Prayer And Faith

Hey all

Faith

Would like to do a quick summary of what Pastor Kong shared at tuesday's OM and MM meeting.about faith!

In Luke 22:31 , it says
"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:"

In other translations, "hath desired" is changed with "ask" and if you look at the ancient translations, this means to be subpoenaed for trial or called for trial 

satan will definitely attack believers who are strong in the faith because it will destroy and upset the balance of the kingdom of darkness. However, we can rest assure that Jesus has all power and authority and He is in heaven praying for us! 

The following verse says
"But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

God is our fortress

Friends, God is not just our refuge for protection where we just hide in a cave and accept the status quo. No, He is also a fortress where we can rise up in faith and preach faith! I like how Pastor Kong told us on what Pastor Phil said. 

Daniel in the Lion's den

"Faith and prayer got Daniel in the lion's den, and it was faith and prayer that got him out!'

This phrase particularly impacted me as I am named after this prophet. Yes, when you pray, trials and tribulations will come but if you continue to pray, you will be able to overcome anything the devil throws at you because God is ultimately your fortress! In the end, you're going to see lives changed and breakthroughs come. Daniel's victory through prayer impacted the King so greatly that he made a decree that
people everywhere should honor and fear the God that Daniel serves so faithfully.

Another key verse that stuck with me is that of Mark 11:23
"Truly^[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them."

In essence, if you take the first part of the verse, and the last part, you will get  
"Whoever SAYS will have whatever he SAYS"

In your period of trial, these are 3 things to always have faith in .....

1. Have faith in God's promises!

Smith Wrigglesworth said 

“I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe.”

Even if you have sinned, always remember that love covers a multitude of sin. 

Pastor shared about how when the case first broke out, he was really wondering why and what wrong he had done. Surely there must be something that offended people to leave church. He told God to please search his heart for any wrong doing, change him from the inside out, and that he was willing to take responsibility for any offense to the members

To me, this is the heart of a leader. Serving not for ego but for the people! Being a leader is not about status. It's about wanting to make the lives of others better! 

Anyway, to continue, the message is that we should not be bordered with sin consciousness. Repent, ask God to change you, and move on. Sin consciousness of feeling guilty will only hinder you with accusations that you're not good enough. These are all lies from the devil. In reality , God has already forgiven you and cleansed your sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus, Move on! 

2. Have faith in our righteousness in Christ
1 Tim 6:12 says 
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Fight the good fight of faith

Confess confess confess and keep confessing the promises of God!!! In the end, you will come out victorious because God has the victory! 

Heb 13:5-6 says
For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”^{[a] 6} So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

What can man do to us if we are partakers in the divine nature of God. Stand boldly, have no fear! Confess, believe! In Christ, we have the righteousness of God

1 John 1 : 9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

3. Have faith in who we are in Christ  

Whenever we are under any spiritual attacks, remember James 4:7 

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Resist the devil

We have the power of God in us. Resist and confess and based on biblical truth, he will flee from us because of who we are in Christ! 

Romans 8:11 says 

"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."

Remember who we are in Christ! Because we are God's children, we can have the victory!

Lastly,  we must remember to pray. God cannot bless us if we never ask anything by faith. Prayer opens the door for the Holy Spirit to pour down on our lives. 

Prayer unlocks the kingdom of heaven

Let's start to have a spirit of prayer within us. Let's fight the good fight of faith!

2 Chronicles 7:14 says
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Let's have faith that God can do all things. Let's keep praying to unlock the promises. Let's "hold fast the confession of our faith without waivering, for He who promised is faithful!" (Heb 10:23) 

To end, Pastor shared about how, during the trial there will be the characters of the prosecutors, lawyers, judge, accused, media, haters and lastly. The bloggers! He then mentioned that there will be the critical bloggers as well as the good bloggers! 

Bloggers will have a big say in the trial. Let's be the good bloggers!

I'm willing to be one of those good bloggers! I'm standing by my Church, I'm standing by the leadership, I'm praying, I'm posting because I believe in the message of the Cross and I believe in the good works and impact the Church has played over my life and the lives of others.  

Lives have indeed been transformed. People have been blessed. Most importantly, the powerful move of God has been felt in Church! 

Fighting! because I love my Church! and the Church loves people! 

I Love My Church

Be Blessed!