Author: Terrence Burton

PRAYER: RELATIONSHIP MATTERS (PART 2)

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And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Matthew 27:46

A CHANGE OF TONE

As I read this verse, I saw what I perceived to be a problem. For me, it was a very distinct problem. Jesus calls God, God. What happened to Father? If you don’t understand the meaning of this, this could seem like a minor detail. But this detail is major, in my opinion. Let me explain. As I read through the Gospels, regularly I see Jesus calling God His Father. This is one of the many things He was persecuted for doing.

What is it about this context that caused the Lord to change His verbiage? Jesus was about to be cut off. He, in that moment is about to die. Not die and go to heaven. He in that moment was about to be cut off from the Father…separated from His Source, the One who originated Him. This is ultimate DEATH!

You see, Jesus was abandoned and becoming Fatherless! He was totally alone! He was being cut off from His relationship with the Father…for us. He was paying the penalty of Adam’s transgression that you and I inherited. He was stepping into the suffering that ultimately we would have suffered without His redemption.

You must understand, throughout His life, His Father was always there to help Him. However, in order to redeem man, He had to taste death ALONE. No help, No God. ALONE. The connection He’d always known…was being severed as the sin of mankind was being placed upon Him to carry. As the relationship was being cut off, what He called the Father was changing to reflect this new absence of connection. So just as Jesus called God Father to show the connection they had before, He must now, not only sacrifice His life, but His relationship with God. He is being utterly cut off.

Not that this will be a permanent state, but it will be a state of torment, nonetheless. The Author of Life is about to die! His relationship with the Father is about to die!

BUT WAIT…

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Luke 23:46

Before Jesus died…He was compelled to use the term that represented His connection with the Father one final time before He was cut off. This is a very powerful statement He is making before He gives up the ghost. He has to call God Father one last time before He pays the full price for our redemption.

What is the statement Jesus is making? He’s saying to the Father, I am trusting you to rescue me from what I’m about to face. I am facing death alone. My spirit is in your care! My only way out of death is by your power!

PRAYER: MY FATHER’S HOUSE (PART 2)

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Focus Passage

And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Mark 11:17

SUMMARIZATION

As discussed in the previous lesson, the people had turned God’s house into something other than what God had intended. God’s house was a house of prayer, but upon seeing they could make money, the people converted the House of Prayer into a den of thieves. If you want to see my analysis of that conversion, please read the previous blog. For now, let’s take a look at a few aspects of God’s house based upon this passage.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER

It’s important for us to gain a good understanding of what God sees His house as being in order for us to adopt the same vision and line ourselves up with that vision. Here Jesus calls God’s house “the house of prayer.” Well, what is prayer? Prayer is basically fellowship or communion with God. When man talks to God, we call that prayer.

So Jesus is saying that this is the purpose of God’s house. Prayer then is the focus of the house. If you cannot get anything else, you can find prayer at God’s house.

OF ALL NATIONS

Preferences and prejudices should die outside the door of God’s house. For God’s house is a house of prayer for all nations. This may be viewed from a couple of different angles. You could say that in God’s house, all nations can be, and will be covered in prayer. You could also say that God’s house, which is the House of Prayer, welcomes all nations to visit. I believe both perspectives to be true.

It makes sense that God welcomes all and that all are to be prayed for since Christ died for all…and that we have all come from one blood. So prayer is not solely to be about the nation in which I was born or I live. I am to express the love of God in me through prayer for all nations and by accepting all nations.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

If God’s house is not functioning in the purpose for which it was created, then as a consequence, it cannot produce what God intended either. There are benefits to be found only in prayer…only in communion with God. So if we fail at being a house of prayer, then we have also failed at every result that would have come from us praying.

IN CONCLUSION

This lesson, was not really about the temple in Jesus’ day, although the lessons were extracted from it. The lesson is truly about us being known for prayer. After all, we are God’s house today. Therefore, we need to be certain that we don’t fall for the temptation to be known for something other than our connection to God. We must protect who God created us to be and never allow anything to convert us to something different.

We need to pray without prejudice. We need to love without prejudice. We need to embrace the truth that we are God’s house and what separates us from all others is our connection to God that benefits and brings manifested blessings into the lives of people everywhere. We must allow anything that has turned us into something other than what God intended to be overturned and cast out.

