The Invitation

"Come, follow Me."
Jesus //  Luke 9:59

Some preachers cast doubt on the validity of a prayer to ask Jesus into one's heart, as a step towards salvation. Their point seems to be that a prayer prayed does not always initiate a changed life. Point well taken. Still, the question remains, "What is the proper response to a personal call from God?" Perhaps we can all agree on this answer. Receiving a genuine call from God produces an authentic follower of Jesus.

Jesus didn't expect everyone He called to obey His voice. He called them anyway. Every person who has prayed a prayer to ask Jesus into their hearts has not always followed through with a life of obedience. Many have. Some haven't. Every prayer to Jesus is not fruitful, because the heart of man is deceitful. People simply don't mean everything they pray or say. From the beginning, the Church has always had its share of posers. It always will. James warned the members of the first church.

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives."
James 4:3

Apparently, Jesus had the same experience. The rich young ruler let his riches interfere with His call. Judas heard, responded and followed Jesus. In the end, he strayed and betrayed Jesus.

Not every call receives the right response. Not everyone who starts to follow Jesus proves to be a radical disciple of Jesus. Still, His call continues to go out, and our prayers should be prayed for people to follow Him.

The vital sign of a changed life has always been a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Many pray a prayer and follow Jesus as their guide. Many pray the same prayer, and remain lost in the tall grass. Remember, the problem is not with the prayer. The problem is with the heart. Prayer is not fruitful, when the heart is deceitful.

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9

Jesus commissioned His disciples to, "Make Disciples." Going was not His imperative. Making disciples was His command. The Steve Green song, "The Mission" says it all.

"Across the street
Or around the world
The mission's still the same
Proclaim and live the Truth
In Jesus' name."

Jesus said to His disciples, "Follow Me!" He still does. Those who hear His voice, have a choice. Respond or rebel. The choice requires a change of mind, heart, and direction. In other words, following Jesus reveals a changed life. Praying a prayer to Jesus only initiates a relationship with Him. Continuing to pray for His direction, protection and correction matures your relationship with Him. One scripted prayer does not fit all. One prayed prayer certainly does not accomplish all. Those who follow Jesus will keep praying.

"Knowing the will of God for your life, comes out of consistent companionship with God."
Lloyd John Ogilvie

Jesus did not invent disciples. Great leaders and charlatans produced disciples long before Jesus called The Twelve. Three things are true of a real follower. A disciple...

1. Embraces a personal relationship with the teacher.
2. Allows the teacher to exercise authority and jurisdiction over his life.
3. Endures persecution or inconvenience for what he believes.

From the starting point to the finish line, salvation begins and ends with following Jesus. He offers the right way, but it is no easy road for the prayerless, or the deceitful.

Jesus invites no easy "believism." Praying a prayer is a proper, initial response to a call from Jesus to follow Him. Continuing to pray is the mark of a changed life.Praying provides the staying power to keep following Jesus. His followers are in the yoke. Are you in it?

"Take My yoke upon you."
Jesus // Matthew 11:29

When the great Welsh Revival broke out in the first decade of the 20th Century, it had it's followers and detractors. Those who provided leadership applied a unique litmus test. To determine if all those who were attending the meetings were serious about their faith in Christ, they looked at their behavior. They did not consider a person radically changed until they showed up for prayer meeting. Radical followers, indeed.

What Jesus initiates, His Spirit perpetuates. Peter had his moments of great faith and great deceit, until The Spirit of the Risen Christ came to indwell Him. Peter readily followed Jesus. He just couldn't bring himself to follow through. When the Spirit filled him, and empowered him, he was a changed man.

Perhaps this is the key to the next Great Awakening. Peter came to the end of himself, when he recognized he was full of himself. Once emptied, he could be filled, again, and again, and again with The Spirit.

" 'Brethren, what shall we do?' Peter said, 'Repent...' "
Peter // Acts 2: 37-38

Contemporary preachers should plead for no less, and contemporary churches can expect no more.

NOTE TO SELF: When it comes to following Jesus, He initiates the invitation. Following Jesus was God's idea, not yours. It always will be. Too often the question is, "What do you believe?" The right question is, "Who do you follow?" When you fail to pray, you start to stray. RSVP ASAP. Jesus is only a prayer away.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Grip

Let me invite you to take a look at your dominant hand. Beginning with your little finger, assign one of these five words to each one.

"Lord, teach us to pray."
Luke 11:1

The last word is pray. Assign it to your thumb. To get a grip on anything, you need your thumb. The final word on getting a grip on life is, pray. The disciples made this request to Jesus, after hearing Him pray. They didn't ask Him to teach them to preach, teach, give, serve or love. There was something about His prayer life that made them realize they needed to get a grip on prayer.

"I would rather teach one man to pray, than to teach ten men to preach."
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON

Paul longed for the capacity to know Jesus, and "the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." (Philippians 3:10). This Easter, pray for no less.
Taking hold of the power of the resurrection requires a tightening your hold on God's Word, and a yielding of your heart to God's will. Prayer accomplishes both.
Jesus promised His disciples that answered prayer was a direct result of residence, not eloquence.

