Encountering God Through Prayer

Hear Us From Heaven


Lord, hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breath life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord, hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would You make this a place
For Your glory to dwell

Chorus:
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation

Bridge:
Hear Us From Heaven,
Hear Us From Heaven,
Hear Us From Heaven (4x)

We have started a 6-weeks series on prayer and frankly, the sermons, the preparation for cell group discussion and also reading a book which my sister had bought from Riverside Resource, Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels, have helped me to start think seriously about prayer and reflecting upon my prayer life.

• Why do we pray?
• Why do we struggle with prayer?
• How do we pray?
  

Beginning on the Right Footing #1: What's Your Attitude towards Prayer?
I myself am coming to learn more about prayer as I reflect and I hope you can share with me your experience and comments too :) As I was preparing for cell discussion, I felt that God was telling me that we need to start our prayer life with the right footing; before we can even talk about how we should pray, we need to understand why we pray and our attitudes about prayer:

• Do we believe in the power of prayer?
• Do we believe that God is willing to hear our prayers?
• Do we believe that God is able to do something about our prayer requests?
  

- Do you believe in the power of prayer?

Bill Hybels says in his book "an archbishop once observed, 'it's amazing how many coincidence occur when one begins to pray.'

As I look back, I see the value of prayer in my spiritual life. I can think of 3 instances specifically where I was awed by the power of prayer.

- Instance #1: God's Protection

The first was when I come to realise how prayer has helped me survive my first time mission trip in 2007. In April 2007, I went for a mission trip for the first time to China and we were there for 18 days. The 18 days were just amazing and it was a time when I became still and saw how great a God we have; a God that provides, watches over and protects. The trip was full of amazing testimonies throughout the 18-days including:

• how my life was preserved as we were making our way up to a village school, how we learnt about a stabbing case that took place where we stayed less than a week before we came,
  
• how the county government initially was not open to our team coming over to provide training and last minutes doors opened for the missionary team to work with them,
  
• how the virginia tech shooting (and the local stabbing case) which happened at the time we were there had provided open opportunities for people to talk about mental health issues (which was what we were doing training for there),
  
• how God brought 2 Singaporeans, who used to work as outdoor trainers, to us to bless us throughout the trip with their expertise
• how these 2 Singaporeans made a last minute decision to follow us on a visit to a missionary at a children's home and then halfway through the visit, the missionary (not knowing that these 2 worked as outdoor trainers) mentioned that he had always wanted to do teambuilding for his children and staff but did not know how to go about it. It's just amazing how God brought them to the home at the right time
• how our team had later also blessed these 2 Singaporeans, providing fellowship and Christian community to one who told us that she was beginning to feel distanced from God and also open opportunities for the other, who is a pre-believer, to learn about Christ. We were told she had been resistant to hearing the gospel but then the visit to the home provided an opportunity for her to hear a testimony of a staff (who did not know she is a pre-believer) and prepared her heart to want to know Christ
• how after 10 years of working with the local authorities and praying for breakthrough, the local government finally initiated working together for the long-term.
• and many others

Then, when I returned, I come to realise that many things went well because we had many prayer warriors behind us, including people we did not know who were also interceding for us at the missions office.

- Instance #2: God Is This Your Will?
The second was when I was called by God to "confront" a friend who was involved in a Korean cult here in Singapore. For a few months, I have been running away from that calling and finally one day, God provided the opportunity for me to invite him out alone (because previous attempts, he always brought someone along to try to "convert" me). I remember being all jittery about it on the day I was to meet him and I kept asking God if this is His will; for me to "confront" this friend about this matter. By the end of the day, I met a colleague (who does not take the train but happened to be taking the train with me on that day) and we chatted. Suddenly, out of her bag, she brought out a book "Knowing God's Will" and lent the book to me, telling me that she had intended to return the book to her church library the previous Sunday but the librarian wanted her to keep and finish reading the book.

