20190608 CCC TTI 1 - Prayer & Fasting
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(1) The Foundation of Prayer
(1) The Foundation of Prayer
“Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God. . . . We must know the awe of praising his glory, the intimacy of finding his grace, and the struggle of asking his help, all of which can lead us to know the spiritual reality of his presence.” Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
If this is true, then we should begin with a knowledge of who God is, who we are, and how both affects the relationship we have with God.
Prayer in Genesis
The Nature of God
The Nature of God
He is the Supreme Creator
Gen 1:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
He is the Sovereign King
And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Gen e:16
He is the Righteous Judge
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
He is the Merciful Savior
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
The Nature of Men and Women
The Nature of Men and Women
If this is all we knew about God, would this be enough to pursue a relationship with Him?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
We are created in the image of God
We are a unique reflection of God.
We are utterly reliant upon God.
We are Ultimately responsible to God.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We are created for the purpose of God
To enjoy a relationship with God
To rule over all creation
To reflect and multiply God’s glory to the ends of the earth
The Nature of Sin
The Nature of Sin
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
We are Spiritual Beings
We are in a Spiritual Battle
Satan can speak and is smart
Satan is a malicious liar and an evil murderer
We are full of iniquity
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
We Question God’s Word
We Doubt God’s love
We choose our own way
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
We need a faithful intercessor
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
One who is fully like us
One who is fully like God
One who will redeem us from our rebellion against God.
One who will restore us to a relationship with God.
The Nature of Salvation
The Nature of Salvation
God Seeks the guilty
A relationship with God begins not with our pursuit of Him, but with His pursuit of us.
A relationship with God begins with HIM pursuing US!
A relationship with God continues because of God’s personal, faithful, perpetual pursuit of us.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
God Covers the Shameful
Purity of heart is essential in the presence of God
Sacrifice for sin in necessary to experience communion with God
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
God Protects the fearful
Which of these prompts you to pray?
God’s grace alone keeps us from experiencing His eternal wrath
God’s grace alone allows us to enjoy His eternal love
The Need for Prayer
The Need for Prayer
The appeal of sin and selfishness is strong before us
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
The antidote to sin and selfishness is seeking God above us
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Reflection
Reflection
How does who we are interfere with our relationship with God?
Do you see your need to pray to combat sin and selfishness in your life?
(2) Prayer, Fasting and the Pursuit of God in Genesis
(2) Prayer, Fasting and the Pursuit of God in Genesis
The Heart of Prayer is Communion With God
The Heart of Prayer is Communion With God
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
God graciously speaks
God graciously speaks
He provides direction for us
He makes promises to us
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
We gladly submit
We gladly submit
We take radical risks
We trust in radical rewards
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Not just in His plans for us ...
Not just in His plans for us ...
But primarily in His Satisfaction of us
Reflection
Reflection
How does God’s desire to have communion (relationship) with us change your attitude towards prayer?
How does your knowledge of God’s desire to do good for us change your attitude towards prayer, God’s answers and God Himself?
(3) Praying for Others (Intercession & Healing)
(3) Praying for Others (Intercession & Healing)
God Wants Us to Intercede for Others
God Wants Us to Intercede for Others
For Protection
For Protection
So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”
Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”
Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
We approach God on behalf of those in need.
We appeal to God on the basis of His Character
Based Upon God’s Justice
Based Upon God’s Mercy
We present our requests to God with Boldness.
We trust the response of God Humility
For Healing
For Healing
Prayer for Healing
Prayer for Healing
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
God is absolutely able to heal
Abraham’s intercession leads to God’s intervention
Reflection
Reflection
How do these two passages encourage you to intercede for others? In what way?
How does the fact that God is good influence your response when God doesn’t answer the way you would want Him to?
Who are people you need to intercede for right now?
God Wants Us To Depend Upon Him in Prayer
God Wants Us To Depend Upon Him in Prayer
For Specific Assistance
For Specific Assistance
We Pray to God for help in specific ways
We Pray to God for help in specific ways
Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.
And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
We Praise God for help in specific ways.
We Praise God for help in specific ways.
The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord
and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”
Reflection
Reflection
How specific do you pray?
How specific do you pray?
How specific do you praise?
How does the fact that God is good influence your response when God doesn’t answer the way you would want Him to?
How specific do you praise?
How specific do you praise?
What are some specific areas you need to ask God for right now?
What are some specific areas you need to ask God for right now?
What are some specific areas you need to ask God for right now?
