Elder Daniel Lim, 15/07/2011
Ephesians 5:15-17, Colossians 1:9-14
Introduction
What does 'balance' mean?
It does not mean a state of equilibrium and tranquality.
It means having the right balance - like a balanced diet.
There is no such thing as a balanced life. In fact life seems imbalanced, but it is divine imbalance. As you live your life for God, more balancing needed.
Discover what God has in store for you as stated in Colossians 1:9-14
Questions we may ask:
- How do I know I'm having the right ingredients in my life?
- How do I manage the various important aspects of my life?
- How do I get the energy to do so much?
- What are God's promises and help available to me in the midst of conflicting demands and challenges?
A SIT - Our Position in Christ
In both passages in Ephesians and Colossians, common instruction to 'understand what the will of the Lord is"
When we cease work, we 'sit'.
Qn: Who are you when you are seated? Who are you at the end of the day when you're not working or teaching your children or rushing your assignment or project?
List down all the roles you play in life (Eg husband/ wife, parent, son/daughter, salesman, lawyer/ pastor/ worship leader/ usher/ brother/sister, etc). Which role is most important to you?
1. Know who you truly are
First: Your most important role is as a child (son/daughter) of God. Colossians 1:12, Ephesians 2:6, 7
Challenge in balancing "Work/Life/Ministry" comes about because of the many roles we all play. However, over-emphasis on any one (Work/Life/Ministry) can be detrimental to your real identity.
For example, if a person's thinks his most important role is as a salesman, then when there is conclict between work/family/ministry, the work always wins. And sometimes, this harms the person and those around him.
You may be a pastor, a student, a big boss but nothing in these roles compare to the high calling that you have as a child of God.
Qn: Today, do you feel that the circumstances of your life have dominated you instead of you dominating it? How many roles that you play overshadow who you truly are?
Remember who you are - a child of God, partakers of a glorious inheritance, called to dominate, strenghtened with might, delivered from darkness and conveyed into the Kingdom of His love.
2. Determine your Non-negotiables
Eph 5: 'Walk circumspectly' - It means to be watchful. We need to be watchful that we are building our lives from inside out and not outside in. The things you do do not make you who you are. You do things because of who you are.
A Christian should Determine 4 Non-negotiable in life:
a Loves God - Inner Life
b Relates to Others - Family, relationships
c Productive - Work
d Serves God - Ministry
The above 4 need not be in equal quantity bit they should all characterise a Christian's life at any one time.
Qn: Do you have non-negotiable essentials in all above 4 areas of your life?
B WALK - Our Performance as Co-workers
Performance doesn't change who we are. Whether we are a top boss or janitor, we are all equal because we are a child of God.
However, because we have a high calling to be sons of God, we must take every opportunity to improve ourselves so that we may "walk worthy of the Lord".
Espesians 5:16: We all have limited time whether we are young or old, rich or poor.
6 practical traits of many fruitful christians
1 Speed
Speed is neither rush nor rashness. It is efficiency - doing things as slow as it is needed to be good but in the quickest time possible.
Procrastination is buying time on credit and like anything bought on credit, it comes with interest. Do not think something will become easier if procrastinate & do it later.
2 Simplify
Sometimes, you need to simplify a part of your ambition in order to fit time in for ministry or to simplify your ministry to fit more of your family.
3 Single-mindedness
Being single-minded means to pursue certain goals in each non-negotiable area of your life. Sadly this mainly applies to work but it should apply to our family and personal walk with God.
4 Scheduling
What is worse than busyness? It is messy busyness!
a. Plan the Predictable
Plan your day/week/month
Allocate time to non-negotiable areas of your life
b. Create space for the unpredictable
Things that require urgent attention that can upset your schedule.
5 Stamina
Build your stamina by learing to accept increasing demands & pressures.
6 God's Seasons
We need to discern the seasons of God in our life right now.
Never presume your timing is God's timing. To discern God's seasons
C STAND - Our posture amidst challenges
Challenges come from (a) Conflicting demands, (b) Competition and (c) even Self-inflicted.
Ephesians 6: 13: "....having done all, to stand"
4 types of Christians
1 Some are like Balloon: Caried by the wind, connected to God by a thin line that can be easily broken. Every now & then the balloon becomes delfated and needs injection of helium again
2 Some are like Wheelbarrow: Won't move until they are pushed
3 Some like a Kitten: Always looking to be cuddled
4 What God is looking for: A Rock for God to build His church. What does a rock do when current hits it? It does nothing except to stand.
Remember Moses in front of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army behind. God told Moses to cease from all actions but to just stand still & see the salvation of God: Exodus 14:13.
2 things we can do to overcome the world and its challenges
1 Enlist God's help by faith
Most conflicts & challenges revolve around time. We are limited by time but God is not.
We don't just manage our time by skills but we need to learn to manage our schedule by faith. Psalm 31:15 'My times are in Your hand'
Learn to allow God to work out a miracle (Joshua 10:14)
2 Enter into God's rest by Prayer
God worked for 6 days but rested on the 7th day. Man was created on the 6th day. Man began his life with rest. We are to enter work week from a posture of rest.
The way to enter your week from a posture of rest is to learn to pray over our week. Through prayer we rule over the circumstances ahead of us. Pray over each role and circumstance. Entrust it to God. Don't fret over it and you won't lose sleep (Mark 4:26-29)
True rest comes from knowing that we can rely on God to give us the growth we so need in every area of our life.
Showing posts with label Sermons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sermons. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What Are We living For?
What Are We Living For?
Isaiah 6:1-3, John 12:37-43
Pator David Holdaway, 26/06/2011
How do we make our life worth living?
Isa 6:1: It was the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah was someone who began so well and ended badly. So many Christians are like King Uzziah. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 26 that as Uzziah rose in power, pride got into his heart and he was struck with leprosy and shut out of the temple and his son ruled in his place (2 Chro 26:16-21). Power had gotten into his heart and pride had increased in his heart. As we increased in our lives, in position, status, prestige and power, in our career, in church life, in our office, we have to guard against pride and power. We have to be careful to walk in righteousness & humility.
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We often say, 'If God is for us, who can be against us'. But let's turn it around and ask, 'If God is against us (opposes us), then, who can be for us?'
The devil is always looking for a foothold in our lives to make a stronghold.
Tragically, there are many Christians who start their race well but don't end well. Many things, rob them of their passions along the way.
In reading Billy Graham's biographies, the thing that people say about this man who had met kings, presidents, rich and poor is his humility. As Billy Graham got bigger in his ministry, his head did not get bigger, but his heart did.
In the year King Uzziah died, the Prophet Isaiah was seeking God.
Jesus told us that we are to Ask, Seek & Knock. Often, we go from Asking to Knocking (to getting the answer). But in between, is the Seeking. All great moves of God involved Seeking God. When we seek God, we are not coercing Him, but He is doing what He always wanted to do in us.
The Prophet Isaiah said he saw the King of Israel (this was Jesus, according to John 12:41), God Almighty, the Seraphs and angels of the Lord. He saw the holy presence of God. Isaiah had an awesome vision & encounter. But Isaiah also had a vision of vision of himself (Isa 6:5), he cried out that he was a sinful man, 'woe to me', 'I'm a person of unclean lips'. The greater the light we come into, the greater the light exposes. The light of God will reveal the blemishes in our lives and what we have to deal with.
One of the dangers of the Christian walk is that as we grow in our walk, we start to compare ourselves with the world and others instead of with Whom God is. The danger is that we fool ourselves that we are doing well compared with others, thinking that we are something that we are not. That's why the Bible says that we are not to be conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). If we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything and allow the world & things around us to influence us.
Floyd McClung worte how he realised he had lost his apostolic passion even though he still had Jesus. He wrote how he was being seduced by Western culture and the American dream which replaced the dream God placed in his heart. He said that he realised that he had an evangelical mind but had developed a Babylonian heart.
We battle with materialism, money & finances. It is not how much we have, but the attitude of our heart towards money. Billy Graham said the 3 greatest battles he has to guard his purity & passion are with money, sex and power.
We can't serve God and money but we can serve God with money. The danger is that money can be demonised and money becomes mammon, a god. How do you know when money becomes mammon to you?
1 When God asks you to give & you will not. Money controls your decisions.
2. When money defines you. How much is he or she worth? But in God's Kingdom, everyone's worth is defined by the value of the blood of Christ.
3. When we are willing to do what is ungodly or unrighteous to keep or get - that's when money has power over us.
In Isa 6:6-7: God took a fiery coal to purge Isaiah of his sins. It was not superficial, it was a deep purging & cleaning.
a Often we pray that God will remove the cobwebs in our lives. What we need is for God to kill the spider making the cobwebs.
b. Experienced warfare with a mosquito? We can apply lotions & creams but the mosquito will continue to bite. We need to kill the mosquito.
Too often we are clearing the cobwebs and applying the lotions in our lives. What we need is to kill the spiers and mosquitos like how God took the burning coal to purge & cleanse Isaiah. It was moment of recommissioning, reconsecration for Isaiah.
Conclusion
What are we living for? Are we so busy living that we have no time in our life for something worth living for? Is what we are living for worth what Christ died for? The life worth living is a life lived for God.
Have we lost the joy, the passion along the way?
Can we say, Lord here I am, cleanse me, purge me, use me, send me.
Isaiah 6:1-3, John 12:37-43
Pator David Holdaway, 26/06/2011
How do we make our life worth living?
Isa 6:1: It was the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah was someone who began so well and ended badly. So many Christians are like King Uzziah. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 26 that as Uzziah rose in power, pride got into his heart and he was struck with leprosy and shut out of the temple and his son ruled in his place (2 Chro 26:16-21). Power had gotten into his heart and pride had increased in his heart. As we increased in our lives, in position, status, prestige and power, in our career, in church life, in our office, we have to guard against pride and power. We have to be careful to walk in righteousness & humility.
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We often say, 'If God is for us, who can be against us'. But let's turn it around and ask, 'If God is against us (opposes us), then, who can be for us?'
The devil is always looking for a foothold in our lives to make a stronghold.
Tragically, there are many Christians who start their race well but don't end well. Many things, rob them of their passions along the way.
In reading Billy Graham's biographies, the thing that people say about this man who had met kings, presidents, rich and poor is his humility. As Billy Graham got bigger in his ministry, his head did not get bigger, but his heart did.
In the year King Uzziah died, the Prophet Isaiah was seeking God.
Jesus told us that we are to Ask, Seek & Knock. Often, we go from Asking to Knocking (to getting the answer). But in between, is the Seeking. All great moves of God involved Seeking God. When we seek God, we are not coercing Him, but He is doing what He always wanted to do in us.
The Prophet Isaiah said he saw the King of Israel (this was Jesus, according to John 12:41), God Almighty, the Seraphs and angels of the Lord. He saw the holy presence of God. Isaiah had an awesome vision & encounter. But Isaiah also had a vision of vision of himself (Isa 6:5), he cried out that he was a sinful man, 'woe to me', 'I'm a person of unclean lips'. The greater the light we come into, the greater the light exposes. The light of God will reveal the blemishes in our lives and what we have to deal with.
One of the dangers of the Christian walk is that as we grow in our walk, we start to compare ourselves with the world and others instead of with Whom God is. The danger is that we fool ourselves that we are doing well compared with others, thinking that we are something that we are not. That's why the Bible says that we are not to be conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). If we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything and allow the world & things around us to influence us.
Floyd McClung worte how he realised he had lost his apostolic passion even though he still had Jesus. He wrote how he was being seduced by Western culture and the American dream which replaced the dream God placed in his heart. He said that he realised that he had an evangelical mind but had developed a Babylonian heart.
We battle with materialism, money & finances. It is not how much we have, but the attitude of our heart towards money. Billy Graham said the 3 greatest battles he has to guard his purity & passion are with money, sex and power.
We can't serve God and money but we can serve God with money. The danger is that money can be demonised and money becomes mammon, a god. How do you know when money becomes mammon to you?
1 When God asks you to give & you will not. Money controls your decisions.
2. When money defines you. How much is he or she worth? But in God's Kingdom, everyone's worth is defined by the value of the blood of Christ.
3. When we are willing to do what is ungodly or unrighteous to keep or get - that's when money has power over us.
In Isa 6:6-7: God took a fiery coal to purge Isaiah of his sins. It was not superficial, it was a deep purging & cleaning.
a Often we pray that God will remove the cobwebs in our lives. What we need is for God to kill the spider making the cobwebs.
b. Experienced warfare with a mosquito? We can apply lotions & creams but the mosquito will continue to bite. We need to kill the mosquito.
Too often we are clearing the cobwebs and applying the lotions in our lives. What we need is to kill the spiers and mosquitos like how God took the burning coal to purge & cleanse Isaiah. It was moment of recommissioning, reconsecration for Isaiah.
Conclusion
What are we living for? Are we so busy living that we have no time in our life for something worth living for? Is what we are living for worth what Christ died for? The life worth living is a life lived for God.
Have we lost the joy, the passion along the way?
Can we say, Lord here I am, cleanse me, purge me, use me, send me.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Discipleship II - Transformation of Character: Live as Jesus Lived
Sunday Service - 10 January 2010
"Discipleship II - Transformation of Character: Live as Jesus Lived"by Ps (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Scripture: Matthew 4: 1-11
2010 Call to Discipleship
A call to live the kingdom life of kingdom obedience and abundance for the purpose of expanding His kingdom on earth.
Transformation series on conformation to Christ’s image
1st Sermon: Transformation of the Mind from the Inside-Out – Believe as Jesus believed
In the last sermon, we look at what discipleship, spiritual formation and transformation is about. Discipleship is about transformation from the inside-out. The key to discipleship is the transformation of the heart not external conformity, profession of correct doctrine, faithfulness to the church and seeking of spirituality and experience. To do so, we look at “SKB” for our transformation and growth to become like Christ
We concluded with the understanding that consecration is the key that activate our entrance into Christ’s school of disciple. John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
We are asked to consecrate ourselves, make the active choice to be his disciple as we respond to his love for us. As we make this small step of faith, the promise is we will grow deeper into him and see more of Jesus and come to know him more and love him more and obey him more.
‘Convert ME’
As we consecrate ourselves to be his disciples to obey his command to go and make disciples of all nations and tribes, are we now to go all out to ‘convert people and church’? My answer is yes and no. Yes we are to become witnesses of Christ love to help people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. No, because the first thing we need to do is not to ‘convert people’ or ‘convert church’. The first thing is to ‘convert ME’. God’s strategy to expand the KOG is through good witnessing; witnessing not converting is the key. To bear good witness, we are to demonstrate it through good conduct and deeds, not words alone. That’s why in the coming sermons we are going to look at the various areas of our lives that demonstrate our transformation in our whole beings to that of Christ. We are going to look at how we live, love, train, minister and lead as Christ did.
