Final Exhortations

Ephesians 6:18-22

Edward McKendree Bounds, Power through Prayer (1907), in first chapter “Men of Prayer Needed” wrote:

“WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. …

What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use-men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men-men of prayer.”

Example of the early church:

Act_1:14  These all [the 120] continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Act_1:24  And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen.

Act_2:42  And they [including the 3000] continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Act_4:31  And when they [the Jerusalem congregation] 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.

The beginning phrase of verse 18 is connected with the imperative of verse 14:  “Stand, therefore, with all prayer and supplication, praying on every occasion, in the Spirit.”  Charles Hodge  The intervening verses (14-17) deal with the soldier’s equipment, this exhortation to prayer deals with his enabling.  Reminder: prayer is the God-ordained means of supplying our needs, either through our own prayers or those of others.  See Jas_4:2.  Again  from Charles Hodge, “As the Christian has no resources of strength in himself, and can succeed only as aided from above, the apostle urges the duty of prayer.”

The Christian has a duty first to pray for all the saints which, by the way, would include himself;  he then has a duty to pray for the missionary, and he has a duty to pray specifically insofar as he is able.

1.  Pray for the saints  v.18

• at all times/on every occasion
• using every form or sort of prayer

1.       The expression all prayer, means all kinds of prayer, oral and mental, ejaculatory and formal. The prayers which Paul would have the Christian warrior use, are not merely those of the closet and of stated seasons, but also those habitual and occasional aspirations, and outgoings of the heart after God, which a constant sense of his nearness and a constant sense of our necessity must produce.  Hodge

• specifically including supplication

2.      petition – formal request for something needed or desired

3.      primary need

• proper and effective use of the armor
• effective soldiering
• in the Spirit

4.      under his influence

5.      with his assistance

• alertly and persistently

6.      to the end that we may be effective

7.      looking for opportunities for prayer

8.      watchful of hindrances to prayer

9.      persisting/persevering

• to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of [persisting] despite difficulty – ‘to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in.’ Louw-Nida
• for all the saints

10.  the church militant is a single army comprised of many units

11.   individual saints are not fighting alone

12.   we must not focus on either extreme – the individual to the exclusion of the whole or vice versa

2.  Pray for the missionary  v.19-20

• utterance

1.       the words or message

2.      appropriate to the setting

3.      divine assistance in his preaching

4.      a clear gospel – that the hearers may come to understand the mystery

• open mouth

5.      not squandering opportunities

6.      not hesitant but prepared

• boldness

7.      speaking fearlessly

• no fear of reprisal or harm
• no fear of disapproval, ridicule
• no fear of an effective challenge to what is spoken

8.      no one can take on God’s truth and prevail

9.      as an ambassador should

10.  speaking frankly

• Openly; freely; ingenuously; without reserve, constraint or disguise; Webster
• plainly and to the point; cf. Nicodemus

3.  Pray specifically  v.21-22

• his circumstances

1.       in handcuffs

2.      prison ministry opportunities

3.      the fruits of his labors

4.      Both his temporal and spiritual affairs; as that he was in bonds, and how he was supported under them, and of what use they were to others; how that he preached in his own hired house, and with what success; and what ministering brethren he had with him to assist him; and in what condition was the church at Rome where he now was: the apostle’s life and actions would bear the light, and what he did was worthy of imitation, and must be both delightful and useful to know;  Gill

• his health

5.      specific health issues

• his thorn in the flesh – 2Co_12:7-9
• his eyesight – “what large letters” Gal_6:11 (see also Act_9:18 and Act_23:5, along with Gal_4:15)
• his needs

6.      e.g., the cloak, the books, the parchments he requested from Timothy  2Ti_3:13

7.      It is desirable to good ministers both that their Christian friends should know their state and that they should be acquainted with the condition of their friends; for by this means they may the better help each other in their prayers.  Matthew Henry

Remember, the power is not in prayer.  Prayer is just the means, the conduit through which we receive what we need from our Heavenly Father.  The power attendant on prayer is that of God himself; the results come from God, the blessings, the things, the supplies, everything we have is the gift of Jehovah-Jireh.  Remember, also, that we should use the resources we have available to pray as effectively as possible.

