Amen

Lost in the Translation

It has been said by people who study languages, that you can tell when a person really has learned a new language: they now think in it. They no longer have to look at something and then translate it into their own language. They look at it and they think it immediately. I believe that this is also the mark of someone who has truly crossed over into the Spirit-filled life. They no longer have to look at something, hear or experience it, and then try to put it into “Christianese.” There is no time lost as they try to translate it into a spiritual truth. It is automatic, because they are thinking with the mind of Christ. Everything has been emptied out and their mind has not simply been given techniques of successful Christian living, it has been transformed. That’s the intent of this prayer, to have ‘Christ formed’ in each one of us. (Galatians 4:19)

But somewhere over the ages, the intent and power of this prayer has been ‘lost in the translation.’ It has somehow morphed into a ‘saying.’ Clearly that was never the original intent. This is no formulaic prayer that can simply be uttered over and over and then all is well, all is forgiven.

This prayer grabs us, holds us upside down and shakes every last living thing out of us. It turns us over so that what we had hidden in the depths of our soul is now on top, forcing us to come face to face with that which we had hoped was out of sight. Our will, our loves, our hold on people, their hold on us, our desires, our place in this world, this world’s place in us – they are all fully revealed to us if this is prayed honestly. This prayer lifts you up, turns you over, and shakes every last bit out of you.

Loose Change

Good, because one of the most important things that can happen to a Christian is to have God turn them completely over, upside-down, and shake every last living bit out of them. The problem is that most people are only willing to let the ‘loose change’ fall out of their pockets. ‘Loose change’ is what you are willing to give up – like a parent with a child when he asks for money. It’s easy to part with, as you can do without it anyway. It’s what most people give to God – their loose money, time, and energy. They call it a sacrifice, but it’s not. It’s their loose change. God wants more, because if all you give up is your loose change, then all you will get is a ‘loose change.’

If you pray this prayer honestly, if you are truly willing to give up all, then everything goes. And once everything is emptied out, He fills you with enough bread for today and throws you back into the world – the very world that you just disengaged from. You are now in a place of complete trust in Him and He tells you that His protection and His provision will be enough. And the bread that He gave you? Well, that is the bread that He wants you to give to others – because this prayer is not just about you – it is about the body. As He told Peter: “Feed My sheep.”

In The Body

In Exodus 4 we read where God sends Moses back into Egypt to confront the Pharaoh. In the OT, Egypt generally represents the world. We, like Israel, were drawn out of Egypt, and often, like Israel, have a desire to run back to it. So why would God ever send us back there? Moses must have felt this way. He probably wanted to stay by that burning bush, on holy ground. But God sent him back to Egypt. Why? Because that’s where the lost are. That’s where those who are still in slavery are waiting for redemption.

Sometimes I wish that He would simply save us and take us to heaven with Him. As Paul stated in Philippians 1:23: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” But as Paul understood that “it was more necessary for you that I remain in the body,” we need to understand that it is more necessary for the lost that we remain in the body. So after we’ve been dusted off, we are thrown back in.

This is exactly what Christ prayed for in John 17. He had been His disciples’ covering while He was walking the earth with them. In verse 12 He says, “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name You gave Me.” (There’s ‘that name’ again.) Under His precious name, they were safe. But now He was going. Was He going to take them with Him? Were they going to think that they lost that covering, like Joseph’s brother’s thought would happen to them when Jacob died? No and no. He was not taking them and they would be covered, more completely than ever, because now His Spirit would come and enter them. The covering would be inside and out.

John 17:15 – 19 continues: “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth: Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Catch and Release

And that prayer sums up what He’s telling us to do when we pray in Matthew 6. He’s not telling us to get out of the world. He’s telling us to be sanctified under His name. He’s telling us to get under the name of the Father, to be identified, separated and sanctified under His name. He’s telling us to be empowered by His Spirit under His will. And then He releases us back into the wild, under the sanctification of that hallowed Name. Released to be His hands, His feet, His mouth.

These are desperate times, but God’s grace is still available for the whole world. In Revelation 14:10 we read that in the end days He will put out His fury, “which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath.” Right now is not full strength - the wine of His righteous anger is diluted with His marvelous grace. But when the Day comes, when Christ returns and the hedge is removed, His wrath will be poured out full strength. We don’t want to be around for that day, and we don’t want any of our loved ones, our neighbors, our co-workers to experience that either.

Come Around – Whether Or Not Your Season Comes Around

That is why this is such an urgent prayer. That is why it is so important that we are sanctified through and through by His name. And that is why we must be tossed back in. The lost need us. It doesn’t matter if we feel like it or not. We are to be ready “in season or out of season.” (II Timothy 4:2) In mountainous times or monotonous times. In other words, whether we’re on a spiritual high or not. This prayer is to be prayed consistently regardless of our emotional state. Some days you may feel like you’re ‘out of season.’ Too bad - pray it anyway. The lost don’t have the option of waiting for your ‘seasons’ to roll back around.

Jonah’s ultimate obedience to the Lord brought about a great revival in Nineveh. It must have been an awesome sight, thousands coming to God. But I often wonder about those who never had a chance to hear the message of repentance. Those who died waiting for Jonah to ‘come around.’

What Matters

Recently I was packing up from a vacation, getting ready to go home, and I kept looking at all the clothes I didn’t use on the trip. It was frustrating to repack them, they were just time and space wasters. I thought that it would be nice to know ahead of time what’s necessary and what’s going to end up being irrelevant, so I wouldn’t have to waste that time and space.

Jesus tells us what matters. What matters is that you are in His family. What matters is that you are content with your daily bread. What matter is that true forgiveness occurs – in your relationship with God and in your relationship with others. What matters is the you have victory, that God pulls you away from temptation. What matters is, that according to Romans 13:14 – you don’t even think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. What matters is that you sing your song of redemption. What matters is that you are delivered from Satan so that you can get your voice back. Because what matters is the lost.

This prayer will show you what matters.