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Dividing the Word of Truth
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Timothy 2:15)
This is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book Lesson
63
Greetings
and welcome to Home Bible Study.
I
still have a lot of information to share with you on the topic of prayer, and
we’ll get to this business in just a minute.
If you’ll recall, I underlined the word “understanding” several times in
the previous lesson hoping to draw your attention to it. Our apostle Paul wants us to know we are to be
of “the same mind” or understanding as the person speaking (1
Corinthians 14:15). We are to have a common
grasp of ideas. We are to be like
minded, in other words. Therefore, Paul wants us to pray
intelligently, knowing what God has said. Thus prayer, among other things, is a
dispensational subject.
Let’s go to prayer
now.
God, You are the
Creator of the heavens and the earth.
You have revealed Your beauty in creation
and inspired the book that we are now about to study.
You have revealed Your beauty in creation
and inspired the book that we are now about to study.
Please help us now
as we read through it together.
We ask that You take us deeper into the Word in order to understand
We ask that You take us deeper into the Word in order to understand
more about You, Your
love for us, and the truths You’ve revealed in it.
Amen.
Last
week I mentioned that prayer is communication with our Father in heaven in the
purest sense. But before we go any
further, please know God’s line of communication is not open to every single individual.
By
this I mean to say God does not answer the prayers of an unbeliever.
They
have not been sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they are not His children (Psalms
66:18; Isaiah 59:2). Because the
unsaved individual is not seeking God’s grace and has not been redeemed (Romans
3:10-12), they are slaves of sin (Romans 6:14-20) and cannot please God
(Proverbs 1:24-25, 28:9; James 1:6-7).
Now these words are going to throw some people “off the track” and I know that because they have been “taught” differently or they have “preconceived” notions regarding prayer. This is why I’ve added the Bible verses above; they are to help you.
This
illustration may also help: if a
neighbor’s child ran into my kitchen and asked me for a new bicycle to
replace his that was stolen what do you think my response would be? Although I may know the child, I’d tell him to
go and seek their parent’s advice because this isn’t my child and he’s not my
responsibility. Likewise, unbelievers are
not God’s children; they are enemies of God (Romans 5:10) until
they are saved.
Last
week I laid the foundation for this session on prayer. I felt this was necessary because the vast
majority of Believers have not received the instruction to rightly divide Scripture
(2 Timothy 2:15). Since this is the Lord’s
command to the Believers of this dispensation, it’s our responsibility
to be aware of it and to obey it (Corinthians 14:37).
People
are currently borrowing doctrine from time
past and utilizing it in their prayer life in the but now era, essentially assuming the promise Jesus gave only to His
apostles, and God gave only to the Jews, and this is causing confusion,
misunderstandings, and disruption in communication between the children of God
and their Father in heaven. These
problems exist because we do not understand what God has said.
Some
of you may not yet fully realize what I’ve been introducing about prayer.
I
also understand that this is a sensitive issue, much like water baptism, so
just let me say I am not here to judge or fine-tune your prayer life. You may pray any way you like. But as the teacher of this class I’m inclined
to show you what the Word of God says regarding prayer in this
dispensation. After giving this some
thought, I think the easiest way to do this is to show you how Paul prayed.
Let’s
start with this Roman’s passage. Please
turn to Romans, chapter 1, verse 9.
Romans 1
9: For God, whom I
serve in my spirit in the preaching of
the gospel of His Son, is my witness as
to how unceasingly I make mention of you,
10: always in
my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the
will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
11: For I long to
see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be
established;
12: that is, that I
may be encouraged together with you while
among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Paul
doesn’t ask for anything specific in this prayer. Rather it is a collection of concerns or petitions. From this I learn that we can pray for
whatever we desire or need, in keeping with God’s will (Philippians
4:6; Ephesians 6:18) – for every good
deed.
For
instance Paul wanted to spend time with these like-minded
Believers in Rome.
This
certainly wasn’t a “need” it was an expressed heartfelt desire. Likewise, we can pray for an unsaved individual,
a pay raise, a new car, a job, safe travel, or for improved health. But here’s the thing. A mature person, in Christ Jesus, will always
understand what God has said and take Him at His Word.
