Monday, 3 October, 2011
AMC Praying for the Sick
Kota Kinabalu
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9:36-43; James 5:13-16
Main Idea: Pray for the Sick
Objectives: a. To exercise faith to pray for healing of the sick.
A. Introduction
- What is the first thing you do when you get sick?
- Some of us may go to Jesus to ask for healing and get healed. Sister Lisa did it and she got healed from heart problem and thyroid.
- Some of us did not pray at all when get sick and you to see a doctor straight away.
- I hope that after the sermon today, you will change the order. The first thing you do is to pray for healing first. With all due respect, to doctors who are present here, God also uses medicine to heal or to bring about recovery in health.
- The bible, especially the New Testament talks about praying for the sick, healing the sick and raising the dead.
- Let us study the 2 passages today to learn more about praying for the sick. At the end of the day, after the sermon, I pray that you will love to pray for the sick.
B. Peter Raised the Dead
- Acts 9:36-43, the main event was about apostle Peter raising the dead woman called Tabitha (or Dorcas). She was probably one fruit of Philip in chapter 8:26-40 (after the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem where they scattered) to preach the gospel all over the towns. You still remember, after Philip baptized the Ethiopian, he was taken away by the Holy Spirit. Then he appeared again in Azotus, 8:40, says, he travelled about preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
- I believe Philip preached at Joppa, one of the towns, on his way to Caesarea up North.
- His preaching was very powerful and it resulted in conversion of a group of people, including Dorcas.
- After conversion, she was zealously serving Christ by doing good and helping the poor.
- In verse 37, we are told she became sick and died, and fellow disciples who might have been converted the effort of Philip quickly sent for apostle Peter who was at the nearby town of Lydda. Her body was delayed for burial for the purpose of prayer of Peter.
- Immediately before the paragraph today, we read that Peter healed Aeneas who bed-ridden miraculously. The news of the great work of Jesus through Peter must have spread to Joppa which was just a few miles away from Lydda.
- I believe Peter was told by these 2 disciples of great faith that Dorcs was dead and needed to be prayed for. By faith, Peter responded to the urgent to pray despite the death! Take note, it was out of faith, Peter went. Otherwise, there was no need to go as Dorcas was dead!
- The widows showed Peter the clothing and robes, probably she had made for the poor. These widows who were crying probably were ministered by Dorcas before.
- Peter, an apostle of great faith, now, faced with the impossible task of raising the dead.
- When Peter was with Jesus, probably he had witnessed how Jesus raised the deads. (Matthew 9:24-25, Jesus raised the dead daughter of a ruler. Jesus said, "The girl is not dead but asleep." After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up; Luke 7:11-17 is about raising the dead son of a widow - Jesus simply commanded, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"; John 11:1-44, Lazarus was dead for 4 days, Jesus commanded, "Lazarus come out!"
- Peter exercised his faith according to pattern of Jesus raising the dead. He sent the crowd out of the room as he learnt from Jesus, he just commanded like Jesus, "Tabitha, get up." And miracle happened.
- In verse 42, it said the miracle caused many people to believe in Jesus. Notice the purpose of raising the dead is to cause people to come to Jesus in faith.
- Then, in verse 43, it was specifically mentioned Peter stayed with an unclean man Simon, a tanner, treating animal skins for sale; it showed Peter's (a Jew) willingness to mix with the unclean as Simon treated unclean animal skin. He was prepared for the vision of eating the unclean animal in the next chapter.
- I want you to especially take note of the faith that Peter exercise to raise the dead. I am not preaching to you to raise the dead, but I am preaching to you to at least exercise your faith to pray for the sick and heal them.
- You may not have Peter's faith of raising the dead. But you are all challenged to exercise your faith to pray for healing of the sick.
C. How to pray for the sick by Faith
- It was something practiced in the early church.
- James 5:13-16, a passage that is very dear to my hear. I have been using it minister the sick and pray according for at least 10 years now.
- James is a letter written by the oldest brother of Jesus, a leader of the important council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13).
- The instruction by James to the sick, was to call the elders of the church to pray and anoint him in the name of the Lord. Today, in our church, we have church leaders (Local Church Executive Committee) and they are equivalent to church elders.
- The promise is this, in verse 15, it says the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
- What preparation we have to do before we pray for the sick? James says in verse 16, elders and the sick need to 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 an effective.
- Take note of the faith and holiness involved in praying for the sick.
- Now, I want to ask question why is it that the sick person and even the elders have to confess our sins?
- I believe it has to do with the holiness needed to usher in the healing power of God.
- The other reason could be the connection between sin and sickness. Your anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, your worries, your sin of gluttony (of which I used to commit as I overeat), you smoke cigarette, you drink too much alcohol, you do not rest well, you commit adultery and get all the sexual diseases; our sins cause our body immunity system to go down and subject ourselves to all the attack of virus and germs.
- We do not take care of our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we sin against God.
- We repent from our sins, God will heal.
- As I pray for the sick, I always ask God for the forgiveness of my own sins first and I command the sickness or certain spirit (e.g., hatred, anger, lie, lust, jealousy, unforgiveness) to leave.
- On top of healing, then, I pray for Jesus to fill the person with love, faith, joy, etc.
- In all these, you got to believe Jesus heals.
- Personally, as I pray for the sick, as far as possible I lay hands on their forehead as I anoint them with olive oil.
- In some cases, I even lay hands on the affected partis as it is more personal to do so.
D. Applications
- (1) You really need to believe that Jesus heals. You must have the faith before you can pray for the sick. After your prayers, after the patient gets well or nor, we leave it to Jesus. Your role is to exercise your faith. Start to pray for healing for yourself when you are sick; then, your family members; then, come in person to pray for the sick.
- (2) When there is a healing, you can give a testimony of God's healing. Remember you are just an instrument, you are not a healer, Jesus is the healer.
- (3) There are people who are gifted to heal. If Jesus has given the gift of healing to you by all means, use it. 1Cor 12:9, specifically mentions gifts of healing. As there are so many kinds of sickness, Jesus distributes each gift of healing to a particular person whom he choose to use. Matthew 10:1 talks about Jesus giving authority to His 12 disciples to drive out evil spirits and to heal the sickness and every disease. I believe we are all authorize to pray for the sick to heal! Do you?
E. Conclusion
- Sickness and diseases will remind us of our mortality, weakness and fragility of life and physical body.
- When we are willing to exercise our faith to pray for the sick and healings happen, it helps people to come to know Jesus and be saved eternally and become His disciples.
- Those who are Christians who healed, we become more committted to serve Jesus.
Living in the Fear of God
AMC
18th Sept, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9:31 Main Idea: Fear of God
Objectives:
a. To challenge the congregation to fear God more than anything else.
b. To teach the congregation how to fear God - Christ.
A. Introduction
- Fear of death, dog bite, pain, height, snake, business failure, loss of job, conflicts with people, etc. I guarantee you all these fears will drain away your energy.
- Most probably, all these fears lead to other negative effects like shock, being immobilized, feeling that you don’t what to do with yourself, scared, and felt cold.
- There is another kind of fear which the whole bible is talking about, that is very different in its meaning and effects on human beings, i.e., the fear of God.
- It is something Christians throughout all generations must practice as a way of life.
- That is the main idea of the verse today. Acts 9:31 “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of God.”
- Let us study the context of this fear of God. How this fear of God came about among the early disciples?
B. The context of fear of God among the early disciples
- This one verse is full of meaning and significance.
- The word ‘Then’ tells us that this statement is a development of the previous events.
- It could be events from chapters 1 to 9, coming down of Holy Spirit; conversion of 3,000 after preaching of Peter; continuous preaching of gospel by apostles and disciples; persecutions of Christians; the scatter of Christians; conversion of Saul and his aggressive preaching in Jerusalem and other places.
- You can imagine the impacts of the gospel as a result of Holy Spirit work, preaching of the gospel by the disciples in the church throughout Judae, Galilee, and Samaria. The term here is ‘church’ in singular. It is the church in unity. There were several new congregations spreading out in those 3 different places but there was one church only; other than congregations in Jerusalem and Antioch and other places.
- Luke summarized that Christianity had spread to Judea, Galilee and Samaria, where traditionally, people there were not in good terms with the Jews.
- It was expected by Jesus as the disciples and apostles were given the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8, they were empowered to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ...
- For a period of time, the church enjoyed peace, we don’t know for how long?
- But we know it is definitely owing to the work of the Holy Spirit as Luke says, ‘the church was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit.’
- Take note of how Luke attributed the church growth to the work of Holy Spirit.
- Then the verse, further says, ‘...grow in numbers...’
- I believe that the early church as they experience conversion because of the work of the Holy Spirit, people of all kinds of languages, races and nationalities were involved; otherwise, the verse will not say. ‘...throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria...’
- And then, the verse ends with, ‘...living in the fear of God’; what is the meaning of fear of God?
C. Meaning of fear of God
- With all the personal encounter of the apostles and disciples with Jesus when He was physically present with the apostles; experience of the power of Holy Spirit in converting 3,000 through Peter’s preaching; healing of crippled beggar by Peter, the punishing death sentence on Ananias and Sapphira by the Holy Spirit; the great personal encounter of Saul with Jesus, all these lead to one thing – the reality of Jesus Christ.
- Disciples, apostles, new converts, and even non-Christians were awe-stricken, amazed; Luke cannot help but conclude at this stage, the church was living in fear of God. What is the meaning of living in fear of God?
- It is simply this: the church which made of disciples of Jesus submitting their lordship to Christ. That is to say walking a path, a life by submitting our lives to Christ; allowing Jesus to be our masters. We allow Jesus to have the final say about how we use our lives.
- To put it very simply living in fear of God is to obey Christ and Christ alone.
D. Applications and Challenge
- The process of living in fear of God, can only begin after conversion to Christ; if you have not personally known Christ, you will not be convinced to fear Him.
- A lot of people out there give these common complaints for being unwilling to become Christians: freedom will be limited (e.g., no gambling, no drunkenness, no corruption, no cheating and dishonesty, no practice of adultery, etc).
- They have not tested the goodness of Christ; joy of obeying Christ; freedom from sin; power over the devil; not scare of death, etc.
- Now, with all my knowledge of reading the bible; experience in answered prayers; my personal experience with Christ and my personal relationship with Christ, I preach to you that if you are to live a life of fearing God in the person of Christ, you got to be convinced that Jesus Christ is God, the master, the Lord, the King of Kings of your life.
-Notice I do not use the word ‘believe’ because you may believe Jesus is your Lord, with knowledge, but you may not be convinced, you will not see the reasons why you need to do it.
- Let me help you here, if Jesus is not the master of your life, a Christian can sing, pray, and can shout the loudest the name of Jesus, and he still goes out of the church and do all the illegal business; involved in unholy relationships; enjoy the lust of the eyes and the flesh. There is no obedience to Jesus at all in his life; no fear of Christ at all.
- My son Elliot, a dyslexia, now Primary 6, more than 2 years ago, when asked by me why he did not steal in a stationery shop as I let him to go freely shopping around; he said the temptation was there but he did not do it because God was not please with it. That is fear God!
- I fear Christ more than anything else because I am convinced he has forgiven my sins and loved me as an imperfect disciple, husband, father and a pastor, He accepts me just as I am. He is truly God; the resurrected Christ, who proved to be Almighty, who gives me eternal life.
- Allow me to humbly tell you how I fear Christ; I accept people who are in troubles; sinners, as they are. I never give up on them as they seek my counsel. I do it because Jesus Christ has not given up on any sinner. Can I be an example to you in this area of my life?
- As I get older, I tend to be more and more forgetful, I told Jesus, anything I remember to do; anything I am reminded to do, it is His call for me to do it.
- Another way I fear Christ is this, any sin (e.g., pride, selfishness, jealousy, unclean thoughts, ange) that comes to me in thoughts, attitudes, and actions that Jesus alerts me, I will confess immediately and ask Jesus for forgiveness. As a result, I confess, I admit my wrongs, I say sorry to people, I allow others to correct me without being offended. Will you join me in doing it for Jesus?
- You can guess what are the outcomes of a life living in fear of God? Please give me some answers.
- Personally, I experience joy, peace in my hearts and mind, harmonious relationships with people and most important of all, as I fear Christ, I am prepared to die anytime. I told Jesus about it.
- My commitment to Jesus at the ordination as an elder 11 years ago, was, if my life is of no more use to Him, He can just take me home.
- Can you do the same with me?
E. Conclusion
- Brothers and sisters, when you fear Christ, when Jesus is your Lord, your master, you have everything, you are most powerful for Christ.
- When you miss Christ, you miss everything, you will struggle with your sins, and you are not powerful for Christ.
18th Sept, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9:31 Main Idea: Fear of God
Objectives:
a. To challenge the congregation to fear God more than anything else.
b. To teach the congregation how to fear God - Christ.
