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Sunday 28 February 2016

'WHEN GOD SEEMS INACTIVE'

"DANGEROUS PRAYERS'

Rev. Juliet Schimpf
By Rev. Juliet Schimpf   


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Broadcast Notes

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LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, February 28th, 201)

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/40721/good_news_198_feb28.mp3
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'When God Seems Inactive




1.       SILENCE IS NOT ABSENCE
2.      A DELAY IS NOT A DENIAL
3.      WAITING IS NOT A WASTE


1.       SILENCE IS NOT ABSENCE

John 11:3 “So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”  But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.” 

·         WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT HE IS ABSENT!
·         GOD SEEMED INACTIVE/SILENT WHEN CHRIST WAS ON CROSS:
o   “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
o   BUT GOD WAS PRESENT!  “HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US.”
o   WHEN GOD DOESN’T MAKE SENSE, WE NEED TO TRUST HIM THE MOST.”
o   PROV. 19 “MANY ARE THE PLANS IN A PERSON’S HEART, BUT IT IS THE LORD’S PURPOSE THAT PREVAILS.”
§  WE DON’T PLACE OUR FAITH IN OUR PLANS; WE PLACE OUR FAITH AND HOPE IN GOD’S PURPOSE!
o   ROMANS 8:  “GOD CAUSES EVERYTHING TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.”

2.      DELAYS ARE NOT DENIALS
GOD’S DELAYS ARE NOT NECSSARILY GOD’S DENIALS
·         JUST BECAUSE HE HASN’T DONE IT YET DOESN’T MEAN HE WON’T EVENTUALLY.
·         JESUS SAID ABOUT LAZARUS:  HIS SICKNESS WILL NOT END IN DEATH….IT IS GOD’S PURPOSE TO GLORIFY HIS SON.”
·         GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL…..
·         A DIVINE DELAY!!!!
·         LAZARUS FIGHTS FOR HIS LAST BREATH, AND DIES….
·         YET JESUS IS OUT HEALING ROMAN CENTURANS!  WHAT?  NOT “THE ONE HE LOVES”?
·         JESUS DELAYS………
o   PAST THE DEATH OF LAZARUS
o   PAST THE BURIAL CEREMONY
o   PAST THE 3 DAYS (THEY BELIEVED THE SPIRIT OF CORPSE HOVERED OVER CORPSE FOR 3 DAYS ONLY)
o   JESUS ARRIVED ON DAY 4
o   MARTHA IS HURT AND ANGRY:  VERSE 20—“IF YOU’D BEEN HERE, MY BROTHER WOULDN’T HAVE DIED….”
o   BUT
o   “BUT I KNOW—EVEN NOW—GOD WILL GIVE YOU(JESUS) WHATEVER YOU ASK.”

WHY WOULD GOD DELAY HIS ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS?
      1.  HE IS READYING US TO RECEIVE HIS BEST….
WE THINK THAT GOD IS BUSY GETTING THE BLESSING READY FOR US; GOD IS ACTUALLY GETTING US READY FOR THE BLESSING
2.  GOD IS PREPARING THE CIRCUMSTANCES…
     3.  GOD IS PROTECTING US WHILE WE WAIT
     4.  IF GOD ALWAYS MET YOUR EXPETATIONS, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEED THEM!
·         MARTHA THOUGHT THE RESURRECTION WAS AN EVENT—JESUS REVEALED THAT THE RESURRECTION IS A PERSON!
·         MARTHA/MARY WANTED A HEALING------------THIS IS GOOD
·         JESUS EXCEEDED THEIR EXPECTATIONS AND ROSE HIM FROM THE DEAD!------------THIS IS BETTER
·         THE SCENE OF YOUR GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT CAN BE THE SETTING OF GOD’S GREATEST MIRACLE!





3.      WAITING IS NOT A WASTE!

1.       GOD WANTS TO DO SOMETHING IN YOU BEFORE HE DOES SOMETHING FOR YOU.

2.      EMBRACE—DON’T RUSH—THE SEASON OF WAITING

·         Psalm 37:7Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way.”

 

·         Ecclesiastes 3

3 “For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.”

 trust, faith,
3.      WAIT IN EXPECTATION

·         Micah 7:7  But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation My God will hear me.”


