and teach the people of God "many things" just like Jesus did in His earthly ministry. We find His example in His journey with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Starting from Moses and the Prophets, Jesus explained how the entire OT spoke of Him, teaching them how all of it pointed to Him. He stayed later with them over dinner and continued His Bible study. He got them lined up with the truth which was the background against which their minds were opened to see that it was Jesus, when He broke the bread with them.
"The problem with most Christians is not their lack of effort, but their lack of acquaintance with their privileges" (John Owen).
3. The third mark of this new house of God was the presence of apostolic representation.
In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul explained his work as that of building the foundation of the local church. This is in keeping with what he wrote in Ephesians 2 that apostolic men build foundations. In Ephesians 4 they are given by Jesus Himself to build up the body of the church until they are mature.
"But didn't they have to see the resurrected Christ?" Several others were named apostles who did not see the resurrected Christ.
"But don't they have to have written Scripture?" Luke didn't, and he was referred to as part of the apsotolic representation.
This is how we see Barnabas depicted in Acts 13. He was an apostolic representation sent to ensure a firm foundation was laid for the local church. This is ensuring that a church is taught true gospel conent in order that people may have a solid foundation on which to build their lives. This is the work of laying and building, of caring and shepherding. His care and concern for the church had a ripple effect to the nations because the results directly impacted his apostolic sphere of ministry. This is a radically different kind of house than what we see in the Old Testament.
4. The fourth mark of this new house of God was the presence of multi-cultural, multinational, unifying leadership.
Barnabas was a Cyprian. Simeon and Lucius were black Africans. Manean was educated with the prince, the son of the King. And Saul (aka Paul) was a Jewish rabbi converted to Jesus. The Spirit gives us this description through Luke to show us that He marks His presence by the calling of men from all different backgrounds and cultures. He is no longer the Spirit just of the Jews, but now He is an every-nation Spirit, filling men whose only common denominator is that they have been washed in the blood of Jesus. These men were knit together in love.
We see the same thing in the instance of Cornelius' house. Peter receives the vision, goes to a Gentile's home, and begins to speak to them. While he was speaking the Spirit fell on all of them and they began speaking in tongues. This proved that they had the same Spirit as Peter and the 120 originally received. They were drinking of the same Spirit, even though they were hated Romans, whom God now seemed to love so much! The unity that comes from the Spirit bound them together in Christ. And the Spirit became the force which actually splashed these people of various nationalities together into one people.
This also included gender...and cultural status. Men and women were filled with the Spirit and unified with each other. Slaves and free were filled with the Spirit and unified with each other. Men and women were unified with slaves and free. They gathered together to pray and ask for the Spirit's presence and power. His presence was primary for them as a unified people.
5. The fifth mark of this new house of God was the people of God on a mission.
This group of leaders gathered together and heard the Spirit's call to send out two for the mission. The continuation of Jesus' great commission is seen clearly here in this situation. The Spirit's presence among His people swells to its peak in the missional planting of more churches where the whole process can start again and again.
At Antioch we have one of the most glorious model churches. It was formed from people who came from Stephen undoubtedly asking the same question he did: what kind of house will you build for me? One with prophets, teachers, apostolic representation, multi-cultural leadership, and a constant missional focus.
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Location:N 4th St,Tacoma,United States
Last week, we were able to send three couples from our Leadership in Development team at Church in the Boro to the New Frontiers USA Equipped for Mission 2010 conference in St. Louis. They came back pumped, excited, stretched, and confounded at times. We met last night to debrief about (1) what they liked the most and/or benefited from the most; (2) what they disliked the most and/or were the most confused about; and (3) what we as a leadership team need to think through and/or implement to advance our church to the next stage. It was a wonderful and challenging time ending in some very practical results.
Following are the messages from the conference I'm downloading to my Zune right now. Lord willing, I'll get started listening to a couple tomorrow, then complete the set on my drive up to Charlotte to visit this weekend with Euan Crane, leader of the New Frontiers church plant, Jubilee Church of Charlotte (formerly Catalyst Church).
Following are the messages from the conference I'm downloading to my Zune right now. Lord willing, I'll get started listening to a couple tomorrow, then complete the set on my drive up to Charlotte to visit this weekend with Euan Crane, leader of the New Frontiers church plant, Jubilee Church of Charlotte (formerly Catalyst Church).
Click on the banner below to go directly to the archive page.
