57. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Where is your treasure? Part 2

We're busy discussing this passage in Matthew 6:19-20: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We were saying that our entire focus should not be material things on earth, but should be using the gift we've received and God will care for us. I then gave an example of how the Lord cares for us personally while we're working at focussing more on our gift than on money and where that comes from.

Someone else's gift might be making money and giving it away. Such a person does not care much for teaching, encouragement, evangelism, or anything “spiritual.” She wants to bless God’s Kingdom and see to it that the wheels are turning. She does not love money, for money passes through her hands; she just loves making money.

I have a friend like that, only his passion is not giving, but serving. He was part of our youth outreach team some years ago. While we were all interested in evangelism, teaching, and counselling, he was more than happy to maintain our building, sound system, and electrical equipment. He was outspoken about it. He had no need to preach; he just wanted to serve. He felt that was what God called him to do.

God is concerned about the focus of our heart. What do we think about? How do we use our time and energy? Is it for His Kingdom or our own well being? Have you ever wondered why the world is developing, why we are not still riding horses, carts, and wagons? It is because people think. We constantly think up better ways to do things, and the result is a dynamic, changing world. If we constantly think about who God is, discovering His characteristics and imitating them, what a dynamic place the church will be.

What are these treasures we store up in heaven? Would it be money when we give money? Would we have a magnificent mansion in heaven that we so desired on earth?

I have a parable for you. Once there was a rich man and a poor man, both Christians, who lived in the same village. They knew about each other. The rich man lived in luxury, just for himself. He believed in Jesus, but loved his position in church. The poor man, on the other hand, loved Jesus in spite of his poverty and cared for other poor people by helping and encouraging them.

One day, they both died and went to heaven. As they walked with the angel who took them to their homes, they saw a spectacular mansion.

“That must be mine,” the rich man said.

“No,” the angel said, “it belongs to the poor man.”

The rich man’s shoulders slumped. “Then where is my home?”

The angel pointed to a small shack and shrugged. “We could use only the building material that you sent up.”

I don’t know what our homes in heaven will be like. Some Bible translations talk about mansions, most mention rooms, but the Greek word means residences. However, it doesn’t matter, because what we send up will be used to our benefit, whatever the Lord decides this benefit might be. I think the best treasure we can send to heaven is obedience. I said earlier that the closer we live to the Lord on earth, the more intimate our relationship with Him, the closer we will be to Him in heaven. This is why Hebrews 12:14 says that without holiness no one will see God. Our present relationship will simply be transferred.
 Isn’t being close to the Lord in heaven already enough treasure? But once again, isn't this a selfish approach? The greatest treasure we can send up to heaven if we consider God's needs are souls. We have the saying in English; "the more the merrier". We have been so conditioned that money will make us happy. Mammon tries his utmost to get us to focus on earthly treasures, but to God, it's about relationships. Who are the happiest - the rich people all alone in their position and status, or the crowds of ordinary people having fun? Heaven is going to be fun. Why would that be? Would it be because we are all going to be all alone in our mansions, or because we will be one big happy family surrounding our Father?

We all have gifts, and we are not expected to give more than we have or more than we are gifted for. It doesn’t matter what you sow, as long as you sow in obedience. All sowing will result in equal blessing on earth and a treasure in heaven, and usually in winning and preparing souls for an exciting and joyful eternal life with Father God.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. 

Golden Nugget: How to Love the Lord with your Soul & Worship with Terry MacAlmon

 Jesus said in Mark 12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

In our last post, we began to discuss the practicalities around loving the Lord.  We were discussing whether it is good enough to only tell the Lord you love him.  Last time we were discussing ‘loving the Lord with all your heart’ and we’re taking our discussion from the angle of sacrificial and giving love.  Maybe if you read the article here you can get the whole picture.

What is your soul?  The soul consists of your mind, your will, and your emotions.  However, in Mark 12:30 Jesus separates’ the mind from the soul, so we will only look at the soul as the will and emotions and discuss the mind separately.  Many of us enjoy loving the Lord with our emotions.  We like the goosebump kind of worship.  That is actually why the church has become so ineffective, since this kind of “loving” the Lord is very selfish.  It’s nice to go to church for an exciting “kick” and then being able to say we had a good time with the Lord.  But who is this kind of worship about?  Isn’t it about you and me, to get a good feeling about being religious?  What did we sacrifice and what did we give?

