Love: the Foundation for Victorious Christian Living Love in Deed (Vol 23)

LOVE

THE FOUNDATION FOR VICTORIOUS LIVING

LOVE IN DEED

Volume 23

06 Dec 2015

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

1 John 3:16-23

‘Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].’

1 John 3:18 (Amplified Version)

It has been interesting to learn about the various ways in which brotherly love affects our Christian life. Last week, we learned that brotherly love is the proof of our Salvation. In the weeks to come, we will learn more about how brotherly love gives us confidence in our relationship with God, and how it enables us to go before God in faith and ask for our requests boldly. However, today, we are going to study about the practical aspects of this unique love.

LET US LOVE

We might all have some understanding about what brotherly love looks or does not look like. For e.g. like John says in the above passage, we do know that brotherly love is definitely not shutting the doors of our compassion when a needy person seeks our help.

But in order to get a clear understanding of it, let us start at a basic point, which is – ‘love’.

LOVE AND LIKE

Loving is one word that is often confused with another similar word – liking. In Tamil, we distinguish between these two. For example, we would say that we love our spouse and that we like ice cream. That is not the case in the English language though. We say that we love pizza, cake, dogs and our spouse! Isn’t that strange?

So, let’s try to establish the difference between ‘loving’ and ‘liking’.

Liking is a natural emotion or the state of the heart that comes from our natural being. It is very basic, physical and does not require a lot of knowledge or intentionality. It is our instant affinity towards something or someone based on the appearance, temperament, color, behavior and mannerisms. It is like how a dog takes to certain people, gets excited about them and wags his tail around them. That does not mean there is anything wrong with having the feeling of ‘liking’. But imagine leading our whole life based on those ‘feelings’ alone. Because as age catches up, beauty will fade and appearances will change. Our feelings of liking will soon go for a toss.

Loving, on the other hand, is so much more different. It goes beyond our basic elemental, superficial instincts and requires the use of our intelligence and intention. In other words, for a believer, loving is impossible without the help of God because God is the ultimate and most perfect lover.

Let us look closer into understanding what God’s love looks like.

GOD’S LOVE

A man once bought a piece of land that looked like a sewage dump. Everybody was aghast and told him that he was making a bad choice. But he looked past the dowdiness and visualized the wonderful, finished product.

Likewise, when God looks at a person he is not distracted by outward appearances. The all-knowing, all-wise and all-powerful God looks deep into our souls and sees our potential underneath all that muck and slime. That is the reason He is able to love sinners like us.

By our own selves we cannot love anybody like that. It is only when the Holy Spirit pours Himself into us and enables us that we are able to exercise love. We then understand that God’s power can transform the person who is unlovable and enable him to achieve his potential. As that truth sinks in, we will be able to love them even though by instinct we don’t have any feelings of liking for them. God’s love therefore goes beyond our unattractiveness and seeks out something good. It is highly intelligent, thoughtful and is full of understanding. It is able to discriminate between the superficial and the reality.

Godly love is being able to treat those who are unlovable as though we do like them. It is not a pretense. It is an intentional act of choosing to act kindly and doing the right thing to them, even though they are mean and annoying. That’s why the Bible doesn’t say, ‘Like one another’. It says ‘Love one another’. We will definitely have people around us who are not going to be easy to like, but we can love them as our brothers and sisters in Christ because of the knowledge that God can transform them completely.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

Having understood the difference between loving and liking, let us now see why it is important that we don’t just talk about love but actually practice it.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Matthew 7:24-27

In the above story, Jesus points out that people who only talk theoretically about their accomplishments will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be part of God’s Kingdom, only if we hear God’s Word and do them. Jesus likened such people to a wise man who built his house on the rock. When rain came and floods arose, the wise man’s house was not destroyed. But Jesus said that the man who only hears God’s Word and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. When rain came, the foolish man’s house was destroyed.

Similarly, we need to obey and do the will of the Father in order to ensure that we can withstand the winds and waves of troubles that come our way. The world around us is corrupt and is dying. In the midst of such decay and death let our lives, marriages, churches and even nations become strong edifices of practical love that is based on God’s Word.

Copyright © 2014 Victory Christian Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thanks – Rev. Sam Chelladurai

Love: the Foundation for Victorious Christian Living (VOL 22)

LOVE

THE FOUNDATION FOR VICTORIOUS LIVING

WALKING IN LOVE

 

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.  For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.  Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:10-15

 

Last week, we studied that the proof of salvation is the ability to love our brethren. Let us continue to study about it.

BEING AND DOING

John in this epistle writes about how we must model Jesus Christ in leading our lives as children of God. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience and brotherly love.

Or in other words John is saying that if a person practices righteousness (obedience) and brotherly love, then he or she can be identified as a child of God. The corollary to that truth is that a born-again child of God will exhibit brotherly love because he has the seed of His Heavenly Father in him.

 

Now that doesn’t mean that a believer will never sin. In all likelihood he might sin, but he will not remain in it. He would be convicted and repent of his sins.

So, going back to our main point, a believer will demonstrate brotherly love. That’s because the life and nature of a person cannot be hidden for a long time. Jesus said in Mathew 7:16-19 that, ‘You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’. Our ‘being’ comes first, then comes our ‘doing’. At salvation, we become somebody new. Out of those new selves,flowgood and righteous deeds. 1 John 2:29 attests it and says, ‘If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him’.

Sadly, while living in this difficult world we often forget our new identities and heritage. The pressures of this world will slowly erode us if we are not careful. It’s like having to remind our children, however good they are, to behave in a manner well fitting to the family’s reputation. It’s easy to get sucked into peer pressures and live in a manner that is completely alien to our new nature. So, let us live in such a way that our deeds reflect our new and beautiful selves.

PROOF OF THE NEW NATURE

Let’s move on to learn what the characteristics of this nature as a Christian are:-

1. A Christian has passed from death to life.
2. A Christian is born of God.
3. A Christian has eternal life abiding in him.

In order to answer any doubt, let us prove these characteristics.

1. UNLIKE THE WORLD

As born-again Christians, we have eternal life. We have now become radically different and are unlike the world.

Let’s see what ‘being of the world’ looks like. 1 John 3:12 says that, ‘not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.’ Cain was a worldly person who had a murderous spirit. When God cursed the serpent in Genesis 3:15, He said, ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head,and you shall bruise His heel.”So in Genesis 4, when Adam and Eve had a son they assumed he would be the Messiah who would destroy Satan. Little did they know that their son Cain was sinful and wicked. He had a murderous spirit in him. Cain represents the sinful and worldly nature of a person.

For better understanding, here are some general and particular characteristics of a worldly person.

General characteristics of a worldly person

1. He is spiritually dead.
2. He is not of God but of the wicked one.
3. He does not have eternal life abiding in him or her.

Particular characteristics of a worldly person

1. He is self-centered, self-willed and selfish

 

He believes that everything must revolve around them according to their liking. This rule of self originated a long time ago in one of God’s angels – Lucifer aka Satan. Lucifer was a gifted angel created to worship and glorify God. But he could not stomach the idea of giving honor to God. Jealousy, pride, hatred and wickedness birthed in his heart. He gathered a third of the angels and led a revolt against God. But God cast all of them into hell.

