A Prayer for the Reign of Grace over Your Life from Pastor Mark Driscoll

This prayer is too significant and needed by some not to share it as much as possible--by me, by you--with anyone in need of grace for one or more of the challenges listed in Pastor Mark's prayer. The link to his knock-your-socks-off teachings on the book of Romans is listed below.

For the Christian who is aware of their sin, and the pains and problems it causes, we can be so consumed looking down in shame that we forget to look up and see our Lord Jesus Christ ruling and reigning over our lives. Thankfully, His reign is a reign of grace that rains down grace upon our lives in the times and ways that we need. I prayed this prayer over the dear people at The Trinity Church in Scottsdale where I pastor and I am praying it over you as well.  Dear shame-filled saint who gives grace to others but not to yourself - The Holy Spirit has grace for you to cover your shame forever in Jesus’ righteousness. Receive the grace of God!  Dear religious saint who keeps making rules and punishing people – The Holy Spirit has grace for you both to transform your relationships with God and others. Receive the grace of God!    Dear theological saint who keeps making God into a concept to master rather than a Person who is a friend – The Holy Spirit has grace to pour out the love of Jesus into your heart. Receive the grace of God!  Dear burdened saint who is haunted by your past – The Holy Spirit has grace for you to transfer your burdens to Jesus who carries them for you and with you. Receive the grace of God!   Dear abandoned saint who keeps getting disappointed in people who ignore and use you when you need them most – The Holy Spirit has grace for you from Jesus who will never leave nor forsake you. Receive the grace of God!  Dear weary & broken saint who is struggling to pull it together – The Holy Spirit has grace to heal you and strengthen you and will not stop until you are with Jesus and like Jesus. Receive the grace of God!  Dear failed saint who feels they don’t measure up – The Holy Spirit has grace to lift you up into the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Receive the grace of God!  Dear addicted saint who is ensnared by a dark desire – The Holy Spirit has grace to set you free and change your desires because who the Son sets free is free indeed. Receive the grace of God!  Dear fearful saint who is anxious about the future – The Holy Spirit has grace waiting for you in the darkness of tomorrow from Jesus who rules the future. Receive the grace of God!   Dear controlling saint who fears that giving people too much grace will permit them to sin – The Holy Spirit has grace that not only forgives and covers us but transforms and empowers us. Receive the grace of God!  To find the free Romans study guide for individuals and small groups, hear Pastor Mark’s entire sermon series on Romans, or find a free mountain of Bible teaching visit realfaith.com or download the realfaith app.

In Him,  Pastor Mark

And here is the link to his phenomenal (awesome, amazing, Holy Spirit-filled, etc.) sermons based on the book of Romans. Fourteen such sermons are posted at the link at the time of this publishing, but Pastor Mark still has more to cover. Yay!!!                 https://realfaith.com/sermon-series/romans/ 

CALLING GOD'S REMNANT

      "We are currently at a pivotal prophetic time in history: Will the Remnant Priesthood rise up in Kingdom expectation to change the course of a nation or will the Luciferian Elite have their way? Remnant, the Holy Spirit has been preparing you for this Kingdom moment. It is now time to hope against hope and see Almighty God deliver! Will you become a priest that can carry God’s throne into this water of adversity?"

    Listen to this 39:29-minute podcast from Dr. Michael and Mary Lou Lake for Such A Time As This!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oTy2W61DwQ

Dr. Michael Lake is the Chancellor and Founder of Biblical Life College and Seminary. He is the author of the best-selling books, The Shinar Directive: Preparing the Way for the Son of Perdition, The Sheeriyth Imperative: Empowering the Remnant to Overcome the Gates of Hell, and the newly released, The Kingdom Priesthood. Dr. Lake is a popular speaker at national Christian conferences and is a frequent guest on many Christian TV and radio/podcast programs in North America. Mary Lou Lake has worked side by side with her husband in ministry for over 30 years and is the author of the book, What Witches Don't Want Christians to Know - Expanded Edition.

INVISIBLE NO MORE

    Eyes, dark and unused to sunlight, squinted past filthy, tattered strips of cloth that covered his face ravaged by time and affliction. Fabric stiffened with grime scraped against the raw skin of his hands tucked inside his robes as he shuffled bare feet across dusty ground. He inched forward, desperate to keep as much of his presence unnoticed as possible, knowing, however, that he was obvious in his attempt at anonymity. And then, the one he was moving toward, both in trepidation and inexplicable hope, turned and looked at him, as people do when they feel someone watching them. 

    All these long years of staying mostly in caves, waiting for someone to place food and water where he could reach them, once the kindhearted person had left... all the years of no one looking directly at him.... And here was this man he'd heard so much about, gazing directly into his eyes. Seeing him. After all these years. Looked at, not with repulsion but with -- not pity -- but with something he couldn't yet assign a word to. It was that unfamiliar a feeling.

    He moved forward faster, unused to approaching anyone, but desperate to not miss this opportunity--the man was always on the move, always had some place he had to go next, or so the rumors went. And though it made no sense, the man seemed to be waiting for him. 

