Devotions

“Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly” (2 Chronicles 1:1, NKJV).

God’s church today has been strengthened and blessed by him. Provision has been made for achievements of all kinds. Consider the big, beautiful churches being built around the country. Millions are spent on broadcasting, books, tapes, CDs, missions, institutions, colleges and parachurch ministries of all kinds. When all these works began, each one had something of God’s anointing. Indeed, most started out with the same blessings that God poured out upon Solomon. 

Solomon was well organized and much more educated than his father, David. He did everything bigger and better than any previous generation ever could have conceived. The driving force behind Solomon was wisdom and knowledge. He asked God, “Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10).

Isn’t this a wonderful prayer? It sounds so good, and God was pleased that Solomon did not ask for selfish gain. Nevertheless, there’s a problem. This prayer is largely man-centered. This talented, self-confident king was saying in essence, “Just give me the tools, God, and I’ll get the job done. Give me wisdom and knowledge, and I’ll set everything in order among this people. I’ll accomplish it all!”

Solomon’s prayer was not the prayer of his father, David, a man who was after God’s own heart. No, Solomon’s prayer was that of a new generation, an educated people with new ideas and skills. His cry was “I need wisdom and knowledge.” I believe Solomon represents the spirit and nature of the last-day Laodicean church. This church is headed for the same ruin Solomon faced.

Solomon had a head full of wisdom and a mouth full of songs. He could preach and teach with incredible skill. He had a well-organized operation and talented leaders. Everything about his church appeared to be decent and in order, but all that Solomon did ended up with the phrase, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). The Solomon church believes it has the answers. It looks great on the outside, but it is absolutely lifeless inside, and it ends up in vanity, idolatry, sensuality, emptiness and despair. Beloved, let us not end up there!

There’s a phrase we Christians often use to bring comfort to one another. We say, “God is sovereign.” It does bring comfort, but what exactly does it mean?

In general, we think it means that God is in control. Even when ferocious winds are blowing, our lives are a mess and we’re filled with fear, we can take comfort in knowing that it’s going to be alright. Why? Because God is bigger and stronger than the chaos and the storm.

There’s more. God is so multi-dimensional that we couldn’t explore all of him in ten lifetimes. He isn’t just in control; his sovereignty infuses all of life. Sovereignty is all-encompassing, which means God’s attributes are as well. He’s not partially merciful; he’s all merciful. Think of it. Mercy without end!

If God was not sovereign, he would only be partly holy or just or merciful; but he isn’t a “sometimes” God. He is utterly just, merciful and holy.

I love how Easton’s Bible Dictionary puts it: “God has the absolute right to do all things according to his pleasure.” He is not subject to the whims of anyone or anything. No outside sources can force his hand or dictate anything to him.

For example, think of a time when you needed God’s mercy. You felt the entire world was against you, and you thought, “God won’t be on my side this time. I won’t receive forgiveness or mercy. There is no way back, no path to restoration for me.” Yet, there he is, the God of grace, opening the door wide for you. Yes! He has already laid out a path for your future and a brilliant one at that. You have before you a productive, rich life, crafted by God himself! 

Lamentations reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV). It is generally thought that the prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. Who better than a man who knew God so intimately to proclaim that the God we serve lavishes his mercy upon us from our first breath to our last? 

“Settle this within your heart today,” the Lord says. “My love, mercy, holiness, counsel, power – all that I am is complete and without end. I am yours, and you are mine. Come to me!”

Mother Teresa once stated, “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are, in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, rejected by society, completely forgotten, completely left alone. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.”

What interests me about chapters 5 through 7 in Matthew is not just Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, but what took place the day after the sermon. This is when the crowd shrinks to the individual. The audience now has a name. We see it immediately in Matthew 8:1-2: “Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared” (MSG).

Life just got real. The worst disease came after the greatest sermon. You know what I’m talking about. After the singing and the preaching, there is debt, marriage problems, addictions, cancer, diabetes, divorce and abuse.

