Ice-breaker: May Lee
Lesson: When we talk a lot / distracted during prayer, then we do not hear God’s quiet voice talking to us.

Worship: Colin

Word: Adrian Langat

We had an interesting & deep discussion, where different people shared their perspective, cross-referencing with different characters in the Bible.

Bible verse: 1 Kings 19:1-8
Background: Israelites were worshipping idols – god of Baal. There was a test between Baal’s priests & Elijah (God’s prophet).

1 Kings 18:24
Elijah said, “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
There was no answer from Baal. But God answered Elijah’s prayer with fire (a miracle) (v 36-38).

Then Elijah commanded the people to slaughter the priests of Baal.
When Queen Jezebel got to know about this, she sent a messenger to Elijah saying that she will kill him. Elijah’s response was to run for his life & wanting to die.

In chapter 19,
Verse 9 – God/ Holy Spirit asked him “What r u doing here, Elijah?”
Verse 13 – same question “What r u doing here?”
- implies that he wasn’t supposed to be there. That he shouldn’t have run for this life.
Verse 11 – God asked him to “Go out & stand on d mountain in d presence of God”.

Why did he run away?
Possibly fear / survival instincts,…,
He thought he was the only believer left (alive).
Why didn’t he call down fire to kill Jezebel?

This shows that he was just a normal man, like us.
Each of us would have high times – enjoy God’s blessings, storehouse overflowing… & also low times – question that “Is God there?” & thinking that “I m the only one left” – but that is untrue.

Where did Eliah run to? Mount Horeb
What is d significance of this place?
Exodus 3:1 Mount Horeb = Mountain of God
Place where God revealed Himself to Moses as a burning bush.


God’s revelation of Himself was in this order:
1) strong wind (God’s power)
2) earthquake (God’s power)
3) fire (God’s judgment)
4) still small voice

The first 3 things – the wind, earthquake & fire was a demonstration of God’s power & judgment, but God’ presence was not in them.
Therefore
God’s Power (miracles & works) is NOT God’s Presence

Application:
We sometimes think that we are the only one who r going thru hardships, … feel defeated…
What we need to is to get away like Jesus – go to a quiet place to be in God’s presence.
When Elijah died to himself/ humbled himself & repented b4 God, God revealed Himself to him.

Other people’s comments:

Joanne:
- Elijah’s action of taunting Baal’s followers – showed his character flaw
– his carnal nature, not like Jesus.

- Peter denied Jesus 3 times.
- Bcos he was human after all
- Later, when Peter repented, then God gave him the faith to preach to the people,
even though was put into prison, persecuted,…

- Better to ask God – is this the right thing to do?
(Like what Freeda Bowers has shared in her sermon – ask God, “What is the question?” & pray according to God’s will, not based on our own understanding, what we know, what we think is best…

Vernon:
Elijah’s history – is a roller-coaster ride of God’s miracles & wonders.
He relied a lot of God’s power.
He was disheartened & disappointed with the series of events – Queen Jezebel hunting & wanting to kill him.
Problem – his pride, thinking that he did things on his own, & not God using him.

Jonah – run away, did not obey God’ calling for him to preach, & later got swallowed by a whale (big fish) for 3 days & 3 nights.
His heart was not right. When he repented, that was when God saved him.


Q: Would it be different if Elijah had God’s presence
– would he still have run away?
A: Yes, bcos survival instincts.
A: Yes, bcos he believed that he was the only believer left alive
A: Depends – on his faith level. “Can God save me?” or “Will God save me?”

Colin:
Luke 9:51 A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Q: There seems to be a contradiction between the Old Testament & the New Testament – Didn’t God love the people (non-believers) during the Old Testament times?
E.g. in killing the Amalekites, Jebusites,…., wiping out the city of Sodom & Gomorrah,….

Rachel:
New Testament also – Acts 5:1-10 Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead bcos they lied to God about the money they got from selling a piece of land.


Adrian:
Old Testament – God cleanse anything that was unholy
- showed that God’s tolerance for sin was very low.
- E.g. the sinful cities of Sodom & Gomorrah
- There are rules & consequences

Colin:
God’s last resort = to kill
God’s grace comes first, if they ppl reject it, then only will He do that.
Jonah 3: 4-5, 10 Jonah proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

Therefore when the Ninevites repented, God did not kill them as their sins deserved.

