EMBRACING GOD'S CHALLENGEMessage preached by our Protem
Committee Chairman Tan Kok Liang on 22nd February 2009 at the SIB
Metro Church Evening English Service at 6.00 p.m. TOPIC : EMBRACING
GOD’S CHALLENGE Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14 “… 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 I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (NKJV) WE NEED TO BE REMINDED OF THE
FATHER AND SON RELATIONSHIP. Rom 8:15 “For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." (NKJV) 1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were
not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless
conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (NKJV) WE NEED TO BE REMINDED OF OUR
RESPONSIBILITY AS CHILDREN OF GOD TOO. Eph 4:1 “I, therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you
were called,” (NKJV) THERE ARE THREE CHALLENGES FROM
GOD. First, it is
a challenge to humbly ourselves and pray. John Wesley
said, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer”. John 15:5-6 "I am the vine, you are
the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (NKJV) James 4:6-10 “But He gives more
grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But
gives grace to the humble."
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and
mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
(NKJV) Secondly, it is
a challenge to seek His face. This
implies a “yearning, a frequency of inquiry, a desire to enter into the
presence of God”. Phil 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death,” (NKJV) Ps 27:4 “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.” (NKJV) Ps 42:1-2 “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?” (NKJV) Seeking the Lord’s face is about wanting Him more than
anything else in this world! It is
about taking time to spend time with Him in prayer and study of His word. “The Scripture were not given to increase our knowledge but to change
our lives” - Dwight L Moody (see also: 2 Tim 3 : 15-17, Psalms 119 :11, Psalms 1, Rev 1: 3) We need to read, memorize and meditate the word of God. Poor
reading is prevalent in our present culture as our senses are being bombarded
with constant noise and entertainment. There is over stimulation of our senses
and at times, we are incapable of being quiet. Prayer must be part of our lifestyle just like Jesus. “Prayer catapults us
to the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer
is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the
Father. To pray is to change.
Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If you are unwilling to
change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable
characteristics of our lives.” RICHARD FOSTER, Author, Celebration
of Discipline. “I have so much business I cannot get on
without spending 3 hours daily in prayer. He that has prayed well has studied
well”
Martin Luther “And in the morning, a
great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he
prayed’ stand as a commentary on the lifestyle of Jesus (see Mark 1 : 35) Thirdly, it is
a challenge to turn away from our wicked ways. It is a discipline of Repentance. John 20:23 “If you forgive the
sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are
retained." (NKJV) 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” (NKJV) “The confession of
evil woks is the first beginning of good works” –Augustine of
Hippo The hindrances to confession is
counterfeit spirits at work in our lives. For example: Counterfeit spirits at work.
Counterfeit of the “ love of God” makes
the recipient cover over sin, compromise with it, dulls him to keen-edged
righteousness, makes him incapable of true hatred to the things of God that God
hates. Divine love : Shed abroad in the heart by
the Holy Spirit, is co existent with keen and faithful dealing with sin, with
acute hatred to sin and Satan, all that is contrary to righteousness It is imperative that everyone who belongs to the true church of
Jesus Christ learn the voice of God. In these last days demonic voices will
arise to deceive us and lead us into captivity. How can we know when God is
speaking to us? First the voice of God will never promise us peace if we are
embracing the same value system of the world. Second the voice of God will
challenge sin. God will answer, heal, and bless us Ps 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give
grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
(NKJV) Tan Kok Liang |
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