"There were no needy persons among them." Acts 4:34
Yesterday one brother said, "Missionary Isaac. I see a girl. We, men, are in need of companionship."
I felt for him, so we had a Bible study on the Lord's Prayer, for there the Lord listed up for us (young and old, men and women) a "complete" list of 'all' we are in need of for life that is 'full' all the time.
The Lord did this for in the first place when one does not know what he or she is in need of, that person ends up seeking all the wrong things, only to remain dissatisfied, just like the prodigal son in the story of the two sons in Luke 15.
So what do we need for life? Here is the list:
1. Our Father in Heaven
2. Hallowed be your name
3. Your kingdom come
4. Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven
5. Give us this day our daily bread
6. Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors
7. Lead us not into temptation
How do we get the needs met?
Through prayer just as the Apostle Paul said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phi 4:6
In specifics, the needs one has are:
1. The need to get into the relationship with the Father.
For all who remain lost and fall short of the fullness in supply for the full life, the first and primary cause for them becoming in want is the loss or squeakiness in one's relationship with the Father.
We say that in the U.S. (and certainly in all parts of the world) 'father problem' is the most serious problem of all. If you have a problem or problems, and yet do not know the root cause, check your relationship with your father or father figure or figures that made ways into your life causing you to suffer such problem or problems. .
Our human fathers became needy since the Day one of the fall of Adam, the first human father.
Knowing this, Jesus came to this world to give us the Perfect Father who is in heaven.
So far so good. Who then is the Father in heaven?
Jesus said, "God is spirit." So he is not physical, but spiritual.
Jesus further said, "Flesh counts for nothing, Spirit gives life to men."
In Ancient Chinese character, the word spirit stands for God in three persons.
Yesterday one brother said, "Missionary Isaac. I see a girl. We, men, are in need of companionship."
I felt for him, so we had a Bible study on the Lord's Prayer, for there the Lord listed up for us (young and old, men and women) a "complete" list of 'all' we are in need of for life that is 'full' all the time.
The Lord did this for in the first place when one does not know what he or she is in need of, that person ends up seeking all the wrong things, only to remain dissatisfied, just like the prodigal son in the story of the two sons in Luke 15.
So what do we need for life? Here is the list:
1. Our Father in Heaven
2. Hallowed be your name
3. Your kingdom come
4. Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven
5. Give us this day our daily bread
6. Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors
7. Lead us not into temptation
How do we get the needs met?
Through prayer just as the Apostle Paul said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phi 4:6
In specifics, the needs one has are:
1. The need to get into the relationship with the Father.
For all who remain lost and fall short of the fullness in supply for the full life, the first and primary cause for them becoming in want is the loss or squeakiness in one's relationship with the Father.
We say that in the U.S. (and certainly in all parts of the world) 'father problem' is the most serious problem of all. If you have a problem or problems, and yet do not know the root cause, check your relationship with your father or father figure or figures that made ways into your life causing you to suffer such problem or problems. .
Our human fathers became needy since the Day one of the fall of Adam, the first human father.
Knowing this, Jesus came to this world to give us the Perfect Father who is in heaven.
So far so good. Who then is the Father in heaven?
Jesus said, "God is spirit." So he is not physical, but spiritual.
Jesus further said, "Flesh counts for nothing, Spirit gives life to men."
In Ancient Chinese character, the word spirit stands for God in three persons.
The first three components (one, cover, roof) combined together denote Jesus coming to this world, to find the lost back to the Father, for the said components mean "rain" coming from above, which is symbolic of Jesus Christ representing the highest good, just as it is written in the Tao Te Ching, "The highest good is like the water flowing down from above going to the place where people abhor to go, giving life to all."
The three persons refer to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The last component (worker magic) points to the Intercessory (or go-between), working as the high priest (or defense attorney if you will) representing you in the heavenly court.
2. The need to be like Him in holiness.
Why did Jesus ask his disciples to pray, "Hallowed be your name"? Obviously God is already holy, so it is not for God but for us the humans, that is to say, that we should know God as 'holy'.
In essence (inside out, top to bottom, left to right) God is holy.
What does 'holy' mean?
In Hebrew it means 'set apart' or 'different from.' In what respect is God different from or set apart from all?
It is only in one sense and one sense alone, that is, he alone is fully sufficient all the time. Because he alone is the creator, he is different from all creations, in that he does not need to depend on others but himself, as is written: "His reward is with him; his recompense accompanies him." Isaiah 40:10
By offering the prayer, "Hallowed be your name" then one asks God to help him be sufficient by being God-sufficient, and that via one becoming at one with Him, just as Jesus said, "On that day you will realize that my Father is in me, I am in the Father, you are in me, I am in you." John 14:20 And further "Son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours."
In the account of the life story of Jacob, the Book of Genesis describes Jacob offering gifts to his neighbor Esau saying, "I have 'all' I need." He said what he said only after he had spent the previous night in prayer at the Jabbok River where he met God. Prior to this event, he strove to get all he thought he needed - four wives, children, Mercedes Benz, tons of cash, and much more, only to realize they do not give life to him but burden, so that he had to shed himself of and move all of them over the river.
Man is created in God's image, so man is not to be enslaved by that which is created, but the creator, so he though self-deficient, should be sufficient only through being God-sufficient, physically, morally, spiritually or otherwise.
3. The need for the perfected ruler
In playing [Chinese] Go (or "chess" if you will) game, one wins or loses game depending upon the player making all the right or wrong moves.
The same goes with life.
Question: how have you been doing in running your life?
Knowing that we all screw up in running our life, and turn our life into more or less a living hell, Jesus asks us to pray for His kingdom to come.
Kingdom refers to King's domain. The king rules. His domain comes and gets established in a man's heart. So the prayer request, "Your kingdom come" seeks for God the Father to come into one's heart, rule one's life, so that His kingdom would come in his heart.
4. The need to discern His will for you
The norm is that the maker knows what serves the best interest of the made, as is said, "You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar." Psalm 139:2
We have our own will, He has his own will. While we are created to will as we will, when our will is in sync with His will, the life He made becomes only full.
In case of Jesus then the prayer for His will to be done came in anguish with the sweat becoming like blood dropping to the ground.
The intent of his will is for the lost to come back to Him, and live under His wings where the redeemed find true freedom in the true sense of the word freedom, as is written: "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life." John 6:40
5. The need for daily bread
The prayer topic asking to give us our daily bread is primarily spiritual, for Jesus said, "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4
This is the call to keep the Bible and feed on it daily.
6. The need for forgiveness
The ones to forgive include not just one's neighbors but also oneself.
Man's life is like fish thriving in the water called 'relationship'. Just as fish cannot live without a healthy body of water, so also man cannot thrive without him being in healthy relationships with his neighbor. For this reason, Jesus asked his disciples to pray, "Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors."
7. Deliverance from the evil one
The final yet ongoing need that should be met is for the deliverance from the evil one.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
Evil one refers to the devil also known as Satan.
Satan is a created being. God is in control of all that are created.
Satan goes incognito, meaning we should not forget his existence.
And man is no match for the devil. But God is. So Jesus asks us to pray, "Father, lead us not to..., but deliver..."
No comments:
Post a Comment