It was not the merit of Israelites that God chose them to receive the blessings of land,… but it was because of the other people’s wickedness.. So that God may use the Israelites as an example to show to the other nations of God’s special favor upon them.

Additional:
From Colin’s NKJV Bible:
Commentary: God Does make the Difference

God will not deal with us in the same way He deals with the world.
Exodus 8:23, 9:26, 10:23,
23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.”
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail
23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

We can rely on the blood of Jesus to protect us from overwhelming evil
1 Peter 1:18, 19
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

as we honor God’s holiness in our living for Him.
To read further Commentaries on this go to:
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/?action=getCommentaryText&cid=68&source=2&seq=i.67.1.4


Difference between Elijah’s time & our time now: -

Elijah’s time
- He had to run back to the place, where God’s presence was

Our time now
- We have the Holy Spirit within us
- We have Jesus interceding for us
- When Jesus died for our sins, the veil was torn
& hence we can communicate directly with God.

Lesson:
Important to have a Quiet Time with God
- to be strengthen, to be comforted & encouraged, so that we can continue to do good works for God.

What is a definition for forgiveness?

A definition for forgiveness could be -- giving up my right to hurt you, for hurting me. It is impossible to live on this fallen planet without getting hurt, offended, misunderstood, lied to, and rejected. Learning how to respond properly is one of the basics of the Christian life.

There is confusion about what is involved with forgiveness. Forgiveness is not saying that things are okay now, and then going back into an abusive situation.

It is not letting someone off the hook by saying, “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Some people think that forgiveness is unconditional love with no boundaries or accountability. It is not.

Forgiveness is not denial that a hurtful situation exists, and it isn’t denying the fact that your feelings are hurt. And forgiveness does not mean you accept the person’s behavior.


What does God say about forgiveness?

The Bible gives us much instruction when it comes to forgiveness.
We forgive because we have been forgiven by God (Ephesians 4:32).
We forgive in obedience to God (Matthew 6:14-15; Romans 12:18).
We forgive others to gain control of our lives from hurt emotions (Genesis 4:1-8).
- Cain attacked & killed his brother Abel bcos he was angry & dejected.
We forgive so we won’t become bitter and defile those around us (Hebrews 12:14-15).

What if I don’t feel like forgiving others?

There are times we don’t feel like forgiving those who have wronged us. It is easier to act our way into feeling than to feel our way into acting. Having a nature of not forgiving others brings about bitterness, and bitterness has been linked to stress-related illnesses by some medical researchers.

By forgiving others, we free ourselves spiritually and emotionally. Forgiveness is an act of our own personal will in obedience and submission to God’s will, trusting God to bring emotional healing.


Forgiving Others - A Personal Story

Forgiving others often takes time. Amy was no longer living with her alcoholic and abusive husband Tim, but she had not been able to forgive him for the 32 years of abuse that she had experienced. She knew she should forgive him, but she could not bring herself to do it. She did not feel he deserved her forgiveness.

This went on for several years until one day in a counseling session with Amy, I asked her to listen with her heart and be open to anything the Lord might say to her. During that quiet time, the Lord helped Amy see that He loved Tim, while disapproving of Tim's actions.

The Lord made it clear to Amy that the abuse was not her fault. As she looked up from her quiet posture, she related how all of the reasons why she should not forgive were no longer valid. I asked if she was ready to forgive and she said yes.

Amy's recognition that the Lord truly loved Tim, while disapproving his actions, caused her to have a change of heart. When she made the choice to forgive Tim, the feelings that had been compromising her life-anger, resentment, fear, misunderstanding, and confusion-left her heart. Forgiving Tim brought peace to Amy's heart.


Forgiving Others - The Divine Example

We have a divine example for forgiving others! God knew that man needed forgiveness, so He sent His Son Jesus to deliver all of mankind from the eternal consequences of their sins (1 John 4:9-10).

Colossians 3:13 says, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Jesus not only had the power to forgive, but to grant us the ability to forgive others just as we have been forgiven.


Forgiving Others - Personal Action

Forgiving others often starts as a decision of surrender-an act of our will. This surrender invites God to begin working in our lives in a deeper level, allowing God to heal us. Just as with Amy, we can ask God to enlighten us with the understanding that we need to fully forgive from our hearts. We simply need to make the choice to be open to forgiveness and reconciliation.

