Lord Invade our Prayer Meetings

If you want to know how popular the Church is - go there on sunday mornings.
If you want to know how popular the Preacher is - go to the church on sunday evenings.
If you want to know how popular God is - go to the Prayer meeting.

- Leonard Ravenhill

Where are the martyrs?

I guess the reason why the coming of the Lord is delayed is found in the book of Revelation. Read ch6 : 9 - 11. Here the souls of the martyrs are asking the reason for the delay and the answer is given in verse 11. It says that the number of martyrs to be slaughtered have to be completed. The second coming is delayed because not enough people have died as martyrs for Christ. It is us who are delaying His coming. Enough martyrs haven’t been martyred. Enough people have not laid down their lives for God. It’s the battle cry. Why is our victory delayed? Enough people haven’t laid down lives for Christ. Have we become comfortable here. Have we diluted the Gospel to such an extent that the same world, that hounded the 1st century Christians to their graves, is not offended by us (supposedly following the same Christ) today. Why is that? Have we compromised our lives? Have we compromised our message? The first martyr was a deacon (Stephen). He was not even an apostle. He was not a missionary. He was a deacon in the church. Where are the deacons who would preach untill they are stoned. What are we doing today? Where have we gone wrong?

Preoccupied with Public Opinion

We are very often preoccupied with what others would think of us. We are afraid of Public Opinion. More often than not this gets us down. We could dream heroics for God but when it comes down to doing it we are paralyzed with fear of public opinion. One reason why we still walk the streets of mediocrity is that we are afraid of public opinion. Did Noah worry about public opinion? Did Isaiah wear shorts when he was commanded to preach naked? Did Jeremiah shy away when he was asked to wear a yoke on his neck as accessory to his pulpit attire? Paul says the world is crucified to him and he to the world (Gal6:14). Do not confirm to the pattern of this world (Rom12:2). If the world is crucified to you, you wouldn’t care what your friends think of you for praying all the time. You wouldn’t care what the people would think if you shared Gospel to them. You cannot beat mediocrity confirming to the world. You have to be radical. You have to let go of your inhibitions. You have to be branded crazy. Jesus was. The world’s opinion doesn’t count on the final day. Think eternity.

Let’s pray that our reputation dies today and has a funeral. Unless we die to ourselves and yield like a mass of clay on the potter’s wheel we will not be of any good.