The Follower's Life | Elder Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from acts church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

I'm going to be teaching again from the series in Matthew,

but so happened. You know, the Sermon on the Mound

covers a lot on prayer and fasting, and so I'm

going to be continuing the teaching on the Sermon on

the Mound, which is the very, very happening sermon that

Jesus preach. You can see it in Matthew chapter five, six,

and seven, and maybe beyond, But it's three or four

chapters with so much that he covered in one sitting.

So Jesus just went on and on and on. No,

I'm trying to break it down for all of us

so that we can focus on the different areas. But

can you imagine not being a follower of Christ back

then and they're all seated there, you know, in the

audience and thousands of people, and then Jesus has this

natural pulpit at the on top of the mountain and

he's speaking and it's a natural amplification, uh, And he's

just going on from the beatitude to the teaching on

our moral conduct, then the teaching to our religious conduct.

He went on and on he guided uh and everyone

so many remembered, and today we have it all written down.

Thank God. That is nothing short of a miracle that

we have it recorded uh in the Holy scriptures. And

so there's a lot that we can learn from in

the scriptures on prayer and fasting. So are you already

to go a little bit deeper on prayer and fasting? Okay?

I've simply entitled the message the followers life. Why did

I entitle it as such? Well, again, very simple. We

are we are in this team this year, the team

of disciple. First, and what is the definition the basic

definition of disciple.

A disciple is basically a.

Follower of Christ, someone who follows what Jesus did and

what he taught us to do. Okay, So you know,

there's so many things that is listed out, and you know,

really it's a joy to be given these instructions. I'm

always forever grateful, but I never look at it as

Jesus giving us a set of demands. That was what

the law was, Okay, in the Old Testament, the law

is demands. Okay. Honor God, No, don't know honor the suburb,

don't misuse God's name, don't kill, don't still don't. It's

a set of demands, but we thank God when Jesus came,

he didn't come with a set of demands. He came

with an offer, because if it was still a demand,

none of us can never meet the demands of God.

That is the reality of it. And Jesus came with

an offer of salvation, and I'm grateful. I pray that

we will not be a demanding generation, but we will

always be reminded of what is it we can offer.

That's how we must always look at this When we

come to church. Sometimes we can be demands. I demand

to be served in this manner. I demand for my

needs to be met in this way. I demand for

the needs of my children to be met in this way.

Hardly I ever see anyone come to church saying that

what can I offer to the body of believers? So

it's very important that we see and we understand it from.

The angle of the gospels.

And this is an amazing offer that Jesus has given

us a chance to be reconciled with him. Amen. Okay,

So I just want to say all that so that

we have an overview and understanding because when we go

into the teaching and into trying to understand deeper, it's

good to have some of these basic foundations. Okay. So

I'm going to read the portion of scripture, and I'm

not just going to read on the prayer part, which

is the focus of the teaching. I'm going to read

it in context that we understand it, you know, big

picture wise. Okay, So, Matthew, Chapter six is the scripture

that I'm looking at. I'm going to be reading until

verse seventeen. Okay, I'm reading from the NLT. And as

I'm reading it, I want us to take note of

some common teams. Okay, and I'll ask you what the

common team is, and then we'll see how to proceed

from then on. Okay. Chapter six, verse one, it says this,

the title is teaching about giving to the needy. Watch out.

Don't do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others,

for you will lose the reward from your father in

heaven when you give to someone in need. Don't do

as the hypocrites do, blowing trumpets in the synagogues and

streets to call attention to their acts of charity. I

tell you the truth, they have received all the reward

they will ever get. But when you give to someone

in need, don't let your left hand know what you're

right and is doing. Give your gifts in private, and

your father, who sees everything, will reward you. And he

goes on teaching about prayer and fasting Verse five. When

you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to

pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where

everyone can see them. I tell you the truth that

it's all the reward they will ever get. But when

you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you,

and pray to your father in private. Then your father,

who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don't

babble on and on as the gentiles do. They think

their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again

and again. Don't be like them, for your father knows

exactly what you need, even before you ask him. Pray

like this, our Father in heaven, May your name be

kept holy, May your kingdom come soon, May or will

be done on.

Earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today the food we need, and forgive us

our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against

and don't let us yield to temptations, but rescue.

Us from the evil one.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly

father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others,

your father will not forgive your sins. And when you fast,

don't make it obvious, as the hypocrits do, for they

try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire

them for their fasting. I tell you the truth that

it is the only reward they will ever get. But

when you first comb your hand, wash your face, then

no one will notice that you are fasting except your father,

who knows what you do in private, and your father,

who sees everything, will reward you. The Lord bless the

reading of his word. Okay, what's the common theme? And

when a child out, what do you hear? Private?

Okay?

Private? This is one area of our Christian life that

we are not supposed to publicize. Okay, so it Matthew Sikes,

Jesus is teaching. And again this is the Sermon on

the Mound. It's part of the Sermon on the Mound

on the spiritual behaviors of the followers of Christ. Basically

what Christians should do. And it's not always easy to

learn and apply. We know that because on our own

sometimes doing and following the teachings of Jesus is not easy. No,

we read this, so we're like, so difficult, But yet

it's possible. It's possible, true Christ in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And so there are a few things. Now if you

read chapter five, okay, read chapter five. Chapter five, I

thought the last time on the Beatitudes. After the Beatitudes,

there is a part that talks a lot about our

purity and our moral standards. And when Jesus teaches and

talks about our purity and our moral standards, he always

says this, you must put it on a lampstand for

everyone to see. Basically, we must let everyone know our

stand on these issues. And what did he teach on

If you have your Bible, you can flip it to

chapter five. You will see he teaches us don't commit

adult three, Stay faithful to your spouse, be charitable, love

your neighbors. This is what Jesus thought. He taught about

the law, he thought about anger management, he thought about adultery,

he taught about divorce, He taught about vows, revenge, and

loving your enemies.

