Put Off Your Shoes-Prayer Tips

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Telephone numbers 0703 03636 59, 0703 76811 98. Email address lsmedia at livingseed.org or visit our website at www.livingseed.org. Let us sit back and listen as the servant of God brings forth the Word of Life. We want to appreciate God for his help thus far and we are going to be praying.

Indeed, God has come and we need to respond to him even in the place of prayer. For us to pray, I will be reading Exodus, reading two passages majorly. Exodus 3, then we start from verse 1 to verse 10.

And after that, if the Lord permits us with time, we will also check another scripture from Mark. Just praying that we will have time for that. Otherwise, I will just paraphrase it.

The reason why we are going to be praying is because when God is speaking this way, what he expects from us is to respond to him appropriately. What he expects from us is to say, yes, Lord, to all that he is saying to us. And we'll be checking the life of Moses.

We'll be using Moses to pray. We'll be using how God encountered him to pray. Because God has brought us.

He has brought us here in order to encounter us. And he has not brought you here. He has not brought you to this Congress in order to discourage you.

No, that's not his thought. You remember the Bible says his thoughts towards us are thoughts of good and not of evil. And not of evil to bring us to the expected end.

And so we'll quickly take Exodus chapter 3, read down from 1 to verse 10. So now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Oreb.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight while the bush is not burned.

And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses, and he said, here am I. And he said, draw not neither, put off thy shoes from all thy feet. For the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt. And I have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

And I am come down to deliver out of the hand of Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, and unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of Canaanite, and the Etite, and the Amorite, and the Perisite, and the Abite, and the Jebusite. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the Israel is come unto me. And I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them.

Come now, therefore, and I will send thee, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, and thou may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Praise the Lord. As we know this story very well, we know that this was the entry point of Moses' ministry.

This was the entry point of whatever we are reading about Moses. And I want to also put it to us that God has brought us to this Oreb. He has brought us to this Congress in order to encounter us.

This Congress, as we have been hearing, as God is emphasizing it, that this Congress is going to be an entry point for something serious in our life. It's going to be an entry point for greatness in your own life. And so we'll be spending much time to pray for ourselves.

You are going to be praying for yourself because when God is saying things like this, he's not joking. And he has reasons why he's bringing his words to you as a person. Let me tell you that God is not speaking to us as a group.

He's actually reaching out to us as a person. And I want us to really, really take it serious and correctly respond to him. For Moses, as we said, as we have read from here, that the Lord appealed to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.

Now we have come. We will be seeing a lot of things as the word of God came yesterday night. If you are not careful, you will just be enjoying and say, ah, the way this man of God is just sharing.

Ah, the way this, the way that church has come. Oh, he's just sharing the thing. And you will be, you will be taking away.

You will forget why God is bringing this. I want to tell you that one of the things God wants to do with our lives is that he wants to use us. And first, he will have to make sure that he captures you as a person.

He will have to make sure that you are in his quiver. You have to make sure that you are not distracted. You have to make sure that you are with him and you are committed.

And you are going to be ready to receive whatever he's going to say to you. Now if you read them, you see that's the verse, verse 3. Moses did something which I'm praying that we also do in the place of prayer. All this that God is bringing, as I've rightly said, is to just catch, to get our attention wherever you are.

Is to get your attention, even as you are alone in your room. Is to get your attention in that center that you are. And what I'm praying that you will take it and you will, like Moses, you will also turn.

You will not be distracted. You will not be distracted with crowd. You will not be distracted with your phone.

You will not be distracted to call somebody else and say, are you also connected? You will not be distracted in any way. And thank God the way the word of the Lord has come already. We are going to be praying and say, Lord, you will help me not to be distracted.

You will give me grace not to be distracted. Now you remain, let's proceed as we, I like these tips for us to pray. Now look at what I'm seeing from that verse 4. The Bible said, and when the Lord saw that he turned aside.

Can I say that the Lord is actually watching us? The Lord is watching. He's looking who among us, who among these young ones will turn aside? And say, Lord, why is this thing happening now? Lord, what is my place in what you are saying in this period? God is eager. God is waiting.