The number one reason why I don't pray as often as I wish is unbelief. It's so subtle. And unbelief is empowered by rationality. I rationalize so quickly, so immediately, within nanoseconds, that I should get on with the work. Accompanied by that are presumptions like, "God will bless what you're doing," or "You already know what the right thing to do is." And off I go...sometimes (perhaps more than I'm willing to admit) as lost and turned around as a duck in a tornado.The reason I don't pray as much as I wish is because in an instant, almost second nature, I don't believe that seeking to hear from God on something is the wisest course of action. At the root of this rationalization is the belief that He probably doesn't care about it, won't answer me, or will take too long to tell me what I already know I want to hear. It's so frustrating! I can sit here and think through the issue pretty clearly right now, analyzing...resolving...figuring...fixing. And preaching! But why won't that work as well when the need to pray about something suddenly siezes my mind and heart!
There's a slow, steady, necessary process of reversal on this matter. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens by continuing what I know I am already doing: eating and drinking the gospel. The gospel, you see, is all about promises. It is the Good News that God has promised to do something specatular for me in my deepest, darkest need. Oh sure, that need is to be made right with Him. But that need simply gives birth to a magnificent promise, which is like a fruit that produces a thousand other seeds inside for the same fruit.
The Gospel tells me that God has promised to make me an heir with His Son Jesus Christ, if I repent from my sins and believe that His righteousness, and not my self-righteousness, is the only way to enjoy that. But that one promise is a fruit filled with a thousand other seeds of promise that...
- My God will supply all my needs through His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
- If God didn't spare His own Son, but gave Him up for me, then how much more will God give me everything else I need in Christ Jesus.
- If I lack wisdom, I can ask God who promises to give it to me liberally, abundantly, and without finding any fault in me.
- I can draw near to God and He promises to draw near to Me.
- Jesus will come back and take me to Himself so that where He is right now, I will be also.
- Jesus is praying for me that I will not ultimately fail in my walk with Him...and He always gets what He prayed for.
- If I abide in Him, and His words abide in me, I can ask whatever I want to and He'll give it to me.
- I will bear much fruit.
- I can say to a mountain, "be removed and throw yourself into the ocean!" and it will obey me.
- Together with God's people, I can do greater things than Jesus did.
- I have the Holy Spirit as a comforter, counselor, and convictor.
- I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.
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Fill in the rest of the blanks with your own. I trust you get the point by now. And when applied to prayer, James teaches me that the prayers of a righteous man get a lot accomplished. I am righteous in Jesus Christ. I am that righteous man. My prayers will get a lot accomplished. BUT I'VE GOT TO PRAY!!!
James uses the example of Elijah who prayed for rain after three years of not getting any (as a sign of God's displeasure with Ahab, Jezebel, and Israel in general). So Elijah prayed, and rain returned. Why? Because Elijah knew the secret of the gospel. The God who made Elijah right with Himself, would also give Elijah whatever he needed to sustain the needs of God's people and to make God's name famous.
At the root of Elijah's prayer life was belief. Did he ever not believe? You bet! Remember when he was under the tree wanting to die, asking God to kill him? That seems very much to me to be unbelief. But what did God do? He kept His promise, fed Elijah by means of a few birds, and sustained him in the process. Why? Because God loved Elijah.
And He loves me too. And He loves you too. He wants to act in you and through you. He wants to answer your prayers. He wants to make Himself famous and you satisfied in the process. Will I believe this when a torrent of to-do's suddenly siezes my schedule? Will you believe it when the tyranny of the urgent grabs you by the collar, and lifts you off the ground, putting your back the wall, yelling at you?
Or will we, like Jesus who departed to a quiet place to pray, do the same? Will we, like Elijah, have faith that God will answer our prayers, hear what we ask for in His name, for His glory, and take as much time as the need requires to pray.
Toward this end, I've been reading Terry Virgo's book, God Knows You're Human: Good News for People Who Slip and Fall - Lessons on Weakness and Strength. I bought it at the recent New Frontiers Midwest Celebration conference. In God's providence, John Lamferman was sick, so Terry Virgo took to the pulpit reminding us of God's greatness through Elijah. I was privileged to hear two sermons from the series in the book, based on 1 Kings 18. (These are a fresh presentation of these older sermons.)Toward the end of last weekend, my friend Scott Anderson at Desiring God forwarded me what John Piper's assistant forwarded him, originally Tweeted by Piper last week. I believe the quote from my email was, "I have just watched a sermon on prayer by Terry Virgo that will alter my year. I recommend it. http://ow.ly/hB55" That's a powerful statement from a man like Piper about a sermon by a man like Virgo. The link came from a post by my friend Adrian Warnock, whose blog I don't read often enough. In Adrian's post is a link to the sermons by Virgo that I didn't know existed. Here they are, including several video sermons available for download also.
The Full Series On Elijah By Terry Virgo