All this he says.

In verse fourteen to sixteen, he says this of chapter five,

you are the light of the world, like a city

on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights

a lamb and then puts it under a basket. Instead,

a lamb is placed on a stand where it gives

light to everyone in the house. In the same way,

let your good deeds shine out for all to see,

so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Again, I'm

not making this up. It's scripture. But but when we

reach chapter six, he says, we must not let everyone

see the religious sign of our lives. Okay, that part

we must keep quiet because the secret of true religion

is religion in secret. And you have to understand. Okay,

the background. Here are the scribes and Pharisees. Okay, they're there.

Jesus is talking to them. And if you want to

talk about the three religious life or the tree pillars

of religiousity, for Pharisee and for Us said you see,

and for the Jews basically is in these tree pillars,

giving praying, fasting, Okay, giving praying, fasting, and our Lord

actually assume his followers will follow this tree beliefs, this

tree pillars, and that believers would fast, believers would give,

believers would pray. Because he didn't say if you give,

if you pray, or if you us. He says when

you give, when you pray, and when you fast. So

there is already the assumption that this is what we

are supposed to do our religious life, and that is

something that we need to understand. So the first thing

the Lord keeps on reminding us is the need for secrecy.

He says, you don't have to parade this aspect of it,

because you see the Pharisees love to make it public.

You know when they gave, literally they start to herald,

they blew the trumpet, and they in their minds they're

probably thinking, well, it will encourage everyone else to give.

And so maybe that's why we have to shout it out.

You know. When it comes to fast thing, if you

read the NKJV, it doesn't say that the shevel. It

says that they actually disfigure their faces. They use all

sorts of dark makeup, know to make themselves look all

gothic and fasting.

That was what they were doing.

They wanted to do look terrible so that everyone knew

what they were going through. But Jesus taught us to

take positive steps to keep it quiet, not positive steps

to make it public. And that's why when you give

in a way he's teaching he don't even let yourself

know what you are giving.

Do not be calculated.

Because we let ourselves know what we are giving, We're like, oh, man,

I'm going to be giving a million bucks. I think

I would expect a million bucks worth of praises or

I think I would expect a million bucks worth of

returns out of my generous giving. But no, that's not

how the Lord taught us to think, because he's saying,

don't even think of the give, because if you don't

think of the give, you're not likely to display to others.

That's the reality of it. Keep it quiet, keep it.

Secret when you pray, deliberately, get away from others if

it's possible.

Do we really need to parade.

Our piety, how pious we are, how religious we are,

And that is the one part of our lives that

has to be kept secret, kept quiet. Our quiet time

should be quiet. That's what the scripture is saying. I'm

not saying that there is no place for corporate prayer.

There is because if you read on scriptures. Of course,

in Matthew, chapter eighteen, verse nineteen vers says where two

or three are gathered in the mythst is God, and

he recognized corporate prayer. In James, it says, confess to

one another. That means you're not by yourself live okay,

not all prayers by yourself. There is a time and

place for corporate prayer when the church comes together, because

again the church is also known as the house of

prayer for the nations. But in this aspect, it's your

personal behavior, your religious life. This is where he is

reminding us, don't make it obvious when you first, don't

make it obvious.

And he's being very direct.

But Jesus taught us about motives, and mixed motives always

comes in when we give it too much taught and

we try to publicize something that is meant to be

kept private. That's why he said that your father is

the only one who needs to see your piety. It

is only possible to be free from hypocrisy and full

of sincerity if we actually take active steps to keep

things private. And therefore the need for secrecy is really

the need for sincerity you ever find yourself in that position,

because with the best will in the world, no matter

what your intentions are, if we do things in front

of other people, we are always tempted to be aware

of their reactions of what we do. That is the

reality of it, no matter how you think. No, I

don't care what people think. No, I know it's not true.

When you do things in front of other people, you

are going to be aware, and you're going to be

conscious of what and how other people would react, and

that something that's always going to be weighed in your mind.

You see. I know it's not always easy to grasp

all of this because on one hand, he says, now,

let your light shine, let your moral standard shine. Put

your purity on a pedestal that means all your actions

in terms of your pure actions, put it on a

pedestal that all may see, so that God's name will

be glorified. But your religion, your piety, that's between God

and yourself alone. And I think it's important for us

to grasp this and understand this because the implication for

this in terms of evangelizing and witnessing is powerful, is

far reaching.

And we need to remember them.

We need to ask at every point whether we ever

parade our religion, even the most subtle form, since we

are also asked to parade in the way benchmark and

make sure that our life is a beacon of morality.

That part we need to publicize. But a lot of

times it's reverse right. Doing the right thing is like

a man. It's not cool and not cool to do

to remain pure, not cool to not do the things

that the world is doing. And so we privatize our

moral standards, but we publicize. Oh, I pray every day,

I go to church, every day, I go religiously. I

give to.

