CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: COME, LIE ALL NIGHT IN SACK CLOTH

The more Jack tries to live in the Spirit, the more he reads the Bible with an increased sense of urgency. This morning he woke at 5am after attending a late night worship service on the day. He decided to get out of bed as the last dream he had was disturbing. He could not remember the dream but he remembered seeing a bed full of people slumbering, bodies of people in fact. He could not see the faces. But he was disturbed. So he got up despite the inadequate sleep.


Then he was led to read the book of Joel (probably 835-805 BC). It was more disturbing as it was about the judgment of God and the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord. It was also comforting as it was about the grace of God too. The following are verses that made him ponder. Why? The signs are here and now in increasing intensity.

Joel 1

The Land Laid Waste

4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. 5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep; 9 the priests mourn, who minister to the LORD.

Mourning for the Land

13 Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; 14 Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD.

Joel 2

The Day of the LORD

1 For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

The Land Refreshed

18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. 21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things!

God’s Spirit Poured Out

28 “ And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “ And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:

32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.

Joel 3

God Judges the Nations

1 “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there. 14 For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake;”

God Blesses His People

18 And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD And water the Valley of Acacias.

______________________________

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)

“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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 so to stand.”

(Ephesians 6:11-13)

2009-10-12

The Day of the Lord

God’s Promise Is Not Slack

1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

the coming of the Son of Man

Matthew 24

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!


No One Knows the Day or Hour

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Matthew 25:13

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

chapter forty two: finding purpose in life through fasting and prayer

Another goal for fasting and prayer is to find purpose in life. An average person would not be satisfied with living from day to day knowing that one day all men must die and leave this earth without knowing why he had come to this life in the first place. One can find out about others’ life purpose by reading, studying and watching others. We can watch others growing up, being gainfully occupied with career, family, friends and may be hobbies, social work and religions etc. We tend to follow too and do about the same thing. However, is that all? What is our real purpose for living? This is a tough question for Jack.


One way to find out is to fast and pray. By giving up our physical comfort and deliberately focus on a higher level of existence one becomes aware of higher goal and the real reason of one’s existence. Not everyone has the same goals even though there are seemingly limited numbers of the usual goals. To sum up, most people want health, happiness and comfort in life. Security and relationship rank high in the happiness category. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid, once a human being get hold of the lower basic needs (physiological, security, love and belonging), he/she aims for meeting the higher level needs like esteem needs, experience purpose and meaning, and self-actualization.

Whilst the concept is the same, individuals vary in the contents that make up the ideals. Of course, people tend to follow each other (keeping up with the neighbours). But they will soon find the void in their hearts unfilled. For example, we tend to think of others’ kids being so lovely and fun to be with. When we have our own we know life is not all lovely and fun. At times we think the opposite had happened and prevailed. We also tend to admire others’ garden and wish we too have one. When we have our own garden we lament at the compulsory hours of regular hard labours required. The same imperfect reality happens to owning cars, houses, high earning jobs, prestigious positions and interesting hobbies.

One pertinent question remains, “For what higher purposes are we created?” Fasting and prayer helps a Christian to find out.


The focus of Christian fasting and prayer is God. The more one focuses on the presence of God, the more one is able to receive clear messages about God and His purpose for our life. The content and focus of our prayers change. The mind changes its priority. The spirit (which has been slumbering previously) wakes up and switches to the God channel with clearer reception. This opens a door into a wider sphere of existence, way beyond our tiny little world.



But does God not care about our usual life in our little world? Oh, He does care. The difference is that He will open our eyes to see further sights and dream greater dreams.

There is a greater purpose for your existence and a higher goal for your life. No one can afford to linger on below that purpose. Start and find out now!

Yes, fasting and praying helps you to find the map.


2009-09-30

CHAPTER FORTY ONE: FASTING, PRAYER, WARFARE AND BREAKTHROUGHS

Trying to fast seriously has brought spiritual breakthrough. Setting the right goals for fasting is essential. When confronted with a life threatening crisis, people are more willing and sincere in fasting and prayer. On the other hand, when one’s goal is to get close to God and obeying His command (as in the Bible), to be more spiritually discerning (so as to obey His command/will), to breakthrough in applying Biblical living, the fasting is just as effective. These are some of Jack’s recent findings through readings and personal experience.


After fasting partially he felt his body lighter and not as cumbersome. He found that he could concentrate more on spiritual matters (matters pertaining God). He was more focused in worship and prayer. He renewed his enthusiasm for intercession for others, and even the big issues like the salvation of the world. When interceding for smaller things, like for families, he was more discerning and was able to be led by the Holy Spirit.


Unlike what he had feared previously, there was not much bodily discomfort other than the usual mild hunger pang at certain intervals (possibly more induced by psychology and habits). Even the slowing down of life did not bother him much. He felt more relaxed as he no longer needed to worry about what he should eat for the next meal.


He had more quality time on hand and could do more work and more Bible reading (in addition to prayer). He had less strife when dealing with people and situations. Somehow, his world seemed changed for the better. Reading the Bible is another big gain. He had never been able to read so much in the same time frame before. This time he had no agenda and read at ease, as led by the Holy Spirit. Indeed, as he read, he received the messages that God was speaking to him. So he prayed in response as he read.


Prayer-wise there were breakthroughs too. He interceded as led by the Holy Spirit. For example, one morning he thought he had finished praying as he woke early and had almost two hours with the Lord. However, when he returned from an assignment, he was led to intercede further and spent another two hours! He was not even aware of the time.

This morning he wanted to pray for a relative urgently so he woke early and spent time before the Lord. However, when he thought he needed to intercede more, the Holy Spirit led him to pray for one particular big nation/one big religious group) on an urgent matter. So he obeyed. At the end of that prayer, he was shown a vision about the relative whom he had wanted to pray for. The vision was positive and answered his earlier concern.


He learned from this experience that we cannot limit God. When we put ourselves in the flow of the Holy Spirit, life becomes effortless and the spiritual reality becomes clearer and discernable. This is part of Kingdom of God living and living in the Spirit as instructed in the Bible.


It is like heaven come down and life has such a clarity as he has never seen before. It is indeed wonderful!

CHAPTER FORTY: A NOVICE IN FASTING

Jack continued to fast two further days at a stretch, with mainly water and some warm drinks or vegetable soup. He recorded his diet and experience as follows.

Day two: one cup of cocoa in the late morning, one bowl of sweet potato soup in the late afternoon with 2 thin slices of steam carrot mashed in rice paste, a bowl of vegetable soup in the evening, and a small bowl of red bean soup at night.

Day three: one slice of whole meal bread (as he thought he heard the wife say to take it in his dream), one hard-boil egg, and one cup of cocoa for breakfast, one cup of warm drink in the afternoon, one bowl of vegetable soup with a small slice of fish in the evening. For supper he took one cookie and one cup of soymilk.

