Better is One Day in your Court

Pastor Bryan Ranjan

Senior Pastor of Putera Aman Assembly

God is a good God. I came many years ago under Pastor Geoffrey's time. I'm from the state of Selangor and raised in Selayang. It's a Chinese area even though I'm an Indian. I knew God led me there and God has been good.

Ps Ronald and Ps Jasmine are my spiritual parents. When I had my girlfriend Pastor Ronald was the first person I showed her photo to. He also dedicated my three kids.

This morning I want to do a little stress test to see if you need a holiday.

I'm going to be showing you a slide. I don't know how exactly this works, but it is amazingly accurate. The picture I will show you are 2 identical dolphins and was used in a recent case study on stress levels at St. Mary Hospital, London.

Look at the two dolphins jumping out of the water and the study shows that although both dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the dolphins. The more differences the person finds, the more stress the person is experiencing.

If you see a difference, you need a holiday.

(Slide of a dolphin and cow jumping out of the water.)

Psalms 84:1-11 (NIV)

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

My forte has always been worship and this passage is on temple worship. We can meet God anywhere and anytime but going into the temple allows us to step inside and worship the living God.

It is a Psalm not written by David and it talks about the significance of stepping into the house of God. There are now online sermons and people may say you don't need to go to church.

There is something about being in God's house. He has made known the reason why we go into the house of God.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Verse one the Psalmist made it known that God dwells in his house. That is the only reason needed for us to be in his house.

The Psalmist is consumed by the intense desire to worship God in the temple.

Even the creatures made their home near to God's altar.

Everybody needs their own home. Everybody had their own activities or their own passion. That is where you'd put your time in. The Psalmist is saying his passion is to be in the house of God. He yearns to be in the presence of God.

The creatures has found the temple their home. What about us? People are a bit restless. Moving from one church to another, especially in KL. But the Psalmist is saying these birds found their home. We need to find a home to belong to. Where we can place ourselves close to God's house. 

It allows the people to come in to encounter God. To worship God in God's house.

My friends in Australia said the Catholics used to have a one hour service while the Pentecostal churches have two hour services. But now it's the other way around. The Catholic Churches are having two hour services while the charismatic and Pentecostal churches has one hour services.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

If you are found in the house of God you are blessed. Period.

Then the next verse it shifted gear. The harsh journey to Jerusalem. Along the way some will give up. Some may even die. But then as they pass through the Valley of Baka, means the valley of tears. Physically this journey was draining. This is where they get refreshed and rejuvenated and revived. Because of this pool of water.

And they will go from strength to strength before they go into Zion. We are on a pilgrimage. We are on a journey. Carrying our cross is about suffering. It is not easy. We go through one challenge after another challenge. Life is not easy at times. We are going through this spiritual walk.

Then God brings you to the valley of Baka. Water revives us. This is what the Psalmist is trying to tell us. When we come to the house of God, this is our Valley of Baka. It is not ritual or tradition. God's presence is here and he sees your challenges and burdens.

These Israelites were on their journey to Zion. Our journey is to the New Jerusalem. Some people are making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem but ours is the New Jerusalem.

The house of God is where you get refreshed week after week.

We have a Myanmar service that meets at midnight to two in the morning. Because most of them work at restaurants and they come after work. After working you normally need their rest. But it is where they get their strength. We sometimes say the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, but here they get their strength.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

This is the last part of Psalms 84. He is talking about divine protection, favour and shield. Verses 11 and 12 says those who walk blameless gets divine protection.

I experienced this once. I was sending my son to kindergarten and was on my way to work. As I was driving I saw what was like a landslide. And I stopped and saw a crane crashed down in front of me and when I got out of my car the people told me I was fortunate. So I made a police report. It came out in the papers.

A few days after that I spoke to a Baptist pastor and he asked me if it was me. He asked if I'm okay. And I said I was reading Psalms 91 that morning and was very alert. He said what! Because that morning he was reading Psalms 91 and he wanted to call me. God's divine protection.

I want to end with verse 10.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Spurgeon puts it together for us.

"One Day" - Days in God's courts. Days of hearing, of repenting, of believing, of adoration, of communion, of revival.

"in your courts" - To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Saviour, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Ghost in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which the world cannot understand.

"Door Keeper" - Depicts Humility and the zealousness to serve in the House of the Lord. The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless.

