1 November, 2015 | Turning Back to God

Dear all, welcome back to 'The Nathan Report'. Today is a beautiful day and yes, God has made this day.

We begin with a beautiful song by Robert Robinson: 

"Come thou fount of every blessings"

Illustration: Narcissus, a hunter, was so good looking that girls fell in love with him. There was a girl at the same time, 'Echo', who fell in love with him but became heart broken as she wasn't able to express her love to him. Goddess Nemesis was watching this and saw echo heart broke . Goddess Nemesis decided to take revenge. So she puts him into temptation by showing him his own image on a pool of water. Nemesis lured Narcissus to a pool where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was only an image. He was unable to leave the beauty of his reflection and he eventually died, as he had stopped eating or drinking. Nemesis believed that no one should ever have too much good, and she had always cursed those who were blessed with countless gifts.

Turning Back to God

2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Lamentations 3:40, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:55-58, “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.”

Throughout the word of God, we can find that God continually says, "Come Back!", "Come Back!"

Illustration: We were traveling to a small town for a pastor's conference. We were unable to find the way. So we asked someone about the way to which he directed straight. When we turned on our mobile GPS, it asked us to take U-Turn. We ignored and went straight as instructed by the pedestrian. We turned on GPS again, now we found a new GPS route. We finally reached with additional 60Kms to it. Had we taken the first U-turn, we would have reached on time. 

Many times God tells us, "Don't walk that path", "Don't do that", "Turn away from it" etc. Once he says, we must obey instantly. Many times we don't listen to what God has to tell us. 

There are so many individuals in the bible who took wrong steps and suffered. Moses, Elijah, King Saul, Jonah, Peter, John Mark are one of the finest examples. 

For us, Bible is the best way. It doesn't matters how wrong you may have gone, it will always show you a way out. 

Psalms 51 “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.”

Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

If we turn towards God, He will forgive.

Acts 3:19

“Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;”

How can we turn to God?

1- Recognize your sinful condition. 

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

2- Repent your sinful condition. 

Bible says, we need to build one another. We need to praise God together and we need to take our own Guard. When we commit a mistake, we need to repent. 

3- Accept God's forgiveness.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

4- Learn to establish Godly relationship within one body of Christ. 

Acts 2:42, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

1 Corinthians 12:47, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary: and those parts of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness; whereas our comely parts have no need: but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.”

5- Don't give up!

Proverbs 24:16, “For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.”

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.”

Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;”

Illustration: Robert Robinson was saved when he was 24 years of age, who wrote, "Come thou fount of every blessings." 

He had left God. One day he was traveling on a bus and to his surprise there was a girl who was reading the same song and as she wasn't able to understand. So she approaches Robert and asks, "Sir, do you have any idea what this hymn probably means?" Listening to this, he burst into tears. 

Turn back to Lord. When you turn back, you will have Joy. Joy of God is incomparable to any lavish or privilege. 

If we turn back, He will show us His face. He will bless us abundantly and forgive us. Those who begin with the service of God, are likely to go on successfully in their own affairs. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, it was Solomon's praise, that what he undertook, he went through with; it was by the grace of God that he prospered in it. Let us then stand in awe, and sin not. Let us fear the Lord's displeasure, hope in his mercy, and walk in his commandments. In Jesus' name, Amen!

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We must cry out desperately to Him

A beautiful day that Lord hath made. Church, if you feel that you are struggling with your jobs, finances, health, family or any other problem, then this is the right time to practice faith. 

Everyone in this world like or try to pray. 

2 Chronicles 7:14

Many of us probably have increased or decreased in our Prayer life. Pray is hearing the depth of God. It is seeking the face of God and hearing the voice of God. 

Prayers shouldn't be a parrot's prayer. God says prayers should be desperate prayers.  When children of God cry unto Him, He will always respond. Our prayers will be answered, but the question is, are we really desperate for praying?