A. Introduction
- Fear of death, dog bite, pain, height, snake, business failure, loss of job, conflicts with people, etc. I guarantee you all these fears will drain away your energy.
- Most probably, all these fears lead to other negative effects like shock, being immobilized, feeling that you don’t what to do with yourself, scared, and felt cold.
- There is another kind of fear which the whole bible is talking about, that is very different in its meaning and effects on human beings, i.e., the fear of God.
- It is something Christians throughout all generations must practice as a way of life.
- That is the main idea of the verse today. Acts 9:31 “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of God.”
- Let us study the context of this fear of God. How this fear of God came about among the early disciples?
B. The context of fear of God among the early disciples
- This one verse is full of meaning and significance.
- The word ‘Then’ tells us that this statement is a development of the previous events.
- It could be events from chapters 1 to 9, coming down of Holy Spirit; conversion of 3,000 after preaching of Peter; continuous preaching of gospel by apostles and disciples; persecutions of Christians; the scatter of Christians; conversion of Saul and his aggressive preaching in Jerusalem and other places.
- You can imagine the impacts of the gospel as a result of Holy Spirit work, preaching of the gospel by the disciples in the church throughout Judae, Galilee, and Samaria. The term here is ‘church’ in singular. It is the church in unity. There were several new congregations spreading out in those 3 different places but there was one church only; other than congregations in Jerusalem and Antioch and other places.
- Luke summarized that Christianity had spread to Judea, Galilee and Samaria, where traditionally, people there were not in good terms with the Jews.
- It was expected by Jesus as the disciples and apostles were given the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8, they were empowered to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ...
- For a period of time, the church enjoyed peace, we don’t know for how long?
- But we know it is definitely owing to the work of the Holy Spirit as Luke says, ‘the church was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit.’
- Take note of how Luke attributed the church growth to the work of Holy Spirit.
- Then the verse, further says, ‘...grow in numbers...’
- I believe that the early church as they experience conversion because of the work of the Holy Spirit, people of all kinds of languages, races and nationalities were involved; otherwise, the verse will not say. ‘...throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria...’
- And then, the verse ends with, ‘...living in the fear of God’; what is the meaning of fear of God?
C. Meaning of fear of God
- With all the personal encounter of the apostles and disciples with Jesus when He was physically present with the apostles; experience of the power of Holy Spirit in converting 3,000 through Peter’s preaching; healing of crippled beggar by Peter, the punishing death sentence on Ananias and Sapphira by the Holy Spirit; the great personal encounter of Saul with Jesus, all these lead to one thing – the reality of Jesus Christ.
- Disciples, apostles, new converts, and even non-Christians were awe-stricken, amazed; Luke cannot help but conclude at this stage, the church was living in fear of God. What is the meaning of living in fear of God?
- It is simply this: the church which made of disciples of Jesus submitting their lordship to Christ. That is to say walking a path, a life by submitting our lives to Christ; allowing Jesus to be our masters. We allow Jesus to have the final say about how we use our lives.
- To put it very simply living in fear of God is to obey Christ and Christ alone.
D. Applications and Challenge
- The process of living in fear of God, can only begin after conversion to Christ; if you have not personally known Christ, you will not be convinced to fear Him.
- A lot of people out there give these common complaints for being unwilling to become Christians: freedom will be limited (e.g., no gambling, no drunkenness, no corruption, no cheating and dishonesty, no practice of adultery, etc).
- They have not tested the goodness of Christ; joy of obeying Christ; freedom from sin; power over the devil; not scare of death, etc.
- Now, with all my knowledge of reading the bible; experience in answered prayers; my personal experience with Christ and my personal relationship with Christ, I preach to you that if you are to live a life of fearing God in the person of Christ, you got to be convinced that Jesus Christ is God, the master, the Lord, the King of Kings of your life.
-Notice I do not use the word ‘believe’ because you may believe Jesus is your Lord, with knowledge, but you may not be convinced, you will not see the reasons why you need to do it.
- Let me help you here, if Jesus is not the master of your life, a Christian can sing, pray, and can shout the loudest the name of Jesus, and he still goes out of the church and do all the illegal business; involved in unholy relationships; enjoy the lust of the eyes and the flesh. There is no obedience to Jesus at all in his life; no fear of Christ at all.
- My son Elliot, a dyslexia, now Primary 6, more than 2 years ago, when asked by me why he did not steal in a stationery shop as I let him to go freely shopping around; he said the temptation was there but he did not do it because God was not please with it. That is fear God!
- I fear Christ more than anything else because I am convinced he has forgiven my sins and loved me as an imperfect disciple, husband, father and a pastor, He accepts me just as I am. He is truly God; the resurrected Christ, who proved to be Almighty, who gives me eternal life.
- Allow me to humbly tell you how I fear Christ; I accept people who are in troubles; sinners, as they are. I never give up on them as they seek my counsel. I do it because Jesus Christ has not given up on any sinner. Can I be an example to you in this area of my life?
- As I get older, I tend to be more and more forgetful, I told Jesus, anything I remember to do; anything I am reminded to do, it is His call for me to do it.
- Another way I fear Christ is this, any sin (e.g., pride, selfishness, jealousy, unclean thoughts, ange) that comes to me in thoughts, attitudes, and actions that Jesus alerts me, I will confess immediately and ask Jesus for forgiveness. As a result, I confess, I admit my wrongs, I say sorry to people, I allow others to correct me without being offended. Will you join me in doing it for Jesus?
- You can guess what are the outcomes of a life living in fear of God? Please give me some answers.
- Personally, I experience joy, peace in my hearts and mind, harmonious relationships with people and most important of all, as I fear Christ, I am prepared to die anytime. I told Jesus about it.
- My commitment to Jesus at the ordination as an elder 11 years ago, was, if my life is of no more use to Him, He can just take me home.
- Can you do the same with me?
E. Conclusion
- Brothers and sisters, when you fear Christ, when Jesus is your Lord, your master, you have everything, you are most powerful for Christ.
- When you miss Christ, you miss everything, you will struggle with your sins, and you are not powerful for Christ.
Who is Saul?
AMC
Saturday, 6 August, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9: 1-9 Main Idea: God transforms you
Objectives: a. To help the congregation to see that God is a God who transforms.
b. To demonstrate to the congregation that our sinful nature call for the need of Jesus in our lives. The need for disciples of Jesus to do mission.
A. Introduction
- Have you ever felt someone who is so sinful, so evil? Ever felt the world out there so evil, so sinful? Or may be, you yourself feel so bad about yourself. You could not overcome your sinful desires and you sin against God.
- When feelings and experiences like that happen, how do you deal with it? Some Christians, for example, when they get it, they can feel so disappointed that they just give up their faiths; they leave the church; they could not explain the inner struggles of sins and they just become cold towards God, Jesus, the bible, even the prompting of the Holy Spirit. They just let the why hanging in the air in their hearts. They allow a lot of doubts, hopelessness and unanswered questions bothered them. They allow themselves to be hurt, depressed, and refuse to find an answer, or refuse to accept an answer. They become their own greatest enemy.
- Today, I pray that the great encounter of one of the greatest servants of God in the New Testament with God will help us to find some answers to those questions. I pray that as we study the great encounter of Saul with Jesus, you will see and understand Jesus, our God as the transforming God.
- That is why, I entitle my sermon, "Who is Saul?" I do not call it "Who was Saul?" because it only talked about Saul in the past. I use the present tense ‘is’ because the conversion of the old Saul by Jesus is relevant to us to today in the 21st century. I still use the name Saul before the conversion because I want to show that despite his bad past records and the sinful past, Jesus still forgives and uses him.
- I pray that you do understand the significance of the title and it is not too complicated for you. So, who was Saul? May be you know the answers already. Today Who is Saul to you? Are you interested to understand him better today in your situation? I pray that you do.
B. Who was Saul? (Explanation of his background)
- Before the passage today in Acts 7: 58, we are told that disciple of Jesus, Stephen, was dragged out of the city of Jerusalem, and he was stoned to death, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And in 8: 1, we are told Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s death. Who was this Saul so merciless and who wanted to see Stephen dead? Beside this account, we may not be able to find other accounts in the NT about his approval of killings of Christians.
- However, in the passage today, in verses 1 to 2, we are told he was continually and actively breathing murderous threats against Jesus’ disciples; he obtained approval letters from high priest to catch Christians at Damascus and put them in jail at Jerusalem.
- We know from previous preaching that the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Sanhedrin could not accept Jesus as Messiah. Both the disciples and the Jews believed God was on their side and pushed for what they believed. It was a ideological difference; a theological divide, that led to the martyrdom of Stephen.
- The tension, the difference and the divide also affected this staunch Pharisee, young Saul very badly. Probably in those, any religious Jews knew their faith was been attacked by disciples of Jesus and it was their responsibility to defend their Judaism faith and not allowed Christians to blasphemy their God of Yahweh. Saul was in the same shoes.
- You see how eventually Saul confessed in his letter to the Philippians in 3: 5-6 how he was a jealous Jew. He said he was circumcised on the 8th day; regarded himself as a people of Israel; belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; with regard to law, a Pharisee; zealously persecuting the church; with regard to legalistic righteousness, faultless.
- The ideological and the theological crash of Saul with disciples of Jesus was the heart of matter. You can imagine the stubbornness of Saul in what he believed about Judaism and how he genuinely and sincerely defended his faith. You really cannot blame him for the holiness of God of Yahweh was at stake. May be if you are honest, if you were Saul, you would do the same.
- He was real stubborn about his defense of his faith. It was his theological stand, a stand he was very proud and all Pharisees were religiously proud. There was no way you could expect him to change that stubborn stand and conviction. In fact, all religious Jews until today still very kept it. He was stubbornly, deadly strong about it. Can you convert a person like Saul to Jesus?
- So, you know, in terms of our human eyesight, following all logic and theological reasoning, with the best philosophy and psychology you can have, do you expect Saul to change his well founded, theologically grounded minded? Humanly speaking, it is impossible and it takes a divine intervention, a miracle to happen.
- At this point I wanted to ask a question why is it that Jesus was not satisfied with the 11 apostles and many disciples whom He left behind to reach out to the Gentiles and the rest of the world? Why Jesus had to target Saul, so stubborn and the least possible candidate to do His mission work? Honestly, I do not know the answer as I am not Jesus. Only Jesus knows the answer.
- I do not want to speculate the reasons behind the act of God by Jesus. However, based on my reading of the NT, I dare say Jesus who is God can choose anybody on earth to do His will and mission on earth, including a person from another religion. I strongly believe without a single doubt that He transforms whoever He wants to use. It is His prerogative to do it. Do you have the same conviction and faith as me? For this reason, I hope you do not mind I preach like this to you, God can use the greatest sinner in this world to serve Him.
- God in the person of Jesus chose to use Saul, the most unlikely candidate, a great persecutor of Jesus, the church of Jesus! It blows our mind. It is unbelievable. But it happened. You know how it happened Saul. You know how Jesus break in history again and break down Saul; how Jesus ‘cracked’ Saul mindset and disbelief in Him.
- From verses 3 to 6, the precious record of Luke said that while Saul was reaching Damascus to catch more Christians, he suddenly experienced a light flashed from heaven, he fell to the ground and he heard a voice said to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" To this, Saul, just like any other human being, when you are accused like that and you do not see where the voice is coming from, of course, you want to find out who ask and accuse you like that. In this case, Saul was strike with awe and he experienced something supernatural as a Pharisee whose faith was in Yahweh, he naturally and logically asked, "Who are you, Lord?"
- This was when Jesus answered, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Then, we are told Saul could not open his eyes as he got up from the ground and he was blind for 3 days. You can imagine the deepest reflection about that encounter and the repentance that happened and how he would plan to serve Jesus and preach Him with all conviction and faith.
(C). Applications and Responses
- A few points of applications I pray you will buy about Saul’s great encounter with Jesus.
- Firstly, Jesus decides to personally appear to Saul, the great church persecutor, the most stubborn follower of Yahweh, the most unlikely candidate Jesus should choose, in order to prove to him that the resurrection Jesus, the Messiah was real and the truth that he must not deny. This hardest nut mindset must be cracked that way in order for Jesus to use him.
- Does this point inspires you to believe with all conviction as we preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, the hardest mindset, the most difficult sinful habits, attitudes and bondages, the most difficult cultural barriers will not stand a personal encounter with Jesus? So, we see the point of healings, appearance of Jesus to people, miracles given by Jesus, etc.
