Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

Our church encourages each of our members “not to neglect to pray for ourselves or others.”  In fact, it is written into our church covenant.  A good practice we recommend in this regard is to regularly pray through the membership directory of the church.  As we do that, we should come across believers with whom we have developed relationships.  In those cases, we should know what is happening in their lives.  We may know a brother is struggling with a particular sin or facing a unique opportunity for the gospel.  Knowing the trials, temptations, and opportunities of other members in the congregation is very helpful in informing our prayers (and it helps us walk alongside other believers and help in ways other than prayer).  We get to know each other, among other ways, by consistent interaction through small groups, one-on-one meetings, and substantive conversations on Sunday.

But no matter how many people we know well in the congregation, we will certainly come across brothers and sisters about whom we know virtually nothing specific concerning their circumstances.  We may be tempted to skip that person because we “don’t know what to pray for.”  In such a circumstance, we have a great opportunity to pray the Bible.

One great way to do that is to pray through the passage of scripture you have read in your quiet time that day.  Or you could pray through the portion of the Word your pastor is going to preach for the coming Lord’s Day (or perhaps what he just preached).

If you are struggling with that, then here are a few passages of scripture that you can plug and pray:

Colossians 1:9-12:

⁹And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Philippians 1:9-11:

⁹And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-13

¹¹To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, ¹²so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Take comfort that these prayers were prayed by the Apostle Paul on behalf of people, in many cases, he knew very well.  Moreover, these words are inspired by the Holy Spirit to instruct us.  In fact, you may want to include them alongside the more specific prayers you pray for those you know well.

Share

Under Blog, Church, Reflections

Often we look to nature to point out the handiwork of God, and we’re right to do so.  But I think that Mr. Spurgeon has a true and marvelous point that if we want to see even greater beauty and splendor, then we should look to the handiwork of God in the life of a repenting sinner.  The trees, rocks, mountains, and glaciers never rebelled against God, but every human being who has ever walked this earth has rebelled against God, and in our rebellion we have displayed that which is ultimately repulsive and unsightly.  Therefore, when those in rebellion are converted and increasingly made into the likeness of God’s beloved Son, they gradually reflect the beauty and splendor of the fairest of the fair.  Their lives then display even greater beauty than the great works of creation.  They are a new creation.  Here is how Charles Spurgeon put it:

The museum of grace is richer than that of nature. A heart broken on account of sin is a far greater wonder than the rarest fossil, whatever it may tell of ancient floods of the sea or convulsions of the land. An eye that glistens with the tears of penitence is a greater marvel than the cataract of Niagara, or the fountains of the Nile. Faith that humbly links itself to Christ has in it as great a beauty as the rainbow, and the confidence which looks alone to Jesus, and so irradiates the soul, is as much an object for admiration as is the sun when he shineth in his strength. Talk not of the pyramids, the Colossus, the golden house of Nero, or the temple of Ephesus, for the living temple of God’s church is fairer far. Let others glory in the marvels they have seen but be it mine to say unto my Lord, “I will praise thee, for thou hast done wonderful things…” (From a sermon entitled “A Blessed Wonder,” delivered June 12, 1870).

HT: Nick

Share

Under Blog, Reflections

One of the things I love about J.C. Ryle is how firm and confident he is in his writing.  While I love this about him, this is also one of the things that I find most challenging about him.  Below you’ll find a quote from Ryle that contains several “he will” statements.  He says that a Christian will do this or that because a Christian cannot sell his soul for “position, fame or gold.”  In other words, a Christian will treasure Christ more than the world and this disposition will manifest itself in his life.

“A true Christian will strive to do his duty in whatever station or position he finds himself, and to do it well. Whether statesman, or merchant, or banker, or lawyer, or doctor, or tradesman, or farmer, he will try to do his work so that no one can find occasion for fault in him. But he will not allow it to get between him and Christ. If he finds his business beginning to eat up his Sundays, his Bible-reading, his private prayer time, and to bring clouds between him and heaven, he will say, “Stand back! There is a limit. This is as far as you can go, and no further. I cannot sell my soul for position, fame, or gold.” Like Daniel, he will make time for communion with God, whatever the cost may be. He will deny himself anything rather than lose his Bible-reading and his prayers. In all this he will find he stands almost alone. Many will laugh at him, and tell him they get along just fine without being so strict and particular. He will not listen. He will resolutely hold the world at arms length, whatever present loss or sacrifice it may seem to entail. He will choose rather to be less rich and prosperous in this world, than not to prosper about his soul.” (J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion, “The World,” [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 297, 298).

