The Link to the evening message is at the bottom of this page.
Prayer Points for Today’s Meeting
Convocation 2016
The Great Promises
Remembering Them as We Prepare Our Hearts
The Lord’s People have long held onto the Great Answer to Solomon’s Prayer at the dedication of the
temple as a hope and a conviction that it expressed an Eternal Purpose of God to hear the repentant
prayers of His people in any age and any time when they found themselves seemingly overwhelmed by their
enemies or… under the chastisement of God… or both.
2 Chron 7:12-14
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer,
and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land,
or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land. KJV
In the sense that the Powerful Moving of the Spirit of God has been and is being withheld from us in our
time, we have a real sense of heaven being ‘shut up’ in many ways to our cries.
We know that much if not all of the reason for that can be laid at the feet of those who call themselves ‘the
people of God, the Church.’
It is no mystery to us that false doctrine, immorality, greed, selfishness, and desire for vain glory has polluted
the message even of Evangelical Christianity over the last 150 years… and that the problem is getting worse
instead of better.
We understand that this is not the first time that the world and God’s people have found themselves in such
a situation and history records that God’s people found remedy not only for themselves but for their
churches and, at times, even their nations through the model that God gave in this promise to Solomon and
Israel.
The troubled churches of Asia, in Rev 2 & 3 were promised remedy if they would but ‘return’ and ‘repent.’
The formula is not complex, (that is except in the inner workings of it in the souls of those who avail
themselves of it) “humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways.”
Remedy for a church, a nation, or a culture begins in the profound repentance of the ones who are seeking
God. “Judgment must begin at the house of God.”
We have other extraordinary promises as well.
John 14:18
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. KJV
Heb 13:5-6
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye
have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do
unto me. KJV
We are promised that no matter how dark the circumstances, how troubled the people of God may seem
to be, how weak the churches may have become, they have an Advocate with the Father.
1 John 2:1
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: KJV
The Holy Spirit of God Himself intercedes on our behalf.
Rom 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for
as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. KJV
Therefore, we can rest assured and thank God for the fact that our little prayer meeting is causing some
commotion in heaven.
We remember the Promise of the Outpoured Spirit
Luke 11:13
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? KJV
John 14:16-17
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 15:26
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: KJV
Acts 2:14-18
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of
Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my
words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all
flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and
they shall prophesy: KJV
Because we remember what God has done and said, we pray for the renewed visit of His Spirit upon us.
Convocation 2016
Praying in Faith
Thomas Goodwin, in his little book, “The Return of Prayers,” reminds us that we are to pray expectantly
and to fail to do so demonstrates a lack of faith on our part as well as a failure to consider that the Glory
and Honor of God are at stake when His people pray.
Ps 85:8
8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his
saints: but let them not turn again to folly. KJV
“I will listen for what God the Lord will say…” It is not a part of the format of our revelation that God’s
people will pray and He will remain silent.
At times God’s answer comes instantaneously, even while we are praying.
Dan 9:20-21
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and
presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the
beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. KJV
But, then, sometimes the answers are delayed or hindered.
In Daniel 10:13 he was told that an angel had been dispatched to answer his prayers who had been held
up by the forces of evil for a while.
Peter warned us in 1 Pet 3:7 that interpersonal relationships, especially those within families also hinder
prayers.
We know that all kinds of forces are arrayed against us.
Gibson warned us, however, of thinking so lightly of God that we doubt the answers to our prayers offered
in faith and in accordance with His Revealed Will.
