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The prayers of the Apostle Paul a) The prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 (read) This prayer contains a progressive revelation. Please note there are five main steps in this prayer. Step 1 Verse 16; To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. This strengthening with might in your inner man is an essential prerequisite before partaking of steps 2-5. For it is only through the ‘dynamite’ power of the Holy Spirit in us that we can progress spiritually. Step 2 Verse 17; Tells us that consequences of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith is that we become rooted like a tree in love and grounded like a building, with Jesus Christ as your foundation. This means our Christian walk of obedience to Christ is based upon our responding in love to his love which Jesus gave first. Step 3 Verse 18; When we are strengthened with might in our inner man, and Christ is dwelling in our hearts by faith and we grow rooted and grounded in love then we are in the position to begin to comprehend or discern spiritually the dimensions of God`s love where it surpasses humanly discerned knowledge. Things to consider about the dimensions of God’s love. Breadth – boundless Length – endless Depth – fathomless Height [1] – measureless Even to describe God’s love as a sea is inadequate since seas have limits. Step 4 Verse 19 We must experience the love of Christ, each one of us. That agape love that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5). When we are filled to overflowing with his divine love then we attain the fourth step of the progression, which is that we have the richest measure of the divine presence and we become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself. If this is true, it is possible that we can experience the richest measure of the divine presence! Wow! The Greek rendering of ‘filled with all the fullness’ suggests a continuous process, a progressive enlarging experience like a vessel being filled to the brim. Then the vessel expands, and the process goes on and on. Thus, our hearts will grow and take in more and more of Him. Amen. Step 5 Verse 20 Paul then goes on to say after having given us such a tremendous revelation of the word, that the Lord can do infinitely more than all that we dare ask or think, infinitely above our highest hopes, prayers, desires, thoughts, or dreams. Wow! Fellow saints, the word of God tells us that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Would you dare to make such a prayer as this, a prayer for yourself and for those you lead, would you dare to pray this prayer right now? In verse 20 did Paul get carried away with himself? Or was the Holy Spirit showing the church how we also ought to pray for ourselves and others, so that we can aim for the summit of God`s fullness in us in bodily form. If we ask Him for bread will he give us stone or snake for a fish? He knows what good gifts to give to His children. Matthew 5:6 Conclusion Would you dare to ask God for his best for yourself and others, or do you think that the Lord can only just keep you saved? See Ephesians 3:10 concerning the multi-faceted wisdom of God. The Word of God says that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Will you dare make such a spirit anointed prayer your fervent prayer? Dare to pray this prayer! Father God we bow our knees to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask that you grant us, according to your riches, that we might be strengthened with your mighty power in our inner man. We pray that Christ may be dwelling in our hearts by faith, and that we are becoming rooted and grounded in your divine love. We ask that we may be able to comprehend with all your saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of your love, and to come to truly know your love which surpasses human knowledge, that we might be filled with the love of God as you are Lord. Lord, we know you can do much more above all we can ask or even think because your power is at work in us and so we say. Amen and Glory to your name. [1] Height How high does God`s love extend? Look at the privileges we now enjoy and those the Lord has promised will come. I Samuel 2:8 Isaiah 56:5 Romans 8:16-17 I John 3:1 Revelation 22:4-5

LORD FILL ME WITH YOUR HOLY BOLDNESS In terms of sharing the Gospel, you and I have attained royalty (like Queen Esther) and God’s favour for such a time as this Yes, many believe we are on the brink of a miracle, we are ready to reap and are co-workers with God in his harvest. We are poised for battle, ready to plunder hell and populate heaven. We are ready to lead many from darkness into the light. We are ready to snatch precious lives from the enemy’s hand and put them into the hand that no one can snatch them from. Today, we are looking to our commander, the commander of the Lord’s host, Jesus Christ who is, the Mighty God, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Lord Jesus we seek your face today knowing that it is you alone who can supply that which we need for the victory. We know our mission is to bring in the harvest We have our weapons and armour including the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God We know that God’s love conquers all What more do we need? Lord Jesus, we need you to fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit causing us to move in power and holy boldness. A boldness to step out in faith without fear and boldly proclaim the good news without compromise. We need a Holy boldness to tell it like it is We need a Holy boldness to reach out in love We need a Holy boldness to replace our fear We need a Holy boldness to fulfill God’s command of “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” How do we get this holy boldness? What effects does it produce? Can we receive it today? Let us turn to God’s word to find out. Definition Boldness: Daring, courage, bravery, valour. Ready to meet danger head on. Holy Boldness: Courage and confidence to obey God’s commands with power to dare to step out for God. Will you dare today to step out for God? God’s power gives us courage to step out into the unknown, or even dangerous circumstances but with God’s power and courage to witness. Holy Boldness begins with baptism in the Holy Spirit Acts 1:8; Jesus promises us power to witness Acts 2:2-4; Baptism Acts 2:14; Peter ignoring any danger stands up and preaches his message, full of the Holy Spirit and boldness. Acts 