• Charles Spurgeon

Young people what are you doing this morning. The elderly what are you doing today. You are making your memories and make them good.

I remember I went to the Doulos ship and I was all fired up. A white man made a call if anyone would want to join this mission.  And I put up my hands but this man behind me tap me and said brother, you are taking your SPM exam.

I loved going to the house of God. What was I doing? I was making memories. We will declare this morning what the Psalmist declared. Better is one day in the he courts of God and a thousand elsewhere.

Courage to Move Forward

Sis Melinda Song

Joshua 1:1-9, NIV

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Most, if not all of us, can relate to that exhilarating feeling of anticipation before a major event in life. Often mixed with the feelings of excitement, are other feelings of apprehension and worry concerning what might go wrong. 

Similarly, the Israelites experienced similar feelings of excitement and worry as they camped on the edge of the Promised Land. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, they can look across the Jordan River and see the land of milk and honey promised to Abraham and his descendants almost 500 years earlier. They are so close—but would it ever happen?

It is a time of change - a new season, a new chapter, a new beginning. It was a critical transition from living in tents as wandering herdsmen and feeding on manna, to living in a land with large, flourishing cities they did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things they did not provide, wells they did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant (Deu. 6:10-11).

In the midst of the excitement and anticipation of this season of change, one of their worst fears was realized. Moses passes away. At this point in the narrative, they had just completed 30 days of mourning for Moses. 

It is time to transition to a new leader and the first thing God said during the commissioning of Joshua was…“Moses my servant is dead”  

Why mention that Moses is dead? 

Because the people could not let go! God took 40 years, a whole generation[MS1] , to take Egypt out of the people and to form a people for himself. God had to raise up a people of faith who are ready to receive the land that God had promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. 

Moses is dead BUT God’s not dead!

What the Israelites were about to learn, and what is so important for us, is that the promises of God do not depend on any individual or on particular circumstances, but only on God. God works through people, yet He is dependent on no one individual to bring about His purposes. 

The fact that Moses was now gone would in no way hinder God’s plans and purposes. The future God promised would still be theirs. On John Wesley’s tombstone is written: “God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.” The people had to learn to release the past and embrace the new thing that God is doing in order to move forward and possess the future.

And all along God had been preparing another man to lead the people into their inheritance. 

“Now then, you…”  

The mantle now falls on Joshua. Imagine the pressure stepping into Moses’ shoes. Not merely the high expectations but also the impossible odds. There are numerous tribes and nations in Canaan. There are heavily fortified cities. There are trained armies with powerful weapons. There are even giants in the hills. 

And Joshua’s army? The Israelites are disorganized, ill-trained and quarrelsome. They won a few battles but they are not prepared to conquer a whole country. The end of this forty year marathon is in sight but the toughest part lies ahead. 

Joshua is clearly overwhelmed. 

Illustration: A sergeant in a parachute regiment was a seasoned jumper and one day he found himself sitting next to a lieutenant in the plane who was fresh from jump school. The Lieutenant looked a bit pale so as they approached their jump zone the sergeant leaned over and said, “Are you scared, sir?”

The lieutenant replied, “No just a bit apprehensive.”

The sergeant asked, “Well, what’s the difference?” 

And the lieutenant replied, “Apprehensive means I’m scared with a university education.” 

Whichever word you want to use, Joshua was it.  

It appears Joshua needed a lot of encouragement. 

·      v. 6 Be strong and courageous

·      v. 7 Be strong and very courageous

·      v. 9 Be strong and courageous

·      In verse 18, the people encouraged Joshua to be strong and courageous. 

·      In Deut. 31:7-8, Moses told Joshua the same thing – be strong and courageous. 

There is work to be done that will take blood, sweat and tears. Ownership of the land depended on God’s faithfulness, but occupation of the land depended on Israel’s faithfulness (cf. Deu. 30:20). 

God said, “I will give you every place where you set your foot” (v. 3). God promises them the land, but they must take it for themselves. Joshua and the Israelites had to step out by faith to possess the land. 

Joshua will need courage to trust God and do as God commanded. Look at verse nine: "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Don’t forget…

2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

We all stand on the brink of the future. We all have things that are looming on the horizon which may seem to us just as important, as overwhelming, as awesome as anything Joshua had to face. We have our career changes, our educational choices, our treatment plans, our financial responsibilities, our relationship issues, our family plans, maybe even our calling into some kind of Christian ministry lying ahead of us. Like Joshua, we are excited by some of the things that might happen, but also like Joshua, we are sacred stiff of what might happen. 

