The Crossing

"One day, Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's cross to the other side of the lake.'...As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"
Luke 8:22-24

When the storms of life rush in, pray. Dust covered systems and bloated bureaucracies are no substitute for the power and authority of Jesus. Systems should never overshadow the Savior. Putting your faith in a system to see you through a crisis only leads to disappointment. Trusting in Jesus, in the face of a crisis, sees you through to the other side.

"When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, 'Where is your faith?' "
Luke 8:25

Perfunctory prayer is powerless over a crisis. Panicked praying is often a step towards believing prayer. Believing prayer is a powerful weapon of warfare in the hands of a seasoned prayer warrior.

Jesus knows the difference, between going through the motions and the emotion of believing prayer. Speaking His name in panic is not the same as taking it in vain. He can transform genuine panic into genuine faith. Luke records that the disciples of Jesus had witnessed Him perform many miracles. As they rowed from one side of the lake to the other, a storm arose. Fresh from a recent victory over evil, disaster threatened. It always does.

"Master, Master, we're about to drown!"

Let's not get technical here. Prayer is calling on Jesus, in the face of a crisis. Believing prayer is trusting in Jesus, before the crisis is over. The disciples were calmed after the storm, but they were panicked in the middle of it. Believing prayer brings calm in the midst of a crisis, not just at the end of it. He asked.

"Where is your faith?"

Jesus wasn't asking for information. He was delivering a rebuke. He often sends a message in the form of a question. Jesus is the answer. Crises challenge faith. They are designed to bring us to the end of ourselves, and our systems, and to lead us to put our total trust in the Savior. Don't let your support system or your belief system overshadow your Savior. Jesus can be trusted to lead you through what He led you to. Remember, crossing the lake was His idea.

"Let's cross to the other side of the lake."

What Jesus starts, He always finishes. Crises of faith put His finishing touches on His disciples.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Crises don't build character, they reveal character. Prayer builds character. Believing prayer is the foundation of it. The greater the crisis, the greater the prayer. The greater the crisis, the greater the faith. Jesus is present in the midst of any and every crisis. The purpose of the crisis isn't to shake your faith, but to build it. Believing prayer places confidence in Jesus, not the system. Believing prayer feeds your faith in Jesus, and starves your fear of the crisis. Again, don't let the system or your fear overshadow the Savior. Trust Him.

Seasoned prayer warriors are often storm tossed, but they learn never to launch out on a great adventure, without a word from Jesus. Where He sends you, He goes with you. Believing prayer warriors cross over the lake, only at His command. Believing prayer passes through the crisis, comforted with a sense of His Presence.

NOTE TO SELF: Panic may come when your faith is tested by the storms of life, but through believing prayer, you learn to trust in Jesus. Prayer turns your eyes towards His calm face. This is the key to believing prayer. When Jesus panics, feel free to panic. 'Til then, trust Him. It is always too early to panic, and never too late to pray.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Question

"That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus,...as they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them...He asked them, "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along."
Luke 24:13-17

There is no walk with Jesus without talking to Jesus. Talk about walk the walk and talk the talk all you want, but without talking to Jesus you are on a blind man's journey. Only Jesus can make sense out of the senseless, give hope to the hopeless and turn the impossible into the HIMpossible.

Jesus invited these two discouraged disciples to stop talking about Him, and to start talking to Him. There is a huge difference. Talking about Jesus ignores His Presence, and magnifies the crisis. Talking to Jesus embraces His Presence and releases the crisis to Him. No matter what the crisis is, it always shrinks in His hands.

The empty tomb has meaning, only if our hearts of full of Jesus. Talking about the empty tomb without talking to Jesus robs us of a sense of His Presence. He is here. He is listening. He knows the subject under discussion, and He hears the intensity of the anguish of every human heart. He still asks the question, "What are you talking about?" His Spirit still prompts the human heart to stop talking about Jesus, and to start talking to Him.

Every Easter people rush to the empty tomb and still miss Jesus nine ways from Dallas. For those in the north, that is a big miss. Easter Egg Hunts, Bunny photo ops, new clothes, family dinners, overblown pageants, well-rehearsed concerts, massive mail outs, and multiple services all provide opportunities for an encounter with Jesus. The problem is that after all the Easter excess, the question of Jesus has gone begging. "What are you talking about?" A great deal was done for Him and said about Him, but not much was said to Him.