2:22-24; The Holy Spirit gives power (and boldness) to tell it like it is without fear or favour. Acts 2:36-38; Repent and be baptized, be bold and direct and to the point. Acts 3:6-8; The lame man is healed, here is holy boldness in action producing miracles. Peter did it by the power of the God. We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit while you are witnessing. Amen? Every one of us needs to be baptized with Holy Spirit for he is, and he gives the power to witness. Boldness in Persecution Acts 4:8-13 Holy boldness: Peter tells it like it is without fear or compromise. Verse 13; You do not necessarily need an education or training, but you do need to spend time with Jesus in prayer. Spend time in the word and in fellowship in that sweet communion of the Holy Spirit. Verse 18-20; The disciples were forbidden to boldly speak in Jesus name by the authorities. We must however obey God rather than man! What would you do in these circumstances? Verse 21-31; v29 the disciples asked the Lord for courage not protection. Wonderful! Ephesians 5:18; But be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to keep on being filled with the Spirit! You were once filled with the Spirit, but you leak? How can we get this Holy Boldness? Luke 11:11-13; We must ask in faith, believing and expecting to receive, the promise of the Father. Let us do it! Amen Prayer

As Christians we are not under the law, yet most believers love to give a first fruit i.e. something off the top of their income to the Lord as an expression of love and worship to him. There is another principle found in scripture called the Gleanings which is not concerned with first of your income or produce but rather with what is left over the end. Gleaning is the process of gathering grain or produce left or missed in the field by reapers on first pass. Gleanings can also be on a vine or on a tree and in this case refers to the fruit missed by the pickers. Mosaic Law requires leaving this portion so that the poor and aliens might have a means of earning a living. Leviticus 19:9 And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 24:19 When you cut down your harvest in your field, and has forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord your God may bless thee in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. The biblical example of Ruth gathering the gleanings is found in Ruth chapter 2. So the idea behind the gleanings was to leave a little of the crop/harvest to provide for the poor which includes the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. But since we are not farmers and do not have fields and crops, how might we apply this principle to ourselves. Well in the same way as the farmer did not harvest his crop to exhaustion so might we not use our full income to exhaustion? One family that I know of collects all their coppers and small denomination coins in a jar and at an appropriate time gives that money to the poor. A tin, a bag or a box works just as well! And who are the poor? Well there are two types of poor, the physically poor and the spiritually poor (usually they go together). Think of the foreigners who are strangers in your land, and the homeless etc. Or what about the street children of Brazil and other countries where the poor need both physical and spiritual help? Anyway, if this is something you want to do, we can ask the Lord what to do with our gleanings. Prayer Lord give us hearts that honour you with our first fruits Lord give us hearts that leave a gleaning for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien. Lord we thank you that you have supplied us with all that we need. Lord keep our hearts open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit In Jesus Name we pray Amen

Luke 14:12-14 Previously we saw the intimacy of sharing a meal. Such sharing builds strength into our family units and cements friendships between families. If you feel you’ve few friends, then perhaps it is time to invite someone for a meal? We also learned that we must not let trivial things hold us back from serving the Lord in this way. Luke 14:12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Comments Verse 12; Does not preclude intimate meals with those we love, as the general tone of scripture bids us share each other’s lives. The idea is that we need to show hospitality beyond those in our circle of family and friends. Verse 13; Here is a clear duty in scripture to society’s less fortunate, the blind, the crippled, and the lame. Or what about the homeless and single parents? Verse 12-14; The idea of repayments tells us to check our motives for hospitality from this viewpoint. There is the greatest safety in giving to those who cannot repay. Amen Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Comments Charity is best practiced in secret lest we fall into the subtle sin of hypocrisy, in other words when we show charity to be seen by other people. Verse 1; There is no reward if you have wrong motives. Verse 2; If you draw attention to yourself to get the honour of man you will lose God’s reward. Verse 3; God requires your charity to be done in the strictest secrecy Verse 4; What is secret to man, God sees and God rewards. When only God knows your charitable deeds then your motives are safer. -- James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Looking after the widows and orphans and helping the helpless is a true measure of our heart for God. The warning from Isaiah 10:1-2 makes it clear the God is closely watching that justice is done for the widow, the orphan, and the poor. Those who exploit the poor cannot run to God, they have nowhere to go on the day of their calamity. Matthew 25:31-46; God identifies intimately with poor James 2:14-17; Faith without works is dead Galatians 2:10; Always remember the poor If Jesus Christ totally identifies with the poor, then so must we. Bless someone today who cannot repay you and keep it a secret between you and the Lord. Amen Prayer For a print copy and much more please click the link below https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/remember-those-who-cant-repay

