I'm going to be dealing with
verses 1 through 5 tonight. I want you to go back to verse
1 so we can work through the request of the apostle and deal
with some of the implications that are yet there. In verse 1, we will tackle verse
1 and then work our way through the six points in our outline.
Uh, last week we started off by noting in chapter three, that
as Paul is about to close out the epistle to the church at
Thessalonica, he says, finally, brethren pray for us. And we contemplated what was
the character and nature of the prayer for which the apostle
Paul requested to church at Thessalonica. And if you'll notice, he said,
pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course. And I think we spent the bulk
of our time last week talking about that idea, the concept
of the word of the Lord having free course and how important
it is to pray for the advance of the gospel. The church's privilege
is to pray for the advance of the gospel. And we talked about
this idea of the word of God having a free course or running. If you look at the phrase again,
it says, pray that the word of the Lord may have free course. And I share it with you that
that term course there is the Greek term track or track from
which we get the term in our English track. The idea that
the Apostle Paul is underscoring for the church at Thessalonica
And it should be for you and me as well is that God's Word
is not dormant It's not it's not this static body of theology
that's contained in the scriptures that may or may not sit on your
shelf or on your desk or on your on your table or in your study. The word of God itself is God's
command, it's his decree, it's his purpose, it's God's will. And what we have come to learn
last week is that God includes his people in the process of
the fulfillment of his word by calling us to pray for its success. The word of God is running a
course Very much like the believer is called to run a race. The
word of God is on a journey. It has a destiny, a destination,
an objective, a goal, a point of termination. Very much like
the believer has a goal, an objective, a journey, a point of termination. And it's important for the people
of God to grasp that reality. The Word of God, therefore, is
not static. It's not a body of philosophical
concepts contained merely within the pages of your scripture.
The Word of God is God's purpose. It's His decree. It's His will. It's His plan for which those
of us who have been called by that Word are now privileged
to join in the prayer of the advancement of the gospel. Am I making some sense right
about now? that when you and I become believers, one of the
thing that God calls us to do is to pray that his will be done. Isn't that that model prayer
in Matthew 6? The disciple said, Lord, teach us how to pray. Well,
our master said, well, if you're going to be a biblically based
prayer, you're going to have to know the character of the
true and the living God. So when you pray, pray in this
manner, saying our father. who are in heaven, hallowed be
thy name. May your name always be holy
among your people. May your people always reverence
who you are. May they hold you in highest
regard. May they never trample under
the name of God because the name of God is equivalent with his
word. Hallowed be thy name God's Word
is the manifestation of who he is his name is his attribute
is his identity the characteristics of God the things that Disclose
who he is and God's Word is what does that and so the people of
God are privileged to pray this prayer Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven So do you ever in the context of your prayer,
pray that God's word would go where God is calling it to go,
that it would land there and terminate and fulfill its objectives
and goals in the life of God's people. The other thing we thought
we talked about last week in relationship to that, and we're
getting ready to go to some scriptures here now to affirm this, is that
what would be the consequences of negligence to this imperative,
to this command. What would be the consequence
in your life individually, or as a family, or as a church,
or as the body of Christ at large, if we were negligent to pray
concerning the advancement of God's will? You know, it's interesting
to me, as I think about where we are in the 21st century, I
think about how much of the exhortation and teaching and preaching that
this generation has to be confronted with is the kind of exhortation
of teaching and preaching that is formulated on a personal level. In other words, it seems difficult
to me that the church at large collectively, when I talk to
individuals on a personal basis, or when I think about the church
at large in terms of its overall consciousness, that sometimes
we are so very myopic and so very self-centered that unless
the Word of God makes immediate personal implication, you can't
hear its imperatives. So often when I'm preaching or
preparing messages and studies, you know what I find myself doing?
I find myself having to go beyond the mere explanation of the context
to making direct and pointed application to you and me before
the people of God even recognize that this is the word of the
Lord to you. Isn't that remarkable? And I'm
just kind of trying to open your consciousness to something I
think is a challenge for us, if not a problem. When you open
your Bible and read your Bible, do you read it with this view
in mind that God is talking to me. I know you bob your hair
quickly say yes, but I would beg to differ. I would think
that most people read their Bible thinking this way. Now watch
this. God is talking to somebody. See, all I need is one honest
witness because I think I think my spirit bears record with your
spirit where we are in terms of this present age. And when
I look at the conduct of the church overall, I don't necessarily
perceive in the body politic of the church, men and women
who are convinced that the word of God is to them personally
first, that when you read the scriptures, that there is a obligation
and obligation on your part to understand it and to make application
to you so that when you hear like you heard a moment ago in
the verse 1 of chapter 3 finally my brethren pray for us that
the word of the Lord may have free course did you sense a tugging
on the part of the Spirit of God Your heart to bring you into
that command or or that call to pray Did you did you sense
that it is your obligation and privilege to pray for the advancement
of the Word of God? See what I'm getting at and now
what I want us to think about is the fact the fact that the
Word of God is a decree that flows from God's mouth and it
goes out with the objective of accomplishing something The Word
of God is a decree that flows from God's mouth and it goes
out with the objective of accomplishing something. So when the apostle
uses this term free course and pray that the Word of the Lord
may have free course, really what he's saying is pray that
the Word of the Lord may run and finish. That it may run and
that it may finish. After all, when you run a race
on a track, isn't the objective to start to finish and so there's
a sense in which God's decrees his words have a specific purpose
for which it is to go it is to land where it is designated terminate
fulfill its will and accomplish God's purpose so from point A
I want you to stay with me for a moment we'll be able to move
on in a moment from point A to point B to go from the start
to the finish. God told us, he gave us insight
into this process of God's words running. For it to go from A
to B, you and I are called to do what? Pray, which means by
implication, it's possible. And we're getting ready to work
the implications through here in a moment. Well, let me put
it this way. If God should say to you and
I, join in with all of the saints to labor fervently in prayer
that God's word goes forth and accomplishes its purpose. What
it implies is that there is possibly some resistance, some obstacle,
some impediment, some hindrance that might be applied to that
agenda. Am I making some sense? that
it's possible that in the economy of God, he has chosen to allow
the people of God to be part of this process by which the
word of God actually reaches its goal and accomplishes its
purpose, but only in this regard that the people of God join in
that process. To me, that is a remarkable privilege. You know, in the scriptures,
when it talks about running, When it talks about running,
it often is speaking concerning the believer, isn't it? Doesn't
the Bible say for us to run this race with patience? Hebrews chapter
12. And doesn't it say in the gospel
or the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 9, that they which run
in a race run all, but only one, what? Receives the prize. Therefore
run that you might obtain the gold. So interestingly enough,
Paul has just disclosed to us that the word of God is a runner
and the people of God are a runner. And didn't you know in the Old
Testament, this analogy is used concerning the prophets. That
when God sent out his prophets, they were called runners and
their job was to run with the word of the Lord and deliver
that word where it's supposed to go. Did you know that? Jeremiah
chapter 23, go there. I'll show you a couple of verses.