Consider for a moment what it was that gave the early church in the book

of Acts a kick.  Wasn’t it the power of God that went with them as they healed the sick, preached the gospel, and drove out demons?  It was an emotional experience, yes, but one focused on the Lord and what He had done with them for others and not just for themselves.  They sacrificed their selfish emotional experience for a God- and neighbour directed experience.  This resulted most of the time in severe persecution during which other emotions, such as fear and anxiety, manifested.  What did they do with these emotions?  They turned it into faith.  They did not allow their carnal nature and Satan the pleasure of enjoying these negative emotions, but sacrificed these feelings to the Lord in exchange for faith.  We do enjoy the attention that these negative emotions create for us, don’t we?  Satan is a master deceiver and our sinful nature enjoys going along with him.  It’s only our acting in faith that counters this.  For example, in Acts 4 we read that Peter and John were arrested and after they were released, the believers responded as recorded in verses 23 to 31.

We, therefore, love the Lord with the emotion part of our soul by sacrificing selfish emotions in exchange for obedience and faith.  What does this obedience consist of?  Obedience is all about doing the good works the Lord has prepared for us – thus giving of ourselves.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them, (Ephesians 2:10).

The soul also consists of our will.  We have been created with a free will and this is the area where our love for the Lord is tested most severely.  Do we want to sacrifice our will in exchange for the Lord’s will?  How often do we pray in both the Lord’s Prayer and our general prayers: “Let your will be done”?  Do we really want it?  What if the Lord’s will contradicts our will?  Once when the Lord convicted me of something He wanted me to get rid of because it didn’t please Him, I told Him I wasn’t able to stop it.  I was too weak was my excuse.  Then He told me: “No, it’s not that you cannot, but that you don’t want to, for you can do all things through Him that gives you strength (Philippians 4:13) if you wanted to.  We often have a lot of excuses as to why we cannot act in obedience – not enough time and resources, etc.  But we know the saying: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.  Comfort and selfish ambition are the two great enemies of loving the Lord with your will.  The only way to love the Lord with the will part of your soul is to sacrifice your will in exchange for His will and to give yourself entirely for His purposes to be fulfilled through you.

“But I am within His will.  He blessed me with all the comforts I enjoy,” you may tell me now.  Is that so?  I challenge you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you which parts of your life are your will (what you want and desire) and which are His (what He wants for you).  When He convicts you, why not sacrifice your soul (will and emotions) in exchange for what God has planned for your life and in that way show your love towards Him by giving what He requires of you to give.  Then you can enjoy what He promised you.

Let's worship with Terry MacAlmon

56. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Where is your heart? Part 1

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Some people, who preach prosperity, believing the Lord wants us to be financially prosperous while on earth, teach the principle of sowing and reaping.  The more money we sow into the church, the more money God will bless us with.  I don’t want to offer an opinion on the validity of this principle, but I want to talk about our focus or motivation.  When we sow money with the purpose or motivation of reaping money, we violate at least three principles laid down by the Lord:

So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?’  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:31, 33)

No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)

The third is our passage under discussion.

Why are we on earth?  What is our purpose for living? 

When we lived in the United Kingdom, there were many people from countries in the EU who came to live in the UK following the opportunity to make more money.  However, they did not come to stay indefinitely, but send all their money back to their own country to be stored up for them when they returned.

So it is with Christians.  We are only ambassadors sent to this foreign

“country” (earth) to accomplish the purpose, which the King of our “country” (God’s Kingdom) wants us to accomplish—the winning of citizens (souls) for our Kingdom.  We are not to store up treasures here.  We find a few reasons in our passage for this.  Verse 19 mentions destruction by moth and rust. Inflation and aging devaluate our treasures.  It also mentions theft.  Many people in many ways want a cut of our treasures.  Men will make a plan, whether illegally or “legally,” to take others’ money for themselves - they say business is business.  This makes us worry about our treasures.  When we have much to protect and worry about, the time and energy that we are supposed to use for Kingdom work are consumed by our earthly treasure, (Matthew 6:31-33).  That is why we need to have our treasures in heaven.  Those treasures are kept safe so we don’t need to worry about them, but can focus on our task of being busy with those things that are important to the Lord.

Verse 21 tells us another reason to store our treasures in heaven.  That which is important to you, occupying your thoughts all day, will also occupy your heart. 

