Jesus loves you

@Livingwater Study7B... Search my heart ,oh God Psalm139:23-24 David is quick to understand and admit that he is prone (as we all are) to hidden sins (see Psalm 19:12), errors of heart of which we are not yet aware. Once we become aware of them, we need to deal with them, and it is David who sets an example of being proactive in this process. Rather than waiting for sin to happen and the consequences to result, David asks God to show him where his faults might lie. 2 . When we should pray this prayer (1) When we come to the Lord’’s Table. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11:28. (2) When we are experiencing prosperity. Why? Because at such a time we are likely to become spiritually slack –- read Psalm 62:10 and Psalm 119:67. (3) When we are experiencing adversity. Why? Because it could be the Lord’’s loving chastening in order to bring us back into the line of His will –- look up Hebrews 12:6-11. (4) When our service seems fruitless and barren. The Lord’’s will is that we should bring

@Livingwater Study 7A. THE PRAYER FOR SEARCHING OF HEART GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Portion: Psalm 139: 23-24 Have you ever prayed the prayer which forms the theme of this study –- ““Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting””? Notice four things about David’’s prayer:- (1) He addresses God. God is the only one who really knows our hearts (Psalm 139:1-4). No psychiatrist knows our hearts or our minds, but the Lord Himself is the searcher of hearts and knows us intimately and accurately. (2) He asks God to search him through and through. He prays for searching of his heart, his thoughts and for such an intimate inspection that if there is any ““offensive way”” this will be revealed. The word ‘‘search’’ means ‘to ‘ransack’’; it reminds us of a policeman with a search warrant, the searching look of a loved one, or of the searchlight which penetrates the

@Livingwater Study6B..how do I illuminate through prayer... Psalm119:18 All of us know what it is like to read without seeing “wondrous things.” We have stared at the most glorious things without seeing them as glorious. We have seen unspeakable love without feeling loved. We have seen immeasurable wisdom and felt no admiration. We have seen the holiness of wrath and felt no trembling. Which means we are seeing without seeing (Matthew 13:13). 2 . ““Open my eyes that I may …” …” see the love of God and His mercy and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ . We know the story of the grace of God so well, which is declared in John 3:16. How all-embracing is the love of God! Read again Luke 15:11-24 and revel in verses 20-24! The great proof of God’’s love is seen at Calvary, and when my eyes are opened to see the Lord Jesus dying there for me I cry out, “”the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”” (Galatians 2:20), and humbly say, ““My Lord and my God!”” (John 20:28). Have y

@Livingwater Study 6A. THE PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL ILLUMINATION GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Reference: Psalm 119: 18 In this study we are to examine this prayer of David: ““Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”” Our object will be to see exactly what it tells us and then to suggest ways in which we should pray this prayer, for it is a prayer which should arise from our hearts every time we read God’’s Word. If we consider Psalm 119:18 carefully we shall see that this one petition embodies five truths. First of all we learn that:- (1) The Bible is a unique book. In this section of the psalm it is described as “”your word”” (verse 17); ““your law”” (verse 18); ““your commands”” (verse 19); ““your laws”” (verse 20); “”your statutes”” (verses 22 and 24); ““your decrees”” (verse 23), and the emphasis in each case is upon the word ‘‘your’’. The Bible is unique because it is God’’s Book; He is the Author. David’’s Bible was much smaller than ours, b

@Livingwater Study5B..Holy Spirit quickens us Psalm 80:18 HELPLESS FLESH, BORN IN SIN, CAN BE TRANSFORMED AND MADE DYNAMIC BY THE LIFE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. The Holy Ghost was not sent to give you an emotional high, He came to flood you with life, even abundant spiritual life far beyond just emotions. Apostle Paul said it plainly, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Romans 8:11) The church world is hopelessly sick and empty and searching the empty cisterns of flesh for something to revise their flock. This is the very reason that the modern church has turned to rock music, the psychologist’s couch and multiple schemes of sociology for resuscitation. 4 . It is through God’’ s Word that the Holy Spirit quickens us when we are in bondage and sets us free. How easy it is to get into bondage to sin (Romans 6:12); to self (Ro

