|
DOES
GOD ANSWER PRAYERS
WE
CAN COME TO GOD
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
AND EXPECT TO
RECEIVE AN ANSWER!
God's
Word says,
"Call unto Me,
and I will answer
thee, and shew thee
great and mighty
things, which thou
knowest not".
(Jeremiah 33:3)
BUT
IF WE WANT AN ANSWER
FROM GOD WE
MUST CALL UPON HIM!
Jesus
said, "If ye
then, being evil,
know how to give
good gifts unto your
children: how much
more shall your
heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to
them that ask
Him"? (Luke
11:13)
"Come
unto Me all ye that
labour and are heavy
laden, and I will
give you rest."
(Matt. 11:28)
"And
him that cometh unto
Me, I shall in no
wise cast out."
(John 6:37)
"Ask
and it shall be
given you, seek and
ye shall find. Knock
and it shall be
opened unto you. For
everyone that asketh
receiveth, he that
seeketh findeth and
to him that knocketh
it shall be
opened." (Matt.
7:7-8)
"Behold
I stand at the door
and knock. If any
man hear My voice
and open the door, I
will come into him
and will sup with
him and he with
Me." (Rev.
3:20)
"Call
unto Me, and I will
answer thee, and
show thee great and
mighty things which
thou knowest
not." (Jer.
33:3)
"I
will never leave
thee nor forsake
thee." (Heb.
13:5)
--JESUS
CHRIST
GOD'S
GUARANTEE TO ANSWER
PRAYERS
The
Bible is the
authoritative,
divinely inspired
and perfect WORD OF
GOD! God's
signature is on the
original autographs,
written by holy men
as they were
inspired by the Holy
Spirit.
St.
Peter emphasized,
"Knowing this
first, that no
prophecy of the
scripture is of any
private
interpretation.
"For
the prophecy came
not in old time by
the will of man; but
holy men of God
spake as they were
moved by the Holy
Ghost." (2
Peter 1:20-21)
Martin
Luther had not seen
a Bible until he was
more than 20 years
old and his
colleague Dr.
Carlstadt had
received his
doctorate in
theology from a
prestigious Roman
Catholic Seminary
without ever reading
the Bible!
For
hundreds of years
the Roman Catholic
Church refused
Christian laymen the
right to read and
study the Holy
Scriptures. They
claimed that it was
too deep. “Only an
educated priest or
theologian could
understand God's
Word”, they
pontificated! This
of course, was a
trick of the devil!
Satan
knows how powerful
God's Word is and so
was using this
deceptive tactic to
keep people in
bondage. Jesus said,
"Ye shall know
the truth and the
truth shall make you
free". (John
8:32)
No
wonder Martin Luther
stated, “The
papacy is a general
chase (hunting
expedition) in which
the Bishop of Rome
is seeking to
capture and bring to
hell as many
unsuspecting people
as he can”.
SADLY,
ROMAN CATHOLIC
THEOLOGIANS PUT
THEIR OWN PRIVATE
INTERPRETATION ON
GOD'S WORD, AS DO
THE MORMONS, JEHOVAH
WITNESSES AND OTHER
CULTS TODAY!
But
St. Peter said,
"No prophecy of
the scripture is of
any private
interpretation..."
What did he mean?
Simply
this: God interprets
the Scripture,
Himself.
The
message He wants you
to receive is not
what a certain sect
or denomination
reads into the
scripture, but what
He (God) is
communicating!
How
does He interpret
the scriptures? By
using other
scriptures which the
Holy Spirit has
anointed!
Scripture interprets
scripture and God
does not contradict
His Word. When taken
in context, you will
find that there are
NO contradictions in
The Holy Bible!
The
Holy Spirit and the
Word of God agree
totally, for the
Holy Spirit anointed
holy men to write
the scripture, and
God has no mental
block or speech
impediment!
HE
SAID WHAT HE MEANT
AND MEANT WHAT HE
SAID. AND HE HONOURS
HIS WORD TODAY WITH
ALL POWER AND
AUTHORITY!
Jesus
Christ Himself is
the Living Word of
God while the Holy
canon of scripture,
the Bible, is the
written Word of God.
Therefore, if you
will believe the
Word of God and
appropriate it for
yourself, Jesus
Christ will come out
of the pages of this
holy book and come
into your heart.
This offer from
Christ is open to
every person in the
entire world,
regardless of age,
race or color.
This offer is
worldwide and has no
strings attached.
