Wilderness Wanderings

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Matthew 22:1-14 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN

1. How have you personally found following Jesus to get harder (or easier) in this time of pandemic? What are the struggles people face when it comes to keeping faith?

2. How has the digital mediation of our technology helped that faith journey? How has it hindered?

3. Review again the excuses for not coming to the wedding banquet: neglect, ignoring, busyness, idolatry, opposition. Which of these reasons lives in your life when you turn away from an invitation from God (all of us do it)?

4. What do you make of the judgement picture in this parable? The first and the second? Pastor Anthony called it the King's honouring of the guest's self-exclusion--what do you think?

5. We didn't talk about calling, choosing, and the Reformed sensibilities around election today in the sermon--but it's here in this parable (and not necessarily in the Reformed way)--so what do you make of that?

6. How will you respond to the King's invitation today? Who else might you pass that invitation on to?

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings. He concludes his five-part series on praying for others.

Today, I want to reflect on the need to protect ourselves because intercessory prayer is serious business.

My understanding of prayer has come little by little. It's a life-long journey. And the practice of prayer discipline, both for myself and others, is a daily challenge. It's a work in progress but I'm thankful for that! Praying for others is an important part of our relationship with God our Father, Jesus and the Holy Sprit. Unleashing the power of God through intercessory prayer requires true faith, continual and earnest prayer like Elijah did. And the reward of prayers being answered are incredible. But the enemy does not want us to pray and actively tries to dissuade us from doing it. (1 Peter 5:8) Why? Because prayer defeats evil. By prayer, the kingdom of God is built, and by prayer the kingdom of Satan is destroyed. If you want to step up and stand in the gap to intercede for others, you are at risk. You are a target. But since God's power is greater than Satan's, we are safe in his hands. We need protection against the power of Satan and God is our constant source of protection. Use today's Scripture reading Ephesians 6:10-18 as part of your prayer discipline. Pray for yourself these verses so you can intercede with boldness like the 'friend in the middle'. Notice the words 'stand against' (v11), 'stand your ground' (v13), 'Stand firm' (v14) as you stand in the gap, building up the walls of the Kingdom of God. To summarize, prayers for yourself that you can stand your ground in the gap. Be patient, be strong and persevere. Elijah prayed how many times before a small cloud appeared? Finally, today's text ends with a wonderful challenge for all believers.

"Pray in the Spirit for all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and keep on praying for all the saints."

May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord shine his face upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

We've been talking in these devotions about prayers of intercession and we've been hearing election news dribbling out of the States at the same time. It's an excellent opportunity to step into Paul's invitation to Timothy and the church he served to offer prayers of various types for all those in authority then, in Canada, in the US, and abroad.

I'm writing this devotion mid-day on Wednesday, so perhaps by the time you read or hear it, more clarity will have come as to who the next President and Congress of the United States will be. But in the time I'm living in, here on Wednesday afternoon, no such clarity has yet emerged.

It's no secret that top of mind in Canada and in the US, security has been a concern given the uncertainty of this particular election cycle. Canada has been quietly making contingency plans for any outcome. And in the US, militias have been arming, businesses have been boarding up, and the candidates have been lawyering up. We may, or may not, be in for some choppy waters ahead.

So it's a good time to be interceding as God's people for those in authority. For leaders at local, state, and federal levels in the US, and in countries the world around, to have patience, grace, and sobriety in their judgements and in their statements at this time. For American judges and justices to have wisdom in the thorny questions of weighty importance that will be laid out before them in the hours and days to come. For the candidates themselves in all the races up and down the ballot to have patience and humility to journey wisely and morally in these waters ripe for the creation of strife.

These are indeed the sorts of prayers that have an urgency and an obvious importance to them at this point in time, but these are the prayers we are invited to be praying at all times as God's people.

The reason, Paul says, is that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. The administration of true justice that can create a true peace in any given land is indeed one of the works entrusted to government. All governments. And it is within that just peace that we are able to worship God freely, to live morally, and to spread the Gospel more freely as well.

Government's administration of just peace, and our prayers for it, are good and pleasing to God our Saviour who has concern not only for us, His Church, but for all people. Those who govern and those who are governed. Paul seems to imply that within a peaceful land—prayerfully lifted up to God and governed justly—the Gospel finds fruitful soil to spread its seeds of salvation and a knowledge of the truth through God's people.

In these times of more tumultuous stability and fractious peace, we have found the truth in question, and as the institutional expressions of church have gotten dragged into the fray by choosing sides, the Gospel has also been hindered, hitched to some of the baggage of political opinions of the moment that it was perhaps not intended to carry. The baggage we are intended to carry as church, is the burden of prayer for those in authority.