Everyone to show everyone.

No, it's the other way around, okay, And so now

we come to the Lord's prayer. So I want to

build this so that we understand as I'm teaching, as

I'm sharing, we understand where it's all coming from.

So the Lord's Pray.

Okay, you see it as as Jesus is teaching, teaching sunny,

he stops and he almost interrupted his whole teaching and

then inserted a prayer inside. Wow, I think it's quite amazing,

and you know, it's something that we need to learn

from this model of prayer. And again it's a private prayer. Okay,

It's very important for us to remember that this is

something that we use. And that's why until today I

will time and time remind our worshippers don't forget to

pray the Lord's prayer. He has given that to us.

It's a blessing for us to pray our Father, who

is in heaven. Hello, be your name, your kingdom. Come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily break. Forgive us our deaths.

As we forgive our death, do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is

the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen. And this

is what we're going to break down today so that

we understand, okay. And so when we get alone by ourselves,

when we are quiet, when we are not in front

of everyone, this is how we should pray. You see,

Jesus practice and preach prayer. He talked about prayer a lot.

In fact, he didn't just talk about it, he did it.

But I know in a way, the Lord's prayer is

one prayer that he may not need to pray. It okay,

because Jesus doesn't need to pray forgive me of my trespasses.

I don't think Jesus has trespassed on anyone he's never

seen in his life. So maybe it's a prayer that

he need not pray. But it is a prayer that

we need to pray, okay, So we need to have

that in mind.

That's why he taught us.

And Jesus makes the point that what we pray matters.

To put it differently, it is not the quantity but

the quality of prayer, not the land, but the depth

of prayer. We do need form, but we also do

need passion, very very important, both form passion, because if

you just have pure passion and no form is chaotic.

And you know, sometimes we can go on and on

in prayers. You have been to prayers away sometimes you know,

people pray nont on, on and on. That's why the

scriptures is, don't don't keep on babbling, get to the point.

H Yeah. I mean we all made the mistakes, especially

those of us with a slightly larger amount of vocabulary

in our arsenal. Verbal diarrhea is quite quite common ra

and then those who uh zero, not so much vocabulary.

God helped me. Uh you know. It's a simple prayer.

But this is the reality of it. And it's a reminder. No,

it's not the not the quantity, the quality is important.

And so the Lord's Prayer is a form which can

be filled with both formality and passion. And that is

why it is a real prayer, powerful prayer. I want

you to take notice of a few things about the

Lord's Prayer. Firstly, it is a brief prayer. I just

say it in I don't know, lex maybe fifteen seconds.

A child can actually begin to use this prayer. It's

not something that, oh, you know sometimes the way we

pray and then we tell a child, okay, this is

how you should pray. Uh yeah, and then it rea

child looks up to us with the I can't do that.

I don't even have enough words to do that. But

yere this prayer a child can pray. In fact, that

our Children's Church teach them as young as I don't

know young, okay, two years old. They are thought to

memorize in the CEV version okay, not the NKGV and

KGV there are some words they'll be.

Like trespassed, what's that?

But in the CV it's made it's made easier a

little bit. So it's brief and a child can use it.

But it's also a profound prayer. Do you realize that

you will still not understand the prayer fully even sometimes

until we reach the end of our Christian life and

know we meet Jesus face to be, because there will

be some things that when we meet him we will

be still asking him. It's profound forgive us our dads

as we forgive our dad. That's one of the hardest

things to do. Think about it. You know, it's a

profound prayer. It's a comprehensive prayer because it covers everything.

It covers everything. It's a universal prayer. It's been translated.

I see across the congregation people from all walks of life,

speaking different languages. We have Norwegians who have visited us today,

Thank you so much for being here. We've got a

hero who is Japanese. We've got those maybe from East

Malajia who know who speak Bahasa. Every language has the

Lord's Prayer translated. Yeah, Baba, the sugar, Suaja and mu.

It's all there in all languages.

Notice also, it's a challenging prayer because you cannot just

repeat this like a parrot. Trust me, you keep repeating

it as a parrot, then and you don't feel convicted.

You're not praying this prayer as his men to be

prayed because you cannot do the things know that you

are not doing when you pray this prayer. It's just

one of those reminders. So let's go deep into it. Okay,

let's look at it. Who is the person that we

pray to his father? And so therefore it's a family prayer.

And you know, Scripture refers to Father God in many ways,

father of every creature, father of the Jews, father of Jesus.

But you want to know what we are his children?

And by adoption he is also our father. And this

word that Jesus used in the Arabic is aba aba father.

If you translate it is the same thing that my

daughter calls me Dada is Dada God. That's how how

close it is, how intimate it is. So it's the

Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are

his child, his children. And you think about it, the

eternal God, the creator of the heavens and the earth,

and we get to call him daddy it's amazing.

He is my dad.

And they say to Jesus once, no, would you teach

us to pray? They didn't say would you teach us

how to pray? They just when would you teach us

to pray? Because you see, every Jewish child, they are

taught how to pray. They have a set of liturgical

prayers that have been given to them since they were young.

They were trained in prayer. But yet when they saw Jesus,

the first thing they asked him was Lord, teach us

to pray. They wanted to pray the way he was praying.

Would you teach us to pray like that? And the

first thing he says is, this is how you do it, Daddy, God.

It's amazing. It introduces respect into intimacy and it's powerful.

