Prayer in the Book of Acts (Prayer Series 4 of 6)

In his book Renewal as a Way of Life, Richard Lovelace writes, “Facing the formidable and largely unexpected task of evangelizing the whole world for the Messiah, the early church went to prayer, waiting for Jesus to pour out his Spirit to empower them for this task” (Acts 1:13-14).

It’s been said that two important principles emerge from reading Acts 1 and 2: 1) Only the very presence of the risen Lord could equip them to move outward in mission, and 2) This movement could only be maintained through a continual dependence on him, receiving divine direction and encouragement in prayer.

In the Book of Acts, we have Luke's second volume on the person and work of Jesus. Here we find the remarkable work of the ascended Jesus continuing to advance God’s kingdom on earth through the church by prayer. 

In Acts 1, how do the church leaders find the purpose and power to lead this movement that is going to spread around the whole world? The Book of Acts opens with them gathered together, not teaching, not discussing, not strategizing, but praying.

How then is the church birthed and a community formed? In Acts 2 the first thing we read they were devoted to, before the Apostles teaching, is prayer. And we read they continued steadfast in prayers.

In Acts 4, when persecution breaks out, and Peter and John are arrested, how do they respond? They raised their voices to God in prayer.

In Acts 6, when the leaders face a serious ministry crisis in the church regarding the neglect of widows, how do they respond? They appoint deacons so they can devote themselves to two things, and notice the order again: to prayer and the ministry of the word.

In Acts 10, when the inclusion of Gentiles into the predominate Jewish church is about to take place, how does it happen? While Peter, the Jew is praying and while Cornelius, the Gentile is praying in a different place.

When persecution reappears in Acts 12, How do they respond? Acts 12:5, "Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church."

How then does a great harvest come to the church and this regional mission becomes a global movement? In Acts 13 (1-3,47-49) we read about the commissioning of Paul and Barnabas for their missionary journeys, "After fasting and praying, they laid hands on them and sent them."

In Act 14, we read that when Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in each church, they always do that “with prayers and fasting.”

Now that this gospel movement had broken down the walls between Jew and Gentile, how would it move from the Middle East to Europe? In Acts 16 we read it was through prayer.

And when Paul shows up in Europe, in a place called Philippi, where does he start his European movement? Acts 16 tells us it’s with a small group of women in a place where they normally meet for prayer.

Then persecution resurfaces. Paul and Silas are thrown into jail there in Philippi. How do they respond? They sing Psalms, and they pray. What happens? And earthquake comes and their chains fall off and the jailer and his family join the movement.

Toward the end of Paul’s ministry he gathers together the elders from the church he started in Ephesus. He knew it was his last time to be with them. So what does he do before he gives them his final challenge. Acts 20 tells us he knelt down and prayed with them.

At the very end of the last chapter of Acts, how does that last recorded healing take place? In Acts 28 we learn that Paul visits a very sick man and prays for him, and he is healed.

Every significant movement ahead for the kingdom is associated with prayer.

The success of the gospel depends not only on God’s sovereignty, and the faithful preaching of the gospel. But also the faithful prayers of God’s people.  Prayer is the mysterious means that God chooses through which he releases the transforming power of the gospel in your life and ministry.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments and church history, every spiritual awakening was founded on corporate, prevailing, intensive, kingdom-centered prayer.

Christians are used to thinking about prayer as only a means to get their personal needs met. More mature Christians understand prayer as also a means to praise and adore God, to know him, to come into his presence and be changed by him.

But there is another kind of prayer that is not well know. It is what we call Kingdom Prayer. Archie Parrish defines it like this:

“Kingdom-focused prayer is not mere instinct but it is Spirit-enabled; not man-centered but God-centered; not self-serving but Kingdom-serving; not sentimental but Scriptural; not solo but concerted; not timid but bold; not passive resignation but proactive cooperation. Kingdom-focused prayer is the Spirit-enabled reverent cry of God’s adopted sons and daughters, seeking their Father’s glory by persistently asking him for the nations, their promised inheritance.” - Archie Parrish

Jack Miller is known for his teaching about the difference between “maintenance” and “frontline” prayer meetings. Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical, and totally focused on physical, personal needs inside the church. But frontline prayer has three basic traits:

1.    A request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves;

2.    a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church;

3.    and a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.

(See C. John Miller, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 98–106.)

As a church leader, it usually begins with you. If you want your church to be devoted to prayer, it normally begins with your devotion to prayer—not just maintenance prayer but frontline, kingdom prayer—for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom.