Transformation of Character: Live as Jesus Lived
In this sermon, we will look at the transformation of our character to live as Jesus lived. When we live as Jesus lived, we will become a good witness of him and his love to those around us.
How does Jesus live?
When we examine Jesus’ life, we see how he was the only perfect human being who live with humility, authenticity and strength in dealing with all the people he encountered. He showed love and compassion to all and yet was firm and courageous when dealing with those who did wrong. What is the secret of Jesus? What are the foundational principles that provide the basis on how Jesus lived? The best way to reveal a person’s character is through testing. We will look at the temptations of Christ that reveals his character and the foundational issues that governed how he lived
The Temptation of Jesus: Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
(Footnotes: Matthew 4:4 Deut. 8:3, 4:6 Psalm 91:11,12, 4:7 Deut. 6:16, 4:10 Deut. 6:13)
The Temptations of Jesus
Let us look at the three temptations to gain an insight into what the devil was trying to do and how Jesus dealt with the challenges that revealed his character and values in life.
What were the weapons Jesus used and what is the secret that gave him success?
The first temptation
3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
Satan used physical discomfort to challenge Jesus about his identity. Jesus was challenged by Satan that if he was the Son of God, surely God the Father would provide for all his needs if he was hungry. It was a challenge to his identity as the Son of God through exploiting the extreme physical deprivation Jesus was experiencing in his 40 days fast. His weapon to counter the temptation is his nourishment of the word of God taken in his solitude during the fast. Instead of finding ways and method to fight, he knew as a Son of God and he can rely on the promise of God’s words. He drew his strength and use God’s words in Deuteronomy 8:3 to fend off the enemy attack.
The second temptation
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The Satan now turned around and used Scripture to challenge Jesus. This time it was about security. If Jesus was truly the Son of God, God would naturally be there to save him. Satan again used half truth in quoting the Scripture; this time he missed out the verse “to guard you in all your ways” in Psalm 91:11.
Jesus knew he was secure in God’s love and there is no need to test God of his love. He knew he was the beloved Son of God with whom God is well pleased. God’s angels will not only protect him but also guard him in all the ways so that he will not fall prey to the enemy.
The third temptation
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9”All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
The Satan then tried to tempt him with issue of power to test his heart allegiance – who would he give his heart to? Satan tempted him with an easy way out. He can have the world without going to the cross. But he knew who he gave his allegiance; he will worship and serve God only as God says in Deut. 6:13.
Jesus knew the Satan well and responded appropriately
Satan was attacking Jesus, identity (who I am), security (who I belong), significance (how importance I am) and destiny (future and purpose). Jesus was clear on all four. He knew he was the beloved Son of God whom God is well pleased. His identity and security was in God and God alone. He is significance in God’s sight and his destiny is in God’s hand. He knew he can trust God and his words and do what the Father tells him. He worship and serve God only. He did not react but responded appropriately to the enemy’s attack. Jesus remembered the words of God to him in his baptism. When he came up out of the water, a voice from heaven declared in Matthew 3:17, “This is my Son whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.” He knew Satan told the half truth concerning him as the Son of God; Satan purposely left out the word “whom I loved”. Jesus was no fool and saw his deception. He knew how valuable he was in God’s sight.
The result: Jesus demonstrates humility, authenticity and strength in his life because his identity, security, significance and destiny were firmly rooted in God’s love
He was humble to receive everyone with compassion and love. He dined with the tax collector; forgave the adulteress, received the Samaritan lady, shed tears of sadness when Lazarus died. He was real with them, there was no pretense in him. He was also courageous and strong in confronting the false teachers, Pharisees and the enemy. He preached, taught, healed and ministered to everyone with power and love. He went to the cross.
Three marks of HLCE disciples of Jesus
Three things we see in this temptation:
The Father’s love.
The Father’s love gives him the identity, security, significance and destiny to align his heart to worship and serve God only. It was this assurance and comfort of the Father’s love that helped him to stand up to the enemy’s attack. On both occasions when he was challenged of the Father’s providence and protection for him, he remembered the assurance of the Father’s word and love for him. When Jesus has his identity and security rooted in God’s love, he has his significance and destiny clarified. He lived with confident trust in God. He gave his heart allegiance to worship and serve God only.
Jesus’ obedience
Jesus obeyed God completely in his word
Because of this love, Jesus submitted completely to the Father and trust him in his word. Jesus further shared in John 5:19 that he only does what he sees the father is doing. He is completely obedience to the Father.
The Spirit’s power
Jesus was led and empowered by the Spirit in his life and work
He was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the desert and empowered by the Spirit to overcome the temptations. He continues to do so throughout his life and ministry.
“Convert ME” to live as Christ live
What can we learn from Jesus to be transformed in our character to live as Jesus’ lived in his triumphant victory over the enemy in his temptations and life? There are three things we can learn from Jesus to be transformed into his character and learn to live like him.
Our launching PAD
Return to our first love: Receive God’s love through Christ and know who we are – His children whom He loves. John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Hear from the voice of God for us at our baptism,
“This is my Son whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.”
Refresh your love: Receive a fresh encounter of his love and be revived in our spirits to love him and one another through personal study, prayer, and retreat.
Active Obedience to God
Active obedience is an attitude of total surrender to God. We are to know whom we belong to and give allegiance to in our worship and service. We are to give our heart to God completely and be ready do what he says in his words. This is especially so when we are challenged in time of hunger, pain, sickness, financial troubles. In such time of temptations, we are to remember his love for us and his promise in his words to take care of us. We are to go into solitude to pray and seek God’s words and wisdom and guidance and do what his words say.
Active obedience signifies our readiness to serve and act. We are ready to act when the opportunity arise. We have made a commitment to do whatever God has impressed upon us concerning daily life and ministry.
An illustration: The sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham
Divine assignment through the Spirit
A Spirit-led and empowerment life: We are to be led by the Spirit and see divine opportunity that comes our ways and received the Spirit’s power to accomplish the divine assignments.
This applies to our daily life activities as much as to special assignment with the church. Be sensitive to the Spirit on all occasions and asked “Is this a divine opportunity and assignment?” in all our encounters in life whether mundane or special. Even a late appointment, an encounter with stranger, an unexpected delay, incident etc can be divine appointments and assignments awaiting for us.
A prayerful life: We are praying continuously practicing the Presence of God in our lives. We consciously avail ourselves to God and his presence.
Let us live as Jesus lived and be transformed in our character (PAD)
Let us received personal revival and surrender to God and live in active obedience to him, be led and empowered by the Spirit for diviner assignment on this journey of transformation,
“Convert ME”!
To God be the Glory!
"Discipleship II - Transformation of Character: Live as Jesus Lived"by Ps (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Scripture: Matthew 4: 1-11
2010 Call to Discipleship
A call to live the kingdom life of kingdom obedience and abundance for the purpose of expanding His kingdom on earth.
Transformation series on conformation to Christ’s image
- Transformation of Mind – Believe as Jesus believed.
- Transformation of Character – Live as Jesus lived.
- Transformation of Relationship – Love as Jesus loved.
- Transformation of Habits – Train as Jesus trained.
- Transformation of Service – Minister as Jesus ministered.
- Transformation of Influence – Lead as Jesus led.
1st Sermon: Transformation of the Mind from the Inside-Out – Believe as Jesus believed
In the last sermon, we look at what discipleship, spiritual formation and transformation is about. Discipleship is about transformation from the inside-out. The key to discipleship is the transformation of the heart not external conformity, profession of correct doctrine, faithfulness to the church and seeking of spirituality and experience. To do so, we look at “SKB” for our transformation and growth to become like Christ
- S ee what Christ has done
- K now what Christ has revealed
- B elieve what Christ has promised
We concluded with the understanding that consecration is the key that activate our entrance into Christ’s school of disciple. John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
We are asked to consecrate ourselves, make the active choice to be his disciple as we respond to his love for us. As we make this small step of faith, the promise is we will grow deeper into him and see more of Jesus and come to know him more and love him more and obey him more.
‘Convert ME’
As we consecrate ourselves to be his disciples to obey his command to go and make disciples of all nations and tribes, are we now to go all out to ‘convert people and church’? My answer is yes and no. Yes we are to become witnesses of Christ love to help people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. No, because the first thing we need to do is not to ‘convert people’ or ‘convert church’. The first thing is to ‘convert ME’. God’s strategy to expand the KOG is through good witnessing; witnessing not converting is the key. To bear good witness, we are to demonstrate it through good conduct and deeds, not words alone. That’s why in the coming sermons we are going to look at the various areas of our lives that demonstrate our transformation in our whole beings to that of Christ. We are going to look at how we live, love, train, minister and lead as Christ did.
Transformation of Character: Live as Jesus Lived
In this sermon, we will look at the transformation of our character to live as Jesus lived. When we live as Jesus lived, we will become a good witness of him and his love to those around us.
How does Jesus live?
When we examine Jesus’ life, we see how he was the only perfect human being who live with humility, authenticity and strength in dealing with all the people he encountered. He showed love and compassion to all and yet was firm and courageous when dealing with those who did wrong. What is the secret of Jesus? What are the foundational principles that provide the basis on how Jesus lived? The best way to reveal a person’s character is through testing. We will look at the temptations of Christ that reveals his character and the foundational issues that governed how he lived
The Temptation of Jesus: Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
(Footnotes: Matthew 4:4 Deut. 8:3, 4:6 Psalm 91:11,12, 4:7 Deut. 6:16, 4:10 Deut. 6:13)
The Temptations of Jesus
Let us look at the three temptations to gain an insight into what the devil was trying to do and how Jesus dealt with the challenges that revealed his character and values in life.
What were the weapons Jesus used and what is the secret that gave him success?
The first temptation
3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
Satan used physical discomfort to challenge Jesus about his identity. Jesus was challenged by Satan that if he was the Son of God, surely God the Father would provide for all his needs if he was hungry. It was a challenge to his identity as the Son of God through exploiting the extreme physical deprivation Jesus was experiencing in his 40 days fast. His weapon to counter the temptation is his nourishment of the word of God taken in his solitude during the fast. Instead of finding ways and method to fight, he knew as a Son of God and he can rely on the promise of God’s words. He drew his strength and use God’s words in Deuteronomy 8:3 to fend off the enemy attack.
The second temptation
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
The Satan now turned around and used Scripture to challenge Jesus. This time it was about security. If Jesus was truly the Son of God, God would naturally be there to save him. Satan again used half truth in quoting the Scripture; this time he missed out the verse “to guard you in all your ways” in Psalm 91:11.
Jesus knew he was secure in God’s love and there is no need to test God of his love. He knew he was the beloved Son of God with whom God is well pleased. God’s angels will not only protect him but also guard him in all the ways so that he will not fall prey to the enemy.
The third temptation
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9”All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
The Satan then tried to tempt him with issue of power to test his heart allegiance – who would he give his heart to? Satan tempted him with an easy way out. He can have the world without going to the cross. But he knew who he gave his allegiance; he will worship and serve God only as God says in Deut. 6:13.
Jesus knew the Satan well and responded appropriately
Satan was attacking Jesus, identity (who I am), security (who I belong), significance (how importance I am) and destiny (future and purpose). Jesus was clear on all four. He knew he was the beloved Son of God whom God is well pleased. His identity and security was in God and God alone. He is significance in God’s sight and his destiny is in God’s hand. He knew he can trust God and his words and do what the Father tells him. He worship and serve God only. He did not react but responded appropriately to the enemy’s attack. Jesus remembered the words of God to him in his baptism. When he came up out of the water, a voice from heaven declared in Matthew 3:17, “This is my Son whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.” He knew Satan told the half truth concerning him as the Son of God; Satan purposely left out the word “whom I loved”. Jesus was no fool and saw his deception. He knew how valuable he was in God’s sight.
The result: Jesus demonstrates humility, authenticity and strength in his life because his identity, security, significance and destiny were firmly rooted in God’s love
He was humble to receive everyone with compassion and love. He dined with the tax collector; forgave the adulteress, received the Samaritan lady, shed tears of sadness when Lazarus died. He was real with them, there was no pretense in him. He was also courageous and strong in confronting the false teachers, Pharisees and the enemy. He preached, taught, healed and ministered to everyone with power and love. He went to the cross.
Three marks of HLCE disciples of Jesus
- Humble –no pride, nothing to gain.
- Real – no mask, nothing to hide.
- Courageous – no fear, nothing to lose.
Three things we see in this temptation:
- The Father’s love.
- Jesus’ obedience
- The Spirit’s power
The Father’s love.
The Father’s love gives him the identity, security, significance and destiny to align his heart to worship and serve God only. It was this assurance and comfort of the Father’s love that helped him to stand up to the enemy’s attack. On both occasions when he was challenged of the Father’s providence and protection for him, he remembered the assurance of the Father’s word and love for him. When Jesus has his identity and security rooted in God’s love, he has his significance and destiny clarified. He lived with confident trust in God. He gave his heart allegiance to worship and serve God only.
Jesus’ obedience
Jesus obeyed God completely in his word
Because of this love, Jesus submitted completely to the Father and trust him in his word. Jesus further shared in John 5:19 that he only does what he sees the father is doing. He is completely obedience to the Father.
The Spirit’s power
Jesus was led and empowered by the Spirit in his life and work
He was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the desert and empowered by the Spirit to overcome the temptations. He continues to do so throughout his life and ministry.
“Convert ME” to live as Christ live
What can we learn from Jesus to be transformed in our character to live as Jesus’ lived in his triumphant victory over the enemy in his temptations and life? There are three things we can learn from Jesus to be transformed into his character and learn to live like him.
Our launching PAD
- P ersonal Revival in Christ
- A ctive Obedience to God
- D ivine assignments through the Spirit
Return to our first love: Receive God’s love through Christ and know who we are – His children whom He loves. John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Hear from the voice of God for us at our baptism,
“This is my Son whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.”
Refresh your love: Receive a fresh encounter of his love and be revived in our spirits to love him and one another through personal study, prayer, and retreat.
Active Obedience to God
Active obedience is an attitude of total surrender to God. We are to know whom we belong to and give allegiance to in our worship and service. We are to give our heart to God completely and be ready do what he says in his words. This is especially so when we are challenged in time of hunger, pain, sickness, financial troubles. In such time of temptations, we are to remember his love for us and his promise in his words to take care of us. We are to go into solitude to pray and seek God’s words and wisdom and guidance and do what his words say.
Active obedience signifies our readiness to serve and act. We are ready to act when the opportunity arise. We have made a commitment to do whatever God has impressed upon us concerning daily life and ministry.