NOTE TO SELF: Answered prayer resides where you abide. Prayer tightens your grip on God's word, and yields your heart to God's will.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." John 15:7

The Crossing

"One day, Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's cross to the other side of the lake.'...As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"
Luke 8:22-24

When the storms of life rush in, pray. Dust covered systems and bloated bureaucracies are no substitute for the power and authority of Jesus. Systems should never overshadow the Savior. Putting your faith in a system to see you through a crisis only leads to disappointment. Trusting in Jesus, in the face of a crisis, sees you through to the other side.

"When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, 'Where is your faith?' "
Luke 8:25

Perfunctory prayer is powerless over a crisis. Panicked praying is often a step towards believing prayer. Believing prayer is a powerful weapon of warfare in the hands of a seasoned prayer warrior.

Jesus knows the difference, between going through the motions and the emotion of believing prayer. Speaking His name in panic is not the same as taking it in vain. He can transform genuine panic into genuine faith. Luke records that the disciples of Jesus had witnessed Him perform many miracles. As they rowed from one side of the lake to the other, a storm arose. Fresh from a recent victory over evil, disaster threatened. It always does.

"Master, Master, we're about to drown!"

Let's not get technical here. Prayer is calling on Jesus, in the face of a crisis. Believing prayer is trusting in Jesus, before the crisis is over. The disciples were calmed after the storm, but they were panicked in the middle of it. Believing prayer brings calm in the midst of a crisis, not just at the end of it. He asked.

"Where is your faith?"

Jesus wasn't asking for information. He was delivering a rebuke. He often sends a message in the form of a question. Jesus is the answer. Crises challenge faith. They are designed to bring us to the end of ourselves, and our systems, and to lead us to put our total trust in the Savior. Don't let your support system or your belief system overshadow your Savior. Jesus can be trusted to lead you through what He led you to. Remember, crossing the lake was His idea.

"Let's cross to the other side of the lake."

What Jesus starts, He always finishes. Crises of faith put His finishing touches on His disciples.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Crises don't build character, they reveal character. Prayer builds character. Believing prayer is the foundation of it. The greater the crisis, the greater the prayer. The greater the crisis, the greater the faith. Jesus is present in the midst of any and every crisis. The purpose of the crisis isn't to shake your faith, but to build it. Believing prayer places confidence in Jesus, not the system. Believing prayer feeds your faith in Jesus, and starves your fear of the crisis. Again, don't let the system or your fear overshadow the Savior. Trust Him.

Seasoned prayer warriors are often storm tossed, but they learn never to launch out on a great adventure, without a word from Jesus. Where He sends you, He goes with you. Believing prayer warriors cross over the lake, only at His command. Believing prayer passes through the crisis, comforted with a sense of His Presence.

NOTE TO SELF: Panic may come when your faith is tested by the storms of life, but through believing prayer, you learn to trust in Jesus. Prayer turns your eyes towards His calm face. This is the key to believing prayer. When Jesus panics, feel free to panic. 'Til then, trust Him. It is always too early to panic, and never too late to pray.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Question

"That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus,...as they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them...He asked them, "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along."
Luke 24:13-17

There is no walk with Jesus without talking to Jesus. Talk about walk the walk and talk the talk all you want, but without talking to Jesus you are on a blind man's journey. Only Jesus can make sense out of the senseless, give hope to the hopeless and turn the impossible into the HIMpossible.

Jesus invited these two discouraged disciples to stop talking about Him, and to start talking to Him. There is a huge difference. Talking about Jesus ignores His Presence, and magnifies the crisis. Talking to Jesus embraces His Presence and releases the crisis to Him. No matter what the crisis is, it always shrinks in His hands.

The empty tomb has meaning, only if our hearts of full of Jesus. Talking about the empty tomb without talking to Jesus robs us of a sense of His Presence. He is here. He is listening. He knows the subject under discussion, and He hears the intensity of the anguish of every human heart. He still asks the question, "What are you talking about?" His Spirit still prompts the human heart to stop talking about Jesus, and to start talking to Him.

Every Easter people rush to the empty tomb and still miss Jesus nine ways from Dallas. For those in the north, that is a big miss. Easter Egg Hunts, Bunny photo ops, new clothes, family dinners, overblown pageants, well-rehearsed concerts, massive mail outs, and multiple services all provide opportunities for an encounter with Jesus. The problem is that after all the Easter excess, the question of Jesus has gone begging. "What are you talking about?" A great deal was done for Him and said about Him, but not much was said to Him.

When these two folks on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus , they missed him. People still do. More than that, they were annoyed by Him. People still are. Jesus interrupted their conversation, and when He did, one of them gave Him an earful of Aramaic angst.

"You must be the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days."

The next two words will turn a talker into a walker. The answer to the question forces the talker to turn away from the problem and to turn and face Jesus.

" 'What things?,' Jesus asked."
Luke 24:19

What happened next was a spewing out of all the pain of the past tense. They had been eye-witnesses to what looked like the worst thing that man could do to another human being. They could not see God's hand at work in it. Sometimes God wraps up His greatest gifts in some of the scariest packaging. Receive them.