 

1. He is a hater

 

This attitude of hatred also originated in Lucifer. He absolutely hates God and all good things. Cain had this attitude. That’s why he killed his brother Abel. Abel didn’t do anything to Cain that prompted him to murder him. But Cain’s selfish ego was hurt because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected his. Romans 8:7 says, ‘Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be’. Cain’s carnal, worldly and wicked mind hated God, and that led him to murder his innocent brother.

 

I recently heard a discussion on a television program about same sex marriage. When one man said that God intended marriage to be between a man and a woman, the other person on the program snapped, ‘Who is God to tell me what I should do’? That’s sadly what a worldly mind looks like.

 

Let’s not forget that not too long ago we were in a similar boat. Titus 3:3 says, ‘For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another’. Hateful and hating one another! What a horrible way to lead a life! That’s why when we become a Christian, we are so far removed from all these vices. We become new people who are unlike anything that the world considers normal.

 

2. HATED BY THE WORLD

 

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

1 John 3:13

 

Throughout the Bible, we see people hating the prophets of God. In fact the ultimate proof of being hated was Jesus Christ. The Son of God came down as a man, lived among the Jews, healed the sick, performed wonderful miracles, forgave sinners and brought light to many dark lives. Yet the people cried for His crucifixion and instead sought the release of a criminal named Barabbas. They hated Jesus because He was perfect, holy and good. The worldly nature in them could not identify with them anymore.

 

Once, a lady accused me of stealing her child! Apparently at one point they used to hang out as a family together. But since the time her son became a believer in Jesus Christ, he began to set aside Sundays to go to Church. Not only that, he also started claiming to be the child of Jesus. She couldn’t accept the fact that he was not her son anymore. She felt I had encouraged him to become this new person. I explained to her that Jesus does not steal anybody. He would take her son and make him into be a wonderful man.

Matthew 10:34-36 says, ‘Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ Luke 14:26 says, ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple’.

In order to avoid misinterpretation and confusion, let me explain one truth about this verse. When Jesus said that a believer must hate his family, He meant that a believer must have Jesus as his number one priority in life. When we do that, the world will hate us because we are not like them anymore.

3. LOVE THE BRETHREN

 

I John 3:14 says, ‘We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brotherabides in death’. It’s easy and natural for us to love our immediate family members. But now that we are in God’s family we must love all its members too. We may be different in caste, language, ethnicity, color and race but because we are all of the same family of God, we are able to love one another.

Many years ago, I was the pastor of a church in America where all the members were white Americans. I was the only ‘non-American’. The people of the town wondered about it. Well, let me tell you how we were able to do it. We were all members of the same family of God, irrespective of our color and creed.

Copyright © 2014 Victory Christian Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thanks – Rev. Sam Chelladurai

Love: the Foundation for Victorious Christian Living Sermon – 22 Nov 2015 (Vol 21)

LOVE

THE FOUNDATION OF VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING

WALKING IN LOVE

 

Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.  Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:7-11

BROTHERLY LOVE

Last week, we began to look at a new dimension of God’s love. Let’s continue to study more about it today.

In the above passage John is setting up a strong case regarding our new birth. He says that the proof of a person’s Salvation is his or her ability to keep God’s commandments. Then he points out that there is one commandment in particular that we must keep – that of brotherly love. The love among followers of Jesus is known as brotherly love.

Yes! Not a feeling or experience but brotherly love.

Now, before going any further, I’d like to briefly explain the characteristics of this commandment of loving one another.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BROTHERLY LOVE

1. OLD AND NEW COMMANDMENT

Notice how John refers to the commandment of loving one another as being both old and new. As much as it sounds like a strange thing to say, John was not the first person to make such a statement. Jesus in John 13:34 said, ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another’. Clearly, this was not a new commandment. The Old Testament in Leviticus 19:18 stated the commandment for the first time when God said, ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord’.

So what did Jesus and His disciple John mean by saying that ‘loving one another’ was a new commandment if it actually was a very old one?

Here’s what it means.

When the commandment was given in the Old Testament, nobody had the power to live and fulfill it perfectly. But when Jesus died on the Cross, forgave us our sins and gave us the gift of a new life, He paved the way for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and empower us to fulfill God’s commandments.

So, essentially, this old commandment of brotherly love was given to a new kind of people (born again Christians) who would be empowered to fulfill it with the help of the Holy Spirit.

2. TRUE IN GOD AND IN US

Let’s go back to 1 John 2:8. It says, ‘a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining’.

What does John mean by the statement that this commandment is true in Him and in you?

It’s true in Jesus because as a man He lived a perfect, sinless life and fulfilled all of God’s commandments. It’s true in us because He has made a way for us, filled us with His Holy Spirit and has enabled us to live like Jesus in fulfilling all the commandments.

3. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORLD AND US

We need to only look at the world around us to see the absence of this love. Even as the world makes sweeping strides of progress and development in technology and inventions, the murderous spirit of Cain is still lurking around. Both the World Wars of the 20^th century are iconic representations of the pure evil in mankind. In fact, we don’t have to look farther than our homes and offices to spot the monstrous Hitlers raising heads every now and then. Over and over again it has thus been proved that the world is completely unable to love one another. But in this same world, God now has a wonderful set of people or ‘ecclesia or church or called-out-people’ whose distinguishing feature is the ability to love each other like Jesus commanded.

Having explained the characteristics of the brotherly love commandment, let us now look at its implications in our lives.

IMPLICATIONS OF BROTHERLY LOVE

1. DARKNESS TO LIGHT

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love

Colossians 1:13

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12

He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:9, 11

 

Christ has brought about a new order of people in this world. A people who had been in darkness have now been delivered to light. Not only are they in light, but their blindness has been healed as well. Earlier they were in darkness and were blind, but now their eyes have been opened and have been brought into precious light. They can now see perfectly.

 

2. EMPOWERED TO LOVE

 

John minces no words in saying that a follower of Jesus will be able to love his brethren. Period! In other words, if we don’t love our brothers we are still in darkness, but if we do love our brothers then we live in light even though we may have many other defects.

 

3. STARK DIFFERENCES

Let us make a quick comparison between the unbeliever and the believer in light of the brotherly love commandment.

Unbeliever

1. In darkness

Titus 3:3 lists an unbeliever’s features. It says, ‘For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.’ – foolishness, disobedience, slave of various lusts and pleasures, living in malice, envious and hateful. Often in the world, these traits are masked by a superficial charm. As we get deeper into understanding the person we recognize his or her follies. Here’s a sample. Suppose two people are meeting after a long time. They would ‘oooh’ and ‘ah’ over each other and gush about how they had missed each other etc. After promising to meet up soon they part ways. Then listen to their private thoughts or comments. Many a time, it will be completely contrary to their public display of affection. The worldly unbeliever calls this pretense and performance a life skill but the Bible calls it a masked evil.

