Due to certain aspects of my life in ministry that are beyond my control I am often away from my wife. It used to be that we would be a part for two and three months at a time, as she stayed in Romania, and I came to the US to travel and preach. As time passed and I grew wiser, the time we spent apart decreased in length, but even now, it is often that we are apart for a month to six weeks at a time.
When I am in our US apartment by myself, I live a certain way. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I will never be mistaken for a clean freak. And so, knowing that my wife is on a different continent, knowing that I will be living by myself for the next few weeks, I tend to let things slide a little in regards to the overall cleanliness of our abode. The laundry has a tendency to pile up, pieces of cheese in the fridge begin to create their own eco systems sprouting furry fungi that is fun to look at but not very appetizing, and the potatoes under the sink start to sprout anew because I’d forgotten they were there.
Since I’m the one that always picks my wife up from the airport, I always know the day on which she arrives, and about a week before she is due to come, I start the cleaning process. By the time her arrival date rolls around, the apartment is clean, the carpet is vacuumed, the clutter and the books and the notepads that were once lying about everywhere are neatly stacked, or packed away in boxes, and our abode is once more livable.
I clean, and I organize, and even spritz a little air freshener in anticipation of my wife’s arrival, knowing the date, and being diligent to make sure that everything’s in order once she arrives. Now if her arrival date was unknown to me, chances are I would keep the apartment clean in perpetuity, and not just when I was expecting my wife to arrive.
So what does this have to do with anything other than revealing my dislike of having to clean?
It is the same mindset many believers fall into in regards to the return of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Many souls believe that if they knew the date, they could take a few days beforehand and clean house, act pious, pray more, perhaps fast a couple days, so that when the Lord arrives, He will be thoroughly impressed with their spiritual state, applaud them for having so thoroughly cleansed their hearts of idols and sin, and welcome them into His eternal kingdom with open arms.
This selfsame reason is also why God will never reveal the day or the hour of Christ’s return to any man. God expects us to have a consistent, constant, perpetual and ongoing relationship with Him, not just clean house for fear of what He will find when He comes for His announced visit. The return of Christ will be more of a surprise inspection than an announced and planned visit, for He will return as a thief in the night, unexpectedly and suddenly.
It is this flawed mindset that if we knew the date, we could just hold our breath and press on for just a while longer knowing that the end is in sight that has caused many a souls heartache and disappointment. The yoke of Christ is not burdensome, He is not a cruel taskmaster wherein we look forward to the day when we will be free of our duty or the bondage of serving Him, and until that day arrives we just go through the motions hoping that whenever He looks down on us He sees us doing something productive so we pass the test.
We serve God and we worship Jesus out of love, out of passion, out of that desperate longing to be with Him, with the full assurance that one day He will return, one day we will be with Him in eternity, but until that day comes we worship Him joyfully not as a means to an end, but because He first loved us, and gave His all that we might have life in Him.
There is peace in accepting the truth that certain things will always remain a mystery, that we will never know the fullness of all things until we are one with Him in His kingdom, and that one of those mysteries is the day of His return. Knowing that He will one day return is enough for me; I serve Him, I worship Him, I praise Him and I fellowship with Him, less interested in when He will appear in the clouds, at peace in the simple knowledge that He will.
2 Peter 3:10-14, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; bot the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;”
Just a final thought on this matter, Peter encourages us to be diligent to be found by Christ in peace, without spot and blameless, not to waste our time trying to guess when He will return, not to put our hope in a date, not to follow after the twisted teachings of men, but simply to be found clothed in Him, conducting ourselves in holy conduct and godliness hastening the coming of the day of the Lord.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Once More, Repentance!
Well, we're all still here, the end is nigh, but not quite so nigh as yesterday, and so we continue to grow spiritually, learn from the Word of God, and practice patience, living with the expectation of Christ's return as an impetus to continue walking in holiness and righteousness. For those of you critical of me for dismissing May 21, 2011 as the day of days, now you know why. God bless you as you seek to serve Him in spirit and in truth, rather than in the words of men. No need to repent to me, or apologize to me for the hateful words you wrote, just do so before God for causing shame to His house once more with these childish declarations.
Recently I received an e-mail from a seminary student that had a bone to pick with me. Lately it seems for one reason or another, a lot of people have bones to pick with me. Somehow he had gotten ahold of some of my writings off the internet, and he was perturbed by the notion that I write about repentance, and the need to repent so often. He tried mounting a defense of his position by saying that the Old Testament doesn’t talk about repentance all that much, and if we are to preach the whole council of God, then we are not to neglect the Old Testament. Personally, I don’t know what that has to do with repentance, but I do know that the Bible, including the Old Testament talks about repentance frequently and insistently.
In the Old Testament the term for repentance, the term that Jeremiah and Elijah, Isaiah and Moses, Ezekiel and David used was ‘turn back to the Lord!’
Repentance defined is to turn back to the Lord, and turn our backs to the world. No, the prophets of old did not use the word ‘repent’ but what they meant when they said we must turn back to the Lord was exactly that.
I started to wonder what they’re teaching the future leaders of Christendom in these seminaries, since a student thereof was attempting to discredit and minimize the need for repentance ardently and passionately. Ben, buddy, more prayer, more study of the Word, less letting fools with titles convince you that repentance is passé, antiquated, for a different time, or unnecessary.
I’ve been delving into the lamentations of Jeremiah recently, and it was just this morning that I read a passage concerning repentance, or turning back to the Lord, and how vitally important it is for everyone who calls themselves a child of God.
Lamentations 3:39-42, “Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned.”
For some reason this passage tugged at my heart, because Jeremiah was lamenting the utter destruction of Jerusalem, a once proud city now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. He sees what has occurred, he is there to witness the extent to which destruction took place, and he concludes that those still living, those still surviving ought not to complain for the punishment of their sins. Yes, sin is that grave, it is that tragic, it is that fatal, and Jeremiah saw the consequences of sin firsthand.
We assume that God will pardon our transgressions; we assume that God will pardon our rebellion; we assume we have no need of repentance because a loving God wouldn’t punish us, and one day we will realize that we were wrong in our assumptions. For many it was a shock and a surprise to see Jerusalem fall under Babylonian rule, because they lived under the impression that no matter what they did, no matter how they lived, no matter how much sin they committed or how much rebellion they displayed, they would remain God’s people, under His protection and under His blessing.
They forgot the fact that God blessed only when their hearts were turned toward Him, they forgot the fact that God forgave only when repentance of past sins was evident, and they took the blessing of God and the protection of God for granted.
‘Well, we took one step outside of His will and nothing happened, we took two steps and nothing happened, we took ten steps, twenty steps, until we could no longer see God, until we were far removed from Him, and then something happened.’
This is the selfsame way so many today flirt with sin, then give themselves over to it.
‘Well, I did this one thing and God didn’t punish me, so I guess I can do something else.’
God is not blind, and God will not be mocked, and when the day comes that we will be punished for our sins because in our hearts we saw no need for repentance, we ought not to complain.