Who are people you need to intercede for right now?
What are some specific areas you need to praise God for providing for right now?
What are some specific areas you need to praise God for providing for right now?
God Pursues Us for Personal Interaction With Him
God Pursues Us for Personal Interaction With Him
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
We experience personal interaction with God
We plead persistently for blessing from God
We confess our sinfulness honestly before God
Reflection
Reflection
Do you feel that prayer is a personal interaction with God?
How specific do you praise?
Do you pray without ceasing aka with persistence for what you want to see God do?
Do you confess your sin before God when you pray?
What are some specific areas you need to ask God for right now?
What are some specific areas you need to praise God for providing for right now?
(3) Prayer, Fasting and the Pursuit of God in Exodus
(3) Prayer, Fasting and the Pursuit of God in Exodus
This is the God We Pursue through Prayer & Fasting
This is the God We Pursue through Prayer & Fasting
He is Holy
He is Holy
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
He is perfectly unique
He is completely separate
He is absolutely pure
He is Merciful
He is Merciful
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
He sees our afflictions
He sees our afflictions
He hears our cries
He knows our sufferings
He remembers His covenant
He is ever-present
He is ever-present
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
He is all powerful
He is all powerful
He is all powerful
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
He is self existent, self-sufficient, eternal and immutable
He is self existent, self-sufficient, eternal and immutable
God has no origin
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
He is Self Sufficient
He is Self Sufficient
God has no origin
God has no needs
His glory never dims
His beauty never fades
His Perfections never change
He is Faithful
He is Faithful
God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.
I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
He promises liberation
He promises redemption
He promises adoption
He promises possession
He is Sovereign
He is Sovereign
But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.
Be Careful not to evaluate God’s justice in the short term
God will assert his justice ultimately and completely in his perfect time.
He is Just
He is Just
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:1-3
Be Careful not to evaluate God’s justice in the short term
God will assert his justice ultimately and completely in his perfect time.
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
How does this knowledge of who God is change how you pray and pursue a relationship with Him?
How does this God’s pursuit of you change how you respond to Him?
God Created Us to Crave
God Created Us to Crave
God created us with physical needs & cravings
God created us with physical needs & cravings
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,
and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Our physical cravings are designed to be satisfied by our creator
Our physical cravings are designed to be satisfied by our creator
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
He is the giver of all good gifts
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.
And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground.
When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
He is the provider for all our daily needs
He is our sustainer throughout all generations
This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ”
And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less.
But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.”
He is our sustainer throughout all generations
Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”
And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.”
As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept.
The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
He is the provider for all our daily needs
He is our sustainer throughout all generations
God uses our physical cravings to teach us about spiritual sustenance
God uses our physical cravings to teach us about spiritual sustenance
All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Our spiritual need for God is far more fundamental than our physical need for food and water
Reflection
Reflection
How do you respond to your physical needs?
How does this God’s pursuit of you change how you respond to Him?
How can you let your physical needs remind you of your spiritual needs?
Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?
Does Prayer Change God’s Mind?
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”
And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ”
And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”
And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Four Truths Moses Knew ...
Four Truths Moses Knew ...
The Perfections of God are unchanging
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
Exodus 32:11
He is Perfectly Holy (Isaiah 6:3)
He is Perfectly Holy ()
He is Perfectly Loving (1 John 4:16)
He is Perfectly Just (Deuteronomy 32:4)
The Purposes of God are unchanging
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
The Promises of God are unchanging
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”
The Plans of God are UNFOLDING
And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Four Lessons We Learn ...
Four Lessons We Learn ...
So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.
But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”
God has designed prayer to be a powerful means by which we participate in His plan
God brings about remarkable change in the world in response to the prayers of his people
Our prayers affect the way God acts in the world ()
Prayer is an invitation to join with God in effectively shape the course of History
Reflection
Reflection
Why is this such a hard lesson to understand?
How does this God’s pursuit of you change how you respond to Him?
If God uses our prayers to change the world, why wouldn’t we pray?
What is one thing you can pray for right now for God to change?
The Reason for Prayer
The Reason for Prayer
The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’
I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
We pray because we have an assignment we cannot fulfill
We pray because we have an assignment we cannot fulfill
Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’
We pray because we have a privilege we cannot forsake
We pray because we have a privilege we cannot forsake
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.
Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.
When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.
And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
We pray because we have a family we cannot forget
We pray because we have a family we cannot forget
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.
