Ps Tan: Discipline Over Small Things

Ps Tan:  Discipline Over Small Things

Dan.1: 11-12 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

 I think for some people it is very difficult to resist good food. Some people can never say no to chocolates. Some people can never say no to a good meal. I find as I grow in God, certain inclinations in me, including my appetite, change. You become more disciplined and this discipline in the end shows itself in other ways in the spiritual world. And it's because of that in verse 17.  As for these four youths, (the sad story is this happened only to these four young Jewish boys. There were hundreds of other young Jewish boys) God gave them learning and skill in all letters and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Out of that came authority and power over the nations. 

It was a simple question of food. It was a simple question of getting up in the morning. It was a simple question of spending more time with God in the night. It was a simple question of saying no to the devil;

Peter Tan: Your Authority in God Starts With Small Things in Your Life

Peter Tan:  Your Authority in God Starts With Small Things in Your Life


Now let me show how it brings the spiritual authority. When you gather here tonight to pray, how much power you can produce in prayer is dependent on every little thing that you overcome in your daily life. What you do tonight depends on what you do through out your life. Perhaps a good illustration is to take an extract from Nelson Mandela's biography. He spent many years in prison because he fought apartheid. He fought it in the streets. He fought it in the legal system. In the end he was taken and put in prison. It looks like that's the end. No more contact with society. In prison he treats the prison as a smaller version of the country. So every little thing he can overcome to him is one victory towards overcoming apartheid. And it makes him a

Ps Peter Tan: You Do Not Have To Protect Your Position

Some people pray so hard to get something from God. Then when God blessed them, they protect their blessings in a very natural way and they loose it. Or maybe God blessed you with grace and favor with people. And slowly you are promoted higher and higher until you are promoted very high. Whether it is a secular job or a political position or a church position. Then you forgot one thing: it was God who gave you the position.

You don't have to protect your position. You never got it by yourself. What you get by yourself, you have to protect yourself. But what you get from God, God protects you. But what happens is sometimes people reached those position and they try to do things to protect themselves. They are trying to keep in natural ways what God gave them by spiritual means. And they become a mere natural human being.

If God gave it, if anybody wants to take and God sees it fit, let it be so. But if God wants you to have it nobody else can take it. Whoever tries is in danger of facing God's dealings. You don't even have to protect that position.

I find many Christian leaders trying to protect their position. Instead of remaining with an open heart for God and just doing what God wants you to do, sometimes to protect their position they loose their zeal for God. They loose the ability to count it all lost and pressed on. They lost their bravery to do the greater things for God. It's important that we don't loose these things. We need to follow hard after God.