Reading that book had also prepared me for what was to happen later; I was to face rejection from my friend. I remember reading from the book about how we sometimes play a small part in God's purposes and we may be laying a brick one at a time as we help build the house, so nothing is wasted although we do not see God's purpose at the point in time we lay the brick. As expected, I felt horrible after the meeting and felt terribly rejected but then I recall what I read. As if to make sure that it sank deep within me, the 'Our Daily Bread' article the next morning was about how we need to work with the Lord when working to save others just as we can put together the ingredients for a cake but ultimately, it is the oven that bakes the cake, not us. Talking about God answering your questions.

- Instance #3: God's Leading
The last instance I can think of is my prayer for my ministry. As I had shared before, I faced much challenges in my initial months of ministry and had wanted to just give up. But each time I made a decision to give up, God spoke through the pulpit. I could not understand what plans God has for me and I kept lamenting and crying out, praying for Him to reveal to me His plans. Breakthrough came months later and it is becoming clear why somethings happened the way it did. God also continue to equip me and lead me as I carried on my ministry and I came to realise that God had never forsaken me even though I faced trials:

Hebrew 13:5b-6
because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6. So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

And many of you also shared how God had answered prayers in your life. So do you believe in the power of prayer?

- Do you believe that God is willing to bless us?
In his book, Bill Hybels shared that God wants to bless you:

Luke 18:1-8 tells of the parable of the persistent widow and even of the judge who neither feared God nor cared for man can relent to help the widow, how much more our God?

Matthew 7:9-11 also reminds us:

9. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11. If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Similarly, Leviticus 26:3-6 and Deuteronomy 28:2-6 speaks of how God wants to bless us as long as we seek to obey Him.

So do you believe that God is willing and wants to bless you?

- Do you believe that God is able to do something about our prayer requests?
This really is an interesting question because I believe most would say "yes". But why is it that if we believe He can do something about it and yet we are not fervent in our prayers? The ability and omnipotence of God is shown throughout the bible and also in lives of people in present day but yet why do we doubt?

Beginning on the Right Footing #2: In what state are you approaching God in prayer?

Isaiah 1:15-17
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed. [a]
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Really, God is holy and how are you approaching the throne of God when you go into a time of prayer. Do you treat God as "santa-claus" and treat prayer as just a time of putting in request for things to be right for you? I remember Elder Andrew Goh once shared about the half prayer (prayer which starts and stops with "God, make this happen, make that happen") versus the full prayer (God, may Your will be done). How do you deal with the sin as you approach the throne of God?

Luke 18: 9-14
9. To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

13. "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

14. "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

God exalts and the one who humbles himself before God and recognises his sins. He looks for the repentent heart. just as Luke 19:1-10 tells us about His encounter with Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector

Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector
1. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

8. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9. Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Even in Genesis 32-33, we see how Jacob seeks to be forgiven and it is a contrast between the way in which he sought forgiveness and blessing from God and from his brother Esau. For God, it did not take goats, ewes, rams, camels, cows, bull and donkeys for Him to forgive because He himself has provided the lamb, Jesus, to die for our sins.

To Live is Christ



I make a vow
My life will always honour you
Whether I live or die

I belong to Him
He bore my sin
I owe this life to my saving King

Hallelujah, I am not my own
You are in control
Hallelujah

For me to live is christ
And to die is gain
No matter what price i pay
I choose to give this life away

Only by the cross I am saved

Do you come before God to confess your sins and be repentent just as Zacchaeus, Jacob and the tax-collector in Luke 18:9-14?

Why do We Pray?
Why do we pray? Is it purely to submit our requests to God and then amen? For many, prayer is...:

• a time of fellowship/communion with God; basking and enjoying His presence and the peace and assurance which comes with it
  
  
  Draw Me Close to You
  
  
  Draw me close to You
  Never let me go
  I lay it all down again
  To hear You say that I'm Your friend
  
  You are my desire
  No one else will do
  'Cause nothing else could take Your place
  To feel the warmth of Your embrace
  Help me find the way
  Bring me back to You
  
  You're all I want
  You're all I've ever needed
  You're all I want
  Help me know You are near
  
  
  
