Sunday, 20th May 218
By Rev Daniel Poon
Every time when we come to church, we know God will do a new thing for us.
In Joshua 1:9, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. Even though he was already the leader of 600,000 people, God knew that Joshua still needed His encouragement. Rev Daniel reminded us that, no matter how smart, how famous, how rich, how powerful we are, we would always want to remember the past instead of step into the future. God has put us where we are today, no for us to think back what we have lost in the past, but to look forward to the future God has prepared for us.
So stop worry about today, but focus on preparing ourselves for the eternity. We need to have the knowledge about eternity. Jesus already told us that there are two choices for eternity, Heaven and Hell, which one we want to choose? When we call our God our Heavenly Father, we recognize that God is our Father and as a Father, He will give the best for His children. Today, Rev Daniel gave us some tips of how to activate the blessings and the power God has prepared for us.
1. Prayer
Our plan is never bigger than God’s plan, so what we should do is to spend time and ask God what His plan is. We don’t know what will happen in the next minute, we may have many plans, but at the end of the day, we cannot take away anything. Life is short, so we should put our eyes and our hope in the eternity.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
Prayer is a way to communicate with God. But when we pray it’s not always about asking God for this and that. We should seek help and wisdom from God, maybe we have a lot of plans for our future, but have we seek God first? To receive the wisdom from the Lord of lords? How long we spend each time to pray and seek God?
God wants us to set apart from this world, to use our time wisely, and to make decision to seek God, such as coming to the Sunday Service. When we seek God’s wisdom, He will help us to make the right decisions and manage our time according to His plan. We should not wasting time seeking things of this world, seeking what we want. God has already prepared for us, we just need to pray. Prayer is the key that unlocks all doors.
2. Fasting Prayer
Together with prayer and fasting, we can unlock the power of God. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
When we fast, we are telling God our willingness to give up our physical needs, and put seeking God our first priority. When we take this action, our spirit inside will be connected with God. Because we decide to not listen to our physical needs but choose to connect with God in the spirit. So let us plug into the power of prayer and fasting.
3. God’s Great Exchange
After pasting and praying, what do we do next? “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)
God is a great God, and what He can offer us is more than we can imagine! It’s very important to do the exchange with God. Firstly, we need to have a relationship with God, when we know God and have a close relationship with Him, He will open the door for us as we knock on it. This relationship will be built upon our prayer, because through prayers we know about His Will. We can exchange our problem with the Name of our God. If we are sick, we can exchange it with Jehovah Rapha, and God’s healing will come to us.
Next, we can exchange our will with God’s Will. Just like what Jesus taught us, say to God, “may Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Let go of our own will and let God’s Will be done in our lives.
The last thing we can exchange is our strength. When we rely on God’s strength, then nothing will be impossible for us. When we return like a child we can enter the Heaven. As the children of God, we should know that God’s power is with us. We should not let the world change us, God has lift us up to be the salt and light of this world. So we must have the power of God, where ever we go, let the signs and wonders come with us, let people follow us because of what God has done in our lives.
Let’s activate the power of God in us.