Praying Effectively

Dato Daniel Tay

2 Kings 20:1-18: About this time King Hezekiah fell ill and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, "The Lord tells you that you are to put everything in order, because you will not recover. Get ready to die."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed : "Remember, Lord, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to." And he began to cry bitterly.

Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, "I, the Lord, the God of your ancestor Daid, hae heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you,and in three days you will go to the Temple. I will let you live fifteen yers longer. I will rescue you and this city of Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria. I will defend this city, for the sake of my own hnour and because of the promise I made to my servant David."

Then Isaiah told the king's attendants to put on his boil a paste made of figs, and he would get well. King Hezekiah asked, "What is the sign to prove that the Lord will heal me and that three days later I will be able to go to the Temple?"

Isaiah replied, "The Lord will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. Now, would you prefer the shadow on the stairway to go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?"

Hezekiah answered, "Its easy to make the shadow go forward ten steps! Make it go back ten steps."

Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway set up by King Ahaz.

About the same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been ill, so he sent him a letter and a present. Heekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth - his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them. Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, "Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?"

Hezekiah answered, "They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia."

"What did they see in the palace?"

"They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didin't show them."

Isaiah then said to the king, "The Lord Almighty says that a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left. Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia."

King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, "The message you have given me from the Lord is good."

v4- word came back that he would be healed
*God is the same as Hezekiah's time as today

Introduction
Inspiration from nature
*How does a person pray effectively?
*Isaiah said that Hezekiah was going to die
*Isaiah prayed and move the heart of God

Inspiration from invention

Inspiration from prayer

Praying effectively
1. v2 - Turning the face to the wall
*Prayer is the most important thing to Christians
*1 Thessalonians 5:17: (Pray continually): pray at all times
*Matthew 21:13 : (No house celebrationan charity but prayer) : and said to them, "It is written in the Scrptures that God said, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it a hideout for thieves!"

*We may do things and think we can get away, but nothing can be done when its too late

2. v2 & 3 - Praying and pleading (to remember his good deeds)
*What makes a prayer special?
*not like chanting
*Remember God by serving in various ministries
*Remember God by walking and doing good
*Nehemiah build the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days
- so many opposition
- says a lot of 'Remember Me' to God
-we can pray to God saying 'Remember Me' anytime
*Holy of Holies - only the High Priest gets to go in. There is a bell with him to notify that he is alive and a rope tied to his leg to pull him out in case there is no sound from him.
- when Christ dies, the curtain separting the Holy of Holies divided, to show that we have direct connection to God and that God is now our High Priest.

3. v3-wept bitterly
* If we don't lead holy lifes, we can't have the posture
*How can you have the posture to weep bitterly and touch God's heart?
*How can we love other nationality like us?

Conclusion
1. Response of World Cup
Man Utd's goalkeeper - Van der Sar manage to defend the goal for 1302 minutes = 15 games of 90 minutes each
*He is known to have a 'safe pair of hands'
*God is our 'safe pair of hands'
*The perfect does not become more perfect. God will always be the same, last time till today
*If we pray like Hezekiah, we will be able to touch the heart of God

2. Response of Hezekiah
*When our prayer is answered, what should we do?
2 Kings 20:12-18: (as stated above)

*The issue was Hezekiah's illness
*Hezekiah forgot the main issue, he addressed his wealth to the King of Babylon
*v16;17: (as stated above)

*He did not show of how he turn his face to the wall, prayed and wept bitterly

3. Response of our Answered Prayers
*Many people would respond:
"I am not Hezekiah, I will not follow his footsteps"
*We are suppose to pray for the success of our children, instead, we pray and boast of how smart our children are
*We pray for promotion because we want and think that we are a self-made man
* All these will cause a person to so easily become a proud person

*We are reminded that when we pray, we cannot ever forget the good things that God has done for us
*We should instead tell people what God has done for us through testimonies
*We should look for inspiration in answered prayers
*In all humility, all things come from God

*"The Lord of God is one, we will have to love God with all heart, soul and strength and love our neighbour as ourselves."



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Peace Begins At Home

Mr Steven Ooi

MYF SUNDAY!

23rd May 2010

Matthew 5:9: "Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!"