It is the constant whisper of the enemy, the one thing he attempts to keep us from doing at all cost, because the enemy knows that if we repent, God will forgive, if we examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord, He will restore us.
In the midst of chaos, in the midst of destruction, in the midst of seeing his beloved Jerusalem destroyed and his people dying in the streets, Jeremiah comes to an astounding conclusion, that although sin had brought them to this place, although rebellion and transgression were the reasons Jerusalem fell, it was through the Lord’s mercy that they were not consumed altogether.
Even in the worst of circumstances, the mercy of God is there, and the righteous and the saved see it, and behold God’s faithfulness.
Lamentations 22-25, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
Yes, the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, He is merciful and kind and loving and exceedingly faithful to the soul who seeks Him, but His justice demands that He judge the unrepentant soul, those who refuse to examine themselves and turn back to Him, because by their transgressions and rebellion they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
May we this day examine ourselves, and may we this day turn back to the Lord, may we this day repent, that in the days to come we may say as Jeremiah did ‘great is your faithfulness!’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Recently I received an e-mail from a seminary student that had a bone to pick with me. Lately it seems for one reason or another, a lot of people have bones to pick with me. Somehow he had gotten ahold of some of my writings off the internet, and he was perturbed by the notion that I write about repentance, and the need to repent so often. He tried mounting a defense of his position by saying that the Old Testament doesn’t talk about repentance all that much, and if we are to preach the whole council of God, then we are not to neglect the Old Testament. Personally, I don’t know what that has to do with repentance, but I do know that the Bible, including the Old Testament talks about repentance frequently and insistently.
In the Old Testament the term for repentance, the term that Jeremiah and Elijah, Isaiah and Moses, Ezekiel and David used was ‘turn back to the Lord!’
Repentance defined is to turn back to the Lord, and turn our backs to the world. No, the prophets of old did not use the word ‘repent’ but what they meant when they said we must turn back to the Lord was exactly that.
I started to wonder what they’re teaching the future leaders of Christendom in these seminaries, since a student thereof was attempting to discredit and minimize the need for repentance ardently and passionately. Ben, buddy, more prayer, more study of the Word, less letting fools with titles convince you that repentance is passé, antiquated, for a different time, or unnecessary.
I’ve been delving into the lamentations of Jeremiah recently, and it was just this morning that I read a passage concerning repentance, or turning back to the Lord, and how vitally important it is for everyone who calls themselves a child of God.
Lamentations 3:39-42, “Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned.”
For some reason this passage tugged at my heart, because Jeremiah was lamenting the utter destruction of Jerusalem, a once proud city now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. He sees what has occurred, he is there to witness the extent to which destruction took place, and he concludes that those still living, those still surviving ought not to complain for the punishment of their sins. Yes, sin is that grave, it is that tragic, it is that fatal, and Jeremiah saw the consequences of sin firsthand.
We assume that God will pardon our transgressions; we assume that God will pardon our rebellion; we assume we have no need of repentance because a loving God wouldn’t punish us, and one day we will realize that we were wrong in our assumptions. For many it was a shock and a surprise to see Jerusalem fall under Babylonian rule, because they lived under the impression that no matter what they did, no matter how they lived, no matter how much sin they committed or how much rebellion they displayed, they would remain God’s people, under His protection and under His blessing.
They forgot the fact that God blessed only when their hearts were turned toward Him, they forgot the fact that God forgave only when repentance of past sins was evident, and they took the blessing of God and the protection of God for granted.
‘Well, we took one step outside of His will and nothing happened, we took two steps and nothing happened, we took ten steps, twenty steps, until we could no longer see God, until we were far removed from Him, and then something happened.’
This is the selfsame way so many today flirt with sin, then give themselves over to it.
‘Well, I did this one thing and God didn’t punish me, so I guess I can do something else.’
God is not blind, and God will not be mocked, and when the day comes that we will be punished for our sins because in our hearts we saw no need for repentance, we ought not to complain.
It is the constant whisper of the enemy, the one thing he attempts to keep us from doing at all cost, because the enemy knows that if we repent, God will forgive, if we examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord, He will restore us.
In the midst of chaos, in the midst of destruction, in the midst of seeing his beloved Jerusalem destroyed and his people dying in the streets, Jeremiah comes to an astounding conclusion, that although sin had brought them to this place, although rebellion and transgression were the reasons Jerusalem fell, it was through the Lord’s mercy that they were not consumed altogether.
Even in the worst of circumstances, the mercy of God is there, and the righteous and the saved see it, and behold God’s faithfulness.
Lamentations 22-25, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
Yes, the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, He is merciful and kind and loving and exceedingly faithful to the soul who seeks Him, but His justice demands that He judge the unrepentant soul, those who refuse to examine themselves and turn back to Him, because by their transgressions and rebellion they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
May we this day examine ourselves, and may we this day turn back to the Lord, may we this day repent, that in the days to come we may say as Jeremiah did ‘great is your faithfulness!’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Road We Travel
I was going to title this post ‘are you smarter than a donkey?’ but then I thought better of it seeing as some of the more hyper sensitive folks might take offense to it. As mentioned in a previous post, I get borderline obsessive over certain scripture passages, and after diligent study, one message turns into two, two messages turn into four, but it would be a waste not to dig as deep as we can if we’ve already rolled up our sleeves, and have the shovel in hand. Who knows, that next shovelful of dirt may reveal the treasure hiding beneath, and once the treasure is discovered, it makes all our labors seem insignificant at best. Once again, we find ourselves discussing Balaam and his journey of disobedience, because after finishing the last message concerning his donkey, God poured a fresh message into my heart.
Cliché as it might sound, all roads lead somewhere. When we begin a journey, we pull out the map, (yep still old school, no global positioning here), we plot our course, and we hold to the highway which will lead us to our desired destination. It is imperative that we know where we want to end up, what our final destination will ultimately be, as well as how we go about getting there.
I heard a story once, of a man who was headed to Florida from Chicago, and somewhere in Utah he stopped for gas. He put the gas pump on automatic, went inside for a few refreshments, and struck up a conversation with the clerk, who asked him where he was from, and where he was going.
‘Still got a long way to go’ the man answered, ‘I’m headed to Florida.’
‘I’d say you’ve got a long way to go, you’re headed in the wrong direction’, the clerk told the man. Some months earlier the man had taken a trip to Los Angeles by car, having programmed his GPS as such, and even though he’d typed in his new destination, for some reason his unit displayed his previous trip. He’d driven over a thousand miles in the wrong direction, because he’d trusted the gadget and not his own senses, he didn’t pay attention to the road he was traveling on, leaving it to a machine to tell him where to go.
Spiritually speaking, we don’t trust machines to tell us where to go, but we do trust men, and we trust them so much that we don’t bother to look up and see if we’re headed for the destination the men we trusted told us that we were. Like the aforementioned gentleman, we revert back to our previous journey, the one leading us away from God, all the while thinking that we are headed in the right direction, because someone tells us that we are. Pull out the map, open it up, take your finger, and trace your journey, and know the road that you travel. Open your Bible, read it, and if what someone has been telling you is permissible isn’t permissible in the Word, then turn around, and start traveling the right road.
