In James 1:9-12 James speaks to three types of people.
He speaks to the
Poor
Rich
Persecuted
He speaks first to the poor.
James 1:9
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.
People in physically humble circumstances are to praise God for their humble circumstances.
People in humble circumstances are to see those circumstances as a high position.
Need causes us to look to a source to meet that need.
The source that meets all needs - physical, emotional, or spiritual - is Jesus.
Why should people in humble circumstances see it as a high position?
Psalm 25:9
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.
God guides the humble and teaches them His way to live.
Proverbs 3:34
He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
God gives grace to people who are humble.
Isaiah 57:15
For this is what the high and lofty One says - he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
God revives the person who is lowly and contrite.
God can do all this when the people in humble circumstances know they are poor and are willing to humble themselves and look to Jesus to be their life.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing our humble circumstances to lead us to Jesus as our answer and our help.
He speaks next to the rich.
James 1:10-11
But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom fails and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
God says that the rich person should praise God for his low position.
The rich person’s position is low because the wealth can go away at any moment.
In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth because by moth or rust or thieves they can be taken away. He tells us that we are to focus on building up treasure in heaven because that treasure will never be taken from us.
Material wealth is not wrong or evil.
Material wealth is not sinful.
Material wealth only becomes wrong or evil or sinful when we depend on it and not Jesus.
Material wealth should make us grateful, not prideful.
Material wealth should be seen as a blessing from God to share with those who are not so blessed.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is sharing material with others to honor God.
He then speaks to those who are persecuted.
James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
God says that the person undergoing persecution or going through trials is blessed if he endures through the difficult time. God will give him the crown of life.
The crown in this verse is the wreath or garland given as a prize to the victors in public games. It is the victor’s crown, not the kingly crown. The kingly crown is for our king - Jesus.
In Matthew 5:11 Jesus says that you are blessed when you are persecuted and that you will receive the kingdom of heaven.
Persecution is never fun. It is never easy to endure but it does focus us to look to Jesus and depend on Him.
Persecution is a sign that God is at work in us and making Satan nervous about what God will accomplish through us. He then tries to distract us from following Jesus through the trials.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God to use trials and persecution to draw us closer to Him.
The kingdom of God is 180 degrees different from the kingdom of man. Jesus came to give us a different a way to view life and live life.
In God’s kingdom
Poor is a high position
Rich is a low position
People who are persecuted are blessed.
We need to live from the viewpoint of God’s kingdom, not man’s kingdom.
As a Part of God’s Kingdom Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Trials and Believing
James the half brother of Jesus writes a letter to the Jewish believers scattered through the world.
In James 1:2-8 James talks about two important matters.
First, he talks about trials.
Second, he talks about prayer and doubting.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Trials are going to come to all of us because we live in a world that is under the domination of sin. In other words, we live in a fallen world.
According to John 10:10 the enemy Satan kills, steals, and destroys. Satan wants to disrupt our lives through many different kinds of trials.
God wants to use these same trials to test our faith so that we can develop perseverance.
God wants the perseverance to make us mature and for us, as His children, to lack nothing.
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
When we persevere we allow God to produce the character or image of Jesus in us. When we are allowing the Father to form us into the image of Jesus, then we will not lack anything. We will be mature.
The are two key things.
First, how we view trials.
James says that we are to consider it joy. The joy is not in the trial itself but in what God will produce through it.
Thess trials are not:
God’s Punishment
God’s Being Mean
God’s Idea of a Joke
They are used by God to grow us. They are bad situations that God uses for our good. So we can view the whole process with joy.
Second, is trusting God in the midst of the trials.
We have to be like Peter as he walked on the water in the midst of the storm and keep our eyes on Jesus.
If we keep our focus on Jesus and not the trial we will persevere and God will accomplish His work in us.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God to develop perseverance in us through choosing to trust and obey Him in the midst of the trials.
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
If we are going to persevere in our trials then we will need wisdom. The wisdom we need comes from God. We get this wisdom by asking God.
We are given two promises and one condition when it comes to asking for wisdom.
Promise #1: God gives generously to all who ask.