When these two folks on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus , they missed him. People still do. More than that, they were annoyed by Him. People still are. Jesus interrupted their conversation, and when He did, one of them gave Him an earful of Aramaic angst.

"You must be the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days."

The next two words will turn a talker into a walker. The answer to the question forces the talker to turn away from the problem and to turn and face Jesus.

" 'What things?,' Jesus asked."
Luke 24:19

What happened next was a spewing out of all the pain of the past tense. They had been eye-witnesses to what looked like the worst thing that man could do to another human being. They could not see God's hand at work in it. Sometimes God wraps up His greatest gifts in some of the scariest packaging. Receive them.

Talking to Jesus began the healing process, by taking the pain of the past and moving it into the present tense. Prayer is a matter of talking to Jesus, and allowing Him time to make sense out of whatever tense is filling your life with tension. Sometimes it is the pain of the past, the intimidation of the present or the fear of the future. Prayer covers them all, and places them all in the hands of Jesus.

NOTE TO SELF: This Easter, don't miss Jesus. His tomb is empty, but let your heart can be full of Him. When Jesus asks you, "What things?" Like the old song says, "Tell it to Jesus."

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Fellowship

"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to the His death."
Philippians 3:10

NOTE TO SELF: The Resurrection is not only historical. It is applicable. The Spirit of Christ transforms your character when you die to self. There is no resurrection without a death. The Resurrection of Jesus prepared the way for the Risen Christ to offer His power over death to you. Dying to self releases His power in you. Prayer embraces His fellowship with you.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Preparation

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NASB‬‬

"A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men.”
Leonard Ravenhill

NOTE TO SELF: Praying power provides staying power. Jesus did some of His best praying in the face of great opposition, and before making major decisions. Your life should be marked by nothing less than believing prayer. You are not exempted from prayer. You are dependent upon it.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Prize

NOTE TO SELF: The Christ Life involves The Start, The Race, The Finish, & The Prize.
The Start is not a sprint, but a walk that begins when Jesus says, "Follow Me!"

The Race involves synchronized steps with Jesus & each one gives strength for the next step.
The Finish isn't reached by dashing ahead of Him, dragging one's feet behind Him, but by walking with Him. Let Him set the pace. The Prize includes joy in consistent companionship with Jesus for the duration of a life-long journey. The joy is not in the journey but in The Companion. What Jesus begins on earth, He finishes in Heaven.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Feeling a little breathless?

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Denial

“And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭NASB‬‬

NOTE TO SELF: Self-denial isn't seasonal. It is terminal. Denying yourself certain foods for a season can make you cross. Denying your SELF daily takes you to the cross. You don't diet. You die...daily. Self denial isn't inconvenient. It is permanent.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Authority

"Amazed, the people exclaimed, 'What authority and power this man's words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!' The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire regions.' "
Luke 4:36

When Jesus preached, amazing things happened. His words released God's authority and power into the lives of people. His enemies tried to undermine and restrain His authority and His power.

They were powerless.

When Jesus spoke, He started a fire. This was no gentle flame provided to warm the hands of a holy huddle. It was wild-fire sent to sweep the land. The people who embraced His message were left with burning hearts.

“And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Every Easter Season, the Church pulls out all the stops to declare the message of The Risen Christ: "He's Alive!" The message must be delivered by messengers with burning hearts. Feel the burn! When Jesus preached, He amazed people. When most churches meet, they glaze people. When churches lose the authority and power of The Founder, they turn amazing places, into glazing places.

NOTE TO SELF: Hungry people may try to survive, but they won't thrive on Krispy Kreme. Offer them The Bread of Life.

"As He is, so are we in this world."
I John 4:17

The authority and power of Jesus has become replaced by precision and process. Too many church services are conducted with clock-work precision, without seeing His amazing results. Authority and power are two sides of the coin of the realm in the Kingdom of Christ. Prophetic preachers spend the currency of Heaven, refusing to pass out counterfeit sermons posing as messages from God's Word.

Preaching with the authority and the power of Jesus is sealed by the Holy Spirit. This coin is not a mixture of alloys, combining a little bit of Heaven with a whole lot of the world. It is purified by the prayers of the saints, the blood of the martyrs and The Spirit of Christ.