@Livingwater Study 5A THE PRAYER FOR DIVINE QUICKENING GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Reference: Psalm 80: 18 The word we shall consider in this study is the word “”quicken”” (or ““quickening””). It means “”to give life and to preserve life”” and “”to be made alive””. This covers our basic needs, because we need to receive life and to be preserved by life; we need to receive life initially, which takes place at the time of conversion, but we also need to be preserved by life continually, which refers to God’’s work of sanctification. From the scriptures we learn two things:- (1) The HOLY SPIRIT is the one who GIVES LIFE (quickens) –- look up and compare John 6:63 and 2 Peter 3:18. (2) The WORD OF GOD is the INSTRUMENT the Holy Spirit uses to accomplish this work –- we learn this from many references in the Scriptures and Romans 4:17 and Romans 8:11 illustrate this. 1 . It is through God ’’ s Word that the Holy Spirit quickens us with new life, so that we bec

@Livingwater Study4B..qualities of Jabez prayer 1chronicle4:9-10 These, then, are the four characteristics of this amazing prayer that Jabez offered for himself. Now notice from this prayer of Jabez how to pray that God will give you true prosperity. In verse 10 we are told that Jabez prayed for four things. They are clearly mentioned, and we cannot do better than follow this man’’s example and pray as he prayed:- 1 . We should pray for Grace . Jabez prayed, ““Oh, that you would bless me……!”” What did he mean by this request? Every believer is already wonderfully blessed (Ephesians 1:3); but surely Jabez was praying for God’’s blessing that he might be the man God wanted him to be –- see what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10. We can only be what God wants us to be by His grace; therefore let us pray for grace, and there is plenty of grace available (2 Corinthians 9:8). In 1 Chronicles 4:9 there is the hint of a possible reason why Jabez needed special grace, for his name means

@Livingwater Study 4 THE PRAYER FOR TRUE PROSPERITY GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Portion: 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10 In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 we read of Jabez who was a man of prayer. There is no doubt at all that he prayed for others, but the particular emphasis that is made in these two verses is that he prayed for himself. It is not selfish to pray for ourselves, for it is only as we are blessed that we can be made a blessing to others. It was when Jabez prayed for true prosperity, and the Lord answered that prayer, that he could be made a great blessing to other people. A careful study of the prayer of Jabez shows us that it contained four characteristics. (1) Jabez prayed intelligently. We are told that he “”cried out to the God of Israel”” –- that is to say, the Covenant God, the true and living God. It is quite evident that Jabez had been instructed in the school of prayer, and therefore his prayer was informed and intelligent. Very much prayer is unintelligent

@Livingwater Study3B..The Assurance that God will speak 1chronicle4:9-10 A Christ follower should spend daily time reading the Bible, mulling over the message, and praying for ways to make scripture’s lessons into a lifestyle. Setting aside time for reading and reflection immerses a Christ follower in God’s purposes and nature. By adding prayer for others and himself to this daily quiet time, the Christian will find it easier to turn away from their own self-focused desires, and advance God’s priorities to first place. 3 . In this prayer we see the expectation that God will speak. When Samuel lay down he expected that the Lord would say something to him. When you go to the House of God do you expect to hear the Lord’’s voice? Do you say, in the words of David –- look up Psalm 85:8? If you are expecting God to speak to you, you can be quite sure that He will not disappoint you. If you need guidance He will give it (Proverbs 3:5-6); if you need comfort, He will supply it (Isaiah

@Livingwater Study 3A.. THE PRAYER FOR GOD TO SPEAK GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Portion: 1 Samuel 3: 3-10 It was a tremendous experience for Samuel when the Lord spoke to him and when he was led humbly to pray, ““Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”” (verse 9). It is also a tremendous experience for us when we meet together with other Christians for worship, or when we come alone before God at the Throne of Grace. At such times there is a two-way traffic of words: first, we speak to the Lord and our hearts go out to Him in adoration, praise and thanksgiving. This worshipping of the Lord is the quiet and humble expression of our hearts as we sit in His presence and meditate upon His love and goodness. But not only do we speak to the Lord, the wonderful thing is that He speaks to us! –- look up Acts 10:33. Whenever we draw near to God He speaks to us. To place the whole matter in right perspective, it is God who first speaks to us. He takes the initiative,

