More reasons for unanswered prayer In Part 1 we saw that were at least 4 possible reasons as to why your prayers may seem to go unanswered. The possible reasons for unanswered prayer we considered included the first two of the four reasons 1) being out of fellowship with the Lord 2) your prayer was not in the will of God. Today we look at two more possible reasons for seemingly unanswered prayer which are. 3) a lack of unity in those praying together 4) Delay in the answer from the Lord arriving. Reason 3. Lack of unity 1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. Wow, we better take on board the fact that a husband and wife’s prayers can be hindered by disunity. Mathew 18:19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. The so-called prayer of agreement requires two people to be fully agreed i.e. in unity. 4. Delay in the answer Daniel 10 Daniel prayed and fasted for Israel for three weeks, then a holy angel turned up and told him, that God sent the answer on the first day that Daniel had prayed, but a fallen angelic being called the Prince of Persia, had battled with the holy angel to delay Gods answer from coming to Daniel. Romans 1:9-10 Paul wanted to find a way to come and see the church in Rome, but Paul’s prayer appears unanswered? God had plans, and had Paul imprisoned so that he could write his epistles to the church. God can be doing something bigger than we can see. Delayed prayer can eventually increase your faith. 1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, there is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. Elijah and the rain, the servant eventually saw the prayer answered. “Sometimes the blessing is in the prayer not being answered.” ― Andrena Sawyer. What about you, can you attribute any of the 4 above reasons given so far for your unanswered prayer? Amen

Why do some prayers seem to be unanswered? Recently we covered a three-day mini-series called ‘Teach us to pray’. We covered a few practical aspects of prayer including, who do we pray to, and in what position etc. We also looked briefly at the 5 types of prayer, which include 1) confession of sins, 2) praise 3) thanksgiving 4) intercession and 5) petition. One aspect that we did not cover was the subject of unanswered prayer which we will now consider, is apparently unanswered prayer. We often do not talk about the prayers that appear to be unanswered. Here are the first two of four potential reasons our prayers might be unanswered. Reason 1. Being out of fellowship prevents God from answering prayer. When we enter salvation through Jesus Christ, we form a life-long family relationship which is very robust. However, our day-to-day communion with the Lord is fragile and can be easily broken through our sin. Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Reason 2. God has said no because your prayer was not in the will of God. My grown-up children sometimes say that as a grandparent we let the grandkids away with much more than we did when they were kids. This is true because we have different roles as grandparents. But God is not a kindly old uncle or grandad but a zealous loving heavenly father. God has no grandkids only kids. Each generation must directly connect with him. 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. The implication here is that if we ask anything that is not his will then there is no reason to suppose we should be successful in our petition. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. God promises to meet our need not our greed! Jesus, when in the Garden of Gethsemane said, Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. The Father said ‘no’. We must allow for God to say ‘no’ as He surely knows what is best in any given situation. We need to remember that the Kingdom of God is in a warzone, there is a huge battle raging between God and his army, and Satan and his troops. Sometimes the Lord needs us to step up to the plate. Also, we need to remember that God’s silence is not his absence… Amen Closing Prayer

How to avoid your prayers being unanswered In Parts 1 and 2 we discussed four possible reasons that some of our prayers might appear to go unanswered. The possible reasons were 1) being out of fellowship with the Lord 2) God has said no because your prayer was not his will 3) Lack of unity between persons and 4) A delay in the answer to your prayer. We are now going to consider, based on our four possible reasons, how we can avoid getting into the position where our prayers might be unanswered. 1) Keep in fellowship with the Lord, this includes keeping short accounts with God in terms of sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do not think about or dwell on anything that is inherently sinful, think about things are good, and pure and honest. We should keep his commandments, there are only 4 main ones in the New Testament a) Love the Lord your God with all…, b) love your neighbour as yourself, c) love one another as I have loved you. How did Jesus love us? … unto death. d) Also love your brother who can be seen. King David, the sweet psalmist cried out to God in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 2) Get to know the will of God better by studying your bible and by listening to good sermons and remember that when you pray, that it is a dialogue, and we should allow space and time for God to speak to you. Take good Christian counsel from your minister or other Christians that you trust. We must allow God to say no, for He knows better than us. 3) Unity: You husbands must treat your wives with honour, live together in a good and Godly atmosphere, treating her as joint heirs in the grace of life. This approach applies to all Christians as demonstrated by all the (n=46) ‘one another’ commandments such as in 1 Peter 1:22 (b) says ‘see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently’: 4) Delay in the answer, be persistent in prayer in case there is a battle in the heavens. Ask the Lord if he has a bigger purpose in mind, sometimes God uses delays to strengthen our faith. It took Elijah’s servant 7 visits to go up and watch for signs of the rain. Be patient, be obedient. The late Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, whilst single, several times prayed that God would allow her to marry a certain man, but God said ‘no’ because he had someone better for her! Parting thought: Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Maybe if God does not seem to answer our prayer, we need to do what is right anyway! Amen Closing Prayer Reference materials. CCF tapes BBS098 Roger Price Prayers of Faith (see additional resources section on this website). Pete Greig, The Prayer Course Session 4