We have previously seen that although we know God’s will, we still need to pray for it. We must continuously stand firm in faith. Some of us have fair-weather faith that works well when things go well. The Lord wants us to have a faith that endures and trusts in God through even most difficult circumstances. When God gives a vision to someone or a group it is not always plain sailing e.g. did the Israelites just walk in and conquer Canaan? No they had to fight each step of the way. The God-given vision for your fellowship will require you to fight to bring it to pass. Just because your church vision is from God it will not happen without input from you! Let us look at the life of Nehemiah to see what it takes to fulfil his God-given vision. God has sent Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore the city. But Satan raised up severe opposition to prevent the rebuilding of the city. The book of Nehemiah offers an excellent insight into Satan’s tactics against God’s people. The book of Nehemiah: a summary in brief Chapter 1; Nehemiah is in captivity in Babylon. He prayed and repented quoting Deuteronomy 30 for the restoration of the Jews to Israel. Chapter 2; Obtains favour with the King and sets out to form a rescue plan. Chapter 3; He organized people in families to rebuild Jerusalem in sections. Chapter 4; We can learn how to watch out for the devil’s tactics and how Nehemiah responds each time. Chapter 5; Nehemiah sorts out the internal problems amongst Jews. Chapter 6: 1-8; Their enemies using a range of tactics continue to try and stop the Jews. Verses 9-19: Verse 9; Nehemiah offers specific prayers Verse 10-13; Shemaiah was hired as a false prophet to frighten Nehemiah Verse 14; Nehemiah prays again Verse 15; The wall of Jerusalem is now half finished Verse 17-19; Tobiah pulls strings to try to frighten Nehemiah by sending threatening letters. Satan still uses the very same tactics to frighten God’s people as they fulfil their vision from God. So watch of for these dirty tricks and use the weapons that Nehemiah used successfully (NB prayer). We have been called to build up God’s people. Let us pray and act and be totally dependent on God as the enemy tries to thwart your vision or your church’s vision from God. Amen Prayer

The prayers of the Apostle Paul a) The prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 (read) This prayer contains a progressive revelation. Please note there are five main steps in this prayer. Step 1 Verse 16; To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. This strengthening with might in your inner man is an essential prerequisite before partaking of steps 2-5. For it is only through the ‘dynamite’ power of the Holy Spirit in us that we can progress spiritually. Step 2 Verse 17; Tells us that consequences of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith is that we become rooted like a tree in love and grounded like a building, with Jesus Christ as your foundation. This means our Christian walk of obedience to Christ is based upon our responding in love to his love which Jesus gave first. Step 3 Verse 18; When we are strengthened with might in our inner man, and Christ is dwelling in our hearts by faith and we grow rooted and grounded in love then we are in the position to begin to comprehend or discern spiritually the dimensions of God`s love where it surpasses humanly discerned knowledge. Things to consider about the dimensions of God’s love. Breadth – boundless Length – endless Depth – fathomless Height[1] – measureless Even to describe God’s love as a sea is inadequate since seas have limits. Step 4 Verse 19 We must experience the love of Christ, each one of us. That agape love that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5). When we are filled to overflowing with his divine love then we attain the fourth step of the progression, which is that we have the richest measure of the divine presence and we become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself. If this is true, it is possible that we can experience the richest measure of the divine presence! Wow! The Greek rendering of ‘filled with all the fullness’ suggests a continuous process, a progressive enlarging experience like a vessel being filled to the brim. Then the vessel expands, and the process goes on and on. Thus, our hearts will grow and take in more and more of Him. Amen. Step 5 Verse 20 Paul then goes on to say after having given us such a tremendous revelation of the word, that the Lord can do infinitely more than all that we dare ask or think, infinitely above our highest hopes, prayers, desires, thoughts, or dreams. Wow! Fellow saints, the word of God tells us that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Would you dare to make such a prayer as this, a prayer for yourself and for those you lead, would you dare to pray this prayer right now? In verse 20 did Paul get carried away with himself? Or was the Holy Spirit showing the church how we also ought to pray for ourselves and others, so that we can aim for the summit of God`s fullness in us in bodily form. If we ask Him for bread will he give us stone or snake for a fish? He knows what good gifts to give to His children. Matthew 5:6 Conclusion Would you dare to ask God for his best for yourself and others, or do you think that the Lord can only just keep you saved? See Ephesians 3:10 concerning the multi-faceted wisdom of God. The Word of God says that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Will you dare make such a spirit anointed prayer your fervent prayer. Dare to pray this prayer! Father God we bow our knees to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask that you grant us, according to your riches, that we might be strengthened with your mighty power in our inner man. We pray that Christ may be dwelling in our hearts by faith, and that we are becoming rooted and grounded in your divine love. We ask that we may be able to comprehend with all your saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of your love, and to come to truly know your love which surpasses human knowledge, that we might be filled with the love of God as you are Lord. Lord, we know you can do much more above all we can ask or even think because your power is at work in us and we say Amen and Glory to your name. [1] Height How high does God`s love extend? Look at the privileges we now enjoy and those the Lord has promised will come. I Samuel 2:8 Isaiah 56:5 Romans 8:16-17 I John 3:1 Revelation 22:4-5