Prayer in the Life and Ministry of Jesus (Prayer Series 3 of 6)

In our last article, we learned that the prophet Isaiah cast a vision for the future when God’s house, his temple, would again become a house of prayer. This is a vision for God’s house to be filled with God’s people as a kingdom of priests offering joyful worship and prayers to God.

But for this to happen, a new and faithful High Priest had to come–the Lord Jesus Christ. The good news is that, through their union with him, they would become a kingdom of priests offering worship and prayers to God on behalf of his kingdom purposes on the earth.

When Jesus enters the world, he is bringing about a new age of kingdom prayer in which we are called by God to enter with him. So we should not be surprised when we find Jesus life on earth, from beginning to end, marked as a life of prayer.

When Luke writes his gospel of Luke and Acts, he gives us an amazing two-volume story of the life and teachings of Jesus. This whole story teaches us the importance of prayer and its role in the mission of advancing God’s kingdom on earth.

Birth of Jesus

Think about how much prayer permeated the story surrounding the birth of Jesus. When the birth of the Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist, was announced to Zechariah at the temple, Luke 1:10 tells us the people were standing outside praying. Zechariah responds with prophetic prayer. Mary, the mother of Jesus, breaks out in singing prayers of praise to God. Simeon takes the baby into his arms and prays. Anna gives thanks to God.

Baptism of Jesus

The first place we read of Jesus praying is at his baptism. While he was praying (Luke 3:21) the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove. This symbol marks the beginning of a new age, just as a dove marked a new era of grace in the story of Noah.

Temptation of Jesus

When Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days, we see the vital role of his prayers in accomplishing the Father’s will. As the last Adam he faces head on the temptations of Satan that defeated the first Adam. As the true Israel of God, Jesus also faces all the wilderness temptations that defeated the people of Israel in their wilderness. How did he do it? Primarily through prayer.

In Jesus’ Ministry

• In Luke 5 we see, In the middle of all the demands of his great healing ministry, Jesus often withdrawing to a lonely place to pray to his Father.

• In Luke 6, we learn that before he chooses the 12 disciples, he went out to the mountain to pray all night.

• In Luke 9, after praying alone (9:18), he announces to his disciples, in a clearer way than ever before, his coming death and resurrection.

• Then he goes up to the mountain to pray (9:28). He takes Peter and James and John, and as he is praying he's transfigured in front of them and they see his glory.

• In Luke 11, the whole chapter is one of the greatest teachings in all of scripture about prayer. Here Jesus paints a revolutionary new picture of prayer as coming before God as a loving, heavenly Father, who loves to give his children good gifts.

• And it’s here the disciples are compelled to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. We’ll examine Jesus answer later.

• In the Upper Room, before his betrayal by Judas, he prays. And he promises to pray for Peter to be restored after he denies him.

• In the Garden of Gethsemane he prays.

• And on the cross, three of his last seven words are prayers.

• After his resurrection Jesus reveals himself to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. When do they recognize him? When he prays to give thanks for their evening meal.

• Now, in his ascension, the writer of the b  ook of Hebrews tells us he “lives to make intercession for us” as our high priest.

Soon we begin to learn that Jesus ministry was not merely strongly supported by his prayers, but his ministry was primary his prayers.

Every aspect of the life and ministry of Jesus is rooted in and driven by prayer. It isn't just a peripheral thing, it's the life breath of how he serves the Father as the God-Man, and how he brings the kingdom to earth as the King of kings.

God means for this model of Jesus, as the Pioneer of our Faith, both to humble us and embolden us. It's humbling, but it's liberating to recognize that even in the life of Jesus at every single step he took, every significant movement forward of the kingdom of God is in and through prayer.

I leave you with this question I hope you’ll never forget: “If Jesus, as the Son of God, believed that prayer was this necessary for the Father’s kingdom purposes to be fulfilled in and through his life and ministry, how much more is that true of you?”

Prayer and God’s Kingdom (Prayer Series 2 of 6)

Throughout the Scriptures we find a strong connection between prayer, the kingdom of God, and the mission of God. This is not just in the New Testament but also in the Old Testament.

For instance, one time God spoke to the people of Israel through the prophet Isaiah, telling them that because their sin had become so great, he would no longer hear their prayers and continue his mission through them. In Isaiah 1:15 we read:

When you spread out your hands,     
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood (Is 1:15).

Prior to this, God’s people were “A kingdom of priests,” who would pray and worship God in his house. And God would answer their prayers causing his kingdom purposes to come throughout the earth.

But, now, because of their horrible sin, God’s people were no longer a kingdom of priests in his house. So God was no longer answering their prayers to advance his kingdom purposes through them.

