"But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Tim. 2:22)
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him.
For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:12,13)
This thread is about the helpful practice to exercise your spirit to touch the Lord Jesus Christ by calling on the name of the Lord.
Did you know that one of the simplest ways to "touch" God is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus? Calling on the name of the Lord is good not only for initial salvation. Calling is excellent for daily deliverance, daily salvation, and daily strengthening.
Calling on His name from deep within strengthens a Christian into the inner man. It is an exercise of the regenerated human spirit. It sets the mind on the spirit where the Spirit of Jesus dwells. And that is what we Christians need all the time.
By calling "O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus!" we fan the flame of our Christ indwelt human spirit. And the Lord is RICH to all who call upon Him. Calling "O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus" brings us into contact with the Son of God.
When, in this thread, I focus on the matter of calling on the name of the Lord, it does not mean that I don't know that there are other aspects of the Christian life. It only means that I am focused here.
You will be amazed at how helpful the practice of calling "O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus" can be. It is so simple that the natural man may protest. But calling on the Lord is to enjoy the riches of all that the Lord is for our supply.
When we call on the Lord's name as Christians, we exercise our spirit where the Spirit of Jesus is. This is not a lifeless or mechanical mantra. This is, as Paul wrote to Timothy, "call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart".
We love the Lord Jesus and desire to commune with Him. We love the Lord Jesus and desire to fellowship with Him. We can precede our prayer, our Bible reading, our pouring out our hearts before Him, by calling on His name - "O Lord I love You. Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus!"
Calling on the name of the Lord really helps those who practice to DO calling on the Lord. Arguing about it, philosophizing about it, even merely mentally studying about it, is not that useful. But actually trying it is very useful.
If you have never been encouraged to call "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" I encourage you practice calling for yourself. Don't just think about calling. Don't just debate about calling. Try calling on the Lord Jesus. Call on His name.
This thread does not mean that there is no other way to pray. It does not mean that there is no other way to live the Christian life. This thread though will focus on this helpful way to be strengthened into the inner man - contacting Jesus by calling on the name of Jesus.
It is hard to believe that any Christian has not called on the name of Jesus at least once or twice in their life. To call out to the Lord Jesus is as normal as a the crying of a baby when it is first born. Probably you called on the name of Jesus or Father, sometime. But here we will encourage you more to continue.
When you first wake up in the morning you can immediately beging to contact the Son of God by calling "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus I LOVE You. Oooo Lord Jesus! Lord Amen."
If you called on the name of the Lord you got into the Holy Spirit for the word of God says " ... and no one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3b)
That is VERY good news. Do you want to be sure you are in the Holy Spirit? Then call "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! Jesus is LORD! Amen!" Calling on the name of Jesus this way will usher you experiencially into the Holy Spirit's presence. I do NOT mean that you are not in the Holy Spirit if you are not calling the name of Jesus. I mean that you can enrich your ENJOYMENT of the Holy Spirit by calling "O Lord Jesus! Amen Lord! Lord Jesus I love You."
In a house where the Lord's name is spoken often, the atmosphere will be sweet. In a home where there is often the calling out to the name of Jesus, there will be a peaceful atmosphere of His presence.
Calling on the Lord can be done loudly or softly. One can shout or one can whisper. He is still rich to all who call upon Him.
I was visiting a thread in which the brothers were all speaking about their battles with temptation. I too battle with temptations. I have found that it is so helpful to call on His name in the midst of temptation "O Lord JESUS! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord YOU overcome every temptation to sin Lord. Praise You Lord JESUS!"
Paul told Timothy to flee youthful lusts and to be with those who call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22)
We do not have to worry about which comes first - calling on the Lord or having a pure heart. When you call with the intention to touch Jesus Christ, your calling will purify your heart. Your motive will be simplified. What do you want ? Do you want many things? Not really. You just want Jesus Himself! So you call on the Lord out of a pure heart to purely touch Jesus Himself, for Himself, to enjoy Jesus Himself.