I want to make sure that you sense what the apostle is saying
before we go back and deal with it in its context. In Jeremiah
chapter 23, this here is that indictment chapter against the
false prophets and the false teachers. But it's certainly
a good example of this idea of the word of the Lord running
and the prophet running. And we've just seen that the
people of God are called to run this race as well. And I want
to drive this point home of running tonight in relationship to our
calling. I'm in Jeremiah chapter 23, and
I'm going to start at verse 18 and go through verse 22. Are
you there? For who have stood in the counsel
of the Lord and have perceived and heard his what word. who
hath marked his word and heard it. See verse 18? Verse 18 has
a number of very interesting verbs surrounding being in the
presence of the Lord and hearing his word. In verse 18, the first
line, the first clause, for who hath stood in the counsel of
the Lord. You guys see that? The picture
that you are to obtain is that of an individual, listen to me
now, having the privilege of being in the midst of the triune
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while they are deliberating their
purpose. The concept is that an individual
has been given the privilege to be in the midst of the triune
God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, while they are delivering their
purposes, putting together their plans, establishing their agenda,
and the man or the woman that's in the midst of that council
is privileged to hear it. Now hear what it's saying. This
is very important. For who has stood in the counsel
of the Lord, now watch this, and perceived and heard his word. Now, if you are in the midst
of the triune God and you are listening to them deliberate
their agenda, establish their purpose, declare their decrees
and their statutes and their plans, and if you have ears to
hear it, wouldn't you be such a person as perceive and hear
their word? Wouldn't you also therefore be
mightily privileged to convey what you heard from God himself
to other people? Wouldn't you? You know what that
would make you in the Old Testament sense of the word? A prophet. Listen to it again. For who hath
stood in the counsel of the Lord, and who hath perceived and heard
his word? Who hath marked his word and heard it? The term marked
there means to pay careful attention to it. Behold, a whirlwind of
the Lord is going forth in fury, a grievous whirlwind that shall
fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the
Lord shall not return until he have executed, until he have
performed the thoughts of his heart. In the latter days, you
shall consider it perfectly. This is Jeremiah talking, right?
And Jeremiah has been in the presence of the Lord. And the
word that goes forth from his mouth at this moment is judgment
on national Israel, particularly Judah. Now watch verse 21. Here's
what God says. Watch this. I have not sent these
prophets. Do you see that? I have not sent
these prophets. And for those of you who are
unfamiliar with the biblical text, here's what Jeremiah was
dealing with in his day, 700 years before Jesus. He was dealing
with a whole troop of false prophets who were running through the
10 Northern tribes and the two Southern tribes telling all of
Israel, they shall have peace and prosperity in their days.
The false prophets and false teachers in Jeremiah's day is
very much like the false prophets and false teachers in our day,
always giving a good word to the people, always saying peace,
peace, always saying prosperity and blessing. But you'll note
that when Jeremiah opened his mouth between verse 18 and 21,
Jeremiah brought judgment, didn't he? And Jeremiah said it in chapter
28 when he finally confronted Hananiah, that false prophet
who put on a wooden yoke and broke it in front of the people
and made as if the Lord had given him a revelation that God was
going to break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar in two years. Jeremiah said,
that would be great. I love my people. It would be
good if indeed God broke the yoke of the Babylonian kingdom
on the necks of our people so we could be delivered in two
years. But I'm here to tell you, Hananiah, Not one true prophet
of God who stood in God's counsel from the days of Abel till now
ever spoke good of Israel. You're the first one. You have
just broken rank with your prosperity gospel. Are you hearing me? You
are saying that you stood in the counsel of God. You heard
the father talk to the son and the son talked to the spirit
and the spirit tell you that God's people are going to always
be blessed, always prosper, always going to be in the favor of God.
Sounds familiar? And so Jeremiah is now receiving
a word from God. And you know what God says to
Jeremiah? I have not sent these prophets. Now watch it. Have not sent these
prophets yet. They what see the word See the
word they ran. I haven't sent them but they
ran now. What's the vision? I want to
make sure it doesn't escape you. What's the vision here? It is
the vision is the privileged messenger being in the presence
of the King and his Senate and Council and hearing their decrees,
understanding what their goals and plans are, receiving the
message and taking that message to the people, telling the people,
thus saith the Lord, right? But in fact, he wasn't even in
the midst of the king or his city or his council, but he ran
without being sent. And he gave a word that was not
true to God. But the analogy still fits with
what we are dealing with because when God says, pray that the
word of the Lord may have free course. What I don't want you
to think is simply pray that in some nebulous way that God's
word would land where it's supposed to and do what it's supposed
to. When we pray, what we are to pray for is all of the mechanics
that are involved in the fulfillment of that word. What do you mean? I mean that if God would have
us to pray that his word would have free course, run, terminate,
and finish his course, that what we're going to pray for is not
only the word of the Lord, but we're going to pray for the preacher.