How do you feel about the god of money, Mammon?  What do you make of him when he lures God’s people away from Him, making them dependent on money for meeting their needs?  Do you like it when he puts glittering temptations before people, enticing them to desire more than they need, and getting corrupted by lust after money? 

How do you feel when you see people obey God’s principles, when people live according to His principles of interdependence, of giving and receiving, of trusting God to provide so that He, not Mammon, gets the glory?  Do you enjoy being used in the gift God gave you, seeking first His Kingdom, and being in right standing with Him? 

When we seek to have our treasure in heaven by doing what the Lord expects of us, He will keep His promise in Matthew 6:33.  We can testify that the Lord is taking care of our financial needs because of the principles in the passages above.  We have endless testimonies of how we looked at our budget and realized that there is no way we could pay our bills, but we did. I always say that with the Lord, a bookkeeper will be confused, trying to figure out where the money came from.  The car’s tyres last longer, and so do food and other consumables.  The Lord’s protection, especially against the constant attacks of Mammon, is obvious.  We trust that in the end, a treasure awaits us in heaven.  This is my story.  Someone else might love making money and giving it away.  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.

Golden Nugget: How to love the Lord with your Heart & Worship with Terry MacAlmon

Joyce Meyer once said that love consists of sacrifice and giving and at the time it struck me as so true.

        I then started to meditate on our love for God.  Words can be so empty.  When we tell the Lord that we love Him, what do we actually mean by that?  How often have you told the Lord in prayer and during worship that you love Him?  What did you mean by that?  We find a number of verses in the gospel of John chapters 13 to 15 that says the same as John 14:21: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.  This is one way to love the Lord; by doing what He says.

Jesus, however, set the example of perfect love.  He sacrificed all self-indulgence - His selfish desires - and gave all His time and resources for the sake of others.  He summed up His actions in John 15:3, which is in the same context as John 14:21 above: Greater love has no one than this; that someone lay down his life for his friends.  Did He do it for us?  Yes He did love us in that way, but I believe He did it for His Father, who loves us so much that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).  He obeyed Father God by manifesting this love His Father has for us and in that way He showed His love for His Father.  He set the example for us to do the same – to prove our love towards Him by loving our neighbour sacrificially and through giving of ourselves.

        I want to look at love for the Lord from the perspective I received from Joyce Meyer.  Jesus said in Mark 12:30: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

       

        Let’s start with “all your heart”.  What is in my heart that I can sacrifice to make space for Jesus?  What is near to your heart?  Maybe your family and friends, your sport, your career, your hobbies, desireable things – these are all things that we desire and spend time with.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:37: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  He used these examples because they are usually closest to our hearts, but by that, He included anything that is closer to our hearts than Him, such as the list above.

        How do we know when He is close to our hearts?  What do you think about most of the day?  Maybe how you can improve in your sport, what you can do to make your business more profitable, what you can do at work to make a better impression, what you can do today that will be fun, etc.  How much thought have you given the Kingdom of God and your relationship with Him (Matthew 6:33).  The Kingdom involves winning souls, encouraging people, praying for the sick, teaching the Word of God, giving sacrificially, serving the needs of people, i.e. using your gift to make a difference, to the glory of God (Romans 12:6-8).

        Seeking His righteousness involves getting to know the Lord – thinking about Him, meditating on His Word - so you can please Him by obeying in faith.          All these demand time and effort; and to make the latter available you need to sacrifice other things that takes up that time and effort.

Loving the Lord with all your heart therefore involves giving of yourself to the glory of God.

        The disciples and the believers of old set a good example of how to love the Lord.  We read about the consequences of acting in faith, i.e. loving the Lord, in Hebrews 11 and in particular verses 32-38 and in Paul’s experiences as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:24-29.  We know that most of the other disciples of Jesus had similar hardships.  Jesus said in John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world, you will have tribulation.         But take heart; I have overcome the world.  How do you measure up in comparison to these?  Where are your heart’s desires set at?  

        In our next Golden Nugget we’ll look at more areas in which we should the love the Lord based on Mark 12:30.

Let's worship with Terry MacAlmon

55. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What is important to God? Part 2

This is the second part of our study on “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)

The next two verses of the Sermon on the Mount are integral to our study on fasting. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” (Matthew 6:19, 20). With this we can read the following passage: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple,” (Luke 14:26). The former relates to material goods and the latter to relationships that can hinder God’s purposes for us.

