JPCC Online Service (29 November 2020)
Saya akan membuka Kotbah saya dengan ayat berikut. Ini adalah Kisah tentang Elia, seorang Nabi dan juga orang yang begitu dipakai oleh Tuhan dan disaat dia berdoa, sesuatu akan mulai berubah. Di tahun ini, kita juga perlu menjadi seorang pendoa, gereja yang juga berdoa, pemimpin dan pastor yang juga berdoa, begitu juga sebagai orang tua karena berdoa adalah salah satu bagian yang Tuhan ingin kita lakukan di dunia. ‘
Elia berdoa dan juga bernubuat akan 3 tahun kekeringan bagi Bangsa Israel yang berbalik dari Tuhan. 3 tahun akan tidak adanya hujan dan diakhir masa kekeringan ini, sepertinya hanya Elia sendiri seorang yang berdiri bagi Tuhan. Jadi dia bertarung melawan begitu banyak Nabi Palsu, dimana Elia bahkan sampai menjelekkan dan mempertanyakan semua Nabi Baal itu akan keberadaan dewa mereka, dan disaat bersamaan, Elia juga berdoa kepada Tuhan akan persembahan yang dia siapkan untukNya, seketika itu juga Tuhan menjawab doanya.
Disini saya ingin mengingatkan kita semua bahwa disaat kita berdoa, seringkali Dia akan langsung menjawabnya. Saya ingat disaat saya sedang bersama Ibu saya dulu disaat sedang menuju ke supermarket. Ibu saya berkata dan berdoa bahwa dia butuh parkir spot karena saat itu sedang begitu ramai disana, dan seketika itu juga kami mendapatkannya. Saya berkata kepadanya, “Ibu, aku tidak tahu apakan Tuhan menjawab doamu atau itu memang waktu yang begitu tepat disaat parkir tersedia”. Tetapi kadang memang Tuhan bisa menjawab doa kita dalam waktu yang cepat. Baik itu dalam hari berikutnya, atau dalam kurun waktu satu jam, Tuhan bisa seketika itu juga menjawab doa kita dan seringkali juga Tuhan menunda jawaban doa kita.
Opening Verse – After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” 8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!” 15 Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.” Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” 34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” 1 Kings 18:1-39 NIV
God is never too early and He’s never too late. He is an On-Time Guy and He knows when, He knows where and He knows how to give His children good gifts.
Nabi Elia berdoa, dan “Boom!”, doanya langsung dijawab oleh Tuhan. Seketika juga selanjutnya, dan saat itu Israel sedang dilanda masa kekeringan selama 3 tahun dan disaat Elia berdoa, hujan yang deras langsung terjadi.
Supporting Verse – And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 1 Kings 18:41-44 NIV
Elia berkata kepada Ahab bahwa dia mendengar suara hujan yang lebat, dan saat itu tidak ada hujan sama sekali selama 3 tahun masa kekeringan di Israel. Elia bernubuat dan mengatakan apa yang dia rasakan secara Spiritual dan Iman. We don’t go by what we see but we go by what we hear God’s saying. Elia bergerak dan berbicara dengan Iman, dan berkali-kali menyuruh hambanya untuk melihat keadaan di luar akan keberadaan hujan yang dia nubuatkan. Kita bisa mempelajari the cycle of prayer dari Kisah Elia disini.
The Cycle of Prayer :
1. There is Nothing. Pernahkah kita berada dalam musim “There is Nothing?”. Seperti disaat kita sedang menunggu sebuah e-mail, text message dan berkali-kali saat kita melihatnya, tidak ada text message, e-mail, WA atau sms yang masuk. Atau disaat kita sedang menunggu uang masuk di rekening dan berkali-kali disaat kita melihatnya, dana itu belum masuk. Begitu juga dalam hal approval yang kita harapkan dan belum kita terima dari pemimpin kita.