1. Lost

 

The unbeliever does not know where he is going. The darkness controls him. His happiness and life are governed by it.

 

1. Blind

The unbeliever is blinded completely. He has no understanding or insight about life, man or sin. He has no knowledge that he has to give an account for his life to the Eternal Judge one day.

1. Stumbling block

A stumbling block is when a person is unloving and causes trouble wherever he goes. They assume insult and offenses wherever they go and annoy everybody around them.

Believer

A believer is the opposite.

1. In light

He walks and lives in light. Because he lives in light, he knows every step he takes. He does not trip and stumble.

1. Purposeful

He is governed by a Godly purpose in life and is not influenced by circumstances. Every day that he lives is meaningful. One day he will surely reach his destiny.

1. His eyes are open

His eyes are open to who he is. He knows that he was once a sinner, who has now been saved. He now sees the truth. He realizes that Jesus is the solution to all his problems.

1. Helps others

He doesn’t stumble or cause anyone to either. Wherever he goes there will be peace and serenity. He will bring out the best in people. Those around him will see God is in him. Instead of criticizing or gossiping, he will pray for sinners and be compassionate towards them. He knows that he was once like that – an unbeliever – and that because of Jesus he has been saved. So he will reach out in brotherly love to those who live in darkness.

God has put us to shine the light into this world of darkness. In John 17, Jesus prayed that we should not be taken from this world, but that we should live in this world and shine the light of Jesus wherever we go – to be a Godly influence by our words, deeds and our mere presence.

Copyright © 2014 Victory Christian Foundation. All rights reserved.

Thanks – Rev. Sam Chelladurai

 

Love: The foundation for Victorious Christian Living – Walking In Love – Vol 20

LOVE

THE FOUNDATION FOR VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING

WALKING IN LOVE

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9-11

Last week, we looked at the Ultimate proof of God’s love – the love that was displayed on the Cross! Today, we are stepping into another dimension of God’s love.

Let’s title it as ‘Walking in love’.

WALKING IN LOVE

Walking in love implies loving one another.

Verses 9 and 10 of the above passage set the context well. Firstly, John describes the love of God that He died on the Cross for us. Then he moves forward and says that if God so loved us, then we also must love one another.

TWO BASIC PRINCIPLES

Before proceeding deeper into analyzing this topic, let us study two ground realities related to it.

1. The Christian faith is not just a philosophy or a truth for some meditation. It’s not a mystical faith where one withdraws from real life and spends time in a secluded place trying to understand God. Even Jesus didn’t do that. He lived out His life in the midst of society. God intends for us to lead our lives in the real world with all its quirks and hang-ups.

 

2. The Christian faith teaches holiness and sanctification as part of living out our lives. Unlike many popular theories, holiness is not something that we receive by having a couple of isolated experiences or by attending a revival retreat. It blossoms in us as we appropriate the sacrificial love of God and let it influence every aspect of our life, even that of loving others. Or in other words – holiness is not a onetime experience; it is the outworking of the truth that we claim to believe.

THE LOGIC OF HOLINESS AND WALKING IN LOVE

John in the passage above is logically stating that because God has so loved us we are indebted to loving one another. It naturally therefore implies a responsibility and obligation.

Let me explain the significance of this logic with another Scripture passage.

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Corinth was a city known for sexual immorality. So when many of the Corinthians became Christians some aspects of their past life reared head every now and then. So Paul teaches them not to engage in sexual immorality. He does it in the most fantastic way. He reasons with them and explains logically why they shouldn’t do it. Here’s how he does that. Firstly, He draws a virtual picture of a temple. Everybody knew that a temple is a holy place where God was present. People revered and respected it. Then he says that at Salvation, God (the Holy Spirit) dwells in every believer’s life. So, his body is the new temple. If the body is the temple, then it must not be used for sexual or any other immoralities.

Paul tells the Corinthians that they are not their own. They were purchased at a great price from sin and Satan by Jesus the Savior. Jesus had set them free. How grateful must they be! That gratitude should birth in them a desire to please God in everything they did.

What a logical reasoning! Everything that we do should flow out of our immeasurable gratitude to God’s love.

THREE FOLD PLAN TO LOVING OTHERS

Let’s try to extend the above logic to loving others who often are unlovable or are annoying.

1. Look inwardly

 

Often when somebody bugs us, we react instantly with anger and hatred. Foul language, name-calling and hurting words fly across the room. It’s a pitiful sight to see ‘supposedly’ mature 50-year olds behaving like 5^th graders. But the Bible says that when we are irritated and feel like lashing out, step back. Think for a moment what it meant to have felt ‘God’s love on us’. Let’s take our eyes off our enemy and fix them on God.

 

Let us remember the terrible things we have done in the past. Many a time, our sins are a result of our self – Self-will, Self-trust, Self-centeredness, Self-assertion, Self-conceit, Self-indulgence, Self-pleasing, Self-seeking, Self-pity, Self-sensitiveness, Self-consciousness, Self-defense, Self-sufficiency, Self-righteousness and Self-glory. Every problem in life arises out of this list of self. Let us remember how God wiped them all away by His forgiveness towards us. Then we will be able to pour out our forgiveness to our enemy.

 

2. Look outwardly

 

Next, let us look at the person and distinguish him from his actions. Often we see only the person’s flaws and mistakes, and we don’t objectively look at the man. The Gospel enables us to look at them for who they are – a victim of sin and self.

For e.g.- Imagine a beloved family member who has a skin condition, say sores. He would look ugly and stink. But because he is a family member and we love him, we would differentiate him from his skin condition. We would do everything possible to find the best treatment for him. We are able to recognize that it’s a sickness that’s causing him to look like that. We do not discard or hate the person, because he has a skin condition. We continue to love the person, while trying to help him get rid of the skin problem.

 

In a similar manner, we must look at our enemy who is rude and nasty to us. Let us realize that he is a victim of sin and Satan. Let us be compassionate towards him and pray for him. Let us stop condemning him, and begin to love him. After all, God looked down and saw our sins. He hated the sin in us but loved us. Compassion and love for us overflowed. He sent His Son to save and heal us.

 

3. Joint heirs

 

Soon we will recognize that we are joint heirs. We will go to Heaven and live there with our fellow believer who annoys us. We will share in the blessings of Redemption together. This truth will enable us to cast away our enmity and show love.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude with a story that Jesus once shared. A certain king was settling his accounts. He found out that there was one man who owed him 10,000 talents. The king summoned him and threatened to lock him and his family up if he didn’t pay the dues. The man begged the king to give him some more time to pay up. The king was filled with compassion and so he forgave him his debt. The man walked out and saw another man who owed him 100 talents. He asked his debtor to pay up immediately or be imprisoned. The second man begged him to give him some time to pay his dues. The first man hardheartedly imprisoned his debtor. Now, the onlookers reported this incident to the king. The king was enraged. He got the man and his family put in prison. Jesus concluded his story with the following verses in Matthew 18:32-35 where he said, ‘Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

In the story the first man owed the king 400,000 times more than what the second man owed him! Jesus was trying to impress on his audience how big a debt we owe to God. We could never ever repay God for His love towards us. It’s that huge! Then how can we ever hold something against another person who holds something very trivial against us? Therefore John says – Extend love because we have received an immeasurable portion of God’s love.