Four things we can do to avoid it We seldom talk about unanswered prayer in church. In this study we suggest four potential reasons for you to consider when your prayer seem to be unanswered. We then suggest four actions to consider of how we might avoid this for our own prayers. Reason 1. Being out of fellowship prevents God from answering prayer. When we enter salvation through Jesus Christ, we form a life-long family relationship which is very robust. However, our day-to-day communion/fellowship with the Lord is more fragile and can be easily broken through our sin. Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Our sin hinders our prayers. 1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Our obedience helps our prayers. Reason 2. God has said no because your prayer was not in the will of God. My grown-up children sometimes say that as a grandparent we let the grandkids away with much more than we did when they were kids. This is true because we have distinct roles as grandparents. But God is not a kindly old uncle or grandad but a zealous loving heavenly father. God has no grandkids only kids. Each generation must connect with him. 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. The implication here is that if we ask anything that is not his will then there is no reason to suppose we should be successful in our petition. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. God promises to meet our need not our greed! Jesus, when in the Garden of Gethsemane said, Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. The Father said ‘no.’ We must allow for God to say ‘no’ as He surely knows what is best in any given situation. We need to remember that the Kingdom of God is in a warzone, there is a huge battle raging between God and his army, and Satan and his troops. Sometimes the Lord needs us to step up to the plate. Also, we need to remember that God’s silence is not his absence… Reason 3. Lack of unity 1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. Wow, we better take on board the fact that a husband and wife’s prayers can be hindered by disunity. Mathew 18:19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. The so-called prayer of agreement requires two people to be fully agreed i.e. in unity. Reason 4. Delay in the answer Daniel 10 Daniel prayed and fasted for Israel for three weeks, then a holy angel turned up and told him, that God sent the answer on the first day that Daniel had prayed, but a fallen angelic being called the Prince of Persia, had battled with the holy angel to delay Gods answer from coming to Daniel. Romans 1:9-10 Paul wanted to find a way to see the church in Rome, but Paul’s prayer appears unanswered? God had plans, and had Paul imprisoned so that he could write his marvellous epistles to the church. God can be doing something bigger than we can see. Delayed prayer can eventually increase your faith. 1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, there is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. Elijah and the rain, the servant eventually saw the prayer answered. “Sometimes the blessing is in the prayer not being answered.” ― Andrena Sawyer. What about you, can you attribute any of the four reasons given so far for your own unanswered prayer? Now we are going to consider, based on our four above reasons, how we can avoid getting into the position where our prayers are unanswered. Action 1) Keep in fellowship with the Lord, this includes keeping short accounts with God in terms of sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do not think about or dwell on anything that is inherently sinful, think about things are good, and pure and honest. We should keep his commandments, there are only 4 main ones in the New Testament a) Love the Lord your God with all…, b) love your neighbour as yourself, c) love one another as I have loved you. How did Jesus love us? … unto death. d) Also love your brother who can be seen. King David, the sweet psalmist cried out to God in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Action 2) Get to know the will of God better by studying your bible, listening to good sermons and remember that when you pray, that it is a dialogue, and we should allow space and time for God to speak to you. Take good Christian counsel from your minister or other Christians that you trust. We must allow God to say no, for He knows better than us. Action 3) Maintain Unity: You husbands must treat your wives with honour, live together in a good and Godly atmosphere, treating her as joint heirs in the grace of life. This approach applies to all Christians as demonstrated by all the (n=46) ‘one another’ commandments such as in 1 Peter 1:22(b) says ‘see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently’: Action 4) Where there may be delay in the answer, be persistent in prayer in case there is a battle in the heavens. Ask the Lord if he has a bigger purpose in mind, sometimes God uses delays to strengthen our faith. It took Elijah’s servant 7 visits to go up and watch for signs of the rain. Be patient, be obedient. The late Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, whilst single, several times prayed that God would allow her to marry various young men, but God said ‘no’ each time because he had someone better for her! Amen Prayer For a printable copy of this (and man more messages) please click the link below https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/dealing-with-unanswered-prayer