We're going to pray for the prophet. We're going to pray for the ministry
by which that word runs. and terminate where it's supposed
to. We'll talk about the termination part in a moment. But what I'm
getting at is God doesn't just, in a nebulous, ethereal way,
send his word out to people. He uses means, doesn't he? God
uses means. So when I am praying for the
prosperity and advancement of the gospel, what I am praying
for are faithful churches. I am praying for faithful saints. I am praying for faithful preachers
and teachers. I'm praying for men and women
who are earnest with God and serious about his word that God
would use such people to bless men and women with a revelation
of himself. That's what I'm praying for.
And so we saw this last week in Acts chapter 13. By the way,
go with me in your Bible now to Psalm 147. We saw this in
Acts chapter 13 last week or 12. Remember when Peter was in
prison? and they had killed James and
they were going to kill Peter as well. And the saints prayed
for Peter and Peter was liberated, wasn't he? And my my point, as
we check that portion of scripture out, is that an aspect of praying
for the advancement of God's word. Is to pray. That God would remove. Every
obstacle. That would hinder his word. So
after I share with you a couple of more verses on the nature
of the word running, I'm going to ask the question and we're
going to deal with it tonight. What are the obstacles that hinder
God's word from terminating and landing where it ought to land? And we'll see if there are obstacles
in the word of God that demonstrate the importance of prayer for
liberation. In Psalm 147, It's a recalling
a recollection of how God worked in the life of the children of
Israel and we read over in Psalm 147 I'll start at verse 12 and
I'm gonna go through verse 18 two verses. I want you to see
verse 15 and verse 18 I'm gonna talk about them and then we'll
go back and work through our text praise the Lord Oh Jerusalem
praise thy God Oh Zion for he have strengthened the bars of
thy gates Do you guys see that language? You know what that
means? He's increased our security He strengthened the bars of your
gates. What are gates designed for?
Access and entry by those who are qualified, as it were, barring
and hindering those who are not. For God to strengthen our gates
is for God to increase our security, for God to watch over our lives,
for God to watch over our homes, watch over our houses, watch
over our souls. Don't you want God strengthening
your gates? I thought I better not pass this
up because every word of God is pure. Try it in the furnace
of fire and the analogy is relevant to us. What if God were not to
watch at the gates of our house or the gate of our heart or the
gate of our mind or the gate of the children We have what
if God were not to watch is it possible that the enemy could
come and pick the lock and get on the inside Of that and create
havoc in the home. Is it possible? Do you know the
psalmist said in the Psalms 128 if the Lord doesn't watch the
watchman what he keeps awake in vain So we are thanking God
here because he's strengthening the bars of our gates he have
blessed your children within thee Do you see that? Was thinking
about this this week to say I'll tell you honest goodness. I woke
up either was yesterday morning or the day before and the thought
came for the millionth time You know every day That my family
are the family of the Saints Have not been hit with some enormous
Devastating news is a good day is a grand day to thank God,
to worship God. Every day that goes by that 24
hours where our children have not been hit by a car or molested
or raped or accosted or something that's occurring every three
seconds in America and around the world to all kinds of children.
Every day that I'm not hearing that, I thank God. Because that
normalcy can become so mundane and so natural to us that we
fail to realize in order for us to live with that kind of
uninterrupted safety, God has to be at work. God has to be at work. He maketh peace in your borders.
He fills you with the finest of wheat. Here it is, here it
is, watch it. He sendeth forth his commandment
upon the earth. Here it is, saints. His word
runneth very swiftly. Do you see that? This is where
Paul picked up the analogy of the word of the Lord running.
And notice how the writer of the Psalms puts it. His word
runneth very slowly. What does the word say? So then
mark this now. Because what he wants us to think
through is how that God manages this creation. He manages this
world. We don't believe in what is called
absolute determinism, where God sort of created the world by
divine fiat and then kind of left it to itself to function
on what are called natural laws. And that when things break down,
we got to call God and hope we can get on his schedule to come
down and fix things. Bible-believing Christian understands
that God upholds the universe and every molecule in it every
second of the day intentionally and personally That all things
are held together by God's Word that God upholds all things He
sustains everything and that God not only upholds sustains
everything but that God actually orders and manages the providences
of our world all of the amazing intricacies with which this creation
operates, which blows the mind of our biologists and our scientists,
all of those things which we have barely scratched the surface
of even coming to be aware of, God himself intricately upholds. He intricately upholds it. And
the language of scripture is that there is a relationship
between God's acts and God's word. so that in the process
of human existence and in the process of your life and mine,
God is sending his word providentially to fulfill things. Wouldn't it
be remarkable for you to learn that God sent his word out to
protect you from a destruction that you didn't know was going
to occur today. And he sent it swiftly to hinder
you from being violated by some breakdown in the natural order
of things, or by a maniacal foe of which we're getting ready
to talk about now, or by the folly of your own heart. Isn't
it good that God's word runs swiftly What on earth would it
be for us to have a messenger who shows up too late? Right? So when the text says his word
runs swiftly, how swiftly does God's word run? It runs as swiftly
as he decrees it. So there are times in the word
of God where God speaks and a thing happens immediately. And this
is the beauty of the God-man being revealed to us in the person
of Jesus, going forth to heal, going forth to save, going forth
decreeing this, decreeing that. You know, Christ would speak,
be thou healed, and they would be healed immediately, right?
It wouldn't necessarily go through a process of time. It would,
it would happen right away. We're going to see this in a
magnanimous way on Sunday as we deal with what it means to
run our race with the Lord Jesus. But isn't it good to know, watch
this now, isn't it good to know that God could arrest a chaotic
situation that would appear in your life immediately upon decree? He could stop it. It would enter
into cessation right away that things don't have to take a process
of time to occur, even though often he will allow things to
take a process of time to occur. You can know based on this verse
that if you get into trouble and exigency, an urgent situation
that comes into your life, that as soon as you call on God, he
could if he wants to stop it right then and there. Do you
see that his word run it very swiftly. Look over at verse 616. He gives snow like wool. He scattered
the hoarfrost like ashes. He casted forth his ice like
morsels. Who can stand before his coal?