Bartholomew never cared about people. He prayed! Are we praying like Bartholomew?  If we study the book of acts, we will realise that there are over 30 instances of prayers. In the book of acts, we will also notice one of the first persecution. 

Acts 4:24, "And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them." 

Even this verse suggests, it was not one person, but a group of people. 

Acts 12:5, "So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church."

2 Corinthians 1:11, "You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessings granted us through the prayers of many."

Ephesians 6:18, "Praying all the times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

For an instance, Peter walked on water, later started drowning. Even though he fell, he walked. Our desperate prayers will be answered says the Lord. God is not looking for big prayer or prayers with complicated words or well structured prayers, but, He needs honest and desperate prayers. Even if the words are few, prayers must be desperate. 

When Revival comes, moral climate will change. Revival will come and there will be rejoicing. God is not concerned about filling up the empty churches, but he is concerned about filling of hearts. 

Numbers 11 talks about Moses praying desperately, so does Genesis in several chapters. 

 On China, there were over 6000 believers, but now there are as mug as 700000 believers. This is what happens when people pray desperately. 

Few prayer points for you:

- The business to have integrity 

7 June, 2015 | Authority and the Power of God

Welcome to 'THE NATHAN REPORT'! Today is a bit sad day for me. The idea I have a rail track on my cover art is because on 5th of June, one of my school mate who happened to be a good friend laid his life by committing suicide on a railway track. So this image is is in remembrance of him. I understand, suicide is an unforgettable and unforgivable sin, it is just, this person happened to be my very good friend, so emotions are present. The book of Ecclesiastes in 7:17 says, "Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?" The reason I am sad is, I believe my friend was not saved. Looking at my life, I feel I have missed so many wonderful opportunities to bring lost souls to Christ. I pray that Lord will make me strong and use me to share the word to many who are still un-reached. 

Yet again, God has given us another opportunity to come to his house.

Today we will be talking about "Authority and the Power of God".

Luke 10:19, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

When God gives us power, we can do great and mighty things and bring the Kingdom of God here. Bible talks about Christ where He takes authority of everything.

Luke 3:22, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Philippians 2:9-11, “9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

John 14:30, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.”

We need to understand that satan has a very limited authority. Bible says God has given Christ all the authority that He can judge. Satan has something in us to perplex us with, for we have all sinned; but when he would disturb Christ, he found nothing sinful to help him. The best evidence of our love to the Father is, our doing as he has commanded us. Let us rejoice in the Saviour's victories over Satan the prince of this world. Let us copy the example of his love and obedience.

Matthew 9:35, “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

Mark 1:22, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”

Mark 2:10, "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic,

Luke 5:20, And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

Matthew 17:18, “And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.”

Mark 7:24-30, “24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”

Many time we fail the authority that God has given us. When God created Adam, he was given an authority. They misused the authority and fell into the trap of satan. True faith and strong faith may work in various ways; but it shall be accepted and approved by Jesus Christ. Sin is the cause of all our pains and sicknesses. The way to remove the effect, is to take away the cause. Pardon of sin strikes at the root of all diseases. Christ proved his power to forgive sin, by showing his power to cure the man sick of the palsy. And his curing diseases was a figure of his pardoning sin, for sin is the disease of the soul; when it is pardoned, it is healed. When we see what Christ does in healing souls, we must own that we never saw the like. Most men think themselves whole; they feel no need of a physician, therefore despise or neglect Christ and his gospel. But the convinced, humbled sinner, who despairs of all help, excepting from the Saviour, will show his faith by applying to him without delay.

We as a church need to understand, that we are in a middle of constant war because our enemy satan is not happy. We should know our enemy and we need to know how to tackle him.

