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.

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”. 

Revive us according to… Psalms 119

Introduction

Revival, renewal, awakening, outpouring and transformation are words commonly used to describe something special taking place in a church, city, or region.  Sometimes a genuine work or God is being described, while other times it is simply special extended meetings that a group proclaims to be a revival.

About 20 times in the New King James Version of the Bible the words revive or revival are used in the context of spiritual awakening.  Of these nine are found in Psalms 119. 

Guidelines for Ekklesia Gatherings

Last week we began to focus on the verses that make up the discussion of gifting in the New Testament.  The passages involved are as at as follows:  Romans 12:3-16, 1 Corinthians 12:4-31, 1 Corinthians 14:24-33, and Ephesians 4:1-16. I wrote down several points in each section and then worked on consolidating them into main points without just quoting verses.

• We have been graciously given diversity by one Spirit.  Unity is expressed by diverse people, with diverse gifts, and diverse manifestations. A good recipe has many ingredients for a deep, rich, balanced, and complex flavor and texture.
• Warning it’s a common issue to think too highly of your own gifting and become competitive, dominate, and controlling.  Make a conscious effort to be humble, lowly, gentle, and long suffering.
• Love trumps gifting.  Give honor and preference to one another especially the weaker ones.  If your gift cannot be expressed in love then don’t express your gift.  Refuse to get offended.
• Everybody gets to play.  Let each and everyone use their gifts, make room, take turns.  All do, all learn, and all are encouraged. It is also common to think too highly of someone else’s gifting and become complacent, passive, and audience.
• The unity of the Spirit is the overriding concern.  There should be a flow of the Holy Spirit that is followed.  Listen, and fit into the flow.  Don’t try to steer the meeting, nor bring confusion, or division.  Find the theme and add to it.  Take it deeper, apply it wider, add color, or harmony.  Be a part of the symphony and keep a close eye on the Conductor.
• When the church functions properly then it will be known that God is truly among us.
• We all become better equipped for the ministry not only as we use our gifts, but as the fruit of the Spirit matures because of the interaction.

Did I miss any main points?  What do you think?

The Very First Great Awakening?

Grasping the Old Testament Series

Leading Up to this Era

The majority of the Old Testament is made up of five multigenerational stories which can be read here.  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 and into the land of promise.  Another 400 plus years are accounted for in the Book of Judges as the tribes seamed stuck in a cycle of sin, oppression from an enemy, repentance, deliverance, and a period of peace.  Judges ends with a statement of the spiritual condition at the time.  “Everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes.”  Looking at the way things were, no one would have guessed that the next three generations would powerfully transform Jewish society.  Do these three generations provide us a path for us to see transformations today?

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:14