- Secondly, Jesus was the one who transformed Saul by breaking into the history and broke his stubborn mindset. Therefore, it was very important for Jesus to claim as such. If Jesus did not say, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting" there may not be a transformation effect. That personal appearance of Jesus to Saul was most crucial to turn tide of history, to change the course of history. Take note nobody transformed Saul except Jesus. We need to believe this is still the same today. Do not use your human power to change things, call on Jesus’ power. Only Jesus can transform lives. I know most of us are very frustrated when your husbands, wives, children, parents, students, colleagues, neighbors, and your own-self do not repent; change attitudes; not united in one heart with you; you may think that it is hopeless and helpless.
- You must come before Jesus and believe that He can do the transformation for you in His timing. Utilize the power of prayers. My late grandfather who used to believe that Mao Tze Tung saved the whole world finally accepted Christ and got baptized before he left this world. My Primary 6 twins were not serious about education and I prayed for a breakthrough, now I see they realized it. From now on, I believe they improve much more in studies. It happened to my eldest daughter, Grace. I pray for me and my wife to be united to discipline our children for a few years and it happened this year.
- Thirdly, in view of Saul was one of the enemies of God, Jesus still forgave him and used Him, we must now believe with strong faith and actions (and not condemn) the most evil and sinful people in this world can be forgiven by Jesus and they will repent.
- Can you develop this foresight, mindset and the faith to see it? Can you practice this on someone now? You must be like Jesus, though you cannot be Jesus, no matter, how terrible, how evil, how sinful he or she is; the whole political system; whole society; whole company; whole family; whole group of people like the prostitutes, the gangsters, corrupted people, gamblers, Jesus will save them and cause them to repent. The Jesus who forgave Saul will do so for them.
- I pray that this precious point help you to see that people out there need Jesus. When you see people who are poor, and oppressed, practicing corruption, unemployed, depressed, you see people need Jesus, you need to do mission, you need to act on behalf of Jesus.
(D). Conclusion
- Can Jesus count on you to bring that little transformation needed in yourself, in your family, in your company and in your society? If not, question yourself, how come the Jesus is not powerful in your life. I strongly believe Jesus who converted and transformed Saul can equally convert and transform you and me and anybody out there.
- Can you say Amen to it?
Saturday, 6 August, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9: 1-9 Main Idea: God transforms you
Objectives: a. To help the congregation to see that God is a God who transforms.
b. To demonstrate to the congregation that our sinful nature call for the need of Jesus in our lives. The need for disciples of Jesus to do mission.
A. Introduction
- Have you ever felt someone who is so sinful, so evil? Ever felt the world out there so evil, so sinful? Or may be, you yourself feel so bad about yourself. You could not overcome your sinful desires and you sin against God.
- When feelings and experiences like that happen, how do you deal with it? Some Christians, for example, when they get it, they can feel so disappointed that they just give up their faiths; they leave the church; they could not explain the inner struggles of sins and they just become cold towards God, Jesus, the bible, even the prompting of the Holy Spirit. They just let the why hanging in the air in their hearts. They allow a lot of doubts, hopelessness and unanswered questions bothered them. They allow themselves to be hurt, depressed, and refuse to find an answer, or refuse to accept an answer. They become their own greatest enemy.
- Today, I pray that the great encounter of one of the greatest servants of God in the New Testament with God will help us to find some answers to those questions. I pray that as we study the great encounter of Saul with Jesus, you will see and understand Jesus, our God as the transforming God.
- That is why, I entitle my sermon, "Who is Saul?" I do not call it "Who was Saul?" because it only talked about Saul in the past. I use the present tense ‘is’ because the conversion of the old Saul by Jesus is relevant to us to today in the 21st century. I still use the name Saul before the conversion because I want to show that despite his bad past records and the sinful past, Jesus still forgives and uses him.
- I pray that you do understand the significance of the title and it is not too complicated for you. So, who was Saul? May be you know the answers already. Today Who is Saul to you? Are you interested to understand him better today in your situation? I pray that you do.
B. Who was Saul? (Explanation of his background)
- Before the passage today in Acts 7: 58, we are told that disciple of Jesus, Stephen, was dragged out of the city of Jerusalem, and he was stoned to death, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And in 8: 1, we are told Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s death. Who was this Saul so merciless and who wanted to see Stephen dead? Beside this account, we may not be able to find other accounts in the NT about his approval of killings of Christians.
- However, in the passage today, in verses 1 to 2, we are told he was continually and actively breathing murderous threats against Jesus’ disciples; he obtained approval letters from high priest to catch Christians at Damascus and put them in jail at Jerusalem.
- We know from previous preaching that the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Sanhedrin could not accept Jesus as Messiah. Both the disciples and the Jews believed God was on their side and pushed for what they believed. It was a ideological difference; a theological divide, that led to the martyrdom of Stephen.
- The tension, the difference and the divide also affected this staunch Pharisee, young Saul very badly. Probably in those, any religious Jews knew their faith was been attacked by disciples of Jesus and it was their responsibility to defend their Judaism faith and not allowed Christians to blasphemy their God of Yahweh. Saul was in the same shoes.
- You see how eventually Saul confessed in his letter to the Philippians in 3: 5-6 how he was a jealous Jew. He said he was circumcised on the 8th day; regarded himself as a people of Israel; belonged to the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; with regard to law, a Pharisee; zealously persecuting the church; with regard to legalistic righteousness, faultless.
- The ideological and the theological crash of Saul with disciples of Jesus was the heart of matter. You can imagine the stubbornness of Saul in what he believed about Judaism and how he genuinely and sincerely defended his faith. You really cannot blame him for the holiness of God of Yahweh was at stake. May be if you are honest, if you were Saul, you would do the same.
- He was real stubborn about his defense of his faith. It was his theological stand, a stand he was very proud and all Pharisees were religiously proud. There was no way you could expect him to change that stubborn stand and conviction. In fact, all religious Jews until today still very kept it. He was stubbornly, deadly strong about it. Can you convert a person like Saul to Jesus?
- So, you know, in terms of our human eyesight, following all logic and theological reasoning, with the best philosophy and psychology you can have, do you expect Saul to change his well founded, theologically grounded minded? Humanly speaking, it is impossible and it takes a divine intervention, a miracle to happen.
- At this point I wanted to ask a question why is it that Jesus was not satisfied with the 11 apostles and many disciples whom He left behind to reach out to the Gentiles and the rest of the world? Why Jesus had to target Saul, so stubborn and the least possible candidate to do His mission work? Honestly, I do not know the answer as I am not Jesus. Only Jesus knows the answer.
- I do not want to speculate the reasons behind the act of God by Jesus. However, based on my reading of the NT, I dare say Jesus who is God can choose anybody on earth to do His will and mission on earth, including a person from another religion. I strongly believe without a single doubt that He transforms whoever He wants to use. It is His prerogative to do it. Do you have the same conviction and faith as me? For this reason, I hope you do not mind I preach like this to you, God can use the greatest sinner in this world to serve Him.
- God in the person of Jesus chose to use Saul, the most unlikely candidate, a great persecutor of Jesus, the church of Jesus! It blows our mind. It is unbelievable. But it happened. You know how it happened Saul. You know how Jesus break in history again and break down Saul; how Jesus ‘cracked’ Saul mindset and disbelief in Him.
- From verses 3 to 6, the precious record of Luke said that while Saul was reaching Damascus to catch more Christians, he suddenly experienced a light flashed from heaven, he fell to the ground and he heard a voice said to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" To this, Saul, just like any other human being, when you are accused like that and you do not see where the voice is coming from, of course, you want to find out who ask and accuse you like that. In this case, Saul was strike with awe and he experienced something supernatural as a Pharisee whose faith was in Yahweh, he naturally and logically asked, "Who are you, Lord?"
- This was when Jesus answered, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Then, we are told Saul could not open his eyes as he got up from the ground and he was blind for 3 days. You can imagine the deepest reflection about that encounter and the repentance that happened and how he would plan to serve Jesus and preach Him with all conviction and faith.
(C). Applications and Responses
- A few points of applications I pray you will buy about Saul’s great encounter with Jesus.
- Firstly, Jesus decides to personally appear to Saul, the great church persecutor, the most stubborn follower of Yahweh, the most unlikely candidate Jesus should choose, in order to prove to him that the resurrection Jesus, the Messiah was real and the truth that he must not deny. This hardest nut mindset must be cracked that way in order for Jesus to use him.
- Does this point inspires you to believe with all conviction as we preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, the hardest mindset, the most difficult sinful habits, attitudes and bondages, the most difficult cultural barriers will not stand a personal encounter with Jesus? So, we see the point of healings, appearance of Jesus to people, miracles given by Jesus, etc.
- Secondly, Jesus was the one who transformed Saul by breaking into the history and broke his stubborn mindset. Therefore, it was very important for Jesus to claim as such. If Jesus did not say, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting" there may not be a transformation effect. That personal appearance of Jesus to Saul was most crucial to turn tide of history, to change the course of history. Take note nobody transformed Saul except Jesus. We need to believe this is still the same today. Do not use your human power to change things, call on Jesus’ power. Only Jesus can transform lives. I know most of us are very frustrated when your husbands, wives, children, parents, students, colleagues, neighbors, and your own-self do not repent; change attitudes; not united in one heart with you; you may think that it is hopeless and helpless.
- You must come before Jesus and believe that He can do the transformation for you in His timing. Utilize the power of prayers. My late grandfather who used to believe that Mao Tze Tung saved the whole world finally accepted Christ and got baptized before he left this world. My Primary 6 twins were not serious about education and I prayed for a breakthrough, now I see they realized it. From now on, I believe they improve much more in studies. It happened to my eldest daughter, Grace. I pray for me and my wife to be united to discipline our children for a few years and it happened this year.
- Thirdly, in view of Saul was one of the enemies of God, Jesus still forgave him and used Him, we must now believe with strong faith and actions (and not condemn) the most evil and sinful people in this world can be forgiven by Jesus and they will repent.
- Can you develop this foresight, mindset and the faith to see it? Can you practice this on someone now? You must be like Jesus, though you cannot be Jesus, no matter, how terrible, how evil, how sinful he or she is; the whole political system; whole society; whole company; whole family; whole group of people like the prostitutes, the gangsters, corrupted people, gamblers, Jesus will save them and cause them to repent. The Jesus who forgave Saul will do so for them.
- I pray that this precious point help you to see that people out there need Jesus. When you see people who are poor, and oppressed, practicing corruption, unemployed, depressed, you see people need Jesus, you need to do mission, you need to act on behalf of Jesus.
(D). Conclusion
- Can Jesus count on you to bring that little transformation needed in yourself, in your family, in your company and in your society? If not, question yourself, how come the Jesus is not powerful in your life. I strongly believe Jesus who converted and transformed Saul can equally convert and transform you and me and anybody out there.
- Can you say Amen to it?
Jesus - the Righteous One
AMC Sermon
3rd July, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 7: 1- 53.
Main Idea: Jesus, the centre of focus of Christianity
Objectives: a. To challenge the congregation to honour Jesus as Stephen in everyday life. b. To challenge the congregation to be righteous as Jesus is righteous.
A. Introduction
- Jesus is the centre of focus in our faith. You remove Jesus away, you do not have Christianity on earth. You cannot consider yourself as a Christian if you do not believe that Jesus is God, the Almighty God who is in-charge of your life. For the Agape Methodist church or any Church, if Jesus is not at all worshipped, I guarantee you nobody will come to Agape Methodist Church. This is simply because people believe Jesus is the true God and they desire to worship.
- You take Jesus out of your faith; I assure you will have nothing left. You have nothing to be proud of. Everything in Christianity and anything to do with church becomes meaningless without Jesus!
- If Jesus, a real person, a real human being, who desires to be personal with each of us is set aside, the so called religion, Christianity will collapse any time. Jesus matters so much to Christianity.
- The long passage today really inspires us to take the person of Jesus, seriously, and all the more personally. I pray that at the end of the day, you will take Jesus so seriously and personally like Jesus’ disciple, Stephen.
- Let us see how he took Jesus so personally.
B. Explanation of how Stephen took Jesus so personally
- Remember Stephen in chapter 6 was one of those selected by the Apostles, to do the ministry of taking care of the widows; full of Spirit and wisdom; full of faith and the Spirit; full of grace and power. He did wonders and miraculous signs. He was arrested and handed over to the Jewish Sanhedrin by the members of the synagogue of the Freedmen to be questioned and confronted in every sense for his new faith in the resurrected Jesus, the Jesus who died, buried and resurrected.
- They accused him of blaspheming against Moses and against God. They conspired to accuse Stephen of speaking against the Holy place of the temple and also speaking against the Law of Moses.
- Now in chapter 7 verse 1, the high priest asked, “Are these charges true?” For the Jews, blasphemy against the Law of Moses which was given by God was equivalent to blasphemy against God. The punishment was death sentence. Can you imagine how critical is the question and all the more the answer. A Yes to the question means death. That was what was at stake. If you were Stephen who had probably witnessed the resurrected Jesus, what would you say?
