(April 6, 2010)
Prayer House News!
April showers bring lots of rain. Hope you have a dry day.
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Pray for our young people. All this week they are participating in something called the "Noise." It's a youth endeavor to help our community by doing little work tasks that will make an impression for Jesus.
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I Desire Mercy
continued from yesterday
Listen to this account of the M’Gready revival.
“In August following, a meeting at Gasper River Church, where Mr. M'Gready spoke, on Monday especially, the sensible presence of God rendered the assembly awfully solemn; great attention was paid to the preaching of the word, and when the exercises were closed, and the benediction pronounced, instead of leaving the church, and dispersing as usual, the whole assembly kept their seats and remained for sometime in deep and solemn silence.
Then things began to change. Some had such clear views of the corruptions of their hearts, the sinfulness of their lives, and their exposure to misery, that they were constrained to cry for mercy; some were so overwhelmed with a sense of their guilt, and the presence of that Holy God against whom they had rebelled, that they fell from their seats upon the floor, and there lay in agony, pleading for the pardon, of their innumerable transgressions.”
Then things began to change. Some had such clear views of the corruptions of their hearts, the sinfulness of their lives, and their exposure to misery, that they were constrained to cry for mercy; some were so overwhelmed with a sense of their guilt, and the presence of that Holy God against whom they had rebelled, that they fell from their seats upon the floor, and there lay in agony, pleading for the pardon, of their innumerable transgressions.”
Some cried out-loud for mercy, some fell out of their chairs and lay on the floor. Dr. Gordon Anderson, the president of North Central University, says that when people experience an overwhelming presence of God it’s a lot like sticking your finger into a live electrical socket. You don’t know what you are going to get for a reaction. Some might jump and shout, or some may just grab their finger and muffle any kind of reaction, the question comes down to this; which person had the proper reaction?
My point is this – if we are serious about revival we need to allow God to do whatever it is He needs to do and be careful not to react to how God uses people, unless it crosses theological or ethical lines. Let’s not make the same mistake the Pharisees made.
This is the essence of what Jesus taught in verses 16 & 17 of this chapter.
Matthew 9:16 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
The existing church is the old garment. But the old garment has a hole in it. It needs repair. Revival comes along in an attempt to repair what is wrong. However, the established church wants the new thing, the new patch, to be sown to the existing garment, but it won’t work that way. The new patch will tear away from the old making it worse. So what do we do? We accept the new thing God is doing. It’s not going to look like it did before. It’s going to have its own music, its own worship, and its own message. And it will be a message of mercy.
Matthew 9:16 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
The existing church is the old garment. But the old garment has a hole in it. It needs repair. Revival comes along in an attempt to repair what is wrong. However, the established church wants the new thing, the new patch, to be sown to the existing garment, but it won’t work that way. The new patch will tear away from the old making it worse. So what do we do? We accept the new thing God is doing. It’s not going to look like it did before. It’s going to have its own music, its own worship, and its own message. And it will be a message of mercy.
continued tomorrow
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Four men were bragging about how smart their dogs were.
One man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth was a government worker.
To show off, the engineer called to his dog."T-square, do your stuff."T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen, and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Everyone agreed that that that was pretty smart.
One man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth was a government worker.
To show off, the engineer called to his dog."T-square, do your stuff."T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen, and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.
Everyone agreed that that that was pretty smart.
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The accountant said that his dog could do better. He called to his dog and said,"Spreadsheet, do your stuff."Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies. He divided them into four equal piles of three cookies each.
Everyone agreed that that was good.
Everyone agreed that that was good.
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The chemist said that his dog could do better still. he called to his dog and said, "Measure, do your stuff."Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a ten-ounce glass from the cupboard, and poured exactly eight ounces without spilling a drop.
Everyone agreed that that was pretty impressive.
The chemist said that his dog could do better still. he called to his dog and said, "Measure, do your stuff."Measure got up, walked over to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a ten-ounce glass from the cupboard, and poured exactly eight ounces without spilling a drop.
Everyone agreed that that was pretty impressive.
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Then the three men turned to the government worker and said,"What can your dog do?"
The government worker called to his dog and said, "Coffee Break, do your stuff." Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, claimed he had injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for worker' compensation, and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave.
They all agreed that that was brilliant!
Then the three men turned to the government worker and said,"What can your dog do?"
The government worker called to his dog and said, "Coffee Break, do your stuff." Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk, claimed he had injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions, put in for worker' compensation, and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave.
They all agreed that that was brilliant!
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