George Muller Prays
Sunday I mentioned how George Muller spent his life praying for the conversion of 5 individuals. In the moment I could not remember the details, so I wanted to share them here.
Muller writes in his own journal.
In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.
The Autobiography of George Muller
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).
**Additional information for this post was take from georgemuller.org
What Do You Value?
Sunday we worked our way through 1 John 2:15-17, considering the command “Do not love the world or the things of the world”. To love the world is to live according to the things the world values. To love the Father is to live according to the things that He values. In the sermon I mentioned finding a helpful chart that was originally produced in a book titled Embracing Obscurity. However the version I found had been reproduced and edited by Daniel Akin in the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary. In my sermon and below I have also reproduced and significantly edited the chart in hopes of creating a helpful tool for us to use as we evaluate our values and what we love.
| Values of the World | Values of the Kingdom |
| The world says the focus is on me | In the Kingdom the focus must be on God |
| The world says make as much money as possible | In the Kingdom we are to give as much money away as possible. (2 Corinthians 9) |
| The world values living comfortably | Jesus teaches us that life is not about comfort, but about doing hard things now so that we can reap the rewards in the life to come |
| The world teachers that you should make a name for yourself | The Kingdom is about Making His name great (Psalm 96:3; 1 Peter 2:9) |
| The world says do whatever makes you happiest. | The Kingdom says do whatever brings God glory (1 Corinthians 10:31) |
| The world directs us to teach our children to love themselves and seek self-fulfillment. | Our Father instructs us to teach our children to love and obey Him. |
| The world values looks – look like a model and turn your physical appearance into an idol | Scripture instructs us to treat our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit and cultivate inner beauty (godly character). (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) |
| The world says offer “acts of service” when you feel like it (on your own terms) | Jesus teaches, be a servant, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. (Luke 9:23-25, 57-62) |
| The world says stay married as long as your spouse meets your needs | Scripture instructs us to serve our spouse (the way Christ modeled servanthood) and choose to love him or her for life. (Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Corinthians 13) |
| The world values power, so they encourage us to come across as powerful and influential. | The Kingdom is about giving preference to others in words and actions. (Philippians 2:1-4) |
| The world says use worldly wisdom to accrue wealth | In the Kingdom we are to value true wisdom (fear of God) over all the treasures of the earth. |
| The world demands that we stay up to date on fashions and trends. | Jesus teaches us to be be content with what we have. (Hebrews 13:5) |
| The world values entertainment – watching sports, participating in sports, video games, binge watching your favorite shows. | The Kingdom values giving my life to knowing Christ and making Him known to others, through loving acts of service. |
| The world teaches us when other hurt you it’s right to hurt them back. Bitterness & Revenge | The way of the Kingdom is forgiveness. (Ephesians 4:31-32) |
| The world makes everything as dramatic as possible. Gossiping about others is right (ie social media, classic media). Media’s goal is to get you worked up so they get more clicks and views. | In the Kingdom we are called to be peacemakers, who mind our own business and focus on our own lives and work. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-14) |
| The world is given to worry, anxiety, depression | We are called to peace, contentment, joy (Philippians 4:4-8; Galatians 5:22-23) |
| The world says busyness cannot be helped and the busy you are the better. | The Kingdom is about resting in Christ, learning to sabbath, and choosing the “BEST” things to put on our calendars. |
| The world values “sexual freedom” and sexual immorality | We are called to sexual purity, because true sexual freedom is found in the gift and covenant of marriage. (1 Thessalonians 4:3) |
| The world says your unrighteous anger is justified. | In the Kingdom we are called to be patient with others, forbear others, suffer long with others, be gentle and forgive. (Colossians 3:12-14) |
| The world encourages the use of alcohol and other substances to help you relax or to make sure you are enjoying life to the fullest | In the Kingdom we are only to be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, not alcohol. (Ephesians 5:18) |
A Few Thoughts on Psalm 73
In Psalm 73 the Psalmist recounts a time when he was fighting against envy. He saw the wicked prospering and grew discouraged. As the Psalm unfolds the author – Asaph – returns to the LORD. In verses 25-26 he provides these powerful lines:
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
These verses always challenge my discontentment. My heart and flesh are always searching for “more” or “better” things in this world. But the truth in these verses drives a dagger through my erring desires. What is greater than God and eternity with Him? What temporary prosperity is greater than eternal glory? The treasures and pleasures of this world are shifting sand, but God is our strength (our Rock) and our forever portion.