How many are there in our assemblies, where the gospel is preached, who do not sit under the word, but sit by! It is to them as a tale that is told them, not as a message that is sent to them. Observe the duties taught and recommended to us by the history of the paralytic. In applying to Christ, we must be very pressing and urgent; that is an evidence of faith, and is very pleasing to Christ, and prevailing with him. Give us, Lord, the same kind of faith with respect to thy ability and willingness to heal our souls. Give us to desire the pardon of sin more than any earthly blessing, or life itself. Enable us to believe thy power to forgive sins; then will our souls cheerfully arise and go where thou pleasest.

We are growing now a days but physically or financially, not spiritually. We are not really connected to God that is why we find lots of people defeated and depressed.

Scriptures tells us that we need to equip ourselves.

1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised before others; at the last the wicked will rise also. Then will be the end of this present state of things. Would we triumph in that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his rule, accept his salvation, and live to his glory. Then shall we rejoice in the completion of his undertaking, that God may receive the whole glory of our salvation, that we may for ever serve him, and enjoy his favour.

Let us not be joined with ungodly men; but warn all around us, especially children and young persons, to shun them as a pestilence. Let us awake to righteousness, and not sin.

It is one thing to fight with an enemy who you can see, but it is different to fight an unseen enemy. Paul says in Ephesians 612, that our fight is not against flesh and blood but the leaders of dark forces. You and I need to be on guard. We cannot fight our enemy if we do not know our enemy. Many times we talk about people that she/he is bad, the truth is that there are dark forces behind her/him.

Here we are talking about spiritual warfare. Satan wants to put us to sleep. Let us not sleep. He convinces us. We should never say that "satan is working on me", it will be a lie. Infact we are allowing satan to work on us. So instead of surrendering to satan, we must surrender to God, our father.

Ephesians 6:10-17

"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

I would like to show how spiritual attacks are converted into physical attacks.  God built up Job's faith. God knew Job's heart and knew that he will not give up. Today we need to trust God like Job. Everything was taken away from Job, but he never gave up on his faith. Job says, "Though he will slay me, I will not give up. I will trust God." He knew deep in his heart that God will take care of everything.

How many times do we give up? How many times do we stop praying? How many times do we give up going to church? If you want to win, do not keep your eyes on the circumstances. Fix your eyes unto the Lord. Satan tries to create circumstances, but we need to fix our eyes on God.

There is another example. Judas' focus was not on God. Peter's focus was on circumstances that's why he denied Christ. Judas' Focus was on his greed. Let us wear the armour of God unlike Judas. Judas was very close to God, but deep down in his heart he was focused on his personal things.

We are selective listeners. When pastor talks about giving, we are dumb. When pastor talks about blessings? We are more than happy.

Judas thought, what do I get? If we follow his story we notice that his eyes were fixed on things and not God. At the end, he takes his own life and dies.

Illustration: One day someone gifted us a food processor. We didn't used it for three years. Then we planned one day to open it, but it didn't worked because the machinery probably may have jammed. We still kept it for another year.

Jesus knew that Judas will betray as he lacked faith in God but in worldly things. Sometimes we do not know about our future, but God knows. Job did not stepped back, and fought satan back and refused to give up on the Lord.

We can be victorious if we ignore things of this world and fix our eyes on God. Not all circumstance are from satan, but he can always put us into some kind of trap.

The world of God says, "Satan is a deceiver". We as a servant and child of God, need to follow God with our whole hearts. And we need to rebuke the satanic plans in Jesus name.

Today we have Holy Communion, we are not going to say this man is doing this, that lady is doing that, but, we all will be coming together and share the blood and body of Christ today and cancel the plans of satan.

We need to pray continuously. All authority is given by God to us. We need to take this authority in the name of Jesus. If satan troubles us, we must say, "In Jesus name I take authority and rebuke all evil plans." If we think about the circumstance, satan may try to put us in trap, but blood of Jesus is mightier than any plans of satan.

Illustration: If two teams are playing soccer, they have the power that they can kick ball and even push an opponent. More powerful team wins. Whereas, a referee has a small whistle, but has authority to move one player from the field to the locker room and can direct both teams.  