You want to look. You want to check. And you want to see that person.

Remember that not until Moses turned aside before the Lord, it has been like angel. Can I tell you that God has promised in this congress that himself is going to be available for us. Angels, the minister of the angels, yes, is there.

But God has decided that he will come, that he will engage us so that for life we will remember this retreat for good. I want you to note that very well, that God has come. Now look at verse 5. And it says, draw not nigh either.

Put off thy shoes from off thy feet. For the place where thou standest is holy ground. Can I say to you that one of the instructions that God will be bringing, and he has already brought to us, even as we all listen to the opening charge, and as we all listen to the devotional challenge at this point, is that he will be giving us instruction.

He will be giving us instruction, and he is watching to see if we obey. Look at what he told Moses. He said, remove your shoes.

Take off thy shoes, because the ground you are now is a holy ground. Can I tell you that God will be expecting as young as you are, as young as you are, that you will obey him. And you put off that shoes.

I don't know what your own shoes are. For some of us might not be seemingly seen, but you know how arrogant you are. God has not even given you a place yet, but yet you are not teachable.

God will be expecting that you will remove that shoes. God will be expecting, some of us, you can be angry. God will be expecting that you take off that shoes.

God will be expecting that those shoes, as God is revealing them, and he will be revealing them to us in this retreat. Don't say that I will go home and remove it. Let me tell you that there is grace where you are.

On that land that you are, that place that you are, you are the one thinking that you are still in your parlor. You are the one thinking you are just in your room. Let me tell you, as you have connected, the Lord is with you right there.

And I want you to know that he will expect you to remove your shoes. He is asking us to remove our shoes. Yes, God has brought a matter of sin yesterday night.

Paraventure, you escaped. Paraventure, you failed. No, I can't do it.

Ah, no, no, no, this retreat, there is still more days. Let me tell you, you will have to remove the shoes. You know it.

You know the shoes that you have to remove. And thank God that Moses did as the Lord commanded him. Otherwise, the experience he had would have stopped.

But thank God you obeyed. I'm praying that you will also obey this morning in the name of Jesus. Now look at how God, how the Lord introduced himself.

God is eager to introduce himself to us. And can I remind you, maybe you are young and you think, yes, I still have some years to wait. Maybe you are here, you are just in your 15.

Maybe you are here, you are listening to me right now, you are just in your 18. And you think, yes, this is the time I want to gyrate. This is the time I want to be, I want to flex.

This is the time I want to do something before I will come back. Yes, you say you will come back. But let me tell you, because you are not the owner of your life, you cannot determine what will happen next.

And so I want you to know that as you are, God is ready for us. And reading down, God wants to introduce himself. You know, you have been hearing the God, the God of this, the God of that, the God of Abraham, the God of this.

Now God wants to, he has come down. He wants to introduce himself to us. He wants to show that, no, this is me.

There are some aspects of God that you think you know, but you don't know. And God wants to introduce that to you. Let me tell you that he's not doing this just for doing sick.

If you read down, you will see that indeed, God made it so clear. He says, I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. This you know it.

You know that the whole world is facing challenges. Your campus is facing issues. You know that almost everywhere, when you turn this way, when you turn the other way, it's like being a Christian is a crime.

God knows. And the cry has reached heaven. And God wants to actually answer.

I want to make you and I the answer to these issues. He wants to, what he's making is that he wants to commission us. In this Congress, God wants to commission us.

He wants to launch us. Look at the team. He says, go.

It's not about going gently. It's a command. God wants to, he wants to commission us.

But can I tell you, God will not commission you if you are not captured. If you are not captivated. If you are still thinking, no, I want to check, I want to enjoy life.

Oh, let me tell you, the enjoyment you need in life is in Christ. Every other thing outside Christ, let me tell you, is a sinking sand. And so as you'll be praying, you'll be opening your own life to God.

