“The Mandate For The New Year”

 “The Mandate For The New Year”

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me?
Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” - Exodus 14:15 (KJV)

As we enter a new year, many people make commitments called "New Year resolutions" which more likely fail to uphold. Many love to look back at the past year for different reasons. Maybe is to recall struggles or accomplishments. Maybe is to look back to celebrate successes or gripe about failures. Many raise the hope on what the New Year may bring to their lives. They asked themselves whether in the New Year, their lives would be better or worst.

Today message, “The Mandate For The New Year” reflects on what is God’s mandate for His children and His Church. 

Let’s begin by taking a moment to look and reflect at the critical point in which the people of Israel found themselves in Exodus 14:5-15 (KJV).  

• It is in that instant that God orders the march forward into the waters of the Red Sea.
• In front of them the fear of the unknown and
• There was an opportunity to conquer it by means of the faith and action.

A message we can use for the New Year.

~ Let's see what we can get out of all this ~

 I. Tell the people “not to look back”.

1. Sometimes is good to look back at our past:

• To prevent committing the same mistakes.
• To continue with our successes.
• To expand our capacities

2. Cases in which we should not look back to our past:

• "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." –Luke 9:62 - The ones that continue the work of God with a distracted mind and with a divided heart can not reach the salvation.
• The expression "to look back", truly doesn't’t meant to return to the life we were living, but there is reluctance to disengage from it.  
• This manifest with reference to Lot’s wife – Sodom was about to be destroy by God. Angels came to get Lot, his wife and daughters out of the city. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Genesis 19:14-17,29 

3. In Israel situation –

• What advantage was there to look back at the Egyptians?
• What advantage was there to look at the desert surroundings?
• Get away quickly of everything that they could remember from slavery in Egypt.

4. In our situation –

• What are the advantages to look back to our past chained lives?
• To look back at our grudges, resentments, and weaknesses?
• What advantage there is to look at the desert of our lives? Past difficulties?

II.  “Why are you crying out to Me?”

1. Is it bad to claim our petitions to God?

• No, only when the attitude is correct we can claim on Him.
• Actually He wants us to ask Him - “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name”. – John 16:23
• If He is our Father, then to whom we should claim our petitions.

2. What was God’s reason –

•  Three principles:  

1. The cry of Israel – was not a prayer, it was a mere critic of Him and Moses – Exodus 14:11
2. They only remember God in times of desperate need and here they were facing the danger of falling into Egyptians hands.
3. Even if their cry may be justified, is a mere contemplative attitude of waiting for a miracle, which does not help anyone. There was one thing more urgent for this moment. (Often, our prayers are lamentations and our lives is all a bitter criticism).

The Psalmist asked himself in Psalm 42:9 – “Why must I go about mourning”.  Precisely, that was what the people of Israel were doing on that crucial moment – mourning! complaining! criticizing! 

Can we answer to these questions?

• Can you find any reason on why you regret often instead of rejoicing? 
• Who told you that the night never ends at daytime?

Apostle Paul advice us in Philippians 4:6 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God".

The author of Hebrews said – “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”. Hebrews 12:1

There are weights that are not sins in themselves, but they become stumbling blocks and obstacles in the progress of our Christian life. One of the worst is discouragement.

Let us not ever doubt God with His love and faithfulness for all of us and forever. It is very easy to fall into the habit of doubt, anguish, and ask whether God has forsaken us and if after all, our hopes will end in failure.

We must refuse to be unhappy – “Let’s us count all our joy” when we can not feel the emotion of happiness. All things work for good to those who love the Lord, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Each one of you have been call to His purpose, The Church – the Body of Christ to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ – The Good News.  We delight through the faith of the spirit and we consider the joy as a reality, and we will speak with certainty that God will make our consideration real.

The devil has mastered two traps for us.
Be aware! Don’t let yourselves be fool by one of these traps.

1. One is to discourage us - Then for a time, at least we are useless to others, and are defeated.
2. The other is to make us doubt – In order to break the faith which united us to our Heavenly Father.

Psalm 46:10 – "Be Still and know that I am God"

III. Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

1. People of Israel faced an urgent extreme moment – of life or death.  Behind them the Egyptians army was tailing them. On both sides, were the open desert plains – no place to hide.  They only can expect to die if they get caught by the Egyptians. Every passing moment, the threat increased No escape! Only in front of them was the deep Red Sea and behind them the ferocious Egyptian Army. (What would you do? How would you react?).  In front of them the Red Sea “Let’s conquer it” – Faith.
2. There is always a place to exercise the faith.  In front of us a New Year “Let’s conquer it”.  It is about trusting God’s Word and His power.  It is a mandate to march forward, to move, to do our part in the divine plan of the Lord.