The logic of love – We have received immeasurable love from God. The least we can do is extend a small portion of that love to others.

 

Copyright © 2014 Victory Christian Foundation. All rights reserved.

THE FOUNDATION FOR VICTORIOUS LIVING

We have been learning about the different revelations of God’s love. Last week, we learnt about the dimensions of God’s love. Today, let’s study the Word to understand yet another aspect of this love of God.

Right from the first page of the Bible we see this love etched deep. The first clue is at the Creation story. God created a special garden stocked with every imaginable and beautiful thing that man would ever need! Interestingly, this love didn’t run out when man disobeyed and sinned against God. It has patiently and graciously been flowing ever since that fateful day!

We need to only look around us to see proof of that unfailing love. The shining sun, the changing seasons and rhythmic patterns of sowing and reaping – they all point to a God who continues to love us.

In the midst of all this, God chose a man named Abraham from a community of people who knew nothing about Him. God blessed him and his descendants abundantly. Then, many centuries later, we see the ultimate proof of God’s love for mankind – Jesus Christ! He lived, died and rose again displaying the love of the Father God!

THE ULTIMATE PROOF

Let’s try to refresh our understanding of this love once again.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26

If we notice carefully, we will find the word righteousness appears constantly.

What is righteousness?

It means standing before God without any guilt or condemnation. Well, by that simple definition alone, all of mankind will be eliminated at one blow. We are all fallen sinners.

Yes!

Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

Now, if we think that the Law of Moses gives us any standing, we are mistaken. Because by giving the law, God proved that we could not keep or obey it!

So, the only way we have any semblance of standing is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, through the living sacrifice of the Beloved Son of God.

DARKNESS TO LIGHT

That raises another interesting point. How does God actually take an ungodly sinner and justify him? Or how is this righteousness reconciled to God’s standards? Essentially, there are three probable scenarios. Let’s examine them one by one.

1. JUSTICE BUT NO MERCY

We know that God is not only a God of love, but also of justice and righteousness. Therefore, if only His standard of justice was employed with no touch of mercy then we would all die!

2. MERCY BUT NO JUSTICE

If there was no justice then there would be no laws at all. Everybody would do whatever they wanted to. Despite having all kinds of laws even today we have so many problems. So imagine having no laws at all!

3. JUSTICE AND MERCY

God is both righteous (just) and loving (merciful). He cannot be simply merciful and forgive us without punishing us for our sins. At the same time He cannot be just and punish us without killing us. Even though it does look like a Catch 22 situation, it is the best solution ever!

Here’s how.

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Psalm 85:10

By letting Jesus Christ becoming our substitute on the Cross.

This meant the following:-

1. PHYSICAL SUFFERING

 

Jesus was beaten from head to toe. The harsh whips tore apart His body. He was nailed and pierced! Excruciating pain!

 

2. EMOTIONAL SUFFERING

 

Sin entails guilt, shame, disappointment, hurt, discouragement, regret and conviction. Jesus had to bear all of this for all of mankind! What’s worse? He was abandoned by His closest friends on earth. Above all, His Father turned His face away.

 

3. WRATH OF GOD

 

Waves of hatred and fury of God was poured out like a dam. All of His dislike for man’s sin was unfurled on Jesus.

If I were to wrap it in a nutshell, here’s how I would put it.

God delivered justice by heaping the punishment for our sins on the sinless Son of God. Righteousness and Peace kissed each other.

God extended mercy toward us by pouring out His wrath and curse for our sins on the sinless Son of God. Mercy and Truth met together.

BUT WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?

Now, we may wonder, ‘Why did Jesus die?’

Here’s the answer.

1. KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH

 

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:4

 

Jesus death and resurrection enabled all of mankind to come to the knowledge of God.

 

2. GOD’S GLORY

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:5-6

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

God let Jesus live, die and rise again so that the whole world would look at this wonderful and loving Father and praise Him.

 

3. SEATED WITH JESUS

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus

Ephesians 2:5-6

 

Not only did Jesus’ death and resurrection bless us with salvation but it also gave us a place of authority and glory in Christ Jesus. When Jesus became our substitute on the Cross, He displayed the kindness of God towards us. Through us, God wants to display His love for this lost world. It’s like displaying our trophies. The trophies are testimonies of our achievements and credentials. The marked difference in our lives is the trophy of our credentials through the love of Jesus.

WHY THE CROSS?

Often the question crosses many a mind. Why the Cross? Why not some other form of death, say like a sickness?

In order to answer that question we need to look to the past. The Old Testament demanded that a blemishless and pure animal must be sacrificed for the sins of man. Jesus Christ was the purest among men! Therefore, He had to be sacrificed.

Also by Jesus’ death on the Cross, God was publicly declaring that He abhorred sin. In fact in Deuteronomy 21:22, 23 God instructed the Israelites as to what must be done with a sinner. He said, ‘if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance’. Therefore, when Jesus was crucified on the Cross He carried our curse. Hence, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body on the same day and buried Him. Paul refers to this in Galatians 3:13 when he says, ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree’.

CONCLUSION

So, you see, God was not just trying to display the horror of sin at the Cross but was also displaying His grace, mercy and love. It is this love that gives meaning to our lives. Not just for now. But for all ages!

THE FOUNDATION OF VICTORIOUS LIVING

THE FOUNDATION OF VICTORIOUS LIVING

 

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height –  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Paul writes some powerful prayers throughout the book of Ephesians. I like to call them the New Testament prayers. It means that we stand under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ and pray with confidence to our Savior.

The prayer that we read in the above passage is one of those. Paul writes about the dimensions of God’s love. Last week, we learned about the inseparable love of God. Today, let’s analyze another aspect.

DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S LOVE

Paul’s description of God’s love in the above passage indicates its vastness and inscrutability. It’s like an ocean that cannot be contained in our minds that are like tiny pots.

Nevertheless let’s attempt to decipher it.

1. BREADTH

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation

And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands

Revelations 5:9-11

 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

Revelations 7:9-10

 

1. L. Osborne once preached about how to give an altar call. He said that the preacher or pastor must stretch out his arms and invite everybody who is willing to follow to Jesus to the front.

Jesus’ love is an arms-stretched-wide-open and all-inclusive one.

In the above passage, John saw in his vision people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. That’s the breadth and width of God’s love. It is so inclusive that it reaches out to gather people from every corner of the world.

Many tribes have their own gods. But the Christian faith uniquely testifies that there is one God for every tribe, language, nation and people in this world. It means that we must stop our clannish and exclusive attitude in the Church. Or else we will risk becoming like the Jews and Gentiles of the early Church. The Jews particularly found worshipping the same God in the same place pretty difficult. Somehow the Jews assumed that Yahweh was their prerogative and they alone were His beloved children. They couldn’t fathom that God would extend His love to the Gentiles. But God wanted His love for Israel to be a witness to the world around. We see in Isaiah 60:1 God telling the Jews, ‘Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you’. Somehow they lost sight of that great commission!