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit Various verses have shown us that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world including both believer and unbeliever. So, what makes the difference between the believer and the unbeliever? The unbeliever has rejected Jesus Christ and has rejected the Holy Spirit telling them that Jesus is Lord. John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This verse sates that God’s judgment can be averted by believing in His Son. Every person is responsible for his or her decision about Christ. “He who believes in Him is not condemned [judged]. The only means of salvation is to believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross. The believer is under no sentence of condemnation (see also John 5:24; Romans 8:1). God’s judgment is a natural consequence of unbelief. The present tense of “is” (underlined above) indicates that the believer is no longer under the judgment of God. Believers are beyond the danger of eternal separation from God. To believe “in” or into Him is more than giving credence to what someone said. This expression means to have full confidence in Christ, to rely on Him alone for our salvation. We rely on His sacrifice for our sin to save us eternally. We rely on Him, not on our works, self-righteousness, or religion like Nicodemus did at first. Only the person who does not believe qualifies for the condemnation from God. The present tense here shows that unbelievers are under the continuing effects of God’s judgment right now. Faith is the means whereby one receives eternal life. The condemnation here is not that at the end of life but is current to those who know not Christ. The Greek tense for ‘is’ indicates that those who do not currently believe in Christ already stand under God’s condemnation. People who do not trust the work of Christ for their salvation stand condemned. They do not have to do anything to be condemned they are condemned from the start by their unbelief in Jesus Christ. God makes it clear that unbelievers are currently in a state of condemnation and not, in this verse, exposed to future condemnation. This should spur on all believers in our evangelism and witnessing. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit Mark 3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” v28“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Blasphemy is defined as the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things, synonymous with irreverence, insulting and disrespect of God or Christ. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit means here, calling the Holy Spirit an evil spirit. This is a lie. In the same way the unbeliever do when they persist in their unbelief and are in effect calling the Holy Spirit a liar each time, he tries to tell them that Jesus Christ is Lord. This can go on throughout their life but when they die, their time to be saved has passed and they will not be forgiven for this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees tried to attribute Jesus’ miracle of casting out demons to the power of some evil spirit rather than the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit will show a) the sin is their unbelief in Jesus, b) that Jesus’ death is the only way to God, and c) that judgment on sinners is certain because Satan has been conquered by Jesus’ death. The Gospel message is Good News for believers with all our sins forgiven but extremely Bad News for those who reject Jesus Christ and by calling the Holy Spirit a liar each time tells them that Jesus Christ is Lord. Conclusions There is only one sin the bible says that is unforgivable. This one sin is ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’ which insults him and calls him a liar when He tells a person that ‘Jesus is Lord.’ All true believers cannot commit this sin by definition. Only unbelievers can commit the unforgivable sin. The unbelievers would have every chance in life to believe what the Holy Spirit is saying that Jesus is Lord. All unbelievers stand already condemned by God that is why we must be urgent to tell them the Good News about Jesus Christ. Amen Personal Prayer Much of this study has been adapted from Roger Price BBS 008