Over the next three studies we are going to look at a few practical areas of daily Christian living. Our topics will be taken from Philippians 4:6-7. Today our first topic is worry. We can be defeated simply because we are not alert to the schemes and tactics of the devil. The mind is the arena of our faith, the battle for victory in our daily lives will be won or lost in our minds. Every decision we make is important. We need to monitor every thought coming into our minds, as if checking for a counterfeit banknote. This is part of guarding our hearts. We who have received an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Christ Jesus Romans 5:17. He has made us more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. He has freely given us all things pertaining to life and godliness. He became poor so that we might become rich. He has provided the means in his word to give us victory over every attack of Satan. How to deal with the sin of worry Philippians 4:6; Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7; And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heats and your minds in Christ Jesus. Paul also told us not to worry in this passage. Worry is an ugly sin Very few Christians would lie on their bed turning over wicked thoughts and plans, murder, adultery or other sexual sin, occult practices or spells or trying to remember a horoscope. Yet, many of us, if we are honest are worrying about health, finance, bodily necessities, relationships etc. But we must treat the temptation to worry in the same way as we deal with every other temptation to sin. The sin of worry is right up there with idolatry, adultery, theft, murder etc. so do not be fooled any longer! If Satan can develop the habit of worry in our lives our faith will become paralyzed and totally ineffective and unfruitful. Matthew 13:22 Worry will choke (with so many problems going on in our lives) word of God in our lives and make us unfruitful. Do not be chasing a rainbow. Without faith it is impossible to please God and worry with its evil henchmen of fear and doubt work together to cause us to lose our joy and faith! Our very fruitfulness to God is at stake here. Matthew 6:25-33 Romans 5:17 Perhaps the subtlest aspect of anxiety and worry is the way it creeps up on us. I have found myself slipping into it without realizing. The devil always wants to be unaware of this temptation. To be sure, there is a genuine type of concern for the people and circumstances of our lives without which we would be irresponsible. It is no sin to be tempted in any area, but how we deal with every thought is critical as to whether we will fall into sin. An example might be that you are concerned about a big bill to pay or a serious health matter or problems in a family relationship. You turn it over in your mind, you forget what God’s word says about your situation, you cannot sleep, you toss and turn and begin to imagine the very worst possible outcome… you suddenly realize that you have fallen into the sin of worry! Jesus did not prohibit genuine concerns about food and shelter etc. but he did teach that we must maintain a proper godly perspective on all these things. However, what Satan wants us to do, is to dwell on or focus on our fears rather than on the love of God or his wonderful care and faithful provision for each one of us. The enemy wants us to forget all the wonderful and precious promises of God for our protection and supply of his people (see Psalm 91). So, the actual temptation here is to cast aside our faith and trust in God and throw ourselves into a maelstrom of fear and worry. This is a sin because Jesus told us not to do it. Amen Prevention First recognize how to differentiate between genuine concern and the sin of worry. Paul tells us how to deal with genuine concern which is to hand it over to God and not let it mutate into a malignancy i.e. the sin of worry. Worry is a heavy burden that God never intended for us to carry. Philippians 4:6 Every genuine concern is to become a prayer and a petition, a request to our heavenly father through our Lord Jesus Christ. As we present our requests to God, we must fully release the matter into his hands. He is a God we can trust. We can draw on the peace of God knowing and believing that he has heard our petition and he will bring his answer in due season. When we take our hands and minds off the concern then we receive the shalom peace of God. This seems like a much better deal than sleepless nights and ulcers. Worry can destroy even our health. Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who said our God can save us from the fiery furnace but even if he does not, we still will not worship your idols! Make the decision never to worry again, this is part of knowing the truth that sets you free. Extra strength is available for us when we are tempted to worry Speak the word of God, the rhema word into your situation. Philippians 4:13 Romans 8:26-28 Psalm 23, 91 Sometimes you might need godly counsel, or even a prayer of agreement. We are here to help each other. Sleep, recreation, exercise, being realistic about unlikely fears etc. If you have mastered this temptation to worry, then teach others how to master it. Worry can and does choke the life out of a fellowship. Proverbs 12:25 1 John 1:9 Summary Worry is an ugly and serious sin It will choke the word of God out of our lives, by replacing faith with fear. Worry does not achieve anything good. Jesus told us not to do it. Paul told us not to do it. Let us make the decision that with God’s help never to do it again. Amen Prayer

Victory in our daily lives Part 2 Philippians 4:6 Last time we considered the insidious sin of worry. We saw that worry is a Pandora’s Box of woes and trouble that we should never even consider opening. Worry pulls us in different directions and strangles or chokes the word of God in our lives and so prevents the fruit from growing in our lives. The Lord never intended for his children to shoulder that burden. We saw from our key text that God has given us his perfect antidote or solution to all our legitimate concerns in life. In every situation we take it to the Lord in prayer. Prayer, at one level, is simply talking to God but with the connotation of worship, devotion, and adoration etc. As each concern arises, we need to go before the Father God, in Jesus name. We should prepare ourselves to come before God. Preparation If you had a meeting with a Monarch, President or Teasoich, you would probably dress correctly, you would probably address him/her in a way befitting his/her high rank, and you would be earnest and concise in making your points. You would also hope that he/she would give you some sort of response. Likewise, with our Abba Father, we should set time aside and enter his presence by faith, purposing in our hearts to