It is also our father. And really that brings the

balance between individual and corporate, because I don't think any

of us pray the Lord's pray and go my father,

your prayer. If it's your prayer the way, then go back,

go back to the original, because that's how Jesus taught us.

He taught us that when we pray this, we are

not regarding ourself as an individual, but we are regarding

ourselves as one of the group. We are a group,

we are collective, We are believers, the body of believers,

and that's for it's very, very important that we realize

we are not alone. And that's why it's always our,

not me, not mine, not I. That is ego centric

when we pray in that way, and that's why sometimes

when you pray the Lord's prayer, it's not about.

Just your needs. You're praying for others. Amen.

There can only be one eye, and God alone is

the true eye. That's why he regards himself as I am.

And of course some people say, oh my God, so

egos and tritment this thing about himself. You know, I

remember sharing this. Ones know that only God is love.

And then some one from the congregation sheltered, No, I

am love as well. And of course I look at

a person and yeah, he may be a very loving person.

Maybe others can testify that he is a loving person.

But if you stand alone as one, there's no way

in which you can claim that soul is so and

so is love. Quan Jin is love, Sarah is love.

No one makes a demand like that. But yet in

One John it says that God is love, because only God.

Alone can you see love in existence.

If you are alone, no one can tell what love

is because love is not just merely a concept. It's

an action. Love is active. And only in the God

here can you see the Father loving the son, son

loving the spirit, the spirit living the father and son.

And that's why only God alone can say he is love.

No one else has the right to say that. Amen.

And so this prayer is a reminder that is a

collective prayer Our Father. The name of God is the

revelation of his nature, who God is, And if you're

going to respect God's name, then you have got to

know what he is like. It's very very important for

us to know. And that's how Jesus wants us to

know God as our father, our daddy God, because we

are reminded time and time in scripture not to use

God's name in vain. Sometimes, you know, the danger is

we can be so pelly pelly with the people that

we are so used to, so accustomed to. You know,

you start off when you're dating someone you call her

dear sway, no, my love, and then many years after

marriage is like, oh hey, you know it's reduced to

almost exclaimatory term. Not, you know, but that's what happens

sometimes when we become so familiar, so intimate with one another,

we start to take each other for granted. And that

is something that we must always save God and not

allowed to happen, because, yeah, it's true, familiarity can breed contempt.

But the scripture, the prayer teaches us is our.

Father in heaven, Hallo be your name, great is your name.

We're not supposed to reduce him just because his dad,

my dad, is not the most perfect person. I will

never put my dad on a pedestal, no, he I

will never hello my dad's name. And he did a

lot of dumb things. I saw all the dumb things

that my dad did. No, but this is your father

in heaven, and so us not you misuse the name

of the Lord. I think it's important that respect is

introduced into intimacy. Important. The second thing is this, okay,

And as I'm teaching and as I'm sharing, I hope

it enlightens you so that when you pray this prayer

you know the depth of it. Second thing is this,

His kingdom may come now or your kingdom come.

Okay, your kingdom come.

And it means two things, because when we talk about

the Kingdom of God, a lot of times we get confused.

No Kingdom or god Kingdom of heaven? What is this?

No God's kingdom? You know, it's hard to fully identify.

But it actually means two things. There is a present,

slow process which is now, what is happening now? Is

the Kingdom of God here or not? And then in

the future there will be a sudden crisis that will

take place, and then we will know that God's Kingdom

is here. So sometimes people ask me, is God's Kingdom here?

And I'll tell them yes. When you choose to give

your life to King Jesus, you are essentially saying that

God's Kingdom is established in my life. That means you

can experience a little bit of heaven while here on earth.

That is the real. But it is a present, slow process.

That means if you ask me, has God's Kingdom been

established on earth? Not fully, but it has started. It

has begun. It begins the day Jesus tavernnackled amongst us.

Jesus made his dwelling place amongst us, and we know

him as King Jesus, and therefore it has already started.

God's kingdom is here. Whether we choose to be under

his lordship or not, it's the question that we have

to ask. So when we are praying your kingdom come,

we are essentially saying God, I know you're here. But

not only that, we are also expecting one day when

Jesus returns, he will fully establish his kingdom in completion.

That is something that every Christian looks forward to. So

while we may not fully experience God's Kingdom in totality

right here, right now, that's why I call it the

present long process, because we are still moving slowly but surely.

But there will come upon a time when Jesus comes.

And when he comes, it is going It's not going

to be a gradual coming. He's not going to Okay,

I'm still let's us. No, whenever we come anywhere, it

is gradual. I'm on the way, on the way, on

the way. We're still on the way. We're always on

the way. When Jesus comes, he comes. And remember this

as Christians, as believers know, the last line in the

scripture in Revelations is come Lord Jesus. We are looking

forward to him coming back. That's what Maranata means. Come

Jesus come, and so your Kingdom come. That is something

that we need to understand, because the kingdom comes to

as an individual enters into God's reign, true faith and repentance,

and then the kingdom will one day come very suddenly

when he comes back to establish peace and righteousness across

the world. And so when we pray Your Kingdom come,

we must always think of both the present process and

the future process. That means there is currently how I

should live my life in God's kingdom and in the

future I'm looking forward to the complete establishment of God's

kingdom on this earth. If we don't want to ever

see God establish his kingdom here, something is not right

in our Christian world.

And I want us to.

Look forward to the day when truly Jesus is going

to be king and he is going to rule the government.