God will not just give us a little wisdom to enable us to get through a trial. God will give us all that we need to be victorious over the trial.
Promise #2: God will not find fault with us when we ask Him for wisdom.
I hear many talk about asking God for something like we are bothering God by going to Him and asking Him to meet our needs.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
God says in those passages that He will listen and answer us when we ask. So we are not bothering Him when we ask for our needs.
God will also not condemn us when we realize that in ourselves we don’t have what we need and thus come to Him and ask. He knows that we don’t have what we need and He wants us to come and ask Him for whatever it is.
The Condition: We can’t doubt; we have to believe God.
James compares a person who comes to God and asks for wisdom but doesn’t believe that God will give it to wave in the ocean that is blown and tossed about by the wind.
God does not require that we have huge faith. He does require that our faith be in Him and be steady.
James calls someone who prays and doesn’t believe that God will do it a double-minded person. God says that people who do that are unstable in all that they do.
Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
God will gives us stability as we call out to Him and believe, not just in Him, but really believe Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God hears us when we call out to Him, that He will answer us, and that we can fully trust Him in all circumstances.
We live in a time of increasing violence, disunity, and confusion.
Many see the times we live in as bad and hopeless. I believe that we should approach them with joy and faith that God is at work and that He will use these difficult times to bring revival and spiritual awakening if we as His people DON’T GIVE UP!
In Joy and Faith Raising The Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
In James 1:2-8 James talks about two important matters.
First, he talks about trials.
Second, he talks about prayer and doubting.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Trials are going to come to all of us because we live in a world that is under the domination of sin. In other words, we live in a fallen world.
According to John 10:10 the enemy Satan kills, steals, and destroys. Satan wants to disrupt our lives through many different kinds of trials.
God wants to use these same trials to test our faith so that we can develop perseverance.
God wants the perseverance to make us mature and for us, as His children, to lack nothing.
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
When we persevere we allow God to produce the character or image of Jesus in us. When we are allowing the Father to form us into the image of Jesus, then we will not lack anything. We will be mature.
The are two key things.
First, how we view trials.
James says that we are to consider it joy. The joy is not in the trial itself but in what God will produce through it.
Thess trials are not:
God’s Punishment
God’s Being Mean
God’s Idea of a Joke
They are used by God to grow us. They are bad situations that God uses for our good. So we can view the whole process with joy.
Second, is trusting God in the midst of the trials.
We have to be like Peter as he walked on the water in the midst of the storm and keep our eyes on Jesus.
If we keep our focus on Jesus and not the trial we will persevere and God will accomplish His work in us.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God to develop perseverance in us through choosing to trust and obey Him in the midst of the trials.
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
If we are going to persevere in our trials then we will need wisdom. The wisdom we need comes from God. We get this wisdom by asking God.
We are given two promises and one condition when it comes to asking for wisdom.
Promise #1: God gives generously to all who ask.
God will not just give us a little wisdom to enable us to get through a trial. God will give us all that we need to be victorious over the trial.
Promise #2: God will not find fault with us when we ask Him for wisdom.
I hear many talk about asking God for something like we are bothering God by going to Him and asking Him to meet our needs.
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
God says in those passages that He will listen and answer us when we ask. So we are not bothering Him when we ask for our needs.
God will also not condemn us when we realize that in ourselves we don’t have what we need and thus come to Him and ask. He knows that we don’t have what we need and He wants us to come and ask Him for whatever it is.
The Condition: We can’t doubt; we have to believe God.
James compares a person who comes to God and asks for wisdom but doesn’t believe that God will give it to wave in the ocean that is blown and tossed about by the wind.
God does not require that we have huge faith. He does require that our faith be in Him and be steady.
James calls someone who prays and doesn’t believe that God will do it a double-minded person. God says that people who do that are unstable in all that they do.
Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
God will gives us stability as we call out to Him and believe, not just in Him, but really believe Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God hears us when we call out to Him, that He will answer us, and that we can fully trust Him in all circumstances.
We live in a time of increasing violence, disunity, and confusion.
Many see the times we live in as bad and hopeless. I believe that we should approach them with joy and faith that God is at work and that He will use these difficult times to bring revival and spiritual awakening if we as His people DON’T GIVE UP!
