Who Do You Say That I am?
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Esmi Lukman, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
Watch full sermon here
James Sudarsono started his sermon with a recap of Bishop Bart Pierce's sermon last week about the sacrifice of praise. Giving praise is not about how we feel or about the circumstances in our lives and how we need to praise to make ourselves feel better or to lift our spirits up, instead, it is often a sacrifice.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Praise can shift our perspective. Praise is a double-edged sword and weapon. It is a sword in the mouth of believers. When we lift a sacrifice of praise, we no longer exalt our problems. When we lift God’s name, we refocus our attention on the Lord, not on our circumstances anymore.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Matthew 16:13-15 NKJV
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So, they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
In this passage, James emphasized on the most important question that Jesus asked His disciples, His followers who spent time with Him, “Who do you say I am?”, “Do you know me?”, Do you know who I am?”
James mentioned that until you receive a revelation from God about the truth of who Jesus is, you cannot worship in spirit and truth. We cannot worship Jesus based on someone else’s revelation. We need to receive a personal revelation of who Jesus is in our lives. When we depend on borrowed explanations and never encounter Jesus, we end up worshiping in the flesh and carnal knowledge. We can kneel and do all the motions and follow what other people do, but that remains head knowledge only.
John 4:23-24
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
When Jesus asked the disciples “Who do you say I am?”, Simon Peter received a personal revelation from the Father. In Matthew 16:16-18 NKJK, Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
As Jesus asked Peter, Jesus is asking you, “Who am I to you?” Who is Jesus to you? The revelation that Simon Peter received from the Father and his confession of Jesus as the Son of God has become the “bedrock foundation” of the Church. The body of Christ, the people of God, need to build upon the revelation of Jesus Christ. We cannot worship who and what we do not know.
It is not enough to know Christ from somebody else’s revelation. Jesus does not make sense as an argument. We cannot argue with someone about salvation, and we cannot convince someone to believe that the God of the universe would die for us. We need the Father’s revelation. Jesus needs to be revealed to us. The heart of God is to release the revelation of who the Son of God is. Our lives will be transformed when we recognize who Jesus is for us as our Healer, Provider, Righteousness, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, and Savior. Our worship will be transformed when we recognize who Jesus is.
Prayers Points:
We exist to praise the Almighty God. Pray that we know that purpose.
Pray for a personal revelation of Jesus Christ.
Pray so that we can truly worship in spirit and in truth gained from that revelation.
Pray to recognize who Jesus is in our lives (Healer, Provider, Righteousness, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, and Savior).
Pray for transformation to occur in our lives.
Be the Salt & Light:
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Pray for California:
AB2223 passed the Assembly floor on 5/26/22. It is now headed to the Senate. Please continue to pray that this bill will not move forward. Pray for Holy Spirit to convict our lawmaker's hearts and end AB2223.
California primary election is on June 7th, 2022:
Pray for election integrity.
Pray that God will elevate godly candidates and open up the doors for them to get elected.
Pray that Christians will rise up and vote for godly candidates.
Pray for America:
Yet another mass shooting happened this last week:
Pray for grace, comfort, strength and healing on the victim’s family and their community.
Pray against the spirit of violence in our state and nation.
Pray that our leaders and representatives will not turn this issue into a political theater.
Gas prices, inflation, supply chain disruptions, threats of global food crisis, baby formula crisis are still very much in the fore-front of our lives. Pray for wisdom on our leaders to come up with policies that will get these issues under control.
SCOTUS leak on draft opinion for Roe vs Wade has caused many to protest all around the nation:
Pray that it will be peaceful protest and that Antifa does not infiltrate the protest to create chaos.
Pray for the safety of SCOTUS justices (Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas) and their families. They are facing tremendous pressure from the pro-abortion groups. Pray that they fear God more than they fear men and stand for justice and righteousness.
Pray for the leaker(s) to be identified and punished to the fullest extent of the law. What the leaker(s) did has undermined the court.
Pray for Ukraine:
Let’s not forget that war is still raging in Ukraine. The number of casualties kept increasing. There are on-going war crime investigations. Please continue to pray for Russia-Ukraine war to end swiftly.
Let us obtain a revelation of who Jesus is and worship Him in spirit and in truth!