Sunday Message – Today Jesus 111

18/2/07
<Luke 18:9-14>
PRAYERS THAT ARE PLEASED

• We must learn how to pray throughout our lifetime

• Everything will be good if we succeed in our prayers
• God has already given His Promises to the Believers
• We will have to pass on our lifelong testimonies and messages to the future generations
• We can know if a Believer is successful in his prayer life by looking at his conduct and
behaviour
• It is because, a Believer who is successful in his prayer life will have the sweet aroma of
Jesus Christ on him
• We are able to stand up from any of our problems regardless of how big they are, as long as
we succeed in our prayers
• Regardless of what wonderful things we meet, we will not be over indulged in those matters,
as long as we succeed in our prayers. This is because, there isn’t anything more wonderful
than us knowing God
• We ought to test the message we heard through our prayers
• Most Believers are able to do anything other than having a successful prayer life
• God is not looking for any ordinary people. He is looking for people who are successful in
their prayers and who are able to see Him

Read <Luke 18:9-14>

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about
himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast
twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have
mercy on me, a sinner.'
14
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

• v10 The Pharisees were very godly people and they kept all the laws. Thus, everyone
liked them. On the other hand, everyone detested the tax collectors
• v11 “prayer about (to) himself” → they were not praying to God. Thus, all their prayers
were futile
• v13 The tax collectors knew that they could not accomplish anything by themselves
• v14 A person who knows his fundamental problem will be a humble person

1. Prayers that cannot receive answers

• The Pharisees were praying to the air. They were praying to themselves. They did not
know God’s purpose and direction. Thus, they were walking their own paths
1) Prayers that come from personal righteousness
<Luke 18:9-12; Genesis 4:5-15> Prayers that did not shed any blood
• They do not know they are sinners, or where lay their spiritual problems
• Satan uses our sins to accuse us. We won’t be able to receive any answers when we
are under accusation
• There are two types of people after the fall of Adam. This is shown by his two sons:
 • One knew that he had sinned. Thus, he wanted to give his offering to God
• The other one did not know what his problems were. He did not know about the
shedding of blood
• The more offering a person, who does not about his sins, gives, the more fearful he
will become. The godlier they are, the more fearful they will be. This is what happens
to the religious people
• <Job 1> shows us that Satan is always seeking an opportunity to use our sins to
accuse us
• Therefore, what we really need is the breastplate of righteousness
• No matter how hard we pray, our prayers will be futile if our hearts are being accused
• The problem with Pharisees was that they did not even know what their sins were.
Thus, how could they resolve their sins?
• Men and God have different definitions for “sin”
• Men think that sin is about killing, lying, doing wrong things physically. Thus, the
Pharisees were able to proclaim that they were sinless
• However, God’s standard for sin is: doing anything without first knowing Him
• God has a purpose for creating Men. However, men live each day without know God
and without knowing God’s direction. All these are sins
• We are righteous when we want to follow God, even though our conduct may not be
good. Of course, it will be even better if our conduct is good
• We must know God’s purpose for creating us
• E.g. Company employs us to do a certain job. Thus, the Company does not need us
if we work very hard to help the cleaner to clean the floor without first doing our tasks
• We will not want to follow Jesus Christ if we do not know God’s reasons for giving us
our lives
• We will not need Jesus Christ if we aren’t able to see our fundamental problem
• The Bible says “apart from him,” → it means our sins need to be resolved

2) We pray without first forgiving others

<Matthew 5:21-26, 6:12, 14-15>
• Do not forgive means we will continue to judge and accuse others for their sins
• Our prayers will not be listened by God if we pray while our hearts are still accusing
others for their sins
• The spirit of that person whom we accuse will go to God and ask for justice to be
done
• <Matthew 5:23-26>
• Our Lord Jesus Christ understands the spiritual realm very well. Thus, He wants us to
forgive the sins of others. He taught this even in the Lord’s Prayer
• We have not really understood what our fundamental problem is if we think that we
are more righteous than others by not sinning the way they do
• St Francis was a very holy and good person in the eyes of many. However, he always
said that he was a sinner and thus, always sought God for His forgiveness. He knew
very well, that everything he did was sinful if he didn’t rely on God
• Some people will accuse others when they themselves are doing well. However, the
same people will receive accusation when they did something not as good. Such
people have not know nGod’s compassion
 • A person who knows that he will fall when he did not rely on God will always strive to
follow and rely on Him. He will never think that he has a better conduct than others