St.
Paul said, "For
what if some did not
believe? shall their
unbelief make the
faith of God without
effect? God forbid:
yea, let God be
true, but every man
a liar..."
(Rom. 3:3-4)
There
are more than 33,000
promises of
blessings in the
Bible and they all
have to do with
God's dealings with
mankind! His
promises are not for
angelic beings, but
for lost, sinful,
sick and fallen
man. His
promises are for you
and me!
1)
CHRIST’S
INVITATION IS
GENUINE!
Jesus
invited, "Come
unto Me, all ye that
labour and are heavy
laden, and I will
give you rest".
(Matt. 11:28)
The
most beautiful word
in any language is
'Come'. This is a
word of invitation
and when Jesus
calls, we must
always be ready to
answer His call!
He
said, "Come
unto Me". He is
the only one with
solutions to our
problems and answers
to our questions!
While
on a visit to the
USA several years
ago, the then Soviet
Union's communist
president Mikhail
Gorbachev stated,
"Only Jesus
Christ had the
solutions to every
problem. I don't
possess that
skill".
When
asked by US
reporters, the
reason for glasnost,
perestroika and the
new freedom of
religion which was
happening in his
country, Gorbachev
replied: "JESUS
CHRIST"!
As
startled reporters
asked him to repeat
his answer, he
stated without
hesitation:
"JESUS
CHRIST". Then,
as if realizing what
he had just said,
Gorbachev quickly
changed the subject.
Christ's
invitation is to
"all who labour
and are heavy
laden", and
that takes us all
in. Gorbachev was
right: Only Jesus
Christ has the
solution to every
problem!
HE
PROMISES REST AND
PEACE TO ALL THE
WORLD, TO ANYONE WHO
RESPONDS TO HIS
INVITATION! AND WE
ALL NEED A NEW
MEETING WITH JESUS!
NO ONE IN THIS WORLD
IS EXEMPT FROM THE
CARES, BURDENS,
FRUSTRATIONS,
TEMPTATIONS,
PRESSURES,
SICKNESSES AND OTHER
PITFALLS OF SATAN,
THE WORLD AND THE
FLESH! PRAYER CAN
CHANGE ALL THIS.
Testing,
temptations and
trials come to us
all in various forms
and fashions. The
inability to pay our
debts - due to
unemployment,
unreasonable
taxation or sickness
- is one of the
biggest stress
producers in this
generation!
Our
faith is sorely
tried as we deal
with things like
family break-up
among children,
grandchildren,
relatives and
friends. But Christ
Jesus has promised
us total victory, a
release from tension
and an abiding peace
as we look to Him
alone and keep our
trust in His Word.
Hear
His Word again: “Come
unto Me, all ye that
labour and are heavy
laden, and I will
give you rest”.
(Matt. 11:28)
Notice
- He didn't say Come
to a certain
religious body or
embrace a certain
philosophy, ideology
or theology...but He
said, "Come
unto Me", and
every person in this
world is included in
this offer.
Jesus
didn't mention His
mother Mary or His
inner circle
disciples Peter,
James or John or His
half-brother James
who became the first
authority as Pastor
of the world's first
Pentecostal Church
(the church was born
on the day of
Pentecost and
exhibited
supernatural signs
and wonders) in
Jerusalem!
He
didn't say come to
the high priest or
rabbi or pastor,
evangelist, apostle
or prophet! He said,
"Come unto
Me"!
THERE
IS NOT A SINGLE
ACCOUNT OF JESUS
CHRIST EVER TURNING
ANYONE AWAY. HE MET
THE NEEDS OF EVERY
PERSON WHO ASKED HIM
FOR HELP!
And
that is reassuring
to know...especially
when you are in need
of a miracle healing
or are in danger and
must have an answer
to your prayer.
MY
OWN TESTIMONY
I
can verify that God
is a "God at
hand and not a God
afar off". (Jer.
23:23) I can confirm
that God answers
prayer!
In
1984, my team and I
were conducting a
crusade in Northern
India, when a
staggering miracle
occurred. I
had planned to have
a very large crusade
in the South, where
nearly all visiting
evangelists go.
Previously
I had been in the
South and Central
parts of India, but
had not ventured
into the North where
the zealous, devout
and often fanatical
Brahmin Hindus have
almost total
power. In
fact, for the
previous twenty
years, the number of
Christians had
declined there each
year!
Thousands
of pastors were
ready to embrace our
ministry in the
South, and we were
expecting 100,000
persons on the
opening night, with
prospects of larger
crowds as the
crusade
progressed.
And I was excited
about going!
Then
God changed my plans
and I was challenged
to go to North
India, to a very
intellectual city of
Brahmin Hindus and
Moslems.
The
Hindus had just
completed a ten day
revival, in
preparation for our
coming...in order to
rejuvenate the
people in their
beliefs. And warn
them of the gospel!
On
the first night of
our crusade, 1/4
million Moslems were
in the streets in a
gigantic parade, to
start 21 days of
fasting in a
celebration called
Ramadan!
We
started with 3,000
people on the
opening night,
backed by two
Methodist churches
and about 120
zealous young
people, from across
Asia, working with a
group called
"Christ is the
Answer".
My
message was
entitled,
"Jesus Christ
the same Yesterday,
Today and
Forever"! I
declared the gospel
of Christ according
to St. Peter:
"Neither is
there salvation in
any other: for there
is none other name
under heaven given
among men, whereby
we must be
saved". (Acts
4:12)
Without
fear of
contradiction I
presented the claims
of Christ where He
stated: "I am
the Way, the Truth,
and the Life: no man
cometh unto the
Father, but by
Me". (John
14:6) "I am the
door: by Me if any
man enter in, he
shall be saved, and
shall go in and out,
and find pasture.
The thief cometh
not, but for to
steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am
come that they might
have life, and that
they might have it
more
abundantly."
(John 10:9-10)
I
quoted St. Paul:
"For this is
good and acceptable
in the sight of God
our Saviour: Who
will have all men to
be saved, and to
come unto the
knowledge of the
truth. For there is
one God, and one
mediator between God
and men, the man
Christ Jesus; Who
gave Himself a
ransom for all, to
be testified in due
time." (1 Tim.
2:3-6)
I
DECLARED THAT HE WAS
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN
SON OF GOD - BORN OF
A VIRGIN - HIS
SINLESS LIFE,
MIRACLE MINISTRY,
VICTORIOUS DEATH AND
GLORIOUS
RESURRECTION!
Less
than 100 came
forward for
salvation in the
first service, but
God performed
several miracles of
healing in answer to
my prayer!
The
next evening there
were 6,000 in
attendance. Again I
shared the Word of
God. I chose for my
text Acts 17:18-32
where St. Paul
preached his famous
Mars Hill message,
"The Unknown
God".
I
said, "I
entered your city
last evening and
beheld your temples
and places of
worship - I saw your
images, idols and
gods! Idols that are
made of wood, stone,
plaster of paris and
plastic; gods that
have eyes that see
not, ears that hear
not, mouths that
cannot speak, hands
that have never
helped anyone and
feet that are
stationary"!
I
continued,
"They are dead
and lifeless, and so
ignorant that if I
were to slap their
faces, they wouldn't
have enough sense to
move out of the way
or say ouch".
Then
I presented Jesus
Christ, the only
true Saviour of the
world and the Son of
the Living God.
At
precisely 9:00 PM as
I was making the
altar call, suddenly
loud speakers began
blaring out an
opposing message -
in the Hindi
language - in the
very same venue
which we were using!
HINDU
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
HAD CALLED A MEETING
AND DECIDED TO
CONDUCT ANOTHER 10
DAY REVIVAL OF THEIR
OWN, IN THE SAME
PARK WE HAD
PERMISSION TO USE.
THEY
HAD ALREADY ALERTED
THE POLICE THAT
THERE WOULD BE A
RIOT ON THE CRUSADE
GROUNDS. AND 50
FANATICS WITH STONES
& STICKS WERE ON
THEIR WAY TO START
AN UPROAR, STOP THE
CRUSADE AND KILL ME,
IF NECESSARY!
On
those same grounds,
two years
previously, the
Moslems had started
a riot in a
Christian crusade,
in order to stop the
meetings. Moslem
fanatics had
overturned a bus
with 17 men, women
and children, poured
gasoline on it,
setting it ablaze
and killing them
all! Of
course, everyone
fled and the crusade
was history!
More
than thirty years
earlier, a
well-known American
evangelist was
conducting a
successful crusade
in North India.
Fanatics began a
riot and he had to
leave.
The
Indian government
then declared him
non-grata-persona.
effectively barring
him from the country
since his crusades
were dangerous and
prone to violence
and riots. In
this manner the
bigots had stopped
one of the world's
greatest soul
winners from
preaching in that
nation for more than
3 decades!
NOW
THEY WERE PLANNING
TO DO THIS TO ME,
BUT GOD INTERVENED!
Just
as the fanatics were
entering the
grounds, I was
making the altar
call. More than 500
people were so
gripped by the
message and by the
Holy Spirit, that
they rushed forward
to accept Christ.
Then
as I prayed a
powerful prayer,
rebuking the devil
and calling upon God
- in Jesus' Name -
for miracles among
the people, a 6 year
old boy who was lame
in one leg from
birth was instantly
healed!
His
parents who were
Brahmin Hindus
rushed forward to
testify, along with
their healed
son. Upon
hearing the
commotion and the
testimony, the
fanatics asked,
"Who is that
man? Is he a
prophet?"
Those around them in
the crowd said,
"Yes, he is a
prophet from
Canada".
THEY
THEN DROPPED THEIR
STONES AND STICKS
SAYING, "WE'LL
GIVE HIM ANOTHER
DAY", AND
PULLED DOWN THEIR
LOUD SPEAKERS.
The
next evening the
crowd grew to 10,000
and I preached on
"God's Love and
the Blood of
Jesus"!
The fanatics who had
previously wanted to
hurt me, now wanted
to kiss my feet...
And the revival
continued with the
crowd growing to
approximately 40,000
persons.
And
according to the
last reports we have
had, the Christian
community was not
only strengthened
but also is growing!
Thousands enrolled
in the New Converts
Class, by mail. And
hundreds took
special courses for
Christian Ministry!
To God be the glory!
At
the time of this
writing (December,
1992), we have just
heard the sad news
that another well
known American
evangelist has very
recently been banned
from India for the
same reason. Hindu
fanatics took over
his crusade
declaring that he
was fabricating
lying testimonies of
people who claimed
to be healed!
WE
CAN COME TO GOD
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
AND EXPECT TO
RECEIVE AN ANSWER!
God's
Word says,
"Call unto Me,
and I will answer
thee, and shew thee
great and mighty
things, which thou
knowest not".
(Jeremiah 33:3)
All
of us have times of
difficulty and
trouble, and God is
more willing to give
than we are to
ask. In fact,
Jesus said,
"Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in
My name: ask, and ye
shall receive, that
your joy may be
full". (John
16:24)
THE
INVITATION IS TO
"COME UNTO
HIM" AND
"CALL UPON HIS
NAME"!
We
are invited to call
upon Him in the day
of trouble and He
will deliver us and
show us His mighty
arm outstretched, in
signs, wonders and
miracles!
All
we must do is
call, and He will
answer! It is
humbling for us to
acknowledge our
weakness and need
for help. It is
humbling for us to
request assistance
from an outside
force in this proud,
efficient and
materialistic world,
in which we live.
BUT
IF WE WANT AN ANSWER
FROM GOD WE
MUST CALL UPON HIM!
Jesus
said, "If ye
then, being evil,
know how to give
good gifts unto your
children: how much
more shall your
heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to
them that ask
Him"? (Luke
11:13)
Again
our Lord stated,
"Come now, and
let us reason
together, saith the
Lord: though your
sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as
white as snow;
though they be red
like crimson, they
shall be as
wool". (Isaiah
1:18)
Jesus
invited, "Ask,
and it shall be
given you; seek, and
ye shall find;
knock, and it shall
be opened unto you:
For every one that
asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him
that knocketh it
shall be
opened." (Matt.
7:7-8)
The
simplest thing in
the world for anyone
to do is to ask for
something. And yet,
it can be the most
difficult! We must
spend time in
prayer, learn to
pray.
TO
ASK GOD FOR
FORGIVENESS, WE MUST
ACKNOWLEDGE OUR
FAILINGS AND SINS.
TO ASK GOD FOR
GUIDANCE, WHICH ROAD
TO TAKE OR FOR
STRENGTH, WE
ACKNOWLEDGE OUR
WEAKNESS. AND TO ASK
GOD FOR DIVINE
HEALING, WE ADMIT
THAT WE ARE SICK AND
NEED HELP!
But
Jesus made it so
easy! He said, we
must become like
little children and
ask with child-like
faith and
expectation.
And His promise is
sure and guaranteed
to work. He will
keep His Word!
Jesus
said, "If ye
abide in Me, and My
words abide in you,
ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall
be done unto
you". (John
15:7)
Again
He stated, "Ye
have not chosen Me,
but I have chosen
you and ordained
you, that ye should
go and bring forth
fruit, and that your
fruit should remain:
"That
whatsoever ye ask of
the Father in My
name, He may give it
you." (John
15:16)
WITHOUT
CHRIST, WE ARE
HOPELESSLY LOST AND
POWERLESS AGAINST
SATAN
We
must remember Who
our Source is. Jesus
Christ is our
Redeemer and the
Holy Spirit gives us
the power to
function by His
grace. And the Word
of God is Supreme,
that God may be all
in all!
Jesus
promised, "But
ye shall receive
power after that the
Holy Ghost is come
upon you and ye
shall be witnesses
unto Me..."
(Acts 1:8)
Again our Master
stated,
"Without Me, ye
can do
nothing"! (John
15:5)
And
our Lord said,
"I will never
leave thee, nor
forsake thee. I will
be with you until
the end of the
world". (Heb.
13:5)
2)
WE MUST ASK IN FAITH
When
we approach God’s
Throne of Grace, we
must ask
specifically for
what we need or
desire! We must be
specific so that we
can prioritize our
request and focus on
our needs, or the
needs of others all
over the
world. Prayer
requests should be
specific and well
needed.
It
is important to lay
out our needs in a
definite request,
believing that He
hears us and will
keep His promise!
Faith
is expecting an
answer when you
pray. Faith is
trusting God so
implicitly, that
when you have met
the conditions He
has set forth in His
GREAT DOCUMENT, the
Bible, He will
respond favorably!
The
Bible says,
"Now faith is
the substance of
things hoped for,
the evidence of
things not
seen". (Heb.
11:1)
Here
is Moffat's
translation of this
verse:
"Faith
means we are
confident of what we
hope for; convinced
of what we do not
see."
Faith
is like the title
deed to a property
you own but have
never seen. You know
it is yours because
it has been
bequeathed to you in
a will or it has
been given to you as
a gift - possibly in
another part of the
world, and you still
haven't received it
or seen it.
That
is how faith works.
You have God's
promises regarding
prayer and His
desire to answer,
but the things you
prayed for haven't
happened yet!
Keep
on trusting,
expecting and
believing and the
answer will come.
Loved ones will come
to Christ,
sicknesses will he
healed by God's
power and your many
prayer requests will
be answered when you
pray in the Name of
Jesus!
The
Bible says,
"Commit thy way
unto the Lord; trust
also in Him; and He
shall bring it to
pass". (Psalms
37:5) Jesus showed
us how faith works
in Mark 11:22-24:
"And
Jesus answering
saith unto them,
Have faith in God.
For verily I say
unto you, that
whosoever shall say
unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and
be thou cast into
the sea; and shall
not doubt in his
heart, but shall
believe that those
things which he
saith shall come to
pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto
you, What things
soever ye desire,
when ye pray,
believe that ye
receive them, and ye
shall have
them."
In
my opinion, Heb.
11:1 is a
theologian's
definition of faith.
The layman's
definition of faith
is found in verse 6.
"But
without faith it is
impossible to please
Him, for he that
cometh to God must
believe that He is,
and that He is a
rewarder of them
that diligently seek
Him." (Heb.
1:6)
FAITH
IS THREE THINGS
Faith
is coming to God
with your needs and
making your requests
known to Him.
By
asking God for help
you are exhibiting
faith! This proves
that you believe He
is greater than
yourself and your
need!
You
are in fact saying:
"Lord you are
bigger than I am and
more powerful and
that is why I am
approaching you for
help"!
You
wouldn't come to God
for help if you
didn't believe He
could help you!
Faith
is believing that
God exists!
Faith
is believing that
God is real, that He
is eternally
existent in three
persons: God the
Father, God the Son
and God the Holy
Spirit! And that He
is omnipotent,
omnipresent and
eternal!
Faith
is believing that
Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, that He
died on the cross
for our sins and
arose from the dead
for our
justification.
Faith
is believing in the
God of the Bible!
The
Bible says,
"Now faith is
the substance of
things hoped for,
the evidence of
things not
seen". (Heb.
11:1) Faith is a
reality!
Faith
is a fact and also
action, because
"faith without
works is dead, being
alone". (James
2:26)
Faith
is now! And faith is
a present day
reality and faith
gets the job done -
Faith Works
Miracles!
Faith
is expecting a
miracle when we
pray!
|