Calling out of pure heart "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" is a very effective way to "flee youthful lusts" . And calling on His name is an effective way to "pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace". Jesus IS all these matters. So when you say "Lord Jesus!" you have said it all.
All the "unsearchable riches of Christ" are in His Person. And we can touch Him by calling on His name each day.
http://www.callingonthelord.org/
Originally posted by jaywillI guess it's too bad all those other religious folk are going to hell, eh. Muslims, Hindu's, Jains, Navaho, etc., all headed to hell for daring to live without Jesus.
It is hard to believe that any Christian has not called on the name of Jesus at least once or twice in their life. To call out to the Lord Jesus is as normal as a the crying of a baby when it is first born. Probably you called on the name of Jesus or Father, sometime. But here we will encourage you more to continue.
When you first wake up in the mornin by calling on His name each day.
http://www.callingonthelord.org/
I'm curious: what happened to all those folks from say 3000 years ago or 4000 years ago who could never have heard of Jesus? Or those from 100,000 years ago or 200,000 years ago?
Or maybe 2000 years from now when maybe christianity will be delegated to the scrap heap of history, just a footnote in time.
I just do not know what it is about saying "O" when you call "O Lord Jesus!"
Maybe the word "O" or "Oh" is an OPENING of the heart. The letter "O" looks like a wide open door. I don't know this mysterious effectiveness of the word "O" when calling "OOOOO LORD JESUS ! ".
But it is effective to call from deep within with a wide open heart to Jesus - "Oooo Lord Jesus!". Do you know how many "O Lord"s there are in the Bible ? Do you have any idea how many times the Bible records someone calling "O Lord"?
Maybe there are 800 times. If you do not believe me just start in the book of Psalms and begin to count the number of times the Psalmists say "O Lord".
I think you should be able to find about 500 instances of "O Lord" in Psalms.
But what is MORE important is that we actually CALL on the Lord. To study it is good. To CALL is better. So this thread I will write out many examples showing readers how to call "O Lord Jesus" .
I think "O" must open wide the heart of men and women. The word "O" must open up the heart to a Person. And this Person we want to open up to is the Son of God - the Lord Jesus Himself.
Calling "O Lord Jesus" is like breathing in the Lord. Do not protest "That reminds me of a mantra from the East."
No, it is the other way around. Any mantra of the East or West is a poor imitation of calling on the name of the Lord. This calling is all throughout the Bible. And the practice of calling out to God started with the fourth generation of mankind in early Genesis:
Genesis 4:26 - "And to Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of Jehovah."
The name Enosh means something like "frail and mortal man". As the human race began to realize that they were frail and weak after the fall of Adam, men began to call on the name of Jehovah. They began to call on the name of God. They began to feel a far apart from God. To help them to draw closer to God they began to call on the name of the Lord.
It has never changed. Now this God has become the incarnated Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And we are also like Enosh - frail and mortal. We need all the more to call "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus. LORD JESUS we love You. LORD JESUS, we NEED You."
From Genesis 4:26 people began to call on the name of God.
http://www.callingonthelord.org/
Originally posted by jaywillIs it not wrong to take the name of the Lord God in vain?
I just do not know what it is about saying "O" when you call "O Lord Jesus!"
Maybe the word "O" or "Oh" is an OPENING of the heart. The letter "O" looks like a wide open door. I don't know this mysterious effectiveness of the word "O" when calling "OOOOO LORD JESUS ! ".
But it is effective to call from deep within with a wide open heart to Jesus - ...[text shortened]... the name of God.
http://www.callingonthelord.org/
I think the "calling on" there means to WORSHIP. Not just to mindlessly shout out and call out Lord God all over the place.
Sounds like something Christ condemned the Pharisees for doing. Christ does not like showey people or those who do things to be observed by men.
Your worship must be in the privacy of your home and done in humility.
You sound like a Pentecostal Jaywill .
Originally posted by sonhousethere is no doubt that the people whom lived and died before Jesus, that they knew Him. If you read and understand the Bible, you'll come to notice that Jesus died for all of us. Not just for Christians or Jews but for all.