Dr. Ryle, you are certainly right.  Dear Lord, increase our love for your Son.

HT: Erik

Share

Under Blog, Reflections

The concept of Paul Tripp’s book on marriage, What Did You Expect?, is important.  Listen to him explain how his purpose in writing the book is to help people recognize the real enemy of marriage.  You might want to pick up a copy.

Paul Tripp from Crossway on Vimeo.

Share

Under Blog, Reflections

This past Sunday, we spent some time thinking about the fear of man (again!).  According to the Apostle Paul, it was one of the reasons that the false teachers in Galatia were motivated to preach their message.  They wanted “to make a good showing in the flesh…and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ,” as Paul mentions in Galatians 6:12.  What is clear is that the Judiazers wanted others to think well of them in order to avoid discomfort.

On Sunday I pointed out that fear of man often seeks control, personal gain, and comfort.  Fear of man is quite simple, it is allowing our fear or awe of others to govern our decisions and actions.  Fear of man can happen anywhere.  It can happen in our workplaces, our small groups, our accountability relationships, our homes, in conversations with our parents, or with our friends at school.  We’re apt to think that fear of man is one of the more harmless sins, but in reality it is pretty harmful both to ourselves and to others, for it is nothing short of attempting to control others and their behavior toward us.

Fear of man shows that we ultimately want to sit on the heavenly throne.  It reveals that we don’t trust God’s providence.  We don’t like that God has placed us in a particular situation, circumstance, or around particular people.  We’re uncomfortable by people or circumstances, so we want to fix things by manipulating the people around us.  We want protection or pleasure.  The truth is what we really need is to trust in God’s protection and to take pleasure in him.

This coming Sunday, we’ll begin studying the book of Joshua, and I’m struck by how appropriate the Lord’s words to Joshua are concerning the fear of man.  The Lord instructs Joshua to lead Israel into the land, but more than that, he tells him to be strong and courageous (not to fear those in the land!).  Why should Joshua be strong and courageous?  Because the Lord is with him!  Dear Christian, take comfort from God’s presence with you today as you battle fear of man, wherever you are.  Remember the Lord is with you he will never leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:5).  God is your protection and therefore you should take pleasure and delight in him. Fear him!

Share

Under Blog, Grace Happenings, Reflections

It is a good practice to reflect on and rehearse the gospel.  Here Pastor John Piper answers the question, “What must I believe in order to be saved?”  If you haven’t done so already, then I’d encourage you to work on being able to share the gospel in about a minute.  This video can help you think through some of the main things you need to keep in mind while sharing the gospel.

Share

Under Blog, Evangelism, Theology

This past Sunday we studied Galatians 6:1-10.  In that passage, Paul gives some very practical exhortations to the churches of Galatia.  I spent some time during the sermon trying to offer some counsel as to how we as Christians might help to bear the burdens of a fallen brother.  Here is just a quick recap in case you missed Sunday’s sermon, or if you need a reminder as you give yourself to this work this week.

Our ultimate goal in restoring a fallen brother or sister is to see God powerfully transfer their affections for sin to affection for Christ.  That is something that only the Spirit can do, but he is pleased to use his people in that work as we hold out Christ to our fallen brother or sister.  Matthew 18:15-17 gives us an outline of what helping our brother or sister might look like, but let me try to fill out what such an approach might look like in granular detail.

1. Pray & Examine

As we begin to help another brother or sister in Christ, we should begin by going to the Lord in prayer, asking for his wisdom and help, and ultimately asking that he would be pleased to see our brother or sister quickly restored.  As we pray, we should examine our own hearts.  We want to make sure that we do not take any particular delight in confronting our brother or sister, but that we feel sorrow and burdened by sin and its effects.  If we know the nature of the sin, then we would be wise to examine God’s word and to see what our Lord has said about how to put off this sin and to put on the righteousness of Christ.