Chapter 8 is all about what happens on Monday after the great and inspiring Sunday morning worship service. To know the Bible and how to sing Christian songs is important, but that doesn’t translate into making other people’s lives better when we meet them in a tragedy. You can’t be compassionate without people. No one is compassionate alone. Our Calcuttas are right next to us, and they need our compassion.

Every one of us has three resources to show compassion: time, treasure and talents. I heard someone once say, “You can see the priorities of a person’s life by two documents: a checkbook and a calendar.” I would add this question: What is your talent? You have at least one; everybody does. The apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Whether your gifting is loving people, helping people, serving people, giving to people, bringing people to church…it’s always about people. That’s how you show compassion.

Where is your Calcutta? Where does life get real for you? How might you show compassion during your Monday?

_{After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.}

"Then they will look on me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him" (Zechariah 12:10, NKJV).

This verse originally refers to the Jewish people, but I also see in Zechariah's prophecy an application that has to do with the church. There is soon coming a very personal dealing by the Holy Spirit. The church of Jesus Christ has so blunted sin, whitewashing and overlooking it, that when the Holy Spirit comes down, he will bring a purging as well. There will be weeping, mourning and brokenness, a reckoning with the reality of how our sins grieve the heart of God.

The Holy Spirit is going to move in this way not only in congregations but also in families and individuals. “And the land shall mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves” (Zechariah 12:12).

What greater gift could God give his church just before he comes than a powerful, convicting message against sin? He will bring such piercing conviction that we will not be able to tolerate any unholy or unclean thing in ourselves.

In summary, here are the qualifications and marks of the latter-day outpouring of the Spirit: 
1. A focus on the final harvest of souls.
2. A spirit of grace, leading to repentance and godliness.
3. A spirit of supplication, resulting in surrender and an urgency to pray in the Spirit.
4. A yearning for Jesus, a brokenness and weeping with godly sorrow for sin. 

Only after such dealings of the Spirit will the true blessing of joy come! I do not want to miss out on God's last outpouring. I have been praying for him to include me, and I urge you to do the same.

Pray with me now, “Lord, I don't have the discipline needed for your holy work. You have to give it to me. Give me your burden for lost souls; place your weeping Spirit within me. You are my only hope, so I surrender and turn totally to you. I'll do anything you tell me, and I will depend upon you for everything.”

We often hear missionaries speak of great awakenings around the world. In every case, the "spirit of prayer" is tied to the harvest. In Vietnam, China, Siberia, the Amazon, Africa and numerous other places, God's people are praying with fire and fervency, weeping and crying out to God, seeking his face, dealing with sin and turning to righteousness.

You cannot manufacture this kind of inclination to pray. It is the result of the spirit of supplication as God promised in Zechariah 12:10. These believers around the world are already experiencing it!

We have often called for weeks of prayer at Times Square Church, and we have experienced a small taste of this outpouring of the Spirit. Indeed, there is a measure of fire and diligence in prayer throughout this nation, but we have not yet experienced the outpouring of the Spirit of supplication.

God has shown me that even the desire and inclination to pray must come from the Holy Spirit. Now my dilemma is that God has promised to pour out a spirit of supplication on his church, and I want to be a part of the genuine move of God. So how can I make sure I receive this outpouring?

The answer is in Zechariah: “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; he will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone” (Zechariah 10:1, NKJV).

We must ask the Lord for this spirit of supplication. The flashing clouds in this verse speak of “lightning, thunderstorms” because God has promised to bring us showers. He is telling us in Zechariah, "Ask and I will give you this burden from heaven, but you must seek it from me!"

It is time we started asking the Lord, “O God, pour your Holy Spirit on me that I may learn to pray! Open up the fountain. Let me be a part of your final harvest.” Once this spirit of supplication showers down upon you, you will find yourself praying for holiness, godliness and purity. You will intercede for your lost loved ones and weep over this dying world. You have to ask the Holy Spirit to do it in you and then trust him!