I guess it's too bad all those other religious folk are going to hell, eh. Muslims, Hindu's, Jains, Navaho, etc., all headed to hell for daring to live without Jesus.
I'm curious: what happened to all those folks from say 3000 years ago or 4000 years ago who could never have heard of Jesus? Or those from 100,000 years ago or 200,000 years ago?
Or ma ...[text shortened]... n maybe christianity will be delegated to the scrap heap of history, just a footnote in time.
What really should be done is to get rid of the crap evolutionist are learning people whilst there are so much evidence against evolution.
Originally posted by Rajk999========================================
Is it not wrong to take the name of the Lord God in vain?
I think the "calling on" there means to WORSHIP. Not just to mindlessly shout out and call out Lord God all over the place.
Sounds like something Christ condemned the Pharisees for doing. Christ does not like showey people or those who do things to be observed by men.
Your worship must be in the privacy of your home and done in humility.
You sound like a Pentecostal Jaywill .
Is it not wrong to take the name of the Lord God in vain?
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Paul's word to Timothy was to call on the Lord from a pure heart. This is calling on the Lord Jesus to contact.
" ... pursue peace ... with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Tim. 2:22)
To lift up the name "Jesus Christ" in order to curse is surely not out of a pure heart. But to call "O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus, I love You Lord" with the intention to draw close to God, is to call on the Lord from a pure heart. This is not lifting the name of the Lord up in vain.
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I think the "calling on" there means to WORSHIP. Not just to mindlessly shout out and call out Lord God all over the place.
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Where did I say "mindlessly shout"? The Psalmist said in Psalm 116 - "I love the Jehovah because He hears my voice, my supplication, Because He inclines His ear to me. Therefore I will call upon [Him all] my days." (Psa. 116:1,2)
The Psalmist rejoiced to find that God heard his VOICE. In response to this wonderful discovery he intends to call upon the Lord all his days. So we Christians also may call upon the name of the Lord Jesus all our days.
Further down in that Psalm the psalmist says that calling on the name of the Lord God is like drinking salvation out of a cup:
"What shall I return to Jehovah for all His benefits toward me? I will take the up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Jehovah." (v.12,13)
To call "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!" is to lift up the cup of salvation. It is like drinking in salvation in His mighty name. He is "rich", not poor, but "rich to all who call upon Him" (Rom. 10:12)
We can "drink" in God into our innermost being by calling "O Lord Jesus". A classic Christian hymn has a line:
Just to breath the name of Jesus
Is to drink of like indeed."
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Sounds like something Christ condemned the Pharisees for doing. Christ does not like showey people or those who do things to be observed by men.
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You are being rather reactionary.
The book of Acts says that Saul persecuted and bound people who called on the name of the Lord. He could hear them in the homes calling on the name of Jesus. Ananias, the man who baptized Paul, was reluctant because Saul had a reputation of persecuting those who called on the name of the Lord:
"But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, and how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Your name." (Acts 9:13,14)
Do you also want to bind Christians who call upon the name of Jesus ? Shame on you. It is the religious reaction to want to bind up people who call on the name of Jesus.
The Christians knew Saul of Tarsus opposed all who called on the name of Jesus:
"And all who head him were amazed and said, Is this not the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem and came here for this, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests?" (Acts 9:21)
The old religious tendency to want to stop people from calling "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus we love You. Lord Jesus!" is still with us. You are displaying the same suspicion and irritation that Saul of Tarsus had.
Yet when Saul converted to the Christian faith, the one who baptized him made sure to encourage that he also now do what he persecuted others for doing, calling on the name of the Lord. For the Lord Jesus had told Ananias -
" For I will show him how many things he must suffer on behalf of My name." (Acts 9:16)
So Ananias made sure that Paul was also a caller on the name of Jesus:
"And now, why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16)
Paul persecuted those who called on the name of Jesus. Now becoming a Christian himself, he washes away the sins which include such persecution, by being a caller on the very name himself while being baptized.
