50. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Prayer Secrets

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew. 6:5-8)

Once again, we must ask ourselves why we pray. If we look at verse 5 above, we could liken it to a person (we’ll name him John) who has a room full of friends with him when he calls another friend, Mike.

            John glances at his friends. “Hi Mike, what a joy it is to talk to you again. I remember the day that you needed me and I was there for you. The last time you helped me was great too. I can’t do without your friendship.”

John looks to see whether his friends are still listening. “You impressed me when we solved that problem with our project, but I did pretty well too.”

            John called Mike in order to impress his friends. Do we ever do this when we pray, especially in public? What goes through our minds when we pray? Do we wonder what people think of our prayer? Are we concerned whether our prayer sounds all right? Do we feel fulfilled after we’ve prayed? Has our prayer brought religious satisfaction to us? Have we completed the duty or project well?

            When you talk with someone you care about, you focus on her. You look

her in the eyes, concentrate to understand what she tells you, and ask questions to make sure you got it right. You repeat what she says as a sign that you get the message. When you speak, you make sure that she listens and understands by asking relevant questions and by checking on her attention. You are not aware of your surroundings. That is why two couples can converse simultaneously at the same table on two subjects without affecting each other’s discussion. It involves intimacy.

            So when you talk with Dad, concentrate on Him and converse with Him. There is no need to use big words and a “holy” tone of voice. Just talk.

Also, allow your emotions into your prayer. If something is important or urgent, it will show in the intensity of your prayer. You don’t need to go into a physical inner room, either. You can switch to your inner being whenever you wish and wherever you are. Everybody knows what it means to be deep in thought. You are not aware of your surroundings, yet you automatically continue to mow the lawn, fold the laundry, or whatever you need to do while maintaining fellowship with our Father.

Some people’s jobs allow them to work and fellowship with the Lord at the same time because their work is very mechanical. Others have the opportunity while driving, walking, etc. I have been in such deep prayer while walking the dog that I travel significant distances with my eyes closed. In the car or at work I have had to be careful not to close my eyes. The Lord is living in our spirits, and we can have fellowship with Him during prayer. It is easier to do this when we are alone in our physical inner room. This can be any place where we are out of earshot and close observation of others. When we give Him our full attention, unaware of our surroundings, we will hear His voice and receive His guidance.

A physical inner room is a good thing, but our real inner room is our spirit. When we tune in to our spirit, turning our attention away from our thoughts, we enter our inner room, making true contact with Father and hearing His voice. We can be in a physical inner room and still not make contact with Him. On the other hand, we can walk or drive down the street, intensely aware of the Lord’s presence, hearing what He wants from us.

“Pray continually,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Nobody needs to know you are praying, and because praying shows faith and is therefore pleasing to Dad, He will reward you.

            The Lord knows what we want before we ask. Therefore, my family has learned the “Thank-You prayer”: thank You, Lord, that You will protect us today. Thank You Lord that You care for the thousands who have lost loved ones, and so on. May the Lord teach you to pray effectively.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

49. What Does God See? Part 2 AND healing testimonies!!

In the previous post, we began to discuss the issue of doing our righteous acts with the aim to be seen by people. Today we continue with this subject.

If we look at some big ministries, especially those linked to or named after one person, we see that it is easy to be caught up with the ministry’s demands. Everything appears to be about the ministry and the person to whom it is linked. Why did the ministry reach such heights? God made it grow; there’s nothing wrong with that.

But why is the ministry linked to and dependent on one person? Why is one person the lord of the ministry? We so often hear of so-and-so ministries. So-and-so built up this mighty church. Did he do it alone? Did he do the miracles? Was it he who brought in the people? Was it he who thought up all the lovely things to say? Was it by his authority that the devils fled?

            This person runs the risk of doing righteousness for the praise of others if he does not constantly pass glory on to God. In fact, it would have been better to name the ministry something else that would refer to the Kingdom instead of a person.

Some argue that the leader doesn’t lift himself up; the people do it. True, but why then does he accept it? Even in the smallest of churches, the pastor may become lord. Some people tend to build a relationship with the church and not with God and worship the pastor rather than the Lord. The other day I stood by as a man told the pastor he had given a lovely message. By saying, “Thank you,” the pastor fell right into the trap. He did not pass the glory on to God.