• a time of being humbled because we can sometimes think we are self-sufficient and refuse to take it to the Lord in prayer. Bill Hybels put it nicely to say that prayer is an assault on deep-seated values of self-sufficiency and independent living, which sometimes makes us forget we need God
• a time of confession to fall down on our knees before the Lord and seeking his forgiveness for our sins
• a time of thanksgiving and adoration of how wonderful a God He is
• spiritual warfare as we seek to intercede for others to take them away from the hands of the devil and also sometimes to shut the devil up because he can put thoughts which will serve to bring us away from God. I myself have experienced several negative thoughts about myself and how I am a failure and unable to do what God has called me to do. We need to silence these thoughts and the only way is to be in the presence of God
• a time of refuge in the Lord because sometimes we realise we can do nothing but go down on our knees
  
• a time of being still and seeking God's will in decision and circumstances e.g. before we go into quiet time
  
  Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He provides the most perfect model of what it is to pray according to God's will. Imagine being in Jesus' shoes and knowing the hour has come to die on the cross and crying out to the Lord, but yet recognising that it is God's will, not his will.
  
  
  I Surrender All
  
  
  All to Jesus I surrender
  All to Him I freely give;
  I will ever love and trust Him,
  In his presence daily live.
  
  I surrender all, I surrender all;
  All to thee, my blessed Savior,
  I surrender all.
  
  All to Jesus I surrender,
  Humbly at His feet I bow,
  Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
  Take me Jesus, take me now.
  
  
  
• a time of placing our request at the feet of God to help us,
  

but my most favourite one is, as I have realised in the past few days:

• Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God and thus, how can one of the main component of relationship; communication, be left out? God wants to hear from us.

Why Do We Struggle with Prayer?
If we believe in the power of prayer, that God is willing and able to help us then why do we still struggle? Some cite:

• Busyness
• Laziness
• Our deep-seated values of self-sufficiency
• Sin which makes us turn away instead of to God for forgiveness
  
• Shame - some people feel that prayer is an admittance of weakness
• "Don't know how to pray"
  

Bill Hybels observes that it is amazing how sometimes we can put aside time for those things we set to do and learn but then when it comes to prayer, it is a different matter all together. I once was also plagued with the worry that I do not know how to pray properly and may look stupid in front of many people. This has caused me to feel rather awkward at prayer meetings because I am afraid I will not pray properly. But then, I later was ministered to by Matthew 6:5-15:

5. "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. 6. 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. 7. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9. "This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10. your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11. Give us today our daily bread.
12. Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.' 14. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

How Do We Pray?
Personally, I do not think there is a standard way of praying because it is your relationship with God and your way of communicating with God. But some guidelines do exist which can help, until you develop your own. e.g. ACTS:

• Adoration - Praising God for His faithfulness, grace, love, wonders etc
• Confession - Repent and bringing to God your confessions of sin and ask for his forgiveness
• Thanksgiving - Giving thanks to God for all the works He had done in your life
• Supplication - Bring to God your requests

Something else I found:

Use your hand.
Your fingers can be used to bring to mind different things to pray for.

• thumb
  this is the strongest digit on your hand. Give thanks for all the strong things in your life, like home and family, relationships that support and sustain you.
• index finger
  this is the pointing finger. Pray for all those people and things in your life who guide and help you. Friends, teachers, doctors, nurses, emergency services and so on.
• middle finger
  this is the tallest finger. Pray for all the important people who have power in the world, like world leaders and their governments, members of parliament and local councillors, the Royal Family, other world leaders and their governments.
• ring finger
  this is the weakest finger on your hand. It can not do much by itself. Remember the poor, the weak, the helpless, the hungry, the sick, the ill and the bereaved.
• little finger
  this is the smallest and the last finger on your hand. Pray for yourself.

Bill Hybels also chooses to write down his prayers in a journal because it:

• helps him concentrate and be focused
• help him be specific
• help him see how God answers prayers which builds faith

Whatever you do, he encourages us to experiment with different ways to see how it works for us. But still Jesus provided us with the principles in Matthew 6:9-15 about prayer: regular, private, sincere and specific. And there is no substitute to praying except to just do it! No reading of books, researching on the internet is going to help but just do it!

So what are you going to do to raise the value of prayer in your walk with the Lord? What is different now and what can be different?

