Message Notes

SUNDAY SCHOOL SPECIAL 3 May 2020

INTRODUCTION

1. Two essentials to take note of

a) Faith in God

b) Practice of Faith

2. Faith

a) Be sure it is genuine

b) Be sure it if growing

c) Be sure it is good if not great

3. Practice

a) This is about practical application

b) Faith that is real will find its expressions

PART I

THE PRACTICE OF ALMSGIVING (CHARITABLE DEED)

1. It starts with concern for the poor
(Matthew 6:1-4 Cf. Deuteronomy 15:7-18)

a) Those who are poor

b) Open your hand wide to him

c) God will see and He will bless (reward)

d) Charitable deeds encouraged

2. Danger highlighted

a) Giving to draw attention to self

b) Self-glory

c) No blessing

THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER
(Matthew 6:5-15; Cf. Psalm 4, 5)

1. Danger highlighted

a) Hypocrisy
Self-glory

b) Vain repetition
Wrong understanding of how prayer works

c) No blessing

2. Personal Prayer practice

a) Praying in secret

b) Communion with God as Father

c) Blessing

3. The Lord’s Prayer

a) Not to be used as “repetition”

b) Example of how to pray

4. Elements of Prayer

a) Our Father in heaven
Address God as Father (Romans 8:15)

b) Hallowed be Your name

i) Be conscious of the holiness of God’s name

ii) have a high regard for His name

c) Your kingdom come

i) Prayer about God’s kingdom

ii) May it grow

iii) May it come to the hearts of people

d) Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

i) Understanding God’s will

ii) May it be fulfilled (Cf. Matthew 26:36-46)

iii) Heaven’s angels would obey swiftly

iv) May we, on earth, have the same kind of heart of understanding

e) Give us this day our daily bread

i) Consciousness of God’s provision

ii) Seeking the Lord’s grace to provide

f) Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors

i) Forgiveness to be sought from God

ii) Forgiveness to be practised (forgive others)

g) And do not lead us into temptation

i) This is a plea

ii) Temptation is to be understood as “testing”

iii) Pray that we may not be tested

iv) The answer is up to the Lord’s will

h) Deliver us from the evil one

i) Recognition of the involvement of Satan

ii) We may pray that God would deliver us from him

i) Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

i) Conclude dwelling on the greatness of God

ii) His kingdom

iii) His glory

iv) Amen “So let it be!”

5. An important note

a) On the matter of forgiveness

b) We have to practise forgiveness

c) If we cannot forgive people, how can we expect God to forgive us?

THE FEASTS OF THE LORD

1. There were many “Feasts of the LORD”
(Leviticus 23)

a) Sabbath
(Leviticus 23:3)

b) Passover/ Unleavened Bread
(Leviticus 23:4-8)

c) Firstfruits
(Leviticus 23:9-14)

d) Feasts of Weeks
(Leviticus 23:15-22 Cf. Acts 2)

e) Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah- New Year)
(Leviticus 23:23-25)

f) Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
(Leviticus 23:26-32)

i) Sabbath of Sabbaths

ii) 25 hour fast

iii) Most holy day in the Jewish calendar

g) Tabernacles (Succoth)
(Leviticus 23:33-44 Cf. John 7:37-39)

h) Purim
(Esther 9:18-32)
(A lesser festival)

i) Hanukkah
(Zechariah 10; Cf. John 10:22) Feast of Dedication
(A lesser festival)

2. Only 3 were highlighted:

a) Passover/ Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 16:1-8)

b) Pentecost (Feast of weeks) (Deuteronomy 16:9-12)

c) Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:13-17)

THE PRACTICE OF FASTING

There was only one Feast that required Fasting
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) (Leviticus 23:26-32)

1. Day of affliction of the soul

2. Day of repentance

3. Day of fasting

ADDITIONAL FASTS

1. Added by Jews after the Fall of Jerusalem

a) Fasting in the 5th month (Fall of Jerusalem) (Zechariah 7:3)

b) Fasting in the 7th month (Assassination of Gedaliah) (Zechariah 7:5)

2. Claims of merit for fasting (Zechariah 7:1-5)

3. Rejected by the LORD (Zechariah 7:4-7)

4. What God desires

a) Not fasting

b) But obedience (Zechariah 7:7)

DANGER HIGHLIGHTED

1. Hypocrisy (Matthew 6:16)

2. Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14)