Ada Pathway @ Prayer: October, 2011

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1 Jn. 3:8)

These words from the Apostle John have been a particular source of comfort and confidence for me over the past couple of years. The mission of Jesus was a mission of redemption, and that redemption - as we see from John's words - was a holistic redemption. "Salvation" means nothing less than being delivered from "the devil's work," in its entirety. That's really, really good news for you and me, but maybe it would be a good thing to remember why this news is so good.

What is the "devil's work?" Just look at Genesis 3, and see the ugly branches that grow out of the tree of Original Sin:

"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 

Because of sin, our intimacy with God was infected by the dual curse of fear and shame. That's the devil's work, and Jesus came to destroy that.

"You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

"With pain you will give birth to children."

Because of sin, our bodies are vulnerable to pain, disease, suffering, sickness, and death. Death and pain are most definitely the devil's work, but Jesus came to destroy that too.

"Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Because of sin, relationships that were meant to be characterized by love and mutual self-sacrifice became infected with mutual selfishness and "power-grabbing." More of the devil's work. Jesus came to destroy it.

"Through painful toil you will eat of [the ground] all the days of your life ... By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food."

Because of sin, work became difficult and hard, and economic provision became uncertain and burdensome. That's another of the devil's works, and Jesus came to destroy that as well.

Which of these works of the devil are you experiencing, either in your life or in the life of someone you love? Distance from God because of shame or fear? Conflict in a personal relationship? Trouble in a marriage? Physical suffering in one form or another? Economic difficulty because jobs are scarce and bills are stacking up?

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." As we are discovering more and more with each successive listening prayer meeting, Jesus really did bring full-throttle redemption, and there is no category of life that He can't transform and heal. We're experiencing that right in our midst, on a weekly basis, as this month's praise reports demonstrate.

REPORTS

• The church prayed at the end of September for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian man who had been sentenced to death for refusing to deny his Christian faith. On October 11, the newspaper headline read, "Iran Court Orders Retrial of Pastor Sentenced to Death." Father, thank you for confirming your own word, "I work and who can hinder it?"

• While praying on the sidewalk at the 40 Days for Life event, one individual was led by the Spirit to pray specifically for more adoption agencies in Grand Rapids. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for teaching us how to pray.

• Another participant in the 40 Days for Life event was quietly praying on the sidewalk, felt "a dark presence," and unexpectedly began speaking in an unknown language. The "dark presence" lifted, and the individual later verified through investigation that the words were Hebrew words that spoke of God's holiness and His heavenly dwelling. Thank you, Father, for confirming your presence in intimate ways and encouraging your children in their private prayers.

• Still another participant who prayed on the sidewalk heard God saying that He desired to heal the hearts of the women who come to the abortion clinic looking for a fast solution, but leave more broken than when they went in; this individual then began praying for those women with a new sense of compassion and sincerity. Father, your word says that you confide in those you love - thank you for sharing your heart with your children.

• The daughter of a man in the church was experiencing a lot of pain because of a sore on her face. She asked her father to pray for her, and as soon as he had finished praying, she said, "It's gone, isn't it?" The mark was still there, but she assumed it was gone because (she explained) the pain had stopped completely and immediately. Jesus, you have truly carried away our "infirmities."

• Another individual asked the listening prayer group to pray for employment. The church prayed, and three days later, the individual had a new job. Father, your name is "Provision," and you have overcome even this part of the curse.

• A participant in the 40 Days for Life event was on the sidewalk, praying that God would keep people from even knowing or recognizing that the building was an abortion clinic. Shortly after, two people walked past and asked questions about what the building was, and why there were individuals praying in front of it. Thank you, Father, for answering the prayers of your children so quickly and so specifically, for confirming your presence in such tangible ways.

I wanted to leave you with these three thoughts for the month: 

1. We are free to let our definition of "salvation" keep expanding, until it becomes at least as all-encompassing as our understanding of "the curse."
2. We serve a God who promises to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Eph. 3:20) So let's ask and imagine with confidence.
3. Embracing the "Lordship of Christ" includes - thank God - handing over to Him all of these "works of the devil" that He came to destroy (especially the ones we've given up hope of being delivered from). 

That's really, really good news.

"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known." (Hab. 3:2)

Jacob

Call to Worship, Call to Battle

In yesterday's sermon, we studied the Festival of Trumpets. Yes, you read that right, trumpets. The passage reads:

On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. (Lev. 23:24)

One point that was made several times in the sermon was that we still hear that trumpet blast today, if we are listening for the voice of Jesus in the midst of the "noise of life."