Difficulties encountered: 1. His mind was on food all the time. He felt tired and sleepy. He slept early and long hours. 2. By the third day morning he dreamed that his wife asked him to take breakfast so he got up and went to take one slice of bread thereby breaking the fast. 3. For the first time of his life he felt cold in normal temperature. So he was tempted to take warm sweet drink. The proper fasting advice is that he should avoid taking sweet drink. 4. He tried to stretch his cocoa drink to last two hours by taking small sips and it became quite horrible to drink after the first half hour.

Lessons learned and benefits gained:

1. He learned to feel how a starving man felt (so he thought) as he wanted to stretch the cup of cocoa.

2. Prayer has improved: instead of praying the usual repeated parochial issues (family, own church, own city etc), he was led by the Holy Spirit to see the whole earth as a tiny globe, and it looked so pitiful heading towards destruction without knowing its true direction and destiny. So he interceded from his new vision, seeing how big and vast God is and acknowledging how insignificant humans are and how ridiculous the things that we spend so much time worrying and bickering about.

3. He also acknowledged more readily his biggest sin, that is, “unbelief” in many areas of his life, not wanting to trust God fully, like the nine disciples who could not handle the epileptic boy with a mute demon.

4. He learned from reading more about fasting prayer. The following are excerpts of his reading of Ezra 8:21-23 from the New Spirit Filled Life Bible on “fasting for spiritual breakthrough”

a. For guidance: they petitioned God to lead them in a right way. b. For assistance: they petitioned God for protecting their little ones. c. For substance: petitioned God to guard their possessions (for God’s temple).


“Fasting is a sacrificial form of prayer warfare that produces results available in no other way.” (especially in demonic deliverance). “It is a sacrificial denial of necessary nourishment which turns one’s attention to seeking God during that denial.”

5. He also learned from a teaching that when he fasts his body will manifest symptoms of sickness and discomfort. He is not to panic. Headaches and other bodily pains may be signs of his being delivered and cleansed.

6. He experienced the assurance that the presence of the Lord (Jesus) actually refreshes the believer. (Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”)

7. During worship service at night, he was more focused and not distracted like before. He spent most of the time praying in the spirit. When he asked the Holy Spirit to show him something to intercede for he suddenly saw in his mind a vast country covered by muddy flood water. People were bobbing up and down in the water. So he interceded fervently for that country.

Overall: He learned that he was not really fasting the way he should be. There was hardly any sacrificial denial of the body. He was not fully seeking God and spending time in God’s presence. So he decided to start again the three days fast in the coming weekend. Meanwhile he continued to fast one-two meals a day and taking light meals or liquid and praying daily.

There was one other breakthrough. Today he was woken at 4am and he got up without hesitation as he felt a terrible feeling inside and knew that he had to intercede as instructed. He obeyed the call (something which he had stopped doing for a long time). After this experience he is again looking forward to such daily encounter in future.
23-9-09

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: FASTING TO SHARPEN THE ULTIMATE SPIRITUAL WEAPON

There is no easy path to spiritual wellness. There is no option either. In his current quest to live Biblically and in the spirit, Jack has embarked on the fasting and praying journey seriously.

He has been on two meals or less for more than six months on and off, not really on a fixed schedule. He usually took breakfast (one slice of thick wholemeal toast/bread with cheese and a cup of warm milk/chocolate), and lunch (a small portion of carbohydrate, protein and a larger portion of vegetables). He took tea in the late afternoon (a cup of warm drink and a biscuit). He skipped dinner but took a drink (a glass of fruit and vegetable juice with milk). He skipped supper too, unless he went to the Prayer House and had a warn drink (or dessert) after the service.

Yesterday he started to fast after a light lunch and took nothing except water and one cup of cocoa and one biscuit for about 13 hours. He felt alright and was able to carry on his usual physical activities. He took part in a late evening worship and prayer meeting for three hours (11pm to 2am). After that he took a tiny bowl of grain dessert. The only discomfort he felt was he felt cold for the first time. He slept about 5-6 hours and woke up feeling fresh and well.

Today he started the first of his three days of fasting and prayer with nothing but water/liquid only. He had no breakfast, only one cup of hot drink and had a small portion of plain yogurt in the morning. Around noon he took another cup of warm cocoa. He took water when thirsty.

In the morning he did about one hour of light physical activities. Then he spent sometime praying and reading. The day seemed not as long as he had earlier expected. During lunch time he thought of food and went to the kitchen to look at the fridge but he took nothing. He felt fit and well up to this point.

The guide book advised him not to do too much physical activity. He was advised to pray and read the Bible too.

The Morning Prayer session went well as clearly the Holy Spirit was leading. His mind became focused and clear. He was able to pray for a number of issues for distant people who had never crossed his mind before. He could sense the need to repent and renounce a number of his own sins and areas which needed correction and renewal. The words flowed smoothly without efforts. He was led in the spirit to sing three hymns too. This had not happened for a long time and he was pleasantly surprised what the fasting could do to his spirit!

In the afternoon, he was tired and sleepy. His mind was on food. So he decided to read the Bible and pray. He started reading 2 Corinthians for no particular reason. He struggled for awhile and soon gave up. He dozed off for about 30 minutes.

When he woke he felt that he was fresher. So he went back to reading the Bible. This time he was led to read about the Levites in the Old Testament, how they were chosen by God to minister to Him. He read how they were assigned the responsibilities to take charge of the things pertaining to worshipping God. a group was assigned to sing day and night to God and had no other duties!

Suddenly he decided to sing in the spirit and he sang. As he sang, his spirit lifted and he felt energy surging up within him. He went on for sometime until he was led to pray and intercede. He interceded as led by the Holy Spirit. He realized that there was a breakthrough in his prayer and spiritual songs. He walked around and sang without effort. This went on for a long time. After that he asked the Holy Spirit to show him how to sing as the Levites did. Immediately he started singing new tunes as tunes sung by the Israelites!

It was indeed a wonderful experience for Jack.
2009-09-19

chapter thirty-eight: to fast or not to fast?

It had not been easy for Jack as he tried to fast and pray. Often he found himself feeling hungry at the wrong time. As he intended to fast dinner (drinking water only), he tried to eat a proper meal during lunch. But his appetite refused to cooperate. By the time he finished eating all the vegetables and protein he was not hungry enough to eat the carbohydrate. He had to force himself to swallow at least a few spoons as he knew he needed the energy in the evening when he fasted and prayed. It was a battle between the will and the body.

By the time the evening came he felt quite weak and hungry. Prior to that, he had to carry out his usual chores that deprived him of energy. So he ended up taking a tea break just to replenish some energy.

Does tea break count as a meal? He wasn’t sure. Anyway he skipped the dinner and prayed.

He had discovered some more interesting and useful teachings on fasting and praying. He read testimonies of those who had fasted and prayed and encountered God. They were very encouraging. He himself had no other agenda except to follow the Bible’s teachings on this important aspect of kingdom life as a child of God.