In Joy and Faith Raising The Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, June 12, 2016
The Real Church
The word translated church in the New Testament is the Greek word ekklesia. Ekklesia means a gathering of the called out ones.
The church is not the building.
The church is not the programs.
The church is not the ministries.
The church is the people.
In Ephesians 6:21-24 Paul shows us a beautiful picture of what the church really is.
Ephesians 6:21
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.
The church is fellowship.
Fellowship in the church is being devoted to each other (dear brother).
Fellowship in the church is faithful service to one another. (faithful servant)
Fellowship in the church is sharing life together (may know how I am and what I am doing).
John 17:23
I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
Jesus says unity is a mark to let the world know that the Father sent Jesus and that the Father loves us as He loves Jesus.
Fellowship is the visible sign of unity in the church.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing real fellowship with God and His people.
Ephesians 6:22
I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
The church is communication that encourages others.
We are to speak to our brothers and sisters with words that:
Encourage
Build Up
Comfort
Help
In Romans 8:1 we are told that there is no condemnation for people who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus does not condemn us. And we, the church, are not to condemn each other.
When God’s people, the church, are in godly fellowship with each other and speaking encouraging words to each other, they reflect the truth of God to the world and will draw people to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being an encouragement to our bothers and sisters in Christ.
Ephesians 6:23a
Peace to the brothers
The church is a people who are experiencing peace.
There are two aspects of peace that the church is to experience.
First, we are to be experiencing peace with God.
Peace with God is no longer being in rebellion against, and thus, not in conflict with God.
We need to remember that rebellion against God will always lead to our defeat. God wants us to experience victory. We experience victory when we surrender to God and follow Jesus.
Second, we are to be experiencing peace with fellow believers.
The keys to experiencing peace with fellow believers is:
To have peace with God
To not try to be God in other people’s lives
To let others be who God intends for them to be
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing true peace.
Ephesians 6:23b
And love
The church is people who are loved by God, who love God, and who love others.
The Bible makes it absolutely clear that God loves us.
The church is people who know beyond a doubt that God loves them.
The church is people who love God above anyone or anything.
The church is people who love others, both fellow believers and those who don’t believe.
God is love.
God loves us with an unconditional, no boundary, timeless love.
When we love like God loves, we reflect who God is to the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in God’s love and loving Him and others.
Ephesians 6:23c
With faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The church is people who have faith in God.
It is not faith in:
Faith
Religion
Traditions
Rituals
Other People
God is the One Being in all creation that we can have complete trust in. We can have complete trust in God because He is:
All-Powerful
All-Knowing
All-Present
All-Loving
Raise The Roof and Remove the Walls is living in complete faith in God and God alone.
Ephesians 6:24
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
The church is people who have experienced grace from God, who live based on that grace and who extend that grace to others.
Grace is the fact God loves you just because you exist.
Grace is not based on you or anything you could ever do.
Grace is based on God.
When I look at my actions and my thoughts and my desires, I see no reason for God to love me. The fact that God loves me is GRACE!
I have to live based on grace or my life will become continual striving to do things to cause God to love me. I will become exhausted and give up.
I have to live extending grace to others because God has extended grace to me.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing, living in and giving out grace.
This is the church; and when this is the church, the church will be used to change our lives, our families, our communities, our nation, and our world.
As The Called Out Ones Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
The church is not the building.
The church is not the programs.
The church is not the ministries.
The church is the people.
In Ephesians 6:21-24 Paul shows us a beautiful picture of what the church really is.
Ephesians 6:21
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.
The church is fellowship.
Fellowship in the church is being devoted to each other (dear brother).
Fellowship in the church is faithful service to one another. (faithful servant)
Fellowship in the church is sharing life together (may know how I am and what I am doing).
John 17:23
I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.
Jesus says unity is a mark to let the world know that the Father sent Jesus and that the Father loves us as He loves Jesus.
Fellowship is the visible sign of unity in the church.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing real fellowship with God and His people.
Ephesians 6:22
I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
The church is communication that encourages others.