I like that application, because it underscores something central about this text, something that becomes even clearer when we look at Israel's military history. Notice what the trumpet blasts mean in this passage. They announce "a sacred assembly." 

Worship. The assembling of the people of God to (as verse 25 states) "present an offering." The trumpets are first and foremost a call to worship.

But what other function do the trumpets have in Israel? They call the army to battle. They are the sound of war.

We have something to learn here from ancient Israel: war and worship are linked. When Joshua led the people out to conquer Jericho, they first had to cross the Jordan river (see Joshua 3). It was the priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, who went first into the water, and when their feet hit the river, God parted the water for the people. Notice that it was the priests leading the way, not the army generals.

When they got to Jericho, their battle plan was to march around the city for six days, with the priests blowing those trumpets and the Ark leading the way. On the seventh day - the day of the covenant, the day of worship - the priests sounded the trumpets again, the people gave a shout of praise, and the walls of the city came down (see Joshua 6).

Trumpets call the worshiping people to assemble, and this becomes the context for warfare - or, we might say, for the advancement of the kingdom of God. Jericho isn't the only example. You'll find this sort of thing littered throughout the Old Testament stories, how Israel always took the Ark with them into battle, how the priests blew the trumpets, how the greatest battles were won in the context of sacred worship. 

Incidentally, Revelation tells the same story. The great "apocalyptic" movements of God in history recorded in Revelation are surrounded by liturgy, by worship, by elders and angels and incense and songs of praise. War and worship are linked, both in the Old and the New Testaments.

What was it Paul said? "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12)

If we want to win the great battles of our time (whether those battles are personal or political), we have to sound the trumpets. And those trumpets are a call to prayer. That's where the kingdom of God advances. That's where God displays His power. In worship, we go to war, and in going to war, we win.

I'll leave off with a quote from Jim Cymbala's book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.

Have a great week!

Jacob

I am sure that the Roman emperors didn't have prayer to God in their schools. But then, the early Christians didn't seem to care what Caligula or Claudius or Nero did. How could any emperor stop God? How, in fact, could the demons of hell make headway when God's people prayed and called upon his name? Impossible!

In the New Testament we don't see Peter or John wringing their hands and saying, "Oh, what are we going to do? Caligula's bisexual - he wants to appoint his horse to the Roman Senate - what a terrible model of leadership! How are we going to respond to this outrage?"

Let's not play games with ourselves. Let's not divert attention away from the weak prayer life of our own churches. In Acts 4, when the apostles were unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and threatened, they didn't call for a protest; they didn't reach for some political leverage. Instead, they headed to a prayer meeting. Soon the place was vibrating with the power of the Holy Spirit [Acts 4:23-31]. (Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, p. 72)

Soles4Souls Shoe Drive

Ada Pathway is further reaching out to help the poor and needy, this time in conjunction with Soles4Souls. The Soles4Souls organization facilitates an on-going "shoe drive", and we are now accepting new and gently-used shoes to be donated to Soles4Souls and distributed to those in need.

Some quick facts:

• More than 1.5 billion adults worldwide do not have footwear
• More than 300 million children worldwide do not have footwear
• Soles4Souls has given away over 15 million pairs of shoes to date, currently delivering a pair every seven seconds

There is a donation bin in the church lobby, and we will be sending our first shipment of shoes on November 15, 2011. Over the next three weeks, why not do a little "fall cleaning," go through your closets, and donate a few pairs of shoes?

The Law of 50

In yesterday's message, we studied the Old Testament feast of "Weeks," also known as the Feast of Pentecost (Greek: "Fiftieth Day"). The Israelites were told to:

"Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD." (Lev. 23:16)

The text also contains instructions relating to the poor of the land:

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien." (Lev. 23:22)

This reminded me of another "famous fifty" in Leviticus, the Year of Jubilee. While Pentecost marked the end of fifty days, the Jubilee marked the end of fifty years:

"Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan." (Lev. 25:10)

Like the Feast of Pentecost, the Jubilee Year had a hopeful message for the poor: their debts were to be wiped clean, and they were to be set free (assuming they had to be hired out to their debt-owners in order to pay off their debts). 

