091224: The Structure of a Prayer

1 Kings 8:22-53
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

- First temple of God to be built

- Built before he built his palace

22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23and said:

“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

25“Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.’ 26And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.

27“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

- Solomon acknowledge that man’s best attempt to build the best temple is still finite and not good enough for the perfection of God.

30Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

- Ask for an audience of the Lord, and then ask for forgiveness.

31“When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, 32then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.

33“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.

35“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 36then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

37“When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple— 39then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), 40so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.

41“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

- This is the few times that non-Jewish/non-Israelite people are mentioned. This gives evidence to the idea of how the prayers of the gentiles can be answered and how God’s name may travel throughout the world.

44“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

46“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; 47and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name;49then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; 51for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.

- Psalm 25: David prays for himself; Psalm 26: David prays for others, in the sense of his struggles with his interaction with other people; in parallel to Solomon’s Dedication, Psalm 25 is similar to the beginning of Solomon’s prayer where he, too, prayed for himself; whereas Psalm 26 is similar to Solomon’s prayer involving his troubles with other people.

Psalm 25

Of David.

1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

2in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3No one whose hope is in you

will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

who are treacherous without excuse.

4Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

5guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

8Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

15My eyes are ever on the LORD,

for only he will release my feet from the snare.

18Look upon my affliction and my distress

and take away all my sins.

20Guard my life and rescue me;

let me not be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.

21May integrity and uprightness protect me,

because my hope is in you.

- Psalm 25 illustrates David’s struggles within himself: David is worried that he has sinned and is further worried that he would continue to sin; he thus prays to God for instruction to not sin any further, to not to lose his way, and for forgiveness

- In today’s age, this is a prayer for the average Christian; i.e. a prayer asking for instructions on how not to continue to sin, on seeking forgiveness

Psalm 26

Of David.

4I do not sit with deceitful men,

nor do I consort with hypocrites;

5I abhor the assembly of evildoers

and refuse to sit with the wicked.

9Do not take away my soul along with sinners,

my life with bloodthirsty men,

10in whose hands are wicked schemes,

whose right hands are full of bribes.

11But I lead a blameless life;

redeem me and be merciful to me.

12My feet stand on level ground;

in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

- Psalm 26 is about David’s prayer for guidance when faced with his personal struggles with his interactions with other people.

- David says he has been walking with God and has been careful about not associating with “sinners”

- It would seem that David, being the King of Israel, is worried that the people he is leading have gone away from God. He is thus praying that God does not judge unfavorably against him along with these people.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah’s Prayer

1Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD;

in the LORD my horn^a is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

for I delight in your deliverance.

2“There is no one holy^b like the LORD;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

3“Do not keep talking so proudly

or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

for the LORD is a God who knows,

and by him deeds are weighed.

4“The bows of the warriors are broken,

but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

5Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

but those who were hungry hunger no more.

She who was barren has borne seven children,

but she who has had many sons pines away.

6“The LORD brings death and makes alive;

he brings down to the grave^c and raises up.

7The LORD sends poverty and wealth;

he humbles and he exalts.

8He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

and has them inherit a throne of honor.

“For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;

upon them he has set the world.

9He will guard the feet of his saints,

but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;

10those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.

He will thunder against them from heaven;

the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

- This is like Jesus’s comment in Matthew 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

- Also, as in Matthew 5, The Beatitudes

Summary

- The above prayers all start out with the man acknowledging God, the Father, and how he is below God.

- Prayers aren’t for just needs; they can be for a simple praising of the Lord, to thank the Lord.

- A model prayer can be found in Matthew 6:9-13, which is taught by Jesus [1. call upon the Lord God; 2. praise the Lord; 3. pray for God’s will to come to fruition (including His plans for the self to be carried out by himself) 4. pray for needs; 5. pray for forgiveness as “I have forgiven others” (i.e. reaffirmation that the praying person is worthy to be forgiven); 6. pray to not sin again (away from temptation); 5. pray to be delivered away from the devil and his evil deeds]:

5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.^a’

091217: The Story of Samson

Judges 13: The Birth of Samson

1Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

* 40 = number of trials

2A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean,5because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

* The Nazirite is defined in Numbers 6:1-21.

* “set apart to God,” “separated unto God’s will” = to pull oneself away from the world to dedicate a certain amount of time to the Lord; people of this group (Elijah, John the Baptist, Moses, Samson, Jesus) are often 1) prophesized; 2) special from everyone else, e.g. with special powers; 3) doers of God’s will

* The angel warned the woman not to drink the moment she is conceived, hinting that once conceived, it is considered life (hence, abortion at any stage is killing off a life).

17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” 18He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.^a”

* The people wanted to know the angel’s name so they know how to present their thanks to him. The angel didn’t think his name was important—all thanks should be given to God.

* The people thought that since they saw God, they would surely die; this idea is reiterated throughout the Torah; e.g. Exodus 33:18-20, where God told Moses “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Judges 14: Samson’s Marriage

6The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat.

8Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, 9which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

* The Lion is the symbol of Judah.

* Samson ate the honey without telling his parents because as a Nazarite, he wasn’t suppose to go near a dead carcass.

19Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father’s house.20And Samson’s wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.