Lately he saw some visions during praying or worship. For example he had been puzzling over an old man’s non-stop shouting despite having no medical indications of its causes. One night he prayed fervently for the Holy Spirit to guide him to pray for that poor man. After praying in the spirit (in tongues) and in understanding for sometime, he saw the poor man and also toad (or toads) appearing in that man’s mouth. He could not understand its implication. However he bound that thing (interpreting it as being linked to witchcraft) and cast it out of that man using the authority of the Lord Jesus’ name. The next day while driving, he suddenly realized that in some oriental culture people worshipped toad as they linked it to money.

Subsequently he asked a senior and his second interpretation was confirmed. Indeed the man’s problem was linked to possibly his undelivered greed for money (which was idolatry according to the Bible). He could not be healed completely as he was still worshipping the money idol and not Jesus Christ. Unless he was set free from the idol’s clutch on him, he could not receive the perfect healing from Jesus on the cross. Now the intercessors know what exactly to pray for him to be set free completely.

This was a breakthrough in intercession. An enquiry from the man’s relatives confirmed that the man now slept better and there was less shouting.

In the natural, no one understands any of such stuff. It takes time to learn and faith to believe. Faith and belief come together. In fact, fasting or not to fast takes faith and belief to accomplish.

During the times Jack managed to fast and pray, he found that his faith grew and words came out of his mouth without effort. The presence of the Holy Spirit could be perceived and faith grew.

Christians are encouraged to follow the Bible and take this challenge. You will be blessed!

CHPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: A PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO LIVE BY THE SPIRIT

For those who want to live a victorious Christian life, a life as the son of God, in the kingdom of God, you have no choice but to live by the Holy Spirit. When you ignore the Holy Spirit and His work, you end up living a substandard Christian life.

This is what Jack has discovered in his quest to live Biblically an in the Spirit. He struggled all the way and tried to be good when Jesus Himself has clearly declared that no one is good (except God). Not living the Kingdom life means not living as sons of God. Instead of being guided by the Holy Spirit, a Christian chooses to continue patterning his lifestyle after the world, compromising with ungodly standards and living lives of no eternal value.

If you want to live by the Holy Spirit, please join Jack in this prayer:

“Dear Lord God and Heavenly Father: Thank you that I can come before You and repent of our failing to live by the Spirit as sons of God. On behalf of myself and Your people, I repent for living in rebellion and disobedience to Your word. Please forgive us for not allowing the Holy Spirit to take charge and rule over us (the church).

Please forgive us for trying to do Your work in our own strength when Your word clearly proclaims that it is not by might, nor by power but by Your Holy Spirit alone. We now repent for living by the flesh and not living by the Spirit. We call ourselves sons of God but we live like the world, when Your word clearly states that living according to the flesh (the world) will die. Please forgive us of all our sins of rebellion and disobedience, of living in the flesh and not living in the Spirit, and for taking You for granted.

Please forgive us for our ignorance of Your word. We pray that You will help us to go back to Your word, learn to live by the Spirit and no longer live by the flesh.

Thank you Father God that we can be sons of God led by the Spirit of God, no longer patterning our lives after the world but after our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing our prayer. In Jesus’ awesome name we pray. Amen.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: YOU TOO CAN FAST!

The minute anyone suggested fasting to Jack, he would have an automatic reaction that it could not be for him as he did not have the stomach for it. It seemed to him that food was so important. Many people like him could come up with a lot of reasons why they could not fast, e.g. Feeling weak and dizzy and even fainting, having gastritis, love for food etc.

When he read the second chapter of the Book on fasting, it definitely assured him and gave him hope. Yes, he could fast too! Now he could go deeper into Biblical living and living in the Spirit. The followings are excerpts from the Book.

_______________________________________
Chapter two: You too can fast

The enemy will use all tactics and suggest all excuses to prevent you from fasting. He knows what fasting can do for you. Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?”

It is not whether you can or cannot fast. It is whether you want to or not, a matter of choice. Will you still allow the flesh to dictate to you, or will you learn to subdue the flesh, allow your spirit man to rise and eventually, learn to live by the spirit?

(In the same chapter, the Pastor described how she set a condition for her Bible College student to fast three days before they are awarded with distinctions. A number made the usual excuses but they went through the fast and came out in top forms. There were testimonies of gastritis, backache, arthritis and migraine healed! )

No one can give any excuse. Nehemiah could have made a good excuse for not fasting. His job demanded that he taste the king’s food and wine to test if they were poisoned. Moreover he was expected to be cheerful before the king. But Nehemiah took the burden of the Lord upon himself. He wept and mourned, fasted and prayed for many days for Jerusalem. (Neh. 1:4) God intervened and moved the king’s heart to release Nehemiah from his post as cupbearer and made him governor of Judah for 12 years! Despite opposition, conspiracy and great difficulties, Nehemiah completed rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem within 52 days.

Some people are afraid to fast because they are afraid their bodies would be affected. Little do they realize that the body can actually go without food and water for three days. It can go for 40 days without food but not without water unless divinely led of the Holy Spirit. Moses neither ate nor drank for 40 days twice, in the presence of God and God is life. we can do without food but cannot do without God.
Fasting appears difficult because eating is a natural habit. Some people eat to live but others live to eat. In fact, the first sin against God involved eating. Esau lost his birthright because of eating. The Israelites were fed angels’ food from heaven yet they craved for food from Egypt than for God’s divine supply.

Every Christian must learn how to discipline the body through fasting. Start by fasting one meal, then two meals, then the whole day. This will give you more time to spend with God. You can then subdue your flesh and begin to feed your spirit man. Read the Bible, pray and worship God. Listen to worship and sermon tapes. Begin to tune yourself to God. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor. 2:14) Jesus redeemed us and made our spirit alive unto God. Man could once again resume relationship with God. By the power of God man is once again to live by the Spirit, filled, empowered and led by Him. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”(I Cor. 15:50) Fasting sets us free from our past bondage.

When Jack first started to fast he tried to skip one main meal a day on alternate day. However, he drank liquid (water, fruit and vegetable juice, milk) as substitute. He also limited his fast to a number of hours, e.g. from 4pm to midnight or from 10am to 6pm. There was no hard and fast rule. On this current fasting and prayer drive, he was allowed to choose from a long list of choices:

1. the number of days (7, 14, 21, 40)
2. the number of meals (1, 2, all )
3. vegetables/fruits
4. water/liquid

Jack chose to fast 14 days, one meal (1pm to next morning 7am) a day on alternate day. He knew his limit. Unless led by the Holy Spirit he would not attempt more than the level he committed to do. He hoped to progress to whole day fasting (on food), drinking water only during the weekend, i.e. from 6am Saturday to 6am Sunday.

In the Pastor’s testimony, the best fast was three days at a stretch without food and water. A lot of great things happened when such fasts were carried out in the Bible. Jack will account this in the next post.

AAA Jack
2009-09-08

CHAPTER THIRTY: HOW NOT TO LOVE YOUR LIVES TO THE DEATH?