What we must understand is that there are millions of pernicious roads, but only one righteous path. Contrary to popular belief, not all roads lead to heaven as all roads once led to Rome, in fact all roads save one lead to hell. Yes, I know, intolerant of me to assert that there is only one way into the kingdom of God, but I’m just repeating the words of Jesus the Son of God.
Numbers 22:32, “And the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.”
Until the angel spoke these words to him, between Balaam and the donkey, the donkey was the only one that knew they were headed down the wrong path. I will gladly play the talking donkey if it will cause one soul to realize that their way is perverse before God, and that He finds no pleasure in it. I will gladly bear the title of beast of burden, if one person realizes that absent the path of righteousness, and the path of Christ, there is no other path that will lead to the salvation of your soul, and eternal reconciliation with God.
Men choose the road they walk, but there are always consequences to the choices we make. The way of destruction is wide, and well paved, and spiraling ever downward, so that one need not exert much energy in walking it. Once a soul begins to walk the road that leads to destruction, it is inertia that propels him ever onward, so much so that he has to consciously attempt to slow himself down before coming to a sprint. It is far easier to walk downhill than it is to walk uphill, and a great many souls have chosen the easy path that leads to death because it requires no effort on their part.
As I said there are consequences to choosing the way of destruction, and there are things that happen along the way that should be as a blaring alarm to our inner man. The first thing that happens when we choose a perverse way, when we choose a different path is that we are removed from the presence of God, and His hand of blessing is no longer upon us.
Before their fall, before the succumbed to the temptation of the serpent Adam and Eve enjoyed all the benefits of the garden, they enjoyed fellowship with God, they enjoyed an intimacy with Him, yet after the fall, God cast them from before His sight, expelled them from the garden, and cursed the ground for their sake. They had disobeyed, and in their rebellion and disobedience were removed from before the sight of God.
Whichever perverse way you have considered walking on, whether the way of materialism, the way of idolatry, the way of envy, the way of lawlessness, I urge you I beseech you, I beg you, remain on the path that is Christ, because no other path, no other way will give you peace, and joy and hope.
The perverse way never ends in blessing, it never ends in the favor of God, it never ends at the doors of heaven, the perverse way always leads to God standing against us, to God rebuking us, and to God judging us.
If you’ve heard different, whoever you heard it from is a liar and the truth is not found in them. If you believe different, then my I submit that until the angel of the Lord appeared before Balaam, and told him he had come to stand against him, he too thought he was headed down a righteous path. There is no path if Jesus is not the path, there is no hope if Jesus is not the hope, there is no truth if Jesus is not the truth, and there is no life if Jesus is not the life.
We know the road we once traveled, we know the sin that once beset us, we know the rebellion we once lived in, and we must be weary, and vigilant, that once we have known the way of Christ, once we have started our journey on the righteous path, we continue in it until the end.
It’s when we finish our journey that we finish our journey, it’s when we finish our race that we receive our crown.
Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Cliché as it might sound, all roads lead somewhere. When we begin a journey, we pull out the map, (yep still old school, no global positioning here), we plot our course, and we hold to the highway which will lead us to our desired destination. It is imperative that we know where we want to end up, what our final destination will ultimately be, as well as how we go about getting there.
I heard a story once, of a man who was headed to Florida from Chicago, and somewhere in Utah he stopped for gas. He put the gas pump on automatic, went inside for a few refreshments, and struck up a conversation with the clerk, who asked him where he was from, and where he was going.
‘Still got a long way to go’ the man answered, ‘I’m headed to Florida.’
‘I’d say you’ve got a long way to go, you’re headed in the wrong direction’, the clerk told the man. Some months earlier the man had taken a trip to Los Angeles by car, having programmed his GPS as such, and even though he’d typed in his new destination, for some reason his unit displayed his previous trip. He’d driven over a thousand miles in the wrong direction, because he’d trusted the gadget and not his own senses, he didn’t pay attention to the road he was traveling on, leaving it to a machine to tell him where to go.
Spiritually speaking, we don’t trust machines to tell us where to go, but we do trust men, and we trust them so much that we don’t bother to look up and see if we’re headed for the destination the men we trusted told us that we were. Like the aforementioned gentleman, we revert back to our previous journey, the one leading us away from God, all the while thinking that we are headed in the right direction, because someone tells us that we are. Pull out the map, open it up, take your finger, and trace your journey, and know the road that you travel. Open your Bible, read it, and if what someone has been telling you is permissible isn’t permissible in the Word, then turn around, and start traveling the right road.
What we must understand is that there are millions of pernicious roads, but only one righteous path. Contrary to popular belief, not all roads lead to heaven as all roads once led to Rome, in fact all roads save one lead to hell. Yes, I know, intolerant of me to assert that there is only one way into the kingdom of God, but I’m just repeating the words of Jesus the Son of God.
Numbers 22:32, “And the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.”
Until the angel spoke these words to him, between Balaam and the donkey, the donkey was the only one that knew they were headed down the wrong path. I will gladly play the talking donkey if it will cause one soul to realize that their way is perverse before God, and that He finds no pleasure in it. I will gladly bear the title of beast of burden, if one person realizes that absent the path of righteousness, and the path of Christ, there is no other path that will lead to the salvation of your soul, and eternal reconciliation with God.
Men choose the road they walk, but there are always consequences to the choices we make. The way of destruction is wide, and well paved, and spiraling ever downward, so that one need not exert much energy in walking it. Once a soul begins to walk the road that leads to destruction, it is inertia that propels him ever onward, so much so that he has to consciously attempt to slow himself down before coming to a sprint. It is far easier to walk downhill than it is to walk uphill, and a great many souls have chosen the easy path that leads to death because it requires no effort on their part.
As I said there are consequences to choosing the way of destruction, and there are things that happen along the way that should be as a blaring alarm to our inner man. The first thing that happens when we choose a perverse way, when we choose a different path is that we are removed from the presence of God, and His hand of blessing is no longer upon us.
Before their fall, before the succumbed to the temptation of the serpent Adam and Eve enjoyed all the benefits of the garden, they enjoyed fellowship with God, they enjoyed an intimacy with Him, yet after the fall, God cast them from before His sight, expelled them from the garden, and cursed the ground for their sake. They had disobeyed, and in their rebellion and disobedience were removed from before the sight of God.
Whichever perverse way you have considered walking on, whether the way of materialism, the way of idolatry, the way of envy, the way of lawlessness, I urge you I beseech you, I beg you, remain on the path that is Christ, because no other path, no other way will give you peace, and joy and hope.
The perverse way never ends in blessing, it never ends in the favor of God, it never ends at the doors of heaven, the perverse way always leads to God standing against us, to God rebuking us, and to God judging us.
If you’ve heard different, whoever you heard it from is a liar and the truth is not found in them. If you believe different, then my I submit that until the angel of the Lord appeared before Balaam, and told him he had come to stand against him, he too thought he was headed down a righteous path. There is no path if Jesus is not the path, there is no hope if Jesus is not the hope, there is no truth if Jesus is not the truth, and there is no life if Jesus is not the life.