Talking to Jesus began the healing process, by taking the pain of the past and moving it into the present tense. Prayer is a matter of talking to Jesus, and allowing Him time to make sense out of whatever tense is filling your life with tension. Sometimes it is the pain of the past, the intimidation of the present or the fear of the future. Prayer covers them all, and places them all in the hands of Jesus.

NOTE TO SELF: This Easter, don't miss Jesus. His tomb is empty, but let your heart can be full of Him. When Jesus asks you, "What things?" Like the old song says, "Tell it to Jesus."

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Fellowship

"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to the His death."
Philippians 3:10

NOTE TO SELF: The Resurrection is not only historical. It is applicable. The Spirit of Christ transforms your character when you die to self. There is no resurrection without a death. The Resurrection of Jesus prepared the way for the Risen Christ to offer His power over death to you. Dying to self releases His power in you. Prayer embraces His fellowship with you.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Preparation

“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NASB‬‬

"A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men.”
Leonard Ravenhill

NOTE TO SELF: Praying power provides staying power. Jesus did some of His best praying in the face of great opposition, and before making major decisions. Your life should be marked by nothing less than believing prayer. You are not exempted from prayer. You are dependent upon it.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Prize

NOTE TO SELF: The Christ Life involves The Start, The Race, The Finish, & The Prize.
The Start is not a sprint, but a walk that begins when Jesus says, "Follow Me!"

The Race involves synchronized steps with Jesus & each one gives strength for the next step.
The Finish isn't reached by dashing ahead of Him, dragging one's feet behind Him, but by walking with Him. Let Him set the pace. The Prize includes joy in consistent companionship with Jesus for the duration of a life-long journey. The joy is not in the journey but in The Companion. What Jesus begins on earth, He finishes in Heaven.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Feeling a little breathless?

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Denial

“And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭NASB‬‬

NOTE TO SELF: Self-denial isn't seasonal. It is terminal. Denying yourself certain foods for a season can make you cross. Denying your SELF daily takes you to the cross. You don't diet. You die...daily. Self denial isn't inconvenient. It is permanent.

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Authority

"Amazed, the people exclaimed, 'What authority and power this man's words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!' The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire regions.' "
Luke 4:36

When Jesus preached, amazing things happened. His words released God's authority and power into the lives of people. His enemies tried to undermine and restrain His authority and His power.

They were powerless.

When Jesus spoke, He started a fire. This was no gentle flame provided to warm the hands of a holy huddle. It was wild-fire sent to sweep the land. The people who embraced His message were left with burning hearts.

“And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Every Easter Season, the Church pulls out all the stops to declare the message of The Risen Christ: "He's Alive!" The message must be delivered by messengers with burning hearts. Feel the burn! When Jesus preached, He amazed people. When most churches meet, they glaze people. When churches lose the authority and power of The Founder, they turn amazing places, into glazing places.

NOTE TO SELF: Hungry people may try to survive, but they won't thrive on Krispy Kreme. Offer them The Bread of Life.

"As He is, so are we in this world."
I John 4:17

The authority and power of Jesus has become replaced by precision and process. Too many church services are conducted with clock-work precision, without seeing His amazing results. Authority and power are two sides of the coin of the realm in the Kingdom of Christ. Prophetic preachers spend the currency of Heaven, refusing to pass out counterfeit sermons posing as messages from God's Word.

Preaching with the authority and the power of Jesus is sealed by the Holy Spirit. This coin is not a mixture of alloys, combining a little bit of Heaven with a whole lot of the world. It is purified by the prayers of the saints, the blood of the martyrs and The Spirit of Christ.

There is nothing like the authority and power of Jesus. Preachers who have been gripped by it may never become wealthy, but they are in no danger of being spiritually bankrupt. There is simply no substitute for God's authority and power. Prophetic preachers refuse to settle for a profession. They never lose their passion for preaching. The mission of Jesus was to make disciples. He does it best by setting preachers on fire. John the Baptist said it would be so.

"He will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Spirit."
Luke 3:16

"Preaching is not a profession. It is a passion."
Leonard Ravenhill

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Unction

“And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Preaching is not a man-made function designed to draw a crowd. It is an unction of The Spirit of God that sets a man on fire. This fiery unction is found at the junction of "My Will" and "Thy Will." Jesus prayed until His will was conformed to His Father's will.

Through believing prayer, The Spirit of Christ throws His shoulder onto the fulcrum of a preacher's faith, and releases God's power and authority. The fire of The Spirit's unction consumes broken men, until their flames reveal them as prophetic preachers of God's Word.

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men."
E.M. Bounds

NOTE TO SELF: You can't download prophetic preaching. Without the unction of The Holy Spirit, you either muzzle your preaching into an ethereal art form, or you demean it until it becomes an empty function. If you won't pray for unction, you will never experience it. Jesus was filled with The Spirit. He expects no less from those He has called to be His preachers. You are not a functionary. You are an "unctionary."

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!