Proverbs 29:6-7

Two Ways to Fail in Prayer

James 4:2-3 tells us of two ways we fail in prayer. First, we fail because we do not pray; “ye have not, because ye ask not.” Prayer shows our dependence on God for all we need and a lack of prayer shows a lack of dependence on God, as James points out later in verses 13-16 when he warns us to not boast what we are going to do tomorrow as if we owned tomorrow. A prayerless man is a faithless man. So let us be much in prayer.

Second, we fail because we ask for the wrong reason; “ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” We ask amiss when we seek our will instead of God’s will, when we seek to fulfill our pleasures instead of God’s good pleasure. The remedy? Let us pray often and seek the Lord’s will in all matters knowing our Heavenly Father knows best, “Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you.” Pastor John Chapman

“Sanctify the Lord God in Your Hearts”

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15).

God is infinitely and perfectly holy. We do not make Him so; but we regard, proclaim, and declare Him to be our holy and sovereign Lord in two ways:

EXTERNALLY. The Lord is sanctified by His people externally when they obey His word, believe Him, worship Him, praise Him, and call upon Him.

INTERNALLY. This verse exhorts us to sanctify the Lord in OUR HEARTS. Unless we truly believe Him, love Him, and worship Him in our hearts, all our outward forms and claims are nothing but sham. It is mockery to talk of His glory with my lips if I do not bless God in my heart.

“BE READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER,”the apostle continues. When someone asks you to tell him why you believe that your sins are pardoned, that your name is in the Book of Life, and that you will enjoy the presence of Christ forever, be ready always to give a scriptural answer. It is because Christ Jesus is your RIGHTEOUSNESS before the law, Christ Jesus, by His death, is your JUSTIFICATION and REDEMPTION, and Christ Jesus is your MEDIATOR before God’s throne!

“WITH MEEKNESS AND FEAR.”Give that answer in a most humble fashion; for we are what we are by the grace of God, not because of anything that we are or have done. Give that answer in “THE FEAR OF THE LORD,” being careful that He gets all the glory for His blessings. Also, give that answer courteously and respectfully; it may be the person is a true seeker of the Lord.

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1983)

A GOD READY TO PARDON (Nehemiah 9:17)

God, as He has revealed Himself to us in the scriptures delights to shew mercy and to pardon guilty sinners (Micah 7:18). He has not left us to guess about His character. David said of Him, "Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee" (Psalm 86:5). His readiness to pardon is seen in His longsufferings to Israel. God's dealings with national Israel are very typical of His dealings with spiritual Israel. Though we are no more deserving of mercy than they were, yet God in Christ Jesus has been pleased to choose, justify and pardon His elect (Rom. 3:24). God's readiness to pardon His people is seen in the following points:

1).IN HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE; (Eph. 3: 8-12)! We must never think that Christ Jesus died to make God merciful. The death of the Lord Jesus is the result of the eternal purpose and love of God (Rev. 13:8). Before Adam's rebellion ever took place the remedy and redemption of the sheep of Christ was absolute and certain (1Cor. 15:22). Before Adam ever fell Jesus Christ stood as the Surety and Mediator of the covenant of grace (Heb. 7:22; 13:20).

2).IN HIS GRACIOUS PROVISION; (Gal. 4:4-7)! God at great cost to Himself, from His own bosom gave His only begotten, well beloved Son (John 3:16). God in His holiness and strict justice cannot simply give the sinner pardon, without honoring His justice (Ezk. 8:20). Therefore, God took to Himself sinless humanity. Living as our representative He perfectly obeyed the law for us in all its precepts & penalties (Rom. 8:1-4).

3).IN HIS SATISFYING PROPITIATION; (Heb. 2:16-18)! How can God be just and yet justify the ungodly; be a just God and Saviour? That is the vital question of the hour, that nobody is asking. The only way is for God himself to satisfy His own justice (Isa. 53:10). This is what happened at Calvary. The Lord Jesus Christ died in the place of His people, as the sinner's Substitute. Bearing the sin of His people being imputed to Him, He suffered for them to satisfy God's justice (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). The atonement doesn't change the character of God, it honors and glorifies his justice and mercy ( Psa. 85:10). "Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justified" (Rom. 8:33).

4). IN PREACHING THE GOSPEL; (1 Cor. 1:17-21)!