How to Pray Chapter I. The Importance of Prayer

Did you know that in the Ephesians 6:18 we read words which put the tremendous importance of prayer with startling and overwhelming force:

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

When we stop to weigh the meaning of these words, then note the connection in which they are found, the intelligent child of God is driven to say, "I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do, I must pray."

The Revised Version is, if possible, stronger than the Authorized:

"With all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

Note the ALLS: "with ALL prayer," "at ALL seasons," "in ALL perseverance," "for ALL the saints." Note the piling up of strong words, "prayer," "supplication," "perseverance." Note once more the strong expression, "watching thereunto," more literally, "being sleepless thereunto." Paul realized the natural slothfulness of man, and especially his natural slothfulness in prayer. How seldom we pray things through! How often the church and the individual get right up to the verge of a great blessing in prayer and just then let go, get drowsy, quit. I wish that these words "being sleepless unto prayer" might burn into our hearts. I wish the whole verse might burn into our hearts.

But why is this constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer so needful?

1. First of all, BECAUSE THERE IS A DEVIL. He is cunning, he is mighty, he never rests, he is ever plotting the downfall of the child of God; and if the child of God relaxes in prayer, the devil will succeed in ensnaring him.

This is the thought of the context. The 12th verse reads:

"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (R.V.)

Then comes the 13th verse:

"Wherefore take up the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand." (R.V.)

Next follows a description of the different parts of the Christian's armor, which we are to put on if we are to stand against the devil and his mighty wiles. Then Paul brings all to a climax in the 18th verse, telling us that to all else we must add prayer — constant, persistent, untiring, sleepless prayer in the Holy Spirit, or all else will go for nothing.

2. A second reason for this constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER IS GOD'S APPOINTED WAY FOR OBTAINING THINGS, AND THE GREAT SECRET OF ALL LACK IN OUR EXPERIENCE, IN OUR LIFE AND IN OUR WORK IS NEGLECT OF PRAYER.

James brings this out very forcibly in the 4th chapter and 2nd verse of his epistle:

"Ye have not because ye ask not."

These words contain the secret of the poverty and powerlessness of the average Christian — neglect of prayer.

1. "Why is it," many a Christian is asking, "I make so little progress in my Christian life?"
"Neglect of prayer," God answers. "You have not because you ask not."
2. "Why is it," many a minister is asking, "I see so little fruit from my labors?"
Again God answers, "Neglect of prayer. You have not because you ask not."
3. "Why is it," many a Sunday-School teacher is asking, "that I see so few converted in my Sunday-School class?"
Still God answers, "Neglect of prayer. You have not because you ask not."
4. "Why is it," both ministers and churches are asking, "that the church of Christ makes so little headway against unbelief and error and sin and worldliness?"
Once more we hear God answering, "Neglect of prayer. You have not because you ask not."

3. The third reason for this constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that THOSE MEN WHOM GOD SET FORTH AS A PATTERN OF WHAT HE EXPECTED CHRISTIANS TO BE — THE APOSTLES — REGARDED PRAYER AS THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS OF THEIR LIVES.

When the multiplying responsibilities of the early church crowded in upon them, they "called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But WE WILL GIVE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER and to the ministry of the Word."

It is evident from what Paul wrote to the churches and to individuals about praying for them, that very much of his time and strength and thought was given to prayer. (Rom 1:9, R.V.; Eph 1:15-16; Col 1:9, R.V.; 1 Thess 3:10; 2 Tim 1:3, R.V.)

All the mighty men of God outside the Bible have been men of prayer. They have differed from one another in many things, but in this they have been alike.

4. But there is a still weightier reason for this constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer. It is, PRAYER OCCUPIED A VERY PROMINENT PLACE AND PLAYED A VERY IMPORTANT PART IN THE EARTHLY LIFE OF OUR LORD.

Turn, for example, to Mark 1:35. We read, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." The preceding day had been a very busy and exciting one, but Jesus shortened the hours of needed sleep that He might arise early and give Himself to more sorely needed prayer.

Turn again to Luke 6:12, where we read, "And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Our Savior found it necessary on occasion to take a whole night for prayer.

The words "pray" and "prayer" are used at least twenty-five times in connection with our Lord in the brief record of His life in the four Gospels, and His praying is mentioned in places where the words are not used. Evidently prayer took much of the time and strength of Jesus, and a man or woman who does not spend much time in prayer, cannot properly be called a follower of Jesus Christ.

5. There is another reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer that seems if possible even more forcible than this, namely, PRAYING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PRESENT MINISTRY OF OUR RISEN LORD.

Christ's ministry did not close with His death. His atoning work was finished then, but when He rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father, He entered upon other work for us just as important in its place as His atoning work. It cannot be divorced from His atoning work; it rests upon that as its basis, but it is necessary to our complete salvation.

What that great present work is, by which He carries our salvation on to completeness, we read in Heb 7:25, "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM." This verse tells us that Jesus is able to save us unto the uttermost, not merely FROM the uttermost, but UNTO the uttermost, unto entire completeness, absolute perfection, because He not merely died, but because He also "ever liveth." The verse also tells us for what purpose He now lives, "TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR US," to pray. Praying is the principal thing He is doing in these days. It is by His prayers that He is saving us.

The same thought is found in Paul's remarkable, triumphant challenge in Rom 8:34 — "Who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US." (R.V.)
If we then are to have fellowship with Jesus Christ in His present work, we must spend much time in prayer; we must give ourselves to earnest, constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer. I know of nothing that has so impressed me with a sense of the importance of praying at all seasons, being much and constantly in prayer, as the thought that that is the principal occupation at present of my risen Lord.

I want to have fellowship with Him, and to that end I have asked the Father that whatever else He may make me, to make me at all events an intercessor, to make me a man who knows how to pray, and who spends much time in prayer.

This ministry of intercession is a glorious and a mighty ministry, and we can all have part in it. The man or the woman who is shut away from the public meeting by sickness can have part in it; the busy mother; the woman who has to take in washing for a living can have part — she can mingle prayers for the saints, and for her pastor, and for the unsaved, and for foreign missionaries, with the soap and water as she bends over the washtub, and not do the washing any more poorly on that account; the hard driven man of business can have part in it, praying as he hurries from duty to duty.

But of course we must, if we would maintain this spirit of constant prayer, take time — and take plenty of it — when we shall shut ourselves up in the secret place alone with God for nothing but prayer.

6. The sixth reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER IS THE MEANS THAT GOD HAS APPOINTED FOR OUR RECEIVING MERCY, AND OBTAINING GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED.

Heb 4:16 is one of the simplest and sweetest verses in the Bible, — "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." These words make it very plain that God has appointed a way by which we shall seek and obtain mercy and grace. That way is prayer; bold, confident, outspoken approach to the throne of grace, the most holy place of God's presence, where our sympathizing High Priest, Jesus Christ, has entered in our behalf. (Verses 14, 15.)

Mercy is what we need, grace is what we must have, or all our life and effort will end in complete failure. Prayer is the way to get them. There is infinite grace at our disposal, and we make it ours experimentally by prayer. Oh, if we only realized the fullness of God's grace, that is ours for the asking, its height and depth and length and breadth, I am sure that we would spend more time in prayer. The measure of our appropriation of grace is determined by the measure of our prayers.

Who is there that does not feel that he needs more grace? Then ask for it. Be constant and persistent in your asking. Be importunate and untiring in your asking. God delights to have us "shameless" beggars in this direction; for it shows our faith in Him, and He is mightily pleased with faith. Because of our "shamelessness" He will rise and give us as much as we need (Luke 11:8). What little streams of mercy and grace most of us know, when we might know rivers overflowing their banks!

7. The next reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF HAS APPOINTED FOR HIS DISCIPLES TO OBTAIN FULLNESS OF JOY.

He states this simply and beautifully in John 16:24, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be fulfilled." "Made full" is the way the Revised Version reads. Who is there that does not wish his joy filled full? Well, the way to have it filled full is by praying in the name of Jesus. We all know people whose joy is filled full, indeed, it is just running over, is shining from their eyes, bubbling out of their very lips, and running off their finger tips when they shake hands with you. Coming in contact with them is like coming in contact with an electrical machine charged with gladness. Now people of that sort are always people that spend much time in prayer.

Why it is that prayer in the name of Christ brings such fullness of joy? In part, because we get what we ask. But that is not the only reason, nor the greatest. It makes God real. When we ask something definite of God, and He gives it, how real God becomes! He is right there! It is blessed to have a God who is real, and not merely an idea. I remember how once I was taken suddenly and seriously sick in my room. I dropped upon my knees and cried to God for help. Instantly all pain left me — I was perfectly well. It seemed as if God stood right there, and had put out His hand and touched me. The joy of the healing was not as great as the joy of meeting God.
There is no greater joy on earth or in heaven, than communion with God, and prayer in the name of Jesus brings us into communion with Him. The Psalmist was surely not speaking only of future blessedness, but also of present blessedness when he said, "In Thy presence is fullness of joy." (Ps 16:11 ) O the unutterable joy of those moments when in our prayers we really press into the presence of God!

Does someone say. "I have never known any such joy as that in prayer"?
Do you take enough leisure for prayer to actually get into God's presence? Do you really give yourself up to prayer in the time which you do take?

8. The eighth reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER, IN EVERY CARE AND ANXIETY AND NEED OF LIFE, WITH THANKSGIVING, IS THE MEANS THAT GOD HAS APPOINTED FOR OBTAINING FREEDOM FROM ALL ANXIETY, AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING.

"Be careful for nothing," says Paul, "but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:6-7.) To many this seems at the first glance, the picture of a life that is beautiful, but beyond the reach of ordinary mortals; not so at all.

The verse tells us how the life is attainable by every child of God: "Be careful for nothing," or as the Revised Version reads, "In nothing be anxious." The remainder of the verse tells us how, and it is very simple:

"But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." What could be plainer or more simple than that? Just keep in constant touch with God, and when any trouble or vexation, great or small, comes up, speak to Him about it, never forgetting to return thanks for what He has already done. What will the result be? "The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." (R.V.)

That is glorious, and as simple as it is glorious! Thank God, many are trying it. Don't you know any one who is always serene? Perhaps he is a very stormy man by his natural make-up, but troubles and conflicts and reverses and bereavements may sweep around him, and the peace of God which passed all understanding guards his heart and his thoughts in Christ Jesus.
We all know such persons. How do they manage it?

Just by prayer, that is all. Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passed all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.
Some of us let the hurry of our lives crowd prayer out, and what a waste of time and energy and nerve force there is by the constant worry! One night of prayer will save us from many nights of insomnia. Time spent in prayer is not wasted, but time invested at big interest.

9. The ninth reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER IS THE METHOD THAT GOD HIMSELF HAS APPOINTED FOR OUR OBTAINING THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Upon this point the Bible is very plain. Jesus says, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" (Luke 11:13.) Men are telling us in these days, very good men too, "You must not pray for the Holy Spirit," but what are they going to do with the plain statement of Jesus Christ,

"How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit TO THEM THAT ASK HIM?"

Acts 4:31
"'And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.'"

Acts 8:15
"'Who, when they were come down PRAYED for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.'"

It is plain as day in the Word of God that before Pentecost and after, the first baptism and the subsequent fillings with the Holy Spirit were received in answer to definite prayer. Experience also teaches this.

Doubtless many have received the Holy Spirit the moment of their surrender to God before there was time to pray, but how many there are who know that their first definite baptism with the Holy Spirit came while they were on their knees or faces before God, alone or in company with others, and who again and again since that have been filled with the Holy Spirit in the place of prayer!

I know this as definitely as I know that my thirst has been quenched while I was drinking water. If we would only spend more time in prayer, there would be more fullness of the Spirit's power in our work.

Many and many a man who once worked unmistakably in the power of the Holy Spirit is now filling the air with empty shoutings, and beating it with his meaningless gesticulations, because he has let prayer be crowded out. we must spend much time on our knees before God, if we are to continue in the power of the Holy Spirit.

10. The tenth reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer is that PRAYER IS THE MEANS THAT CHRIST HAS APPOINTED WHEREBY OUR HEARTS SHALL NOT BECOME OVERCHARGED WITH SURFEITING AND DRUNKENNESS AND CARES OF THIS LIFE, AND SO THE DAY OF CHRIST'S RETURN COME UPON US SUDDENLY AS A SNARE.

One of the most interesting and solemn passages upon prayer in the Bible is along this line. (Luke 21:34-36) "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell in the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and PRAY ALWAYS, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." According to this passage there is only one way in which we can be prepared for the coming of the Lord when He appears, that is, through much prayer.

The coming again of Jesus Christ is a subject that is awakening much interest and much discussion in our day; but it is one thing to be interested in the Lord's return, and to talk about it, and quite another thing to be prepared for it. We live in an atmosphere that has a constant tendency to unfit us for Christ's coming. The world tends to draw us down by its gratifications and by its cares. There is only one way by which we can rise triumphant above these things—by constant watching unto prayer, that is, by sleeplessness unto prayer.

"Watch" in this passage is the same strong word used in Eph 6:18, and "always" the same strong phrase "in every season." The man who spends little time in prayer, who is not steadfast and constant in prayer, will not be ready for the Lord when He comes. But we may be ready. How? Pray! Pray! Pray!

11. There is one more reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer, and it is a mighty one: BECAUSE OF WHAT PRAYER ACCOMPLISHES. Much has really been said upon that already, but there is much also that should be added.

(1) Prayer promotes our spiritual growth as almost nothing else, indeed as nothing else but Bible study; and true prayer and true Bible study go hand in hand.

It is through prayer that my sin is brought to light, my most hidden sin. As I kneel before God and pray, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me," (Ps 139:23-24), God shoots the penetrating rays of His light into the innermost recesses of my heart, and the sins I never suspected are brought to view. In answer to prayer, God washes me from mine iniquity and cleanses me from my sin (Ps 51:2). In answer to prayer my eyes are opened to behold wondrous things out of God's Word (Ps 119:18). In answer to prayer I get wisdom to know God's way (Jas 1:5) and strength to walk in it. As I meet God in prayer and gaze into His face, I am changed into His own image from glory to glory ( 2 Cor 3:18). Each day of true prayer life finds me liker to my glorious Lord.

John Welch, son-in-law to John Knox, was one of the most faithful men of prayer this world ever saw. He counted that day ill-spent in which seven or eight hours were not used alone with God in prayer and the study of His Word. An old man speaking of him after his death said, "He was a type of Christ."How came he to be so like his Master? His prayer life explains the mystery.

(2) Prayer brings power into our work.

If we wish power for any work to which God calls us, be it preaching, teaching, personal work, or the rearing of our children, we can get it by earnest prayer.

How many a Sunday-school teacher has taught for months and years, and seen no real fruit from his labors, and then has learned the secret of intercession, and by earnest pleading with God, has seen his scholars brought one by one to Christ! How many a poor preacher has become a mighty man of God by casting away his confidence in his own ability and gifts, and giving himself up to God to wait upon Him for the power that comes from on high! John Livingstone spent a night, with some others likeminded, in prayer to God and religious conversation, and when he preached next day in the Kirk of Shotts five hundred people were converted, or dated some definite uplift in their life to that occasion. Prayer and power are inseparable.

(3) Prayer avails for the conversion of others.

There are few converted in this world unless in connection with some one's prayers.
Prayer often avails where everything else fails. By prayer the bitterest enemies of the Gospel have become its most valiant defenders, the greatest scoundrels the truest sons of God, and the vilest women the purest saints. Oh, the power of prayer to reach down, down, down, where hope itself seems vain, and lift men and women up, up, up into fellowship with and likeness to God. It is simply wonderful! How little we appreciate this marvelous weapon!

(4) Prayer brings blessings to the church.

The history of the church has always been a history of grave difficulties to overcome. The devil hates the church and seeks in every way to block its progress; now by false doctrine, again by division, again by inward corruption of life. But by prayer, a clear way can be made through everything. Prayer will root out heresy, allay misunderstanding, sweep away jealousies and animosities, obliterate immoralities, and bring in the full tide of God's reviving grace. History abundantly proves this. In the hour of darkest portent, when the case of the church, local or universal, has seemed beyond hope, believing men and believing women have met together and cried to God and the answer has come.

It was so in the days of Knox, it was so in the days of Wesley and Whitfield, it was so in the days of Edwards and Brainerd, it was so in the days of Finney, it was so in the days of the great revival of 1857 in this country and of 1859 in Ireland, and it will be so again in your day and mine. Satan has marshalled his forces. Christian science with its false Christ. Others making great pretensions of apostolic methods, but covering the rankest dishonesty and hypocrisy with these pretensions speak with loud assurance. Christians equally loyal to the great fundamental truths of the Gospel are glowering at one another with a devil-sent suspicion. The world, the flesh and the devil are holding high carnival. It is now a dark day, BUT—now "it is time for Thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void Thy law." (Ps 119:126). And He is getting ready to work, and now He is listening for the voice of prayer.

Will He hear it?
Will He hear it from you?
Will He hear it from the church as a body?
I believe He will.

Amen
Pastor Manny

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT I AM REALLY FORGIVEN?
 
In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (sins), according to the riches of His grace.
Ephesians 1:7 (HCS)
 
The only way to truly know you are forgiven is to believe God’s Word. God has forgiven you based on what Christ did, not on what you do. Jesus Christ was the perfect God/man who died that we might be fully and completely forgiven of all our sins (past, present and future). Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not one sin was left out (except the sin of rejecting Him). When you trust in who Christ is and what He did, you receive the forgiveness His sacrifice provided.
 
Apart from God’s full forgiveness we could not have a relationship with Him and He could not come to live in us. Everyone in Christ lives in a forgiven state with God, 24/7. The Bible word for this is justification, which means God relates to us just as if we had never sinned.
 