connect with the Lord and complete the transaction. We must take time to consider the greatness and holiness of God, which begins to put us in the right frame of heart and mind, so we should not rush in and out. Petition/supplication means an earnest sharing of our concerns with our Abba Father, sometimes this may involve strong emotion or even tears. Nor do we just come empty handed or empty hearted in the Lord’s presence like spoiled children, we ought to come filled with thanksgiving. By the time we have given due thanks to the Lord for all that he done, all that he is doing and all that he is going to do, faith will rise up in your heart as you begin to realize that he has never failed you! Lord God you gave me a new life, a new family, a new outlook, a new love, now will you give me a new job? Lord, you have fed and clothed me every day of my life, you have always come through for me even at the last minute, and will you come through for me in this matter? It is you and I who need reminding about God’s track record, not God he remembers! Why does Satan want us to be thoroughly ungrateful? Because it keeps our eyes on ourselves and our problems and off God. He knows that as we begin to thank the Lord, our faith will rise; we will hand the situation over to God and begin to receive the peace of God. Satan’s plan for worry, doubt and fear is thwarted once again! We need to wake up and smell the coffee! There is something lovely about genuine appreciation or gratitude in any situation. Adults love a grateful child who says thank you because we see that it produces good in the child’s life. If thankfulness is so fitting in our children, how much more so should we his children acknowledge him in all our ways and thank him continuously. Not everyone is grateful to God even when he heals them. A straw poll in Judea once showed only one in ten of healed lepers returned to thank God! How about you? Thanksgiving as a lifestyle (or discipline) Although thanksgiving is a vital part of this type prayer and supplication, it is by no means limited to it. Each day and each part of the day affords us countless opportunities to express thanks to God. We need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our hearts which will produce a daily lifestyle overflowing with thanksgiving to God. Daily program His mercies are new every morning and we can start our day by committing it to the Lord. Mealtimes (×3) Jesus always gave thanks to Father God at every meal and we should follow his example albeit publicly or privately. 1 Timothy 4:4-5 In church On entering his presence Psalm 100 At communion Luke 22:17-19 The offering time in the church is also an excellent opportunity to thank God as provider and to acknowledge him as our source. He has provided all that we need and as we thank him it helps us to realize this. Anywhere/Anytime Ephesians 5:20 The bible encourages us to give thanks for all things through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Him that every blessing comes. We can give thanks for our life, health, strength, healing, deliverance, our families, spouses, friends, church, leaders, children’s and youth workers, praise team, stewards etc., food, clothing, and shelter. Freedom to worship, living in a democratic country. Nature, birds, flowers, animals, sight, sound and colour. Sun, moon and stars, cosmos. The Gospel, and God sending his only son. As we saw earlier in difficulty and times of trouble, we can thank God for His answer that will come and for the grace and peace to come through the situation. Thanksgiving is a good point to start your petition because as we do it, we realize how good he is, and this stimulates our faith in Him to receive our petition. At the end of the day, we can give thanks for that day’s blessings and that we can hand over any concerns over to him and receive that peace which passes understanding. Such a lifestyle of thanksgiving will produce good fruit in your life and help to maintain proper fellowship with your heavenly Father. Cultivate that attitude of gratitude! Prayer Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit and let thanksgiving flow from our hearts to you. Lord, we repent of our thanklessness at times and ask for your grace to develop a lifestyle of continuous thanksgiving. We believe that this is your will for us and receive it now by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

The prayer of the Apostle Paul found in Ephesians 3:14-21 This prayer contains a progressive revelation. Please note there are five main steps in this prayer. Step 1 Verse 16; To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. This strengthening with might in your inner man is an essential prerequisite before partaking of steps 2-5. For it is only through the ‘dynamite’ power of the Holy Spirit in us that we can progress spiritually. Step 2 Verse 17; Tells us that consequences of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith is that we become rooted like a tree in love and grounded like a building, with Jesus Christ as your foundation. This means our Christian walk of obedience to Christ is based upon our responding in love to his love which Jesus gave first. Step 3 Verse 18; When we are strengthened with might in our inner man, and Christ is dwelling in our hearts by faith and we grow rooted and grounded in love then we are in the position to begin to comprehend or discern spiritually the dimensions of God`s love where it surpasses humanly discerned knowledge. Things to consider about the dimensions of God’s love. Breadth – boundless Length – endless Depth – fathomless Height – measureless Even to describe God’s love as a sea is inadequate since seas have limits. Step 4 Verse 19 We must experience the love of Christ, each one of us. That agape love that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5). When we are filled to overflowing with his divine love then we attain the fourth step of the progression, which is that we have the richest measure of the divine presence and we become a body wholly filled and flooded with God himself. If this is true, it is possible that we can experience the richest measure of the divine presence! Wow! The Greek rendering of ‘filled with all the fullness’ suggests a continuous process, a progressive enlarging experience like a vessel being filled to the brim. Then the vessel expands, and the process goes on and on. Thus, our hearts will grow and take in more and more of Him. Amen. Step 5 Verse 20 Paul then