We know the road we once traveled, we know the sin that once beset us, we know the rebellion we once lived in, and we must be weary, and vigilant, that once we have known the way of Christ, once we have started our journey on the righteous path, we continue in it until the end.
It’s when we finish our journey that we finish our journey, it’s when we finish our race that we receive our crown.
Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Lessons From A Donkey!
Often times we are taught the most profound of truths from the most unusual of sources. Whether from someone we considered intellectually inferior to ourselves, a homeless person begging for change on the sidewalk, or yes, even a donkey, we often discover beautiful truths, wholesome truths, in the strangest of places. Because we care more about appearance than substance in our day and age, because we care more about the wrapping than the contents, we often dismiss truth because it was not delivered by a bright smile and a fancy suit.
A wise man is wise enough to learn wisdom whenever wisdom is presented to him, while a fool remains a fool no matter how much wisdom he encounters.
Today we will be learning from a donkey of all things, a beast of burden, which was beaten no less than three times by its master because the donkey was discerning enough to see the angel of the Lord blocking its way, while its master was not.
So what is it that we can learn from a donkey? What practical lessons can we glean from this animal?
The first lesson we can learn from a donkey is that sometimes it’s good to be stubborn.
The donkey is known for its stubbornness. It is one of the most stubborn animals that God created in fact, and sometimes it is good for us as children of God to be stubborn as donkeys.
We are on a journey and on this journey we must pass through enemy territory in order to reach our Canaan, or our promised land. There is much temptation both to the left and to the right, there are many distractions that seek to overwhelm the senses, but we must be stubborn in our resolve, we must be single minded in our purpose and keep following the path that has been laid out for us.
As Israel journeyed toward their promised land, they had to pass through a place called Edom. Edom was well known for its vineyards, and water wells, it was well known for its beautiful women and handsome men, yet when Moses sent messengers to Edom asking to pass through their territory, he emphasized the fact that he would not pass through their fields or vineyards, nor would he drink water from wells, he and the people that were with him would go along the King’s Highway, and no turn aside to the right hand or to the left until they had passed through their territory.
You must purpose in your heart to travel the King’s Highway and not turn aside to the right or to the left until you’ve passed through the enemy’s territory. Be resolute, be stubborn and let nothing tempt you away from that road that leads to eternity with Him. We have no choice but to pass through this world, we have no choice but to pass through Edom’s territories, but we hold to the King’s Highway, and no matter how grueling or difficult we keep walking through. We can’t vacation in Edom and then when we’re rested continue our journey on the King’s Highway, we can’t visit the shops and partake of Edom’s frivolities and when we’ve had our fill take a few more steps toward Canaan, we must neither look to the left or to the right, but simply walk the narrow road of faith, and stubbornly so.
The second lesson we can learn from a donkey is that it’s always good to be observant.
Know when God is standing in your way, and don’t let your desire to do a certain thing, or go to a certain place blind you to the reality thereof. Balaam had a destination in mind, and although the angel of the Lord blocked his way, it was the donkey that was observant enough to notice him, and stop in its tracks. It was also the donkey that lay down under Balaam, refusing to take another step until it either received permission to continue onward or Balaam instructed it to turn around. Be observant, be discerning, know when something is an obstacle in your path, and when it’s the angel of the Lord blocking it so that you might not pass that way.
We have a tendency to assume far too often, and whenever there is a hindrance, whenever things aren’t going right, we lay the blame on the enemy or on enemy attacks. Very rarely do we stop to consider that perhaps it’s God keeping us from heading in that direction, it’s God keeping us from causing ourselves spiritual harm by standing in our way.
It was the donkey that saved Balaam’s life, the selfsame donkey he said he would have killed if he’d had a sword in his hand, because Balaam’s mind was on other matters, and he did not behold the road ahead, or have enough discernment to see that his way was blocked.
Numbers 22:33, “The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now and let her live.”
It must have been a humbling moment for Balaam to realize that his donkey was wiser than he was, it must have been a humbling moment to realize that his donkey was more discerning, and observant, and spiritually aware than he who was a prophet.
The third lesson we can learn from a donkey is that of submission.
I am fully aware that submission is contradictory to stubbornness, but we must realize that donkeys, being the beasts of burden that they are, follow their master and allow themselves to be led. Be stubborn in doing your Master’s will, be stubborn in following the narrow path of faith, but submit to His guidance, and let Him guide you to green pastures.
It goes against human nature to practice submission of any kind, to desire to be led and not to lead. We think ourselves the masters of our own universes, lords of our own castles, and when God attempts to take us by the hand and guide us in the way we must go, we bristle and resist Him. On our own, we will surely wander from Him, on our own we will surely go where we ought not go, and do what we ought not to do. Submit to His sovereign guidance, because He will not lead you into desolate places, He will not lead you to places without water and nourishment for your soul, because He is a good Father, and a good God and a good Master.
The fourth lesson we can learn from a donkey, is that it is a privilege to see what others do not.
As a prophet with a reputation, perhaps even the prophet of his time to which a king sent messengers with a diviner’s fee, Balaam should have seen into the realm of the supernatural far more clearly than his donkey. As the Bible tells us however, it was not the case. Balaam was blind to the angel of the Lord, yet the donkey was privileged enough to see him.
We must realize the fact that we are privileged in that we see the events unfolding in the world today, very differently than the godless do. We are privileged to see what God has in store for humanity, we are privileged to have received His forewarnings far in advance of the calamities that are befalling the earth, and we are privileged to know that we are perpetually safe under the shadow of His wing.
Now that we’ve learned what there was to learn from Balaam’s donkey, all that’s left for us to do is apply our newfound knowledge, for knowledge without the application thereof is nothing more than occupied space in our minds. We know so much yet do so little, we see so often yet perceive so rarely, we receive so much wisdom yet apply it so sparingly, that it’s no wonder the church is in the spiritual maelstrom that it’s in.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
A wise man is wise enough to learn wisdom whenever wisdom is presented to him, while a fool remains a fool no matter how much wisdom he encounters.
Today we will be learning from a donkey of all things, a beast of burden, which was beaten no less than three times by its master because the donkey was discerning enough to see the angel of the Lord blocking its way, while its master was not.
So what is it that we can learn from a donkey? What practical lessons can we glean from this animal?
The first lesson we can learn from a donkey is that sometimes it’s good to be stubborn.
The donkey is known for its stubbornness. It is one of the most stubborn animals that God created in fact, and sometimes it is good for us as children of God to be stubborn as donkeys.
We are on a journey and on this journey we must pass through enemy territory in order to reach our Canaan, or our promised land. There is much temptation both to the left and to the right, there are many distractions that seek to overwhelm the senses, but we must be stubborn in our resolve, we must be single minded in our purpose and keep following the path that has been laid out for us.
As Israel journeyed toward their promised land, they had to pass through a place called Edom. Edom was well known for its vineyards, and water wells, it was well known for its beautiful women and handsome men, yet when Moses sent messengers to Edom asking to pass through their territory, he emphasized the fact that he would not pass through their fields or vineyards, nor would he drink water from wells, he and the people that were with him would go along the King’s Highway, and no turn aside to the right hand or to the left until they had passed through their territory.