Background information needed for biblical answer: the law, grace and salvation This may also be called the unpardonable sin. This is a back-to-basics bible study today. Today we are going on to a discuss the unforgivable sin. As you may know many Christians at times wonder (particularly when young in the faith) if we have committed the unforgivable sin. Before we can study this question, we have got to do a fair bit of background work for as the unforgivable sin is a salvation issue. We need therefore to cover a few matters pertaining to our salvation. Acts16:31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The main message from this talk is to highlight the fact that we must believe on the Lord Jesus to be saved. We are now all informed witnesses to Jesus Christ. Keeping the Law of Moses cannot produce righteousness but faith in Jesus Christ can and does save all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why was the Law of Moses given to Israel? There are three mains because the Law was given: To show man that he was a sinner (see also James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in? one point, he is guilty of all.) The Old Testament was a shadow and a pointer to the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah). 3.      To give a set of rules that will give peace in society. How did God provide an answer to man’s sin problem? Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit, there is no deceit. Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. In the old testament God provided a sacrificial system in which innocent animals were slaughtered so that the guilty human could have their sins covered. Matthew 7:13-14 The Lord Jesus is the bridge, or you could say, the door between man and God. Sin is no longer the barrier between man and God because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Now belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only gateway to Heaven. How narrow is the narrow gate? It is as narrow as one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please note that the many are on the broad road to destruction and how comparatively few will find the way to eternal life. John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The only basis for eternal judgement is belief in Jesus Christ making it the deciding factor between salvation and condemnation. Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. The Great White Throne judgement is for the unbelievers only. What a frightening sight. This judgement is for all the unbelievers and is made only on a single basis. v15 is our key verse, no unbelievers names will be in the book of life because they did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The unforgivable sin- what it is not. Any form of sexual sin Nor suicide Nor any besetting sin Nor calling a brother a fool It is also called the unpardonable sin meaning that God cannot forgive it or pardon it. So what is it? 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If all of the above sins can be forgiven so what is the only sin that Jesus could not die for? Amen Personal Prayer In Part two we discover what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

King Solomon asked God for a hearing heart. I Kings 3:7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant an understanding heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. Suppose God appeared to you in a dream and said, ‘whatever you want I will give it to you’. What would you ask for? In v9 above it says ‘an understanding heart’ but literally in the Hebrew, Solomon has asked God for a hearing heart. Have you ever asked God to give you a hearing heart? Solomon asked for a wise and sensitive heart that could hear directly from God so that he might govern God’s people Israel wisely. We need to learn to listen to God with a hearing heart not our ears. Conclusion God wants us to keep our hearts soft and tender before him and each other. Let us purpose to be continually filled with His Spirit, with his love flowing into us and out of us and avoid anything that will harden our hearts. Ask the Lord to give you a sensitive and hearing heart. Some further thoughts on our hearts 1. What is the condition of our hearts? a. Are they "restricted", suffering from "spiritual hardening of the arteries"? 1) Where is the love of God hindered from freely flowing? 2) By the "plaques" of ignorance, selfishness, hypocrisy? b. Or are they "wide open"? 1) Where God's love flows freely 2) Nourishing not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us! -- May we all be "taught of God" to have Hearts Wide Open! What Causes Heart Attacks? Atherosclerosis is a gradual process by which plaques (collections) of cholesterol are deposited in the walls of arteries. Cholesterol plaques cause hardening of the arterial walls and narrowing of the inner channel (lumen) of the artery. Arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerosis cannot deliver enough blood to maintain normal function of the parts of the body they supply. Reasons include, family history, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and obesity. Scope for spiritual heart attacks include Psalm 25:17 “The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.   Psalm 40:12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” Ezekiel 11:19 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. The cure for a spiritually hard heart is to remember what God has done for you. Christ has died for you to save you from your sins, even though you did not deserve it. God loves you. God cares for you. Just as hardening of the arteries will kill you physically, so will the spiritual hardening of the arteries. Do you have a hard heart today? Ask God to soften and renew your heart today. Amen Personal Prayer