Once I chatted with the sound technician of a church when a lady ordered a CD of the day’s message. With awe in her voice, she said she adored the way the minister preaches. A lady once told John Wesley that his sermon was good. He answered that the devil tried to tell him the same thing.

            I encourage you to give God the glory, lest we follow the way of Herod—physically or spiritually. “On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died,” (Acts 12:21-23).

On the other hand, being too timid, too secretive, or too private makes us ineffective. We are often so scared that we might focus on ourselves that we do nothing. The secret is to do what you must do but pass the glory on to God.

I was blessed by a pastor recently. He had every opportunity to become proud. He is a highly qualified man who stood before a large congregation in a new 1800-seat auditorium built for over six million dollars. That Sunday morning, he told of the media coverage of the church’s first service in their new building. His joy visibly stemmed from the exposure the media had given the Kingdom of God, not necessarily that particular church.

He said he would like to put something right that the newspapers had gotten wrong. They had said the church was the pastor’s brainchild, and that he was the one who had built it up. “Please understand,” the pastor said, “it was God’s vision. He, together with all the faithful people, built it up. Not me.” He also rejoiced that some of the newspapers gave God the glory. That is how the Lord likes it.

Testimonies

In previous posts, I have referred to the website http://tlrmovie.com. It

contains videos about the Lord's great power in miracles. Inspired by it I have attended a three-week Pioneer school and started to pray for this sick at a clinic where I've worked last week. I have seen many healings such as people arriving at the desk unable to walk without support, walking away rejoicing, a man whose hand was seriously hurt and in a bandage declaring with a big smile: "I actually don't need this medicine now for I'm healed", a man arriving at the desk unable to even lift his arm, which was limp with pain, but after prayer showing me how he can use his arm and hand, and a man with a hurt neck repeatedly exclaiming his surprise since his neck was healed, and many more. I also had a man, whom I prayed for a month ago for his AIDS to heal, thanking me for the prayer, proclaiming it has worked.

Dear reader, please realize that the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit wants to be the head of the body, which we call the church. He wants to use all people as His disciples to make a difference in our world through His power, not only the church leaders. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Corinthians 4:20). Anyone filled with the Holy Spirit can do anything under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. "I can do all things

through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

48. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What Does God See? Part 1

“Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

           

Does this passage mean we are never to talk or testify about the things

the Lord has done through us? Does giving to the needy always have to be secretive, resulting in guilt feelings if someone finds out? Is the “submarine” Christian lifestyle—“Christianity is a private thing”—what God intended faith to be?

In establishing our Christian lifestyle, we must look at the message from the Bible as a whole, a unit. If we look at our passage, we see that what Jesus is most concerned about is, once again, attitude. What is the motivation behind our righteousness and our giving? Is it to impress those around us, to draw attention to us, make us the focal point? Or is it to give glory to the Lord? Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” in front of others in order to be seen by them. Don’t announce your good works with a trumpet.

The key in this passage is who gets the glory. If someone is helped, he has to thank somebody. He has to praise someone’s goodness. The way you go about doing righteousness and giving determines who is going to get that thanks and praise.

If people see or hear about your deeds (whether from you or others) would they praise you or God? What is your motivation for helping others? Do you hope they will see God behind it and therefore come closer to Him, or do you hope people will like you because of it and maybe give you a better position in the church culture? If people praise you, do you accept the praise, or do you pass it on to God?

I have often been tempted to this. The Lord often uses me to initiate and start something new in the church or Christian organization by encouraging the pastor and taking the first steps. It usually takes off with great glory and success, but nobody knows I was involved. Often people praise the pastor for it, and God is glorified. Sometimes I am tempted to sulk about it, but by the Lord’s grace I know I have done my duty. Then I quietly slip into the background. God has seen it and He will reward me one day.