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Your worship must be in the privacy of your home and done in humility.
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You are being legalistic.
It is possible to be "with those who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22)
Do you see a warning there, that to be "with" others who are calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus, is to instantly lose humility ? Calling on the Lord with others "out of a pure heart" is a marvelous inclusion in your worship.
And it is not anti-humility simply because you are not hiding in your private closet. In fact you may be in your closet praying and be quite proud. So it is superfiscial to attack the practice of calling "O Lord Jesus" corporately.
The saints in Jerusalem were in houses together calling on the name of Jesus. That must be how Paul could hear them and identify where Christians were meeting.
And the promise of God is "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21)
Did you notice any phrase which put a limit on how many people can be present while calling on the name of the Lord? I didn't. So why do you legally insist that more than one person calling "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" simply HAS to be a violation of Christian humility ?
Your attitude is like the religionists seeking to stop people from being healed on the Sabbath day in the Gospels.
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You sound like a Pentecostal Jaywill .
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I am not Pentecostal per se. I believe that whatever is in the word of God which is true is God's truth. It is there for the edification of Christians. I do not have to be a Pentecostal to practice calling on the name of the Lord. I only have to acknowledged that the Lord is rich to ALL who call upon Him.
"For there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and RICH TO ALL who call upon Him ... For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Rom. 10:12,13)
He is rich to Greek and Jew who call upon Him. He is also rich to "Pentacostal" or "non-Pentacostal" who call upon Him. He is rich to ALL who call upon His name.
Behind the mighty name of Jesus is the mighty Living Person of Jesus.
When Christians awake in the morning, the Devil is quick to make proposals to you. It is good to cut off all these proposals from the enemy by calling "O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus." And the riches of the Holy Spirit begin to flow into your being.
You begin your morning calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. What a difference it will make. In fact if you call on the Lord's name for five minutes your spirit will be burning within. At first it may seem rather stall. But as you continue to call from deep within your being your heart will turn to the Person of Jesus Who is the now the life giving Spirit. And your spirit will begin to burn fervently with the presence of God.
Paul told Timothy to "Fan into flame the gift of God which is within you."
"For which cause I remind you to fan into flame the goft of Ghod, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." ( 2 Tim. 1:7)
I was told that in the Greek this literally says fire life up. To fan a fire into flame is to feed more oxygen to the fire to make it burn brighter. Calling "O Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus!! is one way to fan into flame the gift of the regenerated human spirit where the Holy Spirit resides:
"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17)
The Holy Spirit is joined to the believer's human spirit, which has been enlivened and born again. But our mind is off of our spirit because we have just been use to living in the natural man. Calling on the Lord brings our mind to set itself on the mingled spirit where the Spirit of Jesus lives deep within us. And we fan into flame this holy fire deep within us.
Calling on the Lord is excellent to preceed reading of the word of God or prayer. While we are confessing our wrong doings and sins we can intersperse with our confessions calls of "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. Amen Lord Jesus!".
Here again is a great website on the practice of Calling on the Name of the Lord.
http://www.callingonthelord.org/
If you call on the name of the Lord Jesus for five minutes with your heart turned to Jesus to love Him, why, your spirit will be on fire.
Calling on the name of the Lord - "Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!" is like the Salmon swiming upstream. It is like moving powerfully AGAINST the whole current of this age.
I am glad to learn to call "O Lord Jesus. LORD JESUS !" now, before the current of the world gets too strong. Rakj999 protested that this is to make a big commotion. But you can whisper the name of the Lord and touch Him.
There have been a number of times that while I was deeply asleep, and was in a bad nightmare, I began in the dream to call "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" and was saved right out of the nightmare.
More have been the times when I was SAVED from temper, lust, self conscienciousness, anxiety, or many other things which plague the fallen man, by calling either softly or loudly "OOOO Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! I call on You. O Lord Jesus!"
"Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
That promise is good not only for eternal salvation. It is marvelously sure for being saved from yourself, from the temptations of sin, from self love. We can be saved from all the saddens our life - by turning our heart to Jesus Christ and exercising our human spirit and opening our mouth to call:
"O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus. LORD JESUS!!"
How many times can we call on the Lord's name ? As many times as you wish to sink deeper and deeper into the Holy Spirit. There is another classic Chrisitian hymns which says:
O Jesus, Jesus dearest Lord, forgive me if I say,
For very love, thy precious name a thousand times a day."
It is not too much to call on the Lord Jesus a thousand times in a day.
I would start though, with about ten times first thing in the morning:
"O Lord Jesus. O Lord JESUS! LORD JESUS!! O Lord I love You. O Lord I praise You. O Lord Jesus I CALL on Your name! Lord Jesus! OOOO Lord Jesus."
Loudly or softly or inbetween - the Lord is Lord of all and RICH to all who call upon Him.
Originally posted by jaywillThou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain .. and it sure sounds like thats what you are doing.
I am glad to learn to call "O Lord Je softly or inbetween - the Lord is Lord of all and RICH to all who call upon Him.
Matt 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
To each his own but I rather stay within the guidelines given by Christ.
I think the Pentecostals have an overly enthusiastic disposition bordering on blasphemy for calling on God for every little thing.
I was recently at a Pentecostal wedding where a power outage plunged the building into semi-darkness. Then in a rebuking tone of voice the pastor shouted "Lord God I call on you to bring back the power immediately .. Lord .. reverse the power of evil and restore the electricity.." This he did several times and needless to say he looked rather foolish.[/b]
Originally posted by Rajk999======================================
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain .. and it sure sounds like thats what you are doing.
Matt 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
To each his own but I rather stay within the guidelines given by Christ.
I think the Pentecostals h lectricity.."[/i] This he did several times and needless to say he looked rather foolish.[/b]
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain .. and it sure sounds like thats what you are doing.
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Calling on the Lord to fellowship with the Lord is not taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Psalam 88:9 says "I have called out to You, O Jehovah, every day...". Did you see that? EVERY DAY the lover of God called on His name.
We can call on the name of the Lord every day. Could you show me the verse which stipulates how many times is "vain" ?
Don't be superfiscial and don't judge by appearance. We can call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. We avoid calling with vanity. And no man can act as a policeman dictating to the lovers of the Lord how many times calling "Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus!" is vain. The Psalmist called on God DAILY.
Are you vested with some authority to establish a hard rule that X number of times to call on the Lord's name is too many ?
Matt 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
He said do not use "vain repetitions". He did not say do not use repetitions.
In Psalm 136 the phrase "For His lovingkidness is forever" is repeated 26 times for 26 verses. That is the inspired word of God. Was twenty six times repeating "For His lovingkindness endures forever" vain repetition?
It depends upon your heart. Evidently, the Holy Spirit inspired the psalmist to repeat the glowing phrase so many times without it be "vain repetition".
There is no hard and fast rule on how many times I call "Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus" is vainly repetitious. So we can trust one another to pour out our hearts to the Lord and let the matter of the number of repetitions be between us and God.
Don't try to act as a "Calling Policeman" dictating to Christians that YOUR opinion on the number of times one calls "Lord JESUS!" should not be surpassed. Let that be a matter between the lover of Jesus and Jesus.
If you are married, we don't tell you how many times you tell your wife "I love you". We do not dictate to you how many time you can call her name. And neither should you presume to know when I have called "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus I love You Lord" too many times.
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To each his own but I rather stay within the guidelines given by Christ.
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That is the LORD's guideline and not YOURS. There is NO divine guideline dictating that a certain NUMBER of repetitions of calling the Lord's name is vain repetition. If you have a GUIDELINE specifying a NUMBER, then show me that number. Otherwise, you need not impose YOUR self made guideline on the lovers of Christ.
We can trust that the Holy Spirit within the saints can inform them when prayer or calling becomes vain.