You must purpose in your heart to travel the King’s Highway and not turn aside to the right or to the left until you’ve passed through the enemy’s territory. Be resolute, be stubborn and let nothing tempt you away from that road that leads to eternity with Him. We have no choice but to pass through this world, we have no choice but to pass through Edom’s territories, but we hold to the King’s Highway, and no matter how grueling or difficult we keep walking through. We can’t vacation in Edom and then when we’re rested continue our journey on the King’s Highway, we can’t visit the shops and partake of Edom’s frivolities and when we’ve had our fill take a few more steps toward Canaan, we must neither look to the left or to the right, but simply walk the narrow road of faith, and stubbornly so.
The second lesson we can learn from a donkey is that it’s always good to be observant.
Know when God is standing in your way, and don’t let your desire to do a certain thing, or go to a certain place blind you to the reality thereof. Balaam had a destination in mind, and although the angel of the Lord blocked his way, it was the donkey that was observant enough to notice him, and stop in its tracks. It was also the donkey that lay down under Balaam, refusing to take another step until it either received permission to continue onward or Balaam instructed it to turn around. Be observant, be discerning, know when something is an obstacle in your path, and when it’s the angel of the Lord blocking it so that you might not pass that way.
We have a tendency to assume far too often, and whenever there is a hindrance, whenever things aren’t going right, we lay the blame on the enemy or on enemy attacks. Very rarely do we stop to consider that perhaps it’s God keeping us from heading in that direction, it’s God keeping us from causing ourselves spiritual harm by standing in our way.
It was the donkey that saved Balaam’s life, the selfsame donkey he said he would have killed if he’d had a sword in his hand, because Balaam’s mind was on other matters, and he did not behold the road ahead, or have enough discernment to see that his way was blocked.
Numbers 22:33, “The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now and let her live.”
It must have been a humbling moment for Balaam to realize that his donkey was wiser than he was, it must have been a humbling moment to realize that his donkey was more discerning, and observant, and spiritually aware than he who was a prophet.
The third lesson we can learn from a donkey is that of submission.
I am fully aware that submission is contradictory to stubbornness, but we must realize that donkeys, being the beasts of burden that they are, follow their master and allow themselves to be led. Be stubborn in doing your Master’s will, be stubborn in following the narrow path of faith, but submit to His guidance, and let Him guide you to green pastures.
It goes against human nature to practice submission of any kind, to desire to be led and not to lead. We think ourselves the masters of our own universes, lords of our own castles, and when God attempts to take us by the hand and guide us in the way we must go, we bristle and resist Him. On our own, we will surely wander from Him, on our own we will surely go where we ought not go, and do what we ought not to do. Submit to His sovereign guidance, because He will not lead you into desolate places, He will not lead you to places without water and nourishment for your soul, because He is a good Father, and a good God and a good Master.
The fourth lesson we can learn from a donkey, is that it is a privilege to see what others do not.
As a prophet with a reputation, perhaps even the prophet of his time to which a king sent messengers with a diviner’s fee, Balaam should have seen into the realm of the supernatural far more clearly than his donkey. As the Bible tells us however, it was not the case. Balaam was blind to the angel of the Lord, yet the donkey was privileged enough to see him.
We must realize the fact that we are privileged in that we see the events unfolding in the world today, very differently than the godless do. We are privileged to see what God has in store for humanity, we are privileged to have received His forewarnings far in advance of the calamities that are befalling the earth, and we are privileged to know that we are perpetually safe under the shadow of His wing.
Now that we’ve learned what there was to learn from Balaam’s donkey, all that’s left for us to do is apply our newfound knowledge, for knowledge without the application thereof is nothing more than occupied space in our minds. We know so much yet do so little, we see so often yet perceive so rarely, we receive so much wisdom yet apply it so sparingly, that it’s no wonder the church is in the spiritual maelstrom that it’s in.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
No Means No!
“God punishes mildly by ignoring our prayers and severely by answering them.” – R.J. Needham
“Prayers not felt by us are seldom heard by God.” – Philip Henry
“God always answers our prayers, but sometimes the answer is no.” – Author Unknown
There is a fine line between meditation and obsession. There have been times however, when I have crossed that line, but with the best of intentions. Whenever I read a passage from the Word of God, I want to make sure that I learn every lesson there is to learn, that I receive all the truth there is to receive, and that I perceive all the wisdom there is to perceive. If I had the choice between doing a cursory reading of the Bible, and crossing the line into obsessing over a certain verse, then I would choose the second option because what one might have missed upon the first reading or the second, or the fifth, he might yet discover in the seventh or eighth reading of the passage.
As much as I tried to get away from the topic of Balaam this morning, my mind continued to wander back to the incident, wherein first God told him not to go to Balak, then God told him to go but became angry because he went. And so, today we will be discussing the dangers of not being able to take no for an answer. I know people like that, I have a friend who will ask the same question albeit slightly altered thirty times hoping to get a different answer than that which I gave him when he first asked the question. Hoping to either whittle down my resolve, or that suddenly in a moment of blinding epiphany I rethink my position entirely, this young man will ask the same question incessantly to the point that I just tune him out.
Children are great at not being able to take no for an answer, and I’ve seen it with both the children in our orphanage as well as my nephew and niece. They want what they want, and they’re pursuit of it is nothing if not enviable. We however, are not children, and if God denies us something, if God says ‘no’ we must be wise enough to understand that we are being denied that thing, that miracle, that breakthrough, for a good and justifiable reason, far beyond our current understanding.
Numbers 22:20-22, “And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, ‘if the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you – that you shall do.’ So Balaam rose in the morning saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.”
Lest we misunderstand God, before all this, Balaam had once before inquired of God if he could go with Balak’s princes and God had given him a direct and purposeful answer. God had said no!
Now, as I’ve said, there are some individuals who just can’t take no for an answer. It is unfeasible to them that they would be denied anything, even if what they are asking for is harmful and detrimental to their spiritual man. When God says ‘no’, He doesn’t mean ask me later, perhaps I’ll change my mind, He doesn’t mean I’ll think about it, He doesn’t mean maybe tomorrow. To God, no means no!
This is why His anger was aroused against Balaam, because although God had already answered the question the first time, Balaam pestered Him hoping to change His mind and His position.
It’s for our own good that God says no to us; it’s for our own good that he denies us certain things that our heart desires; and if we pray in the name of Christ for those things which Christ would not pray for, then we should not live with the expectation of a positive answer.
Please don’t misunderstand, I encourage persistent prayer, I encourage knocking on heaven’s door time and time again, but when we knock, when we pray, we must do so with the mindset that God’s will be done, not that God’s will be done the way we want it to.
‘Lord answer my prayer, but in the way I want you to, solve my problem, but in the way I foresee you solving it.’
This mindset will arouse the anger of God as surely as it was aroused against Balaam, because when we pray such prayers what we are saying is that we think we know better than God, that somehow we see more in depth than He does, and we don’t trust Him to equitably and favorably answer our prayers unless we give Him some instruction on how to do it.