- This was question of the truth or not. This was when the Jews from the Sanhedrin believed Jesus was not God; the dead could not resurrect. That was the truth, the whole truth. That was the conviction of the Jewish highest religious body. On the other hand, Stephen and the rest of the disciples and apostles, believed Jesus who died, buried, and resurrected; He is sent by God, the Yahweh, He is the Messiah, the Saviour; Jesus is God. This is the truth, the whole truth which cannot be denied and compromised. That was the conviction of the disciples and apostles of Jesus.
- Therefore, it was a question of the truth. It was a battle of truth. What is the truth? The truth of whether Jesus had resurrected and He is God was at stake right at the confrontation of the Sanhedrin.
- Stephen knew the moment had come for him to make his defence that Jesus is God, the Righteous One, the son of God, sent by God the Father that is the truth. Stephen knew his Jewish heritage and the origin of Judaism. Before he answered yes to the charge, he traced back to the history of the faith of their own Jewish ancestors, right from Abraham to Moses and the later prophets. Highlighting God’s call of Abraham to the Promised Land for his descendents. Highlighting major Jewish historical events which helped to trace the roots of their faith in their forefather’s God, God of Abraham.
- Highlighting the circumcision covenant that God made with Abraham. Highlighting Isaac who became the father of Jacob who became the father of the 12 patriarchs. How Joseph and the whole family (patriarch) migrated to Egypt because famine and how their descendents were ill treated and oppressed (400 years). How God raised Moses to deliver the Israelites with signs and wonders at the Red Sea and 40 years at wilderness before entering the Promised Land. God gave his word to Moses at Mt Sinai and how their ancestors disobeyed God by worshipping idols. How God instructed them to build the tabernacle and remained with David and eventually Solomon built the temple.
- After giving a brief history of Jewish faith to show how Jesus was linked to the God of Abraham, he now turned his defence into attack. I strongly believe he was filled by the Holy Spirit to have courage to prepare for the worst, the death, after answering yes to the charge.
- You see how he turned the defence into attack and at the same time link God of Abraham with Jesus and at the same time, he answered Jesus was God, the Righteous One.
- For the Sanhedrin, linking Jesus with God was blasphemy, for Stephen and apostles, it is the truth, not a blasphemy, and it was a huge theological difference, a difference that could not be compromised. For both sides, it was a great offense to God. For both sides, they want to their lives to ‘bet’ on it. That means they were willing to die for what they believe, they want to die a death of martyrdom for what they believe. Do you see the great convictions from both sides? How can you blasphemy my God? You see the great battle for truth.
- Obviously, Stephen was prepared to die for what he believed about Jesus, if not, he would not attack the Sanhedrin and crucify them like this (verses 51 to 53), “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
- What an intimidating, sarcastic and daring attack on the top Jewish religious leaders. The attack was very serious, it meant they were circumcised outwardly which supposed to make them holy and close to God but now Stephen said they were uncircumcised in their hearts, they were most unholy in their hearts; they outwardly seemed to obey the law and Stephen accused them they did not obey the law inwardly.
- It was outright humiliation; most unacceptable accusations according to Jewish theology, the stage was set for a death sentence according to the Mosaic Law!
C. Applications and Actions
- What is the big deal about this Righteous One that deserves Stephen to stake his life on it? Why not Stephen played smart and gave a so called white lie answer in modern terms since his life was at stake? Like what Chinese proverbs say, “Keep the green hill and you will not afraid that there will not be wood to burn.” Tell a lie, save your life, and you can continue to serve Jesus. Why not he just denied it, like Apostle Peter denying his relationship with Jesus 3 times? Why he didn’t just keep silent and save his life as silence is gold in our modern understanding?
- My personal reflection which I want to share and preach to you is this: Firstly, I strongly believe that when you are so filled by Holy Spirit, you are so intimate with Jesus, you will be so focused on Jesus and whatever He desires you to do, you will do, you will not use your mind to think of negative things like denying, lying, play smart, you will go all the way out to make sacrifice for Jesus, including your life. Secondly, the powerful reality of the resurrected Christ was such strong evidence that how could you deny the divinity of Jesus. Stephen encountered Jesus in such a personal manner, real manner. How could he deny the divinity of Jesus? How could he say Jesus is not God?
- No wonder at the end of the day, in his attack on the Sanhedrin, he called Jesus the Righteous One, the Son of God, sent by God. The one is who is always right, the Righteous One, who never sins.
- To such a God, Stephen was willing to die for Him; he wanted to honour Jesus so much so that he was willing to pay the price of death. Rather than at the crucial moments, choosing to dishonour Him by denying Him.
- Brothers and sisters, by now, I pray that you will find in life, in everyday, our life has everything to do with Jesus. Can you honour Jesus with your life? Especially at crucial moments? When you are entrusted with big amount of money? When you are alone out there, as a married person or a single person, do you relate to opposite sex with all holiness? When you are angry, do you use foul language? When people are poorer than you, less qualified than you, do you look down on them? When you are taken advantage, hurt, defeated, embarrassed, do you take revenge, hate, fight back and show your true colour? When you are given a certain kind of trust, a position of trust, do you abuse the trust? When your children give your all the troubles and frustrations, do you dismiss them as stupid? All these, you see, in our everyday life, if your answer is Yes, you are not honouring.
- As a disciple of Jesus, if your answer to all these is a definite Yes, you really bring shame to Jesus; you really sell Jesus away; you really deny Jesus as your God; Jesus is not your master; Jesus is not personal to you; Jesus is not living in your life. Jesus is not there in your life. Of course people cannot see the presence of Jesus in your life.
- On the other hand, if your answer is no to all those questions, of course, you honour Jesus. You are very powerful for Jesus. People will become attracted to your life as you offer Jesus to them. Because you have righteousness of Jesus which they do not have. They want to come to this Agape Methodist to see what Jesus has done to your life and they want to learn. You will be like Jesus, people see righteousness in you. So, by all means your life must smell Jesus. Can you?
- Since Jesus is the righteous one, your life needs to be righteous like Him. It does not mean you need to be perfect. If you can be perfect, then, you do not need the Almighty God anymore. It is exactly you are not perfect, you need Jesus to forgive you; to empower you with His Spirit; to enlighten you with His word, etc. Though you are not perfect, you work towards being righteous; doing things right. When you answer no to the above questions, you do it right.
- What if you do it wrong? You answer yes to some of the questions above. Remember you have Jesus to turn to, you can do self-correction; you can delete and give the right answer with the help of Jesus; you can say sorry; you can ask for forgiveness; you can compensate (like Zacchaeus, he paid back double to people whom he wronged); you can repent; you can turn around; you can start all over and do it right with the help of Jesus and His Church.
D. Conclusion
- Do you now see the presence of Jesus is at stake all the time in your life? It is not only when you come to church on Sunday; not only when you do not serve Him.
- Stephen honoured Jesus with his life as he felt worth to do so. Are you now convinced that Jesus is worth your life investment, your honour, your living for Him? I pray you honour Jesus with your life on earth.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Share as many reasons as you can how convinced you are to honour Jesus in your life.
2. Share testimonies of how you honour Jesus in the past or how you plan to honour Jesus.
3rd July, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 7: 1- 53.
Main Idea: Jesus, the centre of focus of Christianity
Objectives: a. To challenge the congregation to honour Jesus as Stephen in everyday life. b. To challenge the congregation to be righteous as Jesus is righteous.
A. Introduction
- Jesus is the centre of focus in our faith. You remove Jesus away, you do not have Christianity on earth. You cannot consider yourself as a Christian if you do not believe that Jesus is God, the Almighty God who is in-charge of your life. For the Agape Methodist church or any Church, if Jesus is not at all worshipped, I guarantee you nobody will come to Agape Methodist Church. This is simply because people believe Jesus is the true God and they desire to worship.
- You take Jesus out of your faith; I assure you will have nothing left. You have nothing to be proud of. Everything in Christianity and anything to do with church becomes meaningless without Jesus!
- If Jesus, a real person, a real human being, who desires to be personal with each of us is set aside, the so called religion, Christianity will collapse any time. Jesus matters so much to Christianity.
- The long passage today really inspires us to take the person of Jesus, seriously, and all the more personally. I pray that at the end of the day, you will take Jesus so seriously and personally like Jesus’ disciple, Stephen.
- Let us see how he took Jesus so personally.
B. Explanation of how Stephen took Jesus so personally
- Remember Stephen in chapter 6 was one of those selected by the Apostles, to do the ministry of taking care of the widows; full of Spirit and wisdom; full of faith and the Spirit; full of grace and power. He did wonders and miraculous signs. He was arrested and handed over to the Jewish Sanhedrin by the members of the synagogue of the Freedmen to be questioned and confronted in every sense for his new faith in the resurrected Jesus, the Jesus who died, buried and resurrected.
- They accused him of blaspheming against Moses and against God. They conspired to accuse Stephen of speaking against the Holy place of the temple and also speaking against the Law of Moses.
- Now in chapter 7 verse 1, the high priest asked, “Are these charges true?” For the Jews, blasphemy against the Law of Moses which was given by God was equivalent to blasphemy against God. The punishment was death sentence. Can you imagine how critical is the question and all the more the answer. A Yes to the question means death. That was what was at stake. If you were Stephen who had probably witnessed the resurrected Jesus, what would you say?
- This was question of the truth or not. This was when the Jews from the Sanhedrin believed Jesus was not God; the dead could not resurrect. That was the truth, the whole truth. That was the conviction of the Jewish highest religious body. On the other hand, Stephen and the rest of the disciples and apostles, believed Jesus who died, buried, and resurrected; He is sent by God, the Yahweh, He is the Messiah, the Saviour; Jesus is God. This is the truth, the whole truth which cannot be denied and compromised. That was the conviction of the disciples and apostles of Jesus.
- Therefore, it was a question of the truth. It was a battle of truth. What is the truth? The truth of whether Jesus had resurrected and He is God was at stake right at the confrontation of the Sanhedrin.
- Stephen knew the moment had come for him to make his defence that Jesus is God, the Righteous One, the son of God, sent by God the Father that is the truth. Stephen knew his Jewish heritage and the origin of Judaism. Before he answered yes to the charge, he traced back to the history of the faith of their own Jewish ancestors, right from Abraham to Moses and the later prophets. Highlighting God’s call of Abraham to the Promised Land for his descendents. Highlighting major Jewish historical events which helped to trace the roots of their faith in their forefather’s God, God of Abraham.
- Highlighting the circumcision covenant that God made with Abraham. Highlighting Isaac who became the father of Jacob who became the father of the 12 patriarchs. How Joseph and the whole family (patriarch) migrated to Egypt because famine and how their descendents were ill treated and oppressed (400 years). How God raised Moses to deliver the Israelites with signs and wonders at the Red Sea and 40 years at wilderness before entering the Promised Land. God gave his word to Moses at Mt Sinai and how their ancestors disobeyed God by worshipping idols. How God instructed them to build the tabernacle and remained with David and eventually Solomon built the temple.
- After giving a brief history of Jewish faith to show how Jesus was linked to the God of Abraham, he now turned his defence into attack. I strongly believe he was filled by the Holy Spirit to have courage to prepare for the worst, the death, after answering yes to the charge.
- You see how he turned the defence into attack and at the same time link God of Abraham with Jesus and at the same time, he answered Jesus was God, the Righteous One.
- For the Sanhedrin, linking Jesus with God was blasphemy, for Stephen and apostles, it is the truth, not a blasphemy, and it was a huge theological difference, a difference that could not be compromised. For both sides, it was a great offense to God. For both sides, they want to their lives to ‘bet’ on it. That means they were willing to die for what they believe, they want to die a death of martyrdom for what they believe. Do you see the great convictions from both sides? How can you blasphemy my God? You see the great battle for truth.
- Obviously, Stephen was prepared to die for what he believed about Jesus, if not, he would not attack the Sanhedrin and crucify them like this (verses 51 to 53), “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him – you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
- What an intimidating, sarcastic and daring attack on the top Jewish religious leaders. The attack was very serious, it meant they were circumcised outwardly which supposed to make them holy and close to God but now Stephen said they were uncircumcised in their hearts, they were most unholy in their hearts; they outwardly seemed to obey the law and Stephen accused them they did not obey the law inwardly.
- It was outright humiliation; most unacceptable accusations according to Jewish theology, the stage was set for a death sentence according to the Mosaic Law!
C. Applications and Actions
- What is the big deal about this Righteous One that deserves Stephen to stake his life on it? Why not Stephen played smart and gave a so called white lie answer in modern terms since his life was at stake? Like what Chinese proverbs say, “Keep the green hill and you will not afraid that there will not be wood to burn.” Tell a lie, save your life, and you can continue to serve Jesus. Why not he just denied it, like Apostle Peter denying his relationship with Jesus 3 times? Why he didn’t just keep silent and save his life as silence is gold in our modern understanding?
