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2017 40 Days of Prayer, Day 15

The Abiding Presence of God:
A Life of Complete Dependence

Day 15

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” Romans 8:15

A Spirit of Slavery Leading to Fear;

When we were in bondage to sin, we lived in fear of God’s condemnation.   Paul opened the chapter with the way things used to be before Christ.  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation."  Now in Christ we are free from the power of "the law of sin and death" and the condemnation of God because of our sin.  Without grace through faith in Christ, there is a reality of condemnation and judgment.  Fear is the natural reaction to this coming judgment for those outside of Christ.  If fear fills a person's heart when hearing of a future encounter with the living God, then that may be a sign that they have never come to saving faith in Christ Jesus.  There are two kinds of people in the world.  There are those who have a joyful future with God forever and ever through faith in Christ.  There are those who have a terrifying future of separation from God forever and ever because they have never believed in Christ as their Savior.  I John 4:17-19 tells us, "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;... There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."    

A Spirit of Adoption

As believers, we have been freed from the bondage of sin and its associated fear of judgment.  God set us free.  We are free from sins pervasive influence.  We are free from God’s judgment of sin.  If we have been freed in this way, why would we allow sin to continue to control us?  Our life was once like that, under the sway of sin and the fearful reality of judgment.  The bondage to sin led us to the terrible place of the fear of God’s judgment.  As believers, when we allow sin to dominate our lives; we imitate our life prior to God’s freeing work of salvation in Christ.  This is not the type of spirit we have received.  Instead we have been given the Spirit of God.  Just as the “spirit of slavery” leads us to fear and bondage, the “spirit of adoption” leads us to confidence and freedom.  We can have confidence in God’s presence.  Fear has no power over us anymore.  Just as fear has no power over us anymore, sin has no power to dominate us anymore.  We must live in a way that reflects our newfound freedom.  We must live under the leadership of the Spirit of God so that righteousness and goodness and truth dominate our daily experience. 

We Cry Out “Daddy!”

In our newfound confidence we cry out.  Our soul cries out from the longing of our hearts.  Like a young child confidently shouts “daddy” to her earthly father, so too, we can cry out to God our Father.  In our past, we cried out “O Holy God, do not condemn me forever,” now we cry out “my Daddy and my Father.”  The adoption of children gives us a beautiful picture of what God has accomplished in us through His Son.  When adopting a child, the adopting parents must go through a rigorous process of approval.  Their credibility is tested by a series of court appointed attorneys and social workers.  The adopting family must also pay the legal costs associated with the adoption process.  I speak from personal experience when I say that the adoption process is a grueling endeavor.  However, the first time you hold the child in your arms, the first time you give the child a bottle, the first time you hear that child say “dada,” all of the effort is worth it.  Paul described a similar reality with God’s adoption of us.  God paid an enormous legal price in order to secure our legal adoption into His family.  He gave His One and Only Son to bring us into the family.  However, just as earthly parents love to hear their children say “momma” or “dada” even so our Heavenly Father loves to hear us say “Abba! Father!”  "Abba" was one of the first words spoken by a young child in Paul's day.  Since the short "a" sound and the "b" sound are some of the easiest for young children to form, "abba" became an early word associated with father.  This is much like the words "momma" and "dada" today.  When Paul spoke of "Abba! Father!" he described for us the intimate and personal relationship between us and God.  God has adopted us.  He invites us to call Him our own Father.  For God's great glory, through the exalting of His Son, God has adopted us into His family.  This adoption has resulted in our great joy.  We once lived in fear.  Now we live in joy.  Listen to the joy in the heart of the child of God crying out to God, “My Daddy!”

Prayer Focus

Oh My Father, You are so good.  You have adopted me into Your family.  Such knowledge is beyond my comprehension.  Such truth is more than I can understand.  I praise You, Oh God, for Your mercy.  Today, please work in my life in such a way as others will see the family resemblance.  I want to be like Your Son.  I want others to see Christ Jesus in me.  I pray that You will help me with my confidence before You.  I know that You have forgiven me all my sins.   I know that You will never cast me away from Your presence because of the loving work You have done to save me.

From DL Moody's Secret Power

THE GREATEST WEAPON.

