Did Jesus Discourage Corporate Public Prayer in Matthew 6?

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I labor in the midst of a stream that desires to establish corporate prayer and worship from the rising of the sun to its going down. I love it. I am gripped with it. I’m sowing the majority of my time, my energy, and my resources in the prime of my life to this end: that the Church in our generation would be a praying Church with a high vision for the glory of God in the face of Christ and committed to serving the nations through intercession and a bold witness to the Gospel.

CRITICS OF CORPORATE PUBLIC PRAYER

Often critics of our stream point us to Matthew 6 saying that Jesus never asked this of His people. They argue that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus openly discouraged corporate public prayer. Having been ‘swimming’ in this particular stream for almost a decade, Matthew 6 has been the passage I’ve heard cited the most as evidence against the prayer movement that is currently emerging in the nations. And so I wanted to give a brief response. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Acts, Blog, Community, Ministry, Missions, Most Recent, Prayer, Writing

Living to Be Memorialized

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ever heard of a guy named Cornelius? If you haven’t, you need to learn about him.

He and a young Jewish woman named Mary from a village called Bethany were the only two people in the New Testament whose lives the Lord sought to memorialize (“to preserve the memory of”). That is, because of how they caught the attention of heaven the Lord exalted them that others might emulate them.

So the question is, “Why were these two memorialized?”

Mary [Read more...]

Filed Under: Acts, Blog, Intimacy, Knowledge of God, Mary of Bethany, Most Recent, Prayer

The Culture of Prayer in the Early Church – A Survey of the Role of Prayer in Acts 1-13

September 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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I.    INTRODUCTION

A.    Currently we are witnessing the emergence of the greatest expression of prayer in all of Church history. And it will not plateau or wane before the return of the Lord. Before Jesus splits the sky the Church in the nations will be a praying Church (Rev. 5:8; 8:1-5; 22:17). The prayers of the saints will rise from every tribe and tongue, from the rising of the sun to its going down (Malachi 1:11).

B.    With that said, it’s important that we understand that this is not a new idea or foreign to the pages of Church history. Far from being an exclusively modern phenomenon the call to corporate prayer was intended by the Lord to be foundational to the ethos of the people of the covenant from the Garden of Eden.

C.    In this session I want to give an overview of the role of prayer in the book of Acts to demonstrate the fact that the Lord has always desired the Church to be a praying Church.   [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Community, Fasting, Ministry, Missions, Most Recent, Prayer

The Ministry of Night and Day Intercession Before the Coming of the Lord

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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The Ministry of Night and Day Intercession Before the Coming of the Lord

I.    HEARING ONE OF JESUS’ STRONGEST APPEALS IN SCRIPTURE

A.    In the Gospels and in the book of Revelation we find Jesus’ repetitious use of a particular phrase:

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:15)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches… (Rev. 2:7; 11; 17; 29; 3:6; 13; 22)

B.    The central truths of the Gospel never change. But specific word of the Lord from generation to generation changes quite dramatically. We never graduate from the main and plain truths of the Gospel nor do we cease laboring to emphasize them as such. But it must be understood that there are transitional moments of history in which the Holy Spirit emphasizes unique and particular messages specific to that hour.

C.    For example, in Matthew 11:15 Jesus beckoned that generation to hear what the Spirit was emphasizing through Jesus and John the Baptist. Matthew chapter 11 addresses a generation that by and large failed to discern and heed that message. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, End-Times, Eschatology/End-Times, Fasting, Intimacy, Ministry, Missions, Most Recent, Prayer, Preaching, Prophetic Ministry, Second Coming, Worship

1 – Introduction to John the Baptist’s Ministry as a Forerunner

August 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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I.    THE FORERUNNER MINISTRY

A.    Human history is a succession of transitional generations. Throughout the centuries–from the creation of the cosmos to the exile from the Garden, from the calling of Abraham to the exaltation of Joseph, from the flood to the Exodus, from the drought in the days of Elijah to the deportation of the days of Jeremiah, and from the days of Anna, Simeon, and John the Baptist to the days of Peter, Philip, and Paul–we see that transitional generations are like hinges upon which the door of redemption and judgment swings.

B.    And in every generation that witnesses such monumental transitions as those mentioned above we observe what we refer to as the forerunner ministry. The forerunner ministry is a prophetic and pastoral ministry that is intended by God to prepare people for the unique dynamics of the transition specific to a particular generation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, End-Times, Eschatology/End-Times, Forerunner Ministry, John the Baptist, Most Recent, Prayer, Preaching, Prophetic Ministry, Recommended, Second Coming, The Incandescent Man

A Rarely Wielded Weapon in Our War Against Sin

August 22, 2011 By 5 Comments

Lately I’ve been pondering a statement that J. C. Ryle (d. 1900) made about prayer:

“Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer.”

(From A Call to Prayer)

In my estimation–judging by Scripture, history, and personal experience–prayer has not been given the attention that it deserves with respect to our war with sin.

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)

Filed Under: Blog, Most Recent, Prayer, Sanctification, Spiritual Warfare

Paul’s Teaching on the End-Times in 2 Thessalonians 2 – Ten Foundational Truths

August 15, 2011 By

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Filed Under: 2 Thessalonians, Blog, End-Times, Eschatology/End-Times, Forerunner Ministry, Judgment, Knowledge of God, Ministry, Most Recent, Prayer, Prophetic Ministry, Rapture, Recommended, Salvation, Second Coming, Spiritual Warfare

The Full Length Trailer for My Book

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’m stoked to announce the release of the Full Length Trailer for my book “The Controversy of Zion and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble: The Final Suffering and Salvation of the Jewish People.”

If you’d like to help stir up awareness about these critical issues and help us promote the book we’d be delighted if you’d repost it.

A big “Thank You” to the talented Nathan Buchanan for creating such a beautiful video.

* If you’re receiving this blog by email, click on the link to watch the video.

Filed Under: Blog, End-Times, Eschatology/End-Times, Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Most Recent, Politics, Prayer, Preaching, Prophetic Ministry, Recommended, Second Coming, Video

My Predictions for the Next Five Years – Key Trends and Events that We Should be Aware Of

August 8, 2011 By 8 Comments

I’ve received numerous emails from people around the world asking what I foresee unfolding in the next few years in light of some of the significant trends and events so far in 2011. Below is a short response.

There are three ‘areas of development’ included here that I think we’ll see in the next 5 years. I’ve followed each projection with a brief outline of what our response should be.

The first has no scriptural foundation. It doesn’t mean it’s not legitimate. But it is conjecture. And you should know that. The second is a mix of prophetic intuition and Biblical exegesis. This will be teased out in subsequent posts. And the third is entirely Biblical with no subjective reasoning involved.

FIRST, the obvious. The United States (and it’s far reaching implications globally).

Today marks [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, End-Times, Eschatology/End-Times, Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Judgment, Missions, Most Recent, Politics, Prayer, Prophetic Ministry, Recommended, Suffering

Solitude and the Restoration of True Community

July 12, 2011 By

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Solitude and the Restoration of True Community


With the witness of Scripture, the testimony of Church history, and the conviction borne by personal experience all whispering in my ears, I am convinced that the call to Christ-centered solitude is one of the most important and yet most misunderstood and neglected practices in the Church; particularly in the west; specifically with regards to the cultivation of true community. The impact of this neglect is deep and wide.

In this session we’re going to look at the place of solitude in the midst of community.

I. THE DESTRUCTION OF TRUE COMMUNITY – GENESIS 2-3 [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Community, Intimacy, Leadership, Love, Most Recent, Prayer, Shame, Solitude
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