goes on to say after having given us such a tremendous revelation of the word, that the Lord can do infinitely more than all that we dare ask or think, infinitely above our highest hopes, prayers, desires, thoughts, or dreams. Wow! Fellow saints, the word of God tells us that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Would you dare to make such a prayer as this, a prayer for yourself and for those you lead, would you dare to pray this prayer right now? In verse 20 did Paul get carried away with himself? Or was the Holy Spirit showing the church how we also ought to pray for ourselves and others, so that we can aim for the summit of God`s fullness in us in bodily form. If we ask Him for bread will he give us stone or snake for a fish? He knows what good gifts to give to His children. Matthew 5:6 Conclusion Would you dare to ask God for his best for yourself and others, or do you think that the Lord can only just keep you saved? See Ephesians 3:10 concerning the multi-faceted wisdom of God. The Word of God says that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). Will you dare make such a spirit anointed prayer your fervent prayer. Dare to pray this prayer! Father God we bow our knees to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask that you grant us, according to your riches, that we might be strengthened with your mighty power in our inner man. We pray that Christ may be dwelling in our hearts by faith, and that we are becoming rooted and grounded in your divine love. We ask that we may be able to comprehend with all your saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of your love, and to come to truly know your love which surpasses human knowledge, that we might be filled with the love of God as you are Lord. Lord, we know you can do much more above all we can ask or even think because your power is at work in us and we say Amen and Glory to your name. For full text for printout and access to our whole message library please click on the link below https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/ephesians-prayer

Have you ever considered what are your strengths and weaknesses as a believer? What about you as part of a local church in terms of strengths and weaknesses? Perhaps (like us) you have identified the fact that you seem to be quite weak around local outreach i.e., you are not seeing many new converts in your local area. Further to this, if you surveyed 100 of your local people, how many would have heard of your church or even if they had, would they know where you meet for church? If you have identified a similar weakness, then (like us) you need to raise your profile in the local community. The Holy Spirit has given a wide range of strategies to different churches from time to time e.g., door to door calling, offering to pray for the sick, giving them a post card, a video, putting on shows, being a helping hand, etc. Corporately we need to seek the Lord for his exact word on how to go about this in each local situation. However, it is also clear that we individually need to be ready each day to bring the kingdom of God to our local people. One of the ways we can describe this state of being ready to impact people’s lives on a day-to-day basis is that we should be ‘Salt and Light’. Matthew 5:1-16 Verse 13; You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned. It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. In history salt was used as a preservative. It is antiseptic and stops flesh from rotting. If you did not salt your meat, as there were no fridges then, you had to eat your meat freshly. In the same way as meat or flesh rots if left to time and temperature, so with the fallen nature of mankind, the sin nature is rotten and if there was no salt amongst mankind, God would need to destroy rotten and decaying flesh of mankind. However, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, the word of God in our hearts and mouths, and our testimony to the wonderful grace of God brings life preserving qualities (salt) to mankind! We are the salty antiseptic in modern society when we see the moral relativism of today is destroying people’s lives, it is helping them down the road to hell. We are the only people with the distinctive of having God’s word to be a light to people’s life paths. Remember Lot negotiating with God about the destruction of Sodom, God said he would not destroy if there were even 10 righteous men in it! God’s judgement is withheld from mankind because his Holy Spirit indwells his own people, we who are God’s living love letters to fallen man. You (as a follower of Jesus) today are the salt of the earth, so be salty, and do not conform to the corruption of all flesh, but rather be distinctive by standing out for what is right irrespective of political correctness or wokeness. Show people a different way of living. We can and should oppose moral decay by our lives and words. Salt is necessary for flavour, God only enjoys human beings when they have been salted by the Holy Spirit. Salt makes you thirsty, when the people we meet see your living faith, your salt will make them thirsty for God. Amen. Are you salty today? Worldliness takes away our saltiness. When there is no difference between the saint and the sinner, we are useless to God, this is strong language coming from Jesus himself! If we lose our saltiness, we are not only useless to God, but useless to each other, our church, and to the locality we live and work in. Verse 14; You are the light of the world. A city that is set or a hill cannot be hidden. Verse 15; Nor do they light or lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Verse 16; Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. In the Greek it says ‘You alone are the light of the world, if we believers aren’t shining then no-one is’! It is not the philosophers, sages, politicians, great thinkers but simply Jesus followers, we alone are the light of the world. We have a tremendous responsibility which only the people of God can discharge. Jesus made his light to shine in each one of our hearts, revealing the glory of the knowledge of God. We bear that same light in us that reveals Jesus as God’s son, the Saviour of the world. We must dare to be radically different from those living without the light of God. They lie, cheat, fornicate, take personal revenge. If we do the same, our light has gone out. Jesus’ light in us shows the unbelievers how they ought to live. Our lives must display that we