Similarly, many of us Christians also have a selfish tendency. We live in a religious box assuming that we are the only bride of Christ. But the reality is that God is preparing a large community of people to be His bride. If we faithfully preach the Gospel, God will make the harvest grow in plenty. In fact we will be so surprised to see hosts of believers in Heaven from every far-flung place of this world.

So let’s rid ourselves of our Christian elitist supremacies. Let us remember that there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Like Paul reminds us, Christ has broken down the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles. Let us reflect on that profound truth and let our churches be places of children of God different in color, creed and size but united by the love of Jesus. Let us live out a multi racial, multi cultural, multi linguistic and multi ethnic community of Jesus followers on earth. After all, the song of our hearts is the same – of the love of our Redeemer!

2. LENGTH

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

Length implies the endless character of God’s love.

ETERNITY PAST

God’s love originated way back before anything was created in this world. The Trinity made the Covenant of Redemption amongst themselves. God the Father planned it. He knew that man would sin and need a Savior. So He prepared His Son Jesus Christ to come to this world as the Savior. The Son would die on the Cross and redeem mankind. The Holy Spirit was to win people to Christ when the Gospel was preached.

This assures us that God’s love for us will never change. Nothing we do or do not do can change God’s love for us. The story of the Prodigal Son testifies this love. The wayward younger son of a Father took his share and left the house. But when he was completely spent and ruined, he crept back to his father hoping to be taken back at least as a servant. But the Father was awaiting his return. He not only welcomed him back as his son but also held a feast in his son’s honor. The Father loved him before he left home, while he was away and even after he returned home. His love hadn’t changed at all. Our Heavenly Father loves us in the same way. Jesus came not because God suddenly decided to shower love on us, but because He always loved us.

ETERNITY FUTURE

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25

In the olden times, the High Priest went into the Temple to offer sacrifices once a year. But today Jesus is our High Priest. He is interceding for us constantly. He will continue to shower us with that love until the end of ages.

3. DEPTH

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

Despite being equal with God, Jesus came down to the earth as a tiny and helpless baby. He lived as an ordinary person, was arrested by human authorities, condemned to death, stripped, beaten and nailed on the Cross like a common criminal. That’s the depth that Jesus went to, to demonstrate His love for us.

And who were we that He went to such extents?

As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;  “The poison of asps is under their lips”;  “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.”

 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:10-18

 

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

 

We were the scum of the earth. Totally, unlovable, sinful people who didn’t deserve His love. It is for people like us that Jesus went to such depths of pain and suffering!

4. HEIGHT

Jesus’ death and resurrection did not just guarantee forgiveness of our sins. But it lifted us to Heavenly heights. Today we are meant to be above and not beneath. We are now co-heirs with Jesus having the Holy Spirit in us. We are made one with Jesus, are seated with Him in Heavenly places and are members of His body.

CONCLUSION

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish

Ephesians 5:26, 27

This loving God is constantly working on us even after our Salvation. He is preparing us to be a spotless and blemishless Church for God’s glory. As we continue to lead our lives in obedience to this awesome God, let us join with the songwriter and sing a beautiful melody of our God’s love for us.

Wide, wide as the ocean, high as the heaven above; Deep, deep as the deepest sea is my Savior’s love. I, though so unworthy, still am a child of His care; For His Word teaches me that His love reaches me everywhere.

LOVE: THE FOUNDATION FOR VICTORIOUS LIVING

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Romans 8:35-39

 

I recently read a real-life account of a blind man who climbed the Mount Everest! People with all their faculties intact would find this trek daunting. But here was a man who has absolutely no clue what lay before him accomplish a herculean feat! If you aren’t impressed yet, here’s another fact. It was his seventh climbing of such sorts!

Talk of grit and determination!

Incidentally, one of the most important equipment in mountain climbing is the rope. It is tied around the waist of all the braveheart climbers to keep them secure and connected to each other.

God’s love is like that rope; connecting and securing us to Him.

We had been learning about the love of God for many weeks. The last time we studied this topic, we explored a beautiful revelation of His love. Today, let’s look at the love of God that is unbreakable and inseparable.

LOVE LIKE A ROPE

In many ways, aren’t we all like the blind man? We don’t know where our next step is going to lead us to or what’s coming our way in the future. Yet, we have a journey to make and a destiny to arrive at. We trudge on ahead braving all the odds of life with the love of God fastened around us neatly. It holds firm and together, tight and snug. We can be certain that we won’t trip and fall because it’s not us holding on to God’s love, but God’s love that is holding on to us.

Paul, in the book of Romans, states that nothing can ever separate us from this love of Christ. As lovely as it sounds, it seems like a hard thing to understand. Let’s take a quick look at understanding why that is so.

1. DISENCHANTMENT WITH WORLDLY EXPERIENCE OF LOVE

Look around us. We see all kinds and forms of love – love between spouses, parents and children, friends. Many a time, these love relationships disappoint and disenchant us. That’s why when Jesus came and demonstrated Godly love, people couldn’t grasp it. The Greeks who boasted of different words to express different kinds of love scrambled to find a new word to express Godly love.

2. DISENCHANTMENT WITH OUR SINFULNESS

No one better than us knows how sinful we are! In fact, even we wouldn’t love the sinfulness in us, let alone somebody else. Armed with that certainty we find it difficult to believe that the Holy and Perfect God of this universe could love us!

3. WORLDLY SUFFERING

Many people wonder if God really loved them, then why they are suffering so many problems. The first century church to whom Paul wrote the letter of Romans was no stranger to suffering. They were facing intense persecution. Tribulation, distress, famine, nakedness and sword were not just metaphors in their lives. Those were their everyday realities. Now, we must understand that God did not create evil. He wanted us to have a wonderful life. The problems and suffering that we are facing today has been brought on by man’s rebellion! Paul reminds the early Church that despite all their sufferings they could be assured that God loved them and that nothing could ever separate them from that love!

WHAT COULD SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD?

Paul doesn’t just say that nothing can separate us from the love of God. He goes on to detail the things that could possibly arise in our minds as being able to separate us from God’s love. After that, he proclaims ‘Not these or anything else at all can ever come between us and God’s love for us’.

Let’s quickly run through the list Paul addresses. These could be some of our fears today.

1. DEATH AND LIFE

Death is an unwelcome guest. It separates people from their loved ones. The thought that we cannot see our beloved person anymore on earth brings grief and sorrow. So Paul says in other words that death may separate us from our family and possessions but it cannot keep us away from God’s love. The Bible says that when we are absent from this body we are present with God. It does not separate us from God at all. In fact, it takes us right into His presence. So we don’t have to fear death. Jesus promises that He will raise us back to life. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, ‘But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope’. We have reason for hope – hope of an eternal, forever life with Jesus.

Now, if death is painful then life is not too far either. Many of our lives are not immune to difficulties and calamities. ‘Where is God when life hurts’ often seems to be a fitting cry of the heart? But the life of a follower of Jesus experiences tender love even in the midst of life’s pains.