What is Faith? - The Author of Hebrews said - "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" - Hebrews 11:1

Today, many Christians live an intermediate Christian life, because they have come to be occupied with exterior things, and to depend on their circumstances instead of depending on God.  They are capricious people!

God wants us to see Him in all things, and not to call anything small, if it is a carrier medium of his message. (Remember what He did with five loaves and three fish, to feed a crowd).

The Israelites did not believe in the Lord until they saw Him doing His works. Exodus 14:31 
How many of you doubt? Do you want to see the results of God’s works in your life, family, work, and including in the church before believing in His power?

The Israel's people lived a life of "back and forth", because of their kind of faith, was a faith that had depended on the circumstances. This is not the kind of faith that God wants us to have.
God’s mandate for Israel at that crucial moment was to move forward and don’t look back until they reach the other side of the Red Sea.  Just as the mandate He gave through His Angels to Lot and family to escape Sodom and don't look back until they reach safe ground. 

Make a mental effort to visualize what their eyes were witnessing when they saw the Red Sea being divided to make a clear a dry passage for them to escape the wrath of the Egyptians. Afterward, seeing the sea closed and drowning the Egyptian army.  (Probably, you have seem the movie "The Ten Commandments")

The Exodus and the Red Sea Crossing  (A video of proof researchers found of the crossing of the Red Sea)

God’s mandate for us is “to go forward” as we enter the New Year – 

Move forward to the unknown things to come in the New Year.  Leaving behind all the troubles, failures, doubts, the enemy who is chasing you to keep you trap no where to go but to move forward – Don’t look back saying – “If I only could have done …” “If I only could have ..."  NOT "Ifs" - Just move forward and put your trust in God! 
 
In Matthew 11:28 – "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. 
 
Finally, God’s New Year mandate for His church is also to move forward –
 
In Mat 28:19 –“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age.”
 
- As Christians, this is our "Mandate for the New Year" - Go and make disciples of all nations!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous New Year

May God Bless You

Your Brother in Christ

Moises Miranda

Follow my tweets at twitter.com/prayerlighthous

The Importance of Prayer

"The Importance of Prayer"  
Reference Scriptures: Ephesians 6:18

In Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18, are words that express a surprising and overwhelming force to the pressing importance of prayer:
- “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”.
When we stop to consider the meaning of these words and notice the context, we are driven to exclaim; “I should pray, pray, and pray! I should pray with all my energy and all my heart, be of more, I should pray!"

 Let’s notice every “all”
1. “all our prayer”
2. “all the time”
3. “all supplication in the Spirit”
4. “all perseverance”
5. “all saints” (In essence, the bible refers to saints (Holy ones) those who belong to the universal body of Christ as His Saints).

 Also note the strong agglomeration of words:
1. “prayer”
2. “supplication”
3. “perseverance”
In addition lets note the significance expression; “being watchful” or "be vigilant" (alert).

Apostle Paul understood the natural laziness of man, and especially for prayer – Alert in prayer. How seldom we pray for things until obtaining them! How often the church and the individual approach the point where they can receive a blessing in prayer, and then suddenly loose, fall asleep, stop praying!
It is my wish that these words, “being watchful in all prayer” – Could penetrate to the most intimate part of our hearts.

A constant, persistence, vigilant, and victorious prayer is necessary. Why?

1. Because there is a cunning adversary, powerful and tireless, always scheming to make the fall of the son of God, and if this cease in prayer, will fall into the trap of the adversary. “Like a roaring lion.”

2. The second reason for a constant, persistent, vigilant, and victorious prayer, is the prayer, is a divinely way appointed to us to obtain our needs, and the great cause of experiencing deficiency in our lives and our labor is the neglect in prayer . In James 4:2 – “You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”

Why do I grow slowly in the Christian life? Many asked!

Negligence in prayer - God answer – “because you have not asked”

I often pray or pray everyday – Some of you may say – but still don’t get what you ask?

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. –James 4:3

3. There is a more powerful reason in favor of this victorious, vigilant, persistent, and constant prayer: The prayer occupied a very prominent place and was very important in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ while He was in this world.   One example – see Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

No other system, philosophy, or religious doctrine, raise man to this supreme idea of filial relationship with God and as a Father who loves, guides, and protects His creation until the revelation of Jesus Christ Throughout the Old Testament we are taught that God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Governor of the universe, the Almighty - Omniscient and Omnipresent. From here and there we see signs of His love and mercy.