We are to speak to our brothers and sisters with words that:
Encourage
Build Up
Comfort
Help
In Romans 8:1 we are told that there is no condemnation for people who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus does not condemn us. And we, the church, are not to condemn each other.
When God’s people, the church, are in godly fellowship with each other and speaking encouraging words to each other, they reflect the truth of God to the world and will draw people to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being an encouragement to our bothers and sisters in Christ.
Ephesians 6:23a
Peace to the brothers
The church is a people who are experiencing peace.
There are two aspects of peace that the church is to experience.
First, we are to be experiencing peace with God.
Peace with God is no longer being in rebellion against, and thus, not in conflict with God.
We need to remember that rebellion against God will always lead to our defeat. God wants us to experience victory. We experience victory when we surrender to God and follow Jesus.
Second, we are to be experiencing peace with fellow believers.
The keys to experiencing peace with fellow believers is:
To have peace with God
To not try to be God in other people’s lives
To let others be who God intends for them to be
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing true peace.
Ephesians 6:23b
And love
The church is people who are loved by God, who love God, and who love others.
The Bible makes it absolutely clear that God loves us.
The church is people who know beyond a doubt that God loves them.
The church is people who love God above anyone or anything.
The church is people who love others, both fellow believers and those who don’t believe.
God is love.
God loves us with an unconditional, no boundary, timeless love.
When we love like God loves, we reflect who God is to the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in God’s love and loving Him and others.
Ephesians 6:23c
With faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
The church is people who have faith in God.
It is not faith in:
Faith
Religion
Traditions
Rituals
Other People
God is the One Being in all creation that we can have complete trust in. We can have complete trust in God because He is:
All-Powerful
All-Knowing
All-Present
All-Loving
Raise The Roof and Remove the Walls is living in complete faith in God and God alone.
Ephesians 6:24
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
The church is people who have experienced grace from God, who live based on that grace and who extend that grace to others.
Grace is the fact God loves you just because you exist.
Grace is not based on you or anything you could ever do.
Grace is based on God.
When I look at my actions and my thoughts and my desires, I see no reason for God to love me. The fact that God loves me is GRACE!
I have to live based on grace or my life will become continual striving to do things to cause God to love me. I will become exhausted and give up.
I have to live extending grace to others because God has extended grace to me.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing, living in and giving out grace.
This is the church; and when this is the church, the church will be used to change our lives, our families, our communities, our nation, and our world.
As The Called Out Ones Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, June 5, 2016
God's Word and Prayer
For many years I saw prayer as something that you did when there was nothing else to do. It was a last resort. My wife was a person who prayed and, through her and through other people and resources, I came to understand that prayer is a powerful thing that God has gifted His people with.
Prayer is the relationship we have with Jesus.
Prayer is about Jesus, not us.
Prayer is you and me as God’s children developing an intimacy with our Father.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4 Paul writes, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
I believe that prayer is the primary weapon that God has given us to demolish spiritual strongholds.
In Ephesians 6, Paul asked the Ephesian Christians to prayer for him.
Ephesians 6:19-20
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Paul wants the Ephesian Christians to pray that God will give him His words every time he opens his mouth.
Paul wants everything he says to be from God.
In Matthew 12:36 Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”
Paul wanted to make sure that his words were not careless. That word careless can mean lazy. Paul wants to make sure that what he says is not lazy and does not give people a true picture of Jesus.
Jesus says in John 6:63 that His words are life.
Paul wanted his words to be words that imparted life.
Paul wanted his words to encourage others.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage and build up each other.
Condemning people, telling people how bad they are, does not tend to change people. Telling people how much Jesus loves them and what He has done for them and what He wants to do in their lives will change them.
In Romans 3:23 we are told that we all have sinned, but in Romans 3:24 we are told that we have been made right with God through the grace of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God gives us words that speak truth, impart life, and encourage.
Then Paul asks that they pray that he would speak God’s Word fearlessly.
The word fearlessly can be translated boldness.
It means to declare God’s Word:
In Freedom
Openly
Frankly
Without Any Concealment
Confidently
Courageously
Without Any Confusion
When we talk to people about Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it without worrying about what others might think about us.
When we talk to people about Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with nothing held back.