The presence of God brings joy We begin our new mini-series today called ‘The Presence of God’ and each day we will think about a different aspect of this. We will cover the following 5 aspects (i-v); i. Why should we want to experience the presence of God?, ii and iii. Practicing the presence of God parts 1 and 2, iv. Blessings in the presence of God In our final part we will discover v. How we can bless others when we are in the presence of God. How much time each day do you spend in God’s presence? Or is it how much time do we spend being aware that God is present. Sometimes we get so busy with our lives, that whenever we do remember God, we feel guilty that in a sense we have been away. But is it possible to lead a life of being continually aware of being in the presence of God? Sometimes we can be so aware of God when we pray, when we praise and worship, when we study our bibles and when the Holy Spirit is moving at our meetings. But what about the rest of the time which for most of us is the largest part of our day. I once read a small book called ‘The practice of the presence of God’ written three hundred years ago by a monk called Brother Lawrence. In this book it is described how Brother Lawrence was able to cultivate a continual awareness of the Lord being present in his life thus bringing great joy. But you might say that is fine for him being a full time monk with nothing else to do; no work to go to, no ironing or chores. But in actual fact, he was the cook for the monastery and he believed it was easier to be aware of God’s presence when doing his kitchen chores than at any other time! So the challenge for us is to invite God into our lives, into our chores, our busy times and quiet times. Why should we make the effort to be in God's presence? Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Now anyone who has experienced joy, always wants to receive more, the joy of the Lord is our strength, although this scripture certainly applies to us when we go to heaven, it also applies to us now for our eternal life began the day we were born again. We also know from experience that wonderful feeling of joy when God reveals His presence at the church meeting or anywhere else. Only God himself can bring full joy to our hearts, only He can satisfy our souls. Jesus Christ is the bread of life that alone can satisfy our spiritual hunger. Our destiny in Christ is to be continually with Him forever but I believe we can begin to do that starting now. Amen Prayer. In Part 2 we are going to consider how it might be possible to increase our awareness of the presence of the Lord in our daily lives.

You were created to do good works In Part 2 we saw that that each believer is God’s work of art, or even you could say God’s masterpiece. Today: We explore what it means that we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Good works are not to gain salvation, which would place confidence in ourselves. Good works are to follow salvation so that they too are a fruit of God’s good work in our lives. The new life does not only provide a faith to believe in Christ for salvation but a faith to live out God’s plan for our lives. It is here that we see the glorious power in the faith that He has given to us. Paul’s argument is straightforward. If we are saved, then we are saved to live out good works such as Christ would do. Paul is expanding the notion of what it means to be raised up together with Christ. Christ lives through our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Good works prepared for us John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. First thing to note is Jesus gave us the perfect example of the good works we are called to do. This scripture is talking about refreshing one another on the dusty road of life. Following Jesus example there are many good works prepared for us, sharing the good news, praying for the sick, giving to the poor, listening to someone’s troubles etc. etc. It is when we are doing such good works that we display the fruit of the spirit [1], love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. This is the good fruit Jesus want us to display. Please note we need to embrace these good works although God has prepared them for us. Ask the Lord what good works he has prepared for you today? Prayer Lord, we thank you that you have created us to be unique, your work of art, your masterpiece and for a specific purpose, that we might do the good works such as Jesus did. Lord show each one of us what good work you have prepared for me/us to do today and indeed every day. Amen [1] Galatians 5:22-23 For full text for printout and access to other parts of You are God's work of art click below https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/you-are-god-s-work-of-art-part-3

You are God's masterpiece In Part 1 we saw that each human life is unique- you are God’s unique creation. You are god’s work of art, you are made in the image of God and you can be sure that your life is very important to God. Today we go again to Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The English word handiwork is poiema in the Greek. So, we could say that each of us is one of God’s poems. What kind of poem are you? A love poem, a sonnet, a ballad or maybe even a limerick? Poiema has the connotation of something designed by an artisan, a work of art. It only takes a small stretch of the word poiema to give it the meaning of ‘masterpiece’. Famous author C. S. Lewis [1] put it like this, “We are, not metaphorically but in very truth, a Divine work of art, something that God is making, and therefore something with which He will not be satisfied until it has a certain character. You may be work of art or a masterpiece, but God is still putting the final touches to your character. How do you like the fact that you are God’s masterpiece? Someone that God individually crafted-you are ‘one of a kind’. God threw away the mould when he made you. God treasures each person he has made. As Leonardo Da Vinci was proud of his Mona Lisa so is God proud of his Abi, Tina, Ian and each one of you readers! The idea here is that you were individually designed and with God’s purposes in mind for your life. When we are buying something, it is a strong selling point if it is individually hand-crafted. I was always laugh when I see a sign saying ‘hand battered’ fish… however, hand-crafted things usually have an added value in some way. You are designer person: once we get used to thrill of being God’s work of art or masterpiece, we should then begin to think about what we were made for (see Part 3). Prayer Lord, we thank you that you designed and created each of us as a work of art, or even as a masterpiece, and we pray that our lives will reflect that beauty and uniqueness in a way that focuses the glory back on you the Divine Artist/Artisan. Amen [1] C.S. Lewis- The problem of pain. For full text for printout and access to other parts of 'You are God's work of art' please click https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/you-are-god-s-work-of-art-part-2