“Not simply God’s name, as in an ordinance made known, but also his name, that is, his attributes,
are taken in vain ; for it is a sign, you think of that God you pray to, that either his ear is heavy, that
he cannot hear; or his hand shortened, that he cannot save; or his heart straitened, and his bowels
restrained, that he will not. And thus you rob him, and despoil him of one of his most royal titles,
whereby he styles himself “a God that heareth prayers,” Psalm lxv. 2 ; who is so regardful of them
that, in the 1 Kings, viii. 59, they are said to be ” nigh the Lord day and night;” they are all before
him, and he sets them in his view as we do letters of friends, which we place in some conspicuous
place, that we may remember to answer them, or lay them not out of our bosoms, that we may be
sure not to forget them.” Thomas Goodwin, The Return of Prayers
He continued, “So the petitions of his people pass not out of his sight till he sends an answer, which
is called ” speaking” as in the text ; God speaking as well in his works as in his word. But you, by
your neglect herein, make an idol god of him, such as were the vanities of the heathen; as if he had
” ears and heard not, eyes and saw not” your need. Such a god as Elijah mocked, ” You must
speak aloud (says he), he may be in a journey,” &c. Even such a god do you make the God of
heaven and earth to be, whilst you put no more confidence in him, or make no more reckoning of
your prayers to him, than the heathen did of their sacrifices to their gods.”
Let it never be said that we who have preached so many times concerning faith would doubt our God or
the answers to our prayers.
Jesus Himself assured us that He would be faithful to hear us. But He also taught us not to be causal or
cavalier as we seek Him.
Matt 7:7-11
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh
it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? KJV
Luke 11:5-13
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight,
and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my
children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because
of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh
it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask
a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? KJV
Now it is true that the larger our request, the less able we seem to be able to lay hold of the certainty of
an answer in faith.
It is as if we were praying for a lame man to walk, a blind man to see, or a dead man to be raised for we
are asking that a whole people be turned again to God. Let us not falter nor waver in our confidence in
God nor in His purpose to answer the godly prayers of His people.
Convocation 2016
Arguing With God
Ex. 32:35-33:18
The backstory is the 40 days on Sinai and the Golden Calf apostasy.
God has declared His withdrawal from Israel in a significant way, declaring that He will, instead, send an
angel with them.
Moses was unwilling to accept this arrangement, unwilling to believe that it was God’s Final Word on the
matter.
So, he came up with a new idea. He would pitch a tent outside the camp and use it to withdraw from the
people and seek after the Lord. But he also made it available for anyone else who would truly seek God
as well, v.7. (This was not a ‘preacher only’ thing.)
There, he presented his case:
God had called him,
And given him a task,
He had confirmed His love to Moses, v.12.
But Moses now has a problem.
The task is too large for the resources that God has given,
And he does not want to undertake it without the Presence of God,
He borders on downright refusal, v.15
He prevailed upon God and a different word was given, v.17, and God seemed even to confirm His
approval upon Moses’ tactics.
There are those who tell us that this situation is obviously the Will of God, Sovereignly Ordained, and His
chastisement upon His people for their departure from Him. They tell us that such meetings as this are
useless and doomed to failure.
Shall we take a note from Moses’ book and also enter into a Controversy with the Lord?
He has called us.
And confirmed His love to us in many ways.
He has tasked us with an impossible mission.
To be Holy,
To Lead, Encourage, Grow, and Teach His people,
To Evangelize our Communities,
To be Light in a dark world.
And we must have His Presence in a far more powerful way that we have ever known.
Some years ago Errol Hulse wrote a little books entitled “Give Him No Rest,” to encourage God’s people
to lay hold of Him and not let Him go until He had heard us concerning Revival.
We are reminded also of Jacob’s encounter with ‘the man’ who wrestled with him all night and even though
Jacob was severely injured he continued to contend with the ‘man’ until He blessed him.
In a wisdom beyond our own, God has arranged that circumstances in some times become so intolerable
and even His Own seeming dealing with His people so unacceptable to them so that they contend with Him,
argue and debate with Him, and prevail upon Him to do that which He was pleased to do from the
beginning.
Let us lay down all passivity and acceptance of the untenable situation of our day and undertake to prevail
upon Our Lord for His mercies to help in time of need.
Heb 4:16
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need. KJV
This is a part of coming ‘boldly.’
Shall we contend with the Lord?
The Traits of an Awakened Church, pt 2, The Comfort of the Holy Spirit