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I think the Pentecostals have an overly enthusiastic disposition bordering on blasphemy for calling on God for every little thing.
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Since I am not defending Pentecostism here, I have no comment.
I am just talking about a simply way to come forward to God.
" Therefore with joy shall you draw waters from the wells of salvation. And in that day shall you say Praise the Lord. Call upon His name. Declare His doings among the people. Make mention that His name is exalted." (See Isaiah 12:3)
Calling "Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus" can be just like drawing waters of life from the wells of salvation. It is watering. It is refreshing. And calling on His name can quench our spiritual thirst.
We can begin our prayer and praisee tiime just by calling on His name from a pure heart.
Within our calling "O Lord Jesus" we can intersperse that we THANK HIM or the we PRAISE HIM. We can intersperse with our calling that we call upon Him and tell Him that we love Him.
How deep your love for the Lord is, is the only thing that counts. If you love the Lord Jesus to call on His name twice. That is marvelous. If you love Him so that you wish to call "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus" three or four or five times, that also is good. If you wish to call His dear name for five minutes, calling "O Lord Jesus" 50 times, there is no commandment or rule forbidding you to do so.
If you feel within that you have called enough and wish now to go on to specific prayer, confession, or study of the Bible, you let your spirit tell you that rather than some artificial religious rule.
We can let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts. (Colossian 3:15). We can trust the lovers of Jesus to allow the peace of Christ in their hearts to be the arbitrator. If the Lord wants you to stop calling on His name the peace of Christ arbitrating deep within will inform you.
But we need not be legal about it. We can pour out our love for the Lord and call on His dear name as many times as we want to. Our spirit will be aflame and fervent because behind the name is the living Person of the Lord Jesus.
Originally posted by jaywillJaywill, first of all the act of calling out O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus .. hundreds of times a day is a selfish act (becuase all it does is make you feel good), and has no bearing on anyones salvation.
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Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain .. and it sure sounds like thats what you are doing.
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Calling on the Lord to fellowship with the Lord is not taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Psalam 88:9 says "I have called out to Yo behind the name is the living Person of the Lord Jesus.
Salvation is based on the SELFLESS acts we do for Christ.
Matt 25:35-36 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Secondly, I would bet that there are Christians by the hundreds of thousands or even millions who would say this same thing .. If you love Him so that you wish to call "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus ... and would go around chanting ..."O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus.."O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus ... mindlessly like a mantra, but when Jesus Christ appears at their doorstep begging for food or help, they turn him away. Thats how much they love Jesus.
Originally posted by Rajk999=========================================
Jaywill, first of all the act of calling out O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus .. hundreds of times a day is a selfish act (becuase all it does is make you feel good), and has no bearing on anyones salvation.
Salvation is based on the SELFLESS acts we do for Christ.
[i]Matt 25:35-36 For I was an hungred, a heir doorstep begging for food or help, they turn him away. Thats how much they love Jesus.
Jaywill, first of all the act of calling out O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus .. hundreds of times a day is a selfish act (becuase all it does is make you feel good), and has no bearing on anyones salvation.
========================================= [/i]
This is not logical. The more one's heart is turned toward the Lord Jesus, the more Christ lives in him. The more one is turned to Jesus the more the fruits of the Holy Spirit can be manifested in him.
When Paul said "It is no longer I that lives, but it is Christ who lives in me" that was not an act of selfishness nor a inordinate preoccuptation with "feeling good".
I don't suggest that you take out a counter and mechanically call on the Lord up to one hundred times for its own sake. I do encourage Christians to heed the word of the Bible to not be ashamed to call every day out of a pure heart.
Judge rightly. Which is more selfish ? If I am approached by a person in need who asks me if I can help him financially, calling on the Lord softly will sink my heart into the presence of Christ:
"O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, this person is in need. O Lord Jesus! What would you have me to do? O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I do not depend lean on my own wisdom. Lord Jesus, I lean on You Lord. O Lord Jesus!"
By calling on the Lord and praying in this tough situation, don't you realize that the Holy Spirit can grant you the wisdom to know how to handle the situation ?