And that, in turn, reminded me of another Old Testament passage, one not dealing with seven weeks (Pentecost), or "seven sabbaths of years" (Jubilee), but rather, "seventy weeks of years." In Daniel's prophetic vision (Daniel 9:20-27), it was revealed that Israel would remain in slavery for seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, after which time "the Anointed One will be cut off" (9:26), and "will confirm a covenant with many" (9:27).

At the end of 490 years, the Messiah would come, in the words of Isaiah, "to preach good news to the poor ... to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah also said that when the Messiah came, "the eyes of the blind [will] be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy." (Is. 35:5)

So let's sum it all up: every year, Pentecost (50 days) brought some relief to the poor; every Jubilee (50 years), the poor and enslaved were liberated; and in Daniel's prophecy, at the end of 490 years the Messiah would come and bring definitive healing and liberation for the captives.

It all comes full circle with the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Daniel's prophecy had been fulfilled, the Messiah had confirmed His covenant, and then He sent His Spirit upon them to continue the work of liberating the captives. I find it interesting that in Isaiah's vision of the Messianic Age, "the lame [will] leap like a deer," and after the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the very next thing we see in Acts 3 is Peter healing a lame man. The Messiah's programme of deliverance goes on.

One more point about liberation: when God delivers, He delivers completely. On the Day of Pentecost, a thousands-of-years-old curse was broken, namely, the curse of Babel. The story from Genesis 11 tells of how humanity rebelled against God by trying to set up their own kingdom, and instead "the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth." (Gen. 11:9) At Babel, they were scattered over the face of the earth, but on the Day of Pentecost, they had come "from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5). At Babel, their language was confused, but on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke by the power of the Spirit, and within the crowd "each one heard them speaking in his own language" (Acts 2:6).

Good news for the poor. Good news for the captives. The Messiah has come, the covenant has been confirmed, the Spirit has been given, the slaves are being set free, the deaf, lame, and blind are healed, and the scattering of humanity that took place at Babel is being reversed as people from every nation are being drawn by the Spirit's power into the church.

Let's take some of that power into this week!

Jacob

Brown Bag Food Drive

He is in the pain, He is in the need
He is in the poor, We are told to feed
Though He was rich, for us He became poor
How could He give so much, what was it for?

In His distressing disguise
He hopes that we'll realize
That when we take care of the poorest of them
We've really done it to Him

-- Michael Card, "Distressing Disguise"

Mel Trotter Ministries' "Brown Bag Food Drive" starts this Thursday, October 20, and Ada Pathway wants to help. Please bring any non-perishable food items you'd like to donate and deposit them in the large blue bin in our church lobby. For a complete list of items that are in constant need at Mel Trotter, please visit this link: http://www.meltrotter.org/fillaneed.aspx

We are aiming to have a full bin of items to give Mel Trotter by Monday, November 7. Thank you to everyone who has already graciously donated items! We'd like to offer Mel Trotter as much support as possible, so anything you can contribute would be much appreciated. Thanks and God bless!

The Firstfruits of God

In Leviticus 23:9-14, we read about the festival of "firstfruits." Israel was told by God to set aside and offer to Him the firstfruits of their harvest: 

"When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest ... This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live" (Lev. 23:10, 14)

Why?

Because God is a wise Father, a great teacher, and full of compassion. By having Israel go through this routine, offering the firstfruits of their harvest every year, He was teaching them something about themselves. Why should the first part of the harvest be set aside for God? Because Israel was the "first part" of God's harvest, set aside for Him; remember what God said in Exodus? 

Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me."' (Ex. 4:22-23) 

Israel was the firstborn son, the firstfruits of God's "harvest of nations." This festival was an annual reminder of how much God loved His firstborn. But of course it doesn't stop there, and God didn't set aside Israel as his firstfruits as an exercise of excluding all the other nations. What happens when you set aside the firstfruits? Paul gives us the answer in Romans:

If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Rom. 11:16)

If Israel was set aside as God's firstfruits among nations, it was for the purpose of making all the nations holy. And God accomplished that very thing in Jesus, the true firstborn son among sons, the real firstfruits. That's why Paul calls Jesus "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20), quickly adding that we who are "in Christ" will certainly share in His resurrection. That's also why Paul can call Jesus "the firstborn among many brothers" (Rom. 8:29) - those who are in Christ are those "many brothers" (and sisters, of course).

I said a moment ago that the festival of firstfruits also showed that God was full of compassion. It's just something I noticed while re-reading the text today, meditating further on yesterday's sermon. Did you notice that God begins by telling Israel to start this practice "When you enter the land," and then ends in verse 14 by saying "This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live"?