Remember, forgiveness does not justify the deed or the person, it does not provide God's forgiveness for their actions, because only God can do that. While nothing can undo the past, we can do something about the condition of our own present and future. Forgiving others makes a way for our own healing to begin.


A prayer of forgiveness

Dear God, I choose as an act of my will, regardless of my feelings, to forgive the person who has wronged me. I release them, and I set myself free to Your healing. God, I ask you to forgive me for hurting others out of my own hurt and to heal my relationships with others. With Your help, I will no longer dwell on the situation or continue to talk about it. I thank You for forgiving me as I have forgiven them. I thank You for releasing me. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen


Source:

http://www.allaboutgod.com/definition-for-forgiveness-faq.htmhttp://www.allaboutgod.com/forgiving-others.htm


Original source:

www.seekfind.org

STUDY NO. 1: TEMPTATION OF JESUS: Read Matthew 4: 1-11

Q1.Why did Jesus fasted (and assume praying) for 40 days? Why not less days?

As a man Jesus was fully flesh. Fasting and prayer with God for 40 days prepared him to face temptations. Though he was God he was also man. Thus the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. (Matt 26:41; Mk 14:38) What would have happened if Jesus never learnt to bring his flesh under the submission of the Spirit?

40 days is probably the minimum time needed for an earthly man to spend time with God before his spirit can be strengthened by God’s Holy Spirit. When we learn to spend at least 40 non- interrupted days with God we will begin to be able to grow strength in our faith in HIM. This 40 day journey is not for us just to get God to do something but for us to draw near to Him. To even take and interest in others.

This also tells us that 40 is the number of testing.


CROSS REFERENCE

Genesis 3:6 Temptation & Fall of Man (NIV)
‘When he woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.’

1 John 2:16 (KJV)
‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.’

Therefore, temptations comes in the form of

1. Physical desires (lust of the flesh)
   Example: hunger for food, drink & sex
2. Need to own or possess (lust of the eyes)
   Example: materialistic & focused on accumulating wealth
   
   The Bible’s response to this is -
   
   Matthew 6:18-20 (NIV)
   "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
   
   
3. Drivenness for power, position & recognition (pride of life)
   Need for power = desire to have social impact & control over others & want their importance to be visible.
   
   Example
   
1. climb the career ladder to gain power & people’s recognition
2. wear prestigious clothes,
3. buy expensive possessions,
4. exploit relationships
   

Therefore we should be careful that when we are tempted – especially in these areas, we should stand firm not to succumb to the temptations because: -

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Q2. How can we overcome temptation?
As Jesus quoted Scriptures to triumph over the Devil’s temptations, so we too should rely on God’s Word, the Bible to guide us in our daily decisions & enable us to differentiate between right or wrong, good or evil,….

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you

---

STUDY NO. 2: MOSES ON MT SINAI: Read Exodus 24:9-18

Part I: Read Exodus 24:9-18


Q3. What was the result of Moses spending 40 days with God?
He saw God’s glory. He received God’s 10 commandments. He had a good understanding of God’s heart and of God’s ways. (refer Ex 25:8)


Part II: Read Exodus 20:18-21, 32:1-4

Q4. While Moses spends 40 days with God, where were the children of Israel and what were they doing?

40 days on earth doing their own thing. Notice that we will always say we don’t have time for God – but the real truth is we HAVE time only what do we have time for!!! The time we don’t spend with God will be spent doing something else.

40 is the number defining human choice of destiny – for those who spend time with God it will lead us towards faith in God. For those who don’t spend 40 days with god it will affect their destiny – like the children of Israel.


Q5. What happened to children of Israel?
Ex 32: 1-4- They built a Golden Calf and went into idolatry. They lost faith in God and in Moses.


Q6. What caused the children of Israel to become idolatrous?
Ex 20: 18-19.
They kept themselves at a distance from God. They wanted Moses to hear from God for them. They only saw God as thunder and lightning. They never discovered His will, His heart, His true purpose. Because of this their faith was weak. It was not a relationship but just a religion!

Hi FRIENDS,

I've been trying to remind myself a lot why do I pray. This question remained a mystery to me especially when I thought if I know the fact that before I even utter my prayers, especially my petitions, He already knows it. So what is prayer for? Why bother kneeling down before Him and ask Him for something He will freely give anyway?