We pray because we have a God we cannot fathom
We pray because we have a God we cannot fathom
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
Ex 33;18
Reflection
Reflection
Are these reasons you pray?
What is one assignment you can pray for?
Who is one family member you can pray for?
What is one area we can ask God to show us more of himself?
The Effect of Fasting
The Effect of Fasting
So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.
But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.
Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.
And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded,
the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
What was this fast?
What was this fast?
A miraculous fast from food and water
A divine feast on God’s Word and Prayer
What was the effect?
What was the effect?
The more we pursue God in all His glory, the more we reflect God in every facet of our lives
We can’t help but to become what we behold
Reflection
Reflection
How is this passage different than your understanding of fasting?
How do our motives differ from a Biblical fast?
How can we pursue God through fasting this week?
The Purpose of Salvation
The Purpose of Salvation
God saves His People from Captivity so that they might seek his face in worship
God saves His People from Captivity so that they might seek his face in worship
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said.
God Saves His people from captivity so that they might seek His face in worship.
God Saves His people from captivity so that they might seek His face in worship.
Reflection
Reflection
Do you view your salvation as a means to have a relationship with God through worship?
What are some ways you can pursue God in worship through prayer and fasting today?
(4) Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Leviticus
(4) Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Leviticus
God is Holy
God is Holy
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died,
and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
We cannot be casual with God
We cannot be casual with God
We cannot be casual with God
But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
We must be Contrite with God
We must be Contrite with God
“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.
For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.
It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever.
Sin is Deadly
Sin is Deadly
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.
And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace.
And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.”
Sin is Deadly
Sin is Deadly
Lev 10:1-4
The propensity to sin is strong
The Punishment for sin is severe
Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp,
and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
And they put him in custody, till the will of the Lord should be clear to them.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Sacrifice is necessary
Sacrifice is necessary
Sacrifice is necessary
Sacrifice is necessary
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Reflection
Reflection
How does Leviticus influence how you interact with God?
What is the sacrifice that God made on your behalf so you can be both cleansed and reconciled to Him?
Do your prayers reflect God’s Character?
Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Numbers
Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Numbers
God is our Guide
God is our Guide
On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning.
So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.
And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.
At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out.
Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out.
And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out.
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.
At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.
Numbers
God is continually with his people
God is continually with his people
God gives constant Guidance to His people
God gives constant Guidance to His people
The Power of Intercession
The Power of Intercession
And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.
Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.
So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
Numbers 11:1-
Moses pleads for God’s righteous anger to relent
Moses pleads for God’s righteous anger to relent
God answers by suspending judgment
God answers by suspending judgment
When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.
Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”
And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.”
But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.”
So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.
God answers by suspending judgment
God answers by suspending judgment
Moses pleads for God’s healing amidst Miriam’s hurt
Moses pleads for God’s healing amidst Miriam’s hurt
But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them,
and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say,
‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’
And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying,
‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word.
God answers according to his Holiness
God answers according to his Holiness
God answers according to his Holiness
God answers according to his Holiness
Moses Pleads for God’s mercy according to God’s Word ...
Moses Pleads for God’s mercy according to God’s Word ...
Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word.
Numbers
God answers according to Moses’ Word
God answers according to Moses’ Word
Reflection
Reflection
What does the fact that God is our guide teach us about our need to pray and pursue God?
What does the fact that God hears our intercessions show us how to pray?
Who do you need to intercede for right now?
(5) Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Deuteronomy
(5) Prayer, Fasting & the Pursuit of God in Deuteronomy
Love for God is the Way to life
Love for God is the Way to life
The supreme command: Love the Lord
The supreme command: Love the Lord
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deut 6:
Enjoy the gifts
Exalt the giver
“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build,
and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full,
then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—
for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
The clear charge: Hear the Law
The clear charge: Hear the Law
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.
Deut 4:5-6
See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’
And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
The ultimate choice: Death or Life
The ultimate choice: Death or Life
“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.
It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,
I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Moses was unable to bring life as he died
Moses was unable to bring life as he died
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan,
all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.”
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord,
and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.
Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.
And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
The greater prophet Jesus is uniquely able to conquer death and give us life
The greater prophet Jesus is uniquely able to conquer death and give us life
“Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land.”
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Deut 30
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’
And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken.
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Reflection
Reflection
How does the Shema influence how you pray and pursue God?
Which choice will you make in following him - death or life?
What changes in your prayers as a result of this book?
Prayer is less about getting what we want from God and more about getting what we need in God.
Prayer is less about getting what we want from God and more about getting what we need in God.