• weekly Dare-to-Care prayer sheet
• monthly ARBCA prayer update

Heart Warming

 Luke 24:13-35

Heart disease – 52 million hits on Google.  According to the National Institutes of Health, “heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also a major cause of disability.”  Various forms of heart disease include 23 specific ailments.  Yet there is one heart condition that medical diagnostic routines cannot detect but is common to all men, a heart of stone.  There is only one cure, a heart transplant; there is only one surgeon qualified and capable of performing the procedure, the sovereign Lord of the universe.

Eze_11:19-20  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,  that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  ESV

But it is not only stony hearts that experience symptoms of disease or malfunction.

“Stress cardiomyopathy, also referred to as the “broken heart syndrome,” is a condition in which intense emotional or physical stress can cause rapid and severe heart muscle weakness (cardiomyopathy). This condition can occur following a variety of emotional stressors such as grief (e.g. death of a loved one), fear, extreme anger, and surprise.”
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/asc/faqs.html

In fact, two of Jesus’ followers who had set out on a 7-mile hike seem according to the text to be suffering from a variety of “heart” ailments related to grief over the death of a loved one.

1.  Sad hearts  v.17

• gloomy, mournful
• Haven’t you heard? We hoped… Now we don’t know what to think.
• broken dreams and shattered hopes v.21
• our hero was killed, his body has gone missing, it’s the 3rd day – something special?
• inability to connect the dots, to make a coherent picture out of the events
• ignorance they presume of Jesus (Luk_24:18) is more accurately their own
• how often our hearts are sad because we don’t see the big picture, fail to recognize how God is working

2.  Slow hearts  v.25

• dull of perception
• skeptical of what they had heard and read
• reading Scripture through the wrong lens
• Jesus’ remedy: “to explain on a more extensive and formal level the meaning of something which is particularly obscure or difficult to comprehend – ‘to explain, to interpret.’ ” Louw-Nida Lexicon
• He showed them how Christ, the Messiah, and his redemptive work was the central and persistent focus of Scripture Luk_24:27, Luk_24:44
• Gen_3:15 The Seed of the woman will bruise the head of the Serpent
• Gen_22:18 in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
• Exo_12:23 the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses
• Deu_18:18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren
• Isa_7:14 Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel
• Mal_3:1 Behold I send my Messenger and he will prepare the way before Me
• Isa_9:6 Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
• Zec_9:9 Behold your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
• Isa_53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.
• Psa_22:1 Psa_22:14 Psa_22:17-18 My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within me. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
• Psa_110:4 You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek

3.  Seeing hearts  v.31

• open thoroughly or completely what was previously closed
• clearly recognized Jesus

1.       as the individual with whom they had previously fellowshipped

• the problem was their eyesight, not his appearance

2.      as the promised Messiah

• the one who embodied the texts he had opened to them
• there truly was a “match” (contra David Jehovahson)

3.      as the object and source of worthwhile dreams and real hope

• it is too small a thing… Isa_49:6
• You will bring salvation to the ends of the earth
• My Servant will justify many as he will bear their iniquities Isa_53:11
• they understood the real message of deliverance
• more than politics or form of government

4.  Hearts set on fire  v.32                see Psa_39:3

• kindled, blazing
• their hearts were warmed and glowed within them; they became fervent in spirit, and their affections were raised and fired; they found the word to be as burning fire within them; Gill
• The key to their change of heart: v. 32 – he talked with us, he opened the Scriptures
• The Scriptures are as a sealed book to men, learned and unlearned; and none so fit to open them as the lion of the tribe of Judah: he did open and explain them to these his disciples, as well as conversed with them about other things, as they travelled together; and his words came with such evidence, power, and sweetness, that they were ravished with them; their minds were irradiated with beams and rays of divine light; Gill
• he thoroughly explained revelation concerning himself – see v. 27, 44-45
• he opened Scripture (Luk_24:32) and their understanding (Luk_24:45)
• so they could “put together” ( συνίημι ), understand, the Scriptures
• to understand the necessity of his suffering they had to:

1.       comprehend the meaning and magnitude of their sin

2.      recognize their state of helplessness

3.      grasp the significance of what Jesus had accomplished by his suffering and resurrection

• his was a sacrifice to end all sacrifices
• it was truly global in scope

5.  Sharing hearts  v.35

• rehearsed their experience to each other, then to the eleven
• “they themselves kept on rehearsing the things along the road and how He was made known to them” Wuest
• sharing confirmed the reality of their experience
• result of a changed heart, heart set on fire
• fervent emotion
• outward expression would not be subdued
• Gospel truths are too wonderful to be kept

To have warmed and sharing hearts, what must we then do?

