Welcome to 'The Nathan Report!' The word of God says that must have
faith like a mustard seed. If we have it, we can move the mountains. We
encourage you in the name of Jesus to have a little faith and you will move the
mountains.
We thank for the new days that God
has given us and we know that God is going to do mighty things in our
lives.
- - From
tomorrow I.e. 25th January, we have fasting week starting which will end on the
following Sunday. In this week, we will be meeting every morning at 6:00
AM
- - 31st
Sunday we have a special service for the church anniversary. It will be
followed by lunch. The service will begin at 9:30 AM at Navin Bhai Thakkar
Hall, Vile Parle East.
- - 26th
January is the disciple training service, so please enroll yourself. It will
start at 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
CS Lewis
once said, "The moment a man seriously accepts a deity, his interest in
"religion" is at an end. He's got something else to think about.”
CS Lewis
The "something else" that
Lewis is referring to is actually encountering this God, and all that this
implies, rather than merely adopting certain religious practices. This is
certainly true of Christianity when rightly understood. The ultimate question
we face in dealing with the God that Christians proclaim is not whether we can
believe the truths about him, or live by the standards he demands, or want to practice
certain religious observances, but whether or not we want to get involved with
him - to really meet him. Christianity has its doctrines and code of ethics,
but basically being a Christian means living in a relationship with the risen
Lord.
Today we will talk about ‘Our relationship with God’. Religion
demands some standards and practices. We need to understand that these things
are important but we have even more important thing to do is, we have a
relationship with the living God and we must give priority to Him.
1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or know ye not that your body is
a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are
not your own;”
Born again experience…
John 3:3-5, “Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?
can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God!"
John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to
them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on
his name.”
Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and
knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me.”
Colossians 1:27, “To them God chose to make
known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Sometimes we come to Jesus for
temporary needs. The word of God talks about 5000 people being fed. Jesus
Himself proclaims that I am the bread of life. Among those 5000 there were
children and men. Even after that 12 baskets of loaves were left. Jesus said I
am the bread of life and if you eat this you will have eternal life.
If we remember the story of Jesus
and the thirsty Samaritan woman near the well (John 4), Jesus told the woman in
John 4:13-14, John 4:13, "Jesus
answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever
drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them
will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
If we notice in the passage of 5000
people, only 120 people were praying. When Peter preached first message
only 3000 people were there, imagine this was a lesser number then it was
expected.
Our needs and troubles are temporary
and they will be met. But what Jesus is offering is something difference. It is
a promise of eternal life.
John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not
judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not
believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Acts 4:12, “And in none other is there
salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given
among men, wherein we must be saved.
What are the characteristics of Jesus?
Luke 6:12-26, “And it came to pass in these
days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in
prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples; and he chose from
them twelve, whom also he named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and
Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew
and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor; and he
came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of his
disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and
the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of
their diseases; and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed.
And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and
healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed
are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now:
for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from
their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of
man’s sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is
great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto
you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you, ye that laugh
now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well
of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.”
- Jesus
practiced praying.
Matthew 26:39, “And he went forward a little, and
fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
Luke 3:21, “Now when all the people were
baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens
were opened.”
Luke 6:12, “In these days he went out to the
mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”
Luke 9:29, “And as he was praying, the
appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.”
Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for
you have received your consolation.”
John 17, “1 When Jesus had spoken these
words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come;
glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him
authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the
work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to
the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave
them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that
you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave
me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from
you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not
praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I
am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be
one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name,
which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost
except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But
now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may
have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the
world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the
world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep
them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the
world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me
into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I
consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but
also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all
be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in
us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you
have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23
I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world
may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I
desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation
of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I
know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your
name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have
loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Luke 22:23, “And they began to question one
another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.”
Luke 22:32, “but I have prayed for you that
your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your
brothers.”
Luke 22:39-47, “39 and he came out
and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed
him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not
enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and
knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared
to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he
prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling
down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples
and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you
sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Hebrew 27:25, “Wherefore also he is able to save
to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them.”
Many people admire what Jesus did but
don't follow like Jesus did. We need to cultivate our habit of fasting and
prayers.
- Jesus
cultivated good habits
Luke 4:16, “And he came to Nazareth, where he
had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on
the sabbath day, and stood up to read.”
