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A Prayer God Must Answer

A PRAYER GOD MUST ANSWER

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

FEBRUARY 15, 2009

Although there is an awful lot of horrible evidence of its existence, the vast majority of people are completely blind as to what is actually taking place all around them. I don’t know about you, but whenever I attempt to lovingly clue someone in about this awful fact, I’m usually politely dismissed as being another poor deluded soul. People may not vocalize their thoughts, but I can sense this is pretty much what is going through their minds, and so can you. The fact that there is a fierce unrelenting spiritual war raging throughout the entire world; a war led by an invisible being and his cosmic forces of darkness is a reality billions of people refuse to consider. God’s Word describes their awful plight.

4 “… the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18 (ESV)

Jesus also graphically described the magnitude of this spiritual darkness.

23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:23 (ESV)

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 (ESV)

The Apostle John opened his Gospel by calling attention to this horrible fact of our world being engulfed in spiritual darkness.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 (ESV)

Spiritual darkness has engulfed the entire world since the fall. For instance, consider the following passages referring to Old Testament unbelievers.

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; Psalms 82:5 (ESV)

19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. Proverbs 4:19 (ESV)

You folks know I’m constantly praising God for having given us His Word which is like a light illuminating our feet so we don’t stumble as we make our way through this dark sin infested world on our way to our real home. Did you happen to notice what the primary targets of those cosmic forces of evil are? It’s contained in the fourth verse of 2 Corinthians four which I quoted a moment ago concerning unbelievers:

4 “…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning’s and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), 6 Being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (AMP)

3 But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 (AMP)

Satan will do everything he possibly can to prevent people from seeing the light and learning the truth of the Gospel. Lies, distortions, half-truths, deception, Scripture twisting and such are his most powerful weapons. They are like Scud missiles locked on the unsuspecting minds of human beings. He is relentless in his vicious attacks on our mind. That’s a horrifying reality and the vast majority of the world’s inhabitants are completely oblivious of it. However, the Bible tells us about a wonderful event which occurred a little more than two thousand years ago; the kingdom of God invaded the kingdom of darkness. Speaking of John the Baptist, the Apostle John in his Gospel reveals this incredible supernatural event.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace, John 1:6-16 (ESV).

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 (ESV)

Here’s another way of describing “The Great Commission” and the impact Christians are commanded to have on the world. We Christians ought to be ashamed of ourselves when we don’t take this command as seriously as we ought.

47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ” ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Acts 13:47 (ESV)

15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, Philippians 2:15 (ESV)

5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 (ESV)

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light Ephesians 5:8 (ESV)

Oh how heartbreaking it must be to Him during those times you and I don’t walk as children of light. We return to the darkness each and every time we sin, and we ought to be deeply ashamed of ourselves. For instance, consider those Christians who have not gotten rid of their anger before the sun went down. By their disobedience they opened the floodgates of their mind which enabled the evil spirits of bitterness, resentment and hatred to come gushing in, (Ephesians 6:26-27). You can’t help noticing that chronically angry, bitter and resentful professed Christians have very little complimentary things to say about other people, especially Christians. And the demons of darkness must be applauding their disgraceful witness.

11 But, whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.1 John 2:11 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul constantly reminded those early Christians to get rid of the deeds of darkness and instead put on the armor of light.

12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, Romans 13:12 (ESV).

The divinely inspired author of the letter to the Hebrew Christians ended it with the following prayer on their behalf. 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen, Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV).

With the help of some ideas I got from one of my favorite authors, Arthur W. Pink, in his outstanding Exposition of Hebrews, I would like to elaborate on verse 21 which says: “equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in [all of] us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” There’s a stark contrast in the walk of those who have been blinded by Satan and are walking in his kingdom of darkness compared to those whom God has mercifully plucked out of it and placed in the kingdom of light. What I’m about to say next may appear as though I’m digressing but please stay with me because I assure you I’m not. We have been blessed to live in a country in which there are many benevolent people who truly care about each other. Some of them are professing Christians. They go out of their way to do all sorts of wonderful deeds for our less fortunate neighbors. Many are involved in soup-kitchens, emergency shelters for battered women and the homeless. Others generously donate their time, energy and finances in order to provide free dental or medical care. Flat tires are repaired, and break lights are often replaced at no cost to a needy neighbor. All these wonderful deeds are great blessings to financially strapped people.