Once those things take place, then people will come to us to receive healing. Their eyes will open and their legs will gain strength and they will walk.

All to the Father’s glory!

PRAYER: MY FATHER’S HOUSE (PART 1)

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Focus Passage

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Matthew 21:12-14

Introduction

Upon seeing the mischief being done in the temple, Jesus made the above statement as a rebuke to those who were misusing God’s house. Now if God’s house was being misused, it stands to reason there is a proper use of God’s house. But the people decided to use God’s house as a money-making operation.

What is the proper use of God’s house, according to Jesus? The correct answer would be prayer, especially considering it’s a house of prayer. So then, in this series we will be looking at what prayer is, what prayer is not, as well as what constitutes effective prayer.

But for now, let’s look at Jesus’ verbiage here. He says they have made God’s house a den of thieves. A den is simply where people congregate. The word that stood out to me as I looked into this passage is the word “thieves.” What is a thief? A thief is someone who steals something from someone. Basically, it is one who transfers property (usually to self) without consent from the one who owns it or is the steward of it.

In the text, the people were buying and selling. So on the surface, the business transactions look legitimate. I see the seller and the consumer, but where is the thief in the scenario? In order to have theft, you need to be able to identify what the stolen goods were and there must be a victim. So it seems those 2 burdens are not met. However, upon closer observation, both burdens are proven in the text.

The Accusation and Explanation

The evidence of theft is actually found in the unchallenged accusation the Lord made. They took God’s house and turned it into a den of thieves. This makes God the victim. The people had taken something from God (His house) and repurposed it to be used for their own greed. What goods were taken? Once the money changers repurposed God’s house, people were not able to receive from it what they went there for. Thus, cheating them of what they should have received at the House of Prayer. You see, once God’s house was repurposed, God’s people could not receive what they should have received.

Imagine you own a chicken restaurant, but the restaurant was turned into a clothing store. Now you can get clothes, but you cannot get chicken. This is what happened to the House of Prayer. It was confiscated and converted into a money-making venue. As a consequence, when someone needed the benefits of prayer, they could not find them at the temple…because of the conversion that had taken place.

Notice what happened once Jesus dealt with the money changers and those who were buying and selling in the temple. The blind and lame came to Him and He healed them. How long, I wonder, had they waited in the temple for their healing? How many people left the temple because their needs were not met when they went.

This is one of the reasons why I hold no bad feelings towards people who don’t go to church, in particular those who once went but do not go now. I’m not saying this to mean they shouldn’t, but that I understand. God’s house is a House of Prayer, it is a place where healing should take place, but many, like in this passage have turned it into something else. If you went to a hospital because you were sick and found out they converted it into a dance studio, you probably wouldn’t go back there unless you wanted to dance. I think you get my point.

To be clear, I’m not making an argument against church attendance, but I am making the argument that the Father’s House is a House of Prayer and it is to be a place where people go and find healing. And I’m making the argument that if people are not receiving healing when they come, there is a serious problem…a problem that is not to be ignored but dealt with boldly.

Conclusion

So you see in our focus passage when God’s house is used for its intended purpose, people are healed. But once it’s converted to some other purpose, God is robbed and the people are left out. Why weren’t the lame and blind healed prior? They were not healed because the people who should have been praying in the House of Prayer were too busy making money to care about the problems of others.

LIMITLESS: UNCONDITIONAL (Part 2)

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Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Mark 9:23

THE CONTEXT

A man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus’ disciples, but they failed to cast the demon out. This left the father with a demon-possessed son who would oftentimes be thrown into the fire and into water. When Jesus inquired as to how long this had been happening, the father said to Jesus this had been going on since his son was a child.

Imagine what this father had been dealing with over the years. His son was not safe around fire or water. Sometimes the demon would try to drown him and at other times it would try to burn him up. This father now brings his tormented son to Jesus’ disciples. Surely he will be delivered, I’m certain, the father thought. But even this led to disappointment as the father sought help for his son. But the father did not give up.

THE SOLUTION

After bringing Jesus up to date on his son’s condition and Jesus’s disciple’s failure to deliver his son, the man asked Jesus if He could have compassion on them and help them. In response, Jesus informed the man that his belief would determine if he received compassion. Jesus informed him that the possibilities were in his belief.