Let's see if we can find an instance of someone seeking God's guidance while calling on the name of the Lord:
In First Kings 8 we read of Solomon calling on Jehovah and praying in the dedication of the newly built temple:
v23 - And he said, O JEHOVAH, God of Israel there is no god like You ...
v25 - And now, O JEHOVAH, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You promised him ...
v26 - Now therefore, O God of Israel, may Your word that You spoke to Your servant David my father be confirmed.
v28 - ... you have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O JEHOVAH my God ...
v53 - ... You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD JEHOVAH.
We can see interspersed with his petition are callings on the name of God - "O Jehovah ... , O Jehovah ... , O Lord Jehovah ..., O God of Israel,
Would you charge Solomon with being too self centered here ? Would you accuse Solomon of being too much for "feeling good" ?
The calling on the name of God strengthened his prayer, FOCUSED his petition, and FIXED his heart on God. And we may do exactly the same thing by calling "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus" .
Then we see David calling on the Lord in his prayer also in Second Samuel 7:
v18 - Then King David when and sat before Jehovah ... O Lord Jehovah, ...
v19 - O Lord Jehovah; but You have spoken ...
v19 - is this the custom for man, O Lord Jehovah ?
v22 - O Lord Jehovah; for there is none like You, ...
v24 - ... and You, O Jehovah, became their God
v25 - And now, O Jehovah God, confirm forever the word ...
v27 - For You, O Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel ...
v28 - And now, O Lord Jehovah, You are God ...
v29 - ... for You, O Lord Jehovah, have spoken it ...
David's calling O Jehovah fully opened his heart to God, centered his focus on God rather than himself, and FIXED his FAITH in God. We can do the very same by calling again and again "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus!". And our petitions, or praises, or confessions are anointed and FOCUSED on the Spirit of Christ.
Then we see Daniel calling repeatedly on the name of God in his prayer:
"O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for You own sake, O my God; for Your city ..." (Daniel 9:19)
Were Daniel's callings on of "O Lord" selfish? No indeed. He was praying for Israel, Jerusalem, and the temple. He fortified his prayers with "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen, ... O My God, ... Your citi"
You are making arbitrary complaints that are unfounded. There is no automatic rule that repetitive calling "O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!" HAS to be selfish.
Calling " Abba Father " is by the Holy Spirit in Romans 8 and in Galatians 4.
Calling "O Lord Jesus" is like calling "Abba Father" where it says - "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba Father!" (Gal. 4:6)
Either calling "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus" or crying "Abba Father! Father. Abba Father" can be so much of the Holy Spirit. This is calling on the name of God.
When we call Lord Jesus we can be assured that this is in the Holy Spirit. For no one can say "Lord Jesus" except in the Holy Spirit.
"Therefore I make know to you that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; AND NO ONE CAN SAY, JESUS IS LORD! EXCEPT IN THE HOLY SPIRIT" (My emphasis - 1 Cor. 12:3)
"No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit" So call out to Him "Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! Jesus, You are Lord! Jesus is LORD! Oooo Lord JEEEESSSUUUSSSS, O Lord JESUS !!"
Try it readers. Try CALLING on the name of the Lord Jesus until you are brought into the presence of God.
And, Rakj999, is there something WRONG with having a good feeling ??
I ask you again. Can one be doing the will of God and also have a good feeling ??
Does it not say in Romans 8:6 -
"The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace."
Isn't the sense of "life and peace" a good feeling?
Isn't the good feeling of " [divine] life and PEACE " an indication here that the man's mind is set on his regenerated human spirit ?
Is it the will of God for the Christian to set his mind on the spirit where the Spirit of Jesus is? If so, then what is wrong with the "good feeling" of "life and peace" ?
Can't the lover of Jesus have "life and peace" as a good feeling while performing a selfless act in the power of the Spirit of Christ ?
Call on the name of the Lord as long as you have the sense of divine Life and divine Peace. If you have the sense of DEATH within, then stop calling.