Although these men and women are highly esteemed by folks in the community, I can’t help wondering how many of them are viewed by Jesus as those of the ancient Pharisees about whom He said: “that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God, (Luke 16:15 KJV). “Without faith it is impossible to please him, (Hebrews 11:6 ESV). We must ask ourselves how these so called good deeds are viewed in Gods eyes. In other words, are their deeds pleasing to His sight? We must evaluate these good works with the light of His Word. That’s our “rule of thumb,” so to speak. We must ascertain whether or not they are in conformity with whatever He has commanded in His Word. If they aren’t, then they are regarded as evil regardless of the blessing folks received by them. For instance, if He has revealed something He wants us to do and we don’t do it, that work is evil. “Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever, Jeremiah 35:5-6 (ESV). The New Testament records the account of Peter and John rattling cages when they insisted that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” Acts 4:12 (ESV). They were brought before the council who warned them not to speak anymore about Jesus. But Peter and John responded by saying: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19-20 (ESV)

This kind of faith is the exact opposite of what worldly logic and common sense concludes. God often presents His children with all sorts of difficult challenges to demonstrate to them the quality of their faith and how much they trust Him regardless of circumstances. For instance, Larry, Guy and I each spend countless hours devoted to study and lots of fervent prayer, pleading with Him to help us craft sermons which we beg Him to turn into a huge blessing for you folks who sometimes only number a half dozen people such as this morning. I know I speak for each of these men when I say that we consider it a divinely ordained honor and privilege to preach the Gospel. We are firmly convinced and you folks have affirmed our calling that He has equipped us with whatever we need to impart spiritual truth to you. We know without a shadow of doubt it is He who is working in us to do His will, (Hebrews 13:21). We also readily acknowledge that He is the One who inclines and enables us to walk by faith and not by sight regardless of the number of people who hear our sermons preached.

Another thing I would like to call your attention to is the fact that the prayer to the Hebrew Christians was not made on behalf of Christian preachers, but rather to folks such as you. It was a heartfelt plea to almighty God to “Equip you with everything good that you may do His will, [He is] working in [each of] you with everything good to do what is pleasing in His sight.” However, the fact of the matter is that neither you nor any other Christian, including preachers, can do this. Even though we may struggle to glorify Him in our every thought, word and deed and love Him with all of our mind and heart and soul and strength, and regardless of the fact that His love has been shed aboard in our hearts; we can’t do this. It’s impossible! Now look carefully at the next two words in that verse which tells us how we can. They say: “in Christ.” It is only through Christ that we can do anything which is pleasing in His sight. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing! We must humble ourselves before Him and beg Him to provide us with whatever it is we need in order to do everything He has revealed through the Scriptures which He wants us to do.

He has taken us out of the kingdom of darkness and placed us in the kingdom of light. We must always remember that He has rescued us from being held hostage by Satan and his cohorts. Those cosmic slime-balls are no longer working in us as they formally were. They have been evicted and replaced by the Holy Spirit who lives in every child of the one true God. It is Almighty God Himself who is in us and who is inclining us to do everything which is pleasing in His sight. This is not something which comes naturally which even a spiritual giant such as the great Apostle Paul readily acknowledged. “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. Romans 7:9-16 (ESV)

And remember our new nature is being renewed by Jesus day by day, (2 Corinthians 4:16). We must also test the spirits with the light of the Word to ascertain who it really is that is inclining us to do that which is pleasing in His sight. Is it Satan, or Jesus Christ? In other words, “each of us must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, (Philippians 4:12), and not allow Satan to con us into deceiving ourselves.

Finally, don’t ever forget to remember that we are in an invisible ruthless spiritual war and we must fight in it with all of our mind, and heart and soul and, in total dependence upon the Lord for the strength. We must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;” “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, Ephesians 6:10-16; 18 (ESV). Those flaming darts are headed right at your mind. Unless you take up your shield of faith and extinguish them, they will materialize in your mind with all sorts of troublesome thoughts such as, “What if,” “suppose this happens” “it’s too late,” “this will be the end,” “it’s hopeless,” “there’s nothing you can do.”

Ah but there is. You can take up your shield of faith and pray up a fierce storm. You can pray in such a way that God must give you whatever it is you are begging Him for. If might sound something like this: “Father, You know I’m being bombarded with all sorts of demonic thoughts by Your enemy. You know they are trying to tempt me not to trust You in this particular set of awful circumstances, each of which I know that on the other side of eternity You planned, ordained and predestined me to experience. These evil spirits are bugging me something awful, trying to convince me to quit and give up the fight. Why they’re even trying to con me into believing I should withdraw from fellowshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Apostle Paul reminded me there is strength in numbers and that I should not even consider “…forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, Hebrews 10:25 (AMP). Those demons are want me to forget the fact that I’m aware of the fact the Roman solder’s often locked their shields together to deflect those flaming arrows. But Father, You know it’s during those times when I’m all alone with my thoughts that I’m ferociously attacked the most. You also know I sincerely don’t want to sin against You Father by not trusting You regardless of what’s occurring in my life; but I’m so weak. Actually, I’m powerless! But we also both know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Please Father, please. I’m begging You to please help me overcome this temptation to sin against You by not trusting You durring this very difficult challenge. I’m pleading this in the Name of the One You and I know is my great High Priest, the One who at this very moment is also interceding with you on my behalf. Amen.”

And Father, I humbly ask You to please make this message a special blessing to each of the folks who just heard it preached and to many who may read it later. I also ask this in the Name of Your Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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February 15, 2009 Posted by Categories: Uncategorized 2 comments

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