When Jesus began to preach, He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) He told the disciples His mission on earth, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” He taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come” (which was followed by “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt.6:10) He proclaimed His mission on earth was to do His Father’s will. Jesus’ famous teaching about blessings was centered on the characteristics of the kingdom of heaven citizenship. (Matt.5:3-12) When He commissioned His disciples to go out to preach He instructed them, “And as you go, preach saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ His disciples asked Him what will be the sign of Him coming and of the end of the age. Jesus answered, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt.24:14)

Since Jesus had focused His ministry on earth on preaching the good news about the kingdom of heaven/God, it makes sense for us to know and live this kingdom life, Jack reckoned. Recently when he received a notice of seminar on “Thy kingdom come” training, he enrolled immediately.

It was a four days intensive course daily seventeen hours stretching from morning to night and early morning with three hours dinner and bathroom break in the evening and another four hours sleep and breakfast break in the morning. They fasted lunch. He drove for about three hours on a Sunday afternoon, had a hasty light dinner and joined the marathon kingdom training at 8pm. The course went on until 4am in the morning. By then his mind was saturated. So he gave up and drove back to the hotel to take his sleep. The second day started at 9am. He missed the hotel breakfast and had his own snacks in the room. It was tough going as he went along. But he was prepared to sit out the whole course.

This time he found that he could be part of the worship, as he had trained hard in the prayer house during the last six months. He had no back ache or body sore whatsoever (unlike six months ago when he first attended the same seminar). He also managed not to fall asleep although he did feel sleepy once or twice.

The worship in the Spirit was powerful. On one night he was worshipping in the Spirit through singing spiritual songs. On occasions when he was led to sing in words like, “hallelujah”, “worthy”, “mighty God”, he found the song leader (a Spirit-filled elderly pastor) similarly burst forth in singing such words too in her spiritual songs. He was amazed and knew that the Holy Spirit indeed was leading them as he was not singing loudly and many people were singing or praying aloud in tongues so the noise would have drowned his own utterance.

On the last day when they were worshipping Jack prayed in his heart for the Holy Spirit to come and burn off whatever chaff he still had in him that was hindering him from God, and he also pledged that his life would not be the same again. Immediately after he prayed, the songs that followed were all about the Holy Spirit, like fire, coming to burn off the chaff in people, and their lives would never be the same again!

It was a confirmation from the Holy Spirit to Jack that he could hear the Holy Spirit more clearly now.

The course was taught by two senior lady pastors (in their 60s?) who live practically on divine health and divine stamina. They teach on how to prepare for the coming of Christ and how we ought to live as kingdom citizens. At the end of the seminar they imparted and anointed the students in two areas of spiritual zeal: the zeal to pursue God and the zeal to pray and intercede for all nations.

They were given three charges: to re-structure their prayer lives; to pray as a family (at home); and to pray for all nations.

What Jack was urged to commit up to this point was not difficult to follow. However, he was troubled by the definition of a overcomer. In Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

The first two verses are alright for him but the third verse was not for a coward. He knew he had to go home after this course and think hard on this matter.
The key question is: why does he love his life on earth?

Why do you love your present life so much? Don’t you know no one can be an immortal on earth? In fact these are the questions he had been asking himself during his quest to live Biblically and in the Holy Spirit.

Now that he knows the kingdom of heaven is real and that he can hear the Holy Spirit (God Himself), he is not so worried about life on earth. On the other hand he still needs to find out the key purpose of his present life and make sure he has lived that purpose before he can move on.

During the seminar he saw a vision of Jesus carrying two items: a sword in one hand and a jar (of incense?) in another hand. He had the perception that they meant the word of God and prayers. Are these meant to be his key purpose in life? Was this why he had been thus far led to seek God and an answer for his existence?

AAA Jack
9-5-09

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: THE GREAT WATER GATE REVIVAL REVELATION

"...all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood … and on his left were …Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, 'Amen! Amen!' Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground." (Nehemiah 8:1-6)

What happened at the Jerusalem Water Gate when the Word of God was read was a great revelation to Jack.

Approximately 50,000 Israelites gathered in the open square in front of the Water Gate. This was the only gate that needed no repair. God’s word is always complete. All the people assembled as one man. They wanted to hear God’s word. As Ezra opened the Book, all the people stood up to show respect to God’s word. He read aloud for hours (at least six hours) and the people stood there and listened attentively. They then praised God, bowed down and worshipped God with their faces to the ground.
What zeal for spiritual food! What hunger for God’s word!

This is hardly seen today at the churches. 15 minutes of reading of God’s word is too much for many Christians to bear. 5 minutes of standing up is a torture. Lifting up of hands for 30 seconds invokes groaning and overt rebellion.

Why? Jack wondered. When he started his quest to live Biblically, he found it difficult to concentrate during his personal worship at home. He tried to lift up his hands but they seemed heavy like lead. He tried reading the Bible in chunks, say, for an hour or so, and he found that his mouth ran dry and his throat became sore. His eyelids could not stay open. When he tried to bow down with his face to the ground he almost fell asleep instantly. It was normal to behave this way, he thought.

However, God is merciful and indeed answered his quest to seek God as promised by Jesus. (Seek and you will find, ask and you will receive). As he continued to seek God in worship, prayer and reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit came forth and revealed to him more and more abut God and the wonder in God’s words. He learned to kneel for an hour without feeling pain. He learned to lift up his hands as a sign of total surrender to God. He learned to listen to God as he prayed in the spirit. He learned to read the Bible in chunks without feeling the length and the passing of time. In short, he has acquired a taste for God’s word like the people in the above mentioned revival at the Jerusalem Water Gate! He has dug into the depth of his own soul and discovered he has thirsted for the presence of God!

____________________________________________________
The following is from Jack’s excerpts of some of the many materials gathered during his study on the Jerusalem Water Gate:

“In Scripture, the Water Gate represents the cleansing work of the Word of God (John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26), the place where justice was administered, and also where oaths were taken. The Word of God and its cleansing power are taking center stage before us--with new hunger and longing in the heart of God's people. God's desire is to cleanse us from the past season with the washing of His Word and to give us new garments for this new season.” (read Zechariah 3:1-7)

The Water Gate was located next to the Fountain Gate and the Horse Gate. It is where the water was brought into the city from the various pools and wells. The Horse Gate represents the warfare necessary to pursue holiness. The Water Gate brings to view how God brings holiness and revival to His people. The Water Gate represents: Revival
“Revival resulting from the washing of the Word of God.” (Ephesians 5:25, 26; I Peter 1:23; Psalms 119:9, 10) The word “revive” in the Hebrew is Chayah which means “to refresh, rebuild, recover, be well, make alive.” It comes from a right relationship with God. This life comes from God’s word, “This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has given me life.” (Psalms 119:50)

Nehemiah 8: 1-2: A hunger for the Word of God (excerpted from a writer)
Hunger intensifies. Ezra read the word from daybreak until mid-day, five to six hours. (Verse 3) The people didn’t notice the time. Their “ears were attentive unto the book.” True revival brings an all consuming hunger for God’s word. Absence of the word brings spiritual darkness. The word produces an inner response of man’s spirit. Ezra became so overwhelmed by what he read he stopped “to bless the Lord.” (Verse 6)

The Glory of God testifies to the power of His word to restore. The glory of God fell so powerfully everyone raised their hands and cried Amen! Amen! They bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. (verse 6) They humbled themselves before God in brokenness and repentance. After a while they stood up to experience more.