Our purpose in life should be to prepare for eternity and to take as many

people to heaven with us as possible. In Luke 14:26, Jesus teaches that too much attention to loved ones takes time and energy that belong to our relationship with Him. Our loved ones are also a mission field, and we need to care for them and make them aware of Jesus’ love. They do need our attention and time, but not at the expense of our relationship with Jesus and our efficiency as obedient Christians. To a disciple of Jesus, everything should be secondary to carrying out His commands (Matthew 28:18-20). Our family members’ care, salvation, and training take first priority. Relationships with our family and friends, however, need to be balanced with the needs of the Kingdom. The closer our relationship with Him here on earth, the closer we will be to Him in heaven. If we sit at His feet on earth, it will be like that in heaven. If we are busy with many things here on earth, regarding Him from a distance, so it will be in heaven.

Fasting is part of relationship building and prayer; it is a statement. It shows God that we are serious about putting ourselves aside for His purposes. It is sacrificing time, goods, and energy for the sake of relationship building and prayer. We can set ourselves aside from television, the family, food, and any form of normal daily activity for the purpose of having more time to pray.

Again, our motivation could be to impress others or religious duty, or we can do it to accomplish something in the spiritual realm. But if we do it for selfish reasons, we have received our reward in full. At that point, we have accomplished our reason for fasting and have received what we were looking for: the attention of others. God ordained fasting, even from the earliest times. He did it because fasting restricts the carnal desires and needs and releases time and energy for the sake of God. The Lord then multiplies them, and it results in great power.

How foolish can we be in neglecting our relationship with the Lord? (We must be careful to distinguish between relationship and religion. To pray habitually and go to church without considering the Lord in your life, without giving Him full control of everything you have and are: this is religion, not a relationship. Building a relationship with and pleasing the church rather than the Lord is also religion.)

What percentage is the eighty-odd years that we live on earth in comparison with eternity? Is it perhaps 0.000000008% of a billion years? Why are we so interested in being well-off in this limited space of time? Why would we want to grasp position, pleasure, riches, power, and fame at the cost of our neighbour? In the process, we lose our treasure in heaven by displeasing God. At the end of this life, we lose our earthly treasures. What do we have left then?

The motivation and purpose by which we live, the treasure and reward that is important to us will determine how much time we will spend in relationship building with the Lord. It determines how much and how well we are prepared to pray and fast in order to be effective in the Lord’s eyes. Good works and religion do not impress the Lord. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

            According to verse ten, we are God’s products, which He created to do the works He prepared for us. We are not to do what we think is good (for then we can boast), but are to hear from the Lord, through prayer and fasting, what He wants us to do. We then act in faith, which pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Through this, we gather treasure for ourselves in heaven.

Please pray with us: Dear Lord Jesus, I am so earthly-minded. Please open my eyes that I can become aware of eternity, that the full realization can hit me. Search my heart and show me where I gather earthly treasures, even if it appears to be good and Christian. Give me the grace to sacrifice time for prayer and fasting so that I can become aware of what You want me to do and so be effective in building Your Kingdom. Amen.

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

Golden Nugget - Jesus said no one is good

And as He was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:17-18).

Have you also found these words of Jesus intriguing?  Here sat a man who left the glory of heaven to serve mankind, who has only ever been unselfish by sacrificing His own comfort, pleasures, and desires to exert Himself in doing good to others.  Even when He wanted to get away to have a little alone time and the people selfishly demanded His attention, did He not refrain from serving them wholeheartedly (e.g. Matthew 14:13-21). 

Would you say He was a good man?  If you compared yourself to Him, would He appear to have been better than you?  In my case, He was definitely better than I could dream to be.  We so easily call people good - "John is a good man", "Cynthia is a good woman". 

But Jesus, even though He was the Son of God and the perfect man, did not consider Himself good compared to God the Father.

We have nothing good in us!  Jeremiah 17:9 states:  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).  In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

We are not good.  We are desperately dependent on the only One who is good and this we have through His Son, Jesus Christ, who provided the way by means of His death and resurrection. 

In Luke 18:10-14 Jesus told of two approaches we may have:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up 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, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Where do you stand?  Which prayer will you pray?

54. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - What is important to God? Part 1

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18)

All of these commands, which pull our focus away from self and toward God, promise a reward. We all need motivation, a purpose to work for, and a goal to reach. Our reward is either on earth or in heaven. Therefore, just as salespersons treat their customers in a special way in order to increase sales, so we must have a specific reason for our spiritual activities.