Judges 15: Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

14As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

* Proof that the Holy Spirit is found in the Old Testament (Many believe that the Holy Spirit didn’t descent onto the humans until after Christ’s death, during a Pentecost.)

Judges 16: Samson and Delilah

17So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

19Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^d And his strength left him.

20Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

21Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

* Of all Samson’s weaknesses, he was able to keep the one vow of a Nazarite: to never shave his head—and this was his source of favor from God; the moment his hair was cut off, he lost that favor.

The Death of Samson

28Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

* His hair grew back AND he prayed to get back in favor of God—hence his success in defeating the Philistines.

Jeremiah 35: The Recabites

6But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’

15Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

* Recabites are descendents of Israelites; their “vow” is as highlighted above, which has been followed for at least 3 generations (~100 years); the Recabites obey these special instructions without falter—very much like Samson with his vow with God; as long as these special instructions are followed, they would remain in favor of the Lord—They will always be a man of God; they will always be blessed.

Lessons Learned:

- God-fearing people are not perfect and make mistakes.

- Mistakes can be made (e.g. breaking the law, etc.), but instructions from the Lord should never be broken. With obedience, comes blessing/favor; without obedience, that blessing/favor is lost. Follow the Lord, for the Lord will take care of you.

Sevens in the Bible

lecture by Chuck Missler

part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQqFQv9DROc&NR=1

part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDsR_piL36Q&feature=related

091111: Faith

- Define “Faith”

- Why must our relationship with God be based on faith?

- At hard times, when things don’t go right even when we’re desperately praying, how do we combat doubts of faith? What is to keep us from giving up and fall into disbelief?

Matthew 8:5 “The Faith of the Centurion”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Lamentations 3
- A man who is angry with the misfortunes he has had to deal with.

- Then he remembers the blessings of the Lord and thus felt hope—he never questions the sovereignty of the Lord.

- Then he proceeds to let go of his hatred and prays to God for help.

- Lastly, he gives the judgment on his enemies to God and pleads his case (as if the God is the Judge).

James 2:14 (Rahab --> Joshua 2) “Faith and Deeds”

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Psalms 23 --> background story 1 Samuel 24:8-13

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

Romans 14 “The Weak and the Strong”

- Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

- The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?

- If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

- “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”

- So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

- Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.

- For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

- All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

- So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

--> Faith is personal

--> Action is defined by the heart/thought behind it; it alone has no meaning.

Job 33

Why do you complain to him

that he answers none of man’s word?

For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though man may not perceive it.

In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men

as they slumber in their beds,

he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

to turn man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

to preserve his soul from the pit,

his life from perishing by the sword.

Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain

with constant distress in his bones,

so that his very being finds food repulsive

and his soul loathes the choicest meal.

His flesh wastes away to nothing,

and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.

His soul draws near to the pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

091104: Sin

What is Sin?

The Fall of Man (Genesis 3:14-19): Original Sin

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree (Daniel 4:28): The Madness of Nebuchadnezzar

David Numbers the Fighting Men (1 Chronicles 21): The Census of David

Similarities between the stories

- Something bad was done, followed by God’s punishment.

- The subjects all share a form of pride and were in the end humbled.

- In the case of Adam and Eve, the curse is continuously inherited today, but Christ redeemed us all. It was not written in its story that Adam and Eve repented (whereas the subjects of the above two stories repented and received forgiveness).

What the stories say about Sin

- Sin is not just an abstract idea; there is a cause and an effect, i.e. Sin brings forth curses and judgments.

- Sin is an act, something that someone does. Who ever commits the sin has ownership of the sin. Sin is personal.

- The curses and judgments brought forth by the Sin can spread to others.

So… what IS Sin?

- Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.”)

- Sin = separation from God (start doing his/her own thing, walking away from God), as exemplified by the 3 stories above

- Sin results in curses and judgments. Once a sin is committed, a judgment will be cast. Even after repentance, the judgment will be carried through. Curses, on the other hand, can be stopped after repentance.

Are all sins forgivable?

- No. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin. (Matthew 12:31-32, “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”)

- Why just the Holy Spirit? We have yet to find a scripture that explains this, but our current thought is, the Holy spirit is nothing but good; it represents guidance, love, cleansing, etc. To express intense irreverence against a purely good thing is just unforgivable.

What is so bad about Sin that only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away?

- We do not think the judgment resulting from the Original Sin has been set, though God has indeed cursed Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).

- The curse of the Original Sin is death and separation from God (see also above).

- We have yet to find in the Bible that suggests Adam and Eve have repented for their sins. In fact, they showed very little repentance in Genesis 3:12-13 when they readily laid blame on others but themselves. This may explain why we, their descendents, continue to suffer their curses.

- Repenting for our sins puts a stop to our curses (Repent = return to God). However, repentance cannot undo the sin (and thus judgment cannot be undone either). The sin STICKS.

- “For the wages of sin is death!” Something has to die because of the sin. And so, Jesus Christ died for us all. Blood was at the start of the covenant with God. Blood spilled was what broke that covenant. And so, the blood of Jesus Christ is what can bring us back to God. It is the only thing that can completely wash away all sins and make people CLEAN again and thus be allowed in the presence of God, because Jesus was perfect. Jesus never sinned.