There is nothing like the authority and power of Jesus. Preachers who have been gripped by it may never become wealthy, but they are in no danger of being spiritually bankrupt. There is simply no substitute for God's authority and power. Prophetic preachers refuse to settle for a profession. They never lose their passion for preaching. The mission of Jesus was to make disciples. He does it best by setting preachers on fire. John the Baptist said it would be so.

"He will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Spirit."
Luke 3:16

"Preaching is not a profession. It is a passion."
Leonard Ravenhill

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Unction

“And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Preaching is not a man-made function designed to draw a crowd. It is an unction of The Spirit of God that sets a man on fire. This fiery unction is found at the junction of "My Will" and "Thy Will." Jesus prayed until His will was conformed to His Father's will.

Through believing prayer, The Spirit of Christ throws His shoulder onto the fulcrum of a preacher's faith, and releases God's power and authority. The fire of The Spirit's unction consumes broken men, until their flames reveal them as prophetic preachers of God's Word.

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men."
E.M. Bounds

NOTE TO SELF: You can't download prophetic preaching. Without the unction of The Holy Spirit, you either muzzle your preaching into an ethereal art form, or you demean it until it becomes an empty function. If you won't pray for unction, you will never experience it. Jesus was filled with The Spirit. He expects no less from those He has called to be His preachers. You are not a functionary. You are an "unctionary."

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Function

The Book of Acts is filled with descriptions of people full of the Holy Spirit. The church was birthed in a prayer meeting. Does your church have one?

Jesus still offers His churches The Spirit of His Presence. The powerless ones are those who are content to be prayerless.

"And when they had prayed,...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness."
Acts 4:31

NOTE TO SELF: When you try to function without His unction, you only reveal your dysfunction. The Holy Spirit meets you at the point of your humility, not at the point of your pride. When you yield to Him, you give Him the elbow room He desires to throw His shoulder into the battle. The tipping point of spiritual warfare is located at the the fulcrum of prayer. When God's people pray, the Holy Spirit turns the impossible into the HIM-possible. If you need His hands on your church, put your knees on the ground.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Burn

"And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.' So He went in to stay with them."
Luke 24: 29

The Risen Christ approached two downhearted and discouraged disciples, as the sun set on the first evening of Resurrection Day. They had heard the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave, but they had not seen Him.

At the end of their rope, and drained of hope, the disciples left the city and headed for home, to pick up the pieces of their lives.

"It is amazing what God can do with a broken heart, if you give Him all the pieces." Samuel Chadwick

While they were walking and talking, Jesus approached and interrupted their conversation. For seven miles He shed the light of the Scriptures into the darkness of their lives. The result? He ignited a fire in their hearts with the Word of God, and with the offer of His companionship.

At the end of the day, with burning hearts they yearned for more of His Presence. They urged Him, "Stay with us." Jesus honored their desire to spend more time with Him. He always does.

Recently an election was held in our nation. Millions of people prayed for God to hear their cries and to give them their hearts' desire.

Some rejoiced at the outcome of the election, while others wept at the result. Those who rejoiced were quick to acknowledge the answer to their prayers. Many gave God the glory. Others rushed in to claim credit for it.

Time will tell if praying power results in staying power. Falling in love with answered prayer, and taking credit for it is a short cut to a dead end street, not the next Great Awakening.

Pastor Jonathan Edwards is recognized as one of the key leaders of the First Great Awakening in America. His prophetic words still provide insight to the gift of answered prayer.

"The business of prayer is not to direct God, who is infinitely wise and needs not any of our direction, who knows what is best for us ten thousand times better that we, and knows what time and what way are best. It is fit that he should answer prayer, and as an infinitely wise God in the exercise of his own wisdom, and not ours. God will deal as a father with us, in answering our requests."
Jonathan Edwards
Sermon Title: "A Prayer Hearing God"
Text: "O thou that hearest prayer." Psalms 65:2
Date: January, 1735-6 (and 1752). Preached on a fast appointed on the account of an epidemic east of Boston.

NOTE TO SELF: When it comes to answered prayer, don't settle for anything less than Jesus. He responds to the cry of your yearning and burning heart. His Spirit fuels the fire of your heart, and guides your life from the light of God's word.

Praying power is sustained by His staying power. He longs to spend time with you, more than you desire to spend time with Him. You don't need more of Him. He needs more of you. Feel the burn! Settle for nothing less.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!