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and what we need specially is to be filled with the Spirit, so we can know how to use the Word. There was a Christian man talking to a skeptic, who was using the Word, and the skeptic said, “I don’t believe, sir, in that Book.” But the man went right on and he gave him more of the Word’ and the man again remarked, “I don’t believe the Word,” but he kept giving him more, and at last the man was reached. And the brother added, “When I have proved a good sword which does the work of execution, I would just keep right on using it.” That is what we want. Skeptics may say they don’t believe in it. It is not our work to make them believe in it; that is the work of the Spirit. Our work is to give them the Word of God; not to preach our theories and our ideas about it, but just to deliver the message as God gives it to us. We read in the Scriptures of the Sword of the Lord and Gideon. Suppose Gideon had gone out without the Word, he would have been defeated. But the Lord used Gideon; and I think you find all through the Scriptures, God takes up and uses human instruments. You cannot find, I believe, a case in the Bible where a man is converted without God calling in some human agency - using some human instrument; not but that He cannot do it in His own independent sovereignty; there is no doubt about that. Even when by the revealed glory of the Lord Jesus, Saul of Tarsus was smitten to the earth, Annanias was used to open his eyes and lead him into the light of the Gospel. I heard a man once say, if you put a man on a mountain peak, higher than one of the Alpine peaks, God could save him without a human messenger; but that is not His way; that is not His method; but it is “The sword of the Lord and Gideon”; and the Lord and Gideon will do the work; and if we are just willing to let the Lord use us, He will.

2017 40 Days of Prayer, Day 14

The Abiding Presence of God:
A Life of Complete Dependence

Day 14

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”  Romans 8:14

Being Led by the Spirit

A radical change has occurred.  The before and after picture begins to emerge here in Romans 8.  We were under condemnation.  Now, we are righteous in God’s eyes.  We were dead in our sins.  Now, we are alive.  Before Christ came, sin dominated our lives.  Now, the Spirit of God dwells within us.  Sin brought death.  The Spirit brings life and the promise of physical restoration at the resurrection of the church.  We come now to the next in this incredible string of blessings designed to give strength to our soul for the daily struggles in this life.  Paul speaks now of our relationship transformation.  We are sons of God.  If the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you belong to Christ.  If you belong to Christ, you are part of His family.  Christ, the Son of God, brings many sons and daughters into the family.  God becomes our very own Father through Christ.  It is the Spirit of God that bears testimony to this marvelous truth.  In verse 9, the Spirit gives testimony to our standing with Christ.  If the Spirit dwells in you, then you belong to Christ. 

Now, a new and more remarkable truth, if your life is marked by the leading of the Holy Spirit, then you are a child of God.  Paul used the gender specific term here, “sons.”  This is not a gender bias by Paul for Paul said in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  However, in Paul’s culture only male children could inherit their father’s estate.  It is true that we are children of God, as verified in plenty of biblical texts.  For instance, John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, He gave them the right to become children of God.”  Even in this very passage, Paul used the gender-neutral term.  “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” Romans 8:16.  However, in this text, Paul emphasized the relational change that comes to us; we are all sons of God through faith in Christ.  He also emphasized the inheritance that is rightfully ours.  All believers, men and women, share in the inheritance that comes as children of God through faith in Christ.      

Prayer Focus

God, thank You for making me Your child.  Thank You, for allowing me to share in the inheritance of Your Son.  As Your child, let this day reflect my relationship with You. Holy Spirit, lead me today.  Guide my thoughts and my attitudes.  Direct my words and my actions for the sake of the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ.

From DL Moody’s Secret Power

WHAT IS NEEDED

Nine-tenths, at least, of the church members never think of speaking for Christ. If they see a man, perhaps a near relative, just going right down to ruin, going rapidly, they never think of speaking to him about his sinful course and of seeking to win him to Christ. Now certainly there must be something wrong. And yet when you talk with them you find they have faith, and you cannot say they are not children of God; but they have not the power, they have not the liberty, they have not the love that real disciples of Christ should have. A great many people are thinking that we need new measures, that we need new churches, that we need new choirs, and all these new things. That is not what the Church of God needs today. It is the old power that the Apostles had; that is what we want, and if we have that in our churches, there will be new life. Then we will have new ministers - the same old ministers renewed with power; filled with the Spirit. I remember when in Chicago many were toiling in the work, and it seemed as though the car of salvation didn’t move on, when a minister began to cry out from the very depths of his heart, “Oh, God, put new ministers in every pulpit.” On next Monday I heard two or three men stand up and say, “We had a new minister last Sunday - the same old minister, but he had got new power.” and I firmly believe that is what we want today all over America. We want new ministers in the pulpit and new people in the pews. We want people quickened by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit coming down and taking possession of the children of God and giving them power. Then a man filled with the Spirit will know how to use “the sword of the Spirit.” If a man is not filled with the Spirit, he will never know how to use the Book. We are told that this is the sword of the Spirit; and what is an army good for that does not know how to uses its weapons? Suppose a battle is going on, and I were a general and had a hundred thousand men, great, able-bodied men, full of life, but they could not one of them handle a sword, and not one of them knew how to use his rifle, what would that army be good for? Why, one thousand well-drilled men, with good weapons, would rout the whole of them. The reason why the Church does not overcome the enemy is, because she don’t know how to use the sword of the Spirit. People will get up and try to fight the devil with their experiences, but he doesn’t care for that, he will overcome them every time. People are trying to fight the devil with theories and pet ideas, but he will get the victory over them likewise. What we want is to draw the sword of the Spirit. It is that which cuts deeper than anything else. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 6:14: “Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all (or over all), taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