4.      FEAST ON THE WORD

·         PSALM 130:5  New International Version
“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”

NOTE:  WE DON’T INTERPRET GOD’S GOODNESS THROUGH OUR CIRCUMSTANCES; RATHER, WE INTERPRET OUR CIRCUMSTANCES THROUGH GOD’S GOODNESS!

Let’s pray together before we go:

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are in every season of our lives. You are present, and although you might be silent, does not mean that you are absent, for you are always with us. “Where can we flee from your Spirit?”, says the Psalmist.
Thank you, God, that a delay is not necessarily a denial. Sometimes you don’t want to meet our expectations, you want to exceed them.
And so, we choose today to trust; trust not in our plans, but in your ultimate purpose; trust that you are at work and that you work all things for good for those who love you.
We want to thank you that you waste nothing and that includes the waiting season.
I pray for the listeners who are waiting; waiting for a job, waiting for a spouse, waiting for a cure. I pray that they would not rush the wait, that they would linger in it, embrace it and allow it to refine them.
And, I just pray that you would encourage those who are waiting. Encourage them that you, who began a good work in them, will see it to completion.
You are faithful, Father, and I say all this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/40721/good_news_198_feb28.mp3

Sunday 21 February 2016

"DANGEROUS PRAYERS'

Rev. Juliet Schimpf
By Rev. Juliet Schimpf   


 ___________________________
Broadcast Notes

_______________________________________
LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, February 21st, 201) 
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I’d like to thank the sponsor of today’s broadcast, namely Thomas A. Pegg Plumbing and Heating. A special thank you for this organization who has made today’s show possible.


'Dangerous Prayers'
HOW SHOULD WE PRAY? (“DANGEROUS PRAYERS”)

  • C.S.  Lewis:  “God isn’t so concerned about our happiness as he is our holiness.  His chief concern is that we grow up!”

1.    SEARCH ME—A Prayer of Transparency
2.    BREAK ME—A Prayer of Vulnerability
3.    SEND ME—A Prayer of Availability

1.    SEARCH ME---A Prayer of Transparency
Psalm 139:  23 “Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Notice that God has already “searched” David.
LOOK AT VERRSES 1-4  You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”

Notice that David gives God permission to “investigate” and “expose” him.

Psalm 139:23-24The Message (MSG)

23-24 “Investigate my life, O God,
    
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    
then guide me on the road to eternal life.”

Re. Verse 23:  “Know my heart”--Martin Luther once said, "Grant that I may not pray with my mouth alone; help me that I may pray from depths of my heart."
Jeremiah 17: 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”
Why is a truthful heart to important?
Matt. 6:21  “Where your heart is….there your treasure is also…”
Prov. 4:23  “Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life….”

Re. Verse 23 “know my anxious thoughts”—“What we fear the most reveals where we trust God the least!”
Re. Verse 24 “offensive ways”—Often we focus upon the offense of others.  But Matthew 7 states,  1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.3“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

2.    BREAK ME==a prayer of vulnerability

Matthew 5:3The Message (MSG)  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”


2 Cor. 12:  8”Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said,“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Jesus Christ was “broken” for us.  Are we willing to be “broken” for Him?
Luke 22:19
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

3.    SEND ME==a prayer of availability
There are three responses to God’s call:
1.    Jonah:  “Here I am, I’m not going…” [prompted to do something but didn’t do it]
[I was prompted to have lunch with lady on Sunday, but didn’t]
2.    Moses:  “Here I am, send someone else…” [who am I that I should go?  I’m not good enough or talented enough?  I’m not the right person]
3.    Isaiah:  “Here I am, send me….”
Isaiah 6:8  8”And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for cus?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Psalm 27:8  "My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me'.  And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'”

Prayer:

God, we thank you. We thank you that you are a big God and no prayer can be too big for you, nothing is impossible for you. We ask that you would hear us when we pray.
I pray for the listeners today, that they would dare to pray big. That they would dare to ask you to search them, that they would dare to ask you to break them, so that their heart beats for what your heart beats.
And I pray for the listeners that they would dare that you would send them.
And for the listeners who know that you are calling, to send them, that they wouldn’t say, “here am I, send someone else ...here am I, I’m not going.”
That today would be the day, once and for all, that they would say, “Here am I, send me!”
Lord, just comfort and encourage our listeners today, to hear our prayers, and answer our thoughts, for our good and ultimate glory.
In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link: