A Sharp Warning 当头棒喝

Ps Wong CM – 22 Jun 2008, 0930

We only know about prayer when we pray. When we begin to pray, we will find out that we know little about prayers and other things. On why pray when God already knows, Oswald Chambers wrote that it is for us to know Him for who He is. God's invitation to prayers is not due to our needs or requests but in the end we might come into knowledge of God. Prayer is the overflow of our relationship with God.

Any invitation to prayers is to do with God dealing with our hearts. Our flesh does not welcome prayer. It's easy to server, to run around and do things for God. But when it comes to prayer, every part of the body starts to revolt and recoil. As a Christian, this is a battle we fight throughout our whole lives. We often struggle because we do not understand the issue of the prayer which deals with the heart. To pray is to die, to pray is to work. That's why prayer is so difficult.

The whole core and journey of prayer is a revelation of the true state of the heart, it is to come into a confrontation of the real situation of our heart.

No man ever came to prayer ever boast about his prayer life. He will not take glory of it. The more he prays, the more crushing / humbling the experience he gets. Prayer is like breathing. We don't have to teach people to pray / breath. When we need to teach people to pray, it is already a sign of decay / death. Prayer is an indication of our spiritual health. We are not conscious of our health. We only become conscious when we get sick. It is only then when we begin to appreciate health and cannot wait to become healthy again.

Now that we have 'flu', we desperately want to be well again. We go see doctors and try remedies. Anything we do in our natural lives, we do it in our spiritual lives too. We eventually find the right food, right way to cure the flu and we begin a crusade to tell others how to get well from flu. We latch on to this particular experience and it became everything. It was a genuine experience but God did not meant for it to be like that. It became a distraction. But we don't have to even get flu in the beginning. If we have been following the rules (resting enough, getting enough water, etc.) we do not even have to get sick.

In our time of spiritual sickness and weakness, we begin to seek remedies. We start to pray and get the influx of joy, things begin to move and we become ok. That's not healthy. Will we let the state of wellbeing continue? Will we hold the mode of prayer? Prayer is demanding. The normal has become abnormal. Why do spend so much time in abnormalcy trying to discover the normalcy when it should be normal in normalcy? The 'juice' that worked is not the reason for health. This has become trap for many.

In the first place, we should not have become abnormal. We should be praying to such a point that we do not realize we are praying. Why is prayer a focus? It is because we have not been praying. Things are not in their right places. The 'juice' or emphasis of prayers will not last. We will be back to our own state (with the lack of prayer) and wait for another crisis to arise before we emphasize prayers again.

We need to read the Psalms, which is the overflow of a life of normalcy. They are the cry of the people to YHWH. It's the whole spectrum of man's normal relationship with God. It is the expression of a nation to God. We need to draw the heritage from the Psalms. More than half of the Psalms are written by a man who understands the dynamics of relationship with God; this is King David, a man after God's own heart. When a man is after God's heart, the peace of God is shared with that man. Something of God's nature is imparted into him; something in this man has come into the communion with God. He understood the state of normalcy.

Every time when we are discouraged or hurt we go to Psalms because Psalms came from a relationship with God where prayer is normal. Sometimes we miss the boat because we miss the centrality of the matter. We are sidetracked.

We meet people who swear by their own brand of 'juice.' It's a book, a person or a particular experience. Intercessors should not be diagnosed with this kind of abnormalcy. It can be spiritual clairvoyance where he or she is more sensitive to certain things. He / she the spiritual thermometer (e.g. the ear turns red when something is wrong.) In our shallowness, we give in to such things. We want to put the sanity back into our lives.

If we talk about prayer life, it is as though it is not normal. Just like the sunshine and the wind, we appreciate them but we are not paying attention to them as thought they are not normal.

Abnormalcy can show in the way of the way we read the Bible, in the way we divide doctrine and church governance. That's why we are not on the living edge. We are not fully functional.

(Psa 19:14) Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

This is the proof of a man living in the normalcy. Our prayer cannot be greater that our heart. Everything our mouths declare must first be agreed by our hearts. What we say must be the same of who we are. The prayer and the life must be the same. If our prayers are greater that our lives we are lying or being forced. We are impressed by the prayers of others. The English, the length and the voice impress us. The Bible doesn't mention prayer warriors or prayer giants. The Bible only mentions people who pray because it is normal.

That is why the Jews still read the Psalms even though they don't have a Messiah.

Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God exercising his high priesthood to intercede for us. Melchizedek liveth and interceded.

Christian marriages failed. An entire generation of kids in British doesn't want to live it. During a Teen Challenge meeting, children are devastated because they didn't see their parents and churches living the way they should.

We can only pray the prayers if we are living the lives in the normalcy.

There was crisis in David's life but he came back quickly. (Ps 51)

There is a stream or a river being opened. Until this is attended to, the Lord will hold back.

Isa 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (2) Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (4) And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

Who told Isaiah his lips were unclean? It was a prayer overflowing from a life of normalcy.

Realizing what is keeping us from prayer is not enough. It is not an indication of normalcy.

Jesus is abiding in this ministry of intercession. This is the mandate for the head of the church. How much more is it for the members of the body?

Prayer is not earth to heaven, it is heaven to earth. We are not born knowing how to pray. All our prayers are predicated on the premise of needs. Jesus' prayer in John 17 is about union. Until the union is in place, our prayer and our lives are abnormal.

Ps Wong Chew Mun, 22 Jun 2008, 1126

Joh 6:41-66 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."
(42) They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" (43) Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.
(44)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
(45)
It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--
(46)
not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
(47)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
(48)
I am the bread of life.
(49)
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
(50)
This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
(51)
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Joh 6:52-60 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (53) So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
(54)
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
(55)
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
(56)
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
(57)
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
(58)
This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
(59) Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. (60) When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" Joh 6:61-66 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?
(62)
Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
(63)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
(64)
But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) (65) And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
(66) After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. Joh 6:67-71 So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"
(68) Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, (69) and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (70) Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil."
(71) He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

The seven miracles recorded in John point to a greater message than the miracles themselves.

By the time it was all through, Jesus went into the boat at the other side of the lake.

The people asked Jesus about his miracles (v30) but Jesus didn't answer them directly knowing they were more concerned in filling their stomach. God is not committed to answer all our answers. This is the issue of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our life in our journey with Him.

"Who can listen to this" indicated the people were offended and uncomfortable. Many left. Jesus turned to the chosen twelve and asked them directly whether they wanted to leave. Reality confronted man at this point of time.

What was Jesus after? Jesus performed a miracle that was breathtaking, unprecedented and unparalleled.

There is a crisis in the Church today.

Sacramental = has intrinsic nature in our Christian life, something we require in our lives but we lack it or don't even possess it. To be sacramental mean the actual and real presence of God coming through in our everyday life. Even the material things become spiritual. Dichotomy is a problem in the lives of Christians. We departmentalize our lives. God is real when we come to church to worship Him on Sundays. But when we go back to our families or work places, God is not there. That is not sacramental. The life of a man and woman in God is to be a sacramental life. We must understand that as life and death hangs in the balance.

This explained the reason the people who just witnessed the miracle of feeding the thousands still did not get the message. This is the old ego and the centrality of man. They followed Jesus because they wanted something for themselves. Gradually and surely, Jesus turned to the crux of the matter.

The people even wanted to make Jesus a king after the miracle. Jesus knew what was in man and he didn't trust man. This is the same old trick that is being used today. Feed the bellies of a nation and you will be made a king. This is happening in Zimbabwe. When Jesus came to confront the matter, many are offended.

The entire Judaism teachings did not prepare the Jews for the teachings. They were given the Torah, the Talmuds, the Laws and the Psalms. But they were shocked. They found it barbaric for Jesus to suggest them to eat his flesh and drink his blood. It provoked moral convictions. The message wasn't neutral or mere informational. It did not just arouse intellectual engagements. It provoked anger even to the point of offending people.

The people received well the Sermon on the Mount (including the Beatitudes) but they were offended by this new teaching about eating his flesh and drink his blood. They turned around and refused to have anything to do with Jesus.

We have seen many miracles and enjoyed many blessings. Would we respond just like these people?

When we read this story after thousands of years we may be detached. We need the Holy Spirit to help us get connected.

While Jesus was dividing the bread and the fish He knew what He was doing.

The two (2) basic elements of life include eating and drinking. Take them out we cannot live. A machine can keep up alive without food and drinking but we are no longer in control and we are actually dead.

Jesus was not being literal. He didn't ask the people to kill one another and become cannibals. He was talking to Jews which was difficult. Israel has a history of God dwelling among them. The Jews had no problem with the idea that God living among them. They believe Jerusalem will one day become the capital city of their nation. Jesus came and took things one step further and this was where it hurt.

Christians today have no problem with Sunday morning religion. We dress up nicely and go to church and praise and worship. We are professional enough to tell whether a preacher is good or not.

Jesus came not only to dwell among the people but he wanted to manifest His presences in their everyday life including eating and drinking. Jesus wanted to be in our sacramental life. Jesus wanted to be in every area of our lives.

The church languishes in carnality for decades. The church members warm the church seats with their lives are not changed. This is a Christianity that is convenience to our own wish and desire. It is convenience and not obedience. We serve / pray / give according to our convenience. What if the reality of Christ goes into every area of our lives including our eating, drinking, pockets and our idiosyncrasies; it hurts.

When our prayer is greater than our lives, it promotes deceptions. Our prayer can only be in tandem from our lives. Our prayer comes out from our lives.

Paul confessed that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles. The entire superstructure of the universal church depends on this foundation. And yet, Jesus had no qualms asking them if the disciples were going to leave.

The Jews understood well human sacrifice. King Manasseh and his kingdom were judged for it.

The words from Jesus are life and spirit. The people didn't have the spirit yet. They didn't bother to wait and left. The spirit would come on Pentecost.

It tells us why our Christian youths are failing, Christian marriages are failing and our morality is failing. The God that we want is not the God that we want. We want a God in our image.

Jesus gave us a higher moral standard. No one is saved just by not taking another man's wife. Many people do not take another person's wife. But they think and have sexual fantasies. Many people do not steal. But we think and we are greedy. That hurts. Jesus says we are to eat his flesh and to drink his blood. He wants to be in our common lives, from habits to eating and drinking, from buying to selling. He said until we do that he knows us not.

The reason we cannot preach or share a message that is radical is because we do not know the Jesus that is radical. The Word is humanized. We know exactly where to put God. It's like floral arrangement. It's like the basic orders of life. That's how we are safe. There are Christians who are saved but not safe to live with. This is what perpetuated the departure of the thousands.

It was not accidental that Jesus chose the bread and the wine to represent his death. He told his closest disciples that when they eat the bread and drink the wine, they remember Him.

We have lost that. We come to church to gobble down a small piece of bread and a small cup of grape juice. The significance if lost to us.

It's surprising that Christians called themselves Christians for decades when the attitudes are not changed. They sit in their same seats for decades and yet their lives are not changed.

An estimated 850000 men and women died in died in the ethnic clash in Luanda in 1994. A mission worker went there for 6 months to help the rebuilding. She almost lost her faith and sanity. It took less than 4 months to have so many people killed. Time magazine said there were no more demons in hell because they went to Luanda. People who sought refuge in the churches were betrayed and turned over to the enemies. The Belgian missionaries pioneered mission works there. The churches were part of the massacre. They have a religion that didn't came across and a faith that is not apostolic.

We are stretching pastors beyond their capacity. Jesus didn't save us so He could give us what we want, to give us a comfortable live. He didn't come to give us bigger houses and more money. He came so he could turn our lives inside out and to be conform to the will of God.

There will be a Lordship of authority.