The father then responded to Jesus by crying out to him, Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief! Then Jesus rebuked the spirit and cast it out of the man’s son.

THE ANALYSIS

Let’s take a look at the scene and then we’ll explore in more detail what Jesus said to this father. The father brought his tormented son to men who’d been walking with Jesus. This should let you know that someone may be walking with the Lord and still not have the answer to your particular situation. This shouldn’t be, but it’s just the truth. Some people would have given up on their child’s deliverance once they failed to get a resolution from the men of God they went to for help. But this man was not of the mindset to let his pursuit end with the disciples. He took the matter to the Master.

This is precisely what we need to learn to do. Sometimes men will fail us. But their failure should never be the ending place of our pursuit of what we truly want from the Father.

Another thing that we need to evaluate is the length of time the father was dealing with this matter with his son. We do not know exactly how long this problem had existed, but we do know that it began in the son’s childhood and he’s still dealing with it as an adult. The fact that we know he got delivered should give you hope that no matter how long a problem has existed, it can be overcome through faith.

Now let’s look at what Jesus said to the hopeful father. Jesus told the man if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. This is such a powerful statement. Jesus let him know that it doesn’t matter what the demon attempted to do to his son over the years or the fact that his own disciples failed to bring deliverance. Jesus assured this father that if he can believe no matter what has transpired…ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

CONCLUSION

We all have had trouble. Many of us have had trouble that has lasted for years. I won’t be surprised if some of you who read this post have been dealing with things from your childhood until now. You may have attended church meetings and didn’t get your deliverance. But thanks be unto God that no matter what your history is, if you can believe, then compassion is available to you for your deliverance! Receive it now, in Jesus’ name!

LIMITLESS: UNCONDITIONAL (Part 1)

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And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Genesis 11:6

INTRODUCTION

After the flood in Noah’s day, man was faced with a new challenge. The earth had been destroyed previously because man imagined evil…continually. So God saw fit to wipe out most of the earth’s human and animal population because of the corruption mankind had allowed to develop.

Now man was afraid that what had happened before may very well happen again. Therefore, he began to plan for what he considered a possibility…another destruction of the earth by a flood. There is a natural tendency to fear or to think that what has happened in the past may happen again in your life. So here man tries to prepare for it by building a tower that will reach unto the heavens.

UNITY AND IMAGINATION OF MAN

Now there are 2 elements that God ties to their ability to accomplish such a feat as building this great structure called the Tower of Babel. The attributes that God names are 1) unity and 2) imagination. God asserts that a united group who imagines themselves doing a thing is virtually unstoppable. He says, “Nothing will be restrained from them.”

I understand that the context is that of a people who, due to their fear and unbelief, decided to build this structure for protection in defiance of God. However, there are principles here that we can extract from what God said about them.

There is strength in unity! So we need to understand that the greatest weapons that can be used against you are those that would cause division, if effective. If you will read the entirety of this passage, you will find that in order for God to stop them, He had to first divide them. In the earth, our greatest victories will be in our unity, but our greatest defeat can easily be traced back to our division. Let’s move on to imagination.

Let’s think about something here. Even though mankind was almost wiped completely out because of man’s misuse of imagination, God didn’t remove man’s ability to imagine. He chose to keep it intact. Why? This is because the imagination is man’s tool to create. And if you take away man’s ability to create, you have taken away his ability to act like his God.

So this should help us to understand that God is not a proponent of destroying a thing solely because it has been used to cause harm in the past. This is because God knows that the imagination can be used for good or evil. It’s a matter of choice.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Have you considered how these principles of unity and imagination can be used to serve your family, your church, or your job? God gave us these 2 elements as the key to being virtually unstoppable.

How do you use these principles at home, for example? You establish a vision or mission for your family. In order for unity to be established, you must sell the vision to your family and get them to “buy in” or agree to support the vision. Children must be taught the vision as the way the house is governed.

What about imagination? This is your plan as to “how” the vision will be carried out for the family. Each member of the family needs to have a clear understanding of both their own roles and how their roles connect with the roles of the other members of the family. They all must be committed to the vision.

Finally, you must think, plan and execute as if nothing will be restrained from you…because it’s the truth.