Note: This gathering didn’t include any exciting stories nor illustrations. There was no great music – just the power of God’s word being read. God wants us to hunger for the words of life He offers!

Repentance follows application of the word to the heart. As they understood the word and how it applied to their lives, they began to mourn for their sin. “All the people wept when they heard the words of the law.” (Verse 9) Can you picture it? Fifty-thousand people laying scattered on the ground weeping before God for their sins. God’s word had broken down their walls of pride. They could be heard weeping for miles. This is true revival. God’s word so piercing that people fall on their knees and cry out, “God save me!”

Recommended Reading: 1 Chronicles 16:29; Romans 6:19, 22; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:7,8.

chapter eleven: seeing God, hearing His words

After the first breakthrough Jack began to see pictures/visions often when he sought God in the early morning on his own. He often woke before the alarm rang. He sometimes woke way before, an hour or two, the alarm was supposed to ring! He tried to interpret such pictures at times. When he though he got the clear message, he would pray over it. For example, when he saw his loved ones in an unusual situation, he would pray for the situation to clear and the problem resolved. He also became quite excited as it was like the Bible coming to life and he could now ask God to show him things to come. He got up every morning with eagerness to see or receive personal messages from God.

He recorded the following visions in his journal on March 10, 2009.

Hearing from God –golden field with one worker
Everyday I spent time before God and asked Him to show me what to pray for or what to attend to. So far I have seen a number of pictures, some of which reminded me of verses I have read before. I could understand some as the meaning was clear and supported by immediate recall of verses. But I could not figure out some. So I have decided to record down all or as many as I recall the pictures that I saw daily when waiting upon the Lord in the early morning. This morning I woke around 3am and worshipped God. I saw the following vision:

1. Jesus put His hand into muddy water. I could not see whether the water was in a river but I thought it was.

2. A living spring or brook with clear, clean water. I could see the pebbles underneath the water in the river bed.

3. Fruit trees bearing fruits by the river side. I did not exactly see them clearly but in my mind I was reminded of the trees which bear fruits and leaves with healing faculties.

4. Jesus holding a bowl which He had emptied (through a pouring motion), green shoots in the ground, followed by grown wheat plants in the midst of thorns and thistles. I was reminded of the verses about the enemy sowing bad seeds at night among the good seeds that God had planted. On harvest day the bad plants (weeds, thorns etc.) will be gathered and burned by the angel of God. The good ones will be gathered unto God.

5. A vast field of golden wheat and only one man/worker stooping down cutting the wheat. I was reminded of Jesus saying the harvest is plenty and workers are few, and that we are to pray for God to send more workers to harvest the ready field.

Praying for the nation
While praying for the nation, he was led by the Holy Spirit to see and read the following words from the Book of Psalms (reading from 53-57):

55: 9-23: “Destroy, o Lord, and divide their tongues” Next to this, he wrote: ‘_________’(the name of the ruling party) – NIMROD? “For I have seen violence and strife in the city”, iniquity and trouble, destruction, oppression and deceit, broken covenant, smooth words with war at heart (drawn swords), bloodthirsty and deceitful men. Jack saw that the verses aptly described the situation of the country.

He did not know its spiritual link yet. Months later when he attended a series of spiritual lessons given by a master who had spent nearly two decades studying the spiritual matters and the history of the land, Jack discovered that what the Holy Spirit had prompted him to pray for were indeed the situation as reflected in the verses and they were linked to the blood shade, violence, gangsters, piracy, and secret societies background of the founding masters of the land!

However, he was positive in his one line summary of Psalm 57, “As David saw the troubles he was in, he exalted God. Caught in between two types of dangers, direct attacks by weapons and secret snarls, David praised God. Clue to success!”

Jack also saw another truth, the reason why people could not see or hear God was because of their rebellious and defiant hearts against God. Even a donkey could see the angel with drawn sword by the road side, but the prophet Balaam who loved money more than God could not see.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: SEEING GOD, HEARING GOD'S WORDS

After the first breakthrough Jack began to see pictures/visions often when he sought God in the early morning on his own. He often woke before the alarm rang. He sometimes woke way before, an hour or two, the alarm was supposed to ring! He tried to interpret such pictures at times. When he though he got the clear message, he would pray over it. For example, when he saw his loved ones in an unusual situation, he would pray for the situation to clear and the problem resolved. He also became quite excited as it was like the Bible coming to life and he could now ask God to show him things to come. He got up every morning with eagerness to see or receive personal messages from God.

Hearing from God –golden field with one worker

Everyday I spent time before God and asked Him to show me what to pray for or what to attend to. So far I have seen a number of pictures, some of which reminded me of verses I have read before. I could understand some as the meaning was clear and supported by immediate recall of verses. But I could not figure out some. So I have decided to record down all or as many as I recall the pictures that I saw daily when waiting upon the Lord in the early morning. This morning I woke around 3am and worshipped God. I saw the following vision:

1. Jesus put His hand into muddy water. I could not see whether the water was in a river but I thought it was.
2. A living spring or brook with clear, clean water. I could see the pebbles underneath the water in the river bed.
3. Fruit trees bearing fruits by the river side. I did not exactly see them clearly but in my mind I was reminded of the trees which bear fruits and leaves with healing faculties.
4. Jesus holding a bowl which He had emptied (through a pouring motion), green shoots in the ground, followed by grown wheat plants in the midst of thorns and thistles. I was reminded of the verses about the enemy sowing bad seeds at night among the good seeds that God had planted. On harvest day the bad plants (weeds, thorns etc.) will be gathered and burned by the angel of God. The good ones will be gathered unto God.
5. A vast field of golden wheat and only one man/worker stooping down cutting the wheat. I was reminded of Jesus saying the harvest is plenty and workers are few, and that we are to pray for God to send more workers to harvest the ready field.
Praying for the nation

While praying for the nation, he was led by the Holy Spirit to see and read the following words from the Book of Psalms (reading from 53-57):
55: 9-23: “Destroy, o Lord, and divide their tongues” Next to this, he wrote: ‘_________’(the name of the ruling party) – NIMROD? “For I have seen violence and strife in the city”, iniquity and trouble, destruction, oppression and deceit, broken covenant, smooth words with war at heart (drawn swords), bloodthirsty and deceitful men. Jack saw that the verses aptly described the situation of the country.

He did not know its spiritual link yet. Months later when he attended a series of spiritual lessons given by a master who had spent nearly two decades studying the spiritual matters and the history of the land, Jack discovered that what the Holy Spirit had prompted him to pray for were indeed the situation as reflected in the verses and they were linked to the blood shade, violence, gangsters, piracy, and secret societies background of the founding masters of the land!