Supporting Verse – “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” 1 Kings 18:43 NIV
Saya ingat beberapa tahun lalu, saat saya bertemu dengan pasangan yang sudah beriman dan percaya selama bertahun-tahun akan keturunan. Setiap kali mereka mencoba untuk mendapatkan keturunan, there is Nothing. Apa yang kita lakukan disaat kita mengharapkan sesuatu, melihat situasi sekeliling kita dan tidak ada apa-apa (there is nothing)?
Bagaimana kita bisa memiliki keyakinan dan mimpi disaat tidak ada apa-apa di sekeliling kita? Kita lihat Elia, dan bagaimana dia memiliki postur seorang pendoa. Billy Graham berkata bahwa “It is not the physical posture that matters most in prayer, it’s the attitude of heart that matters when we pray”
Bukanlah postur fisik Elia sebagai pendoa dengan kepala yang dia tundukkan disaat berdoa, tetapi hati dari Imannya, seorang hamba Tuhan yang mencari Tuhan, berseru dan bertanya kepadaNya.. God, would you move? would you let it rain? would you show up and do something impossible?
Bahkan disaat hambanya datang dan berkata “There is nothing”, Elia meminta terus kepadanya agar kembali berbalik dan melihat situasi sampai mukjizat itu terjadi.
2. Go Again.
Elia terus berkata “Go back”, “Go Again” kepada hambanya sampai dia melihat nubuatannya terjadi. Hal ini juga yang akan saya katakan kepada kita semua yang sedang menunggu jawaban doa kita. Stop stopping after the second or fourth prayer, or even the sixth prayer. Yesus berkata bahwa siapapun yang bertanya, akan menerima, siapa yang mencari akan menemukan, siapa yang mengetuk pintu maka pintunya akan dibukakan. Keep on Going, kita tidak punya “The Going” problem, tetapi masalah yang kita punya adalah “The Stopping” problem.
Supporting Verse – “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” 1 Kings 18:43 NIV
Don’t Stop in Faith, Don’t Stop on God. Don’t Stop on Your Marriage, Don’t Stop on your children, Don’t Stop on this Church and Don’t Stop on your Nation. Don’t Stop on your Dream and Calling, Keep On Seeking, Keep on Knocking, Keep on Asking and Keep on Going!
Karena Elia berkata, “Aku tidak peduli apa yang engkau tidak lihat, karena aku mendengar suara dari hujan yang deras. Dan aku akan tetap mengirimmu sampai aku mendengar kamu melihatnya.” Saat ini yang bisa kita dengar adalah Nubuat dan Firman Tuhan, tetapi cepat atau lambat, kita akan bisa melihat jawaban doa kita. ,
Seperti anak saya yang berumur 7 tahun, Setiap kali dia meminta sesuatu yang saya larang, dia akan terus menerus bertanya sampai akhirnya saya bersedia dan mengabuli permintaannya. What do you need to ask God, again? Go again, Go again, and again.
3. Something is Rising.
Supporting Verse – The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 1 Kings 18:44 NIV
Saya tidak tahu apakah anda familiar dengan bentuk awan, saya sendiri tumbuh besar di Seattle, Washington. dan disana bisa turun hujan selama 91 hari berturut-turut. Semua yang kita lihat disana adalah awan yang besar, dan di kisah Elia ada awan yang berbentuk tangan yang kecil. Inilah yang saya suka dari Tuhan, awan kecil ini mungkin tidak akan membuat hujan deras, tetapi semua hal yang besar dimulai dari hal yang kecil.
Do not despise small beginnings. Sometimes it takes a seed to do something great in God’s Kingdom. Saya suka akan perkataan hamba elia yang berkata bahwa ada sesuatu yang keluar, mungkin saat itu hanya berbentuk tangan yang kecil tetapi disaat Tuhan memberikan NapasNya dan mulai bergerak, awan itu akan bertumbuh besar, sama dengan bagaimana Tuhan bisa memberkati 5 roti dan 2 ikan untuk memberi makan ribuan orang.