- My personal reflection which I want to share and preach to you is this: Firstly, I strongly believe that when you are so filled by Holy Spirit, you are so intimate with Jesus, you will be so focused on Jesus and whatever He desires you to do, you will do, you will not use your mind to think of negative things like denying, lying, play smart, you will go all the way out to make sacrifice for Jesus, including your life. Secondly, the powerful reality of the resurrected Christ was such strong evidence that how could you deny the divinity of Jesus. Stephen encountered Jesus in such a personal manner, real manner. How could he deny the divinity of Jesus? How could he say Jesus is not God?
- No wonder at the end of the day, in his attack on the Sanhedrin, he called Jesus the Righteous One, the Son of God, sent by God. The one is who is always right, the Righteous One, who never sins.
- To such a God, Stephen was willing to die for Him; he wanted to honour Jesus so much so that he was willing to pay the price of death. Rather than at the crucial moments, choosing to dishonour Him by denying Him.
- Brothers and sisters, by now, I pray that you will find in life, in everyday, our life has everything to do with Jesus. Can you honour Jesus with your life? Especially at crucial moments? When you are entrusted with big amount of money? When you are alone out there, as a married person or a single person, do you relate to opposite sex with all holiness? When you are angry, do you use foul language? When people are poorer than you, less qualified than you, do you look down on them? When you are taken advantage, hurt, defeated, embarrassed, do you take revenge, hate, fight back and show your true colour? When you are given a certain kind of trust, a position of trust, do you abuse the trust? When your children give your all the troubles and frustrations, do you dismiss them as stupid? All these, you see, in our everyday life, if your answer is Yes, you are not honouring.
- As a disciple of Jesus, if your answer to all these is a definite Yes, you really bring shame to Jesus; you really sell Jesus away; you really deny Jesus as your God; Jesus is not your master; Jesus is not personal to you; Jesus is not living in your life. Jesus is not there in your life. Of course people cannot see the presence of Jesus in your life.
- On the other hand, if your answer is no to all those questions, of course, you honour Jesus. You are very powerful for Jesus. People will become attracted to your life as you offer Jesus to them. Because you have righteousness of Jesus which they do not have. They want to come to this Agape Methodist to see what Jesus has done to your life and they want to learn. You will be like Jesus, people see righteousness in you. So, by all means your life must smell Jesus. Can you?
- Since Jesus is the righteous one, your life needs to be righteous like Him. It does not mean you need to be perfect. If you can be perfect, then, you do not need the Almighty God anymore. It is exactly you are not perfect, you need Jesus to forgive you; to empower you with His Spirit; to enlighten you with His word, etc. Though you are not perfect, you work towards being righteous; doing things right. When you answer no to the above questions, you do it right.
- What if you do it wrong? You answer yes to some of the questions above. Remember you have Jesus to turn to, you can do self-correction; you can delete and give the right answer with the help of Jesus; you can say sorry; you can ask for forgiveness; you can compensate (like Zacchaeus, he paid back double to people whom he wronged); you can repent; you can turn around; you can start all over and do it right with the help of Jesus and His Church.
D. Conclusion
- Do you now see the presence of Jesus is at stake all the time in your life? It is not only when you come to church on Sunday; not only when you do not serve Him.
- Stephen honoured Jesus with his life as he felt worth to do so. Are you now convinced that Jesus is worth your life investment, your honour, your living for Him? I pray you honour Jesus with your life on earth.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Share as many reasons as you can how convinced you are to honour Jesus in your life.
2. Share testimonies of how you honour Jesus in the past or how you plan to honour Jesus.
A Man Full of Grace and Power
19th June, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 6: 8-15
Main Idea: Be a man full of grace and power
Objective: To challenge the congregation to be full of grace and power for Christ.
A. Introduction
- Every time I preach from the book of Acts, I am so excited because what happened in the early church history with the apostles and disciples were so real and so powerful. What happened then set the agenda and mission for the church of Christ today. It sets the model for us how Christ’s church should behave in the world today.
- And I always believe in one conviction, that is, what happened then, can also happen today in the Church where Jesus is the head. It can also happen in the Methodist churches. It may not be an exact repetition in terms of the incidents that happened. I strongly believe that the ways and means that God worked through the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus) in those days will also work today. Do you say Amen with me?
- The reason is very simple. If the Holy Spirit who worked in the early church history does not work today in His similar empowerment, how can Christ’s disciples like you and me, and any disciple of Christ out there in the world save the lost and make disciples of all nations in this age of increasing work of the devil and the increasing evil hearts of human beings.
- When you see top politicians in the middle east countries like Libya, Syria, and Yemen can be so evil in ordering of killing of civilians in protests; you see how these top politicians are so power hungry; you see civilians fight against civilians; you see how lots of politicians are so immoral in their relationships; you see the increasing percentage of people and even Christians who are practicing homosexual and how they fight to legalize it; you see the jihad bombing by extremists and terrorists; when you see the free practice of sex among teenagers and adults, Christians and non-Christians, you cannot help but believe if there is no empowerment of the Holy Spirit on the Christians and disciples of Jesus in our days, you cannot fight the powerful devil and the powerful sins at work in our society and in the world.
- No wonder, the bible describes a disciple of Jesus like Stephen, as a man full of God’s grace and power in Acts 6: 8. Let us see what was happening to him. Like I strongly preached in my earlier sermons and very much today, the Holy Spirit who worked in the early disciples of Jesus also work in us, as disciples of Jesus today.
- This is how significant today’s passage is to us. I pray that at the end of the day, we are ready to work towards being a man full of God’s grace and power.
B. Explanation on how Stephen became a man full of God’s grace and power
- I am very excited to tell you how an early disciple like Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. You will not know how if you do not refer to the context in chapter 6 verses 5 to 7 which told us how Stephen (a man full of faith and of Holy Spirit) and other 6 disciples who were presented to the apostles and they were prayed and laid hands on them. These 7 were chosen because the apostles could not cope with distribution of food to the needy Grecian Jewish widows. They overlooked their needs as a result of lack of manpower to minister to their needs.
- The early apostles believed that their main ministry should be the preaching of God’s word and so they set 2 criteria of full of Spirit and wisdom to choose the 7 disciples.
- You find that in verses 3 and 5, these 7 disciples were described as full of the Spirit and wisdom; and full of faith and the Holy Spirit. And now in the passage today, it says especially about Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power.
- I strongly believe that according to the context, the power that Stephen received was from the Holy Spirit mentioned in verses 3 and 5; and it has to do with the apostles’ prayer and laying of hands in verse 6. Therefore, all of us who are so called Methodists, being empowered by the Holy Spirit must take prayers and laying of hands seriously. Especially laying of hands is not commonly practiced in the Methodist churches in Sarawak and may be here in Sabah, we know, how much power we miss.
- Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying by simply laying of hands by anybody, the empowerment will come. I believe when pastors and church leaders take time to pray and lay hands (together), God empowers brothers and sisters to make disciples of all nations, to do our powerful ministry.
- Next, what is this whole idea of fullness? Full of God’s grace and power. Notice the grace and power are from God, not from the devil. So, it is definitely used to build up a person or the body of Christ. It is full because God has given the 100% empowerment for the purpose of serving the body of Christ or anybody out there, for the purpose of mission, for the purposes of whatever ministry that leads to salvation of the lost.
- Bishop Hwa Yung said, “When you are filled by the Holy Spirit, it is just like a cup that is full of water or it overflows. It is just like a sunken ship, the inside of the whole ship is full of water and the outside of the ship is also full of water. The ship is filled by water all over its body, inside and outside. So, it is the same when a disciple of Jesus is full of the Spirit”
- So, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for ministry has to be full of God’s power, only then, you can do the job. It has to be full of power to do the job, it cannot be half full of power. It cannot be alang-alang, not an absolute empowerment. Look at the early disciple like Stephen, how he was full of power given by the Holy Spirit to serve.
- In verses 9 and 10, the author said, Stephen performed great wonders and miraculous signs. Great learned Jewish religious persons from all over the places argued with Stephen and confronted him with the divinity of Christ, I believe. They could not defeat Stephen in their argument as it says; they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Such was the amazing results of empowerment by the Holy Spirit for Stephen.
- They even resorted to dirty tactic of conspiracy and accusing Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and God, the unpardonable sin in verse 11; in verse 12, we see that they even stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law to arrest Stephen and brought him to the Jewish authority, the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses to accuse Stephen of attacking the law and amending the law of Moses so that Stephen could be found guilty in verses 13 and 14.
- In the midst of the conspiracy and false accusations, and with all the tension and hostile atmosphere, even the Sanhedrin saw Stephen’s face was like the angel in verse 15. You cannot explain Stephen’s calmness, wisdom and courage in the midst of the conflict, unless you believe he was 100% full of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- Next, what is this grace in this context? It is a very general term in this context. Stephen was not only full of power but he was full of grace. I love this word grace so much so that I even name my daughter grace. It is also in my prayer most of the times. It really means/represents all the blessings you can imagine or you cannot imagine that God desires to bestow on the world, all the more, on His children or disciples who need it to do mission to save the lost! It is all freely given to those who need it to do God’s will on earth. You name it, what do you need in mission? Courage, wisdom, faith, forgiveness, material resources, strength and power in overcoming enemies, overcoming fear of death, etc, full grace of God will provide all that.
C. Relationships the passage with the church and your personal life
- Do you see the relevancy of Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, with Agape Methodist Church and your own personal life?
- Does the Methodist church in Sabah; the Agape Methodist Church brothers and sisters, disciples of Jesus here today believe strongly we must produce disciples who are full of God’s grace and power?
- If this kind of faith is not in the church and inside each one of us, no wonder you do not experience the reality of the almighty God.
- On the other hand, if you do not believe there is such a thing as you can be full of God’s grace and power, then, I may be giving you wrong teaching and according to the book James 3: 1, I will be judged more severely.
- I make sure it is a correct teaching, only then, I dare to challenge and inspire you and tell it has everything to do with your life.
- One sister who ministered with me on Friday shared a testimony with me in the process of home to a non-Christian family. She is truly a disciple of Jesus who is full of God’s grace and power. She is also an associate lay leader of a Methodist church. She testified that there was one time as she ministered to a new born baby who always cried non-stop after 12 at night and, as she prayed for the mother, the Holy Spirit told her that the mother had watched lots of violent and ghost movies before she delivered the baby. Upon her confession and prayers to bind the work of the devil, the baby was healed from crying! If she was not full of the Spirit she could not defeat the attack of the devil on the baby and the mother.
- You need to be full of God’s grace and power.
D. Applications and Responses
- Now, you must also not think that to be full of God’s grace and power is a matter of prayers and laying of hands by pastor and church leaders.
- You need to work towards being full of God’s grace and power.
- We as children of God are all entitled to be full of God’s grace and power. But how come not all of us have it. One of the simplest and most natural reasons is a lot of us do not even believe in the possibility of it and so, we do not work towards it.
- You know the purposes of God’s grace and power for you. It is not for your main-main, for fun; to show that you are powerful; to glorify yourself. Remember what spiritual gifts God bestowed upon you, it is very much for the purpose of building up the body of Christ which in turn empowers us to make disciples of all nations. It must always lead to the lost (people who are heading for hell) being saved and becoming disciples of Jesus.
- After you know the divine purpose of being full of God’s grace and power, the next step is you need to honestly tell God you believe in it and work towards it. In other words, as part of your response to the sermon today, you need to tell God, “I desire to be full of God’s grace and power.”
- In your preparation towards, one very important Christian character that Jesus expects you to develop is your willingness to make sacrifice for His kingdom’s sake.
- I agree with the German theologian, Bonhoeffer, who died of martyrdom, who wrote the famous book, the Cost of Disciple, that lots of Christians are going for cheap grace only, in his article “Costly Grace”. We have blown our understanding of God’s grace to such an understanding that grace of God has become so unconditional, so cheap, that it becomes grace without price, grace without cost. A lot of Christians have forgotten or neglected the great truth that Jesus had suffered so much for our sin. It takes Christ’s great suffering on the cross in order for Him to bless us with His grace of forgiveness.
- Therefore, you see Christians who can afford to sin again and again have believed in so called cheap grace and continue to live in sin. Bonhoeffer said, “Grace without the cross, grace without discipleship, grace without Jesus Christ.”
- Brothers and sisters, if we are to be full of God’s grace, we need to keep to costly grace. On the one hand, it is free grace of Jesus for us, but the channel for us to be full of God’s grace is sacrifice.
- This sacrifice on our part is not a condition to deserve grace; not a merit for grace; not use it to exchange for grace; not it to earn grace.