You'll be telling God as you are, say, Lord, this is me. This is what I know I need to remove. This is what I know, yes, this self-life has been a challenge.

I want to remove it. God has come down. God has come down.

And he wants to rise on that campus that you are. And let me tell you, he wants to rise. He wants to use you to be the answer.

But this day, as he's speaking, I am praying that you will not sit down. That you will not just think that he's casual again. I pray the Lord will help us in the name of Jesus.

Now, looking at that verse 10. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. God wants to use us.

He wants to fill us with his own strength. Because, you know, by our strength, we can't do anything. The Bible says, by strength shall no man prevail.

You will be praying with me this morning. And in the various centers where they will be leading us to pray, you will be intentional about this issue. See, by strength, by your own strength, look at how you try to stand up in your own lecture hall.

Look at how they push you aside. But let me tell you, when the Lord will rise, when it's going to be the strength of God that you are carrying, even if you are one out of a thousand, let me tell you where you are, wherever you think you are, even if you are one, you will just see that everybody will have to keep quiet and say, now, let's listen to him. But what he's saying is right.

What I'm telling you is what God has shown me that is true. God does not need multitude before he will do what he intends to do. What he needs is an available vessel.

What he needs is just one person. Just one person that will say, Lord, I am here. Now, we thank God.

We will be praying shortly. We thank God for the way Moses responded. He responded appropriately.

And that is why we cannot see. Some of us, we love the way he operated. If you also respond now, sincerely, heaven will be rejoicing and your future will be great.

Then I want to just paraphrase a man in the New Testament who did not respond appropriately. And that was the last thing we heard about him. I won't be able to read the scripture because of my time.

If you get to Mark chapter 10, you know that story of the young rich ruler. Young! And I know that is everything that everyone wants. You want to cash it quickly.

You want to make it quick. And look at how that young rich ruler fell down. He actually acknowledged the Lord.

He acknowledged Jesus as a good master. But when God gave him instruction, he said, ah, you already know the rules. You know the instruction.

You do not see, do not do this, do not do that. And he said, ah, all these things you are saying to me, I have obeyed them since I was young. Oh, my God.

Can you see this kind of thing I'm seeing? That a man has been obeying, he's just been a moralist. Let me speak to you now as we pray. That morality, be a moral, you are just a good girl, you are just a good boy, you are not looking for trouble.

It's not going to be enough. What God is looking for is Christ's life in us. What we actually, what God will use to use in order to deliver his children from the hand of the enemy is going to be Christ's life.

It's going to be Jesus and him alone. Let me tell you, it's not going to be empty chanting. It's not going to be empty tonguing.

A lot of young persons, you see them, you think they are zeros. They have the form of godliness. They have the form of godliness.

When they are in the bedroom, they are speaking in tongues. When they are anywhere, they are speaking in tongues. But when you get close to them, when a small sister, a sister just comes close to them, then you know they are yourself.

This morning, I want you to pray. You will be praying, and I will be asking you to rise where you are. You are going to be rising to be telling God you will be real.

One of the things the Lord brought to us yesterday night is the fact that we must be real. We must come out. Let me tell you that you must come out and be yourself.

In this retreat, nobody is looking at who are you. Nobody says you are the president of the whole whatever. Nobody says you are the chairman of the whole whatever.

You need to be real and come close and say, Father, I am here. I pray the Lord will help you. Look at how that man ended.

Everything closed. Everything closed, and Jesus said, Ah! You know, when Jesus told him, Go and sell all the possessions and give to the poor. He said the man was sorrowful because he had great possessions.

What are those possessions that you have? Those riches. Is it your intelligence? Is it your wisdom? Oh, you are in the first class. Are you thinking if you follow Jesus, you will not make it? Ah! That is actually the best way.

That is actually the best way to preserve that first class. We have been in school before. People have been in first class, and they said they want to just face the academics.

But before we finish, what happened? They dropped. But when you also put your hand and you put your life in his hand, you will see that everything will be good. Everything will be perfect.

The Lord will help us in the name of Jesus. Now we will rise up as we pray.