However, he was positive in his one line summary of Psalm 57, “As David saw the troubles he was in, he exalted God. Caught in between two types of dangers, direct attacks by weapons and secret snarls, David praised God. Clue to success!”
Jack also saw another truth, the reason why people could not see or hear God was because of their rebellious and defiant hearts against God. Even a donkey could see the angel with drawn sword by the road side, but the prophet Balaam who loved money more than God could not see.

March 10, 2009

CHAPTER THREE: AS DIFFICULT AS CAN BE FOR A MAN

chapter three: as difficult as can be for a man
Jack was into the second day of Biblical living when he discovered it was not as simple as he thought. A modern intellectual man with no spiritual experience whatsoever who tried to put the Bible knowledge in his head into practice was doomed to failure from the start. As he started on the Beatitudes (the Sermon on the Mount) of Jesus he found that it was impossible to practice them.

As we can see from the following record in his journal, he was struggling with his head knowledge. There was no mention of him seeking the help of the Holy Spirit. He just did not know how. However, he was trying and seeking to practice what he believed. All was not lost.

_______________________________________________________

Day two: not as easy as it seems to be: humility, mourning, meek, righteousness
On this day number two, I continued to read further chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. Yesterday I thought the task was difficult as I would need to really ponder on what Jesus meant when He spoke those words. On the other hand, as what He spoke were not that many sentences, I thought it easy to summarize and perhaps even grouped some together as one action point. However, today’s readings were more difficult. In Matthew Chapter Four, I plunged into the Sermon on the Mount (which is considered an ideal as opposed to practicality in some Christian circle)!

I list below the eight crucial statements made by Jesus on the Mount of Olive.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

7. Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)

Application today

humility (poor in spirit)

In my younger days I thought blessing requirement number one referred to those who were poor materially. I was relatively poor as a young student with rather tight budget, and I thought it was easy to fulfill this blessing requirement. However, I later realized that it referred to a person who was humble enough to acknowledge that one was not qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven by one’s own efforts.

Without humility it is impossible to become God’s family members. Humility is difficult to learn and practice as by past training I tend to consider highly of myself. My wife said I still have a long way to go in un-learning my past arrogant self-talk. The good news is I accept my inability to save myself. I need God’s grace and undeserved favor. Whilst I can be assured of a place in the kingdom of heaven by faith in Jesus Christ, I need to work on being more humble so I can enjoy heaven on earth too.

mourning (for nations)

There was nothing to mourn over personally today so I have to skip statement number two. However when my mother passed away last April, we were comforted as we knew that she merely left for her favorite place, heaven, after ninety long years on earth. When I carried out chores for others’ parents I still thought of my mother and felt sadness and regret as I thought I had not paid more attention to my mother as I would have wanted to do in retrospect. Recently when my wife’s uncle passed away we mourned and were comforted too as he had also chosen to believe in Jesus whom we believe had come and led him home.

On the other hand, the original Biblical context was referred to Israel mourning over their captivity by foreign nations. Is there anything to mourn over for our nations? Plenty, I was told. I have recently joined a group (formed on the basis of Isaiah 62:6-7) of watchmen and watchwomen from various churches who decided to pray for our nations every Friday morning 6am to Saturday 6am. I participate in the Friday 6-7am watch and pray. We pray for nations’ deliverance from being held captive by all the vices (blasphemers, idolaters, violence, greed, corruptions, hatred, strives, pride, abuses of power by people in authority, immorality, children rebelling against parents, love of selves and money, waste of resources, unthankful and unholy etc) that had increased as the world progressed. I pray for my city. The more I pray the more I sense a commitment to this city and its total (physical, mental and spiritual) health and well being for the present and future generations.

In the Book of Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 61: 1-3), God has promised healing for the broken-hearted, liberty for the captives, comfort for all who mourn. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus confirmed what He had come to accomplish. Yes, those who mourn shall be comforted.

the meek (mild, patient, long-suffering)

This is a very desirable blessing requirement. Who does not want to inherit the earth/land and property? The meek shall inherit the earth. Two scenes come to mind, both present and future. In the present the meek shall not worry about having no share in a property. If that is what it means, it is good news to the landless and homeless. Al they need to do is to learn from Jesus as He urged in Matthew 11:29: “take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In Psalm 37: 9, 11, it clearly stated that “those who wait on the Lord”, “the meek shall inherit the earth and they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace”. Regardless of the present circumstances, as long as you wait on the Lord and follow Jesus, you are assured of your share and peaceful ownership of the earth at a future date.

How do I apply this requirement? Being truly meek is tough. Jesus said it is meekness in the heart, not outward show. Who sees the heart? Only God can see. Was I meek in heart today? To be honest, I do not think I was. I was in fact just the opposite when I read of positive comments about some of my blogs. (Repent!)

righteousness (being made right with god)

Was I hungry and thirsty today for righteousness? As I have mentioned earlier, I believe by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as my Savior and Lord, I have received His righteousness in my standing with God.

Today as I discussed with someone about the downright unfriendly (even to the point of being wicked) behavior and attitude of some non-believers, I felt indignant that they do not seek righteousness and are determined to oppose righteousness. How could anyone oppose such a wonderful gift? I thought. They probably considered me as a self-righteous person. How could I ever explain to them that the righteousness that we thirst for is that of Jesus, given by Jesus, not earned by anyone’s own effort? No-one can boast, indeed, not me. Come, be filled with all good things!

end of day review

I continued to provide company to my wife’s relatives: parents-in-law, two maids and an aunt, spending the whole morning in the hospital. I had to tolerate one and half hour driving in heavy traffic. The pluses came from my reading the Bible regardless the circumstances, being friendly and civil and thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with the aunt (in her mid-sixties but still fit and healthy), and the “worship” in the car listening to old worship and praise songs and saying amen to them. The minuses came from my grumbling and saying negative words or harboring negative thoughts against relatives who ill treated Christians. On the whole I scored rather badly as I was not meek or humble like Jesus was even when He was subjected to great humiliations and persecutions for being the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah! On the other hand, the roof leaked badly and water poured down into the master room. I was not mad at the contractor who tried to fix the spot recently. I did not ask for refund and even agreed to pay him again to do a better job this time. So it appeared I could learn to be meek after all.