Let us all bind all power of satan and fix our eyes on Jesus. God has given us authority. Satan is trying to fool people by bringing circumstances which discourages us. Let us ask God to help us in our constant focus on the Lord.

Let us all say, "My eyes are fixed on Jesus. Help me to take this authority in ‘Your name, Jesus’. I will not give up because of circumstances, instead I will keep my focus on you. I pray that all satanic lie be cancelled in Jesus' name. Father, I know that you have completed your good work in the lives of many sinners, refresh me again. Let your will be done in my life and may my eyes be always fixed on you. To close today's service, I have this beautiful song by Keith Green, "Oh Lord, You're Beautiful", so sit back and enjoy...

We hope you enjoyed today's service, see you next week. God Bless!

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31 May, 2015 | Redeem your time for God (Youth's Sunday Special Service)

Welcome to "THE NATHAN REPORT". I am glad and thankful to God for giving me another opportunity to visit HIS home. A beautiful day with mild clouds. I believe we might get monsoon rains anytime in Mumbai. I hope you all are doing well. 

  

Alright, today is a very special day. We have our Church youth who would be leading the worship, announcements as well as the service. We would like to start with few testimonies...

Testimony 1- There is no better love than Jesus. When I was a little girl, I used to admire the worship team and used to think if I will ever get a chance to sing and lead. Now today I am standing here. There are times when you think no one understands you, not your parents, not your friends, not your dear ones. I used to speak to God and my friends probably think that j am talking to a blank space. But He is who fills your life. I learnt the hard way and encourage you to ask Jesus to come to your life and bless you abundantly. He has blessed me and indeed He will bless all of you as well.

Testimony 2- I always had a question, "What is the purpose of my life?"

Well the answer is given in Isaiah 43:7, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” I used to think once that Jesus doesn't love me anymore

I lost my wallet which had money for my birthday and important govt. documents two days before my birthday and my phone worth 25,000/- ₹. I was very upset and was crying for a week. There was a short note, "Repentance of sin", in my wallet. The thief might have seen this, and he sent all my documents back to my home. I didn't got my phone and money though, but I praise God that all my important documents were returned.

Testimony 3- I have done MSc in Mathematics but failed in Part two. I was thinking these are the last days to enjoy. These are the last days to wear nice dresses. But along with this I studied also. During exam the question came out of nowhere. I was praying, "Lord give me 10 marks and I will pass". Then there were thoughts where I could have cheated. Once results came I failed. I was finding it tough my family, but I informed that. In the meantime i got a job as a teacher. I praise God for that job. My friends encouraged me to complete my MSc, but I wasn't having money. To my surprise my friends paid all the fees an when the results came, I stood first in the institute. I thank God for my MSc. After this I was jobless for 8 month and was feeling depressed. I stared talking with God. One. One of my close friend invited me to her home. I delayed for months but she kept on inviting me. One fine day she sent her car to pick me up. It was a weekend and she invited me to this church. Since January 2014 till March 2014 she used to witness me every day. In the month of March I got a job. Within five months I got another job as a mathematics teacher with a beautiful salary. I praise God for that. 

God is good all the times!

REDEEM THE TIME

How many of you think that time is important? This morning I want to encourage you to think about the importance of time.

Luke 10:38-42, "Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

A good sermon is not the worse for being preached in a house; and the visits of our friends should be so managed, as to make them turn to the good of their souls. Sitting at Christ's feet, signifies readiness to receive his word, and submission to the guidance of it. Martha was providing for the entertainment of Christ, and those that came with him. Here were respect to our Lord Jesus and right care of her household affairs. But there was something to be blamed. She was for much serving; plenty, variety, and exactness. Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving God, and getting good to our souls. What needless time is wasted, and expense often laid out, even in entertaining professors of the gospel! Though Martha was on this occasion faulty, yet she was a true believer, and in her general conduct did not neglect the one thing needful. The favour of God is needful to our happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety. Where this is attended to, all other things will be rightly pursued. Christ declared, Mary hath chosen the good part. For one thing is needful, this one thing that she has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. The things of this life will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that love. Men and devils cannot take it away from us, and God and Christ will not. Let us mind the one thing needful more diligently.