If you have to fast, you need to
practice and practice leads you to the change of habit. Reading bible should be
our habit. Attending house of the Lord should be our habit. Praying daily and
reading the word of God must be out habit.
Luke 3:21, “Now it came to pass, when all the
people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the
heaven was opened,”
When Jesus was baptised he didn't
laid back and enjoyed his time. The word of God says he was taken into the
wilderness. Bible talks about Daniel that he was equivalent to a prime
minister. God had chosen him and taken him to such a height. Daniel was a busy
man like us due to his designation. But the word of God says he when he used to
go home he used to open the windows of his home which were facing towards
Jerusalem, and then he used to pray, everyday three times.
If Daniel was busy and still was
able to take time for God, why can't we? That's because we don't have habit. We
need to cultivate our habits. And we can cultivate it by practicing.
Do we have a habit to come to the
church every Sunday? Do we have habit to fast? Do we have a habit to pray? Do
we have a habit to read the word of God - The Bible? If not, that means we
haven't cultivated it.
Daniel 6:10, “And when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his
chamber toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and
prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Some people have habit of shaking
legs while sitting, some have habit to never sleep straight, some have habit of
winking with both eyes constantly. What habit do we have?
Daniel was thrown to lion’s den, but
he came out with no harm.
There are so many examples in the
Bible. David prayed, Hannah prayed (she was habituated to worship in the
worship place), Paul prayed (so many times it is mentioned in his letters),
Jonah prayed (he prayed inside the belly of fish in the deep sea to the God who
is in heaven, I.e. The deepest part of the world to the highest).
Irrespective wherever you prayer, it
will reach God. Jesus prayed again and again.
In our lives we can see, we have few
things which are part of life, such as eating, breathing, sleeping etc. No one
instructs is to do so. But prayers are kept in inside us. We need to ask
ourselves and do it not because someone has told us, but because the word of
God says so. We aren't fasting and praying for our troubles to be solved but
because we have to enter the kingdom of God and these are the basic tools to
begin our journey.
We have forgotten the art of
prayers. If we don't practice praying then it will be very tough for our next
generation to achieve salvation. Why? Because these are the basic tools to
begin our journey to the kingdom of God.
Various religions practice different
ways to pray. The word of God doesn't asks us to follow traditional practices
but just an honest prayer.
Illustration:
In 1952, when a doctoral student at Princeton Seminary asked, "What is
there left in the world for original dissertation research?" Albert Einstein replied, "Find out
about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer."
 |
| Albert Einstein |
Though this brilliant man had
discovered much about the hidden realities and mysteries of the universe,
prayer remained an enigma to him. And yet he wanted to know—what is prayer, how
does it work, is there real power behind it, can we believe in it and engage in
it while embracing the scientific forces that shape reality?
And since Einstein made that
statement years ago, store shelves all over the world have been flooded with
books looking at this topic from every conceivable angle. People simply want to
know about prayer.
Illustration: Charles Spurgeon
said a prayer in the Church once: "If the spirit of prayer is not with the people, the minister
may preach like an angel, but he cannot expect success. If there is not the
spirit of prayer in a Church there may be wealth, there may be talent, there
may be a measure of effort, there may be an extensive machinery, but the Lord
is not there. It is a sure evidence of the Presence of God that men pray as the
rising of the thermometer is an evidence of the increase of the temperature. If
God is near a church, it must pray, if He is not, one of the obvious signs will
be lethargy in prayer."
 |
| Charles Spurgeon |
Many a times, we follow the
traditions and because of these traditions, we even forget what God means to us
and what should be our relationship with Him? Sadly, it is possible to adopt
Christian beliefs, seek to live by Christian standards, take part in Christian
religious observances, and still not be really Christian! The heart of
Christianity is commitment to a Person and enjoying a living relationship with
that Person. If we took any founder of any other religion out of that religion,
and could still receive their teaching from some other source, little would be
changed. But if we take Christ out of Christianity there would be nothing left
because Christianity begins by entering
into a relationship with the living Christ and receiving the gift of eternal
life from Him.
So what do you think? Let us
cultivate our habits by practicing what the word of God says and let us ask
Lord to strengthen us enough to fight the lethargy in prayers and habits which
are unpleasing to God. We hope you enjoyed today’s sermon. God Bless!
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