God
hears our prayers, but He has not promised to give us what we ask for in this
age.
To
give you an example from Scripture please turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter
12.
Here
we have the account of Paul’s thorn in the flesh.
2 Corinthians 12
8: Concerning this (thorn in the flesh
– whatever it was) I implored (prayed
to) the Lord three times that it might
leave me.
9: And He has
said to me (the
Lord answered his prayers and the answer was, “No.”) “My grace is
sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
On
this side of the cross and Jesus’ resurrection God’s message to Paul is
this:
My grace is enough;
My grace is all you need no matter your
circumstances or the trouble you’re facing.
Believer’s
talk about God’s grace, we even sing about it, but few understand it,
even though the word appears 155 times in the New Testament. Hence, it must be said as we contemplate the
big picture of God’s grace and how this relates to our prayer lives, that God
does not “skimp” on His grace towards us.
He doesn’t dole it out in portions, in other words. Undeniably, God’s love and His grace were poured out on Calvary.
Ephesians
chapter 2:4-8 teaches us that God blesses us according to the surpassing riches of His grace. You could say God's grace is super-abundant. Every advantage that we experience spiritually
is by His grace. One of the most amazing
statements made about our Lord came from the Apostle John who said, “He was full of grace” (John 1:14).
In Romans 5:2, Paul says that we
Believers “stand in (this) grace.”
However,
Believers limit God’s grace when they only view it in relation to their
salvation. It is so much more! Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, chapter 9,
verse 8:
And God is able to
make all grace abound to you, so that
always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance
for every good deed;
It
isn’t just saving grace. God is able to
make all grace abound to us.
God
gives us all grace; God ensures that we always have sufficiency for all
things and abundance for all good
deeds by His grace.
I
compiled a short list of all grace which God has gifted to us (1
Corinthians 1:4):
Our
spiritual gifts (abilities) – 1 Corinthians 1:5-8
The
use of our spiritual gifts – 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 9:14
In
avoiding temptation – 1 Corinthians 10:13
Our
worldly conduct – 2 Corinthians 1:12
Made
known the mystery of His will – Ephesians 1:9
Sealed
with the Sprit of promise – Ephesians 4:30
Justification
– Romans 3:22-24
Salvation
– Romans 4:16
God’s
abundant provision – Romans 5:17
Spirit
of adoption – Romans 8:15
Co-heirs
with Christ Jesus – Romans 8:17
God
wants us to understand that no matter what hardship(s) we are facing in
this life, or if a loved one is enduring trials and we’re praying for them, His
abundant grace
is sufficient. Paul understood
this truth and accepted it.
In
response he said,
“…therefore, I
will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may
dwell in me.” “I am well content with
weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with
difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God
did not remove Paul’s problem and He has not promised to “remove”
our problem(s) or to respond favorably to every one of our prayer requests. You see, God does say, “No” and “no” is a
response.
Here’s
some food for thought:
Prayers
to God
God
take away my bad habit.
God
said, “No.” “It is not for Me to take it away, but for you to give it up.”
God
make my handicapped child whole. God
said, “No.”
“His spirit is
whole, his body is only temporary.”
God
grant me patience. God said, “No.”
“Patience is a
byproduct of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is learned.”
God
grant me happiness. God said, “No.”
“I give you
blessings; happiness is up to you.”
I
asked God to spare me pain. God said,
“No.”
“Suffering draws
you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me.”
God
make me spiritually mature. God said,
“No.”
“You must grow on
your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.”
God
give me “things” so that I might enjoy life.
God said, “No.”
“I will give you life so that you may enjoy
all things.”
God
help me love others, as much as You love me.
God said,
“Now you’re
getting the idea my child.”
Here’s
another prayer from our apostle Paul worth our consideration:
Philippians 1
9: And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in (what) real knowledge and all discernment.
10: so that you may approve things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.
9: And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in (what) real knowledge and all discernment.
10: so that you may approve things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.
Imagine
how we might be transformed and our local assemblies if we prayed using this prayer
as an example. I mean, people memorized
and recited the Lord’s Prayer (verbatim) for centuries not understanding Jesus’
intent behind those words. Here,
Paul reveals a clear communication from his heart, to the Father, concerning
the Believers (church) in Philippi and he doesn’t mention “earthly” things. Paul’s concern is for their spiritual needs.
We, the Body of Christ, need to think like Jesus Christ,
who is the Head of the Body.
God does not promise us today, in this dispensation, to fix all our problems, but He does promise us all grace; more than enough to enable us to bloom or bear fruit to the glory of God our Father no matter the trial(s) or “testing.”
Once
we learn (mature in Christ Jesus) to move away from focusing mainly on the physical things of
this world and instead center on the spiritual work being done within us (it
must start here), our homes, and within our communities; then we’ll be thinking
like Jesus in this age of grace.
If
you’ll take the time to read Paul’s letters, you’ll find that he includes prayer
in the majority of them. If you’ll look
closer at the content of his prayers, you’ll get a good indicator of how we, as
“like-minded” Believers should be operating in this dispensation of grace.
Here
are a few excerpts taken from Paul’s letters to the churches:
Perfect that which
is lacking in your faith (1 Thessalonians 3:10)
…filled with the
knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding that you
will walk worthy of the Lord to please Him
in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God
(Colossians 1:9-10)
…eyes of your heart
may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of your calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18)
…to be strengthened
with power through His Spirit in the man (Ephesians 3:16)
…that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17)
…being rooted and
grounded in love
(Ephesians 3:17)
…to know the love
of Christ which surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19)
…opening of my
mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19)
That God will open up
to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3)
That you may stand
perfect and fully assured in all the will of God (Colossians 4:12)
God...who comforts
us in all our tribulation (and not removes them) (2 Corinthians 1:4)
They might be saved (Romans 10:1)
There
is evidence in Scripture of Paul praying for both spiritual and physical
needs. Therefore, we may do the
same. But God never said He’d answer
them.
God
never promises that He will give us whatever we ask for. You can prove this by simply reading through
the letters written by our Apostle Paul. He
wrote thirteen letters, from Romans to Philemon, and I include the letter to
the Hebrews, but that’s me. I believe
Paul wrote this letter. But in all
Paul’s writings we never read a prayer promise like “Whatever you ask for
you’ll receive,” or “Ask and it will be given.” Instead
we read that “We do not know what to pray for as we should” (Rom. 8:26).
God
has promised to “work all things together for good” in our lives, but He hasn’t
revealed how He is going to do that. He has promised it, and we take that on faith
and believe that He is working all things—even the “tragedies” of life—together
for good for us; but we often don’t see it. But as Paul wrote, “We walk by faith and not
by sight.”
We
learn from Paul’s prayer examples that it is not God’s will to take away all
our problems, to fix our weaknesses, or to give us what we ask for. Paul never forgot the lesson that the Lord
taught him from his “thorn-prayer.” Many years later Paul wrote to the Believers in Philippi after spending
nearly five years in prison - for the Lord:
Philippians 4
11: Not that I
speak from want, for I have learned (you see, Paul and
God are of one mind) to be content in
whatever circumstances I am.
12: I know
how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to
live in prosperity; in every circumstance I have learned the secret of being
filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13: I can do all
things through Him who strengthens
me.
Paul
says that he has learned the secret of contentment; which demonstrates
to us a couple of things:
- First spiritual wisdom doesn’t come to us “automatically” upon salvation – it is “learned.”
- Second, he and God are of one mind, after this. Paul has come to understand and this came about through the Spirit's leading, knowledge, and in keeping with the will of God.
Paul
says he knows how to get along in times
of prosperity and he also knows and accepts the fact that on certain
days he will go hungry, people will misunderstand him, there may be no
roof
over his head at times, and people will seek his death, etc., no matter
his
prayer requests.
God does not promise us today, in this dispensation, to fix all our problems, but He does promise us all grace; more than enough to enable us to bloom or bear fruit to the glory of God our Father no matter the trial(s) or “testing.”
So,
Paul writes that everywhere and in all things he has learned how to cope, but
more than that, how to be thank-full and to bear fruit for God; here’s
how.
“I can do all
things through Him who (constantly) strengthens me.”
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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