Praying Pint

 

 

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

–Matthew 11:28

Several years ago, when I was cleaning out some old files, I came across a list of goals I had made for myself in November 1984. The goals were specific: the size church I wanted to pastor, how many books I wanted to write, and so on. As I looked over those goals, I realized I could check off every single one. I was overwhelmed by gratitude to God for allowing me to achieve those goals–but also amazement that I still wasn’t satisfied. I was focused not on what I already had but on people who had more than I did and people who’d done more than I’d done. That’s why you should never depend on outward circumstances for your inward happiness.

There’s a popular parable that goes like this: “Every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, a gazelle awakens and knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will perish. Every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, a lion awakens and knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will go hungry. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a gazelle or a lion–every morning in Africa when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

That’s the tenor of our age, isn’t it? We feel like we have to keep running, chasing after things we think will make us happy. What are you chasing? A certain amount of money in your investment portfolio? A certain size home? A certain position in your company? A degree? A relationship? There’s nothing wrong with working toward those things–unless you’re under the delusion that achieving that goal will satisfy you. The fact is, none of those things can provide lasting satisfaction.

Instead of running, wouldn’t you rather be resting? In Matthew 11:28, Jesus promised, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Too many Christians read those words and think, That’s a sweet thought, Jesus, and in heaven, I’ll be able to rest for eternity. But You don’t understand my life right now. I have to keep running just to keep up.

You don’t have to wait until you die to rest. Jesus said to stop chasing the money, the job title, the relationship, or the dream that will never satisfy. Instead, learn the secret of contentment. God has given you everything you need to enjoy life. (Jeffress)

 

 

 Psalms 73:7    Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

 Ecclesiastes 11:9     Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

 Isaiah 5:11-12    Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!  They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.

 Isaiah 47:8     Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, 

 Isaiah 56:12     “Come,” they say, “let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.”

 Amos 6:1     “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria

 Amos 6:4-6   “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,  who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,  who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

 Luke 16:25     But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

 Jude 1:12      These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;

 Revelation 18:7     As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’

 2Ti 3:1-5  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,  treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

 

 

 Hebrews 10:38-39   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

 Hebrews 10:26-27    For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

 2 Peter 1:4     by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

 Deuteronomy 32:29    If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

 Philippians 3:19      Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

 Romans 13:13     Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

 James 5:5     You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

 Job 21:11-15    They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance.  They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.  They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’

 

 

 Jeremiah 2:17    Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

 Jeremiah 3:10      Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”

 Jeremiah 15:6     You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

 Ezekiel 3:20      Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

 Hosea 4:16  Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the LORD now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?

 Hosea 11:7    My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.

 

 

Jhn 6:66  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

 2 Peter 2:20-22    For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

 1 John 2:19    They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

 John 8:31     So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

 Zephaniah 1:6  those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”

 1 Samuel 15:11      “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”

 Psalms 36:3      The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

 Psalms 125:5      But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers!

 Isaiah 1:4     Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

 Jeremiah 2:13     for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

 

 

 Philippians 3:8    Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

 1 John 3:2      Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is

 Revelation 21:3    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

 Revelation 21:22-23    And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Isa 45:19  I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

 

 

Psalms 73:25    Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

 Psalms 16:11     You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 Psalms 16:5     The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

 Psalms 17:15     As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

 Psalms 37:4     Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Psalms 43:4      Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

 Psalms 63:3    Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

 Psalms 89:6     For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD

 Matthew 5:8     “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 

 

Jhn 6:53-68 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”  Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)  And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

There are those who reject God and never come to the saving grace knowledge. They choose to deny God, mock Him, turn a deaf ear towards Him, harden their heart agains Him, despise Him, choose another God, and make many decisions disregarding sin and judgment to come.

Then there are those who have tasted the fruits of salvation, touched the edge of it, think it is good, possibly even try to pattern their life after it, see evidence of God in creation, follow strict rules and moral standards, and live with knowledge of salvation and redemption but never come to a change of heart, soul, and mind.

Both of these reject God’s salvation. One, obvious and undisguised, and the other covertly and hidden having an appearance of godliness and words of faith on their lips but not in their hearts.

 

 

Matthew 7:9-11  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Psalm 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Matthew 11:28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jhon 6:35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Recently, as I watched my eleven-month-old make a mad dash for the open dishwasher, it struck me as remarkably similar to how we can approach God in prayer. Our hearts, like my son’s hands, desire to have, hold, and enjoy. Earthly objects appear good and precious before us. We reach for them through prayer — unaware of whether we reach for a spoon or a knife.

The God to whom we pray is our sovereign and kind Father. He cares whether his material gifts do service or harm to his children’s souls, and he truly knows the difference between spoons and knives, bread and stones, fish and serpents (Matthew 7:9–11). So, whenever necessary, his love says, “No.” His hands gently pull us back, shutting the door.

All the while, he assures us that he is not a Father who delights to withhold but to fulfill — fully, finally, and forever, with the only Object in all existence that can really satisfy us: himself (Psalm 16:11). Here I am; here is fullness of joy. What you wanted would have hurt you by giving you less of me. Fear not. I have not withheld myself. You shall be full.

But we are often too busy wandering around the base of a dishwasher to hear him.

Do you feel like one prayer after another is going unanswered? Is prayer an exercise in disappointment, sorrow, or even bitterness — not faith, fellowship, and joy? Jesus sees you, and he wants to free you from experiencing prayer as frustration. But to do that, he will ask you to stop asking mostly for more of his gifts. He will ask you to ask ultimately for more of him.

He says the same to all his sheep: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Goods and kindred will not do. The good shepherd does not make us lie down in green pastures so that we can become sick on grass. Times of comfort, along with valleys of death, are for communion with Christ. He alone knows how much is too much — of both ease and affliction. (T. Swanson)

 

 

Acts 2:38: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

So, it looks like this: repent (condition number one), be baptized (condition number two), and forgiveness will be given to you. And I’ve been arguing (because I think so many texts teach it) that, no, repentance and faith as one piece are what obtains forgiveness, not the baptism.

So, what, you disagree with this text, Piper? Who do you think you are? And I think that text should be read something like this (and I remember seeing this years ago and then finding it other places). Suppose, Tony, you want to go from Phoenix to LA on the train, and it’s about to leave, and I say, “Grab your hat and run or you’ll miss the train.” Now, I just gave you two commands like Peter gave two commands: “Repent and be baptized.” But only one of them is a cause of getting to the train on time — namely, running. But I said, “Grab your hat.” Grabbing your hat is an accompanying act, not a causative one. It may be very important. There may be all kinds of reasons why you should have a hat. Why did you tell him to grab a hat? Well, I’ve got my reasons. But grabbing the hat does not help you in the least to get on the train on time.

Now, that’s the way I think we should hear Peter when he says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, and make the train of forgiveness.” You get on the train of forgiveness if you repent and are baptized. And the repentance, the change of mind that includes faith, gets you to the train. And baptism is important — important for all kinds of reasons — but it’s not causative in the same way that repentance is.

So, here’s my bottom-line answer to the question: Faith precedes baptism (that’s why I’m a Baptist) and is operative in baptism. So, we are justified at the very first act of genuine saving faith in Christ, and then baptism follows (and preferably would follow soon) as an outward expression of that inward reality.  (J. Piper)