@Livingwater Study 2B..special Guidance Genesis 24:10-27 A failure to yield our possessions. …if there is something you own which you can’t give away, you don’t own it, it owns you!Matthew 25:21…If God doesn’t get your attention on the ‘one-talent’ propositions in life, you’ll never get a chance at the ten talent ones! Our sinful nature…”All we, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6) The ‘self-made man’ usually worships his creator…self! We stopped from point 2  in the last part ..... 3 . Abraham’ ’ s servant asked God to give him special guidance . In verse 12 we have the servant’’s prayer. It is simple and direct, and it reveals the fact that this man was certainly in close fellowship with God. Alexander Maclaren says that, ‘‘The first condition of securing real guidance in our daily life is to ask for it, the next is to look for it, and the third is to be willing to accept it, whether the finger points down the broad road that we

@Livingwater Study 2A. THE PRAYER FOR SPECIAL GUIDANCE GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Portion: Genesis 24: 10-27 In this chapter we have the account of Abraham’’s commission to his chief servant to go in search of a bride for Isaac. Abraham was getting very old (Genesis 24:1) and Isaac at this time was over forty years of age and still unmarried. Please read verses 2-9 carefully. In verses 9 and 10 we have the record of the way this chief servant prepared for his journey and then set out to go to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia, to look for a bride for Isaac. Abraham was much in prayer about this, as is suggested by the words at the end of verse 7; but so was Abraham’’s servant, as verse 12 tells us. How could he possibly choose the right girl unless he received some special guidance in the matter? He not only needed guidance in a general sense, but he needed it in a very special sense, and here it is important to notice that the guidance that God gives to His chi

@Livingwater Study1B...Urgent call for winning the lost soul...through prayer Genesis18:23-33 But more, their future prospect is a terrifying one (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9), and compare Matthew 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 24:51; 25:10-12 and Luke 13:25-28. As you consider the need of those who are without Christ do you not feel as the queen felt, of whom we read in Esther 8:6? –- look up and compare Exodus 32:32; Luke 19:41 and Romans 9:3. 4 . It must be offered with a firm belief in God’’ s willingness to hear and answer prayer for their salvation. It is moving to read Genesis 18:23-26 and to realise how willing God was to hear and to answer Abraham’’s prayer! Each time Abraham made the request God said, ‘‘Yes…’…’, until Abraham stopped making a request. Why did he not go on praying? There is an element of mystery here and yet there were less than ten in Sodom who loved and belonged to the Lord. God’’s judgment must fall upon sin and upon the sinner if he will not turn from his sin (Isa

@Livingwater Study 1A THE PRAYER FOR A WICKED CITY GREAT PRAYERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Scripture Portion: Genesis 18: 23-33 There is little doubt that our first parents must have prayed, especially before the Fall. In Genesis 4:26 we read that in the year of the birth of Enoch ““men began to call on the Name of the Lord””. Probably this refers to some form of united prayer. In this first study we are to consider Abraham’’s great prayer for the people who lived in the city of Sodom. Our study is based upon three facts: (1) Sodom was a very wicked city (Genesis 13:13; 18:20; Isaiah 1:9 and 3:9; and Lamentations 4:6. (2) God said that His judgment must fall upon Sodom (Genesis 18:20-21). (3) Abraham, moved with the desire for God’’s glory and a love for the people of Sodom, prayed to the Lord and pleaded with Him to spare the people. We live in a city like Sodom, in a world that is full of sinners, and just as Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom so we are to plead for the mu

@Livingwater Study 12B...Christian responsibility towards backsliders... James5:19-20 Life as a Christian can be quite an adventure. ... He may simply fall back through neglect by not praying, reading the Bible, and keeping his focus on living for God. ... It can bring dishonor to the One who laid down His life for us, Jesus Christ... We stopped from point 2...in the part A. 3 . When a believer backslides it is our responsibility to care for him and to seek his recovery . This is the burden of James’’ message. He is writing about the Christian being concerned for his brother. When a brother in Christ backslides we are not to abandon him, criticise him, talk about him, accuse him, condemn him, ostracise him –- we are to go after him and seek to restore him, and in Galatians 6:1-2 we read of some of the qualifications required if we are to be successful in this. 4 . The recovery of a backslider needs to be undertaken with love and humility , and by someone who is filled with th