Be persistent, be as the persistent woman with the unjust judge, but also be open to the reality that God might not answer your prayer in the way you envisioned Him to, and that yes, sometimes His answer will be no.
We see in part, and because we see in part we must trust the One who sees the whole, and believe that as a good Father all that He does is for our good, for our betterment, for our maturity and for our growth. Don’t second guess God; don’t think that if you ask the same question a thousand times you will receive a different answer if what you asked was not in accordance with His will. Be humble enough to know that you don’t know it all, be humble enough to accept that the answer to your prayer may come by different means than that which you envisioned, and above all, be ever thankful that God loves you enough to say ‘no’ to you once in a while.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
“Prayers not felt by us are seldom heard by God.” – Philip Henry
“God always answers our prayers, but sometimes the answer is no.” – Author Unknown
There is a fine line between meditation and obsession. There have been times however, when I have crossed that line, but with the best of intentions. Whenever I read a passage from the Word of God, I want to make sure that I learn every lesson there is to learn, that I receive all the truth there is to receive, and that I perceive all the wisdom there is to perceive. If I had the choice between doing a cursory reading of the Bible, and crossing the line into obsessing over a certain verse, then I would choose the second option because what one might have missed upon the first reading or the second, or the fifth, he might yet discover in the seventh or eighth reading of the passage.
As much as I tried to get away from the topic of Balaam this morning, my mind continued to wander back to the incident, wherein first God told him not to go to Balak, then God told him to go but became angry because he went. And so, today we will be discussing the dangers of not being able to take no for an answer. I know people like that, I have a friend who will ask the same question albeit slightly altered thirty times hoping to get a different answer than that which I gave him when he first asked the question. Hoping to either whittle down my resolve, or that suddenly in a moment of blinding epiphany I rethink my position entirely, this young man will ask the same question incessantly to the point that I just tune him out.
Children are great at not being able to take no for an answer, and I’ve seen it with both the children in our orphanage as well as my nephew and niece. They want what they want, and they’re pursuit of it is nothing if not enviable. We however, are not children, and if God denies us something, if God says ‘no’ we must be wise enough to understand that we are being denied that thing, that miracle, that breakthrough, for a good and justifiable reason, far beyond our current understanding.
Numbers 22:20-22, “And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, ‘if the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you – that you shall do.’ So Balaam rose in the morning saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.”
Lest we misunderstand God, before all this, Balaam had once before inquired of God if he could go with Balak’s princes and God had given him a direct and purposeful answer. God had said no!
Now, as I’ve said, there are some individuals who just can’t take no for an answer. It is unfeasible to them that they would be denied anything, even if what they are asking for is harmful and detrimental to their spiritual man. When God says ‘no’, He doesn’t mean ask me later, perhaps I’ll change my mind, He doesn’t mean I’ll think about it, He doesn’t mean maybe tomorrow. To God, no means no!
This is why His anger was aroused against Balaam, because although God had already answered the question the first time, Balaam pestered Him hoping to change His mind and His position.
It’s for our own good that God says no to us; it’s for our own good that he denies us certain things that our heart desires; and if we pray in the name of Christ for those things which Christ would not pray for, then we should not live with the expectation of a positive answer.
Please don’t misunderstand, I encourage persistent prayer, I encourage knocking on heaven’s door time and time again, but when we knock, when we pray, we must do so with the mindset that God’s will be done, not that God’s will be done the way we want it to.
‘Lord answer my prayer, but in the way I want you to, solve my problem, but in the way I foresee you solving it.’
This mindset will arouse the anger of God as surely as it was aroused against Balaam, because when we pray such prayers what we are saying is that we think we know better than God, that somehow we see more in depth than He does, and we don’t trust Him to equitably and favorably answer our prayers unless we give Him some instruction on how to do it.
Be persistent, be as the persistent woman with the unjust judge, but also be open to the reality that God might not answer your prayer in the way you envisioned Him to, and that yes, sometimes His answer will be no.
We see in part, and because we see in part we must trust the One who sees the whole, and believe that as a good Father all that He does is for our good, for our betterment, for our maturity and for our growth. Don’t second guess God; don’t think that if you ask the same question a thousand times you will receive a different answer if what you asked was not in accordance with His will. Be humble enough to know that you don’t know it all, be humble enough to accept that the answer to your prayer may come by different means than that which you envisioned, and above all, be ever thankful that God loves you enough to say ‘no’ to you once in a while.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Moving Heaven! Part 2
The fourth ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is sanctification.
As children of God we must be sanctified, or set apart for sacred use, and it is the sanctified that move the heart of God with their prayers and supplications. The debate has been raging for decades in this country whether God requires sanctification and holiness on our part, but it is a debate that should have been laid to rest at its genesis. God said ‘be holy for I am holy’, God said, ‘be holy in all your doings’, and if God said it, everything else is irrelevant. Yes, men’s opinions are irrelevant, that latest book on the Christian bookstore shelf that tells you holiness is for old fogies is irrelevant, because God supersedes all these, and if we are His children it is Him that we must obey.
It was only when Solomon kept the feast seven days and all of Israel with him, and held a sacred assembly observing the dedication of the altar for seven days; it was only after Israel had sanctified itself that the Lord appeared to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:12, “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.”’
There is conditionality to having our prayers answered, and Solomon had met it. Now God turns his attention to Israel, and gives Solomon a message for them.
2 Chronicles 7:13-15, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”
So there are three things that God says we must do if we want Him to hear us from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. The first thing we must do, by God’s decree is to humble ourselves, the second is to pray and seek His face, and the third is turn from our wicked ways. There has been no addendum to this there has been no exemption clause included anywhere in the Bible, and so if we desire to see our prayers answered, we must do as God commands. In the olden days, it was the temple that God focused upon, it was toward the temple that His eyes were opened and ears attentive to hear the prayers made therein, but now, our hearts are His temple, and He is attentive to every prayer, made from the hearts of those who are humble, and repentant and in prayer.
The fifth ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is earnestness.
James 5:17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, flesh and blood, with his own quirks and shortcomings, yet when he prayed earnestly it did not rain for three years and six months. When he prayed, again, the heaven gave rain. We must pursue God earnestly, with seriousness and purpose and zeal. God must be our singular pursuit in this life, the one constant we are striving for, and when we stand before Him in our supplication, we must have the selfsame attitude. We do not know how long Elijah’s prayer lasted, we do not know how wordy it was, but what we do know with certainty, because the Word of God makes mention of it, is that he prayed earnestly.
No, it’s not only perfect people who get their prayers answered, because other than Jesus there are no perfect people, but it is sanctified people, and people who know what it is to pray earnestly that move heaven and the heart of God.
The sixth ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is unity.
Whether praying in your family, your home group, or your church, when you pray for something as a body pray as one, pray in unity, and with a singular purpose. Be in one accord, let your voices reach heaven as one, and God’s eyes will be open, and His ears attentive.
