TEXT: ‘One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”’ (Luke 11:1 NIV) The 100% success rate Jesus demonstrated when He ministered to the sick and demon-possessed, was largely due to His prayer life. When His disciples tried and failed to cast out the demon in the father’s epileptic son (See Mark 9:14-29), Jesus said, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting’ (v29). He was saying they could do it but needed to pray and fast. The correct reaction to failure is a determination to succeed, not despair that it did not work. As the saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again!” Luke’s gospel records seven occasions when Jesus prayed. Today’s Teaching focusses on each one to see why Jesus prayed and what was the result. Every one of them is something we can safely imitate to enjoy a more successful prayer life! 1. To receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit – ‘When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy...
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TEXT: ‘I decided to write it all out for you, most honourable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught’ (Luke 1:4 MSG) Theophilus had been taught the gospel and believed it. Yet doubts had arisen making him ask, “Was I told the truth?” To settle these doubts, Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write two letters to Theophilus, that he might know the certainty of the things he had been taught. The Book of Acts starts with, ‘Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles’ (Acts 1:1 MSG). The first letter was about how Jesus evangelised and taught. The second showed how His disciples continued evangelising through the power of the Holy Spirit. By silencing Theophilus’ doubts, God has done the same for countless millions, right down to the present day. Today’s Teaching focusses on what hinders and helps faith. 1. The carnal mind is prone to doubt and fear It’s programmed to work on understanding and reason. Christianity works by faith. The carnal mind fights faith and can never be brought under control. Scripture...
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