But the good news is that God did not give up his purpose to have a kingdom of priests in his house of prayer. He later promised that, in the future, he was going to bring foreigners, non-Jews, to his holy mountain and into his house. And they would become a new kingdom of priests! In Isaiah 56:6-7:

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,…
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;…

for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”

The prophet Isaiah casts an amazing vision here of God’s future, joyful, house of prayer that will be filled with a new kingdom of priests from all peoples and nations.

The next time this passage is mentioned is in the New Testament: “Jesus entered the temple, and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple     , and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers (Mat 21:12-13).”

In Ephesians 2, Paul uses this same imagery of God's house to describe the church of Jesus Christ, now made up of Jew and Gentile:

“For through him (Christ) we both (Jew and Gentile) have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

In the Old Testament, the people of God lost their identity as a kingdom of priests. But the good news of the gospel of the kingdom is that Jesus is now our ultimate High Priest, and through our union with him by faith, we have now become God’s promised new Kingdom of Priests.

The Apostle Peter writes, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, (NOTE THE PURPOSE) to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5).”

We learn here that, the Church, as God’s new Kingdom of Priests, is to be marked by being a people who find our joy in him through gathering as the new temple of God and house of God–marked by prayer.

This is why prayer must not be seen as merely one of many important priorities in ministry. It must become a very top priority.

• When the first-century church was being established, the apostles found themselves distracted by the many pressing demands of the ministry—including waiting on tables. They responded, “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word”  (Acts 6:3-4).

• When Paul warned the Ephesian Christians of the spiritual battle in which they were to engage, he told them to put on the whole armor of God and to stand against the devil’s schemes. Standing against the devil’s schemes involved understanding God’s truth about salvation, using the Word of God as a sword, and continuous prayer. Paul urged the Ephesian believers to “...pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

• In regard to the advance of the gospel, Paul specifically asked believers, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel... Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" (Ephesians 6:19-20).

Never forget that the success of the gospel in church planting and renewal depends not only on God’s sovereignty and the faithful preaching of the gospel—BUT ALSO on the faithful prayers of God’s people.

Prayer is the mysterious means that God has chosen through which he releases the transforming power of the gospel in your life and ministry to make his Kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Because You Prayed (Prayer Series 1 of 6)

This article addresses your need to make prayer a top priority in developing a healthy church. A common mistake in church development is relying illegitimately on your own abilities to develop the church—trusting in ministry methods and strategies rather than trusting primarily in the Lord through prayer.

When you face trials and difficulties in ministry, you must learn that those are times God is calling you to prayer. It’s been said that, “Instead of fighting anxiety, we can use it as a springboard to bending our hearts to God. Instead of trying to suppress anxiety, manage it, or smother it with pleasure, we can turn our anxiety toward God (Paul Miller, A Praying Life).”

In the Old Testament, we read about a Jewish King, Hezekiah, who was facing what seems like insurmountable problems. What appears to be an unstoppable Assyrian army, under King Sennacherib, was coming to defeat him and his people.

During this time, he receives a letter that tells him he should admit defeat and give up. This letter also reminds him of how this army has already conquered all of the neighboring countries and no one has been able to stand against them.

In Isaiah 37 we learn how Hezekiah responds. We’re told he takes the letter and lays it out before the Lord. The image of what Hezekiah is doing here is similar to what the Apostle Peter describes when he tells us to “Cast all our an     xieties on the Lord." The king takes this letter, representing all his anxieties, and lays it out before the Lord, meaning he lifts it up to the Lord in prayer.

That's when the Old Testament prophet Isaiah is sent to him by the Lord with a message from God of great hope and promise, telling him he does not need to fear the approaching army. Isaiah promises Hezekiah that God is going to deliver him. And then Isaiah tells him why. He says “Because you prayed.” These are the key words we are focusing on now: “Because you prayed.”

The Greek historian Herodotus attributed the destruction of the Assyrian army to a sudden outbreak of bubonic plague. Isaiah, in another place, simply says the angel of the Lord went and struck down 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers in their camp.

Sometimes people say, "Prayer doesn't change things. Prayer only changes you." We need to be careful with such statements. Isaiah is clearing teaching us here that there are things that God did because this king prayed.

This is very similar to what James says tells us in the New Testa     ment when he writes, "You have not because you ask not." There are things that God will do because people pray that he would not do had they not prayed.

There are many times in your life and ministry when you will be fearful about what lies ahead. You will not see a way forward. It may not be an army of problems as frightening as the Assyrian army under Sennacherib but, for you, it can feel like that.