And when you were dead in trespasses (sins) and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses (sins). He erased the
certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14
 
He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is His faithful love toward those who reverence Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:10-12
 
One reason we question God’s forgiveness is that we believe God has only forgiven our past sins and not our future sins. We mistakenly think that any new sins that we commit separate us from God once again and, therefore, assume that God is angry or disappointed with us. The truth is, when we receive Christ into our life, our forgiveness is a settled issue once and for all. The issue now is not forgiveness but understanding how Christ’s life within us can set us free from sin’s destructive power.
 
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!
Romans 5:10
 
So, go ahead and receive it! Agree with God and thank Him for His complete forgiveness. This is where freedom begins. You either believe God that you are forgiven or you are saying that Christ’s death on the cross was not sufficient to pay for your sins!
 
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud; your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:22
 
2. I HAVE CONFESSED MY SIN SO WHY DO I STILL FEEL SO GUILTY?
 
It could be you haven’t really accepted the fact of God’s total forgiveness. Maybe you believe that your past sins (before you accepted Christ) were forgiven but now it’s like you’re on parole with God. One mistake and you go back to being a prisoner (separated from God). The devil wants you to believe this lie so he can keep you enslaved to sin.
 
The truth is, since you gave your life to Christ, all your sins are already forgiven; past, present and future! God sees your entire life, from beginning to end. He is not shocked by your behavior! It’s like my favorite movie that I’ve watched so many times. I know what is going to happen. Because I know it has a good ending, I just enjoy watching the movie. This is how I see God watching my life unfold.
 
He knows the ending and He enjoys watching me mature in Him. We often beat ourselves up about our behavior and our sins. We feel burdened by the guilt and condemnation that we lay on ourselves! God has already seen and forgiven every sin.
 
I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions, for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:25
 
Another reason could be that you are basing your belief about God’s forgiveness on your feelings rather than on God’s word. Our emotions can’t discern the truth from a lie. They just respond to what we think. It’s dangerous to base truth on how we “feel”. Feelings come and go, but God’s truth never changes.
Make God’s Word the final word on what is true about you and your sins. Agree with God each time you are reminded of your sins, saying something like this: “Thank you Lord that this sin of _________________ was nailed to the cross and you paid for it completely. Thank you that you have forgiven me and you’ll never hold this sin against me ever again.”
 
There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1
 
3. WHAT DOES GOD REALLY THINK ABOUT ME?
 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. . . He made the One who did not know sin to
be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17, 21
 
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you . . .
Ezekiel 36:25-27a
 
And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Ephesians 4:24
 
To fully answer this question we need to understand what it means to be a new person in Christ. A Christian is not just someone who has been forgiven and is going to heaven someday. A Christian is one whose heart and spirit has been changed and who has the Holy Spirit (Christ) living in them. When God looks at you, He always sees the child that He deeply loves and adores. He sees your spirit that is perfect and holy.
 
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 10:14
 
Do you know what this verse means? It means that your salvation and transformation are 100% God’s work. We cannot boast one bit in our own efforts at being righteous and holy. Believing that God has made you righteous on the inside will free you to make the changes in your behavior.
 
So, put off the old beliefs you have about yourself and stop defining who you are by your behavior or feelings or by what others think. The truest thing about you is what God says. Freedom and transformation come from confessing (agreeing with God about) your true identity. Here are some other things God says about you:
 
Because I am in Christ and He lives in me, I am . . .
· God’s child – John 1:12; Romans 8:15-16; Galatians 4:6-7
· One Spirit with Christ – 1 Corinthians 6:17, 19; John 17:22
· Deeply and unconditionally loved by God – John 15:9; Romans 8:38-39;
· Accepted – Romans 15:7
· Totally Forgiven – Colossians 2:13-14
· Of great value and worth – Matthew 10:30-31; 1 Peter 1:18-19
· Adequate – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6; Philippians 4:13
· God Masterpiece – Ephesians 2:10
· Perfect and complete – Colossians 2:10
· Free from condemnation – Romans 8:1
· Holy and blameless – Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 1:22
· Never alone or forsaken – Hebrews 13:5b
· Indwelt by God’s Spirit – 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
· Precious in God’s sight – Isaiah 43:4
· Safe and secure – Psalm 32:7; Isaiah 43:1-3
· Chosen by God – 1 Peter 2:9
 
So, how does God see us when we sin? The same way; He sees His righteous child who is believing a lie and is allowing sin to dominate his/her thoughts and behavior. He sees you as one who loves God but struggles with sin; He does not see you as a sinner, struggling to love God.
 
4. WHY CAN’T I STOP DOING THIS?
 
For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.
Romans 7:19-20
 
A person I met on my blog believes that she needs a man in her life to feel valued and loved. Her desire for man’s affection has led her into all kinds of sexual sin. She loves God and she prays, but she cannot seem to stop or control her sexual sins/desires. She knows it is wrong and mistakenly believes that she should be able to control these desires and stop sinning, in her own strength.
 
A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true – even though it’s a lie (John 8:32).
 
You see, this person not only believes that she needs a man’s attention and affection; she believes she must deny herself this need. Only by replacing this lie with the truth that she is deeply loved and valued by God and by depending on Christ to be her source of love and strength can she begin to experience freedom from the temptation of sexual sin. If we could overcome the power of sin on our own, then Christ would not have had to come and die for us.
 
You see, our spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! You have a body, a soul (mind, will and feelings) and a spirit. Your spirit is NEW! However, you still have that old body and brain. It’s been programmed to live the lifestyle that is ungodly…right?? Our old lifestyle, habits and beliefs are like a default program in our brain. Whenever we believe a lie or depend on our own strength (the flesh), the old program comes into play.
 
She needs to realize that only Jesus can overcome the old program and set her free from indwelling sin. She needs to change her focus from trying to “not” sin to depending on Christ to live through her, moment by moment. The more she believes and experiences God’s unconditional love, the less likely she will be to try to get her needs met through others.
 
Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. Sure we may mess up, but eventually, believing what God says about our identity and our purpose will make a difference in the choices we make and how we live. In the meantime, it’s important to remember that God sees and knows your heart. Once you are His child, you are united with His spirit and nothing can separate you from His love or eternal Life.
 