To be clear, in a democracy, we also play our own civic role when election time comes, and as individual Christians, we do pick sides and candidates to fulfill that civic role. But when we come together corporately as The Church, our role changes from that of picking sides, to that of prayerfully attending to the business of the Kingdom of God where our other, truer citizenship lies. And that business is to pray for all those in authority, here and abroad, that there might be peace where all people might flourish, where God might be worshiped freely and openly, where there might be justice and morality, and where all people might catch a true and saving glimpse of God's Kingdom come.

As Canadians with no vote in the current contest, but who feel the weight of the outcome none-the-less, this is an excellent time to practice our God-given ministry of intercession for those in authority. May there be peace.

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings. He continues his five-part series on praying for others.

So, we've learned about the importance of intercessory prayer – praying for others, why we should and who and what we can pray for. Today I have some thoughts on HOW we can intercede for others.

Ready to stand in the gap for others? When you start thinking about who you can pray for, the list is probably long and then and what prayer needs you know for each person just lengthens the list to the point of possibly overwhelming you. Keep in mind that God already knows all the people on your list and all their needs. Ask God to reveal to you who and what to intercede for.

"Listen" carefully to the Holy Spirit and open to hearing his voice continually while you are connecting with someone. In the meantime, pray for family, friends, neighbours and coworkers and follow this template if you need help to get started. Use the five letters of the word BLESS to help you remember ways to intercede for them.

• B Body – pray for health, protection, strength, fitness (Matthew 6:33)
• L Labour – pray for jobs, income, financial security (Colossians 3:23-24)
• E Emotional – pray for joy, peace, patience, self-control (Isaiah 26:3)
• S Social – pray for marriage, family, friends, love, forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32)
• S Spiritual – pray for salvation, spiritual growth, grace, hope (Psalm 34:8)

This is known as the BLESSing Prayer and it is simply a guideline for intercession to start building the walls as you stand in the gap.

The Bible also requires us to intercede for people who are not saved. Reading 1 Timothy 2:1-4,

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

How can we pray for those who are unsaved? Pray that:

• the unsaved will be drawn by the Father. (John 6:44)
• those who hear the gospel will understand it. (Matthew 13:19)
• unbelievers' eyes will be opened so that they can see the light. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Would you care more if the unsaved are your own children or family members? All unsaved persons are wayward sons and daughters of God's family. God does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) Let's get praying!

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda – The Church Reformed & Always Reforming

Well, today is election day in the States. A day ripe for changes, and no can be sure just what changes will come. We may fear that unknown, and yet today I remind you—we belong to God.

The church has often lived in the midst of political tumult, natural disasters, pandemics, and pestilence. None of these things are new to the experience of the Christian Church if you look back far enough.

And through it all, the church has remained ever the same. The Church of Jesus Christ—founded upon the Good News of Salvation in His name, under the banner of one and the same Triune God.

At the same, the church has constantly been changing. This too is a work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the will of the Father. We are to keep faith with the same Triune God, but we are not to remain static in that faith.

That's what the motto of the Reformation, the commemoration of which passed this past weekend, was all about: "The Church Reformed and Always Reforming."

Even as God continues to do His work in us as individual Christians who, in Paul's words, "are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory," so the church is also being conformed to the likeness of Christ. It is His body, after all.

To say nothing of what God does or does not will (that's a whole different podcast!), it is safe to say that God works within the stresses and strains of our contemporary situations, whatever they may be—elections, pandemics, or otherwise—using them to continue this good work in us individually and corporately.

Paul is careful to remind us that this work "comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Not only is that so, but it's also good that it's God who prods along this good work in us. Left to ourselves, we don't always like that idea of continuing to reform. A single reformation is quite enough change for most of us to stomach at any given point in time.

But God presses on, not content until the image of Christ is formed in us and in the Church. And so in strange and strained times like these, we see the forge fire up with heat that refines and pressure that molds. Change inevitably comes. But because we have a faithful God, we may trust that He will steward that change toward transformation and continual re-formation more deeply into the likeness of Christ.

In this time then, the "always reforming" invitation is to participate in that work as those with "unveiled faces." To look, seek, and find the face and glory of the Lord in our life and living. To intercede and stand in the gap as those who live after the veil has been torn between us and the holy of holies. To work with the God who works in us and in His Church all His purposes for the sake of His glory in the very real and tangible situations of this world.

How might God be reforming His Church and our lives today? Take time to ask Him. Then pray for the openness of heart, mind, soul, and strength to participate!

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings. He continues his five-part series on praying for others.

Last time I talked about how intercessory prayer requires a 'person in the middle', referring to it as standing in the gap, between the person in need and God. Today, I want to explore why its important to be people in the middle.