2. Approach & Identify

After we’ve prayed and examined God’s Word, then we need to approach our brother or sister.  Matthew 18 encourages approaching him or her alone, and I think Christ’s aim in that is to limit the potential for gossip.[1] Once all of the details are sorted out about meeting with your brother or sister, then in that meeting you want to gently identify sin – a specific sin or a pattern of sin or both.[2]

And here I want to make an important caveat:  Our responsibility is not to relieve the burdens of our brother or sister.  So if our brother or sister is feeling conviction or shame for their sin, I’m not sure that we should try to alleviate that.  Our responsibility is to help shoulder the burden and we do that best by honestly coming to grips with the weight of sin and helping them to realize that they can’t bear it on their own.

3. Confession, Repentance & the Cross

Once we’ve clearly identified sin then we want to encourage confession, and we want to encourage confession on the basis of what Jesus has done.  We want to remind our brother or sister that if we confess our sins the Lord Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Jesus can cleanse us because he has paid the penalty for our sin on the cross.  Christ’s work on the cross frees us to be honest about our sin, to confess it openly and to rejoice that it has been paid for.  After we have encouraged confession and called our brother or sister to consider the cross, we then want to help them think through what repentance might look like.

Repentance as described in the Bible is a change of mind and heart by the power of the Spirit which results in a change of behavior.  It moves from the heart outward.  This is where our burden-bearing can get immensely practical.  There may need to be changes to an everyday pattern of life in order to avoid particular places or circumstances.  Think carefully about how you can help your brother or sister turn away from sin and turn to Christ, even in practical ways.

4. Practice, Faith & Hope

Once you’ve thought through repentance, put those efforts into practice and walk in faith and hope.  Our God is great and he rejoices when sinners repent.  Just remember the story of the prodigal son.  In that story God is portrayed as the father who runs out to his son, wraps his arms around him, kisses, him and throws a feast for him.  God delights in the return of a wayward son or daughter and he loves to give them strength to follow him in faith.  We can be hopeful that sin can be conquered and that a brother can be restored because of God’s love for repentance and the power of the Spirit.

---

[1] Generally speaking its best to approach your brother or sister alone.  If however you are of the opposite sex than your brother or sister, it is not necessarily wise to meet alone and more thought will need to be given to the appropriate context of approach.

[2] You will not help your brother or sister if you present them with vague notions of sin, in fact you might only confuse and discourage them.

Share

Under Blog, Church, Grace Happenings, Reflections

If you haven’t picked up D.A. Carson’s book on prayer, A Call To Spiritual Reformation, then you should.  It is an excellent book!  To encourage you to purchase, and then read, Carson’s book, consider his brief reflections on prayer in the video below.

HT: Thabiti

Share

Under Blog, Reflections, Theology

I don’t think that it is necessarily wise to say everything that you want to say in a sermon.  Some would disagree with me on that issue, but even so, that is where I land.  I wanted to say a few more things on Sunday as we were studying Galatians 5:16-26, but thought it wise to restrain myself at that time.  But just because I don’t think I can share everything I want to on Sundays doesn’t mean I can’t slip other good stuff in here, so if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share at least one more thought as a postscript.

As we were walking through the fruit of the Spirit, I wanted to spend a little more time than I did reflecting on how the fruit that the Spirit bears in our lives characterize our great God and Savior.  In reflecting on the fruit of goodness, my mind was drawn to the hymn Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned, especially the second verse:

He saw me plunged in deep distress
And flew to my relief;
For me He bore the shameful cross
And carried all my grief.

The Lord Jesus brought us the most unimaginable good by meeting our deepest need.  As the One who knows and sees all, he saw that we were plunged in deep distress.  We were entangled and ensnared by our sin.  He saw that we had no hope in and of ourselves.  He saw that we needed relief, and rather than standing far off, rather than watching us sink deeper and deeper into the mire, he flew to our relief.  He entered our experience; he walked and lived on the same earth that we do, and bore the shame of men for us by dying on the cross.

There has never been a more glorious and hope-filled display of love and goodness.  This day, rejoice in the care that Christ has extended to you in coming to earth, bearing the burden of your sin, dying in your place, rising from the dead, and sending his Spirit into your heart.

Share

Under Blog, Reflections