He's talking about providence. Verse 18. He sendeth out his
what? melted them he causes his wind
to blow and the waters to flow he look at verse 19 he showeth
his word of the Jacob his statutes and judgments unto Israel he
hath not dealt so with any nation now this is an interesting portion
of scripture we are contemplating because what this portion of
scripture would teach you theologically is this that while you and I
would recognize and the laws of physics and what we call natural
laws, these different mechanisms that we discover that function
in our world, such as gravity and such as g-force and such
as different laws that exist in our universe by which we see
things happening on a continuum without things falling apart.
These laws are really just signs that something is controlling
something else. But according to the scripture,
you know what it is? It's God. According to the scripture,
God brings the seasons. God brings the snow. God brings
the rain. According to the scripture, it's
God's word that keeps the waters from crossing its boundaries
and destroying people groups. According to the Word of God,
theology would tell us that God is actively managing what we
call the providential affairs of our world. So you and I never
want to get so smart that we call everything we see a law
and deny first causes. God is first cause of everything.
And according to the scriptures, everything is sustained by the
Word of the Lord. Go with me in your Bible to Hebrews
chapter 11. Now I want us to get ready to advance our thoughts
here. I just want you to see it. in Hebrews chapter 11. Now we're going to contemplate
a little bit more today the significance and implication
of praying that the word of the Lord have free course. But of
course, I want you to see this in Hebrews chapter 11 verses
1 through verse 3. And once we read this, we will
go on to our next point. Now, faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it,
the elders obtained a good report. Now watch this, saints. Here
it is. Are you ready? Through faith, we what? Now stop right there. See? See? What the writer says is, there's
no understanding God's world correctly apart from faith. That if we use any other route
If we use any other means, any other method, any other technique
by which to interpret how God's universe operates, we will be
wrong. What the Bible says is, by faith
we understand. And what it means by faith is
we believe what God's word says concerning the creation of the
world, the sustaining of the world, the providential acts
of this world. That's why I'm talking the way
that I'm talking, because what we need to understand is there
is there is a relationship to everything that exists in relationship
to God's word. God's word plays a role in everything
that's taking place. Now, I'm exalting this concept
because Paul said, pray that the word of the Lord may have
free course. In your mind, you are certainly
free to take the word and to use as a synonym, the will of
God, the purpose of God. the decrees of God, the statutes
of God, the ordinances of God. Are you guys hearing me? The
commands of God, the precepts of God. That's Psalm 119 in the
bulk of it. It exalts God's word. But in
the mind of the believer, you and I must know that in the beginning
was the word and the word was with God and the word was God
in the same was in the beginning with God. And there was nothing
that was made that was not made by the word. And all things are
upheld by that very word. That's what we must believe.
If we are thus persuaded, then our actions and our goings will
also be consistent with that revelation. And what I mean by
that is we will be careful not to run to the psychologist or
the scientist or the secular professional for their interpretation
of things before we go to God's word. Are you hearing what I'm
saying? because often we seek comfort
in their advice, in their pseudo knowledge, as Paul calls it.
But their advice and their pseudo knowledge is not really based
on the word of God. And we're listening to it as
if it's fact. But what we're denying is the
true prism and interpretation of that matter, according to
the scriptures. And that can actually hinder or delay the
process of God's word being fulfilled in your own life. We're talking
about this in our women's theology class last night as we were dealing
with the concept of guilt and condemnation, or rather false
guilt and condemnation. It was a beautiful study that
our sister, Vanessa McDaniel gave, and we were able to do
some development of it. And at the, one of the fundamental
problems that a Christian has is struggling through guilt and also false guilt. Determining
that which is legitimate guilt from false guilt Well that requires
a knowledge of God's Word and a very working knowledge of the
cross work of Jesus Christ and all of the benefits that flow
from it if I'm going to overcome guilt and false guilt I've got
to know the grounds of my justification, don't I? I've got to know the
basis upon which God decrees me not guilty. I've got to understand
being free from condemnation, but I've got to understand the
grounds and means and source of it in order for me to overcome
the natural propensity to feel guilt, false or otherwise, based
upon my circumstances, right? Because you and I, just like
the airplane pilot, are making micro choices in our minds every
day that whether we are conscious or not, either open the door
for guilt, false guilt, true guilt, or a clearing and innocency
of our mind. Because we are sinners, however,
more times than not, we are struggling with guilt. Are you hearing what
I'm saying? Because we are sinners, we're
struggling with guilt. Because of the multitude of choices that
we have to make so frequently in the course of a day, we know
who we are, don't we? We know that we will make mistakes. So there's already within the
framework of our conclusion, a sense of guilt or condemnation
based upon the track record of our life. I'm guilty before I
start today. I know I'm going to make some
mistakes, right? Well, how am I going to resolve that? Is the
psychologist going to help me overcome my guilt? No way. No way. I have to have a knowledge
of God's word, don't I? I have to understand my standing
in Christ. I have to understand my state. I have to understand
my position in Christ. I have to understand my personal
process in Christ, don't I? I have to understand these things
and know how to reconcile these things so that I can get through
my day. This is how important the word
of God is. So here's what I would say. When you and I are called
to pray that the word of the Lord may have free course, the
first place I want free course for God's word to run is in my
own heart. We're getting ready to talk about
it now. Why? Is it possible for the word of the Lord to be hindered?
What are the obstacles that would hinder the word of the Lord in
our life going? Let me read this. Let me read
this. I want to read verses one, two, and three. Then we'll go
back to our text and we'll contemplate for the next 30 minutes this
proposition. Now, faith is a substance of
things hoped for the evidence of things not seen for by it.