An illustration: The sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham
Divine assignment through the Spirit
A Spirit-led and empowerment life: We are to be led by the Spirit and see divine opportunity that comes our ways and received the Spirit’s power to accomplish the divine assignments.
This applies to our daily life activities as much as to special assignment with the church. Be sensitive to the Spirit on all occasions and asked “Is this a divine opportunity and assignment?” in all our encounters in life whether mundane or special. Even a late appointment, an encounter with stranger, an unexpected delay, incident etc can be divine appointments and assignments awaiting for us.
A prayerful life: We are praying continuously practicing the Presence of God in our lives. We consciously avail ourselves to God and his presence.
Let us live as Jesus lived and be transformed in our character (PAD)
Let us received personal revival and surrender to God and live in active obedience to him, be led and empowered by the Spirit for diviner assignment on this journey of transformation,
“Convert ME”!
To God be the Glory!
Discipleship - Be Transformed to the Mind of Christ (I)
Sunday Service - 3 January 2010
"Discipleship - Be Transformed to the Mind of Christ"
by Ps (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-4
HLCE Mission Matthew 28:19-20
“To develop people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”
Disciples of His Kingdom
We are committed to become followers/disciples of Jesus Christ who live: “A Christ-centred, Word-focused, Spirit-led and empowered life.”
What we learned in 2009 – The call to kingdom living
Year 2010 – come to learn in the Christ’s school of Discipleship
To live the godly life – the Christ-centred life. Jesus the Captain of our souls.
Sermons topics:
Transformation series on conformation to Christ’s image
In discipleship, we are asked to be transformed in our mind to that of Christ. Romans 12:2
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
To be transformed in our mind is not just about transforming our thinking or even understanding. To be transformed in the mind to that of Christ is to learn to believe what Jesus believed. With such belief, there is a change in the attitude, disposition and behavior to that of Christ.
How does such transformation come about?
A call to change from the inside-out
Discipleship begins with the transformation of the mind. The mind is the seed where change begins. However, a change in mind set alone is not adequate for change in behavior. There is a need of a change that comes from the inside out. Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy 1998, 351) in designing a curriculum for discipleship pointed out that while external conformity, profession of correct doctrine, faithfulness to the church and seeking of spirituality and experience are important, they are only of secondary important. They are only the means to an end but not the end itself. They offer avenue for transformation but they of themselves do not result in transformation of the person. Our primary focus in working on transformation is one that works from the inside out. When the ‘inside’ is transformed, the ‘out’ seen in the expressions of the four areas mentioned above will come naturally.
Dallas Willard in his book, ‘Renovation of the Heart’ elaborates further on this change from the inside-out. He says, ‘we live from the heart…how we live in the world is a result of what we have become in the depth of our being – in our spirit, will or heart (2002, 1). He defined spiritual formation as a process by which the human spirit or will is given a definitive ‘form’ or character of Christ. This process of spiritual formation is what discipleship is about. The call to transform our mind to the mind of Christ is a call to transform our heart to the heart of Christ.
How do we participate with the Spirit to transform our minds to the mind of Christ that brings about a change in behavior? Is it possible?
According to Peter, it is possible because of divine enablement from God. Peter is a good person to learn from for he is a disciple who has been transformed from the inside-out. For Peter the key to transformation of our mind in discipleship is the true knowledge of God.
Discipleship: The important of ‘Knowing’ God
An illustration: The story of the man rescued by God but die.
How much you believe and do what you are asked depend on how much you trust the person who asked you. How much you trust the person depend on how much you know the person.
Agree? So, how much you will obey God depend on how much you trust Him; how much you trust Him depends on how much you know Him.
So, how much do you know God? How can you know God? This is where discipleship begins. Let us look at,
2 Peter 1:3-4 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Discipleship: A call to the godly and full life in Christ
V4 …you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
As children of God, we are asked to live the godly and full life in Christ where we participate in his divine nature and overcome the corruptions of the world and evil desires.
We are called to live the extra-ordinary life seen in the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount. These “extraordinariness” of Christian living are:
Extraordinary character traits in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger for thirst and righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted.
Extraordinary roles in the world (Mathew 5:13-14)
We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Extraordinary relationship with one another (Matthew 5:21-6:4)
We are to live with:
No anger – extraordinary love for people.
No lustful thoughts – extraordinary purity of thought.
No divorce – extraordinary marital covenant.
No need of oath – extraordinary trustworthiness.
No hatred for enemies – extraordinary love for enemies.
No reservation in giving – extraordinary generosity.
No announcing of good deeds – extraordinary service.
Extraordinary Daily Relationship with God (Matthew 6:5-7:27)
Practicing piety, prayer and fasting, devotion to God, dependence on God, daily walking with God bearing fruit and feeding on his words.
Transformation of the Mind from the Inside-Out - A Divine Enablement
It is possible because of divine enablement
Good news! Peter shared about the three things concerning divine enablement that makes it possible for us to be transformed to the mind of Christ from the inside out through our knowledge of God. These three things we need to know about God are:
V3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
God’s divine power has given us everything necessary for the godly life as new creations
We are called not only to live the full life but also a godly life, a Christ-centred life. This full and godly life is possible because God has done everything necessary for it to be so. We need to learn to see this truth. To live this wonderful life is not something we need to grit our teeth or force ourselves to slough it out. There is a supernatural empowerment from God when we are made new creation in Christ to live in such good life. We are to joyfully and expectantly receive what has been given.
What God has done for us in Christ
The Bible tells us there are many things God has done for us in Christ to enable us to live the new life worthy of his Calling: Salvation is already ours – our justification, sanctification, glorification are all predestined and by grace. We are given every spiritual blessing according to his riches in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1-2).
V3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
The divine power comes to us through God’s revelation of his goodness and glory through his Son.
An intimate “full knowledge” of Christ is the source of spiritual power and growth
We are to have the true knowledge about God concerning who he is and what his heart is like. This knowledge of God is revealed to us through his glory and goodness. God’s glory and goodness are expressed in the excellence of his being. This virtue of God can be seen in God as the Creator, the Judge, the Deliverer, the Father and so on. This knowledge of God is beyond our grasp. God has to reveal it to us himself. He has chosen to do so through his Son Jesus.
John 14:8-9 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Intimate personal knowledge of God through his Son
In V2 Peter wrote that the blessing of grace and peace belong to the believers abundantly through their ‘knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord’. Jesus is put equal with God here. To know Jesus is to know God. God reveals himself to us through Christ. There is no other way to know him truly and fully. The glory of God is revealed to us in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
As J I Packer pointed out in his book, ‘Knowing God’, many may know about God but not really know God. It is the intimate knowing that makes the difference. This intimate knowing comes through God’s revelation of himself and his love for us through Jesus Christ. When we know God, we come to identify with Paul’ understanding of his love in
Romans 8:31-39 (paraphrase by Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy 1998, 367)
God is for us! Who is against us? Since he did not spare his own Son in reaching us, he obviously is ready to give us every good thing. Who will charge us with anything? God has cleared us of all charges. Who condemns us? Jesus died for us. Yes, and he passed through death intact, and now stands in the place from which God acts, looking after our interests. Of all the terrible and frightening things the human mind discovers, not one can take us out of his loving hands. We don’t just ‘manage’ or cope. We thrive on it all! Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus the Anointed, our Lord.
This true knowledge of God is crucial for discipleship
This knowledge of God concerning his goodness and glory is to be of true and full knowledge, not false or empty knowledge. To have true and full knowledge of God is to have an intimate personal knowledge of God revealed to us through Jesus Christ.
It is dangerous to have empty or false knowledge of God especially the former one. Empty knowledge is more dangerous as it is more subtle and may be hidden in pride. Empty knowledge is head knowledge that does not reach the heart. It is a knowledge that can ‘puff up’ leading to a legalistic and Phariseal attitude. It is useless and makes the persons ineffective in their life.
A true knowledge of God is important because it leads the person to a heart allegiance and surrender to God to do his will. It leads one to radical discipleship for one will see things from God’s heart and perspective; the person’s will is in alignment with God’s will and follow him whole heartedly.
The story of Job: An illustration of the important of this true knowledge of God’s goodness and greatness in challenging times.
When Job came to God with his 60 plus probing questions about why and how he should suffer, God came to reveal his glory and goodness with more questions instead of answering the questions Job posed to him. Job was left satisfied without a single answer to his probing questions! His suffering and his questions paled and dropped away in the light of God’s goodness and glory. That’s how amazing God’s goodness and greatness are!
Believe what God has promised
V4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
We are given precious and magnificent promises
Seeing what God has done and knowing what he has revealed concerning his goodness and glory in Jesus only give us understanding of how good and great God and Jesus are. However, there is nothing great about how good or great God and Jesus are unless that goodness and greatness have something to do with us. The good news is we are called to share in that goodness and glory because we are his children! He has given us great and precious promise so that we can participate in that divine nature – that goodness and greatness! That’s the call of discipleship!
We are chosen, included in His promise in discipleship!
Children inherit their nature from their parents. When we are made new creation through our new birth, God is our Father. We therefore inherit God’s divine nature, God’s DNA is in us. As children imitate their parents and obey them, they grow to become more and more like their parents in their outlook, nature and values. We who are God’s children will manifest his divine nature more and more as we put our trust in his words and live according to his words. This divine nature of God in us is seen in our transformation to the likeness of his Son. This is his glory! As we grow to become more and more like Jesus, we also have power and victory over sins and the enemy. This is his goodness!
It’s importance to come on board to Jesus’ school of Discipleship. It is a personal invitation from God for us to share in his goodness and greatness.
The invitation came with a promise. That promise came to us through Jesus Christ; Jesus himself is the guarantee of the promise of God to us. We can trust him to keep his promise because he has revealed God’s goodness and glory to us on the cross of Calvary!
Jesus went to the cross for us willingly in obedience of his Father because of the love of the Father for him. We can learn to do the same. Receive God’s love in Christ and trust him and do what He says. His promise came to us in his word today. We can believe in his words and do what it says.
Have faith in God’s promises for spiritual power and growth
Faith is a vital element of discipleship. We need the conviction in our hearts to believe what he has promised in his words is to do what he has commanded. The good news is that God not only shows us what he has done, who he is, he has also given us his precious and magnificent promises in his words so that through faith we may participate in his divine nature experiencing spiritual power and growth.
God’s precious promise comes to us through his word. The study and understanding of his word that leads to conviction of the truth resulting in our trust in him will help us to put our faith into action. When we believe in his word and act on it by faith, we grow spiritually to become more like Jesus and have victory over the enemy showing forth his glory and goodness.
Our Response: Come to the Christ’s school of discipleship
First step to discipleship: Consecrate yourselves
Make an active choice to be Christ’s disciples
Choose to be a disciple of Christ. Make that active choice and start living with the priorities set by God to follow Jesus. He will revealed himself to us more and we will come to know him more and be transformed to be like him as we learn to love him more by obeying his commands. Jesus taught in John 14:21,
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
The greatest evidence of God’s love in us and for us is when we obey his commands. This is because his love makes it possible for us to obey him.
Building our lives upon the Rock his Word for transformation from the inside out
The two houses – one builds upon sand, the other builds on the rock.
Let us choose the later and be transformed in our mind to the mind of Christ and live the life he has called.
To God be the glory!
"Discipleship - Be Transformed to the Mind of Christ"
by Ps (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3-4
HLCE Mission Matthew 28:19-20
“To develop people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”
Disciples of His Kingdom
We are committed to become followers/disciples of Jesus Christ who live: “A Christ-centred, Word-focused, Spirit-led and empowered life.”
What we learned in 2009 – The call to kingdom living
| Kingdom of God | Repent, for the kingdom of God is near” |
| Kingdom disciples | Come, follow me, I will make you fisher of men |
| Kingdom obedience (The Cross life) | Call to allegiance with Christ |
| Kingdom abundance (The Full life) | Call to invest our lives From the mundane to the monumental |
To live the godly life – the Christ-centred life. Jesus the Captain of our souls.
Sermons topics:
Transformation series on conformation to Christ’s image
- Transformation of Mind – Believe what Jesus believed.
- Transformation of Character – Live the way Jesus lived.
- Transformation of Relationship – Love as Jesus loved.
- Transformation of Habits – Train as Jesus trained.
- Transformation of Service – Minister as Jesus ministered.
- Transformation of Influence – Lead as Jesus led.
In discipleship, we are asked to be transformed in our mind to that of Christ. Romans 12:2
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
To be transformed in our mind is not just about transforming our thinking or even understanding. To be transformed in the mind to that of Christ is to learn to believe what Jesus believed. With such belief, there is a change in the attitude, disposition and behavior to that of Christ.
How does such transformation come about?
A call to change from the inside-out
Discipleship begins with the transformation of the mind. The mind is the seed where change begins. However, a change in mind set alone is not adequate for change in behavior. There is a need of a change that comes from the inside out. Dallas Willard (The Divine Conspiracy 1998, 351) in designing a curriculum for discipleship pointed out that while external conformity, profession of correct doctrine, faithfulness to the church and seeking of spirituality and experience are important, they are only of secondary important. They are only the means to an end but not the end itself. They offer avenue for transformation but they of themselves do not result in transformation of the person. Our primary focus in working on transformation is one that works from the inside out. When the ‘inside’ is transformed, the ‘out’ seen in the expressions of the four areas mentioned above will come naturally.
Dallas Willard in his book, ‘Renovation of the Heart’ elaborates further on this change from the inside-out. He says, ‘we live from the heart…how we live in the world is a result of what we have become in the depth of our being – in our spirit, will or heart (2002, 1). He defined spiritual formation as a process by which the human spirit or will is given a definitive ‘form’ or character of Christ. This process of spiritual formation is what discipleship is about. The call to transform our mind to the mind of Christ is a call to transform our heart to the heart of Christ.
How do we participate with the Spirit to transform our minds to the mind of Christ that brings about a change in behavior? Is it possible?
According to Peter, it is possible because of divine enablement from God. Peter is a good person to learn from for he is a disciple who has been transformed from the inside-out. For Peter the key to transformation of our mind in discipleship is the true knowledge of God.
Discipleship: The important of ‘Knowing’ God
An illustration: The story of the man rescued by God but die.
How much you believe and do what you are asked depend on how much you trust the person who asked you. How much you trust the person depend on how much you know the person.
Agree? So, how much you will obey God depend on how much you trust Him; how much you trust Him depends on how much you know Him.
So, how much do you know God? How can you know God? This is where discipleship begins. Let us look at,
2 Peter 1:3-4 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Discipleship: A call to the godly and full life in Christ
V4 …you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
As children of God, we are asked to live the godly and full life in Christ where we participate in his divine nature and overcome the corruptions of the world and evil desires.