God knew what was coming. He knew His firstborn was going to rebel and turn away from Him, and end up in exile, cast out of the Promised Land. And yet He still wanted them to celebrate this firstfruits festival, even in exile, as if to say, "Even when you're in slavery in the foreign lands and maybe feel like I've abandoned you, keep on celebrating this festival that reminds you of your firstborn-firstfruits status with me. I haven't given up on you."

I noticed that the Leviticus text only says "bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest," not "bring to the priest a sheaf of the best grain you harvest." That makes sense to me. Israel was the firstfruits of the nations, not necessarily because they were the best, but because God chose them to be the first. (Remember Paul's words in Romans 9:16, "it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.") In fact, God made it point to tell Israel in Deuteronomy 9:4-6, "Don't think I'm giving you this land because you're better or more righteous than the other nations - in fact, you're not any better, you're just as stubborn and rebellious as they are. I'm giving it to you because I chose you and I made a promise to your forefathers." (Obviously I'm paraphrasing, but that's the general idea.)

(A point I'd like to remember for myself: you don't have to be the best grain of the harvest in order for God to love you and want you for Himself.)

And so, even in their rebellion and in their exile, God tells them to continue celebrating the festival of firstfruits, to keep in front of their eyes the truth that He has not abandoned them or given up on them, because He is a Father who honors His promises and shows great compassion. 

(Another point I'd like to remember for myself: God didn't first love you because of your personal accomplishments, so He's certainly not going to stop loving you because of your failures.)

There's probably a lot here for you and I to cling to and celebrate. If we're in Christ, we're part of those "firstfruits" that belong to God, and - like Israel - it's not because we were any better than anyone else, but simply because He loves us. And also like Israel, if we're part of the "firstfruits," it isn't so that we can hoard the gift, it's so that the firstfruits can make the rest of the harvest holy as well. And if we happen to find ourselves from time-to-time in a bit of "exile" where it's easy to think, however wrongly, that God has lost interest in us (or worse, has turned His back on us out of anger), maybe we need a firstfruits festival of our own to remind us who we are and where we stand.

We are God's firstfruits, and we are brothers and sisters of the firstborn Son of God. As Pastor Don said in the message: "We win." Even when we feel like we're losing, we're still winners - whether we're in the Promised Land or in exile, we're still the firstfruits. So let's take that with us, as Leviticus says, "wherever you live."

Have a great week!

Jacob

40 Days for Life, October 12

It's time to stand for the unborn - literally. 

Ada Pathway is participating in Day #15 the 40 Days for Life event this coming Wednesday, October 12. We are scheduled to stand and pray at the Omega House from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.

This is not a "protest," and we won't be on site to march or carry signs. We will be there to pray that God will save lives, no more, but certainly no less. There have already been reports of God answering the prayers of His people at this event, which you can read more about here. We are excited to lend our church's support to this cause, and we're inviting you to join us.

We need volunteers to help us fill our 2pm-10pm "shift" on Wednesday, October 12, so if you can spare a half hour or an hour to join us on the sidewalk and pray, please let us know! The Omega House is located at 326 Fulton St in downtown Grand Rapids.

If you'd like to participate, send us an email (adapathway at gmail). Thanks for praying!

Jacob

Mel Trotter Ministries -- We Can Help!

Ada Pathway is now partnering with Mel Trotter Ministries to help people in need in the Grand Rapids community. Mel Trotter's aim is to "demonstrate the compassion of Jesus Christ toward the hungry, homeless and hurting." As a church we are pleased to be able to offer our assistance.

 

There is a large blue bin located in the lobby of the church where you can drop off any non-perishable food items as well as personal care items. Mel Trotter is also sponsoring a "Brown Bag Food Drive" from Oct. 20 through Dec. 2, so any food you could donate during that time would be greatly appreciated.

 

For a complete list of the items that are in constant need at Mel Trotter, please visit this link: http://www.meltrotter.org/fillaneed.aspx

 

Thank you in advance for your support!

 

 

Ada Pathway @ Prayer - September, 2011

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

It's stamped on nearly every page of Scripture, from Genesis to the Prophets, from Jesus to the Apostles' writings - God communicates directly with His children. Adam and Eve heard His voice; Moses conversed with Him "as a friend"; Abraham, David, Solomon, Jacob, Noah, Jeremiah, Samuel, Ezekiel, Gideon, and Elijah, as well as Peter, Paul, John, Ananias, and Philip all heard the voice of God (just to name a few).