3) Prayers that do know follow God

<James 1:8; 1John5:14-15; James 4:3; John 14:21>
• We will not receive the answers from God, if we keep walking towards the West when
God’s desire is for us to travel to the East. Thus, we need to know God’s direction for
us
• A person who wants to know God’s direction for him is one who is willing to do all
things in accordance to God’s perfect will
• A person who wants to know God’s direction for him will continue to have an
anticipating heart for God. He does everything without seeking any self-benefits.
Therefore, he cannot even hate a person
• It is either we are able to see God or not at all. There isn’t such a thing such as
“seeing God in partial”
• We need to examine ourselves to see if our direction is correct, after hearing God’s
word. Thus, we need to ask God with a correct heart
• Only the person who has examined himself will know if the message he has been
listening to is correct and will decide whether to continue following the message or
not
• <James 1:8> “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” - We need to
go to the Lord with a truthful heart
• A person who does not examine God’s word will always walk his own ways. He will
not be able to become a Living Sacrifice
• A person who does not become a Living Sacrifice will do all things by his own means.
Thus, he needs to set aside some time to do God’s ministry. This was what the
Pharisees were doing
• A person who has determined his own direction and method to work will not want to
examine God’s purpose and guidance
• E.g. Some parents will decide the school for their children and then ask God to fulfill
their desires. They do not even want to discover God’s will and guidance for their
children
• Some people will continue doing the things that they think are best for them, even if
they do it in agony. How would such people be willing to examine God’s plan and
submit to God?

2. Prayers that are pleasing to God

1) Prayers that bring about salvation (born again)
<Genesis 4:4, 12:1; Exodus 12:21-28; Hebrews 9:11-15; Ephesians 2:1-7>
• A person who has salvation will know that he was dead in the transgression of sin but
made alive because of Jesus Christ
• A person with salvation prays differently
• A businessman shouldn’t just be praying that his business will grow and he will
become very rich. Rather, he should ask God how his business can be used to glorify
God, bless others and expand God’s kingdom
• A person with salvation will realize that he wasn’t living in accordance to God’s
purpose in the past
• Prayer that brings salvation to others = prayer with blood shed = prayer that knows
Christ Jesus’ Gospel
2) Prayers that cause others to follow God
<Romans12:1-2; Ephesians 5:15-21; Hebrews 10:19; John 14:6, 16-26, 15:7>
• In the past, we might think that everything occurs by chance. However, now we know
that everything is planned and prepared by God
• <Romans 12:2> “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”: A person who
follows God will become a Living Sacrifice
• We should discover God’s concern. We should always be discovering God’s perfect
will
• <Ephesians 5:15-21>
• Foolishness = we are wasting our time, emotions, mental strength, etc
• Foolishness = walking our own path without wanting to discover the goals that God
has predetermined for us
• Walking with God is already answered prayer
• A foolish person has not even started
• A person who isn’t foolish will behave like David. He will ask God for forgiveness after
having sinned

