~sermon devo_1st nov~

1st November 08’
The privilege of praying: “your kingdom come: your will be done”
1) Why do we not pray?
Luke 15:11-24 (parable of the prodigal son) Like the prodigal son in the parable that Jesus told the disciples, we often forget God’s grace after a period time, in fact, the son in parable forgotten his father’s love and grace in only a day. This is really alarming, as it shows that most of us can easily forget God’s grace and goodness after receiving his grace.
One of the reasons why prayer is not in the priority list of most Christians is that most of us tend to have a false sense of sufficiency. We take for granted God’s blessings and sense of sufficiency creeps in. We tend to believe that we can work a way out our own way, and rely on our own strength and power to overcome the difficulties and problems in life. We easily forget that all we possess and have is from him. Most of us fall into the trap of falling in love with the gifting , rather than the giver himself. Also, we allow our pride to take over us, and we want to take control of our lives.
However, more often or not, we fail whenever we try to rely on our own human ways to solve our problems. Don’t sell yourself to the world. Sometimes, pain and uncertainty is a wake-up call to God’s grace. It is only after going through failures and setbacks in lives, that we realize that we badly need the lord. He becomes the ultimate solution of all problems and difficulties, and everything becomes possible in his hands.
Another simple reason would be the lack of intimacy with God.
As we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. God is dying to draw near to each of us, however, the lack of relationships often hinders us, the children from reaching to God. God is waiting for us to take the first step, thus, this relationship between you and God can only be deepened and extended when you choose to take the 1st step in prayer.
2) How then should we pray?
Simply pray, it is the action of prayer. We can only learn prayer by praying. Follow the format of prayer in matthew 6:9-13
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. “
We have to discipline ourselves to pray to catch the heartbeat of God. Think of it this way, prayer is like a conversation of a child with his/her father. It’s only through conversing with each other and heat-to-heart talk that this relationship will continue to grow and develop. And it’s also through prayer, that we get to understand more about the lord, and his plans, vision, purpose for your life.
Prayer starts in your marketplace, plant a prayer cell in your schools, marketplace, workplaces today
The 3 Rs
Relationships (it’s all about people in your marketplace, teachers, friends, colleagues, bosses_are they facing any deep issues and problems in their lives?, pray for reconciliation and restoration of broken relationships)
Revelations (it’s hearing from God__hear for revelations and look out for visions, always remember, we are operating God’s work in his way)
Repentace (it starts with ourselves_a change of heart in ourselves is required before we can start transforming our marketplaces)

~FROM THE INSIDE OUT~

(i was doing quiet time today when i was reminded by this beautiful song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-afZJ9_TIM&feature=related


A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame


Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine
when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out


Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame


In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out


Everlasting
Your light will shine
when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bringYou praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

~sermon devotion_27th oct~

27th oct 2008
the privilege of praying: “your kingdom come, your will be done.” Matthew 16:13-20, 2 CHRONICles 7:14-15
The kingdom of God cannot be shaken. It’s not what God has told you before that are important but it is about what God is telling you at the moment. Listen carefully to what God has to tell you. God is always saying something new, and we need to hear what God is telling us. This helps us to be always involved in the gospel of kingdom.
In this time of financial crisis, our best bet and investment is to first seek the kingdom of God, for he is never-changing, and the same yesterday, today and forever. We can find our trust and security in him. Matthew 6:33-34 “33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Whenever, problems and difficulties strike us, let’s turn to him in prayer and make known our requests to him. Prayer is important, and it is the solution to everything, it is the basic crucial thing that brings forth the kingdom. A prayer make known to God is powerful; because it means that you’ve got the keys of the kingdom of heaven. It is a promise that God has given us that we’ve rewarded with a privilege to asks/requests God of everything that we want. However, there is a condition that is stated in the bible. 2 chronicles 7:14 states that “ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Thus it means that if there is obedience and compliance to God, then God will grant us whatever we want and answer our prayers.
However, most of the time, most of us do not pray. Prayer is not high on priority, both corporately and personally. We often seek for other ways and try to solve our problems in our ways, before eventually resorting to prayer when nothing works out. Prayer becomes our last choice that we turn to when all fails.
So we ask ourselves these 2 questions
1) Why do we not pray?
2) How then should we pray?
1) Why do we not pray? Luke 15:11-24 (parable of the prodigal son) When we do not pray, we’re exactly like the prodigal son in the story. We are distracted by the worldly temptations, and this leads us away from God. We become distant from the father, and only after a period of suffering, that we realize that we need the lord, and thus decide to run back to God once again.