During these times, never forget that God is calling you to lay those fears out before the Lord in prayer and cast all your anxieties on him. John Newton wrote a poem that put it this way:

Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much;

This doesn’t mean that you will always have a highly visible, miraculous destruction of your approaching army. But God still promises you deliverance. The Apostle Peter tells us,

”Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So, every time you are faced w   ith an approaching army in your life and ministry, never forget this one simple phrase from the Prophet Isaiah,

“Because you prayed.”

What in the World is God Doing? (Vision Series 1 of 5)

Did you ever wonder why you want your life to count for something significant? Why it is that human beings everywhere always want to make a difference? This is true of both religious and non-religious people. When most people die they want to somehow leave the world a better place.

We learn from Scripture that’s because human beings are created in the image of God. You are designed by God in his image to make a difference in the world. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, we learn that humans, as image-bearers, are created by God to multiply, to fill the earth, and to rule over it in a way that carries out God’s perfect will on the earth. 

 There is a great cosmic story that is now unfolding in human history. And what’s frightening is that you can know all the stories in the Bible very well and you can even master a knowledge of Christian doctrine and still not know what has been called “The Story in the Stories”—the one greater, unfolding story of God’s overarching purpose for the world. 

Now the way people understand the purpose and meaning of their lives depends on how they see the big picture of the human story and where they see themselves fitting into it.  In our culture there are only two very different human stories being told about the big picture":

One is the story that teaches that the world and humanity came into being through a mysterious and random convergence of mass and energy over billions of years for no reason and for no purpose.

The other is the story of God’s creation of humanity and the world, of the fall of humanity and the world, and of God’s redemption and restoration of what was lost in the fall, and of the coming consummation of God’s creation purposes when God will make all things new for eternity.

It’s been said that the biblical story has four unique chapters: Genesis 1–2 and Revelation 21–22. And they should be seen as the Bible’s bookends. Now what’s unique about these 2 chapters at the beginning and the end of the Bible is that there is no sin present in these parts of the biblical story.

In Genesis 1-2 we see a picture of what the world looked like before sin. In Revelation 21-22 we see a picture of what the world will look like after God has redeemed and restored fallen humanity and the world from all the effects of sin—as far as the curse is found.[1]

In between these bookends is the greatest story ever told. And this one story is not primarily about what the people are doing in all these smaller stories. It’s primarily one big story about one big God and the amazing things he has done and he is doing throughout real history to redeem and restore a sinful people and a fallen world.

The story in the stories is all about God. In this chapter on Vision we’re going to learn from Scripture how the purpose of the human race and the world is all about God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s church, and God’s Gospel.

We’re going to learn how God takes great pleasure in displaying his glory by making his invisible kingdom visible on earth through his church, by the power of his gospel.

Historically, Christians have understood the purpose of the human race and the world through the lens of the Bible, especially through understanding the Gospel as the good news that God, through the person and work of Jesus, is now restoring all things that were lost in creation because of the fall of humanity into sin.

It’s the good news that there is an infinite, personal God who exists and who created and rules over all things. And his rule, his kingdom, has uniquely entered the world through the person and work of Jesus, by his Spirit, to make all things new—especially our broken relationships with him, with ourselves, with others, and the world.

Historically Christians have understood the purpose of the human race and the world through the lens of the Bible. Through Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension, God gave him the authority to give all who receive and follow him in repentance and faith, a new standing from God, a new heart and life from God, a new community from God, and a promised new world from God-when Jesus returns to make all things new.

The Protestant missionary movement is rooted in a handful of people who were deeply stirred by this great vision for: God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s church and God’s Gospel. William Carey, the father of the modern missionary movement, was an ordinary man, a shoemaker by trade, who dared to believe God could do extraordinary things through his life—not for his sake but for God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s church and God’s Gospel among all the nations.

The Protestant missionary movement is rooted in a handful of people who were deeply stirred by this great vision for: God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s church and God’s Gospel.

And God poured out his blessing on both his life and ministry. And it was out of Carey’s biblical vision for the world that came his famous challenge: “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

[1] Craig Van Gelder, The Essence of the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 89-90.

Vision for the Glory of God (Vision Series 2 of 5)

God takes pleasure in pouring out His blessings on those who will dare to align their life purpose more with His. This raises one of the most important and ancient questions of the ages: “What is God’s purpose for the world?” Jesus gives us a wonderful glimpse into God’s overarching purpose for the world when he taught his disciples how to pray. Jesus said, “Pray then in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name” (Matt. 6:9-10).

God’s primary purpose in the world today is that His Name would be Hallowed or Glorified. Here Jesus is echoing the Psalmist in Psalm 86:9 who writes, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.”

