Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself. To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us. If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us—totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.
God's Total Surrender to Us
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not persih but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
URGENT - A CALL FOR NATIONAL PRAYER
There is no doubt that we are in perilous times. There is more at stake than your mortgage or retirement or your job.
There are eternal consequences to this moment in history!
During these difficult times I have been comforted with a scripture out of Psalms:
“ I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the lovingkindness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart be strong. Yes, wait for the Lord ”. (Psalm 27:13-14, NLV)
This is not about politics but to pray! Not to decide who was right and who was wrong, but to ask for God's mercy. And that all christians should meet for a time of prayer and repentance. That our leaders would have the wisdom of Solomon and that we should join with one another in humility before God. He is the only one that can help in times like these.
These are critical times—the time to pray is now. Let this be a season of prayer until we see breakthrough for our nation. This is about more than banks, and stock markets, this is about darkness against light. The only answer is to seek God and His wisdom.
Here are some Prayer Points:
1. Pray for a spirit of humility and repentance among our political leaders.
2. Pray for an answer to this economic crisis.
3. Pray for our Sultans, members of parliament, the senate, the judiciary and the executive branch of the government that justice, equality, transparency, responsibility, accountability and God fearing will prevail
4. Pray that church leaders and pastors would heed the call for prayer at this moment.
5. Pray that Christians would understand the signs of the times and activate prayer at a new level.
6. Pray for wisdom for our all in authority including the economic policy makers, bankers and business stakeholders
7. Pray that God would hear our prayers and heal our land as we humble ourselves in repentance before Him.
Transforming Power in the Word of God
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'
Heb 4:12
Does God's Word ever cause you discomfort? When you read the Bible, does what you read make you uneasy? You are experiencing the reality that the word of God is alive and can read your thoughts and judge your intentions.
When God's Word speaks to you it is always for a purpose. God knows your heart and knows what you need to do to bring your life into conformity to Christ. If you have a problem with sinful talk, the word that comes to you will address the tongue. If you are struggling to forgive, God's Word will confront you with His standard for forgiveness. If pride has a stronghold in your life, God's Word will speak to you about humility. Whatever sin needs addressing, you will find you are confronted by God's Word on the matter.
One way you can escape the discomfort of conviction is to avoid hearing God speak to you. You may neglect reading your Bible and stay away from places where it is taught. You may avoid those whom you know will uphold the truths of Scripture. The best response, however, is to pray as the psalmist did: “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Ps 139:23). Regularly allow the word of God to wash over you and find any sin or impurity (Ep 5:26). Always make the connection between your life and what God is saying to you through His word. Make a habit of taking every word from God seriously, knowing that it is able to judge your heart and mind.
Knowing God's Agenda
'Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.'
Mk 1:35
It was common knowledge among the disciples that they would find Jesus praying during the early morning hours. When they needed Him, they knew to go to the place of prayer.
Every time the Lord Jesus faced an important decision, He prayed. When He was being tempted to do things by the world's methods instead of the Father's, He prayed (Mt 4). When it was time to choose His disciples, He prayed the entire night (Lk 6:12). If the Son of God required a night of prayer in order to determine the Father's mind, how long might it take us in prayer to clearly determine our Father's will?
Because Jesus was so often surrounded by crowds, He knew He must find a quiet place so He could clearly hear His Father's voice.
Jesus had many people seeking to influence the direction of His life and he heard many voices from all sorts of people.
-His disciples wanted Him to go where the crowds were (Mk 1:37).
-The crowds wanted to crown Him king (Jn 6:15).
-Satan tempted Him to make compromises in order to draw a following (Mt 4:3,6,9).
Jesus knew that His mission was not to attract a crowd, but to remain obedient to His Father. It was prayer that set the agenda for Jesus’ ministry (Lk 6:12). Prayer preceded the miracles (Jn 11:42-43); prayer brought Him encouragement at critical moments (Lk 9:28-31); prayer enabled Him to go to the cross (Lk 22:41-42); and prayer kept Him there despite excruciating pain (Lk 23:46). Follow the Savior's example, and let your time alone with God, in prayer, set the agenda for your life. It is perhaps for direction in your life or a miracle that you are praying for or making an important decision to serve Him or going through pain or difficult period in your life. Seek His Face
We live by Revelation
1 March 2009
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
But happy is he who keeps the law.
Pr 29:18
The world operates on vision. God's people live by revelation. The world seeks grand and noble purposes and goals to achieve. People dream up the greatest and most satisfying things in which they can invest their lives. Institutions establish goals and objectives and then organize themselves to achieve them. God's people function in a radically different way. Christians arrange their lives based on the revelation of God, regardless of whether it makes sense to them. God does not ask for our opinion about what is best for our future, our family, our church, or our country. He already knows! What God wants is to get the attention of His people and reveal to us what is on His heart and what is His will, for God's ways are not our ways!
(Isa 55:8-9).
Whenever people do not base their lives on God's revelation, they “cast off restraint.” That is, they do what is right in their own eyes. They set their goals, arrange their agendas, and then pray for God's blessings. Some Christians are living far outside the will of God, yet they have the audacity to pray and ask God to bless their efforts!
The only way for you to know God's will is for Him to reveal it to you. You will never discover it on your own. When you hear from the Father, you have an immediate agenda for your life: obedience. As the writer of Proverbs observed: “Happy is he who keeps the law.”
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