It was a dark time for the church, a time wherein they were being hunted by Herod, a time when James the brother of John had just been killed with the sword, and Peter was in prison, guarded by four squads of soldiers, waiting to be tried as soon as Passover was finished. The church that remained in freedom did the one thing they could do, and that was pray. They did not go before the king or his emissaries, they didn’t have a petition drive or a bake sale to make their cause known, they gathered together, as one, and prayed. Throughout Peter’s stay in prison, the church kept him in prayer.
Acts 12:5, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
Acts 12:12, ‘So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.”
From the moment of his incarceration, to the moment Peter knocked on Mary’s door where the brethren were gathered together, their prayers for Peter were continuous, unceasing, and as one. They prayed earnestly, they prayed passionately, they prayed selflessly, and God heard their prayers and sent an angel to free Peter from the shackles, and the prison.
If we desire to see our prayers answered, if we desire to see the power of God and the miracles of God in our lives, then we must have these six ingredients, and there can be no substituting them. God has called us to be His, sanctified and set apart, and we must fulfill that which He has called us to lest He behold us as He beheld Israel in the time of Ezekiel and say, ‘though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
As children of God we must be sanctified, or set apart for sacred use, and it is the sanctified that move the heart of God with their prayers and supplications. The debate has been raging for decades in this country whether God requires sanctification and holiness on our part, but it is a debate that should have been laid to rest at its genesis. God said ‘be holy for I am holy’, God said, ‘be holy in all your doings’, and if God said it, everything else is irrelevant. Yes, men’s opinions are irrelevant, that latest book on the Christian bookstore shelf that tells you holiness is for old fogies is irrelevant, because God supersedes all these, and if we are His children it is Him that we must obey.
It was only when Solomon kept the feast seven days and all of Israel with him, and held a sacred assembly observing the dedication of the altar for seven days; it was only after Israel had sanctified itself that the Lord appeared to Solomon.
2 Chronicles 7:12, “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.”’
There is conditionality to having our prayers answered, and Solomon had met it. Now God turns his attention to Israel, and gives Solomon a message for them.
2 Chronicles 7:13-15, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”
So there are three things that God says we must do if we want Him to hear us from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. The first thing we must do, by God’s decree is to humble ourselves, the second is to pray and seek His face, and the third is turn from our wicked ways. There has been no addendum to this there has been no exemption clause included anywhere in the Bible, and so if we desire to see our prayers answered, we must do as God commands. In the olden days, it was the temple that God focused upon, it was toward the temple that His eyes were opened and ears attentive to hear the prayers made therein, but now, our hearts are His temple, and He is attentive to every prayer, made from the hearts of those who are humble, and repentant and in prayer.
The fifth ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is earnestness.
James 5:17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, flesh and blood, with his own quirks and shortcomings, yet when he prayed earnestly it did not rain for three years and six months. When he prayed, again, the heaven gave rain. We must pursue God earnestly, with seriousness and purpose and zeal. God must be our singular pursuit in this life, the one constant we are striving for, and when we stand before Him in our supplication, we must have the selfsame attitude. We do not know how long Elijah’s prayer lasted, we do not know how wordy it was, but what we do know with certainty, because the Word of God makes mention of it, is that he prayed earnestly.
No, it’s not only perfect people who get their prayers answered, because other than Jesus there are no perfect people, but it is sanctified people, and people who know what it is to pray earnestly that move heaven and the heart of God.
The sixth ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is unity.
Whether praying in your family, your home group, or your church, when you pray for something as a body pray as one, pray in unity, and with a singular purpose. Be in one accord, let your voices reach heaven as one, and God’s eyes will be open, and His ears attentive.
It was a dark time for the church, a time wherein they were being hunted by Herod, a time when James the brother of John had just been killed with the sword, and Peter was in prison, guarded by four squads of soldiers, waiting to be tried as soon as Passover was finished. The church that remained in freedom did the one thing they could do, and that was pray. They did not go before the king or his emissaries, they didn’t have a petition drive or a bake sale to make their cause known, they gathered together, as one, and prayed. Throughout Peter’s stay in prison, the church kept him in prayer.
Acts 12:5, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
Acts 12:12, ‘So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.”
From the moment of his incarceration, to the moment Peter knocked on Mary’s door where the brethren were gathered together, their prayers for Peter were continuous, unceasing, and as one. They prayed earnestly, they prayed passionately, they prayed selflessly, and God heard their prayers and sent an angel to free Peter from the shackles, and the prison.
If we desire to see our prayers answered, if we desire to see the power of God and the miracles of God in our lives, then we must have these six ingredients, and there can be no substituting them. God has called us to be His, sanctified and set apart, and we must fulfill that which He has called us to lest He behold us as He beheld Israel in the time of Ezekiel and say, ‘though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Moving Heaven! Part 1
Since yesterday we discussed the foolishness of attempting to bribe God, and how bribery will neither sway His heart nor move heaven on our behalf, today I wanted to discuss some principles to which we must adhere in order for our prayers to not only be heard but also be answered.
As simplistic as the following might sound, even before we get started, I must point out the fact that in order for God to answer our prayers, we must be men and women of prayer. Throughout the Bible we see the true warriors of the faith, those whose sandals we are unworthy to carry, spend more time in prayer and communion with God than anything else. Prayer builds the relationship between ourselves and Him, and it is not a once a week prayer I am referring to, it is not the prayer of desperation that we utter when we can’t see ourselves out of a problem, but consistent, perpetual and heartfelt prayer as that of the saints of old. Through prayer, we are not only communing and fellowshipping with God, we are worshiping Him. An individual absent a prayer life is an individual absent fellowship with God, and an individual absent fellowship with God is an individual absent power. We must acknowledge the interconnectedness of our spiritual journey, and the fact that omitting one thing from our spiritual lives has a domino effect which extends to the entirety of our spiritual lives. Absence of prayer weakens a soul, a weakened soul becomes more susceptible to enemy attacks, and once the enemy sees the cracks, once he sees that we are susceptible because of our neglect of prayer, then his attacks intensify and increase in frequency until we either return to our prayer lives in earnest, or he overtakes us.
So is it that we can move heaven? What are the necessary ingredients that lead to answered prayers from God?
The first two ingredients necessary to move heaven with our prayers are passion and godly fear. A prayer is a plea, an imploration, a supplication and as such it must be done from the depths of one’s heart, with passion and pathos. Too often there is no life in our prayers; there is no passion in our prayers; there is no groaning in our prayers. We say the words, but our hearts are not moved, we speak the prayers, but it is mechanical and lifeless.
As Paul speaks of Christ, and His time in the flesh, he describes the way in which Jesus prayed, and if Jesus prayed in such a way, then we likewise ought to pray as Jesus prayed.
Hebrews 5:7-8, “Who, in the days of His flesh when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
I often hear murmuring among the children of God, because although they pray with tears, although the offer up supplications with vehement cries, their prayers are not answered, and heaven is not moved on their behalf.
Well, why is it that God answered Christ’s prayers?
Was it because he had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears? No it was not! God answered Him, because of His godly fear. Yes, Paul tells us that He was heard because of His godly fear. We must possess godly fear in our hearts, we must walk in righteousness and holiness unto God, we must be passionate in our pleas, and He will hear us, He will answer us, and He will intervene.
