First of all a short SERMON OUTLINE:

First John 2:16

Intr.:

“For everything in the world-

1. the cravings of sinful man,

2. the lust of his eyes, and

3. the boasting of what

-he has and

-does

End:

comes not from the Father but from the world.”

FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD.

What is friendship with the world?

— Friendship with the world is hatred toward God.

— Friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God.

ARE YOU AN ENEMY OF GOD?

FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD.

What is friendship with God?

— Friendship with God is hatred toward the world.

— Friendship with God makes you an enemy of the world.

ARE YOU AN ENEMY OF THE WORLD?

FINALLY I AM ASKING YOU AGAIN: ARE YOU AN ENEMY OF GOD OR ARE YOU AN ENEMY OF THE WORLD?

IF YOU ARE AN ENEMY OF THE WORLD YOU LIVE FOREVER!!

“Powered by Google” and “Proudly powered by WordPress,” I am reading on the screen of the monitor.

Powered by ……..What?

I don’t know about you, but I want to be powered by PRAYER!

I have learned that “‘PRAYER is the soul of man talking to God.'”

HOW CAN WE BE POWERED BY PRAYER?

Let me mention here two things, praise and asking.

First of all we are encouraged to praise.

One part of prayer should be ADORATION. What is adoration? Adoration is when our soul is praising and worshipping God. Please read Psalm 95:6

When I am thinking about praising the Lord, two passages from the Bible are coming to my mind, namely Second Chronicles 20 and Acts 16.

In Second Chronicles chapter 20 King Jehoshaphat is in trouble,  but singing and praising gets him out of his trouble. And have you ever prayed like king Jehoshaphat? This is the last sentence of his prayer. You find the last sentence of his prayer in Second Chronicles 20:12  “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

In Acts chapter 16 Paul and Silas are in prison and praying and singing gets them out of prison. Let us also notice that Paul and Silas were singing about midnight. What a time to sing hymns to God. But they did. What happened? An earthquake happened.

Read the whole story for yourself in the New Testament in the book of Acts. (Acts 16:16-40) Yes, the Bible is a very exciting book!

Secondy we are encouraged to ask.

And here again two Bible passages: Matthew 7:7 and James 4:2.

In Matthew 7:7 The Lord Jesus says, “‘Ask and it will be given to you;…'”

I like especially James 4:2 where it says, “YOU DO NOT HAVE, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT ASK GOD.” Can I encourage you to ask!

And here are the three answers God gives to prayer: 1. Yes, 2. No, 3. Wait.

Wairakei Geothermal Powerstation

“We will never learn to pray by reading books on the subject. We must pray. Be sure to thank Him constantly for answered prayer.” – Alban Douglas in ONE HUNDRED BIBLE LESSONS.

Billy Graham says, “Without constant, daily, systematic prayer, your life will seem barren, discouraging, and fruitless. Without constant prayer you never can know the inner peace that God wants to give you.”

I say once more: Yes, I want to be powered by prayer!

I found this religious axiom in the book RENEWED DAY BY DAY by A. W. Tozer:

“‘No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God!'”

Two things have been on my mind for quite some time, one more than the other.

The first is OBEDIENCE and the second is THE LOVE OF GOD.

Not long ago I started reading a book written by A. W. Tozer and I am really encouraged. Please find out why!

1. OBEDIENCE

For a long time I have been thinking that I have learned quite a bit and I am learning more and more, but I am asking myself, “Am I obedient to all the teaching I have received so far? What about my obedience?”

Listen to what  A. W. Tozer says: “Theological truth is useless until it is obeyed.The purpose behind all doctrine is to secure moral action!”

2. THE LOVE OF GOD

If you want to be critized all you need to say or write is that we are overemphasizing the love of God.

Listen to what  W. A. Tozer says: “It is sad but true that the love of God affects the carnal heart not at all; or if at all, then adversely, for the knowledge that God loves us may simply confirm us in our self-righteousness!”

A. W. Tozer died in 1963, but he is still speaking through his books and it is good to learn from him.

It is always exciting and encouaraging to learn what the Holy Spirit has taught the Church in the past through his servants. Praise the Lord!

FOOD

Wherever we are on our journey, sooner or later we are reminded and encouraged to feed our body with delicious food.

But do we know and remember that we don’t only have a body, but also a soul? Not only our body needs to be fed, but our soul as well.  (And yes, I have not forgotten, that man is a Tripartite Being.)

FOOD FOR THE BODY

You hear and read so much about food for the body, that I don’t need to say much. Let me just mention that McDonald’s here in Kaitaia has a big poster on the  top of  the roof saying: “LAMB IS HERE”.  (That poster gave me actually the idea to write this post.)

More NEWS here in KAITAIA is that we are waiting for the opening of the KAITAIA BAKEHOUSE, CAFE AND ROASTS!

FOOD FOR THE SOUL

Listen to what the Bible says in Matthew 4:4 and let us remember, that the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Authorized Version)

The Bible is not only a sword, a hammer, a seed, a mirror, a fire, a lamp, but also food. The BIble is providing not only meat for our soul, but also drink. Please read the following verses in the Bible: First Peter 2:2 and First Corinthians 3:2. I like especially Job 23:12, where Job says,”I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth  more than my daily bread.”

Can I please remind you and encourage you to feed your soul! With other words PLEASE, READ THE BIBLE!

I am reading now the book called RENEWED DAY BY DAY, A Daily Devotional by A. W. TOZER, Compiled by G. B. SMITH.

Please get hold of it and read it!

“SHARING A PASSION FOR READING,” is the heading of the article. It is the story about a book lover, who is especially fond of books for kids and keeps herself fulfilled by supporting others, who need encouragement to try writing or illustrating. (The Northern Advocate, Tuesday, August 14, 2012)

Articles about reading and books are of great interest to me, because reading is one of my hobbies and I have a particular passion for reading the BIBLE.

Why do I have a passion for reading the BIBLE? I love to tell you why, and will do it as plainly and simply as I can.

I must tell you about two experiences, spiritual experiences, actually miracles. I looked up THE COLLINS  CONCISE DICTIONARY and there I read that a miracle is “an event contrary to the laws of nature and attributed to a supernatural cause.” There I read also that a miracle is “any amazing  or wonderful event.”

THE FIRST MIRACLE

Is it easy to talk about and explain miracles? I don’t think so.

But the first miracle happened in Germany many years ago, when I was eighteen years old.

Until a certain day of 1958 the BIBLE was for me like any other book on the book shelf.  But that changed on that particular day, and the BIBLE was no longer like any other book on the book shelf.

Slowly, very slowly, I began to understand, what the Bible was all about! I began to grow spiritually.

On that day in the year of 1958 I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and I was conscious of peace and happiness.

THE SECOND MIRACLE

The second miracle took place many many years later in Kaikohe in New Zealand.

Until then I was not really satisfied with my reading of the BIBLE. Let me just say my reading of the BIBLE was not good enough. And I knew it. And I wanted to read the BIBLE systematically, it was my desire to read the BIBLE like any other book, from cover to cover.

And then it happened, all of a sudden I was able to read the Bible from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. If I remember correctly, and I think I do, when that happened I read the BIBLE twice from cover to cover in one year. And when I say I read the BIBLE from cover to cover, I mean I read every word!

Yes, miracles are still happening today. They happened to me. Please, tell me if they happened also in your life.

“Start living now.

STOP saving the good china for that special occasion.

STOP withholding your love until that special person materializes.

Every day you are alive is a special occasion. Every minute, every breath, is a gift.” – Mary Manin Morrissey