@Livingwater Study 12 GOING AFTER THE BACKSLIDER THE LETTER OF JAMES Scripture Portion: James 5:19-20 We should link together the two concluding verses of the Letter of James (verses 19-20) and Galatians 6:1-2. Why? Because both James and Paul were writing about the restoration of a backslider. Two ministries were committed to Peter by the Lord: first, he was to catch men (Luke 5:10); but second, he was to feed the flock (John 21:17). These two ministries are committed to every Christian –- the work of soul-saving and the work of soul-shepherding. All of us who belong to the Lord are to seek lost sinners, but we are to be ready also to restore our brothers and sisters when they wander away from Him. Cain once asked, ““Am I my brother’’s keeper?”” (Genesis 4:8-10). As Christians we are just that; we are responsible for our brothers and sisters in Christ. If they fail, fall or backslide we are to be concerned for them and go out after them, to bring them back to the Lord. See how

@Livingwater Study 11B..an effective prayer.. James 5:16-18 From part A of this study, We all want our prayers to be “effective,” so much so that when we focus on the “results” of our prayers, we lose sight of the incredible privilege we have in prayer. That people like us can speak to the Creator of the universe is itself an amazing thing. Even more astounding is the fact that He hears us and acts on our behalf! The first thing we need to understand about effective prayer is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had to suffer and die on the cross to even make it possible for us to approach the throne of grace to worship and pray ( Hebrews 10:19-25 ). 2 . There is , however, a kind of prayer which is always effective . James tells us that it is possible to pray and to succeed in gaining God’’s gracious answer to our prayers. This is prayer that is ““powerful and effective””, and James goes on to give us an illustration of what prayer can do (verses 17-18). If we want to discov

@Livingwater Study 11A... THE SECRET OF EFFECTIVE PRAYER THE LETTER OF JAMES Scripture Portion: James 5:16-18 The Bible is filled with promises, encouragements and illustrations which emphasise the secret of effective prayer. It is said that James had knees that were worn down by his constant habit of kneeling. If so, we have the testimony of a man who had proved the secret of effective prayer in his life and practised what he preached. But notice the statement he makes in verse 16: “”The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective”” –- in other words, it gets results. 1 . There is a kind of prayer which is not always , or very rarely , effective . The reason this prayer is ineffective and useless is because God does not hear it –- look up and compare Job 27:8-9; Job 35:13; Isaiah 1:15-16; Isaiah 59:2; Micah 3:4; Zechariah 7:11-13; Luke 18:11-12. How solemn! But notice: (1) Prayer with a wrong motive cannot be effective. We learn this from James 4:3, and how often w

@Livingwater Study10B...HEALING through prayer... James 5:13-16 You're welcome to the concluding part of this study, what was your resolution yesterday? 3 . The eye of faith must look to the Lord alone for His will to be revealed . Verse 14 concludes, “…“…and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”” Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and every spiritual blessing we receive is conveyed to us by the Holy Spirit. There is no healing virtue in the oil itself, so why use oil? Anointing with oil is not necessary for healing, but it is an act by which those who are praying express their faith in God outwardly and visibly and show that they are trusting Him to perfect His will in the life of the one who is sick. 4 . If it is God’ ’ s will to heal in answer to prayer , a definite and specific gift of faith for the healing of the body will be given to those who pray. Verse 15 states that “”the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well””. But, “the prayer of fai

@Livingwater Study 10 HEALING IN ANSWER TO PRAYER THE LETTER OF JAMES Scripture Portion: James 5:13-16 The Bible has much to say about physical healing, but in this study we will confine our thoughts to James 5:13-16. Notice three things about this passage: (1) It applies to us today just as much as it did to those to whom it was written. This letter was written ““to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”” (1:1); but see what Galatians 3:28 says. (2) Much wrong teaching has been based upon these verses. The scriptures have frequently been distorted (2 Peter 3:16); some have taught that it is always God’’s will to heal and that no Christian ever needs to suffer. (3) These few brief verses answer many of the questions that we want answered in relation to healing. For example: Does God heal today? Does He always heal? Does healing depend on our faith? Should we anoint the sick? Is it wrong to go to the doctor when we are ill? What should we do? 1 . Every time there is

@Livingwater Study 9B..His Coming James 5:7-12 The return of Christ makes no sense if viewed only as a one-phased event. This is because the Scriptures present conflict and confusion, if trying to make the second coming simply the Lord breaking through the black clouds of Revelation 19:11, then defeating all rebels and moving to Jerusalem to set up His millennial kingdom. We stopped at 2nd point in the part A of this study yesterday, so we will continue from next point... 3 . The imminence of His coming should have a profound influence on our lives . In nearly every reference to the second coming in Scripture we see this truth: for example, 1 John 3:2-3. It is dangerously possible to be caught up with the theories (how? when? where?) and not to let the truth regulate our lives. James tells us that if we believe that Jesus is coming again, and that it will be sudden, at any moment, we shall do three things: (1) Watch our thoughts (verse 9); the word “”grumble”” refers to an