When you love someone truly, you would like to spend time with that person. God loves us so much that He gave his only son for us to be killed on the cross. We need to rise in love for Jesus. The earthly thins will fade away, love of our Heavenly Father will never fade. 

How many of you have chosen a good part like Mary did in the verses above? God's grace is sufficient but we cannot take it for granted. We cannot waste time, it is very important. At times we say, "I am late for office, I am late for meeting etc." What about the time for God? Have you felt you are late for praying? Or for Church?

In the story of prodigal son, the father accepts his prodigal son. If earthly father can do this, how much Heavenly Father can do for us? Let us not waste our time church, let us get back to lord because it is important. 

REARRANGE OUR PRIORITIES

Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Jesus didn't died only for specific few persons. He died for all of us. There are so many boosting things happening in the world, let us boos for Jesus. Why do we need to do this? That's because our saviour deserves our time. Let's rearrange our priorities. 

There are ways to rearrange our priorities:

- Wait for God's time.

We cannot simply ask lord to do favours for us on 11th hour. During exams we pray, "Lord give me good marks" and do similar during similar events. 

- Wait for God's call.

How many times do we simply neglect God's call? In Luke 10:28, it is written, "And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." God is looking for people who is standing with his/her arms wide open. He loves us and He cares for us. He wouldn't have died if He didn't loved us. People hit Him, manhandled him, nailed Him. Listen to His call, do not delay when God calls. 

- Listen to God's call.

Luke 10:25-29, "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"

Mary chose the right path, she listened to the God.

- Don't delay when God calls.

Luke 10:29, "But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?" Do not delay when God calls. Redeem your time for the Lord. 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

- Do I have my priorities in order?

- Am I worried or anxious about many things, or I am focused in spending quality time for Jesus. 

- Have I put devotion to Christ?

Let us spend some quality time Church. Let us allow God to take control of our lives. 

We hope you enjoy today's service. See you next week. God bless!

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May 24, 2015 | The day of the Pentecost

Dear all, welcome to "THE NATHAN REPORT"

I am extremely sorry for all this delay. Nevertheless, all the posts will be uploaded soon. You can check them later by clicking here or you can browse at the menu on the right named "Pending Posts Are Here". 

Today we will remember Pentecost Sunday when 2000 years ago Holy Spirit came to the disciples. And we pray to be a 1st Century church in 21st century. So let us pray and ask the Lord to fill us with his anointing.

We have few announcements

- Every Sunday morning at 7:30 AM, there is a 30 minute prayer session.

- Men's fellowship at 6:30 AM this Thursday.

- Please pray for newly started church in CBD Belapur.

- Yesterday we hosted a medical camp and we are thankful to God.

- Pray for our church office, we plan to expand it so that we can have more opportunities for the ministry.

Good news! God is alive and he is with us.

Illustration: I noticed a small child in a water park where he was jumping and dancing in a rain dance area. We are glad to see children being so enthusiast. Are you ready for the "Rain Dance"? Are you ready for the pouring of the rain of Holy Spirit?

When you feel everything drying up, suddenly winds starts flowing. God is doing something beautiful.

This who desire for Holy Spirit, needs to come under the discipline of the Holy Spirit. It is not just the refill, in fact a desire for the mankind.

There are few aspects to it:

- Those who desire the Holy Spirit, will come under the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

- The Church that fails to share the burning concern of the Holy Spirit for the Power and Purity of the Church."

- Refusing to maintain a firm stand for the truth (word of God).