One way you can know that your spirit has truly been changed, is by your new desires. Before Christ, you probably would not have even recognized your wrong behavior. But, now that Christ lives in you, you hate the sins with which you still struggle (Romans 7:19, 22).
 
For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to
the law of sin . . .
Romans 7:22-23a
 
You desire to be different. The problem is not that you want to do what is wrong, but that you think you can do what is right in your own strength. Only Jesus can overcome the power of sin that wages war against our mind (Romans 7: 17-25).
 
For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.
Romans 7:18
 
Our part is to put no confidence in our flesh (our human ability). Instead, we are to trust in Christ who lives in us and through us (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
 
5. WHY DOESN’T GOD SET ME FREE?
 
Do you believe that you cannot help but sin? God says that you are DEAD to sin and alive to Him! Many people believe that Christ died so they could be forgiven and go to heaven someday. But Christ’s death on the cross also provides, for us, victory over the power of sin (Romans 6:6). To experience freedom from sin, we must believe that it no longer has a hold on us because Christ is our source of life and strength.
 
For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin.
Romans 6:6
 
And I have been crucified with Christ; and I no loner live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
 
God uses our weaknesses and failures to cause us to trust only in Christ and not in ourselves. Our trials and brokenness lead us to realize that we cannot do this life on our own; we are not complete or capable, apart from Christ! As followers of Christ, we need to experience problems in order to bring us to the place of total surrender and dependence on Christ as our source of life. Everything we see as a problem, God sees as an opportunity to draw us to Him. God is more concerned about our relationship with Him than about our performance.
 
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in
weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
2 Corinthians 1:9
 
6. WHY DOESN’T GOD ANSWER MY PRAYERS?
 
God always answers our prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no, and sometimes not yet. God always answers with a yes, when we are asking for what He wants and He always wants what is best for us. Prayer is not about our changing God’s mind. It’s about God changing our mind so that we are in agreement with what He says is good and what He is doing.
 
This mom went through the drive-through with her kids and they were starving. They ordered some French fries, but when the order came, the fries were too hot to eat right away. The kids were screaming and crying, “Why won’t you give me the fries? I am starving Mom!” She knew that if She gave them the fries they could be hurt, not helped. When they cooled down, She passed them out. Maybe we haven’t gotten an answer to our prayer because the French fries are just too hot.
 
7. WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM ME?
 
The first and most important thing God wants is a relationship. Christ died for us to restore our relationship with God. With our sins paid for and taken out of the way, God puts His Spirit into us so that we can know and relate to Him 24/7. God desires an intimate relationship; one built on love and trust. He desires that we know Him as He truly is (John 17:3).
 
The second thing God wants is for you to depend on Him as your source for everything you need. You see, Christ gave His life for us, in order to give His life to us, so that He could live His life through us. All God desires from us is our willingness and availability so that He can express His life through us, as us. Your part is to simply take Him at His word (FAITH) and act on the fact that He is your life; your source of love, wisdom, righteousness, joy, peace, power, etc.
 
I am a father of 3 children. I have loved each one of them intimately and personally from the time they were born. I want to have an individual personal relationship with each one of them. Some days I want to scream and we have hard days. At the end of the day, my love for my kids hasn’t changed, in fact, it has grown.
 
This makes me think about how God’s love for me is so much greater and how He as my Father wants a relationship with me. Unlike me, God never loses his patience. He sees our intentions and is not frustrated by our immature behavior.
 
8. HOW CAN I BE FREE?
 
Believe that you already are free because God says so. Romans 6:6 says that our old self was crucified with Christ and that we have been freed from sin. It goes on to say that we are to count on this truth: we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Our believing this doesn’t make it true. Our believing that we are dead to sin simply allows us to experience it. We have already been set free from the law of sin and death. We simply need to agree with God about this in our thoughts. Any thought that is to the contrary, is a temptation from the enemy. Believing His lies brings us into bondage in our experience (not in our identity) and believing the truth is what sets us free (John 8:32)!
 
Imagine that you have been locked up in prison for ten years. The day comes that the guard unlocks the prison door and tells you that you’re free to go. But, it’s scary to think
about living in total freedom! Or maybe you just don’t feel worthy. The gate is open and you can leave, but, instead, you shut the gate and stay in the prison! God has set you
free – the gate is open. Will you step out in faith and trust God to live through you in your new-found freedom?
 
9. HOW DO I STOP LIVING OUT OF MY HURT?
 
Because we live in a fallen and broken world, all of us have been hurt by others and by life’s experiences. However, it is not our past that defines us, nor does it determine our future. Since we were crucified, buried and raised up with Christ, His history is our history and His future is our future. We no longer have to continue focusing on the hurts of our past. Our identity is not based on how others have treated us, but on what Christ did for us. Because Christ lives in us, we can forgive those who have wounded us. Whatever they did cannot harm us because our life is hidden in Christ. When we don’t forgive we only prolong our pain and make matters worse. Forgiveness is primarily for our benefit.
 
Forgiveness means not demanding that a person pay or make up for the wrong that they have done to you. Forgiveness cost God the death of His Son. God’s forgiveness is a gift we did not earn or deserve. Christ Jesus died on the cross to sufficiently pay for all the sins of the whole world. Jesus paid for all sins – those offenses between us and God and those sins between us and others. Since we’ve been forgiven, we are to pass forgiveness on to others. Forgiveness costs us all our demands that the person “pay for” or make right the wrong done to us. Forgiveness costs us any blame or judgment we might hold against them.
 
How to forgive:
 
1) Recognize and receive God’s personal love and forgiveness for you. (1 John 4:7-11, 16-19).
 
2) Write down a brief description of the event or offense. List each person who contributed to your hurt and the wrong you suffered from them.
 