We are called to live the extra-ordinary life seen in the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount. These “extraordinariness” of Christian living are:
Extraordinary character traits in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger for thirst and righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted.
Extraordinary roles in the world (Mathew 5:13-14)
We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Extraordinary relationship with one another (Matthew 5:21-6:4)
We are to live with:
No anger – extraordinary love for people.
No lustful thoughts – extraordinary purity of thought.
No divorce – extraordinary marital covenant.
No need of oath – extraordinary trustworthiness.
No hatred for enemies – extraordinary love for enemies.
No reservation in giving – extraordinary generosity.
No announcing of good deeds – extraordinary service.
Extraordinary Daily Relationship with God (Matthew 6:5-7:27)
Practicing piety, prayer and fasting, devotion to God, dependence on God, daily walking with God bearing fruit and feeding on his words.
Transformation of the Mind from the Inside-Out - A Divine Enablement
It is possible because of divine enablement
Good news! Peter shared about the three things concerning divine enablement that makes it possible for us to be transformed to the mind of Christ from the inside out through our knowledge of God. These three things we need to know about God are:
- See what God has done
- Know what God has revealed
- Believe what God has promised
V3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
God’s divine power has given us everything necessary for the godly life as new creations
We are called not only to live the full life but also a godly life, a Christ-centred life. This full and godly life is possible because God has done everything necessary for it to be so. We need to learn to see this truth. To live this wonderful life is not something we need to grit our teeth or force ourselves to slough it out. There is a supernatural empowerment from God when we are made new creation in Christ to live in such good life. We are to joyfully and expectantly receive what has been given.
What God has done for us in Christ
The Bible tells us there are many things God has done for us in Christ to enable us to live the new life worthy of his Calling: Salvation is already ours – our justification, sanctification, glorification are all predestined and by grace. We are given every spiritual blessing according to his riches in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1-2).
- We are delivered from our sins and forgiven of all the sins - past, present and future. We are free from the condemnation of sins and law.
- We are given victory over the enemy. We are given power over every form of temptations and sins in lives.
- God is already working around us and invited us to join Him in his work.
- We are created in Christ Jesus for good work he has prepared in advance for us.
- We are given eternal life. Our eternal rewards are awaiting us in heaven.
V3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
The divine power comes to us through God’s revelation of his goodness and glory through his Son.
An intimate “full knowledge” of Christ is the source of spiritual power and growth
We are to have the true knowledge about God concerning who he is and what his heart is like. This knowledge of God is revealed to us through his glory and goodness. God’s glory and goodness are expressed in the excellence of his being. This virtue of God can be seen in God as the Creator, the Judge, the Deliverer, the Father and so on. This knowledge of God is beyond our grasp. God has to reveal it to us himself. He has chosen to do so through his Son Jesus.
John 14:8-9 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Intimate personal knowledge of God through his Son
In V2 Peter wrote that the blessing of grace and peace belong to the believers abundantly through their ‘knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord’. Jesus is put equal with God here. To know Jesus is to know God. God reveals himself to us through Christ. There is no other way to know him truly and fully. The glory of God is revealed to us in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
As J I Packer pointed out in his book, ‘Knowing God’, many may know about God but not really know God. It is the intimate knowing that makes the difference. This intimate knowing comes through God’s revelation of himself and his love for us through Jesus Christ. When we know God, we come to identify with Paul’ understanding of his love in
Romans 8:31-39 (paraphrase by Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy 1998, 367)
God is for us! Who is against us? Since he did not spare his own Son in reaching us, he obviously is ready to give us every good thing. Who will charge us with anything? God has cleared us of all charges. Who condemns us? Jesus died for us. Yes, and he passed through death intact, and now stands in the place from which God acts, looking after our interests. Of all the terrible and frightening things the human mind discovers, not one can take us out of his loving hands. We don’t just ‘manage’ or cope. We thrive on it all! Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus the Anointed, our Lord.
This true knowledge of God is crucial for discipleship
This knowledge of God concerning his goodness and glory is to be of true and full knowledge, not false or empty knowledge. To have true and full knowledge of God is to have an intimate personal knowledge of God revealed to us through Jesus Christ.
It is dangerous to have empty or false knowledge of God especially the former one. Empty knowledge is more dangerous as it is more subtle and may be hidden in pride. Empty knowledge is head knowledge that does not reach the heart. It is a knowledge that can ‘puff up’ leading to a legalistic and Phariseal attitude. It is useless and makes the persons ineffective in their life.
A true knowledge of God is important because it leads the person to a heart allegiance and surrender to God to do his will. It leads one to radical discipleship for one will see things from God’s heart and perspective; the person’s will is in alignment with God’s will and follow him whole heartedly.
The story of Job: An illustration of the important of this true knowledge of God’s goodness and greatness in challenging times.
When Job came to God with his 60 plus probing questions about why and how he should suffer, God came to reveal his glory and goodness with more questions instead of answering the questions Job posed to him. Job was left satisfied without a single answer to his probing questions! His suffering and his questions paled and dropped away in the light of God’s goodness and glory. That’s how amazing God’s goodness and greatness are!
Believe what God has promised
V4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
We are given precious and magnificent promises
Seeing what God has done and knowing what he has revealed concerning his goodness and glory in Jesus only give us understanding of how good and great God and Jesus are. However, there is nothing great about how good or great God and Jesus are unless that goodness and greatness have something to do with us. The good news is we are called to share in that goodness and glory because we are his children! He has given us great and precious promise so that we can participate in that divine nature – that goodness and greatness! That’s the call of discipleship!
We are chosen, included in His promise in discipleship!
Children inherit their nature from their parents. When we are made new creation through our new birth, God is our Father. We therefore inherit God’s divine nature, God’s DNA is in us. As children imitate their parents and obey them, they grow to become more and more like their parents in their outlook, nature and values. We who are God’s children will manifest his divine nature more and more as we put our trust in his words and live according to his words. This divine nature of God in us is seen in our transformation to the likeness of his Son. This is his glory! As we grow to become more and more like Jesus, we also have power and victory over sins and the enemy. This is his goodness!
It’s importance to come on board to Jesus’ school of Discipleship. It is a personal invitation from God for us to share in his goodness and greatness.
The invitation came with a promise. That promise came to us through Jesus Christ; Jesus himself is the guarantee of the promise of God to us. We can trust him to keep his promise because he has revealed God’s goodness and glory to us on the cross of Calvary!
Jesus went to the cross for us willingly in obedience of his Father because of the love of the Father for him. We can learn to do the same. Receive God’s love in Christ and trust him and do what He says. His promise came to us in his word today. We can believe in his words and do what it says.
Have faith in God’s promises for spiritual power and growth
Faith is a vital element of discipleship. We need the conviction in our hearts to believe what he has promised in his words is to do what he has commanded. The good news is that God not only shows us what he has done, who he is, he has also given us his precious and magnificent promises in his words so that through faith we may participate in his divine nature experiencing spiritual power and growth.
God’s precious promise comes to us through his word. The study and understanding of his word that leads to conviction of the truth resulting in our trust in him will help us to put our faith into action. When we believe in his word and act on it by faith, we grow spiritually to become more like Jesus and have victory over the enemy showing forth his glory and goodness.
Our Response: Come to the Christ’s school of discipleship
First step to discipleship: Consecrate yourselves
Make an active choice to be Christ’s disciples
Choose to be a disciple of Christ. Make that active choice and start living with the priorities set by God to follow Jesus. He will revealed himself to us more and we will come to know him more and be transformed to be like him as we learn to love him more by obeying his commands. Jesus taught in John 14:21,
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
The greatest evidence of God’s love in us and for us is when we obey his commands. This is because his love makes it possible for us to obey him.
Building our lives upon the Rock his Word for transformation from the inside out
The two houses – one builds upon sand, the other builds on the rock.
Let us choose the later and be transformed in our mind to the mind of Christ and live the life he has called.
To God be the glory!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Why three gifts from the wise men?
By Rick Warren
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2 (NLT)
One reason the wise men were wise is because they came to Jesus for the right reason. They were seekers of the truth. And they would go to any length to find Jesus, and they came to worship Jesus.
So the wise men came for the right reason. They didn’t come to get something from Jesus; they came to show gratitude, to show love, to show honor, to show respect
They gave Jesus the best they had. They didn’t give him their leftovers. They didn’t give him lip service. They didn’t give him a gift card. They thought through what to give him. The three presents that the wise men brought had very important significance –
Gold is the gift you give to Kings. In days of old, tribute was paid by bringing gold to the king. It was the most precious metal of the time and so the wise men are presenting it as a gift to the king.
Frankincense was a kind of incense, used to worship God in the temple. So the wise men are saying this baby, Jesus, is not only king, he is also God. He is worthy of being worshipped.
Myrrh was a spice used to embalm the dead. Now that’s an unusual gift for a baby: the spice put on a dead body before wrapping it in linens. So the wise men, by their gifts, acknowledged that Jesus is God Incarnate, he is king, and he is going to die. Jesus is the savior of the world and he has come to die for our sins.
Even before Jesus said his first word, it was known that, ‘This is the Savior who will die for the sins of the world.’
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2 (NLT)
One reason the wise men were wise is because they came to Jesus for the right reason. They were seekers of the truth. And they would go to any length to find Jesus, and they came to worship Jesus.
So the wise men came for the right reason. They didn’t come to get something from Jesus; they came to show gratitude, to show love, to show honor, to show respect
They gave Jesus the best they had. They didn’t give him their leftovers. They didn’t give him lip service. They didn’t give him a gift card. They thought through what to give him. The three presents that the wise men brought had very important significance –
Gold is the gift you give to Kings. In days of old, tribute was paid by bringing gold to the king. It was the most precious metal of the time and so the wise men are presenting it as a gift to the king.
Frankincense was a kind of incense, used to worship God in the temple. So the wise men are saying this baby, Jesus, is not only king, he is also God. He is worthy of being worshipped.
Myrrh was a spice used to embalm the dead. Now that’s an unusual gift for a baby: the spice put on a dead body before wrapping it in linens. So the wise men, by their gifts, acknowledged that Jesus is God Incarnate, he is king, and he is going to die. Jesus is the savior of the world and he has come to die for our sins.
Even before Jesus said his first word, it was known that, ‘This is the Savior who will die for the sins of the world.’
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Guard What Captures Your Heart (Proverbs 4:23)
by Pastor David Holdaway
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life
(Proverbs 4:23, KJV)
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life
(Proverbs 4:23, KJV)
- If our heart is not right, everything around us will not be right
- Man looks at the outward but God looks at the heart
- In a church, there were 100 men with long hair who got saved. One day, someone told the pastor that the men with long hair should cut it short. The pastor decided not to command the men to cut their hair. Instead, he told the 100 men to ask God to tell them if they should cut their long hair. When the pastor checked, 60 (60%) decided to cut their long hair while 40 (40%) decided not to. When the pastor asked the 60 men why they kept long hair, they told him that they kept long hair to protest against authority, as a symbol of their rebellion and now they felt God telling them that they should cut it off. When the pastor asked the 40men why they kept long hair, they said "because they liked long hair". The issue was therefore not men keeping their hair long. But the issue was what it represents.
- Ultimately what decides the choices we makes is what holds out heart.
- Let's say you are 40,000 feet in the air in an aeroplane. You see a door with the words "Do not open". Let's say you decide to open the door and jump from the door. Then you're falling down. But you say to yourself, that it's not your fault that you are falling because it is due to a greater law which is the law of gravity. However, opening the door was our choice which preceded the falling due to the law of gravity.
- Some people think that they are thinking when they are just rearranging their priorities.
- Values, virtues and priorities in our heart determines how we think, process information and make decisions.
- Some christians have encountered disappointments in life in the past. They get over it but the disappointment have affected their heart to the extent that they live their christian life at a low level because they want to avoid future disappointments.
- There are issues that come along and rob our heat of what holds dear to us and our passion for God.
- There are 3 kinds of knowledge. (1) Mathematical, (2) Logical and (3) Relational. Adam knew Eve and conceived. To know someone is to enter into a relationship with the person. To know God is to enter into a relationship with Him. It is not knowing a great about God but knowing Him.
- The highest form of knowledge is knowing, relational. Highest form of knowledge is not law or logic but love.
- Our heart is the gateway to our spirit.What happens to our heart affects our spirit. The heart can be crushed and the spirit will be crushed too. The heart can be broken and the spirit can be broken too.
- Joshua & Caleb followed God wholeheartedly.They had a different spirit. They saw the same buildings and giants as the other 10 spies but they saw things differently. They were the only ones who entered the Promised Land. An 11 day journey took 40 years because fear came upon the hearts of the Israelites after the 10 other spies presented their report.
- Daniel followed God wholeheartedly. He had an excellent spirit.
- There is a difference between preaching the Word and ministering the Word. It is possible to speak mind to mind, make an audience laugh with a few funny stories, even speak soul to soul. But it is different to minister the Word to others. There is a difference between singing a Song and ministering a Song. There is a difference between saying a prayer and ministering in prayer.
- Anyone can pray with His name. But not everyone prays in His name. Jesus said, in His name, we can speak to the mountain and asked it to move to the sea. Jesus said to ask in His name, and it will be given to us. When we pray in His name, our heart and our spirit has to be involved.
- A person with a divided heart will have a double minded mind and live a defeated life. The greatest irony is that Solomon, the writer of Proverbs 4:23 did not heed his own commands. The bible said he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He married foreign wives and worshipped their foreign gods. The Bible said Solon heart had turned from the Lord God and he went after other gods (1 Kings 11:9-10). In the end, his divided led to a divided kingdom and the nation of Israel was never the same again.
- A heart after God is not where we are now, but a desire to be more like Him. It is about the direction we are going in. Example given. Category 1 christian, those who just accepted Christ and had lots of issues to resolve and much to learn about scriptures and God. Category 10 is those who are exactly like Christ. We find there are those in Category 3 who are young in Christ, but who are always full of testimonies about answered prayer, how God is speaking to them and dealing with the issues in their lives. Then we have those in Category 7 who have been saved 30 years who know the bible well but can only tell us what God did in their lives 25 years ago. The difference is that the Category 7 christians were in Category 8 and is now on the way to Category 6 while the Category 3 christian was Category 2 about 3 months ago. Therefore, it is not where we are now but the direction we are going.
- 2 Tests
- We are known by our reactions than our actions. We usually have time to think over our actions but not our reactions. We react out of our hearts. How we react reflects our heart.