The elders obtained a good report through faith. We understand
that the world's were framed by the word of God. Do you see
that? And for those of you who are, you know, new Christians,
or you're wondering about the plural term worlds, what we are
talking about there is the cosmos, the whole universe, okay? Through
faith, we understand that the universe were framed by the what? Word of God. That term framed
is an architectural term, and it means that God spoke this
universe into existence by wisdom. by wisdom. Whenever you build
a house, you establish a foundation, you build a framework, and then
you put all of the infrastructure in. And so this world, this universe
has been created by God's decree in wisdom, in wisdom, in wisdom. Now notice what it says, for
by the word of God were the world's frame so that things which are
seen were not made of things which do appear. Do you see that? There's not a one-to-one ratio
in what we call the world of empiricism with respect to cause
and effect. What you see is not a consequence
of something else you see. But what we see ultimately is
a consequence of things unseen. In order to detect the premise
of a thing, the presupposition of a thing, according to the
scriptures, we have to have a knowledge of God's word. Go back to our
text now, so I won't put you to sleep. Here we go. Let's ask
some questions. We're gonna see this now in our
outline. Liberating the gospel's agenda through prayer. Liberating
the gospel's agenda through prayer. What a fantastic thought. Liberating
the gospel's agenda through prayer. I'm praying that the word of
the Lord will have free course in my heart. I'm praying that
it will have free course in the heart of my family. I'm praying
that the Word of the Lord will have free course in the life
of our local church, that it would have free course in the
life of the church universal. I'm praying that God's Word will
go everywhere swiftly and land where it's supposed to and that
it would bring forth fruit. That's what I'm praying for.
And so we read now in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 1 and 2. No, I'm going to just finish
verse 1. Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord
may have free course and be what glorified, even as it is with
you. I'll use this as a launching
point into contemplating the obstacles. What do you mean?
What do you think it means, say to anyone that when Paul says,
let's pray that the word of the Lord may run and therefore terminate
his purpose and thus be glorified? What does it mean for the Word
of the Lord in this context to be glorified? What do you think
Paul is getting at? Pray not only that the Word of
the Lord might run and finish his course, but be glorified. Now let's stay with the analogy
for a moment. Can we do that? He's personifying the Word, isn't
he? He's making the Word to be a
what? Runner. So the Word is running
a course a hundred yards, a hundred meters, 400 meters, let's say
5,000 meters long distance race watch this when the word finished
the race What is the ceremony? the crowning of the word with
the wreath Right the crowning of the word with the wreath.
That's what Paul is talking about by way of the analogy now somebody
tell me What does he mean in terms of its spiritual? implication
somebody tell me You're halfway home. So let me go back to the analogy
so somebody can take it all the way for him. And this is interesting
the way Paul is using the analogy and this is going to correct
our prayer life. So the Word of the Lord is representative
of a runner. Let's pray that the Word of the
Lord may have free course. We're going to talk about what
it means to have free course in a moment because obviously
to have free course means to run unfettered, unhindered, without
obstacles on the course, right? We're getting ready to talk about
that. But it runs and it terminates. It crosses the finish line. It's
crowned with wreaths. It celebrates the victory. What
is the metaphor? What is it speaking to? It cannot
merely be speaking to the general application of God's Word in
the world in terms of its maintenance. Paul has something much grander
than that. What is the cheap joy of the
believer when it comes to God's Word? The salvation of sinners. The salvation of sinners. Watch it now. The Word of the
Lord is glorified, ladies and gentlemen, when people hear it
and believe it. The Word of the Lord is glorified
when it lands on the heart and men say yes to Christ. What joy would I have for the
word to land on the hearts of my children all their life? And they never say yes to Christ. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
Even as it did with you, go back in your Bible to first Thessalonians
chapter two. I want you to see this. Now you can pray more accurately.
I don't only want the word of the Lord to run. I want it to
finish and be crowned in somebody's life. First Thessalonians chapter
2. First Thessalonians chapter 2,
I'm going to start at verse 11 and then go through verse 13. Here is how the word of the Lord
was glorified in the life of the Thessalonians. As you know,
how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you
as a father doth his children, verse 12, that you would, what's
the word? Walk. See the word walk? didn't
say that you would talk worthy of God did it he said that you
would what you know what the word walk means in the Hebrew
it means to respond in obedience to God's Word the Halakha versus
the Haggadah in the Hebrew writings are two bodies of theology that
were written one was philosophy and doctrine the Haggadah that's
where we are Expound the scriptures explain the scriptures interpret
the scriptures and basically derive from the scriptures its
moral ethical implications the halakha is the Exhortational
aspect of the scriptures by which you and I are commanded to obey
God do this do that do the other thing Walk in love preach the
gospel, lay down your life, share the Word of God with men and
women, love one another even as Christ hath loved you. Are
you guys hearing what I'm saying? So, the walking aspect of Scripture
is what you take away from the talking aspect of Scripture. Like right now, you and I are
exercising the Haggadah of the Old Testament. I'm talking to
you. You are listening. We are negotiating
this sort of dialogue. You are either believing me or
not. if in fact you end up walking in what we are talking about
you will now be exercising the halakha you are now walking in
the truth walking in the truth living out the truth not just
hearing it living it out so now watch what paul said here's what
he said we exhorted you we charged you we comforted you as a father
doth his children that means to admonish that you would walk
Worthy of whom God watches who have called you Unto his kingdom
and glory which means the gospel is preached. They heard the gospel.
They responded They came out of darkness into his marvelous
light right look at the next verse here it is for this cause
Also, thank we God without ceasing because here it is when you received
the Word of God see the word ran and It caught up with that
group of people called the Thessalonians. It spoke to them. And what did
they do with that word? They received it. Now watch this. When you receive the word of
God, which you heard of us, you received it, not as the word
of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. Here it is. Here's the glorification of the
word. Are you ready? which effectually worketh also
in you, that what? There it is. Go with me in your
Bible to Acts chapter 13. I want you to see one more verse.
You know what the greatest tragedy of any human soul in the world
could be? You know what the greatest tragedy
of any human soul in the world could be, ladies and gentlemen?