Announcements

OK, just to round up a few CG stuff:

1. Prayer Guide - I have taken copies of the Prayer Guide so those who do not have a copy can let me know.
   
   
2. Pulpit Teaching on Prayer - We are currently on a 6-week pulpit teaching on prayer and coupled with the teaching, Riverlife is also participate in corporate fasting on every Wednesdays on 30 Jan, 6 Feb, 13 Feb, 27 Feb and also on 22 Feb (Fri) when we have our church-wide prayer meeting. You can find out more about fasting and choose the kind of fast you want to commit to. Remember it is not a ritual but it should be from the heart where we humble ourself before the Lord as we pray and present onto Him our supplications, confessions, thanksgiving and adoration.
   
   
3. Prayer Hub - The prayer hub on the church website is also launched and you can visit the hub to (i) share your prayer reflections, (ii) share a prayer request or (iii) share an answered prayer. Just to ride on it, you can also post your prayer request on our CG Blog together with the prayer hub so we can pray for one another and keep everyone in our CG and our family and friends in spiritual covering.
   
   
4. OneLife Combined Cell - 16 Feb @ Church (4-6pm). Please let me know if you cannot come. Programme for the OneLife combined cell will include vision casting and sharing by our ZO Chye Aik, combined cell session and also CNY get-together with the other brothers and sisters-in-christ.
   
   
5. Cell Postponement - There will be no CG meeting on 8 Feb in view that it is the second day of Chinese New Year and some of us will be spending time to visit family and friends. Cell will resume on 15 Feb.
   
   
6. Churchwide Prayer Meeting - This will be held on 22 Feb and as such, we will be having cell in church instead, with everyone else :)
   
   
7. Worship - James have shared that it is not very environmentally friendly to always print our lyrics on small pieces of paper and most of the time, these are left behind or thrown away. I do agree and so, we are suggesting that, as the spirit leads and if you would like to share a song with the CG that week, please forward your lyrics to James Tan by Thursday 5pm so he can help to compile them. Ultimately, this will come together into a CG worship folder.
   
   
8. KTV -OK, announcement announcement, we will be meeting for KTV on Sunday after second service. Meet at atrium and we will make our way there together and maybe buy lunch on the way :) Then we will sing to our hearts content from 2pm-7pm, followed by sumptuous dinner at Chinatown :)

Thank you everyone for helping and putting all these together :D

Suffering for Being a Christian

Hi, here's a sharing by our brother, James Tan, which I promised to post onto the CG Blog:

1 Peter 4: 12-19:
12. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
16. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
17. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18. And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
19. So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

A lot of times , we as Christians will feel that the non-Christians are better than us in many ways . God clearly states in this passage for those who participates in the sufferings of Christ we may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

In Jesus Name Amen

James Tan

Strengthening Our Core: Armour of God

Riverlife's Theme for 2008
Over the beginning couple of weekends of Jan, Rev. shared how He sensed that the theme for Riverlife for 2008 is about trusting God for unprecedented growth and as such, the church will need to strengthen its core. He shared from Isaiah 54:2:

"Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes."

Indeed, it seems to me that the purpose of Riverlife Church is becoming clearer as God continues to work through the church in reaching out to people and helping them to restore their relationship with God. Riverlife is becoming an outreaching church mainly because of the effort of many to live out the Great Commission as Matthew 28:19-20 reminds us:

19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20. and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Focusing on God
It is about life transformation, repentance of hearts and restoration of relationship with God, not numbers. And we should thank God that last year saw close to 1000 spiritual decisions being made. I believe that God has His purpose for Riverlife and even for our cell and as long as we keep our focus on God correct, living out the Great Commandments (as Leviticus 26:3-6 and Deuteronomy 28:2-6 reminds us) and Great Commission, He will be with us always.

Mark 12:28-31:
28. One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"29. "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Christ was teaching us the principle behind the Law and had not come to abolish the Law. God is consistent and continue to remind us to walk right with Him so as to be able to enjoy communion with Him. Jesus has come to be a model and to also fulfill the Law so we can no longer carry our burden of sin and approach the throne of God, because Jesus has borne it all.