- We know what has captured our heart by the price it takes to buy our heart or by the fact that we will not be bought by any price. A very rich man was sitting in a cafe drinking coffee. A sweet young lady sat at his table. He asked the lady if she will sleep with the man drinking coffee on the right for $10 million dollars. She said to him that $10 million dollars is a lot of money and for that amount she will sleep with that man. He then asked her if she will sleep with the man drinking coffee on the left for $10. The lady reacted, "$10? What kind of woman do you think I am?" The rich man replied her that what kind of woman is not the question anymore. Just the price.
- We all can fail as David did. But David had a heart after God's own heart. David could have ordered the prophet Nathan executed as king. But he confessed and Psalm 51 is the most public heart rending confession we can read. "Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me". David asked for a clean heart. He repented. The bible said that David was a man after God's own heart. It is how we respond after we have fail that is important.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Myths vs Opportunities by Dr Ian Jagelman
Thought there were some good key points from this morning's sermon.
1. Some opportunities occur because of the actions of others. But, we should not be controlled by the actions of others.
2. Some opportunities are God given. God can and does intervene in our lives.
3. Other opportunities are created by our own actions and attitudes.
Some pointers:
1. Taking seriously our stewardship of God's grace; both the Saving and Enabling grace that He bestows on us.
2. We need to stay focus on God's purpose
3. Investing some of the present (time) now to make the future possible
4. Learning to know who not to trust (cos many people want to affect or speak into our future and they may not be right or know God's purpose for our lives)
5. We need to learn from past experiences
6. To make the future possible, continue to believe that everything that God says to us is possible.
1. Some opportunities occur because of the actions of others. But, we should not be controlled by the actions of others.
2. Some opportunities are God given. God can and does intervene in our lives.
3. Other opportunities are created by our own actions and attitudes.
Some pointers:
1. Taking seriously our stewardship of God's grace; both the Saving and Enabling grace that He bestows on us.
2. We need to stay focus on God's purpose
3. Investing some of the present (time) now to make the future possible
4. Learning to know who not to trust (cos many people want to affect or speak into our future and they may not be right or know God's purpose for our lives)
5. We need to learn from past experiences
6. To make the future possible, continue to believe that everything that God says to us is possible.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Living Excellently for God
Living Excellently for God
Philippians 3:7-11
Mr Daniel Ho
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead..." Phil 3:7-11 NIV
Introduction
God's ideal for His people – abundance, prosperous and a life of blessings.
His requirements – obedience and loyalty.
Examples of success and failures in individuals and the nation of Israel in the OT.
The NT shows how a relationship with God was possible for all people, opening a new living way through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Heb 10:20).
The example of the life of Paul, 1Cor 11:1; Phil 3:17. He was confident in telling the church "Be followers of me as I am of Christ". How is this possible for us to live excellently for God?
Choose Christ
Verse 7 - ..for the sake of Christ..
When face with decisions that will draw us from Christ, choose Christ.
Maybe costly especially in career and ambition. Choose a career that is not based on remuneration only but one that will enable you to serve in the church, be active in your family and improve society.
Choice is ours, God does not force on us His will.
The Bible is not a book of rules and regulations. It gives us principles. It shows us what happened to people who make wrong choice because they want their own will. Jesus when faced with a difficult choice was able to pray, "Not my will but yours be done".
The Holy Spirit helps us by giving us wisdom, strength and discernment.
Can never go wrong when we choose Christ.
Know Christ
Verse 8 ..surpassing greatness of knowing Christ..
How can we know God unless He reveals Himself to us? Apostle John writing to gentile believers explains this in the first chapter of John. The author of Hebrews says that God reveals Himself through his son, Jesus Christ.
Some practical ways of knowing Christ is daily reading of His Word and Prayer.
Ps 46:10 Be still and know that I am God This belief in God comes by reflection and quiet confidence in God.
The example of Mary and Martha by the author of "The cloud of unknowing" The Lord does not reject what we do for Him but better is the life of contemplation.
It is internalizing that relationship and knowledge of God; it is reflected by the serenity which is difficult for the world to understand. The Desert Fathers understood this as they retreated from the busy world into the desert.
AW Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy :"A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well"
Believe Christ
Verse 9 ..having a righteousness.. which is through faith in Christ..
In order to live excellently for God, it begins with faith in Christ. There will be times when we fail but we should not give up.
Wang Min Dow who suffered many, many years of imprisonment in China, failed when he was first tested with his faith in Christ. He was so ashamed the first time when he was asked to recant that he went out shouting "I betrayed my Lord".
To live excellently for God is to have faith in His son, Jesus Christ. The ancient Church Fathers when faced with death for their faith would reply, "I believe in Jesus who died for me because it is incredible. I believe He rose from the dead because it is impossible".
Our faith in Christ is visible in our attitudes, character and deeds. These are consistent throughout the day in whatever situation we may be in.
We are consistent in how we treat others, the young, the lowly and those superior to us. We are not a chameleon, the lizard that changes itself in different environment.
Our faith in Christ is tested all the time because Christ paid a price to redeem us. He is our master and which slave is greater than his master?
Our faith in Christ will mean that we live a life that will look forward to His second coming. It will also mean that we are involved in evangelism and missions. If we believe the only way to God is through the righteousness of His Son, then we must be making that known to others.
Conclusion
Living a life of excellence for the glory of God is expected of every believer in Christ. It begins with a choice. It involves a diligent desire to want to know Him better and living a righteous life of faith. It involves the will and may we have the courage to pray like what our lord and master prayed, "Not my will but yours be done". Amen.
Philippians 3:7-11
Mr Daniel Ho
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead..." Phil 3:7-11 NIV
Introduction
God's ideal for His people – abundance, prosperous and a life of blessings.
His requirements – obedience and loyalty.
Examples of success and failures in individuals and the nation of Israel in the OT.
The NT shows how a relationship with God was possible for all people, opening a new living way through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Heb 10:20).
The example of the life of Paul, 1Cor 11:1; Phil 3:17. He was confident in telling the church "Be followers of me as I am of Christ". How is this possible for us to live excellently for God?
Choose Christ
Verse 7 - ..for the sake of Christ..
When face with decisions that will draw us from Christ, choose Christ.
Maybe costly especially in career and ambition. Choose a career that is not based on remuneration only but one that will enable you to serve in the church, be active in your family and improve society.
Choice is ours, God does not force on us His will.
The Bible is not a book of rules and regulations. It gives us principles. It shows us what happened to people who make wrong choice because they want their own will. Jesus when faced with a difficult choice was able to pray, "Not my will but yours be done".
The Holy Spirit helps us by giving us wisdom, strength and discernment.
Can never go wrong when we choose Christ.
Know Christ
Verse 8 ..surpassing greatness of knowing Christ..
How can we know God unless He reveals Himself to us? Apostle John writing to gentile believers explains this in the first chapter of John. The author of Hebrews says that God reveals Himself through his son, Jesus Christ.
Some practical ways of knowing Christ is daily reading of His Word and Prayer.
Ps 46:10 Be still and know that I am God This belief in God comes by reflection and quiet confidence in God.
The example of Mary and Martha by the author of "The cloud of unknowing" The Lord does not reject what we do for Him but better is the life of contemplation.
It is internalizing that relationship and knowledge of God; it is reflected by the serenity which is difficult for the world to understand. The Desert Fathers understood this as they retreated from the busy world into the desert.
AW Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy :"A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well"
Believe Christ
Verse 9 ..having a righteousness.. which is through faith in Christ..
In order to live excellently for God, it begins with faith in Christ. There will be times when we fail but we should not give up.
Wang Min Dow who suffered many, many years of imprisonment in China, failed when he was first tested with his faith in Christ. He was so ashamed the first time when he was asked to recant that he went out shouting "I betrayed my Lord".
To live excellently for God is to have faith in His son, Jesus Christ. The ancient Church Fathers when faced with death for their faith would reply, "I believe in Jesus who died for me because it is incredible. I believe He rose from the dead because it is impossible".
Our faith in Christ is visible in our attitudes, character and deeds. These are consistent throughout the day in whatever situation we may be in.
We are consistent in how we treat others, the young, the lowly and those superior to us. We are not a chameleon, the lizard that changes itself in different environment.
Our faith in Christ is tested all the time because Christ paid a price to redeem us. He is our master and which slave is greater than his master?
Our faith in Christ will mean that we live a life that will look forward to His second coming. It will also mean that we are involved in evangelism and missions. If we believe the only way to God is through the righteousness of His Son, then we must be making that known to others.
Conclusion
Living a life of excellence for the glory of God is expected of every believer in Christ. It begins with a choice. It involves a diligent desire to want to know Him better and living a righteous life of faith. It involves the will and may we have the courage to pray like what our lord and master prayed, "Not my will but yours be done". Amen.
The Three Hardest Words in the World to Use
The Three Hardest Words in the World to Use
Dcn (Dr) Alex Tang
Text: 1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Introduction
What do you think the three hardest words in the world to use are?
I owe you (Ah Long)
Make my day (Clint Eastwood)
Can do lah (Ah Beng)… but never do anything
I am sorry
Greatest since creation
Let me suggest that the three hardest words to use in the word are “love one another”. I am not talking about romantic love here. The type of romantic love promoted by valentine day and Hollywood. Valentine day means red roses and dinner. The price of red roses goes sky high and the restaurants make a killing. Romantic love is mainly infatuation, day-dreaming and lust. Hollywood movies promote romantic love; “Love at first sight.”
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks is a story about a boy calling the psychiatrist host of a radio talk show about his father's prolonged grief over the death of his wife. Hanks, the father, is conned into confessing his grief to the psychiatrist. The father was talking to the psychiatrist over the phone unaware that it is simultaneous being broadcasted by radio all over the States. He shared about how he missed his wife and how he first met her. It was love at first sight. He also shared how he did not think he will love again. The love he had with his wife is only once for each lifetime. The rating for the show shot sky high and the radio station was flooded by thousands of phone calls from women willing to marry him! It also set in motion a series of events by which he met Meg Ryan. And it was love at first sight again! This is the only romantic movie I know that the couple met at the end of the movie.
When I said the three hardest words in the world to use, I am not talking about romantic love. I am talking about Christians loving one another in a congregation. Do you think it is easy to love one another here? In this church? Really? Do you love me? Do you love me enough to give me 10,000 dollars when I ask you to?
John in his pastoral epistle 1, 2 & 3 John is writing to Christians. One of the key points he wanted them to learn is to love one another. Not superficial, romantic love but really really love one another.
Exposition of Text
1 Jn 3:11-15. John here made it plain that his admonitions were directed to Christians.
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
But before telling his audience precisely what love is, he first told them what it is not. It is most certainly not the kind of action Cain exhibited toward his brother Abel. Cain murdered his brother (Gen. 4:8) and in that action he was influence by evil one. Hatred on the part of one Christian toward another is the first step towards murder. The non-righteous will always hate the righteous. Anyone who hates and murders does not love the victim. Howard Marshall, professor of New Testament in the University of Aberdeen, writes, “Hatred is the wish that the other person is not there: it is the refusal to recognize his rights as a person, the longing that he might be dead.”
Love one another is then not murder but the opposite of murder. What is the opposite of murder? Giving or adding to a life. As murder is the taking away of a life from another, Christian love should be giving more of life to another. John explains what Christians loving one another is…
Murder and hatred is taking away a life or minus-ing a life of another. (Life minus)
Christian love is adding to a life of another (Life plus)
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. It is the giving more of life. We know what Christian love for one another is by observing Jesus Christ. Christ gives life.
Jn 15:13
v.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? How does the giving of life happens in Christian love for one another? In our material possessions! God shows His love for us by giving his only Son so that all who believes can have eternal life. Jn 3:16.
v.18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. How then can Christian love for one another be lived out in the church?
(a) not with words or tongues
(b) with actions
(c) in truth
Christians love one another not with words but with actions and in truth
Applications
a. Love one another not with words or tongues
James 3:5-6
Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
i. Saying kind things but is insincere
“Let’s have a “win-win” situation”
“Our God is great and He will send someone to help you”…why not you?
“Brother, I will pray for you”…do you really intent to set time aside and pray?
“Let us set up a committee to study it”…meaning you do not want to make a decision
“Our Father is rich, ask Him to bless you”…meaning you will not be the one giving out of your pocket. ii. Saying ‘kind things’ in an unkind way (gossip)
“You know Sister so-and-so, she have this problem with her husband. Her husband beats her. I am telling you so that…..”
“Brother so-and-so lost a few thousands dollars on the stock exchange. Christians should not speculate. I have always believe that. I am telling you so that….”
“Brother so-and-so lost his job last month. So shameful lah. That’s why we have not seen them around church lately. I am telling you so…” Meaning: It is good to let other Christians now what is happening to so-and-so.
Deeper meaning:
Thank God it is not me
Serve them right
Yum, yum, nice juicy gossip iii. Promising much but do not deliver
“Brother, if you need money just let me know. I am always there for you. But at this moment, I have a cash flow problem…”
“Sister, if you need to talk, call me anytime. Here is my handphone number. At night I switch my handphone off…”
NATO (No Action Talk Only)
It is so easy with words. Many of us hide behind words. Many of us do not say what we think. If we are asked to do something and we do not want to do it, instead of saying no, we say something vague like, “I’ll pray about it” or “I’ll get back to you”. In the Bible, words are not a mark of Christian love. If you say “I love you”, the apostle John says “prove it!"
b. Love one another with actions i. Respect one another
Listen to one another. Wait until the other person stops talking before you open your mouth.
Be punctual. When you are late you are making the other person wait. You are making the other person waste his or her time.
Don’t be rude. Wait until the church service and announcement is over before you leave the hall.
Agree to disagree. You do not need to win every argument. You do not need to have the last words. ii. Care for one another
Is everyone in your small group okay? Does anyone need help?
Do something nice for someone in the congregation this week.
Offer to baby sit so that young couples with young children can have an evening off for a valentine dinner.
Mothers carpool so that you can have time for yourself.
Hospitality. Open your home to one another. To visitors.
Visit the sick. Bring a small gift. Keep them company.
Offer to help in spring cleaning and painting a church member’s house as Chinese New Year is coming.
Buy your Christian brothers and sisters a dinner. iii. Give to one another
Is another in financial need? Maybe, if you can afford it, offer an interest free loan.
Give some money without expecting anything in return.
Be a mentor to the younger Christians
Give your old clothes, furniture, books, crockery to the Salvation Army, Old Folks Home, Orphanage
iv. Pray for one another
c. Love one another in truth
i. Be honest with one another
Speak the truth with love
Tell it as it is
Let your yes be yes and no be no ii. Confess to one another
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Confess your sin only to people you trusts.