Today we start a new 3 post mini-series which is titled …. You are God’s work of art so let’s celebrate the uniqueness of each of our individual lives. Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Do identical twins have identical DNA? Yes (at first) and No (later in life). Although it is true, they have different fingerprints. Yet each human life is unique. Millions of snowflakes fall every year around the world, and yet no two snowflakes are alike! If a hundred artists spent a year designing as many snowflakes, they couldn’t come up with the same variety. Every single snowflake is completely unique. Equally astounding is the variety of human beings who have lived, now live, and will live on the planet Earth. God has created each one of us as a unique creation! Believe it or not—no one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present, or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique. But perhaps the most important fact of your identity is that God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made you, so you could share in His creation, could love and laugh and know Him person to person. You are special indeed! The psalmist wrote in one of his most beautiful prayers, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 made= the same Hebrew word for embroidery). God knew you even before you were born. Then, and now, He has plans just for you, plans conceived in love. God loves you and has an awesome plan for your life. Closing Prayer. Lord, I thank you because I am relevant in your kingdom. You Lord God made us all unique. Lord, please let me be the change that the world needs. Use me in and for the world, let me be the salt that will help this world, and let me be a light that will shine in this dark world. Amen For full text for printout and access to other parts of 'You are God's work of art' please click on the link below https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/you-are-god-s-work-of-art-part-1

How can we lead people to be born again Did Nicodemus get saved? There are two further mentions of Nicodemus in the New Testament. John 17:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” 52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So, he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Whilst the scriptures do not give a definitive answer it does give strong clues: In John 17v50-51 Nicodemus defends Jesus by speaking up for him and reminding the Sanhedrin that the Law of Moses demands a fair trial for everyone. v52 Nicodemus should have asked Jesus where he was born and that would have been his final confirmation that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. John 19v38 takes place after the crucifixion. Here we find Nicodemus had honoured Jesus by providing a 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes to bury Jesus, this was extravagant reflecting more than respect. Later in his life, a few historians claim that Nicodemus was demoted and cast out of the Sanhedrin and was eventually buried in a commoner’s grave. This rings true if he did indeed become a follower of Jesus. My take on this question is that I agree with the 65% of Christians who think that Nicodemus did get saved. Jesus explained to Nicodemus about the absolute necessity of the new birth, and it is our responsibility to bring this message to the unbelievers in our lives. How to lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ Here is one approach to this. Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. v9 The word confess here is our old friend homologeo(eses) which you may recall means ‘to say the same thing as’. In this case we are agreeing with God’s ‘rhema’ word that ‘The Lord is Jesus (God) and believe in your heart that God has raised from the dead’ then this brings us into salvation, and we are born-again. The rhema word is a word energized by the Holy Spirit from our mouths to the person's heart. v10 A believing heart brings God’s righteousness to us and when we say the same thing about Jesus then this results in salvation. We receive the miracle of the new birth. We now need to turn this belief into a prayer spoken from your heart. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for taking my punishment on the cross, which I deserve for all the wrong things I have done in the past. Help me turn away from the ways of this world and all its the false promises. I ask now for your forgiveness and a fresh start in my life. I invite the Holy Spirit into my heart and mind, to show me how to live from this time on. Amen Personal Prayer