Matthew 5: 17-20: 17. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Be the Center

Jesus, be the centre
Be my source, be my light
Jesus

Jesus, be the centre
Be my hope, be my song
Jesus

(Chorus)
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision
Be my path, be my guide
Jesus

God's Purpose for the Cell
Over the past few months, I have been praying for God to show me the purpose for our cell and it is just amazing how one thing happens after another, affirming the purpose of God for this cell; to be reaching out to the spiritually needy, particularly the backslided, broken and misled. And it is amazing how God continues to affirm the calling and bless the cell despite of my many inadequacies. He continues to affirm me throughout last year despite many times I was on the verge of letting go. But He never forsake and He continues to minister through my quiet time, the pulpit, songs, circumstances (and even spoke when a colleague opened his diary and there was Isaiah 41:9-10 which ministered to me deeply) and people (including people He has sent to minister to). Then, when I became all tired and was becoming rather willful, He spoke in a voice which was unmistakably His and in that encounter He asked "why do you not trust me?". He continued to minister and even through sending a brother-in-christ to confront me about some of my spiritual decisions I was about to make, making me realise that preparation is underway.

Blessings and Trials
As I read Isaiah 54 this week, it became clear to me that we NEED to strengthen our core, both at the cell level and at the church and as a body of Christ. Because we are fighting spiritual warfare and we need to be equipped for the warfare; because we are snatching souls from the devil and he will do all he can to thwart the plan God has to further His kingdom.

Isaiah 54:
The Future Glory of Zion

1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.

2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.

6 The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.

7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace.

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD.

Isaiah 54 tells us of the future glory of Zion. Indeed, if we look through Isaiah 54, we see:

• God promises forgiveness (v 4-10) despite our faithlessness sometimes
• God promises blessings (v 11-14)
• God promises deliverance from trials (v15, 17)

But amidst all these promises, in Isaiah 54:2, He tell us to enlarge the place of our tents and stretch our tent curtains wide, not to hold back, strengthen the stakes and lengthen the cords. We need to be outreaching as commanded in the Great Commission. We need to bring many into God's kingdom. But before that, we need to prepare ourselves as God prepares us too, as He had created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work.

We need to be mindful of spiritual attacks and trials. Frankly, no one likes trials but then as we were sharing last week, trials, for many people, also took on different meanings. For me, though I do not enjoy trials, upon reflection:

• Trials brings people closer of back to God - It was a crisis I was facing which brought me back from the wilderness after having backslided for 15 years. It was getting to a stage I could no longer deal with the challenges I had on hand and God came to rescue me.
  
• Trials prepares one for ministry -Indeed, God is the one who created the blacksmith who "fans the coals into flames" so that a weapon can be made, one which is fit for its work. And it became clear to me how indeed the many challenges faced last year, some which brokened me, may have helped build me perhaps for my ministry. Over the months, I have also seen how God has His plans for using me and my previous bad experiences (which was eventually addressed two years later) to understand and minister to others in the same position.
  
• Trials indicate that the devil is trying to put a stop to you responding to God's calling - This became especially clear to me that it could have been spiritual attack which had caused me to be downcasted late last year. Almost all at once, I had to deal with work stress, my dad's uncertain medical condition, my leg pain and also ministry challenges. But thank God everything is starting to brighten up, including my leg, which has been aching for months and my dad's health is getting better and in fact, he is being discharged from quite a bit of his medical follow-ups (he used to be like a full-time patient, going for medical follow-ups many times a month, for his heart, eye, diabetes, high blood pressure, ENT, kidney etc). Work and ministry is also picking up.
• Trials may also point out that something may not be spiritually right - thus making us susceptible to attacks by the devil.
  

Strengthening the Core - Putting on the Armour of God

Hence, we are told to put on the armour of God to protect us from attacks from the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-18:
10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15. and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

We need to cover one another spiritually (including our leaders in the church) and grow in the Lord. We need to know the Word of God, know the truth, be righteous, be always ready to allow God to work through us as we minister to others, have faith, put on our salvation (purchased with the blood of Christ) as our crown and pray.

Let's just continue to grow spiritually, put on the armour of God and also cover one another spiritually.

Build Your House Upon the Rock

46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." ~ Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)

Work in Progress

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them ~ Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)