Title Without Reproach (1 John 3:21-22)
If there is nothing against reproach (1 John 3:21-22)
if there is nothing to reproach
(1 John 3:21-22)
In Habakkuk 1:2, we read, “O Lord, how long do I cry, but you do not hear me?” And there is talk of getting burned. Many people give up praying. In Habakkuk 2:3, it says, “Though it delays, wait, and it will surely come without delay.”
More than 40 years ago, a six-month-old child was abandoned at a city hospital in the United States. The baby was blind and suffered from severe cerebral palsy. At that time, a 52-year-old nurse, Mayremke, took the baby and raised her. May named the baby Wrestle. Even when the baby was given milk, she had no strength to suck it up. May kissed the baby on the cheek every day and told her a story. But the baby never knew how to smile. May started praying for Wrestle. “God, I believe in the miracles of the Bible. Give me a miracle.” Wrestle changed little by little after eating ‘prayer’ and ‘love’. One night, May woke up to a soft piano accompaniment. It was Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto. However, the performer of the song was surprisingly a 21-year-old wrestler.
A woman's love and prayer awakened a sleeping soul. The ingredients for miracles are love and prayer. Love alone does not make a good mother. There must be prayer. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
If you are a believer who has lived a certain life of faith, you will know very well about the definition and method of prayer and the results of prayer. Prayer is like spiritual breathing. When you pray earnestly, you will be filled with vitality and overflow with joy and gratitude in life.
However, there are reasons why believers do not pray even though they know the necessity of prayer. There are believers who pray but do not receive answers. I hope that you will be able to receive answers to prayers through the words heard during this worship service today.
1. One of the reasons why we do not receive answers is because we do not have the certainty of answers.
If we pray without lust (James 1:6), not with pride like the prayer of the proud Pharisee (Luke 18), and without doubting (James 1:6), it will be answered.
Calvin said, “Prayer is the key in the morning and the lock in the evening.” A scientist named Karen said, “Prayer connects me to the inexhaustible power that turns the universe,” and Francis said, “Prayer is the sword of the saints.” Prayer should be a natural way of life. Here are the six rules of life of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. “① Get up early in the morning and pray. ② Avoid unnecessary chatter. ③ Be humble, act passionately, and have sincere conversations. ④ Read four chapters of the Bible every day. ⑤ I entrust my life to God. ⑥I shout out these rules of life at least two times a day.” He is respected worldwide because his life was based on prayer, the Word and faith.
We must live by naturally praying in our lives without doubting, not asking according to our lusts, relying on the Word. "God!! May our business prosper”, “God!! Please take care of our family”, “God!! May our wishes come true.” We should pray with many prayer topics.
2. Answered prayers can only be done by resolving the remorse of conscience.
It is written in the text, “Whatever we ask, we can receive from God” (verse 22). However, in verse 21, it is written, “When there is no remorse of conscience…” If we look at the words of verses 21 and 22 as a joint translation, it is written as follows. “Dear friends, when we are not guilty of conscience, we are proud before God. And whatever we ask for, we can receive from God. Because we are keeping the commandments of God and doing things that please God.”
When there is no remorse of conscience, God answers prayer. I hope that many members of the congregation will not be discouraged and continue to pray. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
People of faith must first try not to become a remorse in their relationship with God. Next, we should try not to feel any remorse in our relationships with people.
To feel remorse is, technically, to be the root of sin. In Isaiah 1:15, there was a word that God spoke through Isaiah. “When you stretch out your hands, I cover your eyes, and though you pray a lot, I do not hear you, for your hands are full of blood.” Psalm 66:18 says, “If I harbor iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
※Prayer is clearly answered if you ask for it according to God's will.
※Prayer will definitely be answered unless you ask for it through your own lust.
※Prayer will be answered if you humbly give up everything you have and pray like a publican.
※Prayer will be answered as it is if you pray without doubting.
Solve the cases of remorse one by one. The answer will be clear. In the text, “Dear friends, when we are not guilty of conscience, we are proud before God. And whatever we ask for, we can receive from God. Because we are keeping the commandments of God, and we are doing things that are pleasing to God” (John 1:3:21-22).
If there are habits and lifestyles in your life that make you remorseful, correct them.
If there are things that cause remorse in your relationships with people and with God, solve them. The answer will be clear.
3. If you remove unnecessary physical things, your prayers can be answered.
There is a Hebrew term for prayer: “Falal, kara, shaal, halah, paqah…”. Among these Hebrew words, there is a word “falal” that is used a lot, and the meaning of this prayer term is “cut yourself off” or “injure yourself”.
We must cut out unnecessary things in order to receive answers to our prayers. We must cut off the things of the flesh toward the world, that is, those for the lusts of the flesh. And we have to cut out the parts of our lives that are not humble and proud. We must boldly cut off any doubts that come from praying in particular. While praying, we need to cut off the things that cause remorse.
Jesus gave the following instructions on how to pray rightly. “When you pray, do not be like hypocrites. They like to stand in the synagogue or on the street corner to pray to be seen. As I say clearly, they have already received their prize. When you pray, go into your closet, close the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. Then your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you pray, do not repeat empty words like the Gentiles. They think that they need to talk a lot in order for God to hear them. So do not imitate them. God your Father already knows what you need before you ask for it.” (Matthew 6:7-8) If you give up hypocrisy, pride, and formal life, your prayers will be answered. When you repent of your sins in your closet and cut off the things that are your faults and remorse, your prayers will be answered.
4. Answered prayers are when these prayers are offered.
I made a bankbook of faith for the children of the church school one by one. Those bankbooks were the word bankbook, thanksgiving bankbook, and prayer bankbook. There are children who keep building up, and there are children who do not. Several saints have several bankbooks among them. Are you saving thanks? Are you saving the Word? Are you saving your prayers? In particular, you should look at how much prayer time is saved in the prayer account. You can measure the maturity of your faith according to the amount saved in your prayer account.
If you are talking to a bad person with a bad heart, your heart will be twisted, but if you are talking with a moderate person, your mood will be mild. If you are talking to a generous person, you will have honest and bold thoughts, and if you are talking with innocent children, this side will also be captured by your children. For this reason, if we diligently engage in dialogue (prayer) with God, even our ugly humans will become noble and innocent.
Is there anything that annoys you?
Is there anything that makes you suffer?
Is there anything that weakens you?
Is there anything that bothers you?
Breathing with God will take your breath away.
“Is any of you afflicted? I will pray. Does anyone rejoice? Let him sing praises” (James 5:13), “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
I hope that many of the members who participated in today's Sunday worship can pray that will receive answers. I sincerely hope that you will be able to receive answers, believe in the existence of God and work every day, and be able to preach Him.