BUT we can be strong and courageous when we know that it is: 

A. GOD’S PLAN

God’s plans always involve a man. Moses was the Law-giver but God’s man for the hour has to be a military leader to lead the invasion of Canaan.

Although groomed by Moses, Joshua did not presume upon the Lord but waited for his specific summons. God’s calling is our sure anchor when the storms of disappointment, frustration and opposition are unleashed at us.

The first time the command to be bold and courageous appears, Joshua is told that the reason for his boldness is that God is going to use him to lead the people into the land he has already promised their ancestors (v. 6). Joshua is standing at a particular point in the history of God’s people. There are things which have led up to this point and there are things will lead on from it. It’s all part of God’s will and if it’s God’s will, it will be accomplished. Joshua and the conquest of Canaan are all part of God’s unfolding plan. 

Joshua and the Israelites could look to the future with confidence not only because of what God had promised them about that future, but also because they had already experienced the ways in which God kept his promises in the past. 

There’s a future to look forward to, more amazing things in store, great plans that God has for us here and we are privileged to be here at this time, a small part in God’s unfolding plan for this church, a smaller part in His plan for this city, a very small part in his plans for the world.

You are part of God’s will, part of His plan. What are the things God has prepared for you to do? When did you last reassess God's call on your life? What are those things that God has given you a passion for?

Your courage will rise when you have confidence in the call of God in your life, and believe that you have a part to play in God’s plan. There are always going to be things that you, and only you, can do – little parts of His great overarching plans for this world that can be furthered by your participation if you’re bold enough to allow that to happen. 

We can be strong and courageous because it is: 

B. GOD’S PROMISE

2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

The reason Joshua could be strong and courageous was because God had bound himself with the promise that He would give the land to the people of Israel. 

Numbers 23:19,NIV

God is not human, that he should lie,

    not a human being, that he should change his mind.

Does he speak and then not act?

    Does he promise and not fulfill?

God cannot NOT fulfil his promise. God must engage to give Israel the victory in all the battles that lie ahead; or if not in all the battles, at least in the most important of them, so that victory for Israel was insured, and the land would be gained for them, and they could possess it. However difficult the opposition, God must ensure Joshua's success. And He did!

Joshua 21:45, NIV

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Joshua 23:14, NIV

You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Where can we find God’s promises? In God’s Word (vv. 7-8): 

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

The Word of God is the secret of being strong and courageous. It is our reliable and constant source for guidance and therefore confidence.

The Hebrew word translated here as “meditate” actually means “mutter”. Joshua and his contemporaries would be constantly reciting bits of Scripture, memorising it, mulling over it. It was to be part of the fabric of their lives. 

Just knowing God’s word is not enough. We ought to also do it. We have to read it and learn it, practice it, weave it into every fibre of your being so that your daily behaviour is entirely influenced by it. 

Fulfilling God’s promises requires us to walk by faith - “every step you set your foot.” God wants us to keep moving with Him. The promises of God may have come from your past, but it is for us claim them today and see them fulfilled in the future. We can't do anything in our own strength. But fear not – we stand upon the promises of God.

We can be strong and courageous because it is: 

A. GOD’S PLAN

B. GOD’S PROMISE

Because it is God’s plan and His promise, we can be assured of:

C. GOD’S PRESENCE

Confidence doesn’t come from looking at what’s inside you; it comes from seeing the One standing beside you. In verse 9, the grace to be strong that is given by the Lord is the assurance of God's presence. "The Lord God will be with you wherever you go." 

The presence of the Lord is not a general concept on the basis of the omnipresence of the Lord, but rather an intimate relationship that marks the believer in Jesus as in a peculiar relationship with his God.

God's presence gives us strength and courage. Think of the way disciples like Peter were transformed by being with Jesus. “How could these simple fisherman speak with such force and power?” the people wondered. Then they remembered they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). Being with Jesus changed them. Jesus rubbed off on them. They were scared, they were ignorant, but the presence of Jesus made them bold and gave them the right words to say.

God is no respecter of persons. What He did for them - Moses, Joshua, Daniel - He will do for us. His principles have not changed. He is still in the midst of His people giving victory for every area of life. 

