Andrew Murray on Christian Mysticism

After attempting to dialog with those opposed to the International House of Prayer (IHOP) I realized one of their many issues is their belief that mysticism is polluting the Church.  Andrew Murray is a well respected Christian author and it is my hope that his words can help move the dialog from the extremes toward the center.

Can’t find God?

We can’t find God in our own little world.

But God comes looking for us, while we’re hiding under the leaves.

“Where are you, sons of Adam?  Where are you, daughters of Eve?”

He calls us to leave our own little world and seek to come to His.

We hid among the noise, the busy life style, consumed with the visible.

He is in a secret place and wants us to dwell there too.

Prayer can be reduced to ask God to bless or fix our own little world without ever seeking Him or finding Him.

We pray to the god of our own little world, without truly communing with the our Father who is in heaven.

Not just on a personal level, but a Church can dwell in an own little world of being audience to songs, hype, and sermons without an ear tuned to what the Spirit is saying to us.

How do we get out of our own little world?

We must get back to square one.

Start over and begin again a journey away from noise to silence.

Away from constantly hearing too many voices to diligently listening for the One.

Jesus did nothing except what he heard or saw the Father doing.

Jesus never dwelt in his own little world, but he died to save us

from ours.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 

who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,

according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Philippians 3:20-21

Subdue us, conform us, transform us, from our little world of wood, hay, and stubble.  That we might look for a glorious one of gold, silver and precious stones once again.

Recollection

Lord my heart is not proud, nor my eyes lofty. I do not concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O my people put your hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever. Psalm 131

Recollection is the process of separating ourselves from internal and external bombardments and bringing spirit, soul and body into a unified whole with the Spirit of God. There are 3 basic steps to this process.

My People, The Daughter Of My People, and Not My People

Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Jeremiah 9:1

Leading Up to this Era

This is my third posting on the Old Testament.  First I wrote on the observation that majority of the Old Testament is made up of five multigenerational stories which I’ve called Grasping the Old Testament. First, God promises Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that through them both a nation and also a blessing to all the nations would come.  After a 400 gap the story picks up with Moses and Joshua leading the nation out of bondage, setting up a new society, and entering into the land of promise. The next 400 years is told in Judges when the nation seams stuck in cycles of oppression, repentance, deliverance, and peace, until backsliding into sin started the cycle over again. This cycle was disrupted by three generations of advance with Samuel, David and Solomon, which I entitled The Very First Great Awakening. Following Solomon a stable society continues until Jerusalem is destroyed and Judah is taken captive to Babylon.  God speaking through His prophets usually speaks to His people, He also often references the present younger generation as the daughter of My people and when judgment comes it falls upon a group God calls not My people.

Old Book Review – The Secret of Intercession

Andrew Murray was a writer, teacher and pastor in South Africa in the second half of the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  He wrote over 240 books, several of which are considered Christian classics.  He wrote several short books that were intended to be a daily meditation on a subject for a month.  The Secret of Intercession has 31 short chapters and 125 pages. Each chapter begin with a verse and ends with a prayer.

The chapters build upon the previous ones laying out what is; “the solemn duty, the high privilege, and the wonderful power of intercession.”  What follows are key points from the first few days meditations.  This is one of the books that greatly influenced my life and helped lay the foundation in me for prayer and intercession.

Revive Us in Your Righteousness

Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in your righteousness. Psalms 119:40

Revive Us in Your Way

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your way. Psalms 119:37

This is part two of a nine part series “Revive us According to… Psalms 119.  “Revive Us According to Your Word” was the first part and can be read here.  Briefly it encourages us to surrender our hearts from living according to self rule and return to live according to His rule.

When we are awakened to the things of the Spirit the focus of our time and attention also changes.  The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that everything under the sun is vain, worthless, that is empty of permanent value.  If so easy to slip back so we need to frequently be asking ourselves this question “What am I into?”  What has captured my attention that may not necessarily be sinful but is on a path that has little if any benefit?

Revive Us According to Your Word

My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your WORD.  Psalm 119: 25

The Christian life is not always a constant and consistent life of holiness, glory, grace, and power.  There is so much that can distract, pull, and entice us so that the once vibrant river of life flowing through us dries up and we come to the place of the psalmist crying out “My soul clings to the dust”.