April 23, 2010

• Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified

  Exodus 32:1  When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us.  As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2  So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3  So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4  And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ...

  33:1  The LORD said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ 2  I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3  Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

  4  When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5  For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” 6  Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.
  
  7  Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8  Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9  When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10  And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11  Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
  
  12  Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13  Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14  And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15  And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16  For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  Lord God, we confess we are a stiff-necked people. Except for Your love, mercy and grace toward us who are in Christ, You would have consumed us long ago. We are no different than our forefathers. We have made our golden calves and worshiped them. We have discarded Your glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ for cheap imitations. We have preached Jesus as anything but the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. We have lifted Him up as a good man or teacher but not as the atonement for our sins. We have shrunk back from preaching the torn flesh and the shed blood, but You, spotless Lamb of God, You never shrunk back from Your Father's will for You. You became obedient unto death, even death on the cross, all so we might be redeemed. You died for us while we were yet sinners. Some have even taught the lie that the cross was cosmic child abuse. O, but it was Your will, holy Father, to crush the Son so He might be lifted up as an offering for sin and so we might have life in Him. There was no other way for us to be brought to You but through His death on the cross. Our sins had to be punished in Him. He had to be made a curse for us so we might become the righteousness of God. The punishment that brought us peace was upon our dear Lord.

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.
  
  Just as the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, we come before You now and we are stripping ourselves of all that is not glorifying to You: for those ways in which we have discarded, minimized, marginalized, diluted, corrupted and hidden the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. We have sinned a great sin in Your sight, O Holy God. For us to receive the free gift of salvation by grace through faith and not to proclaim it as we ought is most grievous to You. For us to receive the free gift of salvation by grace through faith and to be ashamed of it is most grievous to You. Forgive us and cleanse us from our sin. We plead the blood of Christ, for we have no other plea.

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  We confess that too often we have wanted to gain favor in the world's eyes and so we exchange the glorious Gospel for a lie. We do not act distinctly from the world. We confess we are afraid of offending others, but yet You have told us clearly that the cross of Christ will offend. Forgive us for fearing men more than we fear You. You have told us that many will stumble over the cornerstone and that few will walk the narrow way and many will remain on the broad way that leads to destruction. We cannot be obsessed with men's opinions of us. We must be obsessed with the pearl of great price and preach Christ and Him crucified. For through Christ alone is Your power unto salvation to all who believe: Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. From beginning to end, our salvation is all through the cross of Christ. There is no other way for men to be saved. In Christ alone is the true wisdom of God, though the cross may appear foolish to men. And we will look foolish as we speak it and write it. Yet there is no other good news for bad men but through the cross. The cross shows us our sin and points us to the only way to be reconciled to You. There is no other Mediator between God and men but the man Christ Jesus. There is no life for dead men but through the cross. There is no freedom from the penalty of sin but through the cross. There is no freedom from the power of sin but through the cross.

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  Forgive us, Lord. Cleanse us from our sin.  Bring us back to the preaching of Your Word as we ought to preach it. If Jesus Christ and Him crucified is not lifted up and made the main thing, then how can we presume Your presence will go with us? We cannot. The Spirit was sent to glorify Jesus. The way Jesus is glorified is through the preaching of the cross. The only way You receive all glory, honor and praise is through Jesus Christ and Him crucified. How can we say we love You if we shrink back from preaching Christ and Him crucified? Forgive us for not holding fast to what really matters: Your glorious Gospel. We have grieved and quenched Your Spirit. Forgive us. We cannot accomplish the work You have for us apart from Your Spirit falling once again on the Church to revive us. Yes, we have been given Your Spirit when we were first saved, but we ask You to come again to us as You have in days past. In Your time we are trusting You will come again and revive us. Our bones are dead and dry and we need life, Lord of life. Be gracious to us, sovereign Lord.

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  How can anyone believe in You if they do not hear the preaching of the cross? No wonder why we are so ineffective today. No wonder why the Church looks no different than the world. No wonder why we continue to have churches that are a mile wide but an inch deep. True growth in holiness will never occur without the right preaching of the Word of God. We will remain as infants. And You will never bless us when we do not make the cross of Christ central. Yes, many churches may appear to be blessed, yet no church can ever rightly claim to be blessed by You unless they are lifting up Christ and Him crucified. As we try to serve two masters, we may gain a bit of favor in the eyes of men, we may grow numerically, but in the process we are losing our souls. And countless souls will leave our churches never having heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ rightly preached. And one day You will hold us accountable for what we have done with this glorious Gospel committed to our trust. How many lambs have we neglected our of expediency or fear of men or in an attempt to be trendy?

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  Lord God, how can preaching anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified be pleasing to You? Forgive us for seeking the approval of men. Forgive us for giving into the desires of our flesh. Your flesh was torn so we might be freed from the flesh nature and walk in the Spirit. How can we say we have Your Spirit if we do not preach Christ rightly? Forgive us, Holy Spirit of Christ for how often we have quenched You. The Spirit longs to have Jesus Christ lifted up. May we lift Him up as we ought. Lord God, You have committed this Gospel to us, this Gospel of salvation through faith in the blood of Christ. This is the Gospel You have entrusted to us. It is the only Gospel. Forgive us for not being trustworthy. Forgive us for not being good stewards. Forgive us for not guarding it as we ought. Forgive us for not contending for the Gospel as we ought. We cannot yoke ourselves with the world – ever. We are sent into the world but we are not of this world. We are sent with a message that comes from heaven. May we not dumb down or accommodate the message of the cross in any way. It will appear foolish and weak to the world. We will appear foolish and weak to the world as we preach it. Yes, the preaching of the cross is foolishness and weakness to the world, but it is the only power to reconcile lost men to God. Strengthen and equip us to speak clearly Your Gospel, no matter the cost to us. Send us pastors who are committed the preaching of Christ and Him crucified.

  Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us for not preaching Christ and Him crucified.

  Please add your prayers as the Holy Spirit leads you.

  • 6:02 AM
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