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40 Days of Prayer, Day 36

Day 36, Sunday, September 25

“The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:4-6

The Destiny of the Contrite in Heart
Today, the final Sunday of the 40 Days of Prayer, we come to the closing verses of the first psalm. The psalmist provides us with a joyful promise and a weighty warning. For the righteous, those who live according to the Word of God, there is a joy in the gathering at the day of judgment. The Lord knows the ways of those who have lived according to His Word. He remembers their ways and when they come before Him on that day, there is joy in the “assembly of the righteous.” Each Sunday we gather for the purposes of preparing ourselves for that day. We gather to worship Him now, though limited by our physical and spiritual hindrances. We worship Him now even though we don’t often physically feel our best. We worship Him now even when we struggle with emotional and spiritual distractions. The contrite in heart submit to the Word of God and look forward to a day of being with God. Those with contrite heart look forward to the day when they will gather together with all who have loved Him and His Word. On that day God will reveal that any and all sacrifices for the sake of loving Him and His Word were worth the cost.

The Destiny of the Rebellious
One of my favorite passages from Spurgeon’s Treasury of David comes from Psalm 1:6. The Lord knows the way of the righteous. He is constantly looking on their way, and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord knows it. If it is in the clouds and tempest of affliction, he understands it. He numbers the hairs of our head; he will not suffer any evil to befall us. "He knows the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10) But the way of the ungodly shall perish. Not only shall they perish themselves, but their way shall perish too. The righteous carves his name upon the rock, but the wicked writes his remembrance in the sand. The righteous man ploughs the furrows of earth, and sows a harvest here, which shall never be fully reaped till he enters the enjoyments of eternity; but as for the wicked, he ploughs the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining trail behind his keel, yet the waves shall pass over it, and the place that knew him shall know him no more forever. The very "way" of the ungodly shall perish. If it exists in remembrance, it shall be in the remembrance of the bad; for the Lord will cause the name of the wicked to rot, to become a stench in the nostrils of the good, and to be only known to the wicked themselves by its putridity. May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may escape the doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of the righteous!

Prayer Focus
Oh Lord, prepare my heart for worship. I worship you despite all the weaknesses and distractions that create barriers to authentic worship. Help me in my weaknesses to truly worship. Help me to worship you in spirit and in truth. I know that one day I will see You face to face. On that day You will banish all the hindrances to authentic worship. I long for that day of being with the assembly of the righteous. Between now and that day, may the offerings of my praise to You bring honor to Your name. Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
Thus it is in spirituals. The world, they do not know what the anguish or pain of a broken heart means; they say, 'Who will show us any good, ' that is, better than we find in our sports, pleasures, and preferences. 'There are many, ' says the Psalmist, speak this way. But what says the distressed man? Why, 'Lord, do You lift up the light of Your countenance upon us'; and then adds, 'You have put gladness in my heart'; namely, by the light of Your countenance, for that is the healing for a broken heart. 'You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increase' (Psa 4:1-7). O! a broken heart can savor pardon, can savor the consolations of the Holy Ghost. Yea, as a hungry or thirsty man prizes bread and water, so do the broken in heart prize and set a high esteem on the things of the Lord Jesus. His flesh, his blood, his promise, and the light of his countenance, are the only sweet things both to scent and taste, to those that are of a wounded spirit. If twenty men were to hear a pardon read, and but one of those twenty were condemned to die, and the pardon was for none; which of these men would taste the sweetness of that pardon, they who are not, or he that was condemned? The broken in heart is a condemned man; yea, it is a sense of condemnation, with other things, that has indeed broken his heart; nor is there anything but sense of forgiveness that can bind it up, or heal it.

40 Days of Prayer, Day 35

Day 35, Saturday, September 24

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3

The Contrite Heart and the Bearing of Fruit
God is a God of relationships. As with all relationships, there is an evidential impact on our lives, especially if the relationship is truly significant to us. As it is with human relationships, so it is in our relationship with God. If we know Him, there will be evidence of that relationship. Throughout the scriptures, God gives detailed descriptions of the external evidence of those who are truly His followers. In many of these texts, this external evidence is referred to as the bearing of fruit. The psalmist in Psalm 1 described it this way. “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Like a healthy fruit tree, believers who are established in their relationship with God, bear fruit. Jesus described the impact of our relationship this way in John 15:4-5. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Fruit bearing is the distinctive mark of those who have a relationship with Christ. For those who are walking with Christ, abiding with Christ, living daily in a faith relationship with Christ, He produces fruit in them. The fruit comes from Christ. Christ produces the fruit as an extension of the relationship. “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” When we are humble before God with contrite hearts, then He abides with us. The outcome of the relationship is fruit.