            Why do you read the Bible? Is it to fulfill a religious duty? Do you read it mindlessly, not understanding what you read, or do you have the purpose of trying to understand God’s ways and to learn what He has in mind for you? Do you think of the Father when you read His Word? When you pray, what do you want to accomplish? Do you want God to see that you are religious and are obeying His command to pray? Do you want to be able to tell your friends that you pray because they do it too? What is the purpose of prayer?

Do you pray to get results or a reaction from the living God? What are you living for? Do you live to satisfy your desires and to see how much you can get from this present life? Do you live for the joy of having your family around you and for fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ, or are you concerned about eternity?

What does the Lord think of you? What rewards has He set aside for you to receive one day at the judgement seat? What preparations are you making for the next billion-plus years?

            Many Christians believe we must only do our duty because of God’s love for us and because we need to please Him. I think this belief causes passivity and apathy in the church. This mindset says once you have done your love-duty, you’re okay.

The Lord created us and knows exactly what motivates us. Most of us are motivated by incentives. Why would the Kingdom of God be different? Each condition or expectation from God is linked with the promise of a reward. Many religious people will say that Christians should not do good works in exchange for rewards, but if the Lord promised the reward, then what is wrong with that?

The greatest motivation for doing things God’s way is the thrill of experiencing His co-operation in the form of anointing. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” When we act in faith expecting the Lord to work with us, He is pleased by our faith and eagerly co-operates with us. Then we are thrilled by the experience of His anointing. This thrill is sufficient reward but will be followed by an eternal reward as well.

The next two verses of the Sermon on the Mount are integral to our study on fasting. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” (Matthew 6:19, 20). With this we can read the following passage: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple,” (Luke 14:26). The former relates to material goods and the latter to relationships that can hinder God’s purposes for us. 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.

53. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Forgiveness, what is in it for you? Part 2

We are busy discussing forgiveness the way Jesus instructed us in His model prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” (Matthew 6:12).

Forgiveness usually is automatic or immediate and usually includes a blessing and forgetting. However, it is easy to say you forgive somebody but later catch yourself speaking negatively about him. You may have forgiven him for what he did, but you still feel bitter toward him. Then the next time the person does the least wrong, your flesh is more than ready to accuse and criticize.

This happens because you have not blessed the person, and you do not trust the Lord to deal with him. Maybe the person will forever irritate you, and you will have to forever forgive and bless him. Why do you think the Lord told us to love and forgive our enemies? We are to use the exact words that Jesus used on the cross as recorded in Luke 23:34: “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”

Since the evil one is behind most bad relationships and sin, most humans

do not know what they are doing. Not even Judas knew what he was doing when he betrayed Jesus. Only when the devil released the blinding grip of lies he had on Judas did he realize what had happened. He had remorse and returned the money. We are not to keep anything against anybody, ever.

James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (KJV).” This passage has much more to it than we may see at face value. We are to confess our sins to each other, which includes anybody in the church of Christ all over the world. Second, the healing can range from curing disease to freeing one from errors and sins to bringing about one’s salvation. Lastly, the prayer must be effectual and fervent and must come from a righteous person, one who has forgiven and who is forgiven, one in right standing with God.

            How often do we pray because we must? When we work, do we

simply want to get the day over with, or do we get satisfaction from the results? Do we work with an I-am-here-because-I-must-be attitude, or are we energetic and enthusiastic about our work?

In the same way, the only prayer that will heal is an energetic, fervent prayer that expects results. Do you remember the widow with the unrighteous judge in Luke 18:1-8? She continued until she got results. How much opportunity is given for such prayer in our church, prayer that includes confession of sin? How much time is spent in your church in public spiritual warfare?

In the NIV, the model prayer ends with “and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.” This is spiritual warfare in its basic form, resisting the activities of evil through the power of God. In the model prayer, Jesus teaches that the devil is a reality and is to be fought. We fight him using the authority of the name of Jesus. We can tell the devil, “The Lord rebuke you,” (Jude 1:9) or “We resist you in the name of Jesus,” (James 4:7) or “Get behind me, Satan, in Jesus’ name,” (Mark 8:33) or simply the words of the model prayer. This also must be fervent and effectual.