It will be an autocratic government, not just a democracy

like we all.

Know the democracy is.

The best known. When Jesus comes back is going to

rule and reign. That's my firm belief. Amen. And then

we pray your will be done. And sometimes when we

pray your will be done, we're like your will be done.

Now there's almost like resentment no. And sometimes when we

pray your will be done, your will be done, it's

a resigned kind of feeling. You are is resignation, whatever

your will be done. That's not how we are supposed

to pray. We are supposed to pray as though it's

a resolution that means you are resolute your will be done.

Because there are two words that are used in scripture.

When the word will is used in the English, okay,

one word connotes a decree that means it gives meaning

of a command will when someone says will is command.

The other word is desire. So there are two words,

command and desire. The word you here is desire. That

means God's will that all should be safe, means he

desires that all should be safe. It's not he commands

that all should be safe. It's different, So desire. So

it is your desire be done and his resolution. That's

why even for us as Christians, why do we evangelize?

Because it is God's desire that all should be safe.

That's why we go out.

It's not a commandment, but is a desire. Is it

as strong as a commandment to a certain extent? Yeah,

And this is what God really wants us to do.

He wants it to happen, and he wants us to

be part of that happening. Science we think, oh God,

if you're commaney, then it should happen. No, he desires

for it. We can fulfill that desire. Amen. And so

the emphasis is on the word done, your will be done.

So when we pray the Lord's prayers, it has to

activate us into doing, because if we are just praying

your God, your will be done, you do it. That's

not how we are supposed to pray. The Lord's prayer

is your will be done. And many times he's going

to tell us that now you go carry out my will,

carry out my desires, and let it come to pass. Amen.

Give us this day or dailybreate and the word just

literally translates daily. It's the next twenty four hours. There's

not a lot to look into it, but we are

to live it one day at a time and acknowledge

that our physical sustenance is a gift. That means daily

we're saying, Lord, give us this day or deliberate every

day when you are alive, every day when you are

your belly is full. Every day when you have sheltered

over your head. You got to say, Lord, thank you,

because you have provided my physical sustenance is a gift

from you. And then forgive us our debts. Okay, I'll

spend a bit of time here. Forgive us our debts.

Some translations say forgive us our sins. Some translations says

forgive us our trespass. Okay. If we use sin and trespass,

we will sometimes automatically go into the thought process that

it is only things that has been done, okay, the

sins that we have committed. But it doesn't stop there, actually,

because this covers not just sins of commission that means

we do something I stab someone, I smack someone. That

is a sin in its and it's something that I committed.

I did it. But it also covers sins of omission

that means the things that I did not do which

I should have done. That's why when we use the

word dead, the meaning is a lot richer. We see

it not just from one side of it, we see

it from two sides. It's not just the things we

have done wrong that requires forgiveness.

It is the things that we have.

Left undone that requires forgiveness, and we need to pray

about it. As well, and so forgive us what we

owe to you. That's what a debt means. That is

why when the word debt is used, we see the

meaning coming out.

And you realize this.

Even when we have done our best, and sometimes we think,

because I've done my best, I did everything right, and I,

oh God, know that. Do you think that's true? There's

a parable in Luke chapter seven, thing called the parable

of the unprofitable servant. And what was a servant doing? Well?

The severn was out in the field plowing, working so hard,

giving his all. And then of course the servant came home,

and then the master told the servant, can you go

and prepare food for me? And then the seven became

a bit upset because I labored and I did so much?

Really did I not do enough? That when I come back,

I'm required to do even more? And you know what

the scripture what the parable actually teaches us. It says

the good things that you're supposed to do, and aren't

you duty bound to do it? Isn't that your duty?

Isn't a servant supposed to be out tilling the land,

working the land. You are just doing what you are

supposed to do, as a duty, and so sometimes we

think because we have done all this, we are we've

done over and above. Well, the truth is, no one

can ever outgive God whatever it is. He has still

done more for us than we can ever do for him.

He is given more to us than we can ever

repay him, and therefore we are still in debt. Therefore

we are always and we will always fall shot of

God's glory. And that is why we need to pray

to God forgiveness. That's why Paul, when he teaches, he

goes on and on about reminding us your good works

count for nothing. But sometimes we think our good works

are so great that God should now owe us something.

But the scripture tells us that God is no man's,

that he doesn't owe us anything. We need God's forgiveness

in our lives. Our conduct towards God is always one

in which we are constantly seeking his hardened, his mercy,

his grace forgive us our dead. That is something that

sometimes we find it hard, and that's why Isaiah Paul

both say that they equated our righteous acts, our good

as as filthy rags, as things which are not worthy.

But we think it's worthy. But that's not how no

matter what, we will always be in debt to God.

And you want to know how to be in the

prophet in God's eyes is to make sure that you

don't call on your own debts, wow, but to forgive

your debts. So this is the part that is hard,

because now we move from the parable of the unprofitable

servant to another parable. In Matthew chapter eighteen, it's called

the unmerciful servant. Heard of that parable before God? As

we forgive our depth does what then? Does the condition mean?