For the word of the Lord to run, to come, to confront and present
itself to the soul of man and they not receive it. That's the
greatest catastrophe the soul could ever experience is having
been confronted with the truth of the gospel and rejected. At this consideration, there's
nothing for which you and I can glory. Am I telling the truth? My heart has no place for exaltation
or jubilation or the thought of joy at a sinner who rejects
the gospel. There's only joy when men and
women repent and believe the gospel. Isn't that right? Haven't
we learned that? Now, here's how it works. Here's
how it works. I'm in Acts chapter 13. And we're
going to establish a context that's going to also carry over
into the obstacles. But Paul has been preaching to
his Jewish brethren And you know the rule, Paul's motto was to
the Jew first, also to the Gentile, right? But often he found that
his Jewish brothers weren't giving him the time of day. Sometimes
the apostle Paul was preaching in the midst of his Jewish brethren,
and God had so prepared the hearts of Gentiles that they would just
get a little aching of the word of God. And that word would terminate
in their life. And the next thing Paul knew,
he got whole crowds of Gentiles coming to want to hear the word
of the Lord. That's the context in which we are in now. Now watch
how this works. Here it is. Acts chapter 13 verse
43. I'm starting at verse 42. And
when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought
that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now,
when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews, religious
proselytes, followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them,
persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And on the
next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to do
what? Hear the word of God. I told
you before, that is a revival. The whole city? The whole city. Shut the whole city down. Because
everybody in the city now is compelled to this one function. To hear the word of God. Now ladies and gentlemen, tell
me, wouldn't that be a revival? Wouldn't that? The theaters are
shut down. The gymnasiums are shut down. The gymnasiums are
showing up shut down. Those folks sweating to burn
off that fat, shut down. Your stores are shut down all
of your all of your businesses are shut down because everyone
in the city Has come to hear the word of god Now that's a
revival, isn't it? Watch it now but when the jews
Now I want you to mark this i'm not going to stay here when the
jews saw the multitude They were filled with joy And they speak against the things
which are spoken by Paul, contradicting and blasphemy. We'll get back
there, verse 46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold and said it was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you. Remember, to the Jew first. But
seeing that you put it far from you and judge yourselves unworthy
of what? That's what I meant by rejecting
the word, remember? Watch this now. Lo, we turn to
who? Now watch what Paul meant when
he said that the word of the Lord may have free course and
be glorified even as it is with you. For so hath the Lord what? Commanded us. There it is. They
have a decree to run, saying, I have set thee to be a light
of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation unto the ends
of the earth. Now, Saints, listen to verse
48. Listen to it now. And when the Gentiles, what?
Heard this. How does faith come? By hearing. And how does it come? By the
what? And when the Gentiles heard this, they were. You see it? Watch this. glorified the Word of the Lord. Do you see it? And glorified
the Word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life. What? Do you see that? So now
what are we talking about? We're talking about God's Word
being like an arrow in his quiver. Of which he takes it out and
he shoots that arrow and his objective is to fly until it
lands on the heart of chosen sinners. Penetrate that heart
bring that sinner to his knees gives him a revelation of God's
glory in that sinner believes Christ Thus the word of the Lord
is what glorify Are you guys hearing what I'm saying the glorification
of God's Word because it runs and it lands Where it should
and it produces the desired effect of owning that person to where
it came This verse also teaches us that believing is a function
of God's predestinating purpose for everyone who believes is
ordained unto eternal life. Do you guys see that? That's
the work of God. That's why we, this is why we
pray that the word of the Lord has free course. So now in your
outline, we're going to deal with in your outline. I have
the first slash. If you want to write that in
there, acts 1348 is believe. After Acts 13, 48 is true faith,
true faith. That's what the Thessalonians
produced and evidence that they were truly believers. What does
it mean to glorify God's word? It means to believe it. What
does it mean to believe? It means to have true faith.
Now let's ask some questions before we shut it down and open
the floor for questions. How might the word of the Lord
be an obstacle? How might the Word of the Lord,
how might the running of the Word find or meet with obstacles? Or even, let me ask, let me see,
maybe I'll have some hyper-Calvinists in here, I can find out. Do you
even believe that the Word of the Lord could be hindered in
this sense in which we are talking? Is there a place in biblical
theology for which we, Can contemplate the possibility of the word of
the lord being hindered Is there is there a possibility? Is that
a legitimate contemplation? Is that contingency a legitimate
proposition in the scriptures or are we to think now follow
this now? Because we know that god is sovereign
And we know that god can't lie change or what? Are we to think
that because God is sovereign, can't lie, change, or feel that
therefore we are not to contemplate any kind or form of opposition
against biblical truth? Are we to draw that conclusion?
Are we to draw the conclusion that because God is sovereign,
there is no line of reasoning set forth in the scriptures that
constitutes conflict, altercation, hostility, warfare, and even
on some levels, success on the part of the enemy. Are you guys
hearing what I'm getting at? Is there a flaw in one's theology
who would suggest that even though God has already decreed the salvation
of His people from before the world began, that in process
of time without certain components actually operating as they ought
to according to the decree of God, it is possible to hinder
the Word of God, halt the Word of God, resist the Word of God
as part of that process. Is that a fallacious or heretical
thought on my part? It's not? Okay, I just want to
see because what I'm doing is helping you understand the tensions
that go on in the scripture between a sovereign God who does whatsoever
He wills and the manner in which He works out His will in our
lives that constitutes your responsibility and mine. Is that a legitimate
way of phrasing it? Because in our theological circles
often, people don't know how to hold two beans in each hand. That's just, for some people
it's hard to hold a black eyed pea in one hand and a red bean
in the other. But I can hold black eyed peas and red beans
and pinto beans and lima beans and crowder beans, I can, navy
beans, I can hold several beans in one hand. And I guarantee
you I won't let them drop. That's how much I like beans. Now I say that to say this, there
are, that's how much I like beans, I just want you to know. There
are these kinds of tensions in the word that if you don't accept
those tensions, You will darken counsel by words without knowledge.
You will disregard clear and explicit biblical truth that
calls for your and my responsibility and action of which if we do
not act and respond, there are the net effects and consequences
of not acting and responding that God anticipates and incorporates
in the process of your call to obedience or disobedience. Are
you hearing what I'm saying? For instance, we just talked
about it a few weeks ago, the parable of the sower and the
seed, didn't we? And as we contemplated the parable
of the sower and the seed, didn't we contemplate that while the
sower, who represents who? Christ, or the preacher, sows
good seed, there's no problem with the seed, but sometimes
that seed lands on the wayside, stony ground, shallow ground,
thorny ground rather, and then sometimes it lands on good ground.
And all four of those soils represent the hearts of men, doesn't it?