are God fearing, reverent and holy, honest, truthful, morally pure, and living a lifestyle of forgiveness. Shining is our business; we have no right to not be shining. Our lives should expose the difference of the unbeliever’s lives to ours. They must see something radically different from their own, so let your light so shine! How do we let our light shine? Live pure, holy, and loving lives. Refuse to be worldly, do not be pushed into its mould. Do not be like a foolish virgin, but rather keep filled up with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Let your light shine through your good works, those little kindness, being thoughtful and prayerful. Be attractive with the beauty of holiness. Show love in every way you can. Caring might be as simple a thing as offering cup of cold water on a hot day. Practice generosity, Practice Hospitality, Be available Offer forgiveness! Remember every human life is eternal whether to be spent in heaven or in hell. Jesus associated with prostitutes, tax collectors, sinful people etc. It is God’s desire for all to be saved. Lord, please make us ready for specific direction in our local communities. Get to know people, after the pursuit of God himself, people are our main purpose in life. Watch out, sometimes people might want to chop your head off like John the Baptist for telling the truth! We need to be restored in our Salt and Light. We need to repent. We need to stop being dead flesh and come out of the darkness into his glorious light. We need to mourn over our sins. Prayer Lord restore us, restore our cutting edge in our outreach. Make us radically different and make us effective in being Salt and Light to the world and especially to be impacting our local communities for you in our day-to-day life. Amen

Humility: The state of being humble or free from pride see 1 Peter 5:5 If someone invited you to come to their house/church to meet a visiting Christian and told you that this visitor was the most Christ-like person that they ever met. What do you think he would be like? Quiet or talkative? Friendly or distant? Overwhelming or withdraw? Powerful or powerless? Proud or humble? What picture do you have in your mind? In some modern church circles the man of ‘faith and power’ is a tele-evangelist with a million-dollar lifestyle. He usually has had several visions of being taken into heaven and in his latest vision God has shown him a pair of shoes. He tries them on, a perfect fit. He must be God’s man for the moment. He is the Lord`s anointed and reminds everyone of this by saying ‘watch you do not touch the Lord`s anointed’. Is that Christlikeness? Was that how Jesus behaved? Compare this with the apostle Paul who was a man who suffered greatly for the sake of the gospel. Paul was stoned to the point of death. He was caught up to the third heaven, where he heard words that he did not dare to repeat and mentioned it to no one for 14 years. Yet Paul would only boast of his weakness and asked that people would just take him for what they could hear and see. All through God`s word we find that a clear hallmark of men and women of God is their humility and is this grace of humility that we are studying today. Humility definition: The state of being humble or free from pride. Dictionary definitions tend to define humility in negative terms. This often happens when describing God`s character, holiness (freedom from sin), but humility (like holiness) is a very positive thing. It is just we find it so hard to accurately define humility. Humility alternative definition: a state of being full of power and authority but not full of pride in that state. The world always associates power with pride. True Humility: This is best illustrated in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Matthew 11:27-30 M11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Verse 27; Note all things, power, and authority given to Jesus by our Father. Verse 28; Be set free from the drudgery of sin and enter his rest. Verse 29; Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart We must learn of Christ, who is God in the flesh. Although Jesus is Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth, yet Jesus associates his power and authority with lowliness. We need to renew our thinking. Philippians 2:5-11: Christian (means a Christlike one) 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Verse 5; Let this mind be in you, be like our Lord Jesus and value what Jesus values. Verse 6; Jesus was equal to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit but was not defrauding or underestimating the Godhead in any way when Jesus said that he was the Son of God. Verse 7; But (Jesus) put on flesh and came as a servant. Almighty God became a man of sorrows, a man of no reputation. Verse 8; He who exalts himself shall be humbled but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Pride comes before a fall, Crucifixion was the most humiliating death for a Jew. Verse 9; Jesus is now the name above every name, yet he suffered the ultimate humiliation of the cross. Verse 10; Every knee shall bow in Heaven, earth, and under the earth Verse 11; Every tongue shall confess that Jesus is God to the glory to the Father 1 Peter 5:5-6; 5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Verse 5 Likewise, you that are younger (and of lesser rank) be subject to the elders, the ministers and spiritual guides of the church, giving due respect and yielding to their counsel, clothe (apron) yourself, all of you, with humility. Wear the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, wear the humble garb with freedom from pride or arrogance toward one another. For God sets himself against the proud, the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful but rather opposes, frustrates, and defeats them. But God gives grace to the humble therefore humble yourselves. When we put on clothes, they go everywhere our bodies go! Humility is a lifestyle. Our clothes can often make an outward statement of the type of person we are on the inside. What, would you guess unbelievers would think of a Christian clothed in humility. Verse 6 Yes, you say, but how, do I put on the garment of humility. Here is how, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into his glorious face and his sinless character and then begin to compare yourself with him! His life – your life His love – your love His holiness – your holiness His power – your power His forgiveness – your forgiveness His strength – your strength His humility – your humility Then you are beginning to put on the garment of humility. This whole area of pride vs humility is rooted in the ‘act of comparing’. Pride arises when we compare others unfavourably with ourselves. We speak like a Pharisee ‘I thank you Lord I am not like him or her’! Such pride can destroy fellowships. What would happen if a church leader says to their team, you are just not in my league? If you must make comparisons Start with yourself and Jesus Consider others more worthy than yourself Form an honest opinion of your life in the light of Jesus and God`s word. Remember also that it is the very pride in our own hearts that gets annoyed at pride in others! I am beginning to slowly learn this lesson. Watch out for tell-tale signs of pride in everyday life. Are you too busy to speak to someone? Are you always late for a meeting because your time is more important than theirs? False Humility (spiritual pride) Colossians 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind Note that ‘voluntary humility’, is not commanded and is based in pride. Cling to your head, the Lord Jesus and do only what he has commanded. We should be of this mind, like Christ Jesus, who although equal to God, yet made himself of no reputation and humbled himself to the point of the death. Death on the cross was the ultimate humiliation which lead to the ultimate exaltation when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. In an orchard, it is the branch which bears the most fruit that bows the lowest. Amen Prayer

At some time in your life as a Christian someone will ask the question, ‘What is God like’? The average non-believer has little or no idea who God is or what he is like. The sort of ideas people have about God include for example, an old man up there in the clouds who throws the odd lightning bolt when you upset him, or someone up there who is looking after me, or a God who lives in a boring place with only harps and angels and has no fun. Yes, the Lord gets a bad press from the world and yet God does reveal himself in different ways to mankind. This morning we are going to consider how God reveals himself to mankind. This is important for two reasons. First, an understanding of the doctrine of revelation is important to each believer so that we know where to look. Second, and just as important, we the followers of Jesus can point the unbelievers to the various ways that God is revealing himself, by his nature, his will, his plan, and purposes for man, to every person who is willing to seek him. Definition Revelation is an an unveiling, a disclosure, to make something hidden or secret to be known. In the biblical sense revelation is the act of God revealing himself to mankind usually through information which man could not discover many other ways i.e., unless God reveals a truth to you there is no other way you can receive it. Caution Revelation knowledge: this expression has sometimes been misused an occultic way meaning knowledge gained without aid of the human mind and does not conform to scripture. Why do we need revelation? The fall of man in the garden of Eden brought a curse that affected Adam (and Eve’s) whole being i.e. spirit, soul, and body. The fall caused human minds and hence intelligence to become darkened (see Romans 1), so that we cannot naturally receive the things of God. Main text 1 Corinthians 2:10-14 v12 The Spirit of God is given to us so we can appreciate the things that God has provided for us. John 14:26 The Holy Spirit is our counsellor teaches us all things and reminds us of Jesus’ words. How does God reveal himself to us? The beauty of Creation We see intelligent design because he is the Intelligent Designer. Design, beauty, order, and numerical structure in all his creation. He is a wise creator. We can gaze into the starry sky with wonder and awe. See Psalm 19:1-4. Romans 1:19-20 God’s invisible attributes are clearly demonstrated in the Creation which leaves the unbelieving without an excuse, for there clearly is a God. The Conscience Adam and Eve were guilty, so they hid from God. The conscience of each man or woman points to an absolute moral law or standard given by God. Our conscience therefore demonstrates that there is a God. The Person of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is the sum in total of all that God has revealed of himself to man. To look at the life of Jesus Christ the Son of God is to look at Father God himself. This is a very personal revelation of God to man. John 1:18 Colossians 1:15 Hebrews 1:13 So, what is God like? Well, look to the person of Jesus Christ, what he was and is, that is exactly what God is like. So, what is Jesus Christ like then? Where/ How do we find him? Jesus Christ is revealed in at least three ways. By the word of God, as we read the bible. The Holy Spirit gives us revelation of God’s character and truth. Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God: The word of God here is known as the rhema word or you could say the living word. The written word in the bible is the logos. The rhema or living word is spoken by the Holy Spirit to you and brings revelation or power into the specific situation. The rhema word is alive and powerful is what causes us to receive the revelation of what the scripture means. Amen Jesus Christ can be known personally, when be become born again and we develop our relationship with God communicating in prayer. Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what the riches of the glory of this mystery is among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Christ is in each believer. God reveals himself and his glory through the lives of his church. What a tremendous privilege and responsibility! Conclusion God is revealed in creation, in our conscience and in an intimate personal way through the life and person of Jesus Christ. God is revealed as the life of Christ shows in you. May the Lord teach us to guide others to know him. Prayer Lord reveal yourself here to us each day, through your word. Speak a rhema living word to us today from your logos. Reveal yourself in Jesus Christ more intimately through creation and conscience. Lord God, reveal yourself to the lost, the blind, the unbelieving through each one of us today and every day. Be revealing Jesus in each one of us, more and more each day, reveal his abundant life and love, his obedience, his heart for the lost, and his compassion. Reveal Christ in me to the world today. Amen.