Welcome to THE NATHAN REPORT!
A beautiful day with heavy monsoon rain.
As usual, we started off with Praise and Worship, here is today's Playlist:
1) God is good - Don Moen
2) God leading us along - Hymn
3) Be exalted O' God - Brent Chambers
4) Blessed be the name of Lord - Matt Redman
Great session as usual. Brother Mahesh was leading the worship today, as usual, enjoyable, when he takes the lead. I personally believe he is Michael W. Smith of our Church.
We move to the offerings as well announcements, here is the list of today's announcements:
- Pastor along with a Church team will be leaving for USA for two weeks. Please keep this project in your prayers.
- We have a 'Child Dedication' later today post service. Brother Prakash and his wife, sister Bhoomika have been blessed with a baby.
As you all know, today we were supposed to talk about the last aspect of the Fruit of Holy Spirit, "Self-Control", pastor has decided to make a little change today. For all readers who had been waiting for this, please hold on for some time. It will be up soon, though cannot assure of the exact day. Pastor was inspired today so there was a change in today's topic.
Today's teaching is, "Know Your God".
Psalms 27:1-6
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
The Lord, who is the believer's light, is the strength of his life; not only by whom, but in whom he lives and moves. In God let us strengthen ourselves. The gracious presence of God, his power, his promise, his readiness to hear prayer, the witness of his Spirit in the hearts of his people; these are the secret of his tabernacle, and in these the saints find cause for that holy security and peace of mind in which they dwell at ease. The psalmist prays for constant communion with God in holy ordinances. All God's children desire to dwell in their Father's house. Not to sojourn there as a wayfaring man, to tarry but for a night; or to dwell there for a time only, as the servant that abides not in the house for ever; but to dwell there all the days of their life, as children with a father. Do we hope that the praising of God will be the blessedness of our eternity? Surely then we ought to make it the business of our time. This he had at heart more than any thing. Whatever the Christian is as to this life, he considers the favour and service of God as the one thing needful. This he desires, prays for and seeks after, and in it he rejoices.
Illustration: Once a mother asked her 8 year old son, "Sean, hand me over that broom kept outside neat the porch!" Since it was evening and dark outside, the boy got scared, and resisted saying, "Nah!" Mom with words of encouragement responded, "Child, God is outside, no need to scared." So this boy approached the door, unlocked it and said, "God, would you mind handing me the broom kept over that corner?"
We should need to understand God as a whole. Why we need God? Knowing God is the ultimate solution for our deliverance from our sins. We must understand the might, strengths and in totality how powerful God is.
Deuteronomy 4:32-40,
"32 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. 36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time."
Moses urged the greatness, glory, and goodness of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him, and not dare to sin against him. Shall we forsake a merciful God, who will never forsake us, if we are faithful unto him? Whither can we go? Let us be held to our duty by the bonds of love, and prevailed with by the mercies of God to cleave to him. Moses urged God's authority over them, and their obligations to him. In keeping God's commandments they would act wisely for themselves. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. Those who enjoy the benefit of Divine light and laws, ought to support their character for wisdom and honour, that God may be glorified thereby. Those who call upon God, shall certainly find him within call, ready to give an answer of peace to every prayer of faith. All these statutes and judgments of the Divine law are just and righteous, above the statutes and judgments of any of the nations. What they saw at mount Sinai, gave an earnest of the day of judgment, in which the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming fire. They must also remember what they heard at mount Sinai. God manifests himself in the works of the creation, without speech or language, yet their voice is heard, Ps 19:1,3; but to Israel he made himself known by speech and language, condescending to their weakness. The rise of this nation was quite different from the origin of all other nations. See the reasons of free grace; we are not beloved for our own sakes, but for Christ's sake. Moses urged the certain benefit and advantage of obedience. This argument he had begun with, ver. 1, That ye may live, and go in and possess the land; and this he concludes with, ver. 40, That it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee. He reminds them that their prosperity would depend upon their piety. Apostacy from God would undoubtedly be the ruin of their nation. He foresees their revolt from God to idols. Those, and those only, shall find God to their comfort, who seek him with all their heart. Afflictions engage and quicken us to seek God; and, by the grace of God working with them, many are thus brought back to their right mind. When these things are come upon thee, turn to the Lord thy God, for thou seest what comes of turning from him. Let all the arguments be laid together, and then say, if religion has not reason on its side. None cast off the government of their God, but those who first abandon the understanding of a man.