The purpose of God for the world is not merely that a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation would know His forgiveness. But that He would also be worshipped, glorified and enjoyed by all nations. In John 4:23, Jesus paints a picture of God the Father as One who is actually in hot pursuit, seeking after true worshippers from all nations. 

Author John Piper builds the case that a truly biblical understanding of God’s mission in the world can only be ours when we understand that “Worship is both the goal and the fuel of missions.” He writes,  “Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.”

John Piper writes, “Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.” The only reason missions exists today is because there are still human hearts and conglomerations of human hearts, called nations, where the true worship of God does not yet exist.

So why is it that so few of us today have a vision for God’s glory that births a passion to see all the nations worship Him and be glad in Him? Why is it that most of us cringe and feel nauseated when we just think about commending Christ to our neighbor across the street? Piper answers the question by writing, “You cannot commend what you do not cherish.”

When you truly cherish something you can’t keep from commending it. When you find a type of food you love you commend it to others. The same is true of a great book or song. No one has to tell you to commend it to others. You don’t need to hear a series of messages to make you feel guilty and remind you of your duty to commend it. You commend it because you cherish it. You delight in it so you want others to delight in it as well.

And so it is in our relationship with God. If we are not commending Him–either across the street or around the world–let’s just face it, the reason is simple–it’s because we do not really cherish Him.  So what should we do? You don’t need to hear a series of messages to make you feel guilty and remind you of your duty to commend it. Again, you commend it because you cherish it.

One very important key to answering this question is found in Psalm 86:8, which reads, “Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.” Here, in the same breath in which the Psalmist refers to the nations coming to God and worshipping Him, we find him referring to other gods, to the concept of idolatry, renouncing his trust in idols and affirming his trust in the only living God.

The true reason we don’t commend Christ more is because we don’t really cherish him. And the reason we don’t cherish him is because we’re cherishing idols in our hearts instead. God has created us in his image as worshippers. This means we are always worshipping something whether we realize it or not. This is why we should always see the essential character of our sin as heart idolatry.

Now the modern idols that capture our hearts’ affection today are not normally graven images of the ancient world. Idolatry is simply making something or someone other than Jesus Christ our ultimate source of happiness or fulfillment—our true source of security and significance.

For some it is approval, reputation, or what the world defines as success. For others it is comfort or control, pleasure or power. For some it is possessions, or sexual pleasure, or financial security or having secure, meaningful relationships. Idols can be good things like making good grades or even making a Kingdom impact or being in a meaningful relationship. Whatever it is, without this we believe we cannot be happy and our lives will be meaningless.

The true reason we don’t commend Christ more is because we don’t really cherish him. And the reason we don’t cherish him is because we’re cherishing idols in our hearts instead. Pastor and author Tim Keller writes that “Whatever we ultimately live for has great power over us. If someone blocks our idol from us, we can be enraged with anger. If our idols are threatened, we can be paralyzed with fear. If we lose our idol, we can be driven into utter despair.”

This is because the idols we worship give us our sense of value or vindication. And when we allow the affections of our hearts to be captured by such idols, the outcome is always the same--a lack of cherishing God and cherishing His purposes for the world. So how, practically, can we begin to cherish Christ more so that we can begin to commend Him to others with greater power? Through ongoing repentance and faith in the Gospel. What do I mean by that? 

In repentance we must learn to identify and keep turning away from those things that steal our heart’s affection away from God. We stop merely pursuing the Kingdom and start pursuing first and foremost the King. We stop merely pursuing the Truth of God and start pursuing first and foremost the God of Truth. In repentance we keep turning our heart affections away from idols.

And in faith we must learn how to keep placing those same affections on to Christ in worship. In faith we learn to see him as being more attractive than all our idols. In so doing God starts becoming more and more supreme in the affections of our hearts.  Only then will the idea of evangelism and missions no longer be a dreadful duty but a life-giving opportunity for us to commend to others the reality of the love of the living Christ whom we cherish.

We learn from both the pages of Scripture and history that an awakening to world missions almost always begins with heart-felt repentance from God’s people. People who are humble and courageous enough to admit that the fire that once burned brightly in their hearts for Christ and His Kingdom has grown dim.

We learn from both the pages of Scripture and history that an awakening to world missions almost always begins with heart-felt repentance from God’s people. These are the rare kinds of leaders who then stop seeing God merely as useful and begin seeing God as beautiful—those who understand that worship is not only the goal of missions but also the fuel. 

Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37,38).

As you begin to turn away from your idols in repentance and turn to Jesus Christ in faith-, know that God  has promised you will not only have your deep thirst quenched but that streams of living water will begin to flow through you, not merely for your sake, but for His sake and for the sake of the nations.