- This willing sacrifice on our part is model after Jesus self-sacrifice on the cross, whereby we are willing to submit our lives to Jesus to do the right thing (teachings as commanded by Jesus); we willingly give up all our wrongs, sins, trespasses, bad habits, etc. You need to give up your selfishness, greed, self-centeredness, hatred, lusts, etc, to Jesus, not in exchange for grace (full), but, make yourself or you get ready to become a channel for God’s grace to flow to you.
- As I let go of my complaints of my wife of not submissive and overlook her mistakes and I try to do as much housework for my wife as she requested, I experience more of God’s grace both in my life and my wife! It is simply amazing. May I elaborate and I pray that you will experience it also. I do not mean I do not have problems with my wife anymore. As I learn not to condemn her for mistakes of nurturing our children, we now have found solid answers of how to educate our children. We are now united in one heart to educate them. This is God’s grace for us. You can imagine the frustrations and anxiety we experienced when disagree on how to educate our children.
- When I do not complain that my wife is not submissive, my must have felt the space and freedom to be herself. She appreciates more for the freedom I give her and observes her own boundaries in spending. We experience God’s grace more in the sense of greater closeness and unity as family.
- As I give up my worries for Pujut Primary School Girls’ Brigade 100 girls (opposite Grace Methodist Church, Miri) who need manpower to help, I just entrusted it to Jesus, God raised 4 Pujut Primary School teachers to step forward to do the job.
- So, you see as you give up your control, your sins, you submit your life to Jesus, He will fill you with His grace. What more to say the power you need to do ministry.
- Can you pay the price of sacrifice, humble yourself at the feet of Jesus, then, you become a channel of God’s grace and power?
E. Conclusion
- If not, as you want to be in control of your life, as you use your life to sin against yourself, others and God, rather than you become a channel of God’s grace and power, you block it altogether.
- I pray that, right now, you realize what go wrong with your life. You repent and be full of God’s grace and power like the disciple, Stephen.
F. Questions for discussion
1. Discuss how you prepare yourself to become a channel of God’s grace and power.
2. Share (if there is) how you experience God’s grace and power. You may not be full of God’s grace and power but you did experience His grace and power. It is a very good start and I pray that you will eventually experience fullness of God’s grace and power.
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 6: 8-15
Main Idea: Be a man full of grace and power
Objective: To challenge the congregation to be full of grace and power for Christ.
A. Introduction
- Every time I preach from the book of Acts, I am so excited because what happened in the early church history with the apostles and disciples were so real and so powerful. What happened then set the agenda and mission for the church of Christ today. It sets the model for us how Christ’s church should behave in the world today.
- And I always believe in one conviction, that is, what happened then, can also happen today in the Church where Jesus is the head. It can also happen in the Methodist churches. It may not be an exact repetition in terms of the incidents that happened. I strongly believe that the ways and means that God worked through the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus) in those days will also work today. Do you say Amen with me?
- The reason is very simple. If the Holy Spirit who worked in the early church history does not work today in His similar empowerment, how can Christ’s disciples like you and me, and any disciple of Christ out there in the world save the lost and make disciples of all nations in this age of increasing work of the devil and the increasing evil hearts of human beings.
- When you see top politicians in the middle east countries like Libya, Syria, and Yemen can be so evil in ordering of killing of civilians in protests; you see how these top politicians are so power hungry; you see civilians fight against civilians; you see how lots of politicians are so immoral in their relationships; you see the increasing percentage of people and even Christians who are practicing homosexual and how they fight to legalize it; you see the jihad bombing by extremists and terrorists; when you see the free practice of sex among teenagers and adults, Christians and non-Christians, you cannot help but believe if there is no empowerment of the Holy Spirit on the Christians and disciples of Jesus in our days, you cannot fight the powerful devil and the powerful sins at work in our society and in the world.
- No wonder, the bible describes a disciple of Jesus like Stephen, as a man full of God’s grace and power in Acts 6: 8. Let us see what was happening to him. Like I strongly preached in my earlier sermons and very much today, the Holy Spirit who worked in the early disciples of Jesus also work in us, as disciples of Jesus today.
- This is how significant today’s passage is to us. I pray that at the end of the day, we are ready to work towards being a man full of God’s grace and power.
B. Explanation on how Stephen became a man full of God’s grace and power
- I am very excited to tell you how an early disciple like Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. You will not know how if you do not refer to the context in chapter 6 verses 5 to 7 which told us how Stephen (a man full of faith and of Holy Spirit) and other 6 disciples who were presented to the apostles and they were prayed and laid hands on them. These 7 were chosen because the apostles could not cope with distribution of food to the needy Grecian Jewish widows. They overlooked their needs as a result of lack of manpower to minister to their needs.
- The early apostles believed that their main ministry should be the preaching of God’s word and so they set 2 criteria of full of Spirit and wisdom to choose the 7 disciples.
- You find that in verses 3 and 5, these 7 disciples were described as full of the Spirit and wisdom; and full of faith and the Holy Spirit. And now in the passage today, it says especially about Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power.
- I strongly believe that according to the context, the power that Stephen received was from the Holy Spirit mentioned in verses 3 and 5; and it has to do with the apostles’ prayer and laying of hands in verse 6. Therefore, all of us who are so called Methodists, being empowered by the Holy Spirit must take prayers and laying of hands seriously. Especially laying of hands is not commonly practiced in the Methodist churches in Sarawak and may be here in Sabah, we know, how much power we miss.
- Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying by simply laying of hands by anybody, the empowerment will come. I believe when pastors and church leaders take time to pray and lay hands (together), God empowers brothers and sisters to make disciples of all nations, to do our powerful ministry.
- Next, what is this whole idea of fullness? Full of God’s grace and power. Notice the grace and power are from God, not from the devil. So, it is definitely used to build up a person or the body of Christ. It is full because God has given the 100% empowerment for the purpose of serving the body of Christ or anybody out there, for the purpose of mission, for the purposes of whatever ministry that leads to salvation of the lost.
- Bishop Hwa Yung said, “When you are filled by the Holy Spirit, it is just like a cup that is full of water or it overflows. It is just like a sunken ship, the inside of the whole ship is full of water and the outside of the ship is also full of water. The ship is filled by water all over its body, inside and outside. So, it is the same when a disciple of Jesus is full of the Spirit”
- So, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for ministry has to be full of God’s power, only then, you can do the job. It has to be full of power to do the job, it cannot be half full of power. It cannot be alang-alang, not an absolute empowerment. Look at the early disciple like Stephen, how he was full of power given by the Holy Spirit to serve.
- In verses 9 and 10, the author said, Stephen performed great wonders and miraculous signs. Great learned Jewish religious persons from all over the places argued with Stephen and confronted him with the divinity of Christ, I believe. They could not defeat Stephen in their argument as it says; they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Such was the amazing results of empowerment by the Holy Spirit for Stephen.
- They even resorted to dirty tactic of conspiracy and accusing Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and God, the unpardonable sin in verse 11; in verse 12, we see that they even stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law to arrest Stephen and brought him to the Jewish authority, the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses to accuse Stephen of attacking the law and amending the law of Moses so that Stephen could be found guilty in verses 13 and 14.
- In the midst of the conspiracy and false accusations, and with all the tension and hostile atmosphere, even the Sanhedrin saw Stephen’s face was like the angel in verse 15. You cannot explain Stephen’s calmness, wisdom and courage in the midst of the conflict, unless you believe he was 100% full of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- Next, what is this grace in this context? It is a very general term in this context. Stephen was not only full of power but he was full of grace. I love this word grace so much so that I even name my daughter grace. It is also in my prayer most of the times. It really means/represents all the blessings you can imagine or you cannot imagine that God desires to bestow on the world, all the more, on His children or disciples who need it to do mission to save the lost! It is all freely given to those who need it to do God’s will on earth. You name it, what do you need in mission? Courage, wisdom, faith, forgiveness, material resources, strength and power in overcoming enemies, overcoming fear of death, etc, full grace of God will provide all that.
C. Relationships the passage with the church and your personal life
- Do you see the relevancy of Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, with Agape Methodist Church and your own personal life?
- Does the Methodist church in Sabah; the Agape Methodist Church brothers and sisters, disciples of Jesus here today believe strongly we must produce disciples who are full of God’s grace and power?
- If this kind of faith is not in the church and inside each one of us, no wonder you do not experience the reality of the almighty God.
- On the other hand, if you do not believe there is such a thing as you can be full of God’s grace and power, then, I may be giving you wrong teaching and according to the book James 3: 1, I will be judged more severely.
- I make sure it is a correct teaching, only then, I dare to challenge and inspire you and tell it has everything to do with your life.
- One sister who ministered with me on Friday shared a testimony with me in the process of home to a non-Christian family. She is truly a disciple of Jesus who is full of God’s grace and power. She is also an associate lay leader of a Methodist church. She testified that there was one time as she ministered to a new born baby who always cried non-stop after 12 at night and, as she prayed for the mother, the Holy Spirit told her that the mother had watched lots of violent and ghost movies before she delivered the baby. Upon her confession and prayers to bind the work of the devil, the baby was healed from crying! If she was not full of the Spirit she could not defeat the attack of the devil on the baby and the mother.
- You need to be full of God’s grace and power.
D. Applications and Responses
- Now, you must also not think that to be full of God’s grace and power is a matter of prayers and laying of hands by pastor and church leaders.
- You need to work towards being full of God’s grace and power.
- We as children of God are all entitled to be full of God’s grace and power. But how come not all of us have it. One of the simplest and most natural reasons is a lot of us do not even believe in the possibility of it and so, we do not work towards it.
- You know the purposes of God’s grace and power for you. It is not for your main-main, for fun; to show that you are powerful; to glorify yourself. Remember what spiritual gifts God bestowed upon you, it is very much for the purpose of building up the body of Christ which in turn empowers us to make disciples of all nations. It must always lead to the lost (people who are heading for hell) being saved and becoming disciples of Jesus.
- After you know the divine purpose of being full of God’s grace and power, the next step is you need to honestly tell God you believe in it and work towards it. In other words, as part of your response to the sermon today, you need to tell God, “I desire to be full of God’s grace and power.”
- In your preparation towards, one very important Christian character that Jesus expects you to develop is your willingness to make sacrifice for His kingdom’s sake.
- I agree with the German theologian, Bonhoeffer, who died of martyrdom, who wrote the famous book, the Cost of Disciple, that lots of Christians are going for cheap grace only, in his article “Costly Grace”. We have blown our understanding of God’s grace to such an understanding that grace of God has become so unconditional, so cheap, that it becomes grace without price, grace without cost. A lot of Christians have forgotten or neglected the great truth that Jesus had suffered so much for our sin. It takes Christ’s great suffering on the cross in order for Him to bless us with His grace of forgiveness.
- Therefore, you see Christians who can afford to sin again and again have believed in so called cheap grace and continue to live in sin. Bonhoeffer said, “Grace without the cross, grace without discipleship, grace without Jesus Christ.”
- Brothers and sisters, if we are to be full of God’s grace, we need to keep to costly grace. On the one hand, it is free grace of Jesus for us, but the channel for us to be full of God’s grace is sacrifice.
- This sacrifice on our part is not a condition to deserve grace; not a merit for grace; not use it to exchange for grace; not it to earn grace.
- This willing sacrifice on our part is model after Jesus self-sacrifice on the cross, whereby we are willing to submit our lives to Jesus to do the right thing (teachings as commanded by Jesus); we willingly give up all our wrongs, sins, trespasses, bad habits, etc. You need to give up your selfishness, greed, self-centeredness, hatred, lusts, etc, to Jesus, not in exchange for grace (full), but, make yourself or you get ready to become a channel for God’s grace to flow to you.
- As I let go of my complaints of my wife of not submissive and overlook her mistakes and I try to do as much housework for my wife as she requested, I experience more of God’s grace both in my life and my wife! It is simply amazing. May I elaborate and I pray that you will experience it also. I do not mean I do not have problems with my wife anymore. As I learn not to condemn her for mistakes of nurturing our children, we now have found solid answers of how to educate our children. We are now united in one heart to educate them. This is God’s grace for us. You can imagine the frustrations and anxiety we experienced when disagree on how to educate our children.
- When I do not complain that my wife is not submissive, my must have felt the space and freedom to be herself. She appreciates more for the freedom I give her and observes her own boundaries in spending. We experience God’s grace more in the sense of greater closeness and unity as family.
- As I give up my worries for Pujut Primary School Girls’ Brigade 100 girls (opposite Grace Methodist Church, Miri) who need manpower to help, I just entrusted it to Jesus, God raised 4 Pujut Primary School teachers to step forward to do the job.
- So, you see as you give up your control, your sins, you submit your life to Jesus, He will fill you with His grace. What more to say the power you need to do ministry.
- Can you pay the price of sacrifice, humble yourself at the feet of Jesus, then, you become a channel of God’s grace and power?