This is an important and vital question, because if God does not want us to know Him -- no matter how hard we try we will not find Him.
Does God want to be known by man, by you -- by me? Yes He does. You see God is not some cosmic hide and seek player who is stashed in the bushes saying to us "your getting warmer, your getting warmer as we fumble around in the dark trying to find him" No God is not trying to hide from us -- but has rather disclosed Himself to us. You see, God wants us to know Him. We are grateful that He does.
We must know our God, who is a unique God.
Scientists say there are 7000 stars visible to the naked eye. We can only see 3000 of them at any one place on earth. The galaxy earth is in has more than 100 billion stars. Suppose these stars were divided up among the world’s total population of 6.9 billion people. Then each person on Earth would receive more than 1 trillion stars! There are around 100 billion such galaxies are known to exist. Stars are actually huge. The smallest star is 5 times the size of earth. The biggest is 6500 times bigger. So if one star fells on earth, it will smash the earth. Think about it. God makes the heaven and the earth. What ‘big’ problem are we facing today that is too hard for Him? We want to worship and trust the Maker of heaven and earth. The One who can help us must be greater than us, stronger and wiser. We need to cry out to God because He is the SOURCE of our help.
We call on God to help us. The Bible shows us many examples. When Moses was facing the Red Sea, He did not call for his people to help. They were helpless. He called for God’s help. When David faced Goliath, he did not call on his brothers. They were afraid and hiding. He called on the Lord. He trusted God. When Daniel was about to be thrown into the lion’s den, no one was around to help him. He called out to God in prayer. God shuts the mouths of the lions. God did what no man can do. The God we trust watches over us. He is ABLE to help us. Psalms 121:2-3 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip. See the contrast here – God has the power to make the universe, and that same power is available to help you walk strong! Sometimes, the path we take is difficult and hard. We have to look up to Him. He is there to strengthen protect us.
A story was reported on the 18th of July in the Jewish Telegraph. Headlines in Israel claim miracles are protecting the Jews during the Gaza Strip ground war, with one headline proclaiming that Hamas terrorists are complaining about God changing the direction of rockets in mid-air. It is becoming Obvious to the Terrorists that the Jewish God is protecting Israel. Of course terrorists are aware of the fact that Israel has rockets repellents. They did not complain that the rockets were intercepted but their course changed. The Iron Dome intercepts not change the course of the rockets. This should let people know that the God of the Bible is far superior to any god worshiped in other religions, and far superior to the gods worshiped in secret societies.
Deuteronomy 4:39 says, "Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other."
We must pray for Peace in Israel as well as in Palestine. It is God only, who can do mighty things in your life. It is only God, who can give you victory. God is much bigger and mightier than we believe we have problems in our life.
He who watches over you will not slumber! 'Watches over' mentioned 6 times in this psalm. He is always with you. Psalmist emphasizes the fact that God is with His people - when they start the journey from their home, on the road, and when they reach Jerusalem.
References:
Deuteronomy 4:37-38, "37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day."
Isaiah 41:8, "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend."
Can any heathen god raise up one in righteousness, make what use of him he pleases, and make him victorious over the nations? The Lord did so with Abraham, or rather, he would do so with Cyrus. Sinners encourage one another in the ways of sin; shall not the servants of the living God stir up one another in his service? God's people are the seed of Abraham his friend. This is certainly the highest title ever given to a mortal. It means that Abraham, by Divine grace, was made like to God, and that he was admitted to communion with Him. Happy are the servants of the Lord, whom he has called to be his friends, and to walk with him in faith and holy obedience. Let not such as have thus been favored yield to fear; for the contest may be sharp, but the victory shall be sure.