2017 40 Days of Prayer, Day 13

The Abiding Presence of God:
A Life of Complete Dependence

Day 13

“for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13

Choose Life

One of the foundational truths of scripture is that God has placed before us all a choice between life and death.  From the beginning, God told Adam and Eve to make choices that preserved life and to avoid the one choice that led to death.  Adam and Eve chose the path of death and plunged the rest of us into a world of sin and death.  Moses put a similar decision before Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land. “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish,” Deuteronomy 30:15-18.  In the end, the nation chose what Adam and Eve chose, they selected the path of death.  They could not keep the Law and they would not remain loyal to the God of creation.  The appeal of the false idols in the cultures all around them proved too much for them, something God warmed them about in this passage.  What should have been a blessing, “life and prosperity,” became a curse, “death and adversity.”  God intervened and sent His Son to become a curse for us,” Galatians 3:13.  Christ died for us so that death itself would die in its power over us.  Now we are free from the ravages of sin and death.  This newfound freedom in the Spirit is not a license to live anyway we want.  This newfound freedom provides power to live a life that pleases God.  We can only live this life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Putting to Death the Deeds of the Body

Individuals who live according to their sinful nature must die.  This is the state of unbelievers.  Unbelievers live according to their sinful inclinations.  Unbelievers allow their lives to be controlled by sin.  Universal laws prevail in this case.  God communicates to us through His Word that sinners face the consequences of sin.  The spiritual laws of the universe require death (separation from God, alienation from self and others) for sinners.  If the Spirit dwells in us, then we have been changed.  The spiritual laws of the universe grant life to those who are in Christ and have the Spirit dwelling in them.  This is God’s divine will.  In His justice, sin requires death.  In His grace, the righteousness of Christ brings life.  The life-giving presence of the work of Christ is His Spirit.  How do we know if we have the Spirit of God residing in us?  The Spirit is at war with the sinful desires of our physical bodies.  This is how we know that we belong to Christ.  When His Spirit lives within us, His Spirit continually battles against our sinful desires, with the outcome of this battle resulting in our spiritual life and the hope of a future, resurrected, physical life.  If our bodies crave sinful pleasures, we must put those desires to death by the working of God’s Spirit. 

Prayer Focus

God, I choose to live according to the reality of my life in Christ.  In Christ, I am alive.  I choose to live today according to the reality of my life in through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  In the power of the Spirit, I am free.  God, empower Your Spirit within me so that I may put to death my sinful desires.  You have set me free from the consequences of my sin.  Lord, You have also provided a path to freedom from the habits of my sin.  Lord, please battle the sinful desires within me.  Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You.  In the name of the only Savior, Jesus Christ, my Lord.

From DL Moody's Secret Power

PRAISING WITH ONE HEART

We find, the very moment that Solomon completed the Temple, when all was finished, they were just praising God with one heart; there was not any discord; they were all praising God, and the glory of God came and filled the Tabernacle. Now, as you turn over into the New Testament, you will find, instead of coming to Tabernacles and Temples, believers are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. When, on the day of Pentecost, before Peter preached that memorable sermon, as they were praying, the Holy Spirit came, and came in mighty power. We now pray for the Spirit of God to come and we sing: “Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove, With all thy quickening power; Kindle a flame of heavenly love in these cold hearts of ours. I believe, if we understand it, it is perfectly right; but if we are praying for Him to come out of heaven down to earth again, that is wrong, because He is already here; He has not been out of this earth for these 1800 years; He has been in the Church, and He is with all believers; the believers in the Church are the called-out ones; they are called out from the world, and every true believer is a Temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. In the 14th chapter of John, 17th verse, we have the words of Jesus: “The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither does it know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells in you.”

“Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the World.” If we have the Spirit dwelling in us, He gives us power over the flesh and the world, and over every enemy. “He is dwelling with you, and shall be in you.” Whenever you see a believer, you see a temple of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we read again: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Thus are we taught that there is a divine resident in every child of God. I think it is clearly taught in the Scripture that every believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. He may be quenching the Spirit of God, and he may not glorify God as he should, but if he is a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in him. But I want to call your attention to another fact. I believe today, that though Christian men and women have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, yet He is not dwelling within them in power; in other words, God has a great many sons and daughters living without full power.