Why are we commanded to use the name of Jesus? If you are a civilian, and you jump in front of a speeding car with your hand up, would the driver stop? No, but if a police officer does it, the driver will obey. Why? It is because, in his uniform, he represents the authority of the government. The name of Jesus represents the victory Jesus had over Satan at Calvary. Jesus is now Satan’s boss. Satan has to bow at the mention of Jesus’ name (Philippians 2:10). We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12), and we need to resist them.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6:13 KJV).

If there is one thing the devil desires passionately to steal from Christians, it is time and energy to pray, because prayer moves the mighty arm of God. That is why the model prayer ends with the above words.  It is a declaration that Almighty God, to Whom the Kingdom with all its power and all its glory belongs, is the One who backs our prayer. If a politician stands up and says certain radical things, which his party instructed him to say, he stands there comforted by the fact that he is backed by his party, especially if the party is the ruling party.

Therefore we declare at the end of our model prayer: “O God You rule over the universe; therefore we know that our prayer is not only backed by You, but that You wait for our prayers as Your mandate to do great and wonderful things.” Bringing Glory to God declares where we stand in the spiritual realm. It shows our faith in the defeat that Jesus brought over Satan, who constantly tries to turn our faith away from God. Satan’s main purpose is to get us discouraged and so lose our faith in God. Therefore, bringing glory to God defeats Satan and pleases the Lord.

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

52. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Forgiveness, what is in it for you?

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” (Matthew 6:12). The type of forgiveness we ask for is the same type we give. We will therefore only be forgiven once we have forgiven our debtors and in the way we have forgiven. To emphasize this important condition, Jesus added verses 14 and 15. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14, 15).

This is the model prayer, not the only prayer. We can pray whatever we wish, but our prayers must contain the basic elements of this example. One of the most important elements of prayer is forgiveness. Jesus died specifically to open this door for us. Jesus was dead serious; therefore it would be unwise to live in unforgiveness. Ask any Christian psychologist, and he will tell you that many psychological, as well as physical conditions, have their roots in unforgiveness. I have heard many testimonies in which people forgave others and immediately received healing and deliverance from all kinds of conditions.

We set ourselves a standard concerning forgiveness. In this prayer, we

declare that we want to be forgiven in the same way we forgive others. If we forgive conditionally, refusing to forget wrongs done to us or acting in bitterness, we will receive the same kind of forgiveness. Never forget that Father controls everything in and around us. If we live in forgiveness, we bank forgiveness. Then when we need forgiveness ourselves, we have enough in the “bank” for the Lord to prompt others to forgive us.

Many times, I have forgiven people who owed me, setting them free from their debt. Then I have been forgiven much more. If we have the courage to take God at His word, to believe that His promises are true, and then fulfill the conditions of those promises, we will see them come true. The more we forgive, the more we are forgiven. With forgiveness comes abundant blessing, because then nothing forms a barrier between God and us anymore.

I find it impossible to keep a grudge and therefore have been forgiven much, simply because the Lord is faithful to His Word. Living in automatic forgiveness makes life so much easier because we don’t consider retaliation. An intimate relationship with the Lord is essential in this. Sinful man in himself cannot forgive. If you can say when offended, “The Lord will deal with this person, it is not my problem,” then forgiveness becomes simply passing the offense on to the One who can handle it best.

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you and your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear,” (Isaiah 59:1, 2). If we have sin in our hearts, God cannot hear or help us. If we continue to sin without confessing, we are in trouble. However, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But in this model prayer, there is a condition: as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Do you ever feel your prayers get only as far as the ceiling and then evaporate into thin air? We often cry, “God, where are you? Why don’t you help me?”

He often helps us in unexpected ways, but we should look into our attitudes and behaviour toward those who sin against us. In the model prayer, we ask for God’s forgiveness as we have forgiven our debtors. We set the standard for God’s forgiveness. He is very clever. We cannot treat people as we wish and then expect God to have mercy on us. God is prepared to forgive us in the way we already have forgiven our debtors.

Why does God not hear our prayers? Our sin, which is not forgiven, still forms a wall between God and ourselves, because we were not prepared to forgive those who sinned against us - the ones He loves dearly and cares much for.

Who must we forgive? If nobody sins against you or owes you anything, you’re a lucky person. Does somebody persecute you or is nasty to you because you are a fruit-bearing Christian living a godly life? What about your “unrighteous” government and authorities, or the businessman who has cheated you, and what about the terrorists? If we examine our daily lives, we have many to forgive. 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.