280919 - Do you Pray? (part 1)

-

  • Prayer is necessary for salvation
    • Not that it saves us but it is one of the surest marks of a true Christian
  • You cannot feel your sins or love God or feel indebted to Christ without prayer
  • Words said without engaging the heart are useless
  • It is not a natural thing for someone to pray
  • Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart
    • Either prayer will consume sin or sin will choke out prayer
  • Through Jesus we are able to engage with God and draw near to him with boldness and confidence
  • We are weaklings when it comes to prayer, but the Holy Spirit is always ready to help us
  • The power of prayer should encourage us to do so
  • Spiritual greatness depends mostly on how we use the gifts and resources that God gives us
  • The Lord gives us the means to become holy when we put our trust in him
  • Prayer is the most effective remedy against the Devil and against persistent sins
  • One of the main reasons for backsliding in your faith is a lack of prayer

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 12 - Consequences of unrepentant sin (1 Cor 5)

-
Observations The Corinthians were suffering from sexual immorality. Not just any sexual immorality but that of incest. Paul heavily condemns this behaviour, saying that he is there with the Corinthians in spirit. However Paul also says that even such a sin like this is able to saved through the power of the Lord (v1-5) Again Paul is emphasising that they should not boast. He uses the analogy of yeast and bread - saying that just like making bread, we should not use old yeast to make new bread. Therefore, we should throwaway the old (our worldly and sinful flesh) but instead take on Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. (v6-8) Paul says that church discipline should be hard on those who call themselves Christian yet are still living in unrepentant sin. We are not to eat and talk with these people in the hope that this abandonment will lead them to see their sin. It is not something out of hate but rather out of love. It is important that this does NOT apply to unbelieving people. ...
Read more

Day 3: Ecclesiastes 11

-
Eccl 11:1-6 Wise practices in light of the unpredictability of life (v2) we are told about 'investing' and diversifying resources to protect against unforeseen circumstances due to the unpredictability of life (v4a) too might time spent trying to 'read the skies' will only distract us from the task at hand (v4b) if we wait for the perfect time to begin something we will now sow nor reap Eccl 11:7-12 (v9) Proper enjoyment in life is only possible within the boundaries established by God. He will evaluate and judge our deeds according to His righteous judgement (v10) We shouldn't dwell on our pains and woes excessively Application Enjoyment in life is within the boundaries of God, but I can never earn my salvation. My deeds will indeed be judged, but because of Christ, he has taken up all my sins already. Too much time trying to predict the future will only lead to distraction and less effectiveness I shouldn't wait for the 'perfect' t...
Read more

Day 5: Revealation 17-19

-
Sermon by Malcolm Gill:  https://www.smbc.edu.au/resources/bibletalks/revelation-17-19 Ideas Sometimes we question where the judgement is for the wicked within this world - those that prosper (from worldly perspective) often don't face any judgement in this life, and this can be discouraging Rome in Revelation is idolising money and living a life apart from God and convincing others that they can be happy without God There is heavy prosecution to those who do not live apart from God (don't pay the Roman taxes and things of that sort) However, God's judgement is deserved,   swift and complete (17:8-10) In a moment, all the wealth of the wicked will be gone (18:2) There is no rematch - Babylon is totally defeated and the judgement is swift and thorough The wicked - their judgement is deserved and one day their judgement is met Judgement of the wicked reveals God's character and it leads to worship The response from God's people is joy and celebration ...
Read more