Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man
(Col 1:15-16) Jesus is the visible image of God
(Matt 26:62-66) Jesus is fully God
(Phil 2: 7-8) Jesus is fully Man
God became man because He wants to fully identify with us! Jesus is very ordinary like every man on earth this is so that He can understand us. (Heb 4:15-16)
2) The Reason of Christmas: Jesus Came to Die (v8b)
he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Jesus live to die. His purpose on earth is to DIE! Why did Jesus die? He loves us.
(John 3:16)
(Romans 5:8)
(1 Peter 2:24)
(Luke 2:11-12)
3) The Result of Christmas: Jesus Is LORD (v9-11)
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The cross of Jesus is not the end, Jesus died and rose again. He is alive today.
Lord means Master, Ruler, King of Kings, Boss. He has complete control.
Jesus is Lord means He takes the number 1 position.
(John 21:7)
(Romans 10:9)
We give our life to God.
Labels: esermon
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 1:48 AM
Posted on Monday, December 14, 2009
Date: 12.12.2009
Speaker: Wenjiang
Passage: Nehemiah 13:1-31
What Nehemiah found out of the pple?
-No1 observed Sabbath
-Ungodly marriages
Judges 3:7-9/ 3:12-15
-people are prone of turning away from God
1. Ensuring there is no enemy intrusion (v1-9)
-Does the devil have a foothold in areas of our lives?
-What is a foothold?--> Consistently falling into something which draws us away from God
-Prolonged foothold will lead to→Stronghold
Mat12:43-45
-We can clear up our house or things around us but it won’t forever remain that way it needs constant clearing up.
-To overcome stronghold something needs to be filled to occupy that void within us (God is a good void occupier!)
-Turning away is not enuff ensure that its occupied wit the right things→replace with a desire to live for God do not leave it empty.
-Grow in the things which builds up the house
-Danger→we may grow into a harden hard
-When we are faced with stronghold ask ourselves”Are we loving n desiring of God more n more??”
-Root issue is more important den our actions or words or verbal repentance
1 Peter 5:8
-Struggling with things again n again how can we reflect a changed life?
2. Ensuring there is support for God's assignments (v10-14)
-God has entrusted us wit the church so it needs financing
-Ensure there is support in doing God's work!
-Give our best so that the work of God is not compromised
Haggai 1:2-4
-Are we building our own paneled houses instead of his?
-Do not allow our worries to eat us up!
3. Ensuring your heart is at rest (v15-22)
Mat 21:12-14
Mark 2:27-Sabbath was given by God to us to remember God's covenant
3.1 To rest from stress
Deu 5:12-14
-Our emotions will affect our ability to think and live out the life God has intend of us therefore rest when rest is needed!
3.2 Rest from distress
Deu 5:15
-Remember God is in control of our lives.
4. Ensuring there is no incompatible Partnership (v23-28)
-Today are we unequally yoke wit someone who is not a follower God?
-Putting God where he’s suppose to be!
-Testing will arise when we try to put God where he should beà stand firm!
-Are our lives changed or is it just a change in schedules? (We just occupied with more church stuffs and deem we are “serving” hard)
Aids for changes:
a) Holy spirit
-Be sensitive to His prompting
-Be honest and seek God over the issue we struggle
b) Spur one another on
-“Nag” at one another to obey/ love God
-Speaking truths into one another
Labels: esermon
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 2:32 AM
Posted on
Date: 13.12.2009
Speaker: Wenjiang
Passage: Nehemiah 12:1-47
Theme: Rebuilding our community
Proverbs 3:5-6
-The path may not be easy but God is With us!
-God is not mystical (Beyond human understanding)
1. Giving of ourselves to God (V1-30)
-To be holy means to set apart (1 Peter 2:9)
Romans 12:1
-Worship is more den singing its giving of ourselves holy to God
-Build a church that every member lives out for God
-How do we practically offer ourselves to God?
àbeing active in sharing of our faith!