*It is so easy to be naive in peace
*When 2 or 3 people come together, there will eventually be conflict
*Satan loves when we backstab
*If we don't have peace, we have forgotten that we belong to one-another (quoted by Mother Theresa)
*Lack of peace is so pervasive
*Conflict between Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel that lead to a brother's death
*Continuous conflict, Jesus showed us 'Blessed ar the peacemakers, for they become the Sons of God -Matthew 5:9

*Not reaching options or ideas- the 8 beattitudes marks off Jesus Christ to follow him whole heartedly
*One of the fruits of the Spirit - Peace

Phil Morgan
1. Peace Breakers
Romans 16:17-18: I urge you, my brothers: watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people's faith and go against the teaching which you have recieved. Keep away from them! For those who do such things are not serving Christ our Lord, but their own appetites. By their fine words and flattering speech they deceive innocent people.

God's heart is rebuild in Psalm 133:1: How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony!

*Can peace be broken without knowledge?
*Have you been pushing any buttons lately?
*It is easier to break than create peace


2. Peace Fakers or Peace Keepers
Ephesians 4:25 : No more lying, then! Everyone must tell the truth to his fellow-believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ.

-put off falsehood and speak truthfully
Members of 1 body
*If things are not resolve and when peace is being tried so hard, it is harder to resolve


3. Peace Makers-to do (strong word), to create
*Must be actively made- not by chance
*Often messy work
*Peace must be pursued and guarded
*A peace maker builds a bridge in spite of all the stones
*Hatred looks for a victim and peace wins the victory

12 Principles of Peace
1. Peace must be pursued
Romans 14:19: So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help to strengthen one another.

Psalm 34:14: Turn away from evil and do good; strive for peace with all your heart

Ephesians 4:3: Do your best to perserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.

1 Thessalonians 5:13: Treat them with the greatest respect and love because of the work they do. Be at peace among yourselves.


2. Being a peacemaker can be lonely
Psalm 120:6,7: I have lived too long with people who hate peace!
When I speak of peace, they are for war.

3. Peace must be prayed for
Psalm 122:6: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you prosper.

4. The Promoter of peace finds joy
Proverbs 12:20: Those who plan evil are in for a rude surprise, but those who work for good will find happiness.

5. Pleasing  God is a prerequisite for peace
Proverbs 16:7: When you please the Lord, you can make your enemies into friends.

6. Those who bring peace have beautiful feet
Isaiah 2:17: Human pride will be ended, and human arrogance will be destroyed.

7. Jesus gives peace unlike any other
John 14:27: "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

8. Churches grow during times of peace
Acts 9:21: All who heard him were amazed and asked, "Isn't he the one who in Jerusalem was killing those who worship that man Jesus? And didin't he come here for the very purpose of arresting those people and taking them back to the chief priests?"

"grew in numbers living in the fear of the Lord"

9. We must do everything possible to live at peace
Romans 12:18: Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.

10. Peace is a directive from the God of peace
1 Corinthians 7:15: However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.

2 Corinthians 13:11 :And now, my brothers, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Colossians 3:15: The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.

11.Righteousness is rewarded to peacemakers
James 3:18: And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

12. Jesus is the model of peace
Ephesians 2:14-17: For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people.With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace. By his death on the cross Christ destroyed ther enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body nd brought them back to God. So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all - to you Gentiles, who were far away from Gd, and to the Jews, who were near to him.

*Making peace is also found in the beattitude

Rewards for peacemakers
1. We are all blessed when we make peace
2. This beattitude ends with an intriguing phrase
"For they will be called Sons of God"

*Officially designated of holding particular rank like a chairman
*Own or know or recognize as what they really are -children of God, child of the Prince of Peace
*Peacemakers bears a family resemblance you will reflect the character of Father in heaven
*If you want to resemble God, be a peacemaker
*Would God be happy or sad for you to make peace?

*Until we put these into actions, they are just words

Action steps:
1. Make sure you're at peace with God
Malachi 3:8-10: I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. 'How?' you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there.Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour our on you in abundance all kinds of good things.

Ephesians 2:3: Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.

*We don't have peace unless you have peace in God
*Awesome privilege to be in work with God
*No country with peace unless peace resides within its community and unless they surrender to the Prince of Peace

2. Lead others to be at peace with God
2 Corinthians 5:15:He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who dies and was rised to life for their sake.

*Our Lord Jesus Christ entrusted mission, go and make disciples- the great commission
*Make things right / forgive and seek forgiveness

3. Be at peace with those around you
*Do you need to settle problems with anyone?

4. Help others who are in conflict
*The peacemakers' pledge
*Peacemakers release tension, strive for resolution
2 Thessalonians 3:16  - The Benediction


"May the Lord Himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all."