Confession is good for your soul
Confession is important for spiritual growth iii. Rebuke and Restore one another
Rebuking and restoring is a sign of love
Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
“It’s none of my business” is not love.
Reconcile if anyone has offend you.
Matt 5:22
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Conclusion
1JN 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The three hardest words in the world to use are “love one another”. To murder is to take away a life, to hate is to take from a life. To love is to add to a life. John teaches Christians to love one another not with words but with actions and in truth.
Dcn (Dr) Alex Tang
Text: 1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Introduction
What do you think the three hardest words in the world to use are?
I owe you (Ah Long)
Make my day (Clint Eastwood)
Can do lah (Ah Beng)… but never do anything
I am sorry
Greatest since creation
Let me suggest that the three hardest words to use in the word are “love one another”. I am not talking about romantic love here. The type of romantic love promoted by valentine day and Hollywood. Valentine day means red roses and dinner. The price of red roses goes sky high and the restaurants make a killing. Romantic love is mainly infatuation, day-dreaming and lust. Hollywood movies promote romantic love; “Love at first sight.”
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks is a story about a boy calling the psychiatrist host of a radio talk show about his father's prolonged grief over the death of his wife. Hanks, the father, is conned into confessing his grief to the psychiatrist. The father was talking to the psychiatrist over the phone unaware that it is simultaneous being broadcasted by radio all over the States. He shared about how he missed his wife and how he first met her. It was love at first sight. He also shared how he did not think he will love again. The love he had with his wife is only once for each lifetime. The rating for the show shot sky high and the radio station was flooded by thousands of phone calls from women willing to marry him! It also set in motion a series of events by which he met Meg Ryan. And it was love at first sight again! This is the only romantic movie I know that the couple met at the end of the movie.
When I said the three hardest words in the world to use, I am not talking about romantic love. I am talking about Christians loving one another in a congregation. Do you think it is easy to love one another here? In this church? Really? Do you love me? Do you love me enough to give me 10,000 dollars when I ask you to?
John in his pastoral epistle 1, 2 & 3 John is writing to Christians. One of the key points he wanted them to learn is to love one another. Not superficial, romantic love but really really love one another.
Exposition of Text
1 Jn 3:11-15. John here made it plain that his admonitions were directed to Christians.
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
But before telling his audience precisely what love is, he first told them what it is not. It is most certainly not the kind of action Cain exhibited toward his brother Abel. Cain murdered his brother (Gen. 4:8) and in that action he was influence by evil one. Hatred on the part of one Christian toward another is the first step towards murder. The non-righteous will always hate the righteous. Anyone who hates and murders does not love the victim. Howard Marshall, professor of New Testament in the University of Aberdeen, writes, “Hatred is the wish that the other person is not there: it is the refusal to recognize his rights as a person, the longing that he might be dead.”
Love one another is then not murder but the opposite of murder. What is the opposite of murder? Giving or adding to a life. As murder is the taking away of a life from another, Christian love should be giving more of life to another. John explains what Christians loving one another is…
Murder and hatred is taking away a life or minus-ing a life of another. (Life minus)
Christian love is adding to a life of another (Life plus)
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. It is the giving more of life. We know what Christian love for one another is by observing Jesus Christ. Christ gives life.
Jn 15:13
v.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? How does the giving of life happens in Christian love for one another? In our material possessions! God shows His love for us by giving his only Son so that all who believes can have eternal life. Jn 3:16.
v.18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. How then can Christian love for one another be lived out in the church?
(a) not with words or tongues
(b) with actions
(c) in truth
Christians love one another not with words but with actions and in truth
Applications
a. Love one another not with words or tongues
James 3:5-6
Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
i. Saying kind things but is insincere
“Let’s have a “win-win” situation”
“Our God is great and He will send someone to help you”…why not you?
“Brother, I will pray for you”…do you really intent to set time aside and pray?
“Let us set up a committee to study it”…meaning you do not want to make a decision
“Our Father is rich, ask Him to bless you”…meaning you will not be the one giving out of your pocket. ii. Saying ‘kind things’ in an unkind way (gossip)
“You know Sister so-and-so, she have this problem with her husband. Her husband beats her. I am telling you so that…..”
“Brother so-and-so lost a few thousands dollars on the stock exchange. Christians should not speculate. I have always believe that. I am telling you so that….”
“Brother so-and-so lost his job last month. So shameful lah. That’s why we have not seen them around church lately. I am telling you so…” Meaning: It is good to let other Christians now what is happening to so-and-so.
Deeper meaning:
Thank God it is not me
Serve them right
Yum, yum, nice juicy gossip iii. Promising much but do not deliver
“Brother, if you need money just let me know. I am always there for you. But at this moment, I have a cash flow problem…”
“Sister, if you need to talk, call me anytime. Here is my handphone number. At night I switch my handphone off…”
NATO (No Action Talk Only)
It is so easy with words. Many of us hide behind words. Many of us do not say what we think. If we are asked to do something and we do not want to do it, instead of saying no, we say something vague like, “I’ll pray about it” or “I’ll get back to you”. In the Bible, words are not a mark of Christian love. If you say “I love you”, the apostle John says “prove it!"
b. Love one another with actions i. Respect one another
Listen to one another. Wait until the other person stops talking before you open your mouth.
Be punctual. When you are late you are making the other person wait. You are making the other person waste his or her time.
Don’t be rude. Wait until the church service and announcement is over before you leave the hall.
Agree to disagree. You do not need to win every argument. You do not need to have the last words. ii. Care for one another
Is everyone in your small group okay? Does anyone need help?
Do something nice for someone in the congregation this week.
Offer to baby sit so that young couples with young children can have an evening off for a valentine dinner.
Mothers carpool so that you can have time for yourself.
Hospitality. Open your home to one another. To visitors.
Visit the sick. Bring a small gift. Keep them company.
Offer to help in spring cleaning and painting a church member’s house as Chinese New Year is coming.
Buy your Christian brothers and sisters a dinner. iii. Give to one another
Is another in financial need? Maybe, if you can afford it, offer an interest free loan.
Give some money without expecting anything in return.
Be a mentor to the younger Christians
Give your old clothes, furniture, books, crockery to the Salvation Army, Old Folks Home, Orphanage
iv. Pray for one another
c. Love one another in truth
i. Be honest with one another
Speak the truth with love
Tell it as it is
Let your yes be yes and no be no ii. Confess to one another
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Confess your sin only to people you trusts.
Confession is good for your soul
Confession is important for spiritual growth iii. Rebuke and Restore one another
Rebuking and restoring is a sign of love
Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
“It’s none of my business” is not love.
Reconcile if anyone has offend you.
Matt 5:22
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Conclusion
1JN 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The three hardest words in the world to use are “love one another”. To murder is to take away a life, to hate is to take from a life. To love is to add to a life. John teaches Christians to love one another not with words but with actions and in truth.
“Vision & Purpose In Christian Service”
“Vision & Purpose In Christian Service”
Nehemiah 1
Rev Nicholas Yeo
Life has a purpose; God has His purposes through our lives; For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10); if our lives are adjusted to God in every detail, He can achieve His purposes thru us. David (Psalmist) says, I desire to do your will, O my God (Ps40:8); Lord's Prayer, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven (Mt 6:10); Jesus said, Yet not as I will, but as you will (Mt 26:39); series of messages on Christian service in next few wks using Nehemiah. Esther,
Ezra, Nehemiah – most recent in historical dating (ca 400 BC).
EZRA – 1st 6 chpts: rebuilding of temple; last 4 chpts: restoration of worship;
Nehemiah – 1st 6 chpts: reconstruction of Jerusalem walls; last 7 chpts: reinstruction of God's people.
Nehemiah a historical book, but we will emphasize upon the spiritual lessons that are here for us all.
Key word here is “wall” (v3); also in the 6 chpts. Today's cities generally have no walls; famous Berlin Wall broken down; Great Wall of China in ruins, have become tourist spot; however, some places build walls to separate, like the Israeli walls separating the Palestinians, the fences along certain boundaries between nations to prevent illegal entries of people; in those days, walls built around cities: Jerusaslem, Jericho, Gath, Jabneh, Ashdod (2 Chr 26:6 He [Kg Uzziah] went to war against the Philistines & broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh & Ashdod); All these cities were fortified with high walls & with gates & bars, & there were also a great many unwalled villages (Dt 3:5). Walls signified power, protection. Absence of city wall meant people were defenceless against their enemies.
But walls also signified beauty. (Future glory of Jerusalem: Isaiah 60:18, No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.) Wall built around city impressive-looking; so wall = witness & testimony. There is a wall to be built around the city of our soul; a testimony to be erected around our church; a wall of witness & testimony to be built around the whole Kingdom of God in all the world. And this must be our concern.
Now, whether we are basically concerned with bldg the wall in our own soul, or with bldg the wall of our church, or with building the wall of the Kingdom of God throughout the whole world, we will discover that there will be warfare, troubles, opposition, & vigilance; & there is no winning without warfare / no triumphs without troubles / no opportunity without opposition / no victory without vigilance. Because, whenever the people of God say, Let us arise & build, Satan says, Let me arise & oppose.
1. Let Us Observe The Preparation.
Nehemiah's bro. & some other Jews returned from brief visit to Jerus & gave tragic report of broken walls: v3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile & are back in the province are in great trouble & disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, & its gates have been burned with fire." pressure & burden in his own heart: v4 When I heard these things, I sat down & wept. For some days I mourned & fasted & prayed before the God of heaven. Why did he weep & mourn & fast & pray? He knew God's real purpose for people in Jerusalem. Nehemiah not the last to weep over Jerusalem; one day our Lord Jesus wept over that city, & mourned & prayed & sacrificed His life for it.
Hundreds of people ever since have wept & mourned & fasted & prayed when they understood the revelation of the conditions as they really are.
Lesson :Load is not lightened unless first felt pressure in own soul; no one is ever used of God to bring blessing until God has opened his eyes & made him see things as they are; Nehemiah was called to build wall, but first he had to weep over the ruins.
Christian work is not a hobby; if so, it leads to failure; look at ruins before Christian service; look at absence of Christian teaching in schools or groups before you get involved in SCFs or uniformed organisations; look at poverty of Christian instruction & influence in young people before you start Bible School teaching or Children's Church or Children's Hour; then look at the people who are more interested in the fleeting pleasures of sin than in the life that Jesus said He would give abundantly to those who would seek after Him.
Look & weep.
Jesus (Mt 9:35-38) had compassion on the crowds; ..like sheep without a shepherd; ..“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (In mid-60s while a school teacher, my concern on lack of national full time workers in Christian service; prayed; sent to be a pastor; am retiring next year: constitutionally, GPM.. and constitutionally, bodily;) But Lord still sending out workers. And in your current various occupations, when you sense the calling of God to serve, respond to that call.
Do we see self-satisfaction (complacency) in ourselves? Are we not concerned with the cold state of things in our lives? Do we see a great inertia in ourselves to move into Christian service? These are ruins, like the ruins of the Jerusalem walls; God's purpose for Jerusalem was that its walls should be Salvation & its gates should be Praise (Isa60:18) & these symbols of Salvation & Praise were lying in ruins. Is God calling some of us to weep & mourn over the ruin of these emblems in our lives? We are called to mourn over the failure of many of us who are supposed to live lives which reflect Jesus Christ.
Look at ourselves. Wall speaks of witness & testimony. Need any mourning? our wall of separation? prayer life? Bib St? walk with God? personal devotional life? consistent testimony before others? Christlike life? Do these lie in ruins in God’s eyes?
2. Let Us Observe The Prayer.
Vision of ruin, brokenness & need; temptation to say: Helpless, hopeless, don’t attempt to do anything about it. Tendency for conflict & discouragement to set in; but observe Nehemiah's prayer; quite clearly a man fed on Word of God;
The prayer is given in the structure of God's revelation of Himself; that kind of prayer can never fail; sets name of God on one hand, O Lord God of heaven (5), calls himself & people as your servants (6,7,8,10,11), & on other hand calls the kg of Persia as this man (11).
Nehemiah knew his inadequacy, & unworthiness for the task; first, must gain favour from kg; then apply for leave of absence to go to Jerusalem for job God was calling him; even though he had great influence in royal court & in position of responsibility, an impossible thing to happen unless God intervened.
Nehemiah's prayer of confession included himself in the confession of sins of his people; he grounded his prayers on God's past dealings with Israel: [RD 1:8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, cf Lv26:33, “I will scatter you among the nations & will draw out my sword & pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, & your cities will lie in ruins.”
RD 1:9 “but if you return to me & obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there & bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” cf Dt30:4,5, 4 “Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you & bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, & you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous & numerous than your fathers.”
RD 1:10 “They are your servants & your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength & your mighty hand.” cf Dt9:29, “But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power & your outstretched arm."] Nehemiah grounded his prayers in God's past dealings with Israel, & saw in those things a mirror of all God's future plans.
Lesson: Whatever our ruins may be, we can go back to God's past dealings; we ground our confession & prayer on the cross / blood / empty tomb / ascended Lord; the cross sets us free from bondage & condemnation, disarmed demonic strongholds; the blood brings forgiveness & cleansing from sins, deliverance from fear of death, reconciliation with God, it brings life & healing, & it destroys the devil who has the power of death; the empty tomb shows that the purposes of God can never be frustrated, the empty tomb shows a new & changed life that can be lived in Jesus Christ; the ascended Lord shows his supremacy, the giver of life, the giver of power, the one who will be with us to the end of the age; then we will see in these things the mirror reflecting all God's purposes for us & for this world of ours.
In prayer exercise, am still a learner; prayer is battering not chattering; prayer is battle not prattle; prayer is working not wording; prayer is warring not boring; prayer is fight not flight; prayer is rooted in promises of God & in covenant of the blood; we have reasons given to us by God in his Wd why he should answer, & we can read them there. That's why Nehemiah's prayer was answered – based on God's purposes & God's promises; our prayers ought to be like that, so that God's purposes may be realized; but more often we hear prayers just asking God to bless the work, to bless the sick ones, to keep us plugging along, to keep the work going.
But we can look back to a place where Jesus died & shed His blood & rose from a tomb & ascended into heaven, & we can know He is coming again. Surely He did not do all that to leave us living as we are today; or to leave our churches weak & inadequate in their impact & insufficient in their witness.
Conclusion
Nehemiah was prepared for service even though it may be at the cost of his life. He could have remained in the comfort & ease of a life serving an earthly king & advising an earthly king. But he was prepared for service of God.
The principles of Christian service are similar. We are prepared to serve the Lord only by sacrifice. We are fit for the work of God only when we have wept over it, prayed about it, & then we are enabled by Him to face the task that needs to be done.