2 cor 5:18-20
-If we have the desire to share Christ God will open door
2. Giving of our praises to God (v31-43)
-Act of faith to claim God's blessings
Gen 13:17
Joshua 1:3
-Praise n worship God wit a right understanding
-Watch out that we do not fall into lip singing by really checking and a lining our hearts
-Praising and worshiping provides a testimony to the enemies n for the world to see God through us through good or bad times
-Worshipping during hard times we are telling the devil feelings come n go but God will never change..
-It also proves our reliance and strengthens our inner man!
Romans 8:28
3. Giving of our resources to God (V12:44)
-They gave joyfully n cheerfully
-It’s better not to give than to give out of obligation.
-Dollars n cents can be spiritual if we give it with the right heart
Phil 4:18
-At the end God sees the value of wad we have given him not the financial amount.
Labels: esermon
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 2:01 AM
Posted on Friday, December 4, 2009
When faced with a dead-end in my ministry, more often than not, I get demoralized when I do not see tangible fruits even after praying for long periods of time. Then this innate challenge from me to God arises. “God! Help me with this issue by _dateline_. I need to see You work. I want to call it quits, yet, I know that by doing so, I will be sinning against You. When is then a time to give up and pursue greener pastures in the lives of others?”
When we decide to wage war with the devil, he will not sit back and let us attack his kingdom. He will wield out his WMD, comprising of the perception of us by others when we share the Good News, the fear of rejection, the fear of losing our status, being a goody nice polite Christian by not actively living out the Word. Many incidents where I have given such excuses, including “That person looks fine. How can effectively share the WOG when he/she doesn’t seem to have any need?” How wrong I was. Everyone has a soul/spirit. Everyone needs God.
It becomes dangerous when we take the worldly values as to gauge which Godly values we will obey. If we follow social norms, would God be smiling at homosexuality activities? Would God be pleased with us when we party our youth away? Would God be proud with the fact that we cheat in examinations to attain high marks and then give glorify to Him? Homosexuality, partying, cheating has become an acceptable part of society. All these are of the world. What does God say?
From the article, I was reminded that what my physical eyes see might not be what God sees.
Under the section of “Not Closed At All”, I pondered and saw the intrinsic link to the 4 BUTS OF OUTREACHING as preached in GC. It was only when Luis chose to believe in the power of God, when he chose to hear from God, when he chose to preach the WOG, when he chose to be sent, he was empowered by God. Linking this back to my life, had I not come to accept Christ, I would not have known His goodness. I would then not be able to pass down this Good News to my friend. Had I not chosen to hear from the HS, things would not be in this way! Had I not mustered the courage to share the WOG and decide to go forth, HE WOULD NOT BE SERVING HARD IN THE KOG TODAY.
I must remain equipped. I must be relevant in knowing current affairs, sports, the WOG, sharing current life testimonies, EQ, culture, games etc. What I do not know, I must be willing to find out.
Lead me back to the cross, where I was born.
bentay
Labels: Our Reflections
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 12:12 PM
Posted on
Telling Others the Gospel, Even When It's Difficult
Luis Palau
Renowned Evangelist
Telling others the gospel isn't easy. I know -- as a young man, I was convinced I didn't have the gift of evangelism. It was obvious. No matter how hard I tried, no one was coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing I did seemed to make a difference. I was inspired by the things I read and heard about Billy Graham's ministry, but I knew I didn't have his gifts.
I remember giving God a deadline: If I don't see any converts by the end of the year, I'm quitting. Oh, I would still be an active Christian, but I planned to resign myself to simply teaching other believers.
The end of the year came and went. No converts. My mind was made up: Now I was sure I didn't have the gift of evangelism.
On Saturday about four days into the New Year, the small church I attended in Argentina held a home Bible study. I didn't feel like going, but went anyway out of loyalty to the elders.
The fellow who was supposed to give the Bible study never showed up. So the man of the house said, Luis, you are going to have to say something. I was completely unprepared. I had been reading a book by Billy Graham, however, based on the beatitudes. So I read Matthew 5:1-12 and simply repeated whatever I remembered from Dr. Graham's book.
As I was commenting on the beatitude, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, a lady suddenly stood up. She began to cry: My heart is not pure. How can I see God? Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart.