Does it mean that God has laid down a kind

of law that unless we pass forgiveness on, he can't

forgive us. You read it as that unless you pass

on forgiveness, I can't forgive you. Well, I don't think

it is just that God can't forgive us if we

don't meet the conditions. I think it's a case of

he won't he doesn't feel like it. It is the

feelings of God that matters in this situation, because what

is the parable of the unmerciful servant. There was a

generous king and he was pitiful of his servant who

owed him millions, and so he said, I'll forgive you

of the millions. No, I'm not going to call on

that death. And then suddenly he heard that the same

man ran out and called on a smaller debt or

someone who owed him money, and because that person couldn't

pay up, he threw the person into prison. And when

the king heard what had happened, he was Was he delighted?

Was he happy? No, he was angry. He was pissed.

And you say, I take back my forgiveness. The words

of Jesus teach us how God feels about our unforgiveness.

You see, God is my father, and so I think

if you are a parent, you might understand this a

little bit more because you know God being father.

He says, No, I use this example. If there are

two kids.

You've got two children, Okay, I've got two kids, and

if I give them one each a sweet and let's

just say one decides to be naughty, actually not name

which one, uh, and take the sister's suite, snatch it

snatches either way, consumes it eats it, and then has

the audacity to come to me to ask for another suit.

Would you give that child another suit? No?

I think you will be upset that that was how

your child behaved. Why would you be angry Because when

one of your children do something like as well, it's simple.

You don't want your child to grow up being like that.

You don't want your child to grow up behaving badly,

growing up to be naughty, to be selfish, to be

a tief. We don't want to indulge our children in

that wre. God wants us to grow up to be

more like him, and he wants us to be forgiving

as he is forgiving himself. And so if he were

to forgive you each day your dad's and you were

not forgiving others, he would be encouraging you to go

on behaving like that. And and he is not that

kind of father. Daddy. God is not that kind of father.

He would be upset with us. If you are not

prepared to forgive others their deaths to you, and he's

not going to forgive you for that, he will be angry.

Do you expect God to go on wiping out your

dads if you don't wipe the deaths of others owing

to you. If he were to do that, he would

be doing you harm. He'll be destroying your character. And

he is not a father that will destroy your character

that is the reality of it. And God's will is

for us to grow up to be more like him

followers of Christ. That's why he says, don't just forgive

seven times, don't just forgive seven times seven times, but

forgive seven times, seven times, seven times. Basically, keep forgiving

is the teachings. Unless some people, as she tell me,

they won't county. But for hundred ninety, I think a

fundred ninety. You know, once I meet my fundred ninety

forgive forgiving people, Quarta, I'm done.

I don't have to forgive nobody.

No. Basically, it's a divine number seven seven seven. And

if it wasn't for God's divinity in our life for

giving us our dead, we are not here period. Right.

And a good father will do all he can to

instill discipline in his children. Discipleship is disciplined. If you

think discipleship is a walk in the park, no it's not.

It's going to take a lot of firmness, a lot

of resulolution within our hearts. Amen. And so I pray

that as we understand this, as we pray, it's hard

right to pray prayer. And then you have a whole

list of people who have offended you in your life,

and you're like, man, I hate I hate these people.

I just want to dissociate myself from them. Sometimes we

hate our nation. Sometimes we know that a lot of

things that we don't like. Sometimes we hate dictators who

we are experienced. Yeah, it's still hate. And unless we

learn to let go, it's going to be hard for

us to receive our breakthrough. Because you know what is

the true nature of God. He is a God who

forgives sins because all of us have sinned and fallen

shot off his glory. And so what we all need

from God is actually forgiveness. But if it's the one

thing that he holds back, means we are not experiencing

the fullness of God in our lives. And some people

will say he is to blame because he's not releasing

the forgiveness that I so deserve. Again, it's not trespassed,

only it's dead and all of us are in debt

to what Christ Jesus has done for us on the

Cross of Calvary.

That is the reality of it.

Amen. Finally, it says lead us not into temptation. See

God does not temp people, but he does lead them

into temptation, because when we read Mathew chapter four, it

was the spirit of God that brought Jesus into the wilderness.

God is in control of how much we are exposed

to the devil, and if we trust God, he will

not let us be tempted above what we can bear.

Scripture tells us that he will control our exposure to

the devil, but sometimes as a discipline, he exposes us

to the devil so that we might learn it the

hard way that we are not trusting God. It has happened,

it can happen, it continues to happen. And that's why

when we pray the Lord's prayer, we are essentially saying, God,

please do not expose us too much to the devil,

that we might learn easier, not harder. That is our prayer,

and that is our plea. But I know many times

do we really mean this, because we don't want God

to just leave us into the devil's devices. If you

want a benchmin or how bad it can be, you're

going to read joke bad. I don't think Joe had fun. No,

he was exposed, but thank God, not beyond what he

could bear. Because this was still a man who said

that the Lord can give and the Lord can take away,

but his name will still be blessed. Amen.

And then deliver us from the evil one. You see, you.

Start the Lord's prayer with God and then you finish

it with Satan. And that is the right order of prayer. Actually,

you come into God and technically you go out to Satan.

You need to ask God.

To deliver you from Satan when you go back out

into the world.

That is the reality.

Yes, we are called to pray privately, no go into

your private setting pray, but where do we go after that?

You cannot just remain in your cave. You cannot just

remain in your prayer wardrobe and not do anything about it.

And I know a lot of times.

There are there are people over the years and centuries

who isolate themselves in just prayer. But that's not how

we are called to live our lives. Because ultimately, if

you pray the Lord's prayer properly, it's also a sending prayer.