1.       Read the Word

2.      Attend to good preaching and teaching of the Word

3.      Meditate on the Word – so we can connect the dots

4.      Commune with the Living Word

• through the means of grace
• those institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, i, e., of the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit, to the souls of men. The means of grace, according to the standards of our Church, are the word, sacraments, and prayer. Charles Hodge

Valley of Vision, Love Shed Abroad

Confessing Our Faith in the Culture – Chapter 8

Of Christ the Mediator

1. His ordination to the office of mediator
   1. The Author of the ordination – God the Father
   2. The time of the ordination – eternity past
   3. The framework of the ordination – covenant between Father and Son
   4. The character of the ordination – mediator, Prophet, Priest, King, head and Savior of the church, heir of all things, judge of the world
   5. The purpose of the ordination – redeem, call, justify, sanctify, glorify his people; that is, accomplish their salvation
2. His incarnation for the office of mediator
   1. The subject of the incarnation – the Son, second person of the Trinity
   2. The time of the incarnation – the fullness of (appointed) time
   3. The essence of the incarnation – God taking on man’s nature in total except for sin
   4. The mode of the incarnation – the Holy Spirit and the power of God
   5. The result of the incarnation – two whole, perfect, distinct natures in one person
      1. His full deity
      2. His true humanity
      3. His single personality
3. The qualifications for the office of mediator
   1. The anointing of the Holy Spirit – made public at his baptism
   2. The commissioning of God the Father – validated at his baptism, transfiguration; cf. Jn 12:28
4. The execution of the office of mediator
   1. Its historical description – incarnation, humiliation, ascension
   2. Its central operation – penal substitutionary atonement
   3. Its ancient communication – one means of salvation pre- and post-Calvary
   4. Its mysterious communions – the interworking of two natures
   5. Its effectual application – he actually accomplished something at the cross
   6. Its inalienable possession – he can’t give it away, no one can usurp it
   7. Its necessary functions – his threefold office

From: Samuel E. Waldron, A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, (Evangelical Press, 1989), p126-127.

“Who is Jesus?” is the main question in all of the differences between Muslims and Christians. from answeringislam.org

There’s a deeper question than this; Christ the Mediator is Chapter 8, not Chapter 1 and for good reason. Absolutely foundational is the question of how God has revealed himself to us: the Analects (Confucius), Bhagavad Gita and Veda (Hindu), Tao-te-Ching (Taoism), the Qur’an, the Bible. Next, based on that is the understanding of man’s true condition. Hence, Chapter 1 (the Scriptures) is followed by Chapter 6 (the Fall) which is followed by Chapter 8.

So what is our condition??

1. Basically good ’cause Adam’s sin only counted for Adam and he repented and was forgiven Islam, UU’s
2. Basically good ’cause we evolved from pond scum and there’s no such thing as sin Secularism
3. Basically sinful ’cause we inherited a sin nature and are alienated from God Christianity

What are the consequences of these views?

1. I don’t need a mediator ’cause there’s no problem; Adam managed OK and so can I.
2. I’ll mediate for myself, thank you, ’cause I’m good enough to do that.
3. Woe is me, for I am undone.

How many choices do we really have?

Christ, and Christ alone, is fitted to be mediator between God and man. He is the prophet, priest and king of the church of God. His office as mediator cannot be transferred from Him to any other, either in whole or in part. Paragraph 9

Why do we need Christ and Him alone?

1. Because of our ignorance
2. Because of our estrangement from God and the imperfection of our services at their best
3. Because we have turned away from God and are utterly unable to return to Him
4. Because we need to be rescued and rendered secure from our spiritual adversaries

How does Christ meet our need?

1. By His prophetical office he teaches us the truth of our need and God’s gracious provision, uniquely revealing God to us.
2. By His priestly office he reconciles us to God and renders us acceptable to Him
3. By His kingly office he convinces, subdues, draws, sustains, delivers and preserves us, until we finally enter His heavenly kingdom.