Through the practice of "listening prayer," we can hear God's voice just as surely as our heroes of the faith heard Him. In fact, Scripture seems to strongly indicate that we should be listening for God's voice as part of our routine of prayer: Paul said "the Spirit helps us in our weakness" because "we do not know what we ought to pray for." (Rom. 8:26) James said "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God ... and it will be given to you" (Jas. 1:5), and Jesus said "[when] the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth." (Jn. 16:13) The Spirit of God gives us the wisdom and leads us to the truth of what we ought to pray for, and how we ought to pray.

For the past three weeks, we've been meeting at Ada Pathway on Wednesday nights to listen for God's voice in the practice of listening prayer. It's a lot less complicated than it probably sounds. We quiet ourselves, ask the Spirit to reveal what God wants us to hear, and then we simply listen. Sometimes God's voice comes to us in the form of a mental picture; sometimes it comes as a reminder of someone we need to pray for; most often it comes in the form of a thought. God uses all sorts of ways to communicate to us.

But listening prayer is only one half of the coin; obedience and action is the other half. When God honors our request to speak with us (and He always honors that request), we have to act on what we have heard. In our Wednesday night prayer meeting, we've been practicing this as well: praying for those things that God actively implants on our minds and in our hearts. When we do that - when we synchronize our prayers with the mind of God - something amazing happens: we start seeing radical results. We start feeling a closer sense of God's presence among us. We start seeing the "kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven."

Below are some of the results and stories that we've seen and heard about during our listening prayer meetings in the past three weeks. In John's vision of the last days, he saw that the saints conquered and overcame the Enemy "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." (Rev. 12:11) Our testimony and witness to the "mighty hand" of the Lord (cf. Ex. 6:1) is a part of what helps us defeat our Enemy, which is why we make time at these prayer meetings every week to talk about what God has been doing in our lives during the previous weeks.

REPORTS

• Two individuals, independent of each other, heard God saying to them, "I am with you, I am with you, I will never leave you or forsake you," which was exactly what those people needed to hear at that moment. Thank you, Father, for honoring your word to comfort us as a mother comforts her children. (Is. 66:13)

• We heard of an individual who was intending to pray for a friend who works in sales, that he would succeed in making sales; but through listening prayer, God indicated that the prayer should instead be that this friend would be given confidence. The friend later reported that he did indeed feel unusually confident, despite the fact that he did not make any sales. Thank you, Father, that the "facts" of the world are not as strong as the truth of your word.

• Another individual reported having experienced recent feelings of distance from God during prayer, and that participating in the listening prayer meeting helped to remove those feelings. Father, thank you for keeping the promise of your word that you will draw near to us when we draw near to you. (Jas. 4:8)

• One participant noticed that past feelings of "I don't want to go to prayer meeting tonight, but it's what I do, so I might as well get it over with" had been replaced with feelings of "I'm looking forward to prayer meeting tonight, I'm excited to hear what God has to say to me." Father, you show us again that your Son's yoke is easy, and there are indeed "eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Ps. 16:11)

• After hearing God bring a specific individual to mind, a participant saw a mental picture of the word "fear" and was led to pray against any fear in this individual's life. We praise you, Holy Spirit, for guiding us into the truth of what we ought to pray for.

• Another individual was led by God to pray for the "40 Days for Life" project, and specifically that God would intervene in the life of women who came to the clinic to have an abortion; the next day, the report came that a 20-year-old woman came to the clinic to have an abortion, but after an hour-and-a-half at the clinic, decided to keep the baby. Father, your word is indeed true, "My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way." (Is. 51:5)

• Another participant was led by the Spirit to pray for Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor in Iran who has been sentenced to die for refusing to renounce his faith in Jesus; within 24 hours of that prayer, the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, the German Foreign Ministry, the Europian Union, the White House, and several other international government officials denounced the impending execution, and there is now immense international pressure on Iran to release Pastor Nadarkhani. Father, you are truly a "Mighty Warrior who saves" (Zeph. 3:17), and we will believe you to complete the work you have begun by fully delivering your servant in Iran.

Wow! That's a lot to report after only three weeks of practicing listening prayer! But God is far from done, and I know that the month of October will bring even greater reports as we continue to allow God to speak His words, and to bring about amazing results as we keep learning to pray "in sync" with His mind. 

I hope to see you at the next prayer meeting!

"Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:29-30)

Jacob