Don’t look at what you have, Look at what God can do with what you have. Baik itu bisnis yang saat ini terlihat kecil, tetapi Tuhan bisa melakukan sesuatu yang besar terhadap itu. Elia tahu bagaimana Tuhan bekerja, God is in the Grace Business. God does immeasurably more than we can ever ask, think or imagine. Sama halnya dengan JPCC, saya ingat akan cerita dimulainya JPCC dari sebuah garasi, dimulai ibaratnya dengan awan kecil yang menyerupai tangan manusia, dan sekarang bisa berdampak begitu besar bagi Indonesia. Jangan fokus dengan ukurannya tetapi fokuslah dengan kebangkitannya. Ada sesuatu yang bangkit dan bertumbuh di keluarga dan gereja kita.
Elia tahu bahwa hal itu selalu dimulai dari hal yang kecil, awal yang baru. Despite it’s only a size of a man’s hand, But when God is for us, who can be against us? Don’t despise small beginning, keep asking, seeking, and knocking.
Saya ingin memberikan 3 hal yang bisa kita pelajari hari ini untuk menguatkan iman kita.
1. It’s okay to keep praying.
Di Amerika kita mempunyai Disneyland, Mickie and Minnie Mouse tinggal disini dan disaat kita pergi kesini, kita bisa mendapatkan Fast Pass. Saya bisa pergi ke wahana Pirates of Carribean atau Space Mountain, dimana dengan pass ini saya bisa langsung menuju ke wahana tersebut tanpa harus mengantri panjang.
Saya ingin memberikan pass kepada kita untuk terus berdoa, baik itu selama 5 tahun atau 10 tahun. Ada hal yang harus kita percayai dan bisa kita tinggalkan begitu saja karena doa kita tidak langsung dijawab olehNya. Kita mungkin harus berdoa selama 7 kali dan 7 tahun sampai itu dijawab olehNya. Keep believing and Keep Asking.
Supporting Verse – One day Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. He shared with them this illustration: “In a certain town there was a civil judge, a thick-skinned and godless man who had no fear of others’ opinions. And there was a poor widow in that town who kept pleading with the judge, ‘Grant me justice and protect me against my oppressor!’ “He ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking. Eventually he said to himself, ‘This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her rights, and I’m tired of listening to her. Even though I’m not a religious man and don’t care about the opinions of others, I’ll just get her off my back by answering her claims for justice and I’ll rule in her favor. Then she’ll leave me alone.’” The Lord continued, “Did you hear what the ungodly judge said—that he would answer her persistent request? Don’t you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all of his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his Spirit upon them.[a] He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. God will give swift justice to those who don’t give up. So be ever praying, ever expecting, just like the widow was with the judge. Yet when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of persistent faithfulness in his people?” Luke 18:1-8 TPT
Saya berbicara hari ini tentang Persistent Prayer, the cycle of prayer is : ask, watch, wait… Repeat. I know what He said, I know what I heard, I don’t care about what you see right now, I’m going to be faithful, to be persistent in prayer.
2. Lift Up Your Request
Supporting Verse – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV
Beban dan request kita ditujukan kepada Tuhan, Kita menukar hal yang paling buruk dengan rancangan terbaikNya. Itulah sebabnya Nabi Yesaya bernubuat “He’ll give me the oil of joy for the spirit of heavyness. He’ll exchanged my mourning into dancing.” Inilah Tuhan yang kita sembah.
Supporting Verse – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. Phillipians 4:6 NLT
Doakan keluarga kita, kesehatan kita, negara kita, masa depan kita, dan doakan semua hal yang kita pikirkan hari ini. Jangan bergerutu akan itu, melainkan doakanlah hal itu. Pray without ceasing and stopping, let your request only matter to someone that can do something about it.
Saya suka travelling dan setiap saya di airport desk dan tidak menerima pelayanan customer service yang baik, saya selalu bertanya “Is it okay if I speak to your manager?”. sebab saya ingin memberikan request saya kepada seseorang yang bisa membuatnya terjadi.
