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Welcome to the Im4God.org
/ Songbook.ManuelAdam.com April 5th, 2008 Newsletter!
You can email Webservant Peter J. Louie by replying to this message.
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Do you realize that you are totally dependent on God every moment of
every day? Author Jerry Bridges says it best: "Every day of
our Christian experience should be a day of relating to God on the
basis of His grace alone," he writes. "Your worst days are
never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And
your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of
God's grace." Let us pray to the Lord for strength.
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Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we
do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand
firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes
for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of
peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with
which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God
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Audio Sermons:
Praying for Protection
by Mike Sharrett (MP3, 37 minutes). Based on
Ephesians 6:10-17
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Prayer
by Arthur W. Pink
'What things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them' (Mark 11:24)
By the words 'believe that ye receive them': we understand, expect
God to give them to you. But it is at this point that so many of
God's people fail oftenest in their prayer lives. There are three
chief things to be attended to in prayer.
First, make sure that you are asking for something that is in
accordance with God's Word: see 1 John 5:14. But right here, the
devil will foil you unless you are upon your guard. He will come as
an angel of light and preach a sermon to you on God's holy will. O
yes, the devil is quite capable even of that! It is our privilege
and duty to know what God's will is! 'Wherefore be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is' (Eph. 5:17). It is
the revealed will of God which is in view in these passages, for
with His 'secret' will, we have nothing to do; that is none of our
business.
God's revealed will is made known in His Word. Fix this in your
mind; never allow Satan inject a thought (Eph. 4:27) to shake you
thereon, that everything God has commanded you to do, every precept
and exhortation addressed to you, is 'God's will' for you, and is to
be turned into prayer for enabling grace. It is God's will that you
should be 'sanctified' (1 Thess. 4:2), that you should 'rejoice'
(Phil. 4:4), that you should 'make your calling and election sure'
(2 Peter 1:10), that you should 'grow in grace and in the knowledge
of the Lord' (2 Peter 3:18).
Second, having made sure that what you are praying for is according
to God's revealed will, then plead His promises, such as Matt. 7:7,
Phil. 4:19, etc. Plead them in the name of Christ, asking God to
give you the 'desires of thine heart' (Psalm 37:4) for Christ's
sake, that He may be honoured in and by a Godly walk from you, and
that His people may be helped and encouraged by your example. Those
are pleas which God cannot deny.
Third, and this is what we would earnestly and lovingly press upon
the Christian reader: EXPECT God to do what you have asked. Unless
there is an expectancy, faith is not fully in exercise. It is this
expecting from Him which honours and pleases God, and which always
draws down from Him answers of peace. There may be some difficulty,
problem, trial, looming ahead of you, which assumes the proportions
of a mountain. Never mind that: do not let it depress, discourage,
or dismay you. Praise God it stands written in the eternal Word of
Truth, 'Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith and doubt not...ye
shall say unto this mountain be thou removed, and be thou cast into
the sea; It shall be done'(Matt. 21:21). Notice carefully, it is not
'If thou doubt not and have faith, 'but if ye have faith' and then
(while you are awaiting God's answer) 'doubt not', but continue the
fulfillment of His promise. When you first get down on your knees,
beg God in the name of Christ and for His own glory's sake, to work
in you by His Spirit that expectancy of faith which will not take
'NO' from Him; which reverently, but confidently says, 'I will not
let Thee go, except Thou bless me' (Gen. 32:26). That is what
honours God, that is what pleases Him, that is what obtains answers
from Him.
'A friend at court!' No doubt that expression is more or less
familiar to the older readers, but it has almost dropped out of use
in this generation. It denoted that one had a friend possessing
influence with another in authority, and using it on my behalf. How
unspeakably blessed to know that the Christian has a friend at
court, the Court of Heaven; 'A friend that sticketh closer than a
brother.' He has the ear of God, for on earth He declared 'Thou
hearest me always' (John 11:42). Then, make use of Him, and ask Him
to present them to His Father and your Father, accompanied by His
own all-prevailing merits; and, if they are for God's glory and thy
(real) good, be fully assured that they shall be granted. Thus will
Christ be honoured and your faith strengthened.
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Article online at
http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=33|48|52
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