I don't remember the woman's name, but I will never forget her words: Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart. Together we read in the Bible, The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin (1 John 1:7). Before the evening was over, that woman found peace with God and went home with a pure heart overflowing with joy. How delightful it was to lead her to Jesus Christ!
When you win someone to Christ, it's the greatest joy. Your graduation is exciting, your wedding day is exciting, your first baby is exciting. But the most thrilling thing you can ever do is to win someone to Christ.
Yet today, in an effort to be sophisticated and contemporary, many Christians have stopped trying to persuade others to follow Christ. There's an underlying feeling in our society that nice people just don't go around persuading other people to do things. We don't want to offend people, appear strange, or lose our newfound status. So we do nothing.
I, too, have been guilty of this. When I lived in Mexico City, my next-door neighbor was a young television personality. We would chat from time to time, and he even mentioned that he listened to our radio program occasionally. But I didn't share the Gospel with him. After all, I thought, he seems completely immune to the problems of life.
Eventually, though, my neighbor changed. The joy seemed to have left his face. He and his wife started driving separate cars to work. I could tell their marriage was souring, and I felt the need to talk with him, but I didn't want to meddle in his life. I went about my business and headed off for an evangelistic crusade in Peru. After all, that was the polite thing to do.
When I returned home, I learned my neighbor had killed himself. I was heartbroken. I knew I should have gone to him and persuaded him to repent and follow Christ. But because of false courtesy, because I followed a social norm I didn't do it.
It's very convenient to make excuses for not persuading others to follow Christ. We may say we don't want to be overbearing or offensive. We may think we can't possibly witness to someone because he or she will become angry.
Not Closed At All
But over the years I have learned that some of the people I thought would be most closed to the Gospel often are the most receptive. Although they may outwardly fear it, in their hearts they welcome the message of the Gospel.
I saw this attitude clearly during a visit to the Soviet Union. Christians there were persecuted for decades. Now, evangelism is permitted. I've traveled all over the world, and I've never seen a place as hungry and desperate to hear the Gospel. But many Soviet Christians are just beginning to realize the fields are white already to harvest.
Just before my evangelistic team's Soviet campaign was over, a Baptist pastor brought an acquaintance to one of our meetings in Moscow. The friend, head of an academic department at the university and a leading scientist, listened as I preached the Gospel. Then, to the pastor's surprise, this scientist prayed out loud to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. And then, with tears, he came forward to confess Christ publicly.
The Russian pastor was astonished at his friend's response to the Gospel. He was equally surprised by the phone call he received at 7:15 the next morning. I would like to express my gratitude to you, the scientist said. You invited me to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. I didn't sleep the whole night. I just prayed. I asked God whether He would accept me, whether He would pardon me.
So the pastor asked, Well, do you think God pardoned you? And his friend replied, Yes, I'm absolutely sure that God accepts me as His prodigal son. Later the pastor told me, I never thought a scientist would accept the Lord Jesus as Savior. But now I've seen it with my own eyes. What a great experience!
Having a part in leading a friend or acquaintance to faith in Jesus Christ is exciting. But actually praying with someone who wants to make that decision is even more thrilling.
Yet I've seen Christians lead someone to the point of decision and then panic. A Christian woman was witnessing to a Hungarian businesswoman sitting in front of me on a flight from Budapest to London. At the same time our team's European director and I were discussing the evangelistic rally we had in Budapest the day before.
While we were talking the Christian woman stood up, turned around and said, Excuse me. Are you talking about the rally yesterday with Luis Palau? I said yes. Do you know where brother Palau is? I said that was me. Then she said, I've been talking to this Hungarian lady, and I think she's ready to be converted. But I don't know how to do it.
I told her, I've been listening to what you've been saying and you've done a terrific job. But she felt afraid of doing something wrong when it came time to pray with someone who was ready to receive Christ.
I agreed to talk with the Hungarian businesswoman for a minute. Did you understand what this lady said to you?
Yes.
Are you ready to trust Christ and follow Him?
Yes.