E. Conclusion
- If not, as you want to be in control of your life, as you use your life to sin against yourself, others and God, rather than you become a channel of God’s grace and power, you block it altogether.
- I pray that, right now, you realize what go wrong with your life. You repent and be full of God’s grace and power like the disciple, Stephen.
F. Questions for discussion
1. Discuss how you prepare yourself to become a channel of God’s grace and power.
2. Share (if there is) how you experience God’s grace and power. You may not be full of God’s grace and power but you did experience His grace and power. It is a very good start and I pray that you will eventually experience fullness of God’s grace and power.
Can your life testifies for Christ?
29th May, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
John 5: 31-47
Main Idea: Your life needs to testify for Christ.
Objectives: a. Need to challenge the congregation on the necessity to testify for Christ. b. Need to challenge the congregation to stop practicing corruption and stand up against it.
A. Introduction
- Do you still remember my last sermon preached on 26th December, 2010? It was based on John 5: 16-30. Do you still remember the title of my sermon? (Jesus is equal to God) Let me give you a clue. It is something to do with my trademark sermons. (Okay, it is about building a personal relationship with Jesus; your Christian identity; make disciples of all nations, missions) You always get to hear them in my sermons.
- Today, I am going to proceed from my last sermon. I continue from there. I hope that each time I come back to GMC I preach from there for the gospel of John has a lot to offer to GMC. This is my only chance to I choose to preach to you this year and yet I decide to continue with the gospel of John. I pray that this continuity will impact your lives for Christ.
- I pray that after a break of 5 months plus, though I may not preach new things, with my 5 months plus learning, I pray that with a few new insights which I learnt from my learned lecturers and books, you will be greatly challenged to testify for Christ. The title of my sermon to you.
- The passage today is all about Jesus’ word. It is still very much in the context of His conflict with the Jewish religious authorities, where His divinity was challenged. He claimed to be God but He was rejected as God. You see how He dealt with them.
B. Explanation of Text
- Jesus knew the Jewish religious authorities would not accept Him as the son of God. Then, Jesus argued with the Jewish religious authorities that John the Baptist had testified (verses 32 to 34) for Him. He even sacrificed his life in testifying for Jesus but they did not grip the truth that Jesus was God (verse 35).
- Jesus still wanted to quote the weightier testimony of what God the Father had done through Him in all the miracles and mission when He referred to the very work that the Father had given Him in verse 36.
- Jesus further emphasized that His Father had sent Him to testify about Him but they had never heard His father or heard His Father’s voice in the written scripture like the Old Testament and also His Father’s voice of approval at Jesus’ baptism at Jordan River; and also they did not see His form. This may refer to their lack of spiritual perception about Jesus being God. (verses 37 -38)
- Jesus further accused them of studying the Scripture, but they did not recognize the one to whom the Scripture bears supreme testimony. They read the scripture that revealed the promised Messiah who was in the person of Jesus, whom Jesus Himself claimed but they could not recognize. God the Father Himself revealed and testified through the scripture but they could not agree that Jesus was sent by God the Father. (verses 40 -41)
- The revelation God gave to Moses was inseparable from the revelation God gave through Jesus. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus told by Jesus, the rich man who was in torment in seoul (hell), he appealed to father Abraham to send Lazarus who also died to preach to his 5 brothers on earth so that they would not come to the place of torment like him. Father Abraham replied in Luke 16: 31, “… If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
- The Scriptures that Jesus referred to were most probably the Mosaic Laws and they bore testimonies and yet the Jewish religious authorities could not accept them. Jesus really confronted them in their faces they accepted men’s praise and made no effort to obtain God’s praise. How could they not accepted the testimonies of Moses and then, Jesus even went to the extent of telling them on behalf of Moses that he was accusing them of their mistake of not recognizing Jesus as God. (verses 42 -45)
- Therefore, now, Jesus was very frustrated with them, Jesus laid everything on the table and told them the simple logical conclusion which they need to get it right in verses 46 and 47, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
- I see this passage of the personal word from Jesus is all talking about John the Baptist, God the Father, the Scriptures and even Moses testifying God in the person of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus.
- Most of the Jews in Jesus’ time could not accept the most powerful testimonies about Jesus. Today, it is still a great challenge for people to accept the divinity of Jesus. Why?
C. Applications and Actions
- Why people of all nations, especially those who are most educated, cannot accept the divinity of Jesus? One reason is definitely because most scientific minds cannot accept illogical things like resurrection of the dead and eternal life. Another more important reason could be if take Jesus as God, savior and the master of their lives, then, they feel like they cannot be free to live their self-centered life.
- What about we Christians? Yes, we accept the divinity of Christ. But, most of us do not go all the way out to testify the divinity of Jesus. To show people in our family, in our office and in our society that Jesus is almighty God; Jesus is living. For our life to testify Christ, we need to show Jesus is living in our lives.
- Is your life testifying for Christ?
- This is where I want to share a new insight with you. Evangelicals like Methodists who emphasize on the importance of preaching the gospel of salvation. We desire people to be saved from their sins like hatred, greed, self-centeredness, jealousy, self-pity, pride, etc. We show people how to overcome sins of pride, greed etc. We desire their souls to be saved for eternal life.
- Brothers and sisters that is only the salvation of individuals. The spiritual aspect of salvation. We normally testify for Jesus in terms of spiritual salvation of the lost. This is actually a narrow understanding of the gospel. This is the so called trademark of the church.
- There is another aspect of the gospel which the society needs very much. It is the social aspect of the gospel. It is an aspect of the gospel which Jesus emphasizes very much but we always tend to neglect and not do much because it requires us to dirty our hands; it requires us to go the extra mile.
- It is very much about salvation of people from poverty, injustice, marginalization, oppression, corruption, etc. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ does not only save people from their individual sins and eternal punishment in hell, it also very saves them from poverty, injustice, marginalization, oppression, corruption, etc. You see my point?
- Jesus Christ our Lord has highlighted the social salvation aspect of the gospel when He said in Luke 4: 18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor…”
- Please do not misunderstand Jesus, let us do not think that what Jesus means is only preaching the gospel of salvation from individual sins only. What Jesus also very much means is this: we need to help people to come out of their poverty.
- I want to concentrate on the poverty. Can our church, Methodist church and all other churches, your life testify for Christ in bringing about social changes to the issues of poverty?
- Can our church address the issue of poverty in our society? The poor are everywhere in the town. Many of them are indigenous people, though some of them are also Chinese. They are at our doorstep, near our homes, church, even in your office. Can your life testify to them that Jesus loves them?
- One faithful disciple of Jesus, a Christian lawyer in Hong Kong, wrote a article called sins against. It is a new term he created to draw Christian attention to the poor people and make disciples of them. Who are the sins against? These are the poor in the society whom we left them to suffer in hunger, thirst, lack of shelter, education, etc. Spiritually, we sin against them because we see their needs we do not anything to help them. In other words, owing to our selfishness and self-centeredness, our sins caused us not to help them. One of these days, these sins against will stand up and accuse Christians of not helping them. When they are so desperate, they may even threaten the living of all of us who are having a descent living.
- How can we help them to overcome their poverty? It is definitely not a matter of feeding them; giving them money; not a matter of taking temporary measures.
- I strongly feel that the church must put in collective effort to help them to come out of poverty by looking into the great area of education of their children. The Chinese in Sarawak have prospered because our ancestors have worked hard on our education. We need to work on this same vision for the poor people in Miri here.
- With higher education, not only the poor will have a better job, but, they are well trained to think about how to live a proper life; how to overcome superstitions; how to overcome poverty; how to manage their money; how to educate their next generation, etc.
- Can the social concerns committee and missions committee and the whole LCEC do it at the district level a tuition centre for the poor in Tudan and Permyjaya? Mobilizing manpower from all Methodist Churches and all those in Miri who are keen to help. A few of us in GMC are doing it minor scale like learning English for fun and doing reading bus. I am willing to come in to advise if you are keen about it.
- We must challenge ourselves to help the poor through education so much so our GMC church trademark or Methodist Church trademark is helping
- the poor to overcome poverty. By the way, as a result of Tudan Methodist church effort in nurturing Ibans at Tudan and Permyjaya. One Iban student scored 3A 1B in his STPM and he is now applying to go for local university. This is a vision which I am always giving them.
- Those of you who are professionals, businessmen or women, or if you are in leadership position, can you influence your company to every year set aside some budget to help the poor in anyway, especially, for example to pay for their miscellaneous fees, tuition fees for their week subjects, etc.
- The best is to do something along the line of social concerns for the poor.
- Any brave souls who are willing to do it? Can you speak out for the poor? Can you invest your life in doing mission among the poor? Can you enjoy a little less and give 2 hours to give tuition to the poor in English, Maths, Science? Jesus today says, “ I am on the side of the poor, I am with the poor, I am living with them, come and visit Me?” Will you visit the poor today after the church service and do something for them? If you are touched by the Holy Spirit to do something for the poor and you believe God has given a vision, you must commit it to prayer, and let the church know so that we commit it to prayer also so that GMC or the district can plan to make it happen.
D. Conclusion
- Can your life be a little bit less selfish and share with others, especially the poor? Remember, in whatever you can. When you do that, you testify for Jesus.
- Some of you who are always worried and depressed, anxious about yourself, your children, your husbands, your wives, your work, etc, in the name of Jesus, I preach to you, go and spend sometime with the poor people out, then, you see for yourself, whether, you are still as worried, anxious, and depressed.
- As you are willing to testify for Christ among the poor, Jesus bless you with joy and good health.
- Come and test Jesus, if you help the poor, whether Jesus will give joy or not.
E. Questions for Small Group Discussion
1. Discuss the various aspects of poverty of the poor. Try to explain why they end up in poverty.
2. Then (related to question 1), discover for yourself, what are the opportunities available for you to do mission as an individual; as small group; as a family; as a church.
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
John 5: 31-47
Main Idea: Your life needs to testify for Christ.
Objectives: a. Need to challenge the congregation on the necessity to testify for Christ. b. Need to challenge the congregation to stop practicing corruption and stand up against it.
A. Introduction
- Do you still remember my last sermon preached on 26th December, 2010? It was based on John 5: 16-30. Do you still remember the title of my sermon? (Jesus is equal to God) Let me give you a clue. It is something to do with my trademark sermons. (Okay, it is about building a personal relationship with Jesus; your Christian identity; make disciples of all nations, missions) You always get to hear them in my sermons.
- Today, I am going to proceed from my last sermon. I continue from there. I hope that each time I come back to GMC I preach from there for the gospel of John has a lot to offer to GMC. This is my only chance to I choose to preach to you this year and yet I decide to continue with the gospel of John. I pray that this continuity will impact your lives for Christ.
- I pray that after a break of 5 months plus, though I may not preach new things, with my 5 months plus learning, I pray that with a few new insights which I learnt from my learned lecturers and books, you will be greatly challenged to testify for Christ. The title of my sermon to you.
- The passage today is all about Jesus’ word. It is still very much in the context of His conflict with the Jewish religious authorities, where His divinity was challenged. He claimed to be God but He was rejected as God. You see how He dealt with them.
B. Explanation of Text
- Jesus knew the Jewish religious authorities would not accept Him as the son of God. Then, Jesus argued with the Jewish religious authorities that John the Baptist had testified (verses 32 to 34) for Him. He even sacrificed his life in testifying for Jesus but they did not grip the truth that Jesus was God (verse 35).
- Jesus still wanted to quote the weightier testimony of what God the Father had done through Him in all the miracles and mission when He referred to the very work that the Father had given Him in verse 36.
- Jesus further emphasized that His Father had sent Him to testify about Him but they had never heard His father or heard His Father’s voice in the written scripture like the Old Testament and also His Father’s voice of approval at Jesus’ baptism at Jordan River; and also they did not see His form. This may refer to their lack of spiritual perception about Jesus being God. (verses 37 -38)
- Jesus further accused them of studying the Scripture, but they did not recognize the one to whom the Scripture bears supreme testimony. They read the scripture that revealed the promised Messiah who was in the person of Jesus, whom Jesus Himself claimed but they could not recognize. God the Father Himself revealed and testified through the scripture but they could not agree that Jesus was sent by God the Father. (verses 40 -41)
- The revelation God gave to Moses was inseparable from the revelation God gave through Jesus. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus told by Jesus, the rich man who was in torment in seoul (hell), he appealed to father Abraham to send Lazarus who also died to preach to his 5 brothers on earth so that they would not come to the place of torment like him. Father Abraham replied in Luke 16: 31, “… If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
- The Scriptures that Jesus referred to were most probably the Mosaic Laws and they bore testimonies and yet the Jewish religious authorities could not accept them. Jesus really confronted them in their faces they accepted men’s praise and made no effort to obtain God’s praise. How could they not accepted the testimonies of Moses and then, Jesus even went to the extent of telling them on behalf of Moses that he was accusing them of their mistake of not recognizing Jesus as God. (verses 42 -45)
- Therefore, now, Jesus was very frustrated with them, Jesus laid everything on the table and told them the simple logical conclusion which they need to get it right in verses 46 and 47, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
- I see this passage of the personal word from Jesus is all talking about John the Baptist, God the Father, the Scriptures and even Moses testifying God in the person of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus.