    He picked up his pace, no longer mindful of his calloused feet or gnarled hands causing others to recoil. All he could think was that he had to hurry, that time was growing short. Shorter than what, though, he couldn't fathom. After all, a man in his circumstances wore time like a weighted burden. Silently, he berated himself for not practicing what he'd say.

    One yard away from the man whose gaze had remained fixed on him, he stopped, heart beating hard against his ribs. Through cracked lips and dry tongue, he said, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

    Had he spoken too boldly? Because some flicker of another thought altered the man's countenance. Only briefly though, and evident solely to him because of how intently he watched and waited for the man's reply. The man moved toward him. Habit born of instinct urged him to move back, to move away, as he was accustomed to doing, but he remained in place. Stayed motionless as the man reached out and lowered the coverings from his leprosy-ravaged face.

    The man wore an expression of resolve and something deeper as he said, "I am willing! Be cleansed!"

    Life instantly returned to his skin and body. He fell to his knees, grabbed the right hand of the man. Gratitude too large and too deep for words sought the only path of expression possible in that moment: tears streamed down his face and onto the man's hand as he kissed it over and over.

    "Tell no one," the man said. 

    So overcome by this immediate healing, he heard little else of what the man said. He stood in silence as he watched the man join those who always traveled with him, now thronged by others, as they walked toward the center of town. 

    Someone to his left said, "Who was that man? By what authority did he do such a thing?"

    "His name is Yeshua." He sucked in a breath. How many times in all his years had he heard that word read from the texts each Sabbath and holy day--yeshua. 

    Yeshua. Translated in Hebrew as Salvation.  

    

                                                        Image: www.bridgemanart.com

    The above is a story based on what I felt as I read Mark 1 this morning. Imagine that man with leprosy--the most physically unclean a human could be--saying to Jesus, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." I imagine that Jesus did pause for but a moment as the weight of that request permeated His entire reason for being here at that time. The man wanted his skin and body clean again. Jesus wanted the man's soul clean for eternity, and there was only one supernaturally legal way to do that: It was imperative He take every next step that brought Him to the Victory of the Cross. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 KJV

    It wasn't nails that kept the Word of God--Salvation--on the cross: It was love.

                                                        Image: Prince of Peace by Akiane  

 

Who Wants A Makeover?

Many would go to a makeover artist and surrender completely, saying, "Make me into a new creation." God is the greatest makeover Artist from eternity past to eternity future.

                                            Painting title: Prince of Peace *** Artist: Akiane

In Ezekiel 13:10-14, God used an example to make a point, stating that people who build a wall with faulty mortar (or none) and then whitewash it to fool others into believing the wall is solid won't, of course, fool Him. He told the people through His prophet Ezekiel that He'd send stormy weather that would knock down such a wall and reveal its lack of foundation and, therefore, lack of lasting strength and value (I'm paraphrasing).

When I read this, several thoughts came to me at once.

1. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between knowing about God and being in an intimate relationship with Him. Kind of like the difference between an external makeover with a haircut and maybe some cosmetics or doing what's needed to start your makeover from the inside out (becoming a clean temple where God's Holy Spirit can live, as well as make you healthier).

2. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between a preacher giving congregants "feel-good" words that "tickle" their ears or feeding them the word of God as it appears in the Bible, and as He commanded shepherds to feed their flock (His flock). Remember, God said He has a BIG problem with anyone who changes even one jot or tittle of what He wrote. There are many individuals, including in pulpits, doing exactly that these days. As Jonathan Cahn said, "Do not bend the word of God to fit your life. Bend your life to fit the word of God."

3. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between a minister providing entertainment to churchgoers or calling down the Glory of God so as to fill the people with Holy Spirit refreshment they can then share with others when they leave the building.

4. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between congregants showing up at church expecting to be fed or bringing their portion of the Bread of Life with them.

5. This whitewashed, mortar-lacking wall is the difference between an individual or family having the appearance of a relationship with God (cosmetic only) or being strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Do we have a wall of faith built with strong mortar? Is our faith foundation strong in the Lord--strong enough to keep covenant with Him by keeping His commandments, commandments He made a point to state in both the Old Testament and the New Testament? (By the way, it takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian.)

Or is our faith and relationship actually loose stones and whitewash?

What's a good way to check this, you ask?

When you say or do anything that goes against God's way and will--if you do anything at all that He labeled as a sin or transgression in the Bible--do you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit? I mean, really feel it? That's also a good way to know if you're truly saved or not: Holy Spirit conviction vs. silence.

If God said it's a sin and you do it anyway (or someone says it's okay and even passes a law saying it's okay), and you feel no conviction from the Holy Spirit, you're following the king of the other kingdom. Unless that's the king you choose to serve and the kingdom you wish to spend eternity in, forever separated from our loving Father, it's best if you run straight to the Makeover Artist of All Time and have a talk with Him.

What is a makeover, anyway? It's a revival of sorts, isn't it? The thing about revival is that it has to start with repentance, followed by a sincere effort to do only that which supports the new image. If--make that when--we stumble, we are to repent and start again. And, God doesn't expect us to do this on our own. We can't. We need Him to help us. Ask--and you shall receive.

Here's something wonderful and encouraging to keep in mind:
Those who are called by His name are God's possession, and He is our portion.

May God shine His face upon you and yours today and everyday.