Nehemiah 1
Rev Nicholas Yeo
Life has a purpose; God has His purposes through our lives; For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10); if our lives are adjusted to God in every detail, He can achieve His purposes thru us. David (Psalmist) says, I desire to do your will, O my God (Ps40:8); Lord's Prayer, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven (Mt 6:10); Jesus said, Yet not as I will, but as you will (Mt 26:39); series of messages on Christian service in next few wks using Nehemiah. Esther,
Ezra, Nehemiah – most recent in historical dating (ca 400 BC).
EZRA – 1st 6 chpts: rebuilding of temple; last 4 chpts: restoration of worship;
Nehemiah – 1st 6 chpts: reconstruction of Jerusalem walls; last 7 chpts: reinstruction of God's people.
Nehemiah a historical book, but we will emphasize upon the spiritual lessons that are here for us all.
Key word here is “wall” (v3); also in the 6 chpts. Today's cities generally have no walls; famous Berlin Wall broken down; Great Wall of China in ruins, have become tourist spot; however, some places build walls to separate, like the Israeli walls separating the Palestinians, the fences along certain boundaries between nations to prevent illegal entries of people; in those days, walls built around cities: Jerusaslem, Jericho, Gath, Jabneh, Ashdod (2 Chr 26:6 He [Kg Uzziah] went to war against the Philistines & broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh & Ashdod); All these cities were fortified with high walls & with gates & bars, & there were also a great many unwalled villages (Dt 3:5). Walls signified power, protection. Absence of city wall meant people were defenceless against their enemies.
But walls also signified beauty. (Future glory of Jerusalem: Isaiah 60:18, No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.) Wall built around city impressive-looking; so wall = witness & testimony. There is a wall to be built around the city of our soul; a testimony to be erected around our church; a wall of witness & testimony to be built around the whole Kingdom of God in all the world. And this must be our concern.
Now, whether we are basically concerned with bldg the wall in our own soul, or with bldg the wall of our church, or with building the wall of the Kingdom of God throughout the whole world, we will discover that there will be warfare, troubles, opposition, & vigilance; & there is no winning without warfare / no triumphs without troubles / no opportunity without opposition / no victory without vigilance. Because, whenever the people of God say, Let us arise & build, Satan says, Let me arise & oppose.
1. Let Us Observe The Preparation.
Nehemiah's bro. & some other Jews returned from brief visit to Jerus & gave tragic report of broken walls: v3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile & are back in the province are in great trouble & disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, & its gates have been burned with fire." pressure & burden in his own heart: v4 When I heard these things, I sat down & wept. For some days I mourned & fasted & prayed before the God of heaven. Why did he weep & mourn & fast & pray? He knew God's real purpose for people in Jerusalem. Nehemiah not the last to weep over Jerusalem; one day our Lord Jesus wept over that city, & mourned & prayed & sacrificed His life for it.
Hundreds of people ever since have wept & mourned & fasted & prayed when they understood the revelation of the conditions as they really are.
Lesson :Load is not lightened unless first felt pressure in own soul; no one is ever used of God to bring blessing until God has opened his eyes & made him see things as they are; Nehemiah was called to build wall, but first he had to weep over the ruins.
Christian work is not a hobby; if so, it leads to failure; look at ruins before Christian service; look at absence of Christian teaching in schools or groups before you get involved in SCFs or uniformed organisations; look at poverty of Christian instruction & influence in young people before you start Bible School teaching or Children's Church or Children's Hour; then look at the people who are more interested in the fleeting pleasures of sin than in the life that Jesus said He would give abundantly to those who would seek after Him.
Look & weep.
Jesus (Mt 9:35-38) had compassion on the crowds; ..like sheep without a shepherd; ..“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (In mid-60s while a school teacher, my concern on lack of national full time workers in Christian service; prayed; sent to be a pastor; am retiring next year: constitutionally, GPM.. and constitutionally, bodily;) But Lord still sending out workers. And in your current various occupations, when you sense the calling of God to serve, respond to that call.
Do we see self-satisfaction (complacency) in ourselves? Are we not concerned with the cold state of things in our lives? Do we see a great inertia in ourselves to move into Christian service? These are ruins, like the ruins of the Jerusalem walls; God's purpose for Jerusalem was that its walls should be Salvation & its gates should be Praise (Isa60:18) & these symbols of Salvation & Praise were lying in ruins. Is God calling some of us to weep & mourn over the ruin of these emblems in our lives? We are called to mourn over the failure of many of us who are supposed to live lives which reflect Jesus Christ.
Look at ourselves. Wall speaks of witness & testimony. Need any mourning? our wall of separation? prayer life? Bib St? walk with God? personal devotional life? consistent testimony before others? Christlike life? Do these lie in ruins in God’s eyes?
2. Let Us Observe The Prayer.
Vision of ruin, brokenness & need; temptation to say: Helpless, hopeless, don’t attempt to do anything about it. Tendency for conflict & discouragement to set in; but observe Nehemiah's prayer; quite clearly a man fed on Word of God;
The prayer is given in the structure of God's revelation of Himself; that kind of prayer can never fail; sets name of God on one hand, O Lord God of heaven (5), calls himself & people as your servants (6,7,8,10,11), & on other hand calls the kg of Persia as this man (11).
Nehemiah knew his inadequacy, & unworthiness for the task; first, must gain favour from kg; then apply for leave of absence to go to Jerusalem for job God was calling him; even though he had great influence in royal court & in position of responsibility, an impossible thing to happen unless God intervened.
Nehemiah's prayer of confession included himself in the confession of sins of his people; he grounded his prayers on God's past dealings with Israel: [RD 1:8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, cf Lv26:33, “I will scatter you among the nations & will draw out my sword & pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, & your cities will lie in ruins.”
RD 1:9 “but if you return to me & obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there & bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” cf Dt30:4,5, 4 “Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you & bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, & you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous & numerous than your fathers.”
RD 1:10 “They are your servants & your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength & your mighty hand.” cf Dt9:29, “But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power & your outstretched arm."] Nehemiah grounded his prayers in God's past dealings with Israel, & saw in those things a mirror of all God's future plans.
Lesson: Whatever our ruins may be, we can go back to God's past dealings; we ground our confession & prayer on the cross / blood / empty tomb / ascended Lord; the cross sets us free from bondage & condemnation, disarmed demonic strongholds; the blood brings forgiveness & cleansing from sins, deliverance from fear of death, reconciliation with God, it brings life & healing, & it destroys the devil who has the power of death; the empty tomb shows that the purposes of God can never be frustrated, the empty tomb shows a new & changed life that can be lived in Jesus Christ; the ascended Lord shows his supremacy, the giver of life, the giver of power, the one who will be with us to the end of the age; then we will see in these things the mirror reflecting all God's purposes for us & for this world of ours.
In prayer exercise, am still a learner; prayer is battering not chattering; prayer is battle not prattle; prayer is working not wording; prayer is warring not boring; prayer is fight not flight; prayer is rooted in promises of God & in covenant of the blood; we have reasons given to us by God in his Wd why he should answer, & we can read them there. That's why Nehemiah's prayer was answered – based on God's purposes & God's promises; our prayers ought to be like that, so that God's purposes may be realized; but more often we hear prayers just asking God to bless the work, to bless the sick ones, to keep us plugging along, to keep the work going.
But we can look back to a place where Jesus died & shed His blood & rose from a tomb & ascended into heaven, & we can know He is coming again. Surely He did not do all that to leave us living as we are today; or to leave our churches weak & inadequate in their impact & insufficient in their witness.
Conclusion
Nehemiah was prepared for service even though it may be at the cost of his life. He could have remained in the comfort & ease of a life serving an earthly king & advising an earthly king. But he was prepared for service of God.
The principles of Christian service are similar. We are prepared to serve the Lord only by sacrifice. We are fit for the work of God only when we have wept over it, prayed about it, & then we are enabled by Him to face the task that needs to be done.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Growing strong through Our Excellence for His Glory
Philippians 1:12-21
Eld (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Introduction: Our Excellence for His Glory
HLCE commitment to excellence (Philippians 4:4, 8-9)
We believe that excellence honours God and inspires people. Our God who is a God of excellence gave his best – his one and only Son for us (Romans 8:32).
Therefore, we are committed to pursue excellence in all that we do to glorify him.
What does it mean to reveal God’s glory through our excellence?
Glory
Glory in Hebrew is ‘kabod’. It gives an idea of heaviness, weightiness, worthiness.
Glory of God refers to revelation of God in his nature, character and presence.
God’s glorious Presence was felt by the people at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19:17-19. God reveals his glory through the expression of his character to Moses in Exodus 34:6.
In the NT, Jesus Christ is the outshining example of his divine glory
Hebrew 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful words. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.”
God’s glory is revealed most fully in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Today His people are called to reveal his glory to the world
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God who said, “let light shines out of darkness,” made his light shines in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
The glory of God in the face of Christ is to be seen and reflected in the church today. It is to be seen in the words and deeds of the disciples (Matthew 5:17).
Excellence
Excellence is often equated with doing the best, producing the best results. There is a danger of doing excellence that is result-orientated (Kiasuism) and doing excellence for excellence sake that can be a form of idol worship. So what does it mean to give our excellence for God’s glory?
Our Excellence for His Glory - An Example from Paul
Philippians 1:12-21 Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
The church in Philippi Acts 16:6-39
In Philippi, Lydia was converted, Paul and Silas were throne into jail because Paul delivered the slave girl who was possessed by a spirit and caused the owner to lose his fortune telling trade. As a result, the jailer and his household were saved.
Paul’s yardstick for excellence that glorifies God is when the Gospel is advanced.
As long as the Gospel is advanced, God is glorified! It is not about how well he is doing.
“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
‘what has happened to me’
Acts 21:17-28:31
Paul was arrested in Jerusalem temple because the Jews were upset he brought in the Gentiles and desecrated the temple; the Romans thought he was the Egyptian outlaw on their most wanted list who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert. He was remanded in prison for two years under Governor Felix in Caesarea because Felix was playing favor to the Jews. After Felix was succeeded by Festus, the chief priest and the Jews leaders again appealed for him to be transferred to Jerusalem to face charges in their attempt to kill him. Paul managed to appeal to be transferred to Rome to face Caesar. On the way the ship was wrecked and they were stranded in Malta for three months before they were able to go to Rome. In Rome Paul was put under house arrest.
‘Advanced’ = furtherance
Means being a pioneer in advancing the work of God. It is a Greek military term referring to the army engineers who go before the troop to open the way into new territory.
As far as Paul is concerned, his primary motive in whatever he does in life is to do it excellently to advance the Gospel and bring glory to God.
The Gospel refers to the good news
The coming of His kingdom as Jesus proclaimed in:
Mark 1:15 “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The Gospel refers to the coming of the kingdom in every aspect of our lives to do what we are called to show his love to everyone. It is not merely the sharing of the words of salvation or getting people converted to Christ. It is not only about personal salvation, it is also about ‘proclaiming freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’. It is bringing in the reign of God into our lives to glorify Him.
Paul gave his excellence for God’s glory in ALL situations
* In chain.
* Facing critics.
* Going through crisis of life and death.
Paul gave his excellence in chained
13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher of the gospel; instead, he was in Rome as a prisoner. Nevertheless, the prison cannot stop Paul from giving his excellence for His glory! As a result of his imprisonment, the gospel was shared to the prison guards and those around. The brothers in the Lord also were encouraged to be bold to share the gospel.
Paul gave his excellence when faced with his critic
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Paul has his vision set on things above. He did not allow personal feeling or issues to cloud his vision of the glory of the Lord. He is totally committed to advance the Gospel to give his excellence for God’s glory.
Paul gave his excellence for God when going through crisis of life and death
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Paul did not know how his trial was going to turn out. He has no idea if he would be released when he wrote this letter. Yet he was all ready to commit himself totally to the Lord and his cause. He was even ready to die for what he has called to do as long as Christ’s name is exalted.
For many, Paul’s troubles may look like failure; but for Paul these were opportunities to be excellence for his glory because the gospel was advanced! He was a pioneer of the Gospel in all situations.
The secret of Paul
The power of prayer and the Holy Spirit
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
Paul can continue to rejoice in all circumstances and give his excellence for his glory because he was sure of the help from prayer of the saints and the power of the Holy Spirit at work to ensure his salvation to the end.
Single-mindedness for God’s glory
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
For Paul, it’s all about God and not himself! Paul has the single-mindedness of doing his best to bring glory to God. It’s all about God’s glory and reputation and not himself! His eyes are on God and not himself. His heart is for God and God only.
What can we learn?
The excellence that could give God the glory to advance the Gospel is:
Not our best effort or our greatest achievement, but our best state, the best that we could be.
Our best effort and success can only draw credit to ourselves, but not glory to God.
It is when we realize that we are living in His strength, and we cannot help but say, “The Lord is good! Glory be to Him!” It has to be a situation when everyone must recognize that this is clearly the hand of God working in and through us.
Our best state is not what we could be in ourselves, but one where we have given ourselves completely to Him and put our trust in Him-
It is when everyone around us recognizes the grace and the power of God at work in us, enabling us to act and respond in a way that truly reflects His divine character and power. And they cannot help but exclaimed, “Hallelujah! Glory be to God!”
It is when we can truthfully say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
It is when we proclaim with Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!” and “In Christ alone, I place my trust.”
Some pioneers of faith who gives their hearts completely to God
Margaret Brand, a pioneer of Christian faith, who lived a balance career, family and faith, gave her excellence for the glory of God.
* Self-trained world expert on Leprosy on eye.
* With the late Dr. Paul Brand (d. 2003), raised a family of six children in India.
* Christian Medical College in Vellore, S. India, for approximately 18 years.
* 22 years as Chief of Ophthalmology at Gillis W. Long National Hansen’s Disease Center.
* Dr. Margaret, now 85, is officially retired, but maintains a busy schedule, speaking and traveling around the world.
According to Margaret Brand, a pioneer of Christian faith,
“It is the grace of God, which is available to everyone, that has enabled me to accomplish what I have done, and His grace that has overruled many of my foolish mistakes.”
“Our disappointments are God’s appointment for us!”
It is in such situations that we can give our excellence to for his glory when we respond to his call to advance the gospel and be a pioneer of the Christian faith.
‘Chained’ by circumstances – Susannah, Mrs. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Book Fund”
Early in their married life, Susannah became an invalid but her burden to share in her husband’s ministry took her to start the “Book Fund”, a work of faith that supported thousands of pastors who were too poor to buy books. She began only by sharing with them her husband’s book and God took her burden and developed it into a great ministry even though she was home bound for 15 years.