At that, I asked the Christian woman to lead her in a prayer. I could have done it myself. It would have been great. But I just sat back and watched as the Christian woman in front of me at first hesitated, then turned to this Hungarian woman, put her arm around her, and for the first time led someone to Christ.
A Challenge
I challenge you to pray: Dear God, I want that experience. I want to know what it is to win someone to Jesus Christ.
Why be ashamed of the Gospel? It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). It changes lives here and now, and for eternity!
The Dutch evangelist Corrie ten Boom had a God-given desire to win others to Christ. One of her poems says, When I enter that beautiful city / And the saints all around me appear, / I hope that someone will tell me: / It was you who invited me here.
Whatever our place in the Body of Christ, let's actively and prayerfully invite others into God's kingdom. After all, God doesn't have a plan A, a plan B and a plan C for evangelizing the world. He has only one plan and that's you and me.
Copyright 2001 -- Luis Palau -- All Rights Reserved.
adapted from http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/1172292/
Feel free to air your reflections here.
Labels: Our Reflections
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 10:15 AM
Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Title: The Keys of a Strong Community
Date: 28.11.09
Speaker: Wenjiang
Passage: [Nehemiah 11]
-During this time, Jerusalem was actually empty.
-[Nehemiah 7:4-5]
-Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but no one inhabited the place!
-An empty city is actually a defenseless one.
-In the OT, the physical things that happened to the Israelites are a reflection of what is happening to us spiritually.
-Spiritually speaking, will God find an empty temple/city/church?
-Would God come back and find His people (who have everything needed to do what He wants them to do) being unfruitful?
-“populate Jerusalem” – God wants us to be present in His temple.
1) The Key of Sacrifice (v1-2b)
-These Israelites owned properties, but they left their own houses to build God’s church.
-Sacrifice is needed to build God’s house!
-[2 Samuel 24:23-24] – David said this: “…I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David wanted to use the threshing floor to present offerings to God (build an altar to the Lord, v21). He wanted to give God a sacrifice that cost him something.
-“This is what I signed up for, and this is what I need to do.”
-Sacrifice is needed so that we don’t give something to God that costs us nothing at all.
-But when God calls us to do something, it is entirely up to us whether to respond or not.
2) The Key of Affirmation (v2a)
-The people went to Jerusalem voluntarily.
-Do we commend people who make a difference in our lives? Who willingly sacrifice?
-Do we take time to affirm what they have done for us?
-It takes people with a servant’s heart to go the extra mile for people. Do we affirm them?
-Give the commendation when it is due.
-[Romans 13:6-7] – When it is due, give the proper affirmation.
-[1 Timothy 5:17-20] – “worthy of double honour”
-[1 Corinthians 4:8-21] – Are we giving honour where it is due? Are we swayed by the words of the people around you when their words are not of God? Do you stand up for what’s right?
-Affirm what’s right!
3) The Key of Involvement (v3-36)
-These verses talked about who was in where and what they were serving as.
-All the Israelites were involved in one way or another.
-Sometimes when we do things frequently, we get complacent. Or we get discouraged and disillusioned.
-We start to focus on doing the ministry instead of God.
-Serving is like being on the military frontline. For the frontline to hold, the ENTIRE frontline must hold.
-Each and every one of us is in the frontline.
-We move forward in the frontline when we grow.
-But sometimes, the going gets tough and it becomes a matter of digging in and holding on. – When we get discouraged and disillusioned.
-As we all honour God and keep to His Word, God will be faithful.
-Continue to do what’s right. Continue to be involved.
-FAITHFULNESS.
-Will we be faithful to FINISH what God has called us to do? To hold our part of the frontline that God has called us to hold?
-God will not test us beyond what we can bear.
-Be faithful.
-Do what God has called you to do!
-[1 Corinthians 10:13] – do you still choose to believe this verse when the going gets tough?
-Live it out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 will be proven true when we live it out.
Another verse I came across the other day, in relation to the point about sacrifice:
Psalm 4:5 – Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.
-Li Yin (:
Labels: esermon
WOOHOO! I LOVE JESUS! 11:32 AM