Let me tell you the story of John Chrysostom. He was a celebrated preacher and known as the ‘man with the golden mouth’. Some of his sermons were so convicting that his audience would squirm in their seats uncomfortably. Well, it so happened that one day the Emperor of the nation felt that Chrysostom was talking about his sinful life. Fuming, the Emperor had him arrested and brought before him for trial.

He glared at Chrysostom and told him that he would be banished if he didn’t stop preaching. Chrysostom simply replied, ‘Banishing means sending me to a place where there is nothing. But that won’t be true in my case. Because wherever I go, my Heavenly Father will be there. I am not afraid of being banished’.

The Emperor retorted, ‘Then I will kill you’. Chrysostom calmly said, ‘My life is hidden with Christ and is safe in his hands. I am not afraid of death’.

The Emperor countered, ‘I will take away all your material possessions’. Chrysostom replied, ‘The Bible says that where your heart is there our possessions will be. I have given my heart to Jesus. I am not afraid of possessing nothing’.

Finally, the Emperor said, ‘Fine, then I will drive you away from all men to a place where you will have no friends’. Chrysostom said, ‘Sure, you might be able to separate me from all my friends, except for one friend – Jesus Christ. He will be with me no matter where I go’.

Isn’t that incredible? No threat could separate him from God’s love. And therefore, nothing could stop him from doing his God-ordained duty.

Another similarly exciting story is Paul’s. 2 Corinthians 11:23-26 says, ‘Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren’.

Wow!

Clearly, Paul knew what TROUBLE meant – in life and in his imminent death. Having gone through and knowing that he would probably die soon for his faith in Jesus, He says, ‘NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD’.

2. ANGELS AND PRINCIPALITIES

There are good and bad angels. The bad angels or the devil’s army are referred to as the principalities in Romans 5. But the good news is that Jesus won against the devil on the Cross of Calvary. So we can engage in warfare against the demonic hosts. The devil may attempt to make us feel guilty. But Paul says that nobody can condemn us because Jesus died for us, rose again for us, sits at the right hand of God for us and intercedes for us. If God is for us the nothing, not even the devil, can be against us!

3. THINGS PRESENT AND THINGS TO COME

Neither the cares of today nor the concerns of tomorrow can separate us from the love of Christ. We don’t have to worry about a single thing in life as ever being able to make God stop loving us.

4. HEIGHT AND DEPTH

Climb up to heaven or dig a hole deep in to the earth, but even then nothing will be able to keep us from God’s love.

5. POWERS AND AUTHORITIES

Powers mean mighty deeds or people in authority. So when a man with authority misuses his power or becomes totalitarian, he can wreck havoc in the lives of the citizens. Paul says that even the darkest powers of this world cannot separate us from God’s love. We can rejoice in that truth.

6. ANY CREATED THING

Finally, Paul says that even if there is anything that he missed out in listing or that we haven’t thought of so far, we can be certain that even that thing cannot separate us from God’s love.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Paul signs off by reassuring us that God’s love is not only unbreakable, but is also triumphant. He says we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who loved us. Don’t quit or give up yet. If we are getting beaten up, remember it is only a phase. Keep standing and stay put. The victory will definitely be ours. God’s love guarantees it!

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

Last week, we started learning how to pray. Let’s continue to learn how to do it.

We learned that in order to meaningfully pray, we must focus on the Word and meditate on it. John 15:7 says that ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you’. Note the operative words – word, abide and answer to prayer. God wants us to meditate on His Word and let it sink deep inside our hearts. As we do that, we will begin to enjoy a beautiful prayer time with God.

Sadly though, Christendom sometimes makes us feel that our prayer life is inadequate. Some people claim that when they prayed the angel of the Lord came down and fellowshipped with them! Some others break out into passionate and spontaneous prayers and that leaves us feeling silly to be just ‘meditating on the Word and praying’. But it is a beautiful way to pray.

By no means am I saying that we should use this style of praying at our family devotions or before meals. This method of prayer is the best one for our private, individual prayer relationship with God.

Let me introduce you to some Bible personalities who have modeled this method for us.

1. DANIEL

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Daniel 9:2,3

Today we have 66 books bound together as the Bible. But in the olden days, these books were maintained individually in scrolls. Daniel took the scrolls and pored over them. He and his fellow countrymen (Israelites) were in exile under the Babylonian kingdom. The Israelites were longing to return to their homeland. As Daniel reads the book of Jeremiah, he learns that the exile would last 70 years and at the end of it, when they sought God, He would hear them and take them back home. Strengthened by this knowledge, Daniel begins to pray.

I am sure you will see that Daniel’s prayer is a beautiful testimony of meditating on God’s Word, gleaning God’s truth from it, seeing God’s amazing character and being strengthened by it.

2. EZRA

 

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.  Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.  So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.

Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

Nehemiah 8:2, 3, 5-8, 13, 18

 

Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one–fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God

Nehemiah 9:2-3

 

Prophet Ezra read from the Scriptures and all the Israelites paid rapt attention. As God’s Word began to come alive in their hearts powerfully, the Israelites stood up and confessed their sins and worshipped the Lord their God.

 

For almost three hours continuously!

 

Then Nehemiah steps up and leads the community in prayer. What an incredible experience is this!

3. THE EARLY CHURCH

 

And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?

The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 4:23-31

Peter and John had done someone a mighty big favor – healed a lame man in Jesus’ name; a miracle you may call it. Instead of being wowed by God’s awesomeness, the authorities took them aside and sternly reprimanded them for using Jesus’ name!!

Peter and John returned to their friends and reported all that had happened. Trembling, they turn to God. They begin their prayer by worshiping Yahweh with some of King David’s Psalms. (Psalm 146:6 and Psalm 2:1). Clearly they had been spending time meditating on God’s Word. Their prayer then naturally flows into an earnest request for boldness. Guess what? God answered their trusting heart and blesses them with supernatural courage and boldness.

4. JESUS

 

Jesus Christ demonstrated it throughout His earthly life. At many instances, we see Him quoting God’s Word. For e.g – when tempted by the devil in the wilderness Jesus responded with God’s Word. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus cried out to His Father, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ That was from Psalm 22:1. Also, His final words ‘Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” was a reference from Psalm 31:5. In all these instances we see how the Word of God was deeply embedded in Jesus’ heart. As a result of it, He was able to see God in every situation and speak to His Father according to His Will.

From all of the above, we see clearly how important meditation of the Word is in order for prayer. Ephesians 6:17 and 18 say, ‘ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit’. We see an obvious progression here – the Word of the Lord leading into prayer. There are many Christian giants who led powerful and meaningful lives, and it was only because they spent an equally powerful and meaningful time in prayer.

Before we conclude, let me show you one more example of meditating on the Word and praying.

Psalm 25:1-11

1. Verse 1 – ‘To You, OLord, I lift up my soul.’ Let us think about that. The Psalmist says that he lifts up his soul to God; not just his hands, eyes or voice. But everything within him. Shall we begin our prayer with those words? Let us lift up everything within us to our Lord.