When Susannah became chronically ill and was often confined to bed, discouraged and confused, Susannah cried out to God. Later, she would write, ” . . . the moment we come into any trial or difficulty, our first thought should be, not how soon can we escape from it, or how we may lessen the pain we shall suffer from it, but how can we best glorify God in it . . .”
But how could Susannah glorify God or minister with her husband while confined to a sick room?
In the summer of 1875, Charles completed the first volume of his book, Lectures to My Students. He gave a proof copy to Susannah and asked her opinion of it. After reading it, she said, “I wish I could place it in the hands of every minister in England.” Charles quipped, “Then why not do so; how much will you give?”3
Susannah took the challenge seriously. She had, on a whim, been saving crown pieces as she happened to get them. When she counted them out, there were exactly enough coins to buy 100 copies of the new book. Charles announced in his magazine that 100 copies of Lectures to my Students would be mailed to poor pastors at no charge. Orders flooded in for the books from English ministers, many of whom were so strapped for money that they hadn’t bought a new book in years. Susannah mailed out the books and received dozens of grateful letters in thanks. Some pastors wept when the precious volumes arrived. Spurgeon announced the results in the next issue of his magazine and asked his readers to help continue the work. Donations poured in. Though they never again asked for funds, enough money continued to trickle in over the years to distribute hundreds of thousands of theological books.
Susannah often worked from her sick bed, keeping track of the finances and corresponding with pastors. A room in their home was dedicated to storing and shipping books. As long as Susannah was well enough, volunteers would come in once every two weeks to help pack books for shipping.
Charles later wrote about the effect the labor involved in the book fund had on his wife. “Our gracious Lord has ministered to His suffering child in the most effectual manner when He graciously led her to minister to the necessities of His servants. . . . Let every believer accept this as the inference of experience: that for most human maladies, the best relief and antidote will be found in the self-sacrificing work for the Lord Jesus.”
She was a splendid manageress and a supporter of Spurgeon’s Pastors’ College
By means of rigid economies, quite a substantial amount was saved towards the support and education of the first student, the success of this effort leading to the foundation of the Pastors´ College. “I rejoice,” says Mrs. Spurgeon, ‘“to remember how I shared my beloved´s joy when he founded the Institution, and that together we planned and pinched in order to carry out the purpose of his loving heart; it gave me quite a motherly interest in the College, and ‘our own men.´
Do we feel ‘in chain’ to someone that pull us down or prevent us from serving him?
Susanna Wesley could be ‘in chain’ by her 19 children, but she was not!
She drew her inner strength from her belief in God. With single mind, she sees her difficult situations as God-given opportunities for furtherance of the Gospel. She shared,
"Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church... nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that every where I am in Thy Presence."
"I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified."
“My excellence for His glory” is a choice
Our unstoppable determination for His holiness! It involves a choice!
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest shared,
“To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering.”
“When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God he doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point – He does know.”
What should our responses be?
“Shut out every other thought that keep yourself before God for this one thing only – my utmost for his highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.”
How does God prepare and grow us to that state?
Experiencing God!
Blackaby shared about the steps God grows us through experiencing him in our love relationship with Him. Oswald Chambers shared something similar in this light when he said,
“But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentle nudges.”
It is a process of growth
We need to go through the process of growth in our experience with God. To look at the process that God lovingly and graciously subject us to, to bring to fruition the end product that He so desires to see in us, come to…HLCE Camp 2009
The theme: Our Excellence for His Glory
1. Experiencing His Comfort in our Trials (1:3-11).
2. Experiencing His Victory in our Setbacks (2:1-17).
3. Experiencing His Power in our Frailty (3:12-4:18).
4. Experiencing His Eternity in our Mortality (5:1-21).
We will be taken through the process of how Paul experience God’s grace that worked powerfully in him and help to strengthen and build him up to do excellently to glorify God in his life.
Let us go to the camp and learn to give Our Excellence for His Glory!
To God be all praise and glory! Amen.
_______________________________________________________________
HLCE Audio Sermons Online are on the web
at http://www.hlce.org.my
©HLCE 2000-2006
Eld (Dr) Chuah Seong Peng
Introduction: Our Excellence for His Glory
HLCE commitment to excellence (Philippians 4:4, 8-9)
We believe that excellence honours God and inspires people. Our God who is a God of excellence gave his best – his one and only Son for us (Romans 8:32).
Therefore, we are committed to pursue excellence in all that we do to glorify him.
What does it mean to reveal God’s glory through our excellence?
Glory
Glory in Hebrew is ‘kabod’. It gives an idea of heaviness, weightiness, worthiness.
Glory of God refers to revelation of God in his nature, character and presence.
God’s glorious Presence was felt by the people at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19:17-19. God reveals his glory through the expression of his character to Moses in Exodus 34:6.
In the NT, Jesus Christ is the outshining example of his divine glory
Hebrew 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful words. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.”
God’s glory is revealed most fully in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Today His people are called to reveal his glory to the world
2 Corinthians 4:6
For God who said, “let light shines out of darkness,” made his light shines in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
The glory of God in the face of Christ is to be seen and reflected in the church today. It is to be seen in the words and deeds of the disciples (Matthew 5:17).
Excellence
Excellence is often equated with doing the best, producing the best results. There is a danger of doing excellence that is result-orientated (Kiasuism) and doing excellence for excellence sake that can be a form of idol worship. So what does it mean to give our excellence for God’s glory?
Our Excellence for His Glory - An Example from Paul
Philippians 1:12-21 Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
The church in Philippi Acts 16:6-39
In Philippi, Lydia was converted, Paul and Silas were throne into jail because Paul delivered the slave girl who was possessed by a spirit and caused the owner to lose his fortune telling trade. As a result, the jailer and his household were saved.
Paul’s yardstick for excellence that glorifies God is when the Gospel is advanced.
As long as the Gospel is advanced, God is glorified! It is not about how well he is doing.
“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
‘what has happened to me’
Acts 21:17-28:31
Paul was arrested in Jerusalem temple because the Jews were upset he brought in the Gentiles and desecrated the temple; the Romans thought he was the Egyptian outlaw on their most wanted list who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert. He was remanded in prison for two years under Governor Felix in Caesarea because Felix was playing favor to the Jews. After Felix was succeeded by Festus, the chief priest and the Jews leaders again appealed for him to be transferred to Jerusalem to face charges in their attempt to kill him. Paul managed to appeal to be transferred to Rome to face Caesar. On the way the ship was wrecked and they were stranded in Malta for three months before they were able to go to Rome. In Rome Paul was put under house arrest.
‘Advanced’ = furtherance
Means being a pioneer in advancing the work of God. It is a Greek military term referring to the army engineers who go before the troop to open the way into new territory.
As far as Paul is concerned, his primary motive in whatever he does in life is to do it excellently to advance the Gospel and bring glory to God.
The Gospel refers to the good news
The coming of His kingdom as Jesus proclaimed in:
Mark 1:15 “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The Gospel refers to the coming of the kingdom in every aspect of our lives to do what we are called to show his love to everyone. It is not merely the sharing of the words of salvation or getting people converted to Christ. It is not only about personal salvation, it is also about ‘proclaiming freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’. It is bringing in the reign of God into our lives to glorify Him.
Paul gave his excellence for God’s glory in ALL situations
* In chain.
* Facing critics.
* Going through crisis of life and death.
Paul gave his excellence in chained
13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher of the gospel; instead, he was in Rome as a prisoner. Nevertheless, the prison cannot stop Paul from giving his excellence for His glory! As a result of his imprisonment, the gospel was shared to the prison guards and those around. The brothers in the Lord also were encouraged to be bold to share the gospel.
Paul gave his excellence when faced with his critic
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Paul has his vision set on things above. He did not allow personal feeling or issues to cloud his vision of the glory of the Lord. He is totally committed to advance the Gospel to give his excellence for God’s glory.
Paul gave his excellence for God when going through crisis of life and death
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Paul did not know how his trial was going to turn out. He has no idea if he would be released when he wrote this letter. Yet he was all ready to commit himself totally to the Lord and his cause. He was even ready to die for what he has called to do as long as Christ’s name is exalted.
For many, Paul’s troubles may look like failure; but for Paul these were opportunities to be excellence for his glory because the gospel was advanced! He was a pioneer of the Gospel in all situations.
The secret of Paul
The power of prayer and the Holy Spirit
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
Paul can continue to rejoice in all circumstances and give his excellence for his glory because he was sure of the help from prayer of the saints and the power of the Holy Spirit at work to ensure his salvation to the end.
Single-mindedness for God’s glory
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
For Paul, it’s all about God and not himself! Paul has the single-mindedness of doing his best to bring glory to God. It’s all about God’s glory and reputation and not himself! His eyes are on God and not himself. His heart is for God and God only.
What can we learn?
The excellence that could give God the glory to advance the Gospel is:
Not our best effort or our greatest achievement, but our best state, the best that we could be.
Our best effort and success can only draw credit to ourselves, but not glory to God.
It is when we realize that we are living in His strength, and we cannot help but say, “The Lord is good! Glory be to Him!” It has to be a situation when everyone must recognize that this is clearly the hand of God working in and through us.
Our best state is not what we could be in ourselves, but one where we have given ourselves completely to Him and put our trust in Him-
It is when everyone around us recognizes the grace and the power of God at work in us, enabling us to act and respond in a way that truly reflects His divine character and power. And they cannot help but exclaimed, “Hallelujah! Glory be to God!”
It is when we can truthfully say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
It is when we proclaim with Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!” and “In Christ alone, I place my trust.”
Some pioneers of faith who gives their hearts completely to God
Margaret Brand, a pioneer of Christian faith, who lived a balance career, family and faith, gave her excellence for the glory of God.
* Self-trained world expert on Leprosy on eye.
* With the late Dr. Paul Brand (d. 2003), raised a family of six children in India.
* Christian Medical College in Vellore, S. India, for approximately 18 years.
* 22 years as Chief of Ophthalmology at Gillis W. Long National Hansen’s Disease Center.
* Dr. Margaret, now 85, is officially retired, but maintains a busy schedule, speaking and traveling around the world.
According to Margaret Brand, a pioneer of Christian faith,
“It is the grace of God, which is available to everyone, that has enabled me to accomplish what I have done, and His grace that has overruled many of my foolish mistakes.”
“Our disappointments are God’s appointment for us!”
It is in such situations that we can give our excellence to for his glory when we respond to his call to advance the gospel and be a pioneer of the Christian faith.
‘Chained’ by circumstances – Susannah, Mrs. Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Book Fund”
Early in their married life, Susannah became an invalid but her burden to share in her husband’s ministry took her to start the “Book Fund”, a work of faith that supported thousands of pastors who were too poor to buy books. She began only by sharing with them her husband’s book and God took her burden and developed it into a great ministry even though she was home bound for 15 years.
When Susannah became chronically ill and was often confined to bed, discouraged and confused, Susannah cried out to God. Later, she would write, ” . . . the moment we come into any trial or difficulty, our first thought should be, not how soon can we escape from it, or how we may lessen the pain we shall suffer from it, but how can we best glorify God in it . . .”
But how could Susannah glorify God or minister with her husband while confined to a sick room?
In the summer of 1875, Charles completed the first volume of his book, Lectures to My Students. He gave a proof copy to Susannah and asked her opinion of it. After reading it, she said, “I wish I could place it in the hands of every minister in England.” Charles quipped, “Then why not do so; how much will you give?”3
Susannah took the challenge seriously. She had, on a whim, been saving crown pieces as she happened to get them. When she counted them out, there were exactly enough coins to buy 100 copies of the new book. Charles announced in his magazine that 100 copies of Lectures to my Students would be mailed to poor pastors at no charge. Orders flooded in for the books from English ministers, many of whom were so strapped for money that they hadn’t bought a new book in years. Susannah mailed out the books and received dozens of grateful letters in thanks. Some pastors wept when the precious volumes arrived. Spurgeon announced the results in the next issue of his magazine and asked his readers to help continue the work. Donations poured in. Though they never again asked for funds, enough money continued to trickle in over the years to distribute hundreds of thousands of theological books.
Susannah often worked from her sick bed, keeping track of the finances and corresponding with pastors. A room in their home was dedicated to storing and shipping books. As long as Susannah was well enough, volunteers would come in once every two weeks to help pack books for shipping.
Charles later wrote about the effect the labor involved in the book fund had on his wife. “Our gracious Lord has ministered to His suffering child in the most effectual manner when He graciously led her to minister to the necessities of His servants. . . . Let every believer accept this as the inference of experience: that for most human maladies, the best relief and antidote will be found in the self-sacrificing work for the Lord Jesus.”
She was a splendid manageress and a supporter of Spurgeon’s Pastors’ College
By means of rigid economies, quite a substantial amount was saved towards the support and education of the first student, the success of this effort leading to the foundation of the Pastors´ College. “I rejoice,” says Mrs. Spurgeon, ‘“to remember how I shared my beloved´s joy when he founded the Institution, and that together we planned and pinched in order to carry out the purpose of his loving heart; it gave me quite a motherly interest in the College, and ‘our own men.´
Do we feel ‘in chain’ to someone that pull us down or prevent us from serving him?
Susanna Wesley could be ‘in chain’ by her 19 children, but she was not!
She drew her inner strength from her belief in God. With single mind, she sees her difficult situations as God-given opportunities for furtherance of the Gospel. She shared,
"Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church... nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that every where I am in Thy Presence."
"I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified."
“My excellence for His glory” is a choice
Our unstoppable determination for His holiness! It involves a choice!
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest shared,
“To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering.”
“When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God he doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point – He does know.”
What should our responses be?
“Shut out every other thought that keep yourself before God for this one thing only – my utmost for his highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.”
How does God prepare and grow us to that state?
Experiencing God!
Blackaby shared about the steps God grows us through experiencing him in our love relationship with Him. Oswald Chambers shared something similar in this light when he said,
“But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentle nudges.”
It is a process of growth
We need to go through the process of growth in our experience with God. To look at the process that God lovingly and graciously subject us to, to bring to fruition the end product that He so desires to see in us, come to…HLCE Camp 2009
The theme: Our Excellence for His Glory
1. Experiencing His Comfort in our Trials (1:3-11).
2. Experiencing His Victory in our Setbacks (2:1-17).
3. Experiencing His Power in our Frailty (3:12-4:18).
4. Experiencing His Eternity in our Mortality (5:1-21).
We will be taken through the process of how Paul experience God’s grace that worked powerfully in him and help to strengthen and build him up to do excellently to glorify God in his life.
Let us go to the camp and learn to give Our Excellence for His Glory!
To God be all praise and glory! Amen.
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at http://www.hlce.org.my
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