            Everything belongs to the Lord. We have nothing. Why would we steal a tiny bit of glory or praise that does not belong to us when the Lord promises an amazing reward in heaven one day? We must become more heavenly minded. This short life on earth is only a rehearsal for heaven. When we set our minds on results and rewards in this life, working for accomplishments and rewards, we are very short-sighted. What we then receive is of temporary nature and not eternal value. In the words of our Lord from our passage above: “I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full,” (Matthew 6:2).

Instead, we must forget about the present and see whether our deeds are pleasing to God so that we can receive our eternal rewards from Him. Whatever we do, we must expect nothing now. One day the accounts will be settled. To be continued...

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

47. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What's Church like for you?

In post number 45; Sermon on the Mount Secrets - How to be Perfecthttps://bibbytes.blogspot.com/2019/11/45-sermon-on-mount-secrets-how-to-be.html, we started to discuss what an exciting, co-operating church would be like. What we usually see in churches today is some form of singing that is called praise and worship. One or more musical instruments lead the people who, often passively (forgive me, but everyone knows his own heart) sing along. In some cases, a worship leader directs the congregation in singing the various choruses. Songs of praise, which are considered of jubilant nature, are sung first, followed by worship. Worship songs are usually considered slower songs that would incline worshippers to a prayerful attitude and atmosphere.

In some churches, time is then allowed for individuals to bring a word, a

prophecy, or a testimony. This has fallen away in many churches or has become only a formality without real enthusiasm or power behind it.

Then comes the preaching of the Word of God, and in some churches it is followed by ministry on a personal level, because needs are often brought to the surface through the revelation of God’s Word. This is because God is always faithful even though we are unfaithful. He will always take any Christian church service seriously and will always be there. “For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them,” (Matthew 18:20). He will always receive any form of praise and will always minister to those who love Him.

The question, however, is what is in the hearts of the church attendees? A pastor once illustrated the way God experiences praise. He said that the Lord sees our heart, and therefore, while we sing, “How great thou art,” He probably hears, “Look at Laura, wearing the same dress again today,” or, “Why does the pastor wear that shiny suit?”

            We laugh, but often our thoughts are not with the Lord. We allow our carnal minds to reign. What do we have to praise God for? What fills our minds—excitement about God? Aren’t most people self-centered, seeing only their own needs and therefore focusing on them during worship?

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church,” (1 Corinthians 14:26).

To my joy, our pastors once decided that every home cell should have a weekly project of serving one another and the community. If we do, and every Sunday, we testify about the greatness of God who worked with and through us, would we not enter worship with a totally different attitude? Would we not have reason to praise God, and would our minds not be filled constantly with those good works we saw the Lord doing? Would others, who may be young Christians or who have grown cold and passive, not be motivated to follow suit? If a prophecy or interpretation of tongues was brought, would we not listen to it with the intention of acting on it? Is this not the way to start a revival instead of waiting endlessly for the Lord to do something? A child waits on his dad to do something about the problem, but a mature person applies what his dad taught him and does something about it himself.

 What does revival mean? If you want to revive a neglected business, you want to restore it back to its former glory. Waiting for the manager to do something wouldn’t accomplish your goal. His task would be guiding the revival process, but the revival would take hard work from each employee. For the church to revive to its former Book-of-Acts glory will take hard, consistent work from every disciple, under the Holy Spirit’s direction.

Be perfect (mature), therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (mature).

Once again; I have written the above years ago and are posting it here now. I have always believed and promoted that believers should make revival happen. We shouldn't wait for revival to happen and thus for God to do something. We should simply obey Jesus'command in Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen, and in Mark 16:15-18: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover,” and we'll see revival.

In the meantime, the Lord has raised up a movement that do church as the disciples in the book of Acts have done it - that make revival happen. The past two weeks we've seen enough healings, rebirths, and people filled with the Holy Spirit, for us to overflow with joy, and as a result, worship the Lord from the depth of our hearts - not only with empty songs.

What do you think? Would you like to become a disciple serving the Lord in total obedience to His abovementioned Great Commission?

Have a look at these links: 

• Examples of active obedience to the Great Commission.
• An explanation of how small-group churches can function.
• Exciting teachings about the true church.

If you have any questions, please contact me at cwhl@live.co.uk.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.