Some two thousand years later, the writer of Hebrews 13:5 quoted Joshua 1: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." We often fail to understand the implication of that statement. 

Illustration: A seminarian once shared with his grandmother that the Greek intensive form of this verse in Hebrews was supposed to be repeated three times to say, "I will not. I will not. I will not." In his excitement, he said, "Look, grandma, at this promise. God is saying, ‘I will not, I will not, I will not leave thee nor forsake thee.’" With a smile on her face she said, "Well, for you seminarians, God may need to say it three times; but for me, once is enough."

It has been said that God plus one is a majority. That had been Israel’s experience throughout the 40 years. In Deuteronomy 32:30 Moses sings: 

How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? 

God was ever present with the Israelites as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night ... leading, guiding, teaching. As Psalm 46:1 puts it so eloquently, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.”

Just as God was with Moses, He was with Joshua. And, He will be with you and me. Whether we will be courageous and strong totally depends upon us. Yes, God will be with us, but He is there doing His part. We have to do ours.

TOP is also in transition. Next year is our 40th anniversary. Winds of change are going to sweep through TOP in 2017 and 2018. God is doing a new thing. God is on the move but are we prepared to accept the new things God is doing? 

We need a renewed mindset. Don’t box God in. God is sending new wine and new wine skins. With God we have to expect the unexpected. Circumcision at Gilgal just before the battle? The strange strategy for the Battle of Jericho? How would you have responded?

CHANGE in the hand of the CHANGELESS God is safe and positive, and will yield good fruit to those that respond correctly and embrace it.

What do you face today? This week? Whatever is out there, good or bad, we can meet the adventure and challenge of the unknown with courage because we belong to a faithful God. His faithfulness is demonstrated in His Plan, His Promises, and in His Presence. We can depend on His Word, His love, and His everlasting arms holding us through life. 

Joshua 5:13-19, NIV

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

It is not only the people who enter, but it is the Lord Himself who enters leading the people as they go. He is neither friend nor foe. He has not come to fight but to take over. 

The Lord is in the midst of us. I am going to ask you to join me in a prophetic act. We are symbolically going to remove our shoes to acknowledge the presence of the commander of the Lord’s army and invite Him to take over.

Sis Melinda and the young adults praying for Dr Kio who will be leaving for Sandakan this week.

The Power of Praise

 

Rev Ronald Ooi 

Let's welcome Joshua and company to TOP. They are with the House of Prayer. 

I was one of those young people in the seventies where I was gripped by the love of God. It was early in the morning when I encountered God and was praying in the Holy Spirit for four hours. I pray the young today will have an encounter with God not because their parents are Christian but they personally have an encounter with God. I was in KL at the House of Prayer and I saw how these young people were praying for you and I. 

In 2 Chronicles 20 we see an impending war. The world today is in a very vulnerable position and that the Third World War may happen anytime with all the nuclear warheads that are there. We call it the end times. But the prophesy is that in the last days there will be an outpouring of God's Spirit. We are seeing that happening and we also see the increase of violence and natural calamities. All have been prophesied in the Bible. 

But we have a God who is with his people even through the difficult times we are in. 

The Power of Praise. I want to talk about that. King Jehoshaphat called for a time of prayer and fasting. 

2 Chronicles 20:3-4

3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

The people were positioning themselves to seek God and to hear from God. Jehoshaphat did a very wise thing and we can follow him. 

We have not gone through a World War except the World War 2 and it was a traumatic experience for those who went through it. We may not have gone through this battle but we go through different battles ourselves. Some financial where we have to feed our family in spite of challenges. There are relationship issues. Lost of loved ones. Career and sickness, battles that we go through and some people don't even know what we go through. 

Men, women and children came to seek the Lord. And this was his prayer. 

2 Chronicles 20:12

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Have you been I'm a situation where you just don't know what to do? He said but our eyes are on you. When you face a problem, fix your eyes on God. God is bigger than your problems. You get scared and disappointed when you don't fix your eyes on him. 

He is always there even if it seems he is not. God is present. Jehoshaphat said we have no power but our eyes are upon you. He had a serious dependence upon God. 