In Ezekiel 22, we read about the sins of Jerusalem and it is summarized in verse 30:

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."

Do you believe that your prayers of intercession will change anything? Or do you think that life will go on as is whether you pray or not? Before you answer, reflect on what was stated in Ezekiel 22:30. Would the history of Israel have been different if God had found an intercessor? Of course, yes. So now another question: will your family, neighbourhood, church, and/or work be different if you intercede on their behalf?

God seeks intercessors not because He needs us but because he has chosen to govern through the prayers of his people. Intercession is not an option. It's God's way of working. Ezekiel 22 shows us that intercessors "who would build up the wall and stand in the gap" are critical. Today, we have an intercessor, Jesus Christ, who ever lives to intercede on our behalf. But Christ does not work alone. Our intercessory prayers are coupled with his. By means of his Spirit, He prays through us.

E.M. Bounds said, "Prayer can do anything God can do." That's true because the only power in prayer is the power of God, which can reach anywhere God can reach, which is every corner of the earth. Therefore, our prayers can bless or bring change anywhere in the world. And all from wherever we are praying – in a favourite chair, on our knees, anywhere. What an awesome power God has given us! Our first focus should be on those close to us - family, friends – but not exclude, rather expand to our spiritual family, neighbours, community, nation and world.

Who in your family, neighbourhood, at work or church is like the friend who came at midnight? (Luke 11:5-8) What kind of help do they need that is beyond your ability to give? Are you willing to stand in the gap for them?

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Matthew 21:33-46 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions for further reflection can be found below!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS:

1. Apple trees grow apples, and vines make grapes. What kind of fruit (good, healthy, life-giving things) do you think the Kingdom of God produces in the world?

2. Take a skim or a read through the beginning of Matthew 21 if you have a Bible or Bible app handy. Where are we in the story? What major events and conversations transpire? See if you can find these three spots that echo elements of our text: the other place where Psalm 118 is quoted, the other place where fruit is spoken about, and the other place where a possible prophet is discussed. How are those three spots connected and building up to what happens here? Are there other elements of this Matthew 21 context you notice?

3. What was humanity's first sin? (it was one action, but there's more than one right answer!)

4. The Christian tradition's argument on sin is that it slowly, incrementally, but ultimately brings death and destruction upon ourselves, our neighbours, and the creation itself. Jesus' parable creates a caricature to highlight the murderous result of sin, a caricature that would play out in his own death just days later. Apparently Christians and Christian leaders are just as susceptible to this as anyone. Where have you seen sin curve someone in on themselves in the kind of selfishness, blindness, hardness of heart, and silence of conscience that brings death? Perhaps for your own reflection: where is sin doing that in your own heart and life?

5. When we know we're in the wrong, and even when we're unsure about it, we often get defensive and ready ourselves for a fight. How does God come to us though, and what does He offer? What impact or effect does that have? Does God's methods of meeting injustice and wrongdoing jive with anything else in your experience?

6. How might God's loving invitation in Jesus Christ change your relationship with God and the others in your life this week (parents, children, spouse, friends)? How might you offer the fruit of the Kingdom back to the King and those others this week?

…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)

Much of the letter to the Ephesians has to do with living worthily into the hope to which we've been called as we grow up to maturity in Christ, together.

It seems a good place to cap off a conversation on how the enemy of our flesh becomes a redeemed new creation in Christ then.

There are different descriptors for this process of transformation that our fleshly desires go through: redemption, discipleship, sanctification. The term used here in Ephesians for it is to "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Being conformed once again to his likeness.

And while there's a lot of daily practice that goes into this process on our end, it is not something that we do alone.

The church, says Paul, is where a lot of this happens. Not the church in terms of the church building, per se, but the church in terms of the community of Christ. The community of those who continue to intercede for us in prayer and who we continue to intercede for. The community of those who encourage and disciple us more deeply into our relationship with Christ, and among whom we practice, practice, doing the same for. We're not on our own, we grow to maturity in Christ together in community.

It is within this Christian community that our desires and so much more of our fleshly existence is conformed slowly and deliberately to the likeness of Christ. It's here that we are equipped for Christian service, equipped for discerning maturity, held together as a body by the loving, serving ligaments of our fellow Christians, and where we come to a deeper, more mature knowledge of Christ ourselves.

When that happens, says Paul, then we'll no longer be infants tossed and blown about by the wind and waves of people's deceitful scheming. And that's good news.

The reality of actual "fake news" in our world today tells us that the wind and waves of deceit are just as strong today as they ever were. And not just in politics, but also in terms of our sexual lives, our relational lives, even our vocational lives. Each of these being examples of places where our desires can not only be misaligned to begin with, but also knocked further out of whack daily by the push and pull of the cultural forces howling around us.