I stumbled upon this song (it's in Chinese) and I felt that the simplicity of the lyrics speaks of why do we pray. Prayer creates hope and hope is admitting our limitations and believing in God's capacity to grant them according to His Holy Will. In this sense, hope is faith.

I believe that power of prayer lies primarily in GOD and we're merely partakers and witnesses of this divine privilege, but nothing beats us as a group experiencing God together through this spiritual edification. Let's spur each other on as we go through this season of 40 days of fasting and praying, Amen??

For the benefit of those who do not understand Chinese, I've got the translation of the lyrics attached. so, here's the whole package:

For your listening pleasure:

For your understanding:

---

祷告/ I Pray

祷告，因为我渺小

I pray because I am small and limited

祷告，因为我知道我需要

I pray because I know I need

明�t你心意对我重要

To understand the importance of Your will

祷告，以假装不了

I pray because I can no longer pretend

祷告，因为你的爱我需要

I pray because Your love is all I need

你关怀，我走过你都明白

You care and understand all that I have been through

有些事我只想要对你说

There are some things that I can only tell you

因你比任何人都爱我

Because you love me more than anyone else

痛苦从眼中流下

Tears of pain flow from my eyes

我知道你为我擦

I know You wipe them for me

在早晨我也要来对你说

Each new morning I still want to tell You

主耶稣，我今天为你活

Lord Jesus, I live for You today

所需要的力量，你天天赐给我

You grant me each day, all the strength that I need

你恩典够我用

Your grace is sufficient for me

---

May this song minister to you, too :)

Be blessed and see you all soon.



Your prayer partner in-Christ,

--

Miranda

This is a testimony from our sister Paige in lieu of the 40 days prayer and fasting both for the country and for our own needs with the book "Give me 40 days" by Freeda Bowers.

Each of us can share our testimonies as a praise and glory to God as He answers our needs even without us having to pray for ourselves.

God is good!

---

1) Prayer: Let people that do not yet know you, know you, Lord. So that they can have a relationship with You, Father, that they will know the truth, for the truth shall set them free.

God answered: In a very dramatic manner.

During class (Masters course), one of my lecturers in my University shared that he goes through suffering & anguish to find meaning in life.

And as I just wrote an assignment earlier about how God has given me meaning & purpose in life, I was very moved to want to share the gospel with him.

That night, I couldn’t sleep, so I went out of my balcony (16th floor apartment) to pray. As I asked God to confirm that “Do u really want me to share my faith to him, God? And if yes, can u show me a sign?” (Since there are Biblical precedents of God showing signs of confirmation).

His response was sending lightning bolt in front of me. (Around 2km away there was a thunderstorm). I thought “Wow…. God answering.. But, perhaps it’s just coincidence.”

So I asked God again, “Really meh?” Immediately there was another lightning in the storm. I waited for a longer period to see if there are more lightning bolts. But there was none. After a few minutes, I asked God for the third time, “Really, really meh?” And immediately there was another thunder bolt.

The three times was enough confirmation for me. So I said to God, that “OK, I will obey then..”

So the plan is to write a letter to him, sharing my faith, will include my Personal Testimony story – of how I became a Christian (which I prepared earlier). And then pass it to him soon.

Hopefully, this will plant a seed in him, that he would want to know more about this great God that loves us as a heavenly Father and in the end, accept God into his life.

---

3) Prayer: God, help me to quit smoking.

God answered:
It’s quite a long story, involving a series of events.

Incidentally I also shared this to one of my TARC students, K, as he offered me a cigarette and I declined, saying I just quit a week ago. He asked why, & I told him the story as below:

Beginning – I started smoking 7 years ago. Basically, I was influenced by my first boyfriend, who smoked.

And 6 years ago, I stopped when I became a Christian, because the Bible teaches it is folly to do things to harm one’s body. And our bodies are God’s temple, should be holy and acceptable sacrifices to God. It wasn’t an immediate thing, but took a couple of months when I finally quit smoking.

But, I started smoking again, when I was in Australia in 2004 (4 years ago), where I was studying in Adelaide for one year.

Towards the end of the year, I worked as a fruit picker & stayed at the Backpackers Hostel, where I made friends with this Malaysian guy, Adam. And since he smoked a different type of cigarette, which is a self-made & rolled cigarette, I was tempted to try it.

