Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Discerning “Broken Cisterns” in Your Life
“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” -Jeremiah 2:13
Five questions that help discern if I’ve turned to broken cisterns?
Please read prayerfully.
- What’s my prayer life like? Broken cisterns teach us to lean upon ourselves or upon that cistern instead of calling out to God. Prayer is the great measure of our dependence upon God.
- Is worship for me a Sunday thing, or a lifestyle thing? Broken cisterns lead us to compartmentalize our faith. They tell us that Worship is on Sundays, Quiet time is a 30 minute exercise, and that Prayer is a mealtime and bedtime event. These cisterns convince us that our faith has no place at school, on our Facebook page, at the workplace, in our homes. But drinking from the fountain of living waters can’t be compartmentalized. True worship is evident in all spheres of our lives.
- Does my money reflect one who truly fears God? Materialism is a deep and dangerous cistern because it tells us where and how to invest our money with the belief that these things will satisfy. Comb through your last bank statement and see how you’ve spent your money and what role the fear of the Lord had in your spending.
- Do I see this life as a vapor? Am I mindful of the realities of heaven and hell? Broken cisterns lead us to invest in this life with no regard for eternity. They lead us to waste our lives as if heaven and hell were not real. Heaven is glorious. Hell is awful. And this life is temporary. Am I wasting my life?
- Am I in awe of God? Broken cisterns take our gaze off God and put them on themselves. We must ask, am I in awe of God’s wrath & hatred of sin? Am I in awe of God’s justice, which condemns sin? Am I in awe of God’s mercy in sending his Son? Am I in awe of how God caused his justice and mercy to sweetly kiss at the cross? Am I in awe of how God has drawn me to himself, given me Christ’s righteousness, and placed upon Christ my sin? Am I in awe of God?
Revive My Heart
Drink from the fountain of living water while walking in the fear of the Lord and turning from broken cisterns that can’t satisfy.
In eating, food can consume us as we consume it.
In fasting, God consumes us as we consume Him.
Hungry
The prayer behind this message is that you might hunger for God and for the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life. Are you Hungry?
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name, Amen
The Holy Spirit: To Our Advantage
Why does Jesus tell his sorrow-filled disciples that it is to their advantage that he would leave?
Hindering the Spirit’s Working in Your Life
John 14-16 and Acts 1-2 are passages that provide us with a rich description of the Holy Spirit’s working in the life of the believer. Three particular aspects of His work stand out:
- The Holy Spirit has a permanent intimate presence in our lives
- The Holy Spirit will empower us to accomplish God’s kingdom advancing agenda for our lives
- The Holy Spirit ultimately wants to Exalt Christ through us
We also see at least Five Hindrances to the Spirit-filled Life that are either explicit or implicit in those passages:
1. Unrepentant Heart – Sin skews our perspective and hinders the Spirit’s working in our lives. In particular, an unrepentant heart. When the Holy Spirit reveals sin in our lives and we do not take action against that sin, we are hindering the work of the Spirit in our lives. This is not a call to living lives of sinless perfection, but living lives in continual reliance upon God as we walk the walk of repentance. Do not quench the Spirit’s working in your life through an unrepentant heart. (John 16:8…convict the world of sin)
2. Pride – The Spirit’s aim is to exalt Christ in the preaching of the gospel in order that sinners would repent and turn to Christ therefore advancing God’s kingdom. The awful nature of pride is that it is concerned about me, myself, and I. It is derails any attempt of exalting Christ and, in its ugliness, exalts ourselves. (Acts 1:8, be my witnesses; John 15:26-27 he will bear witness about me, and you also will bear witness about me; John 16:14 he will glorify me).
3. Prayerlessness – When we see the role prayer played in the life of the believers as they waited for the arrival of the Holy Spirit and in their community after the Spirit had arrived, we see God’s mighty working in the power through prayer. Prayer is a posture of heart in which declares, “I need you, Oh Lord.” Prayer submits ourselves to God’s will…to be used by God for His purposes. (Acts 1:14, devoting themselves to prayer; Acts 2:42, devoted themselves to…prayers)
4. Apathetic mindset toward the lostness of people – When our hearts grow cold and apathetic and are no longer moved by the helpless condition of people who are walking in the path of destruction-the path to eternal separation from God-we are not living as Spirit-empowered witnesses. When we are no longer concerned about the advancement of God’s kingdom through declaration of the Gospel, we are hindering the Spirit’s working in us to accomplish that purpose. (Acts 1:8, be my witness in Jerusalem, etc.; Acts 2:36, let all the house of Israel know…)
5. Wordless Living: Failure to let the Word dwell in you richly – The Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth (John 14:7, 16:13) he will teach us and remind us of Jesus’ teaching (John 14:26). We see this at play in Peter’s message in Acts 2 where he quotes three different OT passages in declaring Jesus is the savior of the world (Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, Psalm 110:1). We thus need to be people of the Word!
At the end of the day, God has provided His Holy Spirit to intimately and permanently dwell in us and powerfully work through us to advance his Kingdom and see Christ exalted.
Oh that we would be used as vessels to glorify our great God!