- Most of the Jews in Jesus’ time could not accept the most powerful testimonies about Jesus. Today, it is still a great challenge for people to accept the divinity of Jesus. Why?
C. Applications and Actions
- Why people of all nations, especially those who are most educated, cannot accept the divinity of Jesus? One reason is definitely because most scientific minds cannot accept illogical things like resurrection of the dead and eternal life. Another more important reason could be if take Jesus as God, savior and the master of their lives, then, they feel like they cannot be free to live their self-centered life.
- What about we Christians? Yes, we accept the divinity of Christ. But, most of us do not go all the way out to testify the divinity of Jesus. To show people in our family, in our office and in our society that Jesus is almighty God; Jesus is living. For our life to testify Christ, we need to show Jesus is living in our lives.
- Is your life testifying for Christ?
- This is where I want to share a new insight with you. Evangelicals like Methodists who emphasize on the importance of preaching the gospel of salvation. We desire people to be saved from their sins like hatred, greed, self-centeredness, jealousy, self-pity, pride, etc. We show people how to overcome sins of pride, greed etc. We desire their souls to be saved for eternal life.
- Brothers and sisters that is only the salvation of individuals. The spiritual aspect of salvation. We normally testify for Jesus in terms of spiritual salvation of the lost. This is actually a narrow understanding of the gospel. This is the so called trademark of the church.
- There is another aspect of the gospel which the society needs very much. It is the social aspect of the gospel. It is an aspect of the gospel which Jesus emphasizes very much but we always tend to neglect and not do much because it requires us to dirty our hands; it requires us to go the extra mile.
- It is very much about salvation of people from poverty, injustice, marginalization, oppression, corruption, etc. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ does not only save people from their individual sins and eternal punishment in hell, it also very saves them from poverty, injustice, marginalization, oppression, corruption, etc. You see my point?
- Jesus Christ our Lord has highlighted the social salvation aspect of the gospel when He said in Luke 4: 18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor…”
- Please do not misunderstand Jesus, let us do not think that what Jesus means is only preaching the gospel of salvation from individual sins only. What Jesus also very much means is this: we need to help people to come out of their poverty.
- I want to concentrate on the poverty. Can our church, Methodist church and all other churches, your life testify for Christ in bringing about social changes to the issues of poverty?
- Can our church address the issue of poverty in our society? The poor are everywhere in the town. Many of them are indigenous people, though some of them are also Chinese. They are at our doorstep, near our homes, church, even in your office. Can your life testify to them that Jesus loves them?
- One faithful disciple of Jesus, a Christian lawyer in Hong Kong, wrote a article called sins against. It is a new term he created to draw Christian attention to the poor people and make disciples of them. Who are the sins against? These are the poor in the society whom we left them to suffer in hunger, thirst, lack of shelter, education, etc. Spiritually, we sin against them because we see their needs we do not anything to help them. In other words, owing to our selfishness and self-centeredness, our sins caused us not to help them. One of these days, these sins against will stand up and accuse Christians of not helping them. When they are so desperate, they may even threaten the living of all of us who are having a descent living.
- How can we help them to overcome their poverty? It is definitely not a matter of feeding them; giving them money; not a matter of taking temporary measures.
- I strongly feel that the church must put in collective effort to help them to come out of poverty by looking into the great area of education of their children. The Chinese in Sarawak have prospered because our ancestors have worked hard on our education. We need to work on this same vision for the poor people in Miri here.
- With higher education, not only the poor will have a better job, but, they are well trained to think about how to live a proper life; how to overcome superstitions; how to overcome poverty; how to manage their money; how to educate their next generation, etc.
- Can the social concerns committee and missions committee and the whole LCEC do it at the district level a tuition centre for the poor in Tudan and Permyjaya? Mobilizing manpower from all Methodist Churches and all those in Miri who are keen to help. A few of us in GMC are doing it minor scale like learning English for fun and doing reading bus. I am willing to come in to advise if you are keen about it.
- We must challenge ourselves to help the poor through education so much so our GMC church trademark or Methodist Church trademark is helping
- the poor to overcome poverty. By the way, as a result of Tudan Methodist church effort in nurturing Ibans at Tudan and Permyjaya. One Iban student scored 3A 1B in his STPM and he is now applying to go for local university. This is a vision which I am always giving them.
- Those of you who are professionals, businessmen or women, or if you are in leadership position, can you influence your company to every year set aside some budget to help the poor in anyway, especially, for example to pay for their miscellaneous fees, tuition fees for their week subjects, etc.
- The best is to do something along the line of social concerns for the poor.
- Any brave souls who are willing to do it? Can you speak out for the poor? Can you invest your life in doing mission among the poor? Can you enjoy a little less and give 2 hours to give tuition to the poor in English, Maths, Science? Jesus today says, “ I am on the side of the poor, I am with the poor, I am living with them, come and visit Me?” Will you visit the poor today after the church service and do something for them? If you are touched by the Holy Spirit to do something for the poor and you believe God has given a vision, you must commit it to prayer, and let the church know so that we commit it to prayer also so that GMC or the district can plan to make it happen.
D. Conclusion
- Can your life be a little bit less selfish and share with others, especially the poor? Remember, in whatever you can. When you do that, you testify for Jesus.
- Some of you who are always worried and depressed, anxious about yourself, your children, your husbands, your wives, your work, etc, in the name of Jesus, I preach to you, go and spend sometime with the poor people out, then, you see for yourself, whether, you are still as worried, anxious, and depressed.
- As you are willing to testify for Christ among the poor, Jesus bless you with joy and good health.
- Come and test Jesus, if you help the poor, whether Jesus will give joy or not.
E. Questions for Small Group Discussion
1. Discuss the various aspects of poverty of the poor. Try to explain why they end up in poverty.
2. Then (related to question 1), discover for yourself, what are the opportunities available for you to do mission as an individual; as small group; as a family; as a church.
Live a life worthy of the Lord
Brunei Sermon Live a life worthy of the Lord
22nd May, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Colossians 1: 3-14
Main Idea: the process of spiritual growth
Objectives:
a. To teach the congregation of the process of spiritual growth
b. To challenge the church members to be transformed in their lives.
c. To teach them to live a life worthy of the Lord.
A. Introduction
- Those of you who have been baptized in the last 10 years, pls indicate by putting up your hands? 20 years?
- After you are baptized, have you been serving Jesus? What have you done for Jesus?
- May be some of us ask this question in your heart: Why is that after you are baptized; you still need to grow spiritually; serve God; you need to be transformed in your lives; you need to do evangelism and missions both locally and overseas; do social concerns; attend Sunday service; tithing; prayers?
- I am already saved, I just wait to go to heaven. I have my passport to go heaven, why do I still have to go through all those troubles? Have you asked like this? The answer is found in the bible passage today.
- Apostle Paul in this morning’s passage, he said a prayer that showed us how our spiritual life should grow. You must go through that process and there is no short cut.
- Let us read what Apostle Paul exhorted the Colossians in verses 9 and 10 together, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, …”
- Why Apostle Paul prayed like this? This had very much to do with the problems and challenges faced by the Colossian Christians at that time in the first century.
B. Background & Explanation of the Text
- At that time the Colossian Christians faced the heretic Gnosticism teaching. Believers of Gnosticism believed that the material, the body of human beings, and all that could be seen were evil. God who cannot be seen is good and spiritual. Human beings can only be in contact with God using our thinking power.
- This produces 2 kinds of thinking. One thinking is our mind power is more powerful than the body. People who subscribe to this thinking end up practicing self-denial exercises such as withdrawing from sex, not eating, not resting, not enjoying life, and not live a normal life. A believer will isolate himself from others, not married and not even take bath, etc.
- Another thinking is this: Since our body is evil, people will take the liberty to enjoy himself, he takes the liberty to get drunk, overeat, practice free sex, to be greedy, etc, because whatever they do, it will not affect their inner spirit, inner life.
- Apostle Paul knew the Colossian Christians were misled. He addressed Epaphras as dear fellow servant, faithful minister of Christ in verse 7. Epaphras must have shared the problems of the Colossian Christians with Apostle Paul.
- We know they communicated because in verse 8, Paul said, “and who also told us of your love in the spirit.”
- In order to lead the Colossian Christians out of Gnosticism influence, Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians kept emphasizing Jesus is the gospel of word becomes flesh. God is unseen; He becomes a human being in the person of Jesus. Since God lives in a body, so, the body is not evil anymore. Also, Jesus has the power to save us from the power of darkness, leading us to the kingdom of God, saved and our sins are forgiven. This is very much emphasized in verses 13 and 14.
- In order to help the Colossian Christians not to go astray, and they really believed what Jesus had done on His life and on the cross, Apostle Paul taught them how to grow spiritually and correctly.
- Apostle Paul taught the Colossian Christians and all of us a cycle of 5 steps of spiritual growth.
C. Application and Actions
- Firstly, you need to ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will as Apostle said in verse 9b. You must know the word of God for you, His will for you. You must read the word of God for it tells you His will for you. Can you give me a few examples of God’s will for you according to the bible?
- Secondly, God fills you with knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding in verse 9c. Now, yes, God fills you with His will but according to verse 9c today, He also gives you spiritual wisdom and understanding. It means through the help of the Holy Spirit God helps you to understand His word. It means God, through the Spirit of Jesus helps you to understand a word, a phrase, a sentence or a passage of he bible. This year, as I read Exodus 36 to 38, I was amazed by the promises that God made to Hebrew people in providing the expertise and all the metal and material needed to make the tabernacle, the ark, the lamp stand, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, etc. God spoke to me powerfully and I understood His message even though these technical chapters are on how to make those instruments of worship. I received the powerful message that if I am doing God’s will, God will provide all the manpower and resources needed to do His will.
- I also read from Leviticus chapters 1 to 5 recently, God is very particular about every sin you committed. For the Hebrew people, for every sin committed, they need to do a sacrifice of an animal or birds or flour.
- Can you give me some examples of the word of God which you understand and remember? Only when you know, understand, then, you can use it, apply in your life. I understand the concepts of making of disciples of all nations. So, I reach out to people regardless of races, skin colors, languages and religions. I reach out to Ibans in Bahasa Malaysia. Last Sunday I preached in BM to Tudan Methodist Church members who are Ibans. I prayed and counseled for 15 of them one by one for about 2 hours. On Thursday, I joined Rev Chan Jing Mei, the lady pastor in charge of the Church in visiting 5 Ibans. It is all because the bible says nations, not nation, not just the Chinese. I understand and remember, and so I can do it. Do you know your bible well? Do you have the discipline to read it? Do you attend seminars to equip yourself with the word of God to serve Him?
- As you read the bible, you need to ask yourself these questions: what has the word of God to do with my life? I can apply to which area of my life? Finance? Family? Work and career? Nurturing children? Ministry in Church? Missions and evangelism? Social concerns?
- I believe that every passage that you read in the bible, there is God’s message for you. I always write down the message after I got it. I have a spiritual journal to do it. You can read a passage and write down the verse, or word or phrase which God speaks to you. Write a sentence or two to say how you apply it in your life.
- Thirdly, the next step of the spiritual cycle is to live a life worthy of the Lord (verse 10). The sermon title is taken from this verse. Why this verse? This is because in our spiritual growth journey/ process, ultimately, it requires you, believers and all of us as Disciples of Christ, to be transformed in our lives. This is very much related to actions. Apostle Paul taught in this prayer for the Colossian Christians that after you know the word of God, understand it, you need to apply it. You need to apply it in your life. There must be actions in your life based on the word of God. Therefore, he said in verse 10, “…live a life worthy of the Lord…” God’s word is so good, so meaningful, so full of inspirations, but if you do not have any action to practice it, everything still remain zero. Especially your life transformation will remain zero.
- Furthermore, your actions must be worthy of Christ. How? When you made a decision, is it according to your conscience? What about others? A lot of Christians when they made a decision they never ask Jesus whether He is Okay with it or not. We Christians, when we make a decision, or take an action, we must get Yes from 3 persons (your conscience, others who are affected or not affected and most important of all, Jesus). Do that you will become a strong and matured Disciple of Jesus.
- In the name of Jesus I tell you, in your daily life, when you are full of care and love towards others, you are full of Christ’s testimonies in your life, you do what you promise, you are consistent in your word and action, when you invite people to come to attend church special program, they will come.
- A lot of Christians or disciples of Jesus do not grow because they cannot breach the gap between step 