Deliver us from the evil one, because we will be

sent out. We will walk back out into the world

and you will be called to make choices. And I

pray that we will not make choices that glorify this

world and glorify Satan. But we will make choices that

glorify God, because ultimately yours is the kingdom, which is

an egg of faith. Remember I said kingdom. What is kingdom?

There is the faith to believe what has already been established,

and the faith to believe what is to come, the

kingdom that is to come.

Yours is the power.

There is an egg of hope because I know sometimes

we live in this world, and you know, we think

that God is hopeless in this world. Why can't all

the bad things be made right? Why can't all the

wrong things be fixed? It's like God has got no

power in this world. But do you think so? Yes,

he really told us that it is the devil who

is going to be the prince of this world until

his power comes. And so when we claim his power

is to come, is an ect of hope. And then

ultimately yours is the glory, and that is an expression

of love because we're acknowledging that God, you are love,

and your name be glorified. We don't ever pray it.

Mine is the kingdom. Mind is the power. Mine is

the glory. That would be how Nebuken would have prayed

it because that's what he did. He says, I am

I not King nebun as A, the great Babylon. I

built with my mighty power. I build with my own majesty.

I built with my own glory. But we don't do

that because to say mine is to be proud, but

to say yours is to be humble. And this prayer

is a prayer that encapsulates humility, faith, hope, and love. Amen.

And then he say forever and ever, Amen, verily, verily,

And I agree here here truly, this is what I

believe in. And that is how we are to pray.

To pray for what God wants from us first, then

to pray for what we need from him. Don't ever

turn prayer. Sometimes we always come to God with a

list first. This is Jesus Christ we are talking about,

not saying Nicholas. It's a bit different. If we come

to him with a shopping list. That's not how God rolls.

He is a God who is to be glorified. First,

pray for what God wants from us. That's why his

will be done. Then pray what we need from him. Amen.

And now for prayer to be effective.

The scripture teaches us there is another dimension that we

can take our prayers to. There is a deeper less

and I'm going to come to an end soon, but

i just want to cover this so that we understand

again we are at our twenty one days prayer and fasting.

What does a deep prayer mean? It means prayer.

That caused the person something.

You see, the effectiveness of your prayers for someone else

is indirect racial to what it costs to yourself. Okay,

I'll explain it. You see, when Jesus was in the mountain,

there was a portion of scripture in the Gospels. He

came down and then he found his disciples in a valley,

and then he realized that they could not or they

were unable to help this child in need. And so

they were asking Jesus, no, why couldn't we help this

child in need? It's recorded in Matthew chapter seventeen. And

then Jesus replies, don't you realize that this kind of

situation can only be dealt with by prayer and fasting?

In other words, you missed the cost out of it,

did not coust you anything to pray for this boy.

And that is the place of fasting. In prayer because

it is costing you something. It is costing you that meal,

It is costing you that food, that provision in your body.

And I think that's something that's very rare. Sometimes we think,

why do we need to fast? Fasting? No, no issues,

small matter, small matter, if you had buffet for breakfast

and lunch and your fast dinner. But if you truly fast,

it costs you something. And I know one of our

leaders came up to me and said, I tried fasting.

Uh total, I drank water yesterday. It's tough. No, you're

asking me it's tough. It is because there is that

cause to pray. You see, the deepest cause is this.

When a woman touched the hem of Jesus's garment and

was healed, goodness went out of him. And if you

have really prayed for someone, some of the resources have

left you and traveled to the other person. Power has

gone from God, but goodness has come out from you,

and then we pray that this goodness will be met

in the person in need. Right. And so if you

have really prayed for someone, usually you will be exhausted,

you will be drained. And I tell you why I

believe in this wholeheartedly, because I always tell people there

is power in the praying father, there is power in

the praying mother. There is power in a praying leader,

those who labor in prayer for the people who mean

the most to them. It's powerful. Ever seen a mother's

prayer unless the mother is really irresponsible mother, then she

wouldn't even be praying. Right. But parents here you understand this.

And when you labor and pray for your children, there

is power in praying children as well. If you love

your parents, you will pray for them. That is the

reality of it. And if you're really prayed for someone,

you will be trained, and that's why you will then

need to pray for yourself to be replenished. Carry very

very important. That's why I am a firm believer that

the gift of tongues is for that very purpose.

Some people ask me why, why is something of the past?

No again, Tongues is a gift that God has given

us for one is for self edification, so that we

can be replenished. And when we are replenished, what do

you think you can carry on doing? You can carry

on edifying others. It is a gift for us. That's

why I tell people never, never, not desire God to

give you this gift because it's a gift that helps

you so that you can be a blessing to others.

There are days when I run out of words to

pray for myself. How much more? You know, how much

more can you pray for yourself? Again, it goes back

to if it's just I, it's very egocentric because when

I pray for myself, I find myself half the time

praying for God to give me revelation of the loto

or the lottery. God there were you know, all my

problems will be resolved. Just give me the six digits

and I can, I can save the whole humankind wed

one hundred and fifty million pounds or something. And that

I know it's it isn't that what is a natural thing.

And that's why I end up praying in the spirit,

because that is the spirit of God interceeding. And I

believe that's right prayers. The spirit is not going to

pray that I win the lottery. I doubt it, Okay,

but if he does, thank you. Take you that's so much.

But you know, sorry, but you know where I'm getting it.

You need to be replenished. When you pray and fast properly,

you will feel drained and you need to be replenished.