And the parable is designed to warn men about how they respond
to God's Word, doesn't it? And when it dealt with that first
soil, the wayside, it spoke about the birds of the air swooping
down and taking up the seed so that the seed doesn't even have
any possibility of germinating. So in that analogy, God warns
about obstacles or thefts of taking that which has potential
to produce fruit if we are not careful to respond to God's word.
Is that consistent with God's unfailing purpose to accomplish
his goal in the salvation of sinners? Of course, it's consistent.
So here's the proposition that I want you to think through.
In your outline, obstacles, point number three. There are, as you
see on the outline, isn't that a beautiful PowerPoint up there? Four of them. False religion,
false prophets, sin, and carnality. Obstacles to the word of God
not terminating and producing the desired fruit that it could. What do we mean by false religion
being an obstacle? Go with me in your Bible to 1
Thessalonians. You're there already. 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2. I want you to see this. I'm going
to share with you a few verses. We're going to deal with all
four of these here for a moment and then we're going to close.
You and I just read in Acts chapter 13 where we saw a glorious reception
of a whole host of Gentile believers coming into the faith, right?
But didn't we notice in the context of that reception of those Gentile
believers being brought in under the prophecy that the Gentiles
should see your light, that there was a resistance group in that
element? We're getting ready to see that
resistance group right here. Watch what it says in 1 Thessalonians
2. I'm going to start at verse 15.
Let me start at verse 14. Are you there? For you, brethren,
became followers of the churches of God, which are in Judea, in
Christ Jesus. For you have suffered like things
of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews. Verse
15. Who both, what? Killed the Lord
Jesus and their own prophets and have, what? Persecuted us.
Watch this now. And please not God and are contrary
to all men. Do you see that? Is that a form
of resistance? Is that a hindrance as it were?
Watch the next verse. Forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be what? Now tell me if that's not a formidable
resistance. Forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sin always for
the wrath of God is come unto them to the uttermost. And if you recall, that's exactly
what took place in Acts chapter 17. when Paul had went to Thessalonica
to preach the gospel, the Jews were so vehement against Paul,
he could only start that work and after two months he had to
leave because they were out to kill him. So one of the obstacles
to true religion, true preaching, the ministry of the word is false
religion of which the remedy is for us to what? Pray. We are to pray that false religion
does not prevail in our culture. We are to pray that false religion
does not have the majority rule in our culture. We are to pray
that false religion does not have so much pull in the religious
sector or in the political sector that it hinders the cause of
the gospel. Am I making some sense? And I
want to say it one more time because this here is an interesting
conundrum here too. As I deal with politics and you
hear me on Monday, Monday's talking political issues and I primarily
try to keep things grounded on a more spiritual level. And that's
that's principally because we are not right now in the heart
of the presidential election. Once we get into that race, because
political races have a, they have a model from which we can
derive a number of ethical and spiritual principles. Once we
get into the race, then I will begin to pull out things and
share with you things concerning the political strategies that
are there by which we can draw some gospel and redemptive truth.
But it hasn't started yet, so I haven't done much of that.
But one of the things I know is a tension in your life and
mine is this. Here's a tension, I believe it
is. because we have to develop mentally and intellectually and
become more aware of the scope of our society and influence
and also our responsibility in our society. To the degree that
you and I are not aware of these things, we don't feel compelled
to be interested or involved. But for the moment, for the sake
of making application before we close down on this point,
you and I live in a free country, don't we? Yes, we do. Yes, we
do. Nobody putting a gun to your
head. All right, I'm gonna help you now because this is very
important. There are all kinds of inhibitions and all kinds
of strategies trying to keep you from doing all that you want
to do, but you still live in a free country. I can send you
to different countries of which you will say, Lord, get me back
to America right away. Yes. So let me help you with
that, okay? Listen, let me help you with
that. I can leave after the Bible study, go buy me a burrito and
won't go to jail. And many other things. I can
actually preach and teach openly against my government. I can
oppose the views of my president, of my Congress, of my Senate,
the legislature, even the judiciary. I can disagree with our Supreme
Court vehemently. I can oppose them philosophically
on the basis of law and on the basis of theology without going
to jail right now. Okay, I just want you to hear
what I'm saying. I have that freedom. So I'm going to exercise
your senses here for a moment if that's okay. In the context
of freedom, We have the right to vote or not. We are not obligated
to vote. We are privileged to vote. You
may or may not vote. If you vote, you need to vote
wisely and you need to vote biblically. I'll leave that alone because
right there is when most of my religious folks just slide off
the road. And that's because we have so integrated politics
and religion, particularly in the African-American community,
that we have completely destroyed the gospel when it comes to biblical
convictions about what kind of politicians we should vote for.
We don't know the Bible. When it comes to that, we throw
the Bible away. Like I hear these nutty people say, well, I'm still
voting for Obama next election. OK, you can vote for him while
you want to. He just agreed to kill up a whole bunch more babies.
And the vast majority of the babies that are targeted are
African-American daughters. You understand that? He just
voted again for same-sex marriage. But he's supposed to be a Christian.
Like I said on my Monday show, I'm trying to figure out how
you can deny creation How you can deny the gender distinction
and roles in the Bible? How you can deny the miracles
in Scripture? How you can deny the authenticity of the Old Testament?
How you can deny Judgment Day? How you can deny Calvary? How
you can deny the Atonement? How you can deny the Resurrection
and still call yourself a Christian? I'm still trying to figure that
out. No, I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I don't believe
it. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. But I'm
a Christian. Now, if that's not a paradox, I don't know what
is. Right? Somebody is trying to convince
me that I'm nutty. But I'm not falling for it. See,
we are in real trouble today in the realm of logic, reason,
intellectual honesty. We are not honest. So here's
the challenge. In your freedom to watch the
world go by, you will see its effect one way or the other. whether you participate or not.