**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Ascension of the Lord

"Keys To A Lively And Healthy Faith"

Rev Wong Onn Thau

16 May 2010

Mark 14:32-36: They came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James, and John with him. Distress and anguish came over him, and he said to them, "The sorrow in my heart is so great that is almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch."

He went a little further on, threw himself on the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he might not have to go through that time of suffering. "Father, " he prayed, "My Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want."

*How do we keep our faith alive, vibrant and healthy?
*Faithful clues are found in the garden of Gethsemane

4 keys of a lively and vibrant faith
1. Continue to pray hard
*Prayer is important
*Jesus was a man of prayer, can't escape that fact
*If Jesus needed to pray, how much more should we pray
*Jesus wanted to be in touch with his father
*Prayer is conversation and friendship with God
*If we don't pray, our faith will shrink, shrivel and die
*When they face trouble, they don't know how to pray
*We don't need a special language to communicate with God

2. Continue to grow and learn
*Study, question and clear the air
*Jesus was open to new truth in the garden
*When we stop growing and learning, our faith will shrink, shrivel and die
*Sometimes our faith have not even pass standard 1
*We need God to nourish, water and sunlight us to grow

3. We must continue to obey God
*Jesus was obedient "Not what I want but what you want"
*Come what may obedience
*The land of faith that would not die- rooted in Christian "thy will be done obedience"

4. Determination and Perserverance
*Jesus had every reason to drop out
*"Father into your hands, I commit"
*Don't quit on the church
*When things are going against us, we often quit
*Paul had a co-worker which is very capable but not well known
Why? because he quit, He was Demas

2 Timothy 4:9-11: Do your best to come to me soon. Demas fell in love with this present world and has deserted me, going off to Thessalonica. Crescens wet to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, becaus he can help me in the work.



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

God Offers a Better Deal

Rev Yew Nieng Song

9 May 2010

Hebrews 3:1-4,7: My Christian brothers, who also have been called by God! Think of Jesus, whom God sent to be the High Priest of the faith we profess. He was faithful to God, who chose him to do his work, just as Moses was faithful in his work in God's house. A man who builds a house receives more honour than the house itself. In the same way Jesus is worthy of much greater honour than Moses. Every house, of course, is built by someone- and God is the one who has built all things.

So then, as the Holy Spirit says,
"If you hear God's voice today"

*Revival is dangerous- cause us to give up our own ways
                                 -your time is not your time but God's time
*God is offering something much better
*Lead by the Spirit = children of God
*We are Christians but not leading things that are discern by God
*we are using carnal man to interpret life
*God did not answer our prayer - God is trying to get our attention
                                                  - work contrary to God
*Changing progressively into Jesus Christ
*If blessings are not coming in the right way, ask God if there is something wrong
*Do you know what it means to be a Christian?
*Seek God's will to know what is your destiny
*Galatians 2:14: When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How, then, can you try to force Gentiles to live like Jews?"

*God is the way, close other doors
*Jesus mission statement 'It is not complicated'
*Kingdom of God, darkness & man -those are the things we often struggle
*but Jesus is more superior
*Jesus is the message, angels are the messenger
*Church- Your at the centre
*He has an appointment here with us
*He is calling us at every church service
*You need to follow God's ways
*Do not be conform to this world but be transform by the renewing of the mind
*Many of us are settle in a comfortable life getting blessings from the church
*Hebrews author says there are things that hinder us knowing the word of God
*We are not recieving the healing of God, but we are to claim the promises of God
*We need faith to remain in that wholeness
*Hebrews - book of better things - things that rust and moth cannot destroy
*If everyone does the work of God, this adds on to revival
*We will not be in heaven forever because a new earth and heaven will be here on earth (read the book of revelation, the last book).
*So do good now to collect back the blessings soon
*Who are you living for?
*Many of us miss the mark and are living in the flesh - thats why we have many problems
*"Now the new way has come, Christ is the better way"
*We have the word of God as the light to our feet
*If a wive does not submit to husband, children will be argueing with you
*Thats why repentence are needed
*Author of Hebrews concludes with greetings
*It is a privilege to serve the most high God
*We are serving to the best
*God has better things to plan for our church
*Then, read the bible first
*Learn to give tithes
*Who knows you? If you know God knows you, he will bless you.
*Learn to let go off the good things and grab hold of the things God wants you to have instead.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Battle of the Wills - Part 2 'Outstrategizing Sin'

Pastor Andrew Lim

2nd May 2010

Romans 6:1-14: What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase? Certainly not! We have died to sin - how then can we go on living in it? For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. For when a person dies, he is set free from the power of sin. Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again - death will no longer rule over him. And so, because he died, sin has no power over him and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concered, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.

Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self. Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes. Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but under God's grace.


*Sinful habits
- a particular area that we fall after repenting over and over again
- most destrucive in the person's mind

Colossians 3:6-9: Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him. At one time you yourselves used to lie according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.

But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. Do not lie to one another, for you have taken off the old self with its habits.
eg: anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, envy

Why is sin bad?

1. Destructive- prevent the blessings of God from coming in

Proverbs 28:13: You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; the God will show mercy to you.

2. Separate us from God's presence is difficult
-find something missing when doing quiet time, reading the Bible with difficulty

3. Brings condemnation
-not sin but condemnation that brings us down
-the lies of the enemy to trample- cannot rise up against the sin

4. Quenches the joy of the Spirit

Psalm 51:11: Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.

Ephesians 4:29-32: Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. And do not make God's Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort.
Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.

"Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God"

5. Risk losing the joy of salvation
-if we continue to live in the bondages of our lives
-It becomes part of our character/personality that it becomes impossible to break through
eg: gossiping, envy, hatred
-cannot stand (envy) seeing people more beautiful that yourself

John 8:36: If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.

Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free form the law of sin and death.

-no longer bound by sin
-don't let our sinful habits control our lives
-fight against the carnal man
-we read all the motivational, self help books but those cant help us if our spirit man is dead

1 Corinthians 10: 1-13: I want yu to remember, my bothers, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea. In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses. All ate the same spiritual bread and drank the same spiritual drin. They drank from the Spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself. But even then God was not pleased ith most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.
-(let those who think he does not sin..)
-every temptation has a way out

James 1:12-15: Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he suceeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. If a person is tempted by such trials, he must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But a person is tempted when he is drawned away and trapped by his own evil desire. Then his evil desire conceives and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
 
-It is the mind that temptation comes
-we entertain our thoughts until we fall into temptation

One day a man had a very clever mongkey. He had to go for a long trip so he told the mongkey that he could do anything except never to eat the banana from the banana tree. So while he was clearing the man's house, he stopped to look at the banana tree.
He said to himself, "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not eat the banana."
So he saw the banana.
Then he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not go nearer to see the banana tree."
So he went nearer to the banana.
Then he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not climb the banana tree."
So he climbed the banana tree.
Then he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not hold the banana."
So he held the banana.
Then he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not smell the banana."
So he smelt the banana.
Again he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not pluck the banana."
So he plucked the banana.
Then he thought to himself again "My master told me not to eat the banana but he did not say i could not lick the banana."
The moment he licked the banana, he ate it.

This is how temptation can be.

*You might want to forgive that person who hurt you but when you begin thinking about the pain he or she caused you, you change your mind.
*We try and resist temptation when we are on the way to temptation
*That is not the way. Instead, we should try and resist while it is a thought in our minds
*How does he stop while temptation is still a thought
*Jesus getting tempted in 40 days

Luke 4:1-13: Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert,where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days.In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.

The Devil said to him, "If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn into bread."
But Jesus answred, "The scripture says, 'Man cannot live on bread alone.'"

Then the Devil took him up and showed him in a second all the kingdoms of the world "I will give you all this power and all this wealth, " the Devil told him. "It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose. All this will be yours, then, if you worship me."

Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!'"

Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here. For the scripture says, 'God will order his angels to take good care of you, ' It also says, 'They will hold you up with their hands so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.'"

But Jesus answered, "The scripture says, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test, '"

When the Devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he left him for a while.

*In that story, Jesus immediately responded, he didn't think

Deuteronomy 8:3: He made you go hungry, and then he gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that man does not depend on bread alone to sustain him, but on everything that the Lord says.

Deuteronomy 6:16: "Do not put the Lord your Go to the test, as you did at Massah."

Deuteronomy 10:20: Obey the Lord your God and worship only him. Be faithful to him and make your promises in his name alone.

Ephesians 6:16: At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One.

*Faith comes by the word of God
*When our minds are filled with the word of God, we won't be tempted easily
*Every waking moment your mind is filled with the word of God if you keep reading the word of God. Then, you will not fall so easily into temptation

James 4:7: So then, submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.

*THE CHOICE IS OURS

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**