Yesterday we looked at the type of fruit Jesus had in mind in the Sermon on the Mount. Today, let’s take a few moments to look at other passages that speak to the types of fruit that are evident in those who are contrite in heart. What evidence do we see in those who have entered into an abiding relationship with Christ? The contrite-hearted believer abides with Christ and Christ abides with them. This relationship is on display in the way the Spirit of God works in the believer. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 When we engage with a whole heart in our relationship with God through faith in Christ, God produces these attitudes in our lives. These attributes do not come from our own efforts but by the power of God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit abides within us and produces these attitudes. This marks the life of the follower of Christ. If there is no love, joy, peace, patience or kindness when we are dealing with someone at home or at work, then we are not abiding in Christ. He has provided these evidential delineations, these attributes that display the impact of our relationship to Him. If someone claims to know God but does not have the evidence of knowing Him as described in Galatians, then that person could be making a false claim. Those who live with no self-control or no gentleness give no evidence of knowing the God who created them. This is a very serious matter. The Bible gives great caution to those who make false claims about their knowledge of God and their relationship to Him. The Bible also gives clear teaching on the types of attributes that would be evident if a person really did know God. When these attitudes of the heart do not dominate the life, then the person does not have an abiding relationship with God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, regardless of what they claim about knowing God.

Paul also describes the fruit of the believer as attributes of truth and righteousness. If we are truly walking with God, then we will put away the attitudes and actions of our old life. Instead, we will walk in light. Light is used as an analogy for truth and righteousness throughout the scripture. In Ephesians Paul said this to the church. Therefore, do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Those who walk with God as His children will walk in truth and righteousness. If we are abiding with Him, walking with Him, living in an ongoing and vibrant relationship with Him, then His truth and His righteousness flows naturally out of that relationship. To claim to know Him but to know Him in ways that are inconsistent to His Word, is a false claim. To claim to walk with Him but to live in ways that are inconsistent to His righteous standards as described in His Word, is a false claim. The evidence of the believer’s walk with Christ flows out of our attitudes, thoughts and actions. These attitudes, thoughts and actions must reflect the fruit of the Spirit and the evidence of truth and righteousness.

Prayer Focus
Lord, create in me the fruit of the Spirit. Change my attitudes and actions so that the evidence of my relationship with you will be on display. I need You every minute of every day. Only by an abiding relationship with You can I see a transformation in me. Remove the sin that hinders the production of fruit. Draw me closer to You so that as I walk with You, Your attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness will be evident in my life. Help me to walk in truth and righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
But now, how shall this man be reclaimed from this sin? How shall he be brought, wrought, and made, to be out of love with it? Doubtless it can be by no other means, by what we can see in the Word, but by the wounding, breaking, and disabling of the heart that loves it, and by that means making it a plague and gall unto it. Sin may be made an affliction, and as gall and wormwood to them that love it; but the making of it so bitter a thing to such a man, will not be done but by great and sore means. I remember we had in our town some time since, a little girl that loved to eat the heads of foul tobacco-pipes, and neither rod nor good words could reclaim her, and make her leave them. So her father takes advice of a doctor, to wean her from them, and it was this: Take, says he, a great many of the foulest tobacco-pipe heads you can get, and boil them in milk, and make a posset of that milk, and make your daughter drink the posset-drink up. He did so, and gave his girl it, and made her drink it up; the which became so irksome and nauseous to her stomach, and made her so sick, that she could never abide to meddle with tobacco-pipe heads any more, and so was cured of that disease. You love your sin, and neither rod nor good words will as yet reclaim thee. Well, take heed; if thou wilt not be reclaimed, God will make thee a posset of them, which shall be so bitter to thy soul, so irksome to thy taste, so loathsome to thy mind, and so afflicting to thy heart, that it shall break it with sickness and grief, till it be loathsome to thee. I say, thus he will do if he loves thee; if not, he will suffer thee to take thy course, and will let thee go on with thy tobacco-pipe heads!

40 Days of Prayer, Day 34

Day 34, Friday, September 23

Just a reminder that we will host a prayer time on Sunday morning at 7:50 in the conference room, hosted by Josh and Marcy. We will also have a time of prayer on Sunday evening at 8:00 PM. Also, on Sunday from 12-6PM we are hosting a time of prayer where we are asking individuals or families to sign up to pray in 30 minute blocks of time. You can come to the church and pray together in the conference room. You can also pray together with your family and friends at your own home. We will provide some suggested items for prayer focus that will hopefully help guide your 30-minute prayer time.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3