The third ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is that we make our appeal to God in accordance to His will.
I have preached many sermons on Elijah over the years, and his victory on Mount Carmel over the prophets of Baal, of how we ought to expect of our God more than the world expects of its gods, of how we are to rebuild the altar of worship before we can bring pleasing sacrifice to the Father, but today I want to focus on the specificity of Elijah’s prayer, and see why God answered it in such a dramatic manner.
In case you don’t know, there was a bull on an altar, soaked in water, with water running all around it, and after Elijah prayed, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
So what sort of prayer was it that brought down the fire of God? It was a prayer in accordance with God’s will.
1 Kings 18:36, “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.”
What Elijah did, he did at God’s word, he did in accordance with God’s will. He wasn’t just taking a shot in the dark and hoping it worked out, He wasn’t presuming to know the mind of God, going off on his own confronting the prophets of Baal. What Elijah did, he did because God had told him to do it, and because he knew he was doing it in accordance with the will of God, he was bold and courageous and certain of the outcome before the first pitcher of water was poured upon the offering. Walk in the will of God; be in accordance with the will of God, and your prayers will move heaven.
So what is an example of a prayer in accordance with God’s will? Glad you asked!
After being released by Annas and Caiaphas, Peter and John return to their companions, and report all that the chief priest and elders had said to them. In essence, what the chief priests and elders had said, in fact what they had commanded Peter and John to do, was not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. If they could just keep from doing that, if they could just keep from speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus, then all would be well, and no further hardship need be visited upon them. When those who were gathered heard of the threat, when they heard that the only way by which they could keep the peace is be silent concerning Jesus, rather than acquiesce they began to pray.
Acts 4:29-30, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
This was the essence of their prayer, that God would grant them boldness so they might speak His word. Their prayer was not selfish, it was not ‘Lord spare us hardship’ it was not, ‘Lord forgive us for keeping silent but we don’t want to suffer’, it was not, ‘Lord bless us in spite of our unwillingness to serve you with our whole hearts, and tell others about you’, it was ‘Lord give us boldness to do what must be done!’
Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
Instant answer to a selfless plea! It didn’t take weeks or months, but when they had prayed, the place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Because they had been filled with the Holy Spirit, they now spoke the word of God with boldness, just as they had prayed the Lord would grant them. Yes, this was a prayer in accordance with the will of God, and as such God answered it instantaneously.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
As simplistic as the following might sound, even before we get started, I must point out the fact that in order for God to answer our prayers, we must be men and women of prayer. Throughout the Bible we see the true warriors of the faith, those whose sandals we are unworthy to carry, spend more time in prayer and communion with God than anything else. Prayer builds the relationship between ourselves and Him, and it is not a once a week prayer I am referring to, it is not the prayer of desperation that we utter when we can’t see ourselves out of a problem, but consistent, perpetual and heartfelt prayer as that of the saints of old. Through prayer, we are not only communing and fellowshipping with God, we are worshiping Him. An individual absent a prayer life is an individual absent fellowship with God, and an individual absent fellowship with God is an individual absent power. We must acknowledge the interconnectedness of our spiritual journey, and the fact that omitting one thing from our spiritual lives has a domino effect which extends to the entirety of our spiritual lives. Absence of prayer weakens a soul, a weakened soul becomes more susceptible to enemy attacks, and once the enemy sees the cracks, once he sees that we are susceptible because of our neglect of prayer, then his attacks intensify and increase in frequency until we either return to our prayer lives in earnest, or he overtakes us.
So is it that we can move heaven? What are the necessary ingredients that lead to answered prayers from God?
The first two ingredients necessary to move heaven with our prayers are passion and godly fear. A prayer is a plea, an imploration, a supplication and as such it must be done from the depths of one’s heart, with passion and pathos. Too often there is no life in our prayers; there is no passion in our prayers; there is no groaning in our prayers. We say the words, but our hearts are not moved, we speak the prayers, but it is mechanical and lifeless.
As Paul speaks of Christ, and His time in the flesh, he describes the way in which Jesus prayed, and if Jesus prayed in such a way, then we likewise ought to pray as Jesus prayed.
Hebrews 5:7-8, “Who, in the days of His flesh when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
I often hear murmuring among the children of God, because although they pray with tears, although the offer up supplications with vehement cries, their prayers are not answered, and heaven is not moved on their behalf.
Well, why is it that God answered Christ’s prayers?
Was it because he had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears? No it was not! God answered Him, because of His godly fear. Yes, Paul tells us that He was heard because of His godly fear. We must possess godly fear in our hearts, we must walk in righteousness and holiness unto God, we must be passionate in our pleas, and He will hear us, He will answer us, and He will intervene.
The third ingredient necessary to move heaven with our prayers is that we make our appeal to God in accordance to His will.
I have preached many sermons on Elijah over the years, and his victory on Mount Carmel over the prophets of Baal, of how we ought to expect of our God more than the world expects of its gods, of how we are to rebuild the altar of worship before we can bring pleasing sacrifice to the Father, but today I want to focus on the specificity of Elijah’s prayer, and see why God answered it in such a dramatic manner.
In case you don’t know, there was a bull on an altar, soaked in water, with water running all around it, and after Elijah prayed, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
So what sort of prayer was it that brought down the fire of God? It was a prayer in accordance with God’s will.
1 Kings 18:36, “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.”
What Elijah did, he did at God’s word, he did in accordance with God’s will. He wasn’t just taking a shot in the dark and hoping it worked out, He wasn’t presuming to know the mind of God, going off on his own confronting the prophets of Baal. What Elijah did, he did because God had told him to do it, and because he knew he was doing it in accordance with the will of God, he was bold and courageous and certain of the outcome before the first pitcher of water was poured upon the offering. Walk in the will of God; be in accordance with the will of God, and your prayers will move heaven.
So what is an example of a prayer in accordance with God’s will? Glad you asked!
After being released by Annas and Caiaphas, Peter and John return to their companions, and report all that the chief priest and elders had said to them. In essence, what the chief priests and elders had said, in fact what they had commanded Peter and John to do, was not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. If they could just keep from doing that, if they could just keep from speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus, then all would be well, and no further hardship need be visited upon them. When those who were gathered heard of the threat, when they heard that the only way by which they could keep the peace is be silent concerning Jesus, rather than acquiesce they began to pray.
Acts 4:29-30, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
This was the essence of their prayer, that God would grant them boldness so they might speak His word. Their prayer was not selfish, it was not ‘Lord spare us hardship’ it was not, ‘Lord forgive us for keeping silent but we don’t want to suffer’, it was not, ‘Lord bless us in spite of our unwillingness to serve you with our whole hearts, and tell others about you’, it was ‘Lord give us boldness to do what must be done!’
Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
Instant answer to a selfless plea! It didn’t take weeks or months, but when they had prayed, the place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Because they had been filled with the Holy Spirit, they now spoke the word of God with boldness, just as they had prayed the Lord would grant them. Yes, this was a prayer in accordance with the will of God, and as such God answered it instantaneously.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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