AAA Jack

CHAPTER TWO: HOW ONE MAN’S JOURNEY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT BEGAN

CHAPTER TWO: HOW ONE MAN’S JOURNEY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT BEGAN
On the commencing Friday Jack woke early as he set his alarm clock to ring at 5am not realizing that he was supposed to pray only at 6am. He got up around 5.15am and thought he was late. He rushed downstairs to the sitting room which would henceforth be his prayer room. He was determined to perform his duty as committed despite the sleepiness due to attending a late night worship service the previous night.
However, he had the habit of pottering around in the kitchen a bit and by the time he emerged from the kitchen he found that it was 5.30am. So he thought he was half an hour late and rushed into prayer to make up for lost time. He read through the little booklet like a school boy doing his assignment. He could not sing any of the songs so he read some of the lyrics. He remembered that the pastor in charge told them to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not read the booklet mechanically. But he did not know how to follow the Spirit as no one had taught him how to apply this theory. He decided to leave the subject. However, the experience was interesting to him and he felt he was closer to God this way. The next morning he decided to do the same thing even though he was only required to pray once a week on the time slot allotted to him.
After Jack had carried on for a few days, he read one book called, “Living Biblically for a year” by a non-believer. He was amazed at how an agnostic Jew not believing in a supernatural God or the Creation, for the mere purpose of writing a book, went ahead and lived out some of the Biblical teachings or commandments (mainly Old Testament) literally. The man demonstrated how one could be legalistic without God, without Jesus, and without the Holy Spirit.
The man practiced religion, through performing legalistic rituals over prayers, attending Bible studies, dressing up in old Palestinian costume, diet, tithe/charity, Holy Land, circumcision, ten commandments, controlling the mouth, anger, even inner thoughts (honesty), not watching movies or pictures with sexy scenes etc. the man did experience some religious/spiritual euphoria while performing some Jewish dances, setting free a pigeon, helping an old lady (as fulfilling his charitable work).
One morning Jack woke up thinking that if an unbelieving man who for the sake of making a living, could devote a whole year to seek God, how could a Christian believer, who purported to know God, believe in Jesus, and have the Holy Spirit, not live Biblically? He spent the whole day thinking and planning. He made out a list that he resolved to carry out as a Christian believer.
He duly recorded the following list in his journal:
“I decided to start today:
1. Pray, seek God’s guidance.
2. Read the Bible for guidance, starting with the Book of Matthew.
3. Follow guidance, practice living Christian way.
4. I will make a list of what I read and pray over them, for the Holy Spirit to guide me living them.
5. I will record down my daily finding and experience.”
He further noted in his journal as a way to motivate himself of his new quest, “I believe that God has guided me in a process progressively, through learning the Gospel of Grace, Word of Faith, spiritual realm, watchman/intercessor, overcomers etc.” He summed up what he had been exposed to during the last five years. His exposure to the last three was very recent (about three-six months ago) through seminar and reading. Reading the above mentioned book was not a coincidence, he believed.
His first day’s experience was thus faithfully recorded as follows:
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
DAY ONE: A NOVICE START ON THE RED LETTERS: WORSHIP, WORD, GLORY
After reading a non-believer’s quest of living one year biblically (regardless of his motives), I got down to thinking hard about my own daily living. Am I really taking God seriously? Am I living according to my belief in the Bible being God’s words? Is my faith real? Is my God real?
I decided to start my own quest to live Biblically. Today is my first day of attempt.
I started by clarifying my goal and action plan. As an Evangelical Christian, I believe in the Bible being God’s words. In view of its size and complexity, I would start by being a Red-Letters practitioner. That is, I start by reading all those words spoken by Jesus Christ (marked in red in some Bibles) and try to follow what He said.
I shall read the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, two or three chapters daily, understand the meanings of what Jesus said, referring to the cross references if any, and pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as I read. Then I shall write down His intentions and actions required of me to practice what He said/commanded.
Today I read Matthew Chapters one-four (up to verse 11). I summarize below my understandings of what Jesus had spoken.
It is indeed no coincidence that the first sentence spoken by Jesus was relevant to what I purposed in my heart to do. Jesus said: “permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (That is, do the things that fulfill all righteousness at the right time.) I acknowledge that Jesus has already made me righteous and reconciled me to God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) So I am not trying to earn my righteousness by acting right! My motive of living Biblically is because I want to be real.
All the rest of today’s sayings from Jesus were spoken at the time when He was in the wilderness (having gone through forty days and forty nights of fasting).
The devil came to tempt Him as the devil was not sure of what Jesus could do. The devil thought it could tempt Jesus with the usual indulgences disguised behind seemingly genuine needs like food, safety, status, power and possessions. But Jesus was outside such a paradigm. Jesus spoke the following words, all quoted from the Bible (God’s words).
1. Matthew 4:4 “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Action for me: pay attention to God’s every word. (Be careful what I say too, as cautioned in the Book of Proverbs 18:21 “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”)
2. Matthew 4:7 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Action for me: really trust God and not negate my faith in God by my un-belief through action (which is an insult to God).
3. Matthew 4:10 “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve.”
Action for me: give God priority in terms of my resources (especially time to worship Him instead of pursuing other interests/ambitions).
4. Matthew 4:10 “Away with you, Satan!”
Action for me: do not be distracted by or waste time in friendly discussion with the devil. Just tell it to go away by the authority of Jesus!
The above sound simple but not easy to do or follow through. How am I going to start practicing them?
My plan:
1. Wake up early to worship God (learn to seek Him, appreciate His presence and give thanks).
2. Read God’s words daily, meditate and pray (be careful what I think and speak).
3. Focus on God’s glory (stop looking at the world’s or my vain glory) (more spiritual reality).
4. Rebuke the devil.
End of day review: I spent most of my prime time (morning) reading the Bible and talking to God about my new plan and praying for His help. I spent the rest of the day providing transport for my mother-in-law (and sister-in-law) to see an ophthalmologist and controlled my tongue and thought pretty well, with mostly positive words (I think). I ended the evening by giving my wife a relatively expensive dinner treat at her favorite restaurant (after she insisted) and my thoughts were neither positive nor negative. Well, after all it is only the first day.
AAA Jack
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CHAPTER ONE: PROLOGUE- IN THE BEGINNING

One man’s journey in the Holy Spirit
chapter one: prologue- in the beginning
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and The Word was God. (John 1:1)

Jack was a man who loved reading and could spend all his time submerged in the ocean of knowledge without knowing other desires. After all he had reached an age the conventional world called retirement and had time in his hand. He was new to this city and had kept a low profile, living like a hermit. Not because he was very religious, but because by nature he was a detached man and socializing was not his favorite word. Neither was any pastime that did not have any meaningful purpose able to draw him. To him, meaning could only be derived from the depth and breadth of knowledge. Socializing or engaging in anything superficially, however satisfying to the emotion, was meaningless. To him, the mind ruled. Anything not of the ration was to be viewed with suspicion and skepticism.

He performed his religious duty alright, including attending a church weekly and giving whatever small sum of money he could to charity. He read the Bible and duly treated other brethren with respect and kindness. He lived humbly with his wife and kept a mongrel dog as a guard dog. He liked to have trees around as a green shield that blocked off the dust and noise from neighbors and traffic that passed by. So he maintained a small garden with lush green trees lining its outer walls. The garden was modeled after an English courtyard for practical purpose so it would not demand much time and effort to up-keep.

Having no good library around, he relied a lot on buying seasonal discounted books in bulk so that his appetite might be satiated for a season. However, his all time favorite was the Bible. He collected not less than ten Bibles and had spent scores of years as far as he could remember reading the Bible daily without fail. He read books on religions, politics, philosophies, literature, economics and management (which happened to be his first occupation), health psychology (his second occupation), medicine (his wife’s occupation), classic children stories, classic detective stories, classic science fictions, lastly, poetry and fictions written by a few favorite writers.