Perhaps it is my educational background, where science students are taught that “Science is experiment”. And I do agree because if you won’t know how something is until you have tried it.

Of course certain things are too risky and not worth it to experience, such as drugs because it can lead to paralysis, brain and bodily injury and even death.

And when I came back to Malaysia in early 2005, I broke up with my second boyfriend. And through the time of broken-heartedness, I turned to smoking as a way to release my unhappiness and stress.

After that, there was a period of stopping, then starting again. I found it very difficult to really quit, especially since I was quite an ‘expert’ in justification – making excuses or giving reasons for why it is ok to smoke.

My reasoning was since I have learned in Psychology that stress can harm the body in a very serious way; and smoking helps me to release stress, and since I don’t some that much (on average 1-2 cigarettes a day), it should be ok lar..

And though I know there are other ways to release stress, such as exercise, play computer games, listening to music,…. Smoking does have its attractions/ benefits, such as a feeling of high similar to when drinking alcohol.

And this continued until few months back when Pastor Colin Hurt from UK came to give a 3 day lesson on “Spiritual Warfare” in my church (SIB).

And as he preached about how we should not give the Devil a foothold (e.g. by sinning) because then He will be able to attack us and defeat us very easily; I was convicted to ask him personally for advice how I can kick this habit.

I have analysed my problem – which is basically I don’t really have the conviction that it is actually wrong to smoke. Yes, in the long run, it will very likely lead to lung cancer, but……

And after sharing this with him, his reply to me was very simple – to ask God whether it is right or wrong to smoke. So simple meh??

Ok, so I went home & prayed to God asking Him to tell me whether it is right or wrong to smoke.
God replied me by me getting eye infection after smoking one day, which is my habit to do after working out at my gym. My right eye got red, and later was uncomfortable / painful for a few days.

Finally I called my pharmacist friend for consultation – and she concluded that I had bacterial infection. So I got antibiotics medication for my eye.

But on the 3rd day, the last day of the medication, the pain / discomfort in the eye was healed, but unfortunately the new problem now was my right eyelid was swollen.

The first pharmacist I went to diagnosed it as allergy. And since I do have seafood allergy and I actually forgot to abstain and ate some prawns few days ago, I thought that should be the cause of the problem.

However after a few days, the swelling did not subside, but became bigger and I could actually see pus in it already.

So I went to another pharmacist, which diagnosed the problem as bacterial infection in the eyelid, and prescribed my ointment to apply on it. So the infection actually moved from the eye to the eyelid.

It was quite painful and quite scary, because the eye is quite a sensitive area. But thank God for Joshua, bcos as we chatted on Facebook, he taught me that I needed to use a needle to poke into the swelling and press out the pus.

Initially I was quite reluctant, cos it is quite gross, and also fearful maybe if I poke myself wrongly, I may even blind myself or something…

But in the end, cos I couldn’t “tahan” (stand) it anymore, the swelling was sorta purplish in color then…. Desperate situations require desperate measures…

So I did as he said, since his dad is a doctor, he should be quite reliable geh…. It took a couple of days of pressing to remove the pus… Quite painful…. And the swelling got smaller to finally disappear… Wow… such a relief…

So I learned that it is wrong to smoke. Because it led to eye infection in my case. And of course long term, it is very likely to lead to lung cancer or other types of cancer….

And adding to that, my current financial crisis, caused by repairs to my car coming up to RM1400 also discourages me from smoking….

Perhaps this is also teaches me to rely on God to provide for my financial needs..

Well, my prayer request for better financial situation hasn’t been answered by God yet…. Perhaps He is looking at the long-term effect, rather than short-term one… Let me struggle for now for a short moment so that I can finally quit smoking for good in the future.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

Well, just trust God and hopes that everything will work out well, according to His good plans lar..

Thanks Rachel for setting this up.

As said above. To Spice up the Pot, news from the Hotplate is that "Cell Retreat 08"
is coming up and happening in the month of March.

This is so that we also can plan our Cell Harvest before we come down from the mountains.

So start suggesting where you want to be going.

To get the engine moving, 3 Friendster ( Friend's Member) has voted to go Genting

What do you think?

Alright, here's the new blog. Leave comments and check back regularly.

Growing 2 Go :)