 
3) Recognize that Christ is Lord, He is in control and thank Him for using even the most hurtful events in your life for your ultimate good (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:19-23)
 
4) Ask God to give you His perspective of the person. What is most important is not who or what offended you, but that you respond correctly to the situation or person. (Philippians 2:14-18; 4:4)
 
 
5) Recognize that bitterness is assuming a right we don’t have. Confess any sinful responses on your part. (Romans 12:17-20)
 
6) One-by-one, verbalize to God your decision to forgive each person. Yield your “right” to punish the person in any way. Trust God to deal with each one as He thinks best. By faith, (not feelings) choose to cancel their debt. Verbalize this choice to God. For example: “Lord, I choose to forgive, by faith, (name) for (offense). I trust You to change my feelings and wrong thoughts in Your time. I trust You to work this wrong done to me out for my good, in Your time. Thank you Jesus for freeing me from this offense and for healing my pain. Amen. Repeat this as necessary.
 
7) When you have completed working through each offense, write “PAID IN FULL” across your list and destroy it.
 
8) Cooperate with God in healing the offender’s life by returning good for evil (1Thessalonians 5:15; Romans 12:21). Ask God to help you see them the way He does and empower you to love them, unconditionally (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-38).
 
9) Thank God for each offense. Discern what benefits and character qualities God wants to develop in your life through the offense. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, Galatians 5:22-23).
 
10. I’VE CONFESSED, NOW WHAT?
 
Bringing your sin into the light is the first step in coming into agreement with God. What does it mean to come into agreement with God? It means that we agree with God on these points:
 
1. It means to agree with God about why your particular sin is wrong.
We agree with God that our sin is exactly that – sin! What is sin? It is missing the mark – the failure to reflect God’s love to others. It is living our lives independent of God.
 
2. It means to agree with God that this sin was nailed to the cross and God has totally and completely forgiven you. **
 
3. It means to agree with God that this sin does not define who you are.
God determines our identity by our relationship to Christ. If we have trusted in Christ, our spirit
has been made new and alive to God. Our human spirit is the deepest part of who we are and it allows us to know and relate to God, who is Spirit. Before coming to Christ, our spirit was dead to God and alive to sin. Now that we are in Christ, our spirit is dead to sin and alive to God. It has been made perfect and complete through Christ. We can’t just agree with God on the negative things – our sin and all the bad stuff. We have to know the promises; what God says about you and who you are as His child.
 
· Let’s get into agreement with God….
o I am a new person in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24)
o I am dead to sin and alive to God! (Romans 6:11; 8:2)
o I have the mind of Christ because His Spirit lives in me. (If you know something is wrong, it is God in you shining a light on what you are doing! Thank Him for giving you His mind and ask Him to guide you next time you are confronted with this sin/situation. Then, LISTEN and RESPOND!)
o I am a victorious overcomer – Through Christ I have already overcome this SIN! My body and mind might be still struggling with it, but this is NOT who I am in Christ! (I John. 4:4, Romans 8:37, 2 Corinthians 2:14)
 
4. It means to agree with God that Christ has set you free from sin and made you a slave of righteousness.
We agree with God that He is using this to grow us up, as well as, bring us closer to Him. The moment we became God’s child, He gave us all that we need to live free from sin’s destructive power!
 
5. Agree with who God says you are in Christ. The truest thing about us is what God says. Not our past or our behavior. Not what others think or say about us. Because our spirit has been joined to Christ, we have been given His righteousness. Our spirit is always in agreement with God and desires to do right. Jesus said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Our “flesh” is our old way of doing life in our own strength. We are not to judge our self or others by their flesh. Everyone in Christ is a righteous and holy person.
 
6. Confide in someone about your struggle and ask them to pray in agreement with you concerning your freedom. Ask this person to keep reminding you of your decision to agree with God about who you are and your freedom in Christ.
 
7. Seek to grow in the knowledge of God’s grace and all that is yours in Christ. This can be done through the personal study of God’s Word, by reading books or listening to messages that focus on your new identity in Christ, and joining a Group that will encourage your spiritual transformation.

Question: How do I get rid of a Jezebel spirit?

When I first wrote this in 2009 I was asked the question, 

How do I get rid of a Jezebel spirit?

Here is the answer that I gave.

Whether a Jezebel spirit is in an individual or an entire church, the method for treatment is the same emphasize everything that this spirit is not, create a spiritual environment that this spirit cannot function in and it will be repelled. 

In order to do this we must understand what this spirit is all about.

The spirit of Jezebel is a counterfeit of the true bride of Christ. It operates with a veneer of Christianity, but it is the exact opposite of the Truth as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.

This spirit is of the world and loves the world and in its guise of “spirituality” seeks to seduce the church into union with the world. The spirit of Jezebel is the spirit of compromise. This description is defined for us in
Revelation 2:20 by Jesus himself is the following

20 Never the less I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

Jezebel teaches her followers to “eat things sacrificed to idols,” which means that the ones whose minds are blinded by this spirit can no longer discern between what is clean and unclean. Sexual sin usually follows in the wake of this deception.

The cross may be part of this spirit’s vocabulary, but there is no real understanding of the atonement and repentance, which is the Biblical means of appropriating grace, is non-existent in Jezebel’s theology, or it is greatly diminished.

In order to overcome this spirit, the church must return to the simplicity of the first century emphasis, which is

1. Repentance – a true, Biblical repentance that teaches that a believer must be willing to turn from his sin.

2. Holiness – We must be willing to submit to Christ and allow His Spirit to conform us to His image.

3. Separation – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever. I John 2:15-17.

The Jezebel spirit abhors absolutes, and the goal of this spirit is to eventually eradicate the absolute authority of the word of God which affirms that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Encounters with this spirit can sometimes result in oppression and depression and an overwhelming sense of wanting to give up. 

This was evident in Elijah's spiritual attack after his victory in eradicating Jezebel's prophets (I Kings 19:2 -4). 

2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

In spiritual warfare like this it is always important to bind spirits of retaliation and destruction. These retaliations occur more frequently when we are tired and not eating properly. It has been my experience in attacks like this, that the oppression leaves quickly when the source is recognized as a Jezebel spirit and rebuked in the name of Jesus.

The Jezebel spirit will be the prevailing spirit in the church in the last days and God is calling His remnant out of her embrace.

In Revelation sixteen and seventeen we are shown Babylon as both a city (the world system) and the compromised Jezebel infected church and they are judged as one. Jezebel’s children are judged as the world is judged, because they have refused to separate themselves from the things that the Lord hates.