But for many of us, to call "O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus" definitely leads us OUT of the sense of spiritual death and INTO the spiritual sense of life and peace. Praise the Lord Jesus for that!
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Salvation is based on the SELFLESS acts we do for Christ.
Matt 25:35-36 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, ... ============================================
If YOU insist on being MINDLESS that is YOUR business. Many of us desire to be "with those who call on the name of the Lord our of a pure heart" as Paul instructed Timothy.
And this thread is not on Justification. It is on exercising the spirit to contact the Lord within by calling. Your above paragraph alluding to Matthew 25 is really a new discussion.
Here I am not finished talking about calling O Lord Jesus! as a simple way to touch the Lord Jesus deep within.
Originally posted by jaywillYou said:
[b]=========================================
Jaywill, first of all the act of calling out O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus .. hundreds of times a day is a selfish act (becuase all it does is make you feel good), and has no bearing on anyones salvation.
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...[text shortened]... the Lord Jesus deep within.[/b]
Judge rightly. Which is more selfish ? If I am approached by a person in need who asks me if I can help him financially, calling on the Lord softly will sink my heart into the presence of Christ:
"O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, this person is in need. O Lord Jesus! What would you have me to do? O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I do not depend lean on my own wisdom. Lord Jesus, I lean on You Lord. O Lord Jesus!"
By calling on the Lord and praying in this tough situation, don't you realize that the Holy Spirit can grant you the wisdom to know how to handle the situation ?
My answer : If I were Christ and after stating adnauseum to go do good works, you still need to pray and ask what to do if someone needs help, then I will consider you a hypocrite. You dont need to ask, you just have to do it. Get off you lazybutts and go help the poor, feed the hungry, visit the sickand the fatherless. YOU DONT NEED TO ASK GOD IF TO DO THAT.
Your doctrine is flawed Jaywill. Go read the Bible again.
Originally posted by Rajk999============================
You said:
[quote]Judge rightly. Which is more selfish ? If I am approached by a person in need who asks me if I can help him financially, calling on the Lord softly will sink my heart into the presence of Christ:
"O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, this person is in need. O Lord Jesus! What would you have me to do? O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I do not depend lea ...[text shortened]... T NEED TO ASK GOD IF TO DO THAT.
Your doctrine is flawed Jaywill. Go read the Bible again.
My answer : If I were Christ and after stating adnauseum to go do good works, you still need to pray and ask what to do if someone needs help, then I will consider you a hypocrite. You dont need to ask, you just have to do it. Get off you lazybutts and go help the poor, feed the hungry, visit the sickand the fatherless. YOU DONT NEED TO ASK GOD IF TO DO THAT.
Your doctrine is flawed Jaywill. Go read the Bible again.
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First tell me how you quoted me like that ?
I don't think the Christ stated ANYTHING "adnauseum".
Christ stated the apart from abiding in Him we can do NOTHING. You go and read the Bible. Go especially to John 15 and include these words in your reading:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
Not just ONE islolated verses says this. The tenor of the entire New Testament says this.
Oh, you can do a lot of things apart from abiding in Jesus Christ. But they will all amount to NOTHING. It is not what you do. It is in WHOM you do it.
It is not what you do. IT IS WHAT YOU ARE. If you are abiding in the living Christ as a branch in the vine, the life of the vine will flow out into you and bear fruit.
You can do a lot of things apart from Christ. Go ahead. In the day of the judgment seat of Christ you will see that it was not a building up of the kingdom of God. It was a building up of the kingdom of the world.
But if you learn to abide in Him and let Him abide in you, your labor will be a ministry of Christ to people. In your giving you will not just give something. Christ will come along with your giving.
"Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4)
This thread is a help to show people how to abide in the Lord Jesus as the true vine. It is not the only way. But it is a good way. And calling on the name of the Lord sets our mind on this True Vine so that we may act from Him.
It is not what the Christian does which is as important is Who is the Christian's SOURCE of life, and SOURCE of doing or not doing.