Disaat kita berdoa kepada Tuhan, kita memberitahukan request kita kepada Tuhan mahakuasa yang bisa membuatnya terjadi. Dia adalah Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, jehovah Tsidkenu, dan Dialah Jehovah Shalom. Dia adalah Tuhan kita dan kita percaya kepadaNya.
3. Don’t quit until You get a “No”
Kita bukanlah “master of manipulation” dalam hal doa. Kita tidak hanya terus berdoa dan mencari berulang-ulang, karena jika Tuhan memberikan kata tidak atau tidak menjawab doa kita, maka kita harus move on.
Tetapi Elia bisa mendengar suara hujan besar karena Dia tahu Tuhan akan bergerak, dan dia akan terus mengirim hambanya untuk mengkonfirmasikan Nubuatnya, atau sampai Tuhan tidak menjawab doanya. Jika Tuhan tidak menjawab doa kita, kita harus belajar dari sikap Rasul Paulus.
Supporting Verse – even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NLT
Tiga kali Tuhan menjawab “Tidak” akan doanya Rasul Paulus, Tuhan tidak menjawab doanya dan sebaliknya setiap kali Dia bertanya, Tuhan berkata bahwa Kasih KaruniaNya yang dia butuhkan. Yesus juga mengalami hal yang sama sebelum Dia menghadap Pontius Pilatus dan disalibkan. Malam sebelumnya Dia berdoa di taman getsemani, dan mengajak MuridNya untuk berdoa bersamanya. MuridNya terus tertidur disaat dia meminta muridNya untuk menemaniNya berdoa.
Supporting Verse – Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:36-41 NIV
Spirit kita ingin bertemu Tuhan tetapi secara fisik dan kedagingan kita lemah. KIta harus lebih taat kepada Spirit dan Roh Kudus, karena kita bukanlah budak kedagingan, tetapi kita adalah Penyembah dan Anak Tuhan. Kembali Ke Kisah Getsemani, Hal diatas terus berlanjut berulang kali, dan Tuhan tidak menjawab doa Yesus karena inilah Kehendak Tuhan, bahwa Yesus harus menanggung dosa manusia dan menjadi persembahan yang sempurna dan tidak bersalah.
Yesus berhenti berdoa karena sudah menjawab Jawaban Bapa yang berkata tidak kepadaNya. Disaat Tuhan memberikan kata tidak dan tidak menjawab doa kita, baik itu di dalam sebuah hubungan, bisnis, pekerjaan, transaksi, apapun itu, kita tidak boleh menjadi seperti Adam dan Hawa yang tidak taat kepadaNya, melainkan kita harus mencontoh Yesus, yang taat kepada Kehendak Bapa.
Tetapi jika Tuhan berkata dalam Spirit kita seperti Elia, dan berkata kepadanya bahwa Tuhan akan melakukan sesuatu maka saya mau kita untuk bergerak, to ask, watch, wait. Ask God, watch God, watch Him move, and wait on God’s perfect timing. If it takes, 1 year, 5 year, 10 year, that’s His business. He’s an on-time God. He’s never too early and He’s never too late. He’s going to accomplish His will in His perfect timing.
Saya akan mengakhiri kotbah saya dengan satu pemikiran ini. Murid Yesus menghabiskan waktu 3.5 tahun bersama dengan Yesus. Mereka melihatNya berjalan di atas air, menyembuhkan orang buta dan tuli, melihat Yesus merubah air menjadi anggur, dan dari semua mukjizat yang dilakukanNya, satu hal yang diminta oleh muridNya kepada Yesus adalah bukan untuk mengajarkan kepada mereka bagaimana melakukannya, tetapi mereka meminta Yesus mengajarkan mereka bagaimana untuk berdoa.
Kehidupan Doa Yesus adalah sesuatu yang sangat menarik bagi Murid-muridNya. Dan semoga kita bisa menjadi Bangsa dan Pribadi yang suka berdoa, karena inilah yang Firman katakan.
Closing Verse – Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Corinthians 7:14 NLT