However, is Jesus Christ the ultimate and the last revelation of God who teaches us to pray not only addressing Him as the Creator - Sovereign - but lifts us into a filial relationship with Him, teaching us that He is our father. Here is a new idea and transcendent the fatherhood of God related to man. This goes beyond the conception of the relationship between creature and creator. We read in John 1:12 (NIV) – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’,” Able to invoke God as the Father gives another meaning to life and considerably enhances the label of Christian. Being a Christian means more than bestowing that name. More than a certain cult profess or practice any particular religion.

Being a Christian means, to pray, with certainty to tell the truth: “Our Father who art in heaven.” It means even more: To feel and live in this intimate filial relationship. In Romans 8:16 we read – “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children”. It actually allows dismissing all doubt and uncertainty about the future. Produce the ineffable joy that our soul feels a softer contact with the Father.

Now that we are clear to whom our prayers are directed, Apostle Paul indicates us that for our prayer to be effective we must put the full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). Here, Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (v10).

Basically, putting on the armor of God, consists of turning our thoughts to God (Our Heavenly Father) and the truths of our position before Him: He has given us His truth and we are the righteousness of Christ. If we jump into prayer without first turning our thoughts to these truths, we become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks Whenever we turn to God in prayer, Satan becomes alerted to do anything possible to keep us from praying.
Therefore, we must be watchful as Apostle Paul states.

When our thoughts wander off from the purpose of our prayer, Satan begins to attack us by poisoning our minds with doubts, making us feel whether our prayers will be heard and answer, thus making us hurry through the prayer to finish or get distracted by others things. In Matthew 26:41- Jesus said to His sleepy,  distracted disciples– “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. 
For a prayer to be effective, it must be done in the Spirit – verse 18- “And pray in the Spirit”.  Jesus told that Samaritan woman in John 4:24 – “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth”.  Just as Ephesians 6:18 – Here Jesus is saying that worship is done in spirit and truth. 

An effective prayer is the result of being watchful and alert while praying. Have any of you fallen asleep in prayer? Some of you have done so. Note that we are to stay on the alert "for all the saints”. We are to be guarding others. We have a joint responsibility as the body of Christ to guard each other; Paul made it very clear in his letter to the Ephesians.

A prayer also requires perseverance. Paul says, -"Be on the alert with all perseverance”. In Hebrews 12:1 – Apostle Paul said – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.  In Romans 12:12 he said – “rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer”.

Many asked, how does God work through prayer?  We may never understand or know the answer. However, it is fundamentally no different from the way God works through any of our actions. God works through prayer in the same exact way. Our Father in Heaven waits the prayers / petitions of His children. All effective prayers must include the Trinity of God - (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) We pray with the Holy Spirit, and we need to abide in Jesus (our mediator) and in the Word for our prayer to be effective. 

In John 15:7- Jesus said – “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”.

KEY WORDS “IF YOU” Are you abiding in Jesus and in God's Words? “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit”-

Jesus encourage us to pray- See Mathew 7:7-8 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be openned to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened".

Would you pray now?

May God Bless You!

Praying with Thanksgiving - Is a Power Prayer

 Praying with Thanksgiving

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” –Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
In the lesson on prayer that the Apostle Paul gives us in Philippians 4:6, there are two words that we often neglected in our prayers; these two words are: “with thanksgiving”

As we approach God to ask for new blessings, we must never forget to give thanks for blessings already received. We must be as defined in thanksgiving as we are in prayer. We approach God with specific requests. However, when we thank Him, we must do it in a general and indefinitely way.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons why many of our prayers have no power because we have not given thanks for blessings already received.

When Jesus healed the ten lepers (Luke 17:14) and only one returned to express his gratitude (Luke 17:15-16), shocked and saddened, Jesus asked him (Luke 17:17) - "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

The thanksgiving for the blessings received already, enlarges our faith, and gives us the capacity to get closer to God with new courage and new hope. Men of the Bible, mighty in prayer and the history of the church have been men enshrined in thanksgiving and praise.

David was a godly man mighty in prayer, abounded with his psalms of thanksgiving and praise! The following verse by Apostle Paul in Romans 12:12 remind us to – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”.

The apostles were powerful men in the prayer, and of them we read, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”- (Acts 2:46-47)

Apostle Paul was a mighty man of prayer and often in his letters he exclaims definitively the importance of always giving thanks in prayers. In Colossians 1:3 – “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you”, in Colossians 4:2 – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful”. Jesus at the last supper – Mat 26:27 – “Then He took the cup and gave thanks…”

Question for you: Are you devoted to prayer? Are you being and THANKFUL every time?
Given thanks for what you have is not reserve only for Thanksgiving Day.
In 1 Th. 5:18- says, “Give thanks in all circumstances”

Psalm 95:2 – "Let us come before Him with thanksgiving". 

THY KINGDOM COME