The Contrite Heart and the Bearing of Fruit
The bearing of fruit marks the penitent, humble servant of God. Fruit comes from the work of God’s Word within the life of the contrite. As we can see in this Psalm, rejecting sin and embracing God’s Word produces fruit, “like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.” Working from the end result back to the fundamental cause, let’s take a moment to consider the type of fruit God has in mind. In other words, if I am living a contrite-hearted type of life, what evidences will manifest themselves in my life? This is so critical. Psalm 51 gives us a great promise. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” I want my life to be an offering to God that is acceptable to Him. This promise from God provides such assurance. If we offer to Him our contrite and broken heart, He will receive our lives as an acceptable sacrifice to Him. But the challenge becomes ascertaining whether my heart is authentically contrite. If we are contrite, we will bear fruit. We will be like a fruit tree with an abundant supply of water. What fruit? What types of attitudes and actions would we see in our lives if we are truly living the broken and contrite-hearted life?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provided the means by which we can measure the authentic citizens of His kingdom. “You will know them by their fruit. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Just like the first psalm promised fruit in the life of anyone who loves God’s Word, Jesus promised fruit as the outcome for anyone living out His words. From the content of the Sermon on the Mount there are several attributes that must be resident in the life of those living in His kingdom. First, there should be the fruit produced in our lives as described in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are those who mourn…blessed are the humble…blessed are those who hunger for righteousness…blessed are the merciful…blessed are the pure in heart…blessed are the peacemakers…blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ and His righteous standards…” These attributes distinguish a follower of Christ from those outside the kingdom. Notice, even in this list, Jesus begins with the contrite heart, those who are “poor in spirit.” Do these attributes in the beatitudes reflect our daily lives? We see further in the Sermon on the Mount that the bearing fruit, hearing the teachings of Christ and following them, will be seen in the way we love others with authentic, godly love. We will love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We will withhold our murderous anger that resides in our hearts. We will keep our thoughts about others pure. We will keep our words pure, speaking truth with kindness. “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world…do your good works in such a way that people will see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father.” In contemplating these righteous standards as presented by Christ, do these types of actions reflect our lives? Are we bearing fruit in these areas?

The yielding of fruit, according to the Sermon on the Mount, will also be seen in how we give, pray and fast, so that our external religious activities are motivated by our worship of God and not by a desire to empress others. “When you give…when you pray…when you fast…do so in secret and your Heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” The bearing of fruit also includes a use of our resources for the sake of the kingdom. Fruit-bearing followers use their resources as a means to establish the kingdom. Contrite-hearted followers of Christ seek after heavenly rewards and not earthly treasure. Jesus said, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Kingdom citizens see their resources as a means of saving for the future, not in retirement in this life, but in heavenly reward in the next life. One mark of fruit-bearing living is the way we spend our time, money and gifts. The “poor in spirit” live with their hands open. The contrite-hearted live with their resources focused on the needs of others for the sake of the kingdom of God. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things will be added to you.” In Matthew 7 Jesus provided some additional distinctives of the “poor in spirit.” If we are humble before God and others, we live free of the judgment and condemnation of others, but instead we will live with the constant desire for good in others. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Tomorrow we will exam fruit bearing attributes from other texts throughout the Bible. For today, we should to take a moment of self-evaluation. Does my life appear to be bearing fruit, fruit as Christ described in the Sermon on the Mount? If I am truly living with a contrite heart, then do my attitudes reflect the beatitudes? If I am truly living the contrite-hearted life, then does my worship reflect the God-centered worship as described in the Sermon on the Mount? If I am humble before God and others, does an analysis of my time, money and other resources reflect God’s kingdom priorities? Am I forgiving and gracious toward others? Do I treat others the way I would want them to treat me? We are thirty-four days into the study on the contrite heart. Is there any transformation in my life that reflects the biblical standards for those with broken hearts before God?

Prayer Focus
Oh Lord, work in my life. Test me Oh Lord and reveal to me areas where I am not bearing fruit. Give me a contrite heart. Out of a contrite heart, produce transformed attitudes and actions. May Your kingdom be evident in my priorities today. May Your kingdom be a constant focus of my heart. Impact my life through Your Word. Impact others through my transformed life. In the name of Christ, Amen.

From Bunyan’s The Acceptable Sacrifice
Man, as he comes into the world, is not only a dead man, a fool, proud, self-willed, and fearless, but he is a false believer concerning God. Let God report of himself plainly, man by nature will not believe this report of him. No, they are vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened; wherefore they turn the glory of God, which is his truth, into a lie (Rom 1:21-25). God says, He sees; they say, He does not see; God says, He knows; they say, He does not know: God says, None is like himself; yet they say, He is altogether like them: God says He will do good; they say, He will neither do good nor evil (Job 22:13, 14; Psa 50:21; Job 21:14, 15; Mal 3:14; Zeph 1:12). Thus they falsely believe concerning God. Now, what shall God do to save these men? If he hides himself and conceals his glory, they perish. If he sends to them by his messengers, and forbears to come to them himself, they perish. If he comes to them and forbears to work upon them by his word, they perish: if he works on them, but not effectually, they perish. If he works effectually he must break their hearts, and make them, as men wounded to death, fall at his feet for mercy, or there can be no good done on them; they will not rightly believe until he fires them out of their misbelief, and makes them to know, by the breaking of their bones for their false faith, that he is, and will be, what he has said of himself in his holy Word. The heart, therefore, must be broken before the man can come to good.