@Livingwater Study 9 WAITING FOR THE LORD’’S COMING THE LETTER OF JAMES T Read the wordings of this song! Lo, He comes with clouds descending Once for favored sinners slain; Thousand thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of His train: Alleluia! Alleluia! God appears on earth to reign. Now redemption, long expected, comes in solemn splendor near; all the saints this world rejected thrill the trumpet sound to hear: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! See the day of God appear! Those dear tokens of his passion still his dazzling body bears, cause of endless exultation to his ransomed worshipers; with what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture gaze we on those glorious scars! Yea, amen! let all adore thee, high on thine eternal throne; Savior, take the power and glory, claim the kingdom as thine own: O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly! Thou shalt reign, and thou alone. —CHARLES WESLEY Scripture Portion: James 5:7-12 It is a signifi

@Livingwater Study 8B...Grace that is unlimited James 4:6-17 What if obeying God is not just dreary duty—going through the motions to avoid God's wrath or earn his favor? What if following Christ is pure joy—living in loving response to a grace so profound that it changes all our motivations and affections? Far from encouraging sin, this biblical understanding of grace fuels and empowers the obedience that God commands. 4 . Clean up your life inwardly and outwardly (verse 8 ) Compare 2 Corinthians 7:1. Now that we are Christians there are things that we must ““put to death”” (Colossians 3:5-9). One translation of James 4:8 is: “”Realise that you have sinned, and get your hands clean again; realise that you have been disloyal, and get your heart made clean once more””; and if you say, ‘‘I cannot do this’’, the answer is that you can, for ““God gives us more grace””! 5 . Stop pulling one another to pieces (verses 11 -12 ) This critical faculty, which we all possess, must

@Livingwater Study 8A.. UNLIMITED STORES OF GRACE THE LETTER OF JAMES Scripture Portion: James 4:6-17 Five wonderful words in James 4:6 provide the key to this study – _ ““He gives us more grace””. Here we learn the glorious truth that there is an adequate supply of grace to enable each of us to live a life of victory day by day. At every point of need ““He gives us more grace””. Notice three things here:- (1) The giver is God. What a great giver He is! –- look up 1 Timothy 6:17. (2) What He gives is grace; this is the unmerited favour that God shows to those who are guilty and undeserving. It is God’’s blessing given to His people. There are four kinds of grace: (1) Saving grace (Ephesians 2:8-10); (2) Sanctifying grace (2 Corinthians 9:8); (3) Sustaining grace (2 Corinthians 12:8-9); and (4) Serving grace (Hebrews 12:28). (3) This grace is always available and adequate, and it is ours for the taking. When we receive His grace He says, ‘’Come back again when you need some

@Livingwater Happy new month! Study 7B..Coming near to Him.He will take care of your case.... James 4:8,Hosea 6:6 But without knowledge it does not lead to salvation. Now here is the relevance of this thought when we come to this passage in Hebrews 10:19-22 . In these verses there is one main, straightforward command, namely, "Draw near!" That is what this writer wants you to do. Draw near. Look at these verses: there is only one exhortation, once you pull away all the defining and qualifying phrases and clauses. Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our body washed with pure water. 4 . Come near to God with your problem, and He will undertak

@Livingwater Happy new month! Study 7A COMING NEAR TO GOD: PRECEPT AND PROMISE THE LETTER OF JAMES Scripture Portion: James 4:8-12 In James 4:8 there is a precept, something we are to do – – “Come near to God””; there is also a promise, something God will do when we play our part – – “and he will come near to you.”” In one sense we are always near to Him (Psalm 139:7-10; Acts 17:27-28); in another sense, because He is holy and we by nature are sinful, we are estranged from Him (Ephesians 4:18). The amazing thing is that God invites, urges and pleads with us to come to Him, a fact that is reiterated throughout the Bible, and this is what James is saying. But how can sinful men and women come near to a holy God? There are three requirements:- (1) We must come in faith (Hebrews 11:6). (2) We must come through Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 10:19). (3) We must come sincerely (Hebrews 10:22). The important thing is that we do come near, for then God guarantees that H