However, this book was not about Jack. This book was based on what Jack had recorded in his journal when he was taken over completely by the Holy Spirit along a journey in the Holy Spirit.

Jack was in the habit of keeping a journal about ideas that interested him from the reading he made daily, mostly from the Bible. Sometimes he recorded some passages from other books too when he found them interesting to remember. Perhaps he was thinking of using them as quotations later. Sometimes around the middle of the second month of the ninth year after the second millennium, Jack started a new religious venture. He signed up as an intercessor for the churches of the city where he resided.

He happened to attend a worship service one Sunday morning and he was asked to sign up for a 7/24 weekly Friday-Saturday 6am-6am prayer chain. He only needed to choose one hour slot out of the 24 hours. He chose to pray at 6am-7am every Friday. It seemed easy enough as he was an early riser. He was given a little guide booklet to read and prayed the model prayers if he ran out of words of his own. So armed with the booklet and a little pamphlet of songs he felt ready to embark on this noble project on his own in the comfort of his home.

Of course, he was mistaken. That was how his amazing journey began.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

July 9, 2009

Let the weak say I am strong

Isaiah 35
Hope for Restoration
1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.
8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
fools will never walk there.
9 Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

What The Lord Has Done In Me

What The Lord Has Done In Me
VERSE 1:
C G C
Let the weak say, "I am strong."
F Am
Let the poor say, "I am rich."
G/B C G C
Let the blind say, "I can see;
Dm7 G C
It's what the Lord has done in me."
(repeat)

CHORUS:
Am G Am F C
Ho-sanna, hosanna to the Lamb that was slain.
Am G Am G/B C G C
Ho-sanna, hosanna, Jesus died and rose a-gain.


VERSE 2:
G C G C
In-to the river I will wade.
F Am
There my sins are washed a-way.
G/B C G C
From the heavens mercy streams
Dm7 G C
Of the Saviour's love for me.


VERSE 3:
C G C
I will rise from waters deep
F Am
Into the saving arms of God.
G/B C G C
I will sing salvation songs;
Dm7 G C
Jesus Christ has set me free.
©1998 Reuben Morgan / Hillsong Music Australia
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4H6Uv7BI7I&feature=related

day 123: one man’s journey in the Holy Spirit

Three months have passed with a lot of drastic changes in my life. Looking back, the journey was all about God the Holy Spirit. When I first started I never expected the shift moving of events and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I was full of my own ideas of doing some religious services on my own. However, as I went through them, day after day, I realized that they were not as simple as I initially thought. For example, the momentum would have slowed down and died off if I had to carry on depending on my own effort to live Biblically and interceding as a church member performing his religious duty.
Thank God it was not like that. The Holy Spirit began to emerge and take charge as I continued to seek Him. The Holy Spirit took charge of the time, the length of time, the contents, the forms (methods), and the outcome. The Holy Spirit was the teacher, the motivating factor, the initiator, the power supplier, the master. It was indeed an exciting journey.

Most of the events happened in the inside. Some manifested in the outside of my being. Signs and wonders. For example, prior to the transformation, I dreaded singing. During church worship most times I maintained my silence. Occasionally I sang when the songs were familiar and meaningful to me. In the past three months I developed a liking for singing and even sing songs in the Spirit and some are really nice to my ears.

Another area of dread was prayer (when I had nothing to pray for). I stopped joining a group of business men who met during lunch time to pray, many years ago, not because I could not spare the time, but because I did not quite believe that those prayers worked. Many years ago one brother in Christ made it a point to come to my office during lunch time to pray and we were enthusiastic for awhile. After sometime we reduced the frequency and finally we stopped the prayer session entirely. I had led cell groups for years and prayed the routine prayers week after week, month after month, until none of us felt them really helping much. Singing and prayers became part of the rituals we did as part of the religion.

When the Holy Spirit took over, I was revamped inside out. Songs and prayers could stretch from one hour to two and half hours! All by myself! Sleeping four hours and not feeling tired the next day was not rare. How did the Holy Spirit take over?

I believe it started when I started to take God seriously. My early morning worship time helped me to be focused on God and the more focused I was the more I could sense the reality of His presence. At first I used faith to believe whether I sensed anything or not. Then I learned to appreciate the songs I sang. Then I became bold enough to ask the Holy Spirit to choose songs for me and subsequently prayers for me. Lately I asked Him to show me verses to read. God helped me a lot in this progress. He let me see some pictures, some words, and hear some tunes in my mind/heart. As I received messages through all these mediums (words, pictures, dreams, songs) I grew bolder and more confident of receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit and answers from God.

Yes, it takes time and effort to seek God. However, it is worthwhile to give all to this quest. I never thought I could hear God’s voice before. But now I can even persuade others that they too can hear God’s voice. Believe me, it is wonderful.

Jesus has promised very clearly the following:

1. He will show Himself to those who love Him.

2. He will come and stay with those who love Him (those who keep Jesus’ commandments).

3. God will send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and about what Jesus has said.

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

AAA Jack

day 118: time to repair and rebuild the altar

Today I listened to a message about Elijah the Prophet. The passage (1 Kings 18:30-39) attached below is a narration on how he followed the Lord’s instructions and showed to the unbelieving people and their king that the Lord God is the only true God. As I have been worshipping God at home I am interested in a number of things that happened in this event.

Elijah followed the exact instructions of God.
He repaired and rebuilt the altar according to the exact requirement and specification of God.
Similarly he prepared the sacrifice accordingly.
He eliminated the possibility of unbelievers rationalizing that the fire could have been caused by the dry weather etc. He made sure that the whole place was practically soaked in water.
He offered the sacrifice at the time of offering of the evening sacrifice.
He testified to the people that he was praying to the true God, the Lord God.
The fire of the Lord came to the altar at the above time-at the right time and the right place only.
Today’s application:

None of the things I do in seeking to know God could originate from me and be acceptable. All that I do in relation to worship, singing praises, praying in understanding and in the spirit must be led by the Holy Spirit Himself. I have grown to be more and more aware of this important requirement. In 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, the Holy Spirit plainly stated through the Apostle Paul that the natural man (as contrasted with a spiritual man) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned, but he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself id rightly judged by no one. “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16)

The fire of the Holy Spirit falls on the altar and at the time of the sacrifice (prayer) as prescribed by the Lord. When I was in my natural state, I could not receive any revelation or any message at all. Only after I have worshipped for sometime I began to discern clearly what the Holy Spirit had led my spirit to see or read or sing. Once that happened I knew and could testify the presence of God.

I must admit that I still lean heavily to being a natural person instead of a spiritual person. That is why I could spend a lot of time doing religious activities in vain. (I cannot fool myself for long and when I realized that, I stopped the activities.) But God is a merciful God and He likes us to seek to get closer to Him to know Him better. That is why I am still on this quest of Biblical living, making baby steps.

AAA Jack

1-7-2009

1 Kings 18:30-39 (New King James Version)

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”[a] 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.


36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”


38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”