It is up to those who proclaim to know Christ to discern this spirit and cast it out. As Jehu cried – “Who is on my side? Who?” (II Kings 9:32,33) the eunuchs obeyed Jehu’s commanded to “throw her down” and Jezebel was cast out from within and destroyed. The Lord is crying out to us as the voice of Jehu “Who is on My side?” 

And those who can hear His voice, will cast the spirit of Jezebel out of the sanctuary of our hearts and our churches.

Amen.

Pastor Manny

The Sovereignity of God

CHAPTER 1—GOD'S
SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the
victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is
Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD,and Thou art exalted as Head above all" (1
Chron. 29:11).

The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood.
It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently
expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts,
and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But, today, to make
mention of God's Sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown
tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our
discourse would be the Sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we
had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it should be
so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of
Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian
theology should be so sadly neglected and so little understood.

The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the
supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is
Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to
declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of
Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand
or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Daniel
4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty,
the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His
counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psalms
115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor
among the nations" (Psalms
22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the
course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to
declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1
Timothy 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.

How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The
conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who
profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous
travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless,
effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God
of the popular mind is the creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a
present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.
To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God
the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that
God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter
of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen
are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the
Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that
God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but
there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to
save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to
insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the
creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not
remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan
is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.

To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to
dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that
He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the
Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free
moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the
power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of
Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the bounds assigned by his
Creator, and that God is now practically a helpless Spectator before the sin and
suffering entailed by Adam's fall, is to repudiate the express
declaration of Holy Writ, namely, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee:
the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain" (Psa.
76:10). In a word, to deny the Sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path
which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.

The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite.
When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the
universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that
His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that
clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one
vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule
or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto
Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to
any.

Sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God. He is Sovereign in all His
attributes. He is Sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is
exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is
evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be
dormant, and then it is put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder
Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness—what happened? God
exercised His power, His people were delivered and their cruel task-masters
slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites
in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this
occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of
His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord
swore that He would "have war with Amalek from generation to generation"
(Exo. 17:16).
Again, when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God's power was signally
displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress—what happened? Israel did
not draw a bow nor strike a blow: the Lord stretched forth His hand and the
walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell
after this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!

Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the Sovereign exercise of
God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His power and David was
delivered from Goliath, the giant; the mouths of the lions were closed and
Daniel escaped unhurt; the three Hebrew children were cast into the burning
fiery furnace and came forth unharmed and unscorched. But God's power did not
always interpose for the deliverance of His people, for we read: "And
others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds
and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb.
11:36, 37). But why? Why were not these men of faith delivered like the
others? Or, why were not the others suffered to be killed like these? Why should
God's power interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to
be stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?

God is Sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God
endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his
contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other
human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, "But thou shalt remember the
Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut.
8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He
given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of
these questions is, Because God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He
pleases.

God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for
mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to
which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He
pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no
one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are
those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin, hence the
miserable are deserving of punishment not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is
a contradiction of terms.

God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good
unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that
God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar
circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of
disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire
gratified? No; he told Israel, "The LORD was wroth with me for your sakes,
and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut.
3:26). Now mark the second case: "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto
death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him,
Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech
Thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a
perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept
sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that
the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the
captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I
have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on
the third day thou shalt go unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy
days fifteen years" (2
Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves,
and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord
would not hear me," and died; but to the other it was said, "I have heard thy
prayer," and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of
the truth expressed in
Romans 9:15!—"For
He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

The Sovereign exercise of God's mercy—pity shown to the wretched—was
displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one
illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda where lay "a great multitude of
impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water."
Among this "great multitude" there was "a certain man which had an infirmity
thirty and eight years." What happened? "When Jesus saw him He, and knew that he
had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made
whole? The impotent man answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is
troubled, to put me into the pool: but when I am coming, another steppeth down
before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And
immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John
5:3-9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not
told that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the
narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which
entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a case of the Sovereign
exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole
of that "great multitude" as this one "certain man." But He did not. He put
forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer,
and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the
others. Again, we say, what an illustration and exemplification of
Romans 9:15!—"I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion."

God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ah! that is a hard
saying, who then can receive it? It is written, "A man can receive nothing,
except it be given him from Heaven" (John
3:27). When we say that God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love, we
mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody; if He did, He
would love the Devil. Why does not God love the Devil? Because there is nothing
in him to love; because there is nothing in him to attract the
heart of God. Nor is there anything to attract God's love in any of the
fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are, by nature, "children of wrath"
(Eph. 2:3). If
then there is nothing in any member of the human race to attract God's love, and
if, not withstanding, He does love some, then it necessarily
follows that the cause of His love must be found in Himself, which is only
another way of saying that the exercise of God's love towards the fallen sons of
men is according to His own good pleasure.

In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must he traced back
to His Sovereignty or, otherwise, He would love by rule; and if He loved by
rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law of love then
is He not supreme, but is Himself ruled by law. "But," it may be asked, "Surely
you do not deny that God loves the entire human family?" We reply, it is
written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom.
9:13). If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that before they were
born or had done either good or evil, then the reason for His love was not in
them, but in Himself.

That the exercise of God's love is according to His own Sovereign pleasure is
also clear from the language of
Ephesians 1:3-5,
where we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure
of His will." It was "in love" that God the Father predestined His chosen ones
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, "according"—according
to what? According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then?
According to what He foresaw they would become? No; mark carefully the inspired
answer—"According to the good pleasure of His will."

We are not unmindful of the fact that men have invented the distinction
between God's love of complacency and His love of compassion, but this is an
invention pure and simple. Scripture terms the latter God's "pity" (see
Matt. 18:33),
and "He is kind unto the unthankful and the evil" (Luke
6:35)!

God is Sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for grace
is favor shown to the undeserving, yea, to the Hell-deserving. Grace is the
antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial enforcement of law. Justice
requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less.
Justice bestows no favors and is no respecter of persons. Justice, as such,
shows no pity and knows no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied,
grace flows forth. Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but
"grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom.
5:21), and if grace "reigns," then is grace Sovereign.

Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God. ; and if unmerited,
then none can claim it as their inalienable right. If grace is unearned and
undeserved, then none are entitled to it. If grace is a gift, then none can
demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the free gift of God, then He
bestows it on whom He pleases. Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of
sinners is not beyond the reach of Divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace,
boasting is excluded and God gets all the glory.

In a remarkable manner Divine grace was exercised at the time of the
Saviour's birth. The incarnation of God's Son was one of the greatest events in
the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence was not made known to
all mankind; instead, it was specially revealed to the Bethlehem shepherds and
wise men of the East. And this was prophetic and indicative of the entire course
of this dispensation, for even today Christ is not made known to all. It would
have been an easy matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every
nation and to have announced the birth of His Son. But He did not. God could
have readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the "star"; but He did
not. Why? Because God is Sovereign and dispenses His favors as He pleases. Note
particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the Saviour was made known,
namely, the most unlikely classes—illiterate shepherds and heathen from a far
country. No angel stood before the Sanhedrin and announced the advent of
Israel's Messiah! No "star" appeared unto the scribes and lawyers as they, in
their pride and self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures! They searched
diligently to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to
them when He was actually come. What a display of Divine Sovereignty—the
illiterate shepherds singled out for peculiar honor, and the learned and eminent
passed by! And why was the birth of the Saviour revealed to these foreigners,
and not to those in whose midst He was born? See in this a wonderful
foreshadowing of God's dealings with our race throughout the entire Christian
dispensation—Sovereign in the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favors on
whom He pleases, often on the most unlikely and unworthy.

It has been pointed out to us that God's Sovereignty was signally displayed
in His choice of the place where His Son was born. Not to Greece or Italy did
the Lord of Glory come, but to the insignificant land of Palestine! Not in
Jerusalem—the royal city—was Immanuel born, but in Bethlehem, which was "little
among the thousands (of towns and villages) in Judah" (Micah
5:2)! And it was in despised Nazareth that He grew up!! Truly, God's ways
are not ours.

—Sovereignty Of God, The

Book of Romans Teaching

"THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

Chapter One

OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER

1) To be impressed with the all-sufficiency of the gospel

2) To see how God's wrath may be directed toward our society today

SUMMARY

As is the custom in most of his epistles, Paul begins by extending
greetings and offering thanks. Identifying himself as a bond-servant
of Christ, he mentions his apostleship and its mission in the gospel of
God concerning His Son: to bring about the obedience of faith among
all the Gentiles (1-6). Addressing the recipients of his epistle as
"all who are beloved in Rome, called as saints," he extends to them the
popular two-fold greeting of that day: "grace" and "peace" (7). He is
thankful for their well-known faith and reveals his desire to visit
Rome and to proclaim the gospel there (8-13). The motivation behind
that desire is his sense of obligation and bold conviction that the
gospel is God's power to save (14-17).

The mention of "salvation" naturally leads to the need for all men to
be saved. Paul begins to demonstrate this need on the part of the
Gentiles. He explains that because of the Gentiles' failure to
acknowledge the eternal power and divine nature of God as revealed in
the world around them, and for their subsequent pride and idolatry,
they were therefore exposed to God's wrath from heaven (18-23). This
wrath manifested itself in God simply letting them reap the fruits of
their vanity. By giving them over "to uncleanness, in the lusts of
their hearts," "to vile passions," and "to a debased mind," the result
was such corruption that even those who knew better were caught in its
clutches (24-32).

OUTLINE (adapted from Jim McGuiggan)

I. INTRODUCTION & THEME (1-17)

A. CONCERNING PAUL (1-5)
1. His place in life: servant & apostle (1)
2. His story in life: the gospel of Christ (2-4)
3. His purpose in life: to produce obedience based on faith (5)

B. CONCERNING THE ROMANS (6-15)
1. Paul's description of them (6-7)
2. Paul's report of them (8)
3. Paul's deep desire to visit them (9-10)
4. Paul's reason and eagerness to visit them (11-15)

C. CONCERNING THE GOSPEL (16-17)
1. Its respectability: nothing to be ashamed of (16a)
2. Its nature: the power of God (16b)
3. Its aim: salvation (16c)
4. Its scope: for everyone who believes (16d)
5. Its content: the revelation of God's righteousness through
faith (17)

II. THE GENTILES' NEED OF SALVATION (18-32)

A. WICKED MAN DISHONORING GOD (18-23)
1. Wicked man stifling God's revealed truth (18-19)
2. Wicked man despising the testimony of nature (20)
3. Wicked man ungrateful and foolish (21-22)
4. Wicked man given to idolatry (23)

B. HOLY GOD "GIVING UP" ON WICKED MAN (24-32)
1. Giving them up to disgusting uncleanness (24-25)
2. Giving them up to lesbianism and homosexuality (26-27)
3. Giving them up to debased minds and all unrighteousness
(28-32)

WORDS TO PONDER

gospel - literally, "good news;" in the NT it denotes the good tidings
of the kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ (VINE)

grace - "favor, goodwill, lovingkindness;" as used in reference to
God's favor toward man, it's freeness is stressed; i.e.,
unmerited favor

faith - "trust, conviction;" produced by God's Word (Ro 10:17), it
expresses itself through obedience and love (Ro 1:5; Ga 5:6)

power - from the Greek word dunamis (from which derives "dynamite");
"strength, ability"

righteousness of God - 1) God doing that which is right (cf. Ro 3:25-
26); or 2) God's way of making one right with
Him (related to the concept of "justification,"
declaring one to be "not guilty;" cf. Ro 4:6-8)

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER

1) List the two main points of this chapter


2) How was Jesus declared to be the Son of God? (4)


3) What was the objective of Paul's apostleship? (5)


4) Why did Paul want to go to Rome? (11-12)


5) To whom was Paul obligated? (14)


6) What is God's power to save? (16)


7) Why is it God's power to save? (17)


8) What two invisible attributes of God are revealed in nature? (20)


9) How does God express His wrath? (24,26,28)


10) What one sin in particular is an indication that God's wrath toward
man is in full force? (26,27)