 

2. Verse 2 – ‘O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.’ O my God. Focus on those words. Let us think about it. There is an element of possessiveness. Let us pray to this God of ours. He is not just a random being somewhere out there. He is our God and we can trust in Him!

 

3. Verse 2 and 3 – ‘Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause’. David is praying that God wouldn’t let him be Like David, we can boldly ask God for our request. For e.g- If we have a family problem or a work problem, we can pray that God would sort it out so that we are not humiliated.

 

4. Verse 3 – ‘Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause’. The verse says ‘no one’. It is referring to everyone who is waiting on God. As we meditate on God’s Word, we can look above our own situation and remember everybody else whom we know are waiting. Let us boldly ask God for help on their behalf too.
5. Verse 4 – ‘Show me Your ways, OLord; Teach me Your paths’. We need to know God’s ways and paths for breakthroughs in our lives. Our ways and paths are not foolproof. But God’s are. As we ask Him for that, God will grant us wisdom and discernment to handle our problems and worries.

 

6. Verse 5 – ‘Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For Youare the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day’. Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by other plans, ideas and options. So like David, let us pray that God would teach us to wait on Him all day long. That He alone would be our trust and hope.

 

7. Verses 6 and 7 – ‘Remember, OLord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.’ David had committed many sins in his life. So have we. Sometimes unnecessary guilt worms its way into our heart and wedges itself there awkwardly. Like David, let us ask God to forgive us of our sins and to be free from the clutches of guilt forever. Let that not distract or condemn us during our prayer time.

 

8. Verses 8 and 9 – ‘Good and uprightis the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.’ – Let us also humble ourselves and seek God’s help.

 

9. Verses 10 and 11 – ‘All the paths of theLord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great’. Humbling ourselves also involves seeking God’s pardon for our sins.

Wasn’t that an incredible time of meditating on God’s Word and praying? A random, rambling prayer can be meaningless. But a prayer soaked in mediation of God’s Word can be amazingly effective.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude this series on Prayer with the story of a famous man of God. George Muller lived in the 1800s. He loved God and wanted to spend time praying. Often he would wake up early and get on his knees. But he would struggle through his prayer time just to stay awake and focused. One day he changed his method. He whispered a short prayer. ‘Lord, help me to understand your Word’. He started reading God’s Word and meditating on it. Slowly that led him into a wonderful time of prayer. As he continued to delight in this renewed prayer life, one day he read James 1:27 which said, ‘Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.’ That verse jumped out at him. He gazed out of his window and the eyes of his heart opened. He saw many orphans wandering on the streets of Bristol. The Spirit of the Lord confirmed to his heart what he needed to do next. George Muller obeyed and started an orphanage. He experienced numerous miracles and was able to transform the lives of almost 10,000 orphan children by his ministry.

Stories like that are inspiring, aren’t they? These can be our stories too. As we meditate on God’s Word and spend time praying and hearing God, He can do amazing thing for His glory through our lives.

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

PRAYER RELEASES POWER Last week, we studied about the great wonder and glory of prayer. Now doesn’t that leave us wishing that we could experience this joyous prayer life too? So, today let us look at how we can begin praying. Before we start taking notes on the different body postures and terminologies to be used in prayer, let’s pause for a second. It doesn’t matter to God whether our eyes are tightly shut or our lips are constantly moving or we toss in a certain number of praises. You see, God cares about our heart posture. So we are going to learn about what is really involved in praying. 1.     FOCUS Here’s a familiar scenario. Husband watching television. Wife pouts and complains, ‘You don’t pay me any attention. The television gets more of your attention than me’. What would the husband do? He would turn off the television, set the remote aside, turn around, look at his wife and pay complete attention to her. (Ideally) Similarly when we are praying, we must look at God and give Him our complete attention. Looking denotes acknowledging. Sadly, many a time we start our prayer acknowledging God, but then begin to meander on a different tangent and then conclude with an emphatic, ‘In Jesus’ name – Amen’. Narration of our problems take up the chunk of our prayer time mingled with a few glances toward God. Instead, our prayer should be a time of focusing primarily on God and glimpsing occasionally at our problems. Let me hasten to add that it does not mean that God does not care about our problems or that they are trivial. But the beauty of the matter is that when we focus and see God’s glory and power, then our faith in God’s ability to handle our problems will arise. Trust will abound and our worries will fade. HOW DO WE FOCUS? That raises an important question? How can we focus on a God who is invisible? We can’t make eye contact with Him because He doesn’t have a body like ours. Now, some people attempt to get over this problem by closing their eyes and thinking of what they have heard about God. Some others gaze at the Nature and think of God. All these are helpful to an extent. In fact even the Psalmist acknowledges it in Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; Psalm 19:1-7 From verses 1 through 6, the Psalmist adores God by looking at the beautiful creation around Him. However, it doesn’t give a complete picture of the splendor of this God who loved and died for us at the Cross. Then what does? Verse 7 gives us the answer. The only thing that perfectly describes our glorious Lord is His Word. If we want to see God and focus on Him, then nothing can match the beauty of His Word. This is further evidenced in the following Psalms. The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. Psalm 12:6 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:160 2.     MEDITATE The next step in praying involves meditating on His Word. Often many of us read the Bible superficially. We read through a few passages quickly and mumble our prayer. Reading the Word has in some ways become just a customary thing to do before praying. But in order to make our prayer more meaningful, we must read the Word and meditate on it first. Meditating means deep focused thinking, confessing, applying and imagining what our lives would be like if the Word came true. It’s a directed targeted thinking and speaking with God based on His Word. Only then will the Word really take root in our hearts. Let us compare it with a few real life examples. Think of a heavy downpour of rain. Well, the abundant rain will be insufficient if the soil is not raked and prepared for absorbing the rain. Or imagine that you feel like eating Chicken 65 late at night. You have two options. Either, hurry to the store, buy the chicken, rush home and fry the chicken or buy the chicken in the morning, marinate it with spices and fry the chicken after a couple of hours. We can be absolutely certain that the second option would yield a much tastier Chicken 65! The Word of God is like a marinade. As it sinks deep into our hearts, we will be able to focus on God. Let’s look at how Kind David applied this in his life. I cried out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.  In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah  And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.  I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?  You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah  The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.   Psalm 77:1-20 In this Psalm, we see the Psalmist adoring and praising God. He remembers the glorious ways; God helped the Israelites in the past. Then at the end of verse 15, King David says, ‘Selah’. Selah means ‘Stop and think’. He does not run through the rest of the miracles. He pauses to dwell on God’s wondrous works. Often when we are troubled by problems, we find it quite difficult to dwell on God’s awesomeness. Well, we can definitely take a leaf from the Psalmist who says in Psalm 119:23 that, ‘Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes’. Even though powerful people plotted against him, he decided that he would meditate on God’s Word instead. Do you think we can meditate on God’s Word similarly? Well, actually it’s not too hard. Our human minds are constantly meditating on something all the time. Here is an example. When our child is unwell, his sickness will be running through our mind through the day no matter where we go. So instead of worrying about it, we could meditate on God’s promise that He can heal our child. Let us try to meditate on one Scripture passage together. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.  One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.  Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Psalm 27:1-8   The Lord – The Psalmist is talking about Yahweh. Jehovah. The same powerful God of the Old Testament who delivered the Israelites out of slavery and parted the Red Sea is alive even today. He is my light– Light was a precious commodity in the olden days. Often David and his men had to travel in the dark nights and they had no way of knowing who was hidden in the cloud of darkness. But David says, ‘It’s okay. I have the greatest source of light, God Himself. He will shine the light and show me where the enemy is hiding’. As we read this passage, we can take heart that this same God will shine light into the crevices of our lives. Salvation – The Lord also promises to be our Savior. We don’t have to fear anyone! Strength – We can rest in the truth that when our strength fails, the Lord would be our strength. Enemy army – King David faced many enemy armies. It was a normal thing in those days for nations to go to war. So he says that he would not fear, but be confident because the Lord was his light. Dwell in God’s temple – His heart desired to gaze upon God’s beauty and meditate on Him. He wanted to see how amazingly powerful and glorious His Yahweh was. Like David, if we can get a glimpse of that glory, then our enemies and problems will appear like Lilliput in front of Him. Hiding place –David knew that in times of distress and despair, God would hide him. Seeking the Lord – Our God wants us to seek His face. As we do that we will get a bigger revelation of God Himself. May I encourage all of us to meditate on God’s Word in a similar fashion, every day? HOW LONG SHOULD WE MEDITATE? Lastly, let me tell you one more thing. We must meditate until praise and thanksgiving comes automatically out of our mouth. In fact, that will be a testimony of the fact that we have seen God. When we get our first glimpse of the majestic Himalayas, wouldn’t our heart gush out in amazement? Only words of awe will tumble out of our mouths. Psalm 95:2 says, ‘Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms’. Praise is truly meaningful only when it comes out of our heart truthfully! So as we meditate on our God who created this world, holds it in place, loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins and is constantly worshipped by angels – how can praise not flow out of us!