- Refraining from disciplining for those who regularly undermine the authority of God's word will all. Cease to exist as a church according to new testament norms.

- The original revelation of Christ and the apostles, we became guilty of violating then we slide further from New Testament purpose, the New Testament power.

- Before Pentecost Peter and after Pentecost Peter.

- It is more blessed to give than you receive.

Acts 1, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Acts 20:35, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Matthew 19:22, "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions."

Matthew 19:25-26, "When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

If we walk away from Jesus, we can only be sad and sorrowful. So let us pray and ask Lord to come to our lives and fill us with his Holy Spirit and Blessings. May God Bless us all!

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Pending Posts are here

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March 22,2015 | The Bait of Satan vs. Prayers of Saints

Welcome to 'The Nathan Report', a weekly blog where we cover church sermons, movie reviews, interviews and much more.

Today we will be discussing about, "The Bait of Satan vs. Prayers of Saints"

Exodus 8:25-28, “25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.””

"But don't go too far..."

Satan is like pharaoh. He doesn't want us to go too deep into God. He is trying to keep us away from being close to God. He was torturing people mentally and physically. 

Prayer-life is the most important aspect of our Christian life. 

He is keeping churches away from praying. 

When we are connected with God, we have power. But enemy wants us to be disconnected with God. 

When we are not praying we aren't listening to God. 

Different types of baits by Satan against prayer:

1. Enemy wants us to study, read and talk about prayer but never put it into practice. 

Matthew 15:8, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”

How much time do we take to clean our inner self vis-a-vis cleaning our house? 

We need to be listening and acting disciples of the Lord. 

2. Satan brings discouragement to us. 

Many people give up praying halfway because answer may not quickly. 

Luke 18:1, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

Daniel 10:12, “Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.”

God heard Daniel from the time he was praying. 

When we pray we believe. We walk in faith and not by sight. 

Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.”

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

Isaiah 40:31, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” 

1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

3. Satan will make us give God the 2nd place. 

In our lives we have many things are primary and more valuable than God. But that becomes and idol. God needs to be #1. 

Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Illustration: a lady bought a speaking parrot. At home he didn't talked. She brought back to pet shop. He asked if there is a mirror, she did. Next day she was recommended a ladder. Third day he recommended, swinging. The next day she was really sad and frustrated. She said parrot died. 

Did he ever said anything before parrot died, she said yes. "Don't they sell any food in pet shop?"

In life we are running after swing, ladder etc but we are forgetting important things.

All things of worlds have become priority in our lives and prayer as well as God has become secondary. 

Illustration: there are so many pigeons is our city, do we care? No! Only God cares. 

We are putting worldly things on priority and God as secondary. 

God will bless and provide. Don't have any idols in your lives. We must give time to God and allow God to work: 

4. Our enemy cause people not to forgive one another in the body of Christ. 

Enemy knows how to hinder our prayers. 

Mark 11:25, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” 

Forgiveness is the key. God will not listen to our prayer is we don't forgiveness. 

Reconciliation is tougher. 

Unforgiving spirit stops the power of prayer. 

James 3:16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Luke 23:32-34, “Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[a] And they cast lots to divide his garments.”

Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Acts 7:59-60, “59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We all are precious in the sight of God. Love one another and forgive one another. 

Dr. S.I. McMillan once told, the two greatest causes of the physical problems are guilt and resentment. “It’s not so much what you eat, it’s what eats you that matters.” 

Resentment makes you unhealthy. Physical / emotional consequences. Leads to depression / stress / fatigue. Matthew 5:43-45

5. Satan causes strife among family members so it becomes difficult to pray.

We see so many times we have arguments within the family

1 Peter 3:7, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Love one another. Read bible what it says.

God is ready to hear our prayers. 

Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

We encourage all of you to seek Lord if you are still trying to know Him. God is good and He loves you. Put your trust in Him and He will deliver. We hope you enjoyed today’s service. God Bless!

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