We are going to come to the Good Friday and Easter event. We are entering the 21 day of prayer and fasting. I had my reservation when Allan said he is coming. He speaks to thousands in India. He is called the Jesus of India but he is a simple man. He is an evangelist, one of the five fold ministry. Once, he raised a person from the dead. He is bared from certain countries because they cannot handle the crowd. 

We are dependent on God because there are obstacles to the work of God. The time has come not just the Intercessors praying but all of us going for a time of prayer and fasting. It can be a vegetarian diet. See the instructions in the booklet. TOP will see a change. When you pray for victory there will be a battle. It can be a scary time. The challenges will come but when I look back in all my years as a preacher, I asked why is there so much trouble in my life and I realised it is a training ground where we get down on our knees to develop our muscles to become like God. And God will use you as an instrument to do exploits for God. 

We have become a very inpatient society. We want everything fast. We want fast food, fast cars. Fast money, fast entertainment. We want everything fast except to fast. 

Penang traffic is getting too fast. It used to be slow. We are losing this spiritual discipline to wait patiently in the Lord. Slowly wait before God. Pray for one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours. Don't be afraid. It's training. It's such a joy to wait on the Lord. It's such a joy when God's people come together to seek God. 

We pray that God will slow us down because we live too fast. With all of eternity before us, let us learn to wait on God. The Psalmist reminds us to wait on God if we want strength to go on. 

George Mueller started an orphanage at Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He prayed for everything he needs in. And that is what I have learnt. Before I open my mouth to ask anyone for anything, I learnt to ask God first. 

“I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down, and when I rise. 
And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. 
When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, I go on praying for it. - George Muller

It is the same with my life all these years. There was one time when my children was so sick in Penang. We had to send him to the hospital one week after my daughter and I asked God what did I do wrong? As I look back now, it was a training ground and when they came out of hospital, all the bills were paid for. 

If you fast and don't pray, it's starvation. If you fast and sleep, it's hibernation. If you fast and pray, it's intercession. 

2 Chronicles 20:15

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

When you spend enough time with God you have to wait and wait and wait to get a prophetic word. Why only David get to bring down Goliath? You may say he's the lucky one. No. He's the ready one. You have to be ready. When you are ready, God give his word like he gave to the army. My battles become God's battles. My bill become God's bill. Your children becomes his children. God will fight your battles. And you will receive because his word will be released. When it comes, it is heavens word and not man's word. The battle is not ours. It belongs to God.

We need to be the ready ones. Not the lucky ones. And we will see the breakthrough we are waiting for. 

They then moved forward and praise God. They worshipped. 

2 Chronicles 20:18-19

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

There is Worship. There was Praise. And there was Thanksgiving. They did all of that. 

Worship in Hebrew is "shachah". Worship is to bow, to kneel to crouch before the Lord. The emphasis is to come before God. 

It's like your puppy. When you come home, it's not the wife that greets you. It's your puppy and it comes to lick you. That's the image. 

Praise is boasting. Boasting of who God is and we give him the credit of what he has done. It's like polishing silver. Then you lift it up for everybody to see. To show your trophy. You lift him up and not shy about showing who God is and what he's done for you. You praise him not just in good times but also in bad times. In the valley you can still praise God. In whatever circumstances of life you praise him. 

Thanksgiving is to communicate surrender. Coming to him with empty hands and surrender to him. You couldn't have done it yourself. 

And blessings is to kneel down and saluting God for who he is in his authority. And you speak well of him. Like an eulogy given when someone died. Eulogia in the New Testament is to speak well of him while he is alive. 

And look at what happened when they praised God, something happened in the heavenlies. Something happened where God's power was released and the enemies killed each other. And they came in and plundered the enemies. There is a spiritual dynamics there that our minds cannot comprehend. God gives victory to his people when they praise him. 

You may not have an answer today but praise God and see the results that will come ahead. 

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you today for accepting me as your child.
I surrender to you all the challenges that I am facing in life.
I understand from your word today, that you will fight the battles for your people.

The Battle is the Lord’s!

I believe victory is mine as I praise your holy name. 

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

I praise you today from the depths of my heart.

In Jesus Mighty Name!

Bro David Ng being interviewed by Ps Ronald about his experiences as an ex-Thomas Cup badminton player representing Malaysia.

Ps Joshua from House of Prayer leading us in a time of praise and worship at the close of the service.

Ps Ronald praying for all the ushers, and encouraging them on the importance of their ministry.