This morning the questions I ponder are these: What are the things of this world that I desire and delight in more than God? What temporary pleasures will I avoid today in order to focus greater attention on the eternal prize of Jesus?
Caiaphas Is Out of a Job
In Mark 14 we read the record of Jesus “trial” before the Jewish council. For most of the trial Jesus remains silent, but eventually the high priest Caiaphas directly asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus responds, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
At this admission Caiaphas tears his garments and pronounces that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy and therefore must be put to death. Providing helpful commentary on this scene is Frederick Leahy:
Caiaphas was a polished ecclesiastic. He knew what to do and when. He knew that he was soon to preside over a meeting of the Sanhedrin in plenary session formally to confirm the verdict given. Then the court would be solemnly constituted in the name and by the authority of the God of Israel. Knowing that the prisoner was charged with an offense which deserved the holy intolerance of God, Caiaphas gave expression to his professed horror by rending his garments. As a rule the high priest was forbidden to do this (Lev. 10:6; 21: IO), but this was no ordinary occasion. The torn clothes were meant to symbolize a broken heart, but the heart of Caiaphas was unbroken. In his heart of hearts he was glad that at last he could condemn the prisoner. He was simply acting a part. Hendriksen rightly discerns his thoughts: ‘We’ve got him now.’
The Cross He Bore, Frederick Leahy
Despite Caiaphas’s pretense his actions in this moment prophetically manifest two powerful truths.
First, his rule as high priest is over. Tearing those high-priestly robes is a picture that the better high priest has come – and what Caiaphas refused to see is that the better high priest was standing bound in front of him. The tearing of his robes is akin to the tearing of the veil in the temple that will happen later in the day.
Second, R. A. Finlayson points out that about the time Jesus would be standing trial before Caiaphas the temple priests would be examining the Paschal lambs for sacrifice. Although Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin find Jesus unfit what they fail to realize is this: by putting Jesus to death, they are offering up the final sacrifice, effectively ending their purpose as priests.
God’s Unthwartable Plan
This past year (2023) the Meadowview family worked through Daniel in our Sunday gatherings. One of the repeated take-away’s from Daniel is the truth that God is always working His plan and no one can thwart that plan. King Nebuchadnezzar delivers a summary of this point following his restoration to power.
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Daniel 4:34-35
Fast forward a few hundred years to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the temple guards. Though the events in the garden and certainly the events that follow are shocking, they are no accident. We might be tempted to think that the Father was momentarily distracted and in that moment the chaos of Jesus arrest, trials, and crucifixion ensued.
The truth is all of history – even the events of Daniel – were leading to this moment in the garden. Dutch theologian Klass Shilder writes:
God has arranged all of the preceding centuries, all of the intervolutions of time, all of the events from Genesis 1:1 up to this moment – has arranged and moulded them, has had them converge in such a way that there would be a place for this hour, the hour in which His Son will be bound… He allowed neither the forces above nor the forces below to tamper with the clock of history. He directed the battles of Caesars, the conflicts of kings, the migration of peoples, the world wars, the courses of stars and sun and moon, the change of epochs, and the complex movements of all things in the world in such a way that this hour would come and had to come.
The Cross He Bore – Frederick S Leahy
The events of Jesus life, death, and resurrection happened according to God’s definite plan and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23). All the threads of the Bible meet in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Let us then give our attention Him and the record of His atoning work that culminates in “this hour”.
But let us also be reminded that just as the chaotic events of Jesus life were unfolding according to the plan of the Father, so too are the chaotic events of our lives. The Father’s plans for Jesus could not be thwarted by Satan, high-priests, betrayers, or governors. And the Father’s plans for you will not be thwarted by sickness, broken promises, shattered dreams, etc. We must trust Him as Jesus trusted Him.