When we talk to people about Jesus we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with confidence.
When we talk to people about Jesus we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with directness and clarity.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is talking to people about Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with boldness, directness, and love.
In this passage in Ephesians I also find it important to look at what Paul didn’t ask the Christians to pray for.
Paul is in prison when he writes this letter.
Paul does not ask that they pray for his release from prison.
Paul does not ask that they pray that he will be given recognition as a great speaker.
Paul does not ask that they pray that he be given great wealth.
Paul asks for prayers for him to fearlessly and powerful declare God’s Word.
We live in a time where, more and more, God, His Word, and His church are coming under attack.
This is both good and bad.
It is bad because it is heart breaking to see people reject God with such intensity.
It is good because it gives us, as the church, an opportunity to show the truth of God’s love in hostile situations.
Praying for the Word of God to be proclaimed is needed now just as much as in the time of the early church.
Some of the rejection of Jesus comes because we as the church have not declared the truth of God in the manner that Paul describes in this passage.
We have many times declared the truth of God to:
Win Arguments
Judge Others
Condemn Others
Show Superiority
We are to declare the truth of God’s Word because God’s Word is
True
Life Giving
Salvation Producing
Pray that we as the Body of Christ will boldly and lovingly declare God’s Word.
Praying and Declaring Boldly to Raise the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Prayer is the relationship we have with Jesus.
Prayer is about Jesus, not us.
Prayer is you and me as God’s children developing an intimacy with our Father.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4 Paul writes, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
I believe that prayer is the primary weapon that God has given us to demolish spiritual strongholds.
In Ephesians 6, Paul asked the Ephesian Christians to prayer for him.
Ephesians 6:19-20
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Paul wants the Ephesian Christians to pray that God will give him His words every time he opens his mouth.
Paul wants everything he says to be from God.
In Matthew 12:36 Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”
Paul wanted to make sure that his words were not careless. That word careless can mean lazy. Paul wants to make sure that what he says is not lazy and does not give people a true picture of Jesus.
Jesus says in John 6:63 that His words are life.
Paul wanted his words to be words that imparted life.
Paul wanted his words to encourage others.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage and build up each other.
Condemning people, telling people how bad they are, does not tend to change people. Telling people how much Jesus loves them and what He has done for them and what He wants to do in their lives will change them.
In Romans 3:23 we are told that we all have sinned, but in Romans 3:24 we are told that we have been made right with God through the grace of Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting God gives us words that speak truth, impart life, and encourage.
Then Paul asks that they pray that he would speak God’s Word fearlessly.
The word fearlessly can be translated boldness.
It means to declare God’s Word:
In Freedom
Openly
Frankly
Without Any Concealment
Confidently
Courageously
Without Any Confusion
When we talk to people about Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it without worrying about what others might think about us.
When we talk to people about Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with nothing held back.
When we talk to people about Jesus we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with confidence.
When we talk to people about Jesus we need to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with directness and clarity.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is talking to people about Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to enable us to do it with boldness, directness, and love.
In this passage in Ephesians I also find it important to look at what Paul didn’t ask the Christians to pray for.
Paul is in prison when he writes this letter.
Paul does not ask that they pray for his release from prison.
Paul does not ask that they pray that he will be given recognition as a great speaker.
Paul does not ask that they pray that he be given great wealth.
Paul asks for prayers for him to fearlessly and powerful declare God’s Word.
We live in a time where, more and more, God, His Word, and His church are coming under attack.
This is both good and bad.
It is bad because it is heart breaking to see people reject God with such intensity.
It is good because it gives us, as the church, an opportunity to show the truth of God’s love in hostile situations.
Praying for the Word of God to be proclaimed is needed now just as much as in the time of the early church.
Some of the rejection of Jesus comes because we as the church have not declared the truth of God in the manner that Paul describes in this passage.
We have many times declared the truth of God to:
Win Arguments
Judge Others
Condemn Others
Show Superiority
We are to declare the truth of God’s Word because God’s Word is
True
Life Giving
Salvation Producing
Pray that we as the Body of Christ will boldly and lovingly declare God’s Word.
Praying and Declaring Boldly to Raise the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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