3) Prayers that cause others wanting to get cleansed (prayers that bring forgiveness)
<1 John 1:9; the 5 offerings recorded in Leviticus; 1 John 3:21-24>
• A person who isn’t foolish will continue to cleanse himself and repent
• There are two types of repentance:
• Religious repentance: they repent out of fear for God. It comes from fear.
Therefore, their direction and purpose will not be changed. Their own motives are
still the same
• Repentance of Love: they repent out of love for God. They cannot resist not
loving God, thus they are willing to repent
• We should repent because of the Gospel. Only then, we will not be accused
• How can we be sure that we are already being cleansed? It is when our hearts do not
accuse us, our direction is in line with God’s direction and when we are willing to
discover and submit to God’s perfect will. Those with such desires are already
cleansed
• We will receive greater accusation if we repent without a cleansed heart
• Some people become Preachers because they do not want to get accused or they
wish to be set free in their mind. They do not know God’s direction for them. The
outcome we will have is the result of our desire
• Everyone wishes to become rich. However, we must be rich in our hearts. We will
have everything when we have God
• We had already broken the head of Satan. Thus, all he can do is to deceive us
• The Bible is always asking where our hearts are
• Some people only feel that they love God. They actually do not really love Him
• All of us have the same life. The only difference we have is whether we have ever
examined God’s Word in our lives before
• When our hearts are right with God; wealth and love will come naturally to us even if
we did not ask God for them
 • We will need to anoint our disciples with our lives if we really want to rise them up

4) Prayers that will make a person become righteous (interceding for others)
<1John 5:16-17; Daniel 9:1-27; Ezra 9:1-15; James 5:16; Luke 23:24>
• A person who is cleansed will become righteous. And only the righteous will intercede
for others
• How many people will actually pray for their families after seeing their foolishness?
• We cannot intercede for others because our hearts are being accused
• When we are weak in our spirits and minds, we will think that no one else will be
weaker than we are. As a result, we will not want to intercede for others
• God changes everything because of the prayers of the righteous. E.g. Noah’s prayer

3. We need to get formatted

1) Establishing the altar
<John 2:19-21; Eph 1:23; Col 1:18, 2:6-7; 1Cor 3:16; Gal 2:20; Phil 3:7-16>
• The first thing we need to do is to establish an altar, just like what Abraham and
Moses had done
• To establish an altar means to discover God’s perfect will in all things
• David is one who is after God’s heart. Thus, he always builds the temple first. He
values the ark of covenant and altar. Thus, God continues to love him even when he
committed an adultery
• If we are involved in a lot of ministries, yet we do not value God’s ark of covenant,
God will not be pleased with all the ministries we’d done
• Jerusalem was built up by following the ark of covenant
• Ark of covenant = God’s word = the body of Jesus Christ
• We know what our perspective on life, history, world and values are through the ark
of covenant
• Therefore, we need to use the Word of God to format our lives

2) Present our offerings once in the morning and once at night

<Exodus 29:3-46; Daniel 6:10; Acts 16:16-40; Phil 4:4-7; Eph 6:10-18>
• We will forget God’s perfect will rapidly. Thus, we need to get close to God twice daily
• We need to present our offerings to God once in the morning and once at night
• We should not be afraid to get close to God. There is nothing more joyful and free
than going to Him
• Do not be afraid to live a congregation-centered life
• Even if we think that we will have more time by not restoring congregation living (i.e.
restore all the 4 weekly meetings), there will still be a lot of things binding us
• If we are able to restore and maintain the 4 weekly meetings in Church for the next 5
years, we will be like Paul

3) To live in God’s answers = follow the Lord

<1 Samuel 15:22; James 2:14-20; Matthew 21:28-32>
• We are already living in God’s answers when our direction and purpose are changed.
Everything that we do, then, will be valued
• We will find it difficult not to follow the Lord after we’d really done it
 Sharing and Prayer Topics
1) Am I able to differentiate the prayer of one who has been born again, from one that
has not? What are the differences? Do my prayer topics correspond to the grace of
salvation that God has given me?
2) Did I establish an altar in my life to make me live as God’s children, body of Christ and
temple of the Holy Spirit? Have I grabbed hold of the mystery that enables me to know
God’s perfect will in all things? Have I grabbed of the mystery that enables my sins to
be forgiven anytime? How to know that my sins are already forgiven?
3) What are my current prayer topics for others (i.e. family, congregation, friends and
relatives)? Do I have the assurance that all my requests will be answered? What are
the evidences? Which group of people has evidences of receiving grace as a result of
my requests being answered?