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PRAYER RELEASES POWER: PRAYER RELEASES POWER – REV JEEVAN CHELLADURAI

PRAYER RELEASES POWER

Last week, we studied about how prayer releases power. Today, let’s look at the great wonder and glory of prayer.

WHAT IS PRAYER?

So, what do we think is prayer?

1. PRAYER IS DRAWING NEAR TO GOD

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8

Have you ever had the chance to see a celebrity up, close and personal? If you are anything like me, then you must have been ecstatic. Of course, the celebrity might not even have noticed your presence or the body-guards might have shooed you far away but you would have been floating around happily on the seventh cloud. Right?

Well, prayer is drawing near the most important celebrity ever. God, unlike people in tinsel town, God does not shoo us away. He’s more than willing to welcome us.

That doesn’t mean we can just waltz in to pray whenever it suits us. Prayer is not a mumble jumble of only our wants and needs. Prayer is a beautiful process that arises out of an even more beautiful relationship. Let’s take a quick look at what that relationship means.

Essentially, man is utterly sinful. But God is holy. Sin cannot be anywhere near God’s holiness and righteousness. We can fast and pray or do the most sacrificial thing, but we will still not be able to come anywhere close to God’s presence. The best example in this regard is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 18:9-14

The humble tax collector left the temple justified, not the proud Pharisee! The best human righteousness will not qualify us to pray.

Then what do you suppose qualifies us to pray?

Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:19-21 says, ‘Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God’. The perfect life, blood and righteousness of Jesus our High Priest qualifies us to pray. Because when God looks at us who are His followers, He sees Jesus. This gives us the privilege of drawing near to Him being certain that He will welcome us.

2. PRAYER IS TALKING TO GOD

 

It is almost completely unlikely to ever be able to chat up with a celebrity, especially if we don’t know them personally. But the God of Heaven and earth, the most important person ever says, ‘Draw near to me; I want to hear you and talk to you’. What a precious gift and privilege prayer is to us. Not only does our High Priest sympathize with our weaknesses as said in Hebrews 4:15, the Holy Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26 says, ‘Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered’. Further John 16:26 says, ‘In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you’. The incredible thing is that the Spirit of God prompts and helps us to pray and also answers our prayer requests.

 

Now, prayer is not just about asking and receiving. Of course, that is certainly important. But it is not like just walking into the grocery store, nodding at the owner and getting our list filled. Prayer is real fellowship time with God. It is about enjoying God’s company. Let me share with you an example to elucidate this better.

 

My son is 2 years old. Recently, a friend visited us. She wanted to play with him, but he kept shying away. So, she pulled out a chocolate from her bag to get him to come to her. He timidly approached, grabbed the chocolate and ran away. Sometimes, we treat prayer like that. When God gives us something, we take it, mutter a quick thanks and run away. God, on the other hand, would love for us to sit back and spend time with Him and enjoy getting to know Him.

Not so sure?

Well, consider this. God is all sufficient. The Trinity completes Him. But He created us to share that love with us and enjoy a fellowship with us. Genesis 3:8 says, ‘And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden’. It was normal practice for God to hang out with Adam and Eve every day. After they sinned and ran away from God’s presence, God sent them out of the Garden. But He didn’t give up on them. He continued to seek them out to enjoy a fellowship with them. Not that He needed to, but because He wanted to. The Israelites disobeyed God and constantly ignored Him. But God continued to extend grace and mercy to them. He lived with them in the ark and then later in the temple. Then, finally He came physically in the form of Jesus. Jesus walked on the earth, died and rose again. He sent the Holy Spirit, and today we have the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can talk to Him and enjoy fellowship with Him at all times.

3. PRAYER IS AN EXPERIENCE OF GOD’S ETERNAL PRESENCE

 

The Bible talks about a glorious Heaven. There won’t be any sadness or tears in Heaven because God will be present there. In God’s presence, there is only jubilation and celebration. Prayer is an activity that has been given to us on the earth to experience the presence of God. It is a foretaste of what will be our Heavenly experience.

Hebrews 10:19 says, ‘Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus’. Through prayer, it’s possible to enter and experience the joy of being in the most holy place – God’s presence. But unfortunately, many people look for joy and ecstasy in the wrong places. Drugs and alcohol are cheap counterfeits that will not only disappoint us, but also pull us deep down into the dumps. Our spouses, children and jobs will only satisfy us temporarily. But if we experience the presence of God, we will have great joy. Once we experience that, we will not want to have it any other way.

HOW CAN WE ENJOY THIS?

One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple

Psalm 27:4

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 42:1-2

How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:1, 10

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

 

Psalm 63:1-5

All these beautiful Psalms testify the glory of prayer. We can enjoy this glory by believing in it and desiring it. If we don’t have a desire, then God is more than able to grant us that when we ask Him for it. We need to do it for ourselves. Every great man of God will have rich experiences of a beautiful prayer time. You see, the greater thing for God is not to just meet our need but to spend time with us! Isn’t that simply marvellous?

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