Thanks be to God though—because we don't enter into that crazy wind storm alone. We go with a community. And, we go with the equipping power of Christ Himself. Because it's not just the community that helps us to maturity either.

It is Christ Himself who has given grace to each one of us in the form of skills, talents, and the church's leadership roles to equip the whole body of His church for service and growth into discerning maturity.

In days when it's easy to get blown about in following political parties, entertainment personalities, media analysts, and facebook friends, we need these gifts of God's grace and of community to help us find rooting in truth and in our first, foundational calling: to Christ.

It is there where we and our fleshly desires are transformed and matured into the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

We welcome back Mr. Rick Verkerk as guest to Wilderness Wanderings. He continues his five-part series on praying for others.

Last time, I pointed out how important faith is when it comes to prayer and that we need to stick to it by praying earnestly. Today I going to talk more about intercessory prayer. Just so we understand, to intercede means to "act between two parties; begging or pleading on behalf of another; mediating".

Today's topic is called Standing in the Gap and the Scripture is Luke 11:5-8, 'Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs."

Today's Scripture reading portrays a 'friend-in-the-middle' who has a 'friend-in-need' and another friend, a 'friend with bread' who has what the 'friend-in-need' is asking for. The 'friend-in-the-middle' can not provide what the 'friend-in-need' asks, so he pleads boldly with his 'friend-with-bread' until he receives what he requests. Once received, he carries it back to the 'friend-in need'. He is a go-between. He is standing in the gap that exists between he who needs and he who can give. This is intercession - standing in the gap. Intercessors labour before God - the 'Friend-with-bread' - and plead with him on behalf of those who need the bread of heaven. Intercessory prayer is of prime importance. People need our intercessory prayers. Many are hurting, lonely, isolated, unsaved, families are dysfunctional, marriages are in trouble, Churches struggling. They need what only God can give. And God chooses to give His gifts in response to our prayers for others. As much as we need to pray for ourselves, we also need to pray for others as an act of self-giving love and blessing them. Here's a quote from the book Love to Pray (by Alvin VanderGriend, PrayerShop Publishing, 2008) capturing the importance of intercessory prayer.

"Things will happen when we pray that wouldn't have happened if we hadn't prayed. And things will not happen if we do not pray that would have happened if we had prayed."

You may have to read it a few times, maybe read it out loud to grasp the significance of this quote.

Are you willing to stand in the gap? Ask God to start preparing your heart and a list of those who He wants you to intercede for.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:19-25)

How are the de-formed desires of our flesh re-formed in the ways of Christ? James has some thoughts.

When talking about the righteousness God desires, James seems to say: if we don't have the capacity to listen to the person sitting in front of us, if our words sometimes fly out unchecked, or if our temper controls us more often than we control it—if that's how our day to day life looks in relationship to others—then how can it be any different in our relationship with God (and vice versa)?

Our daily life and our spiritual life have a lot in common, and so practicing things like listening more and speaking less in our relationship with God helps us do the same in our relationship with others and vice versa. That's because the practice slowly forms our desire to really listen and hear well in all of life.

As it is with any human endeavor, beginner's luck and raw talent only get you so far. Most of us play like we practice, and practice is hard work! There's not a professional athlete out there who hasn't done thousands of times already what you'll see them do on the court, field, or rink in competition. That's why they're good at it.

Habitual repetition is how muscles learn their movements: it's also how our heart, mind, and soul learn theirs. Repetition of the actions of loving another person, like confessing, forgiving, and reconciling with that person is the way of training ourselves not only how to love someone, but it also trains our desires to want to love someone in just that open, honest, reconciling way.

When it comes to training our desires, you really do have to fake it 'til you make it. Which is what that habitual repetition of practicing something is all about. That's why God commands it—so that we do practice these things and get them into our bones.

It's only those who know the rules of the game, the boundaries of the field, and who have disciplined themselves in the fundamentals who are free to play and enjoy it to its absolute fullest. That's true whether you're talking about athletes, tradespeople, jazz musicians, or Christians.

So look into God's perfect law that gives you this freedom and continue in it. Don't forget what you've seen and what you've heard there—but do it. Practice it with your friends. Practice it with your families. Practice it with your God. You'll be blessed if you do. Indeed, you might eventually even find yourself wanting, or desiring, to do these things.

Of course, all of this comes through the work of the Spirit who sanctifies us and empowers us to practice what God calls and commands us to. He slowly conforms us, our lives, and our desires to the likeness of Christ and forms fruit within us: like gentleness, love, and self control.

That's what it's about—becoming, through the power of the Spirit at work within us, more and more from our desires up, who we already are in Christ.