The reasons for God’s choice of Israel are frequently stated in this book; and they are always stated in such a way as to enforce the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, and to show the Israelites that their own merit was in no way the ground of God’s choice.
GOD IS THE ONE WHO PROTECTS
Illustration: An executive was getting ready for a month-long business trip. He prayed with his wife before departing: “Lord, please protect Sharon and the children while I’m gone.” His wife looked up at him when he finished and said, “Who do you think protects us while you’re here?”
Actually, whether you are here nor not, God is the One protecting us.
MAN’S HELP IS LIMITED
A blind man with a white cane stood at a busy intersection one day waiting for someone to help lead him across the street. It wasn’t long before another many appeared and the two began to talk. The second man took the first man’s arm and the two of them began walking across the street. Suddenly, there was the sound of tapping as the men walked across the street, but the tapping was more than usual. They then realized that both of them are blind!
Sometimes we feel that we have great friends who can protect us from physical harm. But when emergency comes, it is likely possible that they may not be able to help us or ever assure our safety. God is the mightiest and He is able. He can keep us and protect us from any danger or harm.
Three points to understand:
1) You should know your God.
2) You should know, you have a promise keeping God.
3) You should obey him and should have no other gods.
References:
Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."
Isaiah 40:27-29, "27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength."
Isaiah 55:8-11, "8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."
So when we encounter a problem and we are hurt, it is not because God has deserted us or that He is sleeping and not knowing our problem. Man suffers today because:
(1) We have deserted Him; we did not rely on God – the Source of help. We rely upon ourselves. We did not ask God for help. I heard of people who said they don’t want to ‘trouble’ God, who ‘has enough to do’. God isn’t too busy for us—we’re often too busy for Him.
(2) We do wrong. We sin. Our mistakes bring us suffering.
God knows all about life. He knows what you need. God says man has sinned and in need of salvation. We need Jesus to settle our sin problem. He came and died on the cross for our sin. This may not be something many likes to hear, but it’s the truth. Man needs God’s help. We need God to save us from our sin. There are times when we do the right things and yet faces problem. It is not because God has forgotten you. He is watching over you, even in the midst of the difficulties. He has a purpose. We don’t understand. God wants us to go through it with His strength. The promise here is one of preservation in the midst of hard times, not protection from hard times. In your life, you will face storms. God did not promise that as Christians, we will not face any storms ever. But in the storms, God will protect us and keep us safe through them. Regardless of how the wind blows against us today, we look up and we can still see this truth – God is love. He loves you and He watches over you. Good times or bad, God is there to give us the strength we need. He loves you. You can trust Him. Wherever you are, He is with you.
We have a Child dedication ceremony. Brother Prakash and his wife have been blessed with a baby. They have decided to call the baby, "Vihan", which means beginning of creation. There was prayer and church blessings for the couple and their family. Below is on of the photograph:
Post child dedication, we had Holy Communion. While the session was going, we had worship team with this beautiful song:
If you feel, you still do not know God, and want to know more about him, we encourage you to pray with us:
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are the Most High God, and we come to you in the name of Jesus. We thank you for sending Jesus to the earth as the Word of God who became flesh. Father; we receive Your love and gift of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus, We believe you died on the cross and shed your blood for our sins and the sins of the whole world. We believe God raised You from the dead on the third day. Jesus, come into our hearts, take away our stony hearts and give us a new heart that we can love the father even as you do. Father, we thank you in the name of Jesus that Your Spirit will witness with us that we are the children of God. Father, make known to us Your ways and show us deeply with your Holy Spirit and unveil your Word to us Continually.
With Your MOST PRECIOUS AND GRACIOUS name, we ask... Amen!
We hope you enjoyed today's service. See you all soon.
God Bless!
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