But to the degree that you participate will be to that degree, an aspect
of your conscientious effort by which you sought to thwart
or hinder something that you might think is an impediment
or a problem or problematic in the future with that which can
infringe upon or take away your rights. Am I making some sense? So some people are activists
and they pursue certain courses of legal recourse. They may become politically involved
on a local level, state level, or even on a national level because
they feel compelled to exercise the process to try to thwart
something. There is absolutely nothing wrong
with the Christian who wants to do that, so long as that Christian
understands that as a calling. Consistent with their knowledge
of biblical truth Are you guys hearing what I'm saying? So that
when they fail to accomplish what they are seeking to accomplish
They won't lose their soul also What are you saying pastor what
I'm saying incorporated in what we call the dialectical process
is Is the idea and anticipation of people getting involved politically
to try to stop the things that are unavoidable? And sometimes
God can resist a thing for a moment. He will allow the efforts of
people to, as it were, Proposition 8 here in California. the whole
same-sex marriage thing. We have fought this from time
to time and have won, right? Eventually, like that diabolical
creature called Navin Gusem said, you know, it's inevitable. You know, it's gonna happen.
Well, it may, it may. And there are those who can read
the biblical texts and see the prophetic implications and determine
not to waste their energy in that battle. and find another
battle front to fight, such as the battle front of their own
children, their own family, their own souls. I recommend that battle. Do you hear me? I recommend fighting
that battle. There are others, however, who are grown, their
children are gone, and they are learned, they may be accomplished
in terms of certain disciplines in life, and they may be much
more apropos towards a political solution to problems on a local
level or on a national level. Go for it so long as you don't
compromise your Christian conviction. You may be able to stave off
things for a season. Am I making some sense? I could
argue this scripturally, I remember frequently my brother would say
pastor how do you justify that in the scriptures well Nehemiah
Daniel Ezra Joseph and several of the New Testament believers
who were strategically in positions of secular power in the New Testament,
who had come to know Christ, remained in their power base
to be able to influence people for the gospel. After all, wouldn't
you want, when you run across that police officer who stops
you for texting while you're driving, wouldn't you want him
to be a believer in Christ? Yes, sir. Yes, right. And when you stand before that
judge on any given day, when the system has failed and decided
to make you a statistic just because it needs to reach its
quota, wouldn't you want that judge to happen to know the Lord
Jesus Christ that day? So he can give you at least a
merciful sentence, right? And put you in a place where
you can do your time with a little bit of reprieve. Am I making
some sense? So here's what I'm getting at. When the gospel calls
us salt and light, It means for us to be sprinkled everywhere
In order to influence to whatever degree we can that sphere that
we are sprinkled in You uh, you jailbird brethren like myself,
isn't it great to find believers everywhere And what i'm getting
at is you know, how good god is he saves believers people
in every situation So as you go up the ranks in politics,
you end up meeting somebody who knows Christ. You go, my goodness,
people getting saved way up here. Yeah. For whatever reason, God
is accomplishing up there because he's bearing witness everywhere.
See, remember the goal is for him to bear record of his name
and to save people in the process. Isn't that right? So these are
tensions, aren't they? Tensions that we have to be careful
to not throw away one for the other. False religion, if it
has its way, it would get rid of the Bible. Because the Bible
is the only book in the world that has the absolute audacity
to get in your business from the cradle to the grave. Did
you hear what I just said? that book. See, I'm here to tell
you, if you want to be a Christian that enjoys life in this present
world condition, just be a Christian who don't believe the book. And
there are lots of them. Every day I meet more and more
Christians who don't believe the Bible. But if you actually
believe that Bible, your greatest foe is going to be false religion.
And your second greatest foe is going to be politics. But
there is another impediment And so I connect false religion and
false prophets together. I could make a distinction. I'll
do that next week. I want to take a break after this and open
the floor for questions. Another impediment or obstacle
to the free course of the gospel is sin, right? Come on, tell the truth. Remember
earlier I was talking about the conscience and guilt and condemnation,
sometimes false guilt. sometimes legitimate guilt. The
distinction between guilt and condemnation is one is your legal
standing and the other is your emotional state. Like you could
be legitimately guilty of denying the Lord Jesus Christ on your
job and your conscious will vex you because you know you've been
a coward and a hypocrite. Am I making sense here? Pastor,
why do I feel so guilty? Cause you are. You guys got that? Now you're
not guilty in your position in Christ eternally, but you're
guilty in your person because your practice is inconsistent
with your position. Remember what Paul said? We thank
God that he has granted you to walk worthy of the gospel. I
mean, some of us got to get thrown in jail for the gospel sake,
don't we? Some of us got to be persecuted for Christ's sake,
don't we? Some of us have to be accosted for Christ's sake,
fired for Christ's sake, maligned for Christ's sake, don't we?
Somebody got to hate us for Christ's sake. Isn't that what Christ
called? Somebody got to bear their cross for Christ's sake.
We can't all just throw the book away and call ourselves Christian.
I'm telling you, I'm just actually fascinated right now, ladies
and gentlemen, by that notion. The notion that everybody's a
Christian and nobody's adhering to biblical conviction. I'm just
fascinated by it. And that kind of Christian is
an obstacle to the gospel. Are you hearing me? That kind
of Christian is an obstacle to the gospel. And I would call
it sin. In your outline, you have up there Acts 1, 1 Thessalonians
2, 18, Galatians 4, Hebrews 12, Jeremiah 23, Nehemiah and Ezra. Remember in the book of Nehemiah,
God had called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Didn't
he have obstacles to the gospel? Remember Sam Ballett, Tobiah,
and Geshun? Remember those three unholy trinity?
Always trying to stop my brothers from doing what they were doing,
right? And you know what they had to do? This is a good word
for you too, then I'm going to open the floor. You know they
had to work with the sword and the trowel to get the work done. You got that? A sword and the
trowel. And for us, the sword and the
trowel is the gospel of the grace of God ready to go to war against
our adversaries with the truth in order that the gospel might
continue to advance. Remember what Paul said in Ephesians
chapter 6, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil and having done all to
stand, stand therefore having girded on your loins, the breastplate
of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith,
girded about with the girdle of truth, the sandals or the
shoes or the preparation of the gospel on your feet, and then
the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. Remember
all that? In order that you might fight a legitimate battle against
obstacles. And the first battle that we
fight is in our own heart. Am I making some sense? against
the adversary of our soul that will seek to stop us from believing
the gospel. We'll pick this up next time.