Dying to Program

Today we are preoccupied with ourselves and our programs. We are so into thinking of what we can do that we miss out on what God can do. We are looking to impress. We are looking for recognition. Brother, if there is no fire in your preaching and if there’s no power in your singing then its time you packed your bags and waited upon God. God is not interested in your program. God is not interested in your organization. God is interested in the lost. We have men living beyond their vision. We have men holding on to office. No wonder most churches are dead. No wonder there are crowds but no God.

Just like in the Laodecian church (of Revelation) God is standing outside and knocking. He is not inside but outside. Today we are interested in our programs. We pray for gadgets and power supply. We pray for favourable weather conditions. We pray for the musicians and preachers. But alas we take it for granted that God will be there. No wonder we have good musicians and bigger crowds and NO God.

We are interested in our organizations. We take great pains in building dynasties at the expense of fire. We make plans with the organization in mind. Holy Spirit’s leading is nowhere in our agenda. Leonard Ravenhill used to say that “No man can live beyond his vision”. Yes, look at John the Baptist. After a training of 20 long years in the desert his ministry was just for six months. He was the best preacher in town. He was the voice of God after almost 400 years of silence. Crowds came from all over the place to hear him. He even attracted the Pharisees, spiritual superiors of the time. They even wondered if he was the Christ. Did he try to set up an organization? No, instead he introduced Jesus to his disciples (Joh1:37). Did he try to establish his baptism? No, instead he spoke about Jesus’ baptism (Matt3:11). He accomplished his mission and got out of the way. Look at him say this in John3:30 ”He (Christ) must become greater; I must become less.” That’s dying to program brother.

Paul says “for me to live is Christ..”. His ambition was Christ. It was not his ministry but Christ. Not his writing career but Christ. Not his preaching but Christ. Not his church but Christ. Here’s a man completely sold out. Give me one man surrendered such. We ought to be ashamed at ourselves. I am.

Prayer

I don't know how many times I must have read these lines, but it pricks me every time. It makes my eyes go moist and makes me look for a place to pray. When in office it makes me long for the prayer closet. I wish it does the same thing for you.

Excerpts from the book 'Why Revival Tarries' by Leonard Ravenhill...

The Cinderella of the church of today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with the pearls of intellectualism, nor glamourous with the silks of philosophy; neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel! No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shopwindow to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off. When a man who has crept along for years in conventional Christianity suddenly zooms into spiritual alertness, becomes aggressive int he battle of the Lord, and has a quenchless zeal for the lost, there is a reason for it. (But we are so subnormal these days that the normal New Testament experience seems abnormal.) The secret of this "jet-propelled fellow" we have just mentioned is that somewhere he has had Jacob-like wrestling with God and has come out stripped, but also "strengthened by the Holy Ghost!"

The secret of praying is praying in secret. A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning. We are beggared and bankrupt, but not broken, nor even bent.

Prayer is profoundly simple and simply profound. 'Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try', and yet so sublime that it outranges all speech and exhausts mans vocabulary. A Niagara of burning words does not mean that God is either impressed or moved. One of the most profound of Old Testament intercessors had no language - 'Her lips moved, BUT HER VOICE WAS NOT HEARD. No linguist here ! There are groanings that cannot be uttered.

Are we so substandard in New Testament Christianity that we know not the historical faith of our fathers (with its implications and operations), but only the hysterical faith of our fellows ?

Prayer is to the believer what capital is to the business man.

Can any deny that in the modern church setup the main cause of anxiety is money? Yet that which tries the modern churches the most, troubled the New Testament Church the least. Our accent is on paying, theirs was on praying. When we have paid, the place is taken; when they had prayed, the place was shaken !

In the matter of New Testament, Spirit-inspired, hell-shaking, world-breaking prayer, never has so much been left by so many to so few.

For this kind of prayer there is no substitute. We do it - or die !

Sold Out to God!

One reason why we don’t yet see men being used as Paul was used is that we are still preoccupied with some petty stuff rather than being sold out to God completely. Paul says in Galatians 6:17 that he is branded for Christ. Read IICorinthians 11:25-29. Look at the man’s back who bore flogging and beating. See the scars from the stoning he endured. Look at his frail body that has weathered many a shipwreck. Look at him kneeling there hungry and cold yet praying for the churches that they may be strong. Can anyone be more surrendered to God? Can anyone burn with more passion? Can anyone overflow with more love? No wonder Paul was known in hell and the demons were terrified (Read Acts 19:15). Paul died to his preoccupations when he came to Christ. Paul died to his personality when he was led as a blind man to Damascus where he waited for Ananias to come and heal his eyes. Paul died to public opinion when his conversion made headlines in Damascus. He died to security when he preached the gospel that made his own countrymen conspire against him. Paul’s only aim was that Christ be preached. He had no personal agenda. Paul died to fame. Look at him preach to the top socialites of his time King Agrippa, Bernice and Festus. The sophisticated King Agrippa was so moved that he was afraid he’d become a Christian. Is our preaching so passionate or is it trying to impress people. We are mired in mediocrity because we are reluctant to die to our preoccupations. I sincerely pray that I go to my own funeral every day. Amen!

God Is Raising A Remnant

Yesterday was a glorious day. I went to this camp-fire event organized by the local CSI church youth group. It was a fun event and I went there reluctantly as I did not fit in with the crowd. The final event in the agenda was a small sharing time. A brother shared from the Bible and his own life. After this he starts praying.... And there is an immense anointing of the spirit. I was shocked with this as it was a 'CSI' youth group. The Presbyterians are not usually gung ho about the Pentecost experience. Here was a small presbyterian group praying in the Holy Spirit and some speaking in tongues. For some time now I have been praying for the anointing. Today, though wanting to be anointed, I was quite skeptic at first and thought God would work in a different way in me. I was not totally convinced of the violent shaking experience that some were having that day. I wanted some thing clean and neat. But I was wrong. To hell with my ideas. As the praying session wore on one of the brothers who were leading stopped and turned right towards me (closing his eyes) and said that God was telling him of a young man who was having doubts about what was happening. I was amazed at this and was hell sure it was me. My doubts vanished that moment and I asked to be filled. Shaken violently and pleading for the fire to come down on me then and there, I was anointed. Glorious anointing. A very bad day for hell. A tragedy for satan.

God is raising a remnant in unexpected places. To hell with our sophisticated ways. God is looking for men who would be totally sold out to him. If you come to him you are risking personality, pedigree and public opinion. If the Pentecostals are pre-occupied with prosperity and hero worship God will raise fire-brands from unexpected places. He is doing that in South India. While the pentecostals are busy with building bigger buildings and praying for blessings there is a small remnant scattered seeking revival. An unimpressive bunch who are not after blessing but burning. A group of ordinary men who are seeking fire rather than power. A league of prophets who would not tickle your ear but kindle the fire.

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.