And you know that God responds to our prayer. Sometimes

we like God, we pray, pray, pray, pray. You're like

a wall like that.

You see.

God responds to prayer, not by changing his character. A

lot of times we want God to change his character

because that's how we pray. God, give me this, give

me that. Lord, No, don't let me go to hardship.

Don't let me go to suffering. That is essentially asking

him to change his character, because he is just God.

You do something that's wrong, there's consequence. Laugh. Sometimes we

look at consequences in life as God like he doesn't.

He doesn't, He doesn't hear me. He ignores my prayers. No,

allows me to go to con because I mean, you

messed up. There are consequences. He is a just God.

Is he also a merciful God? Yes he is. But

he is almighty, which means he gets to choose. Sometimes

we think we are almighty when we pray, and that's

not how it should be. Because God is the one.

He is our father in heaven, and his name is

to be Hello. We never pray prayers. Jesus didn't say hello,

be my name, my kingdom. Come. No, we are praying

to God. And so if you're expecting God to change

his character is not going to happen. But when we pray,

we can expect God to change his mind because we

see that time and time in scripture, God changed his

mind when he wanted to do something, when he wanted

to destroy. But the righteous prayer of few goes a

long way and he makes a youthn you know, God repents.

It's the same word. Actually, God can repay. He instead

of doing this, he can make a U turn and

do something else. When we pray earnestly, the earnest prayer

of a righteous one goes a long way, and so

God can change his mind. And this is how we

are to pray. Imen. I'm going to end with this.

I know sometimes and the band can come up. When

we pray, we feel like as though they are blockages. No, like, oh,

it's like this, I don't know that it's getting true.

It feels like there's a hindrance. And if so, and

there can be situations like this. This is the reality.

I want us to examine ourselves, especially when we realize

that there is something that is hindering or something that

is impeding our prayers. The first thing that you need

to examine is this whether you you are right with God.

And I'm going to leave this to you to think

and to reflect. Nothing to do with me in that sense.

I'm just going to say, but I'm not going to

call for an altar call and no, this is again

it's going to be private for you. But for some

of us we are not right with God. It could

be sin in our life, and we know sin is

what caused us to be not in God's presence. It

could be us just resenting God. I hate God. He

never listens to me. Or it could be us just

doing something that God does not approve of. It may

not be seen, but it's not the direction that God

wants us to go. That's like Jonah right, I don't

think if it's anything Jonahs saying he's seen by not

obeying God. But was he wrong to just go left

instead of right? It's wrong because it's not where what

where God wants us to go? And so we got

to check. Sometimes it could be dead. Sometimes we could

be not right with other people. And that is also

going to be a hindrance in our life, in our

prayer life. And we think that, oh, but I've forgiven

everyone I can possibly think of your great if you

have done that, great, But you know, sometimes there are

people who hold something against us. And this is what

I will encourage us to do. Pray and ask the

Lord to reveal. Lord, if there is someone who hates

my guards for something that I've done, then at least

show me this person so that I can seek forgiveness

from this person. And if you have done that and

the person chooses not to forgive, then is that person's

problem in that sense, because you have done all that

you have you can but be mindful and know that

sometimes we may not be right with other people. Sometimes

we are not right with ourselves emotionally, physically, mentally, we

could be so exhausted, we could be so frustrated. We

are not right with ourselves. And I want you to

pray and seek the Lord and tell you Lord, if

it's something in me that is causing that blockage, then Lord,

help me help me overcome. Sometimes Satan is fighting you,

and he's a master's strategies, and yes he can yearmark

people we see that happen in Scripture. If we think

Satan is just on the emblem of the Manchester United Badge,

then you don't believe in God, because if you believe

in God, you believe that there is an anti God

who is out to ruin our lives, to still kill

and destroy. And yes, Satan sometimes can be fighting us.

If that is the case, and God has revealed that

to you, then you better resist the evil one. Resist

him in the name of Jesus and say, Satan, you

have no hold in my life. I want to declare that.

And of course sometimes God deliberately does not reply us. Ah,

this is the one times we feel the most and

why he never say anything, Because I believe there are

days when God wants us to go up one level

in the school of prayer. That means we are to

pray unceasingly. A lot of times. We always give prayer

a chance. No, if that is our mindset, I just

give prayer a chance. Like it works, it works. If

it doesn't work, then ask great, I'm done. But God

wants us to be schooled in the area of our

prayer life. That means don't give up pray always. Scripture

tells us time and time again, it is not just

during the season of land that we pray. It is

not just during the twenty one days of fasting that

we are praying. We are to pray all the time, Amen,

and at all times. Remember this, and I want you

all to know. And I'm going to end here. You

can succeed in prayer, and you will succeed in prayer,

but you won't be able to do it by yourself.

And I thank God. The Holy scriptures tell us that

it is the spirit of God that helps us in

our weakness, in our infirmity. He will help you to

do it for yourself, not to do it for you.

Sometimes we always like a holy spirit. Since you're holy

and your spirit and you are God, why didn't you

just do everything? No, he is going to be our

helper because he wants us to do it. And then

why more often than not, can I tell you this,

The answer to our prayers is us. But a lot

of times we don't want to be that answer. And

why I pray, I pray as you spend more time

with the Lord, and can I encourage you pray the

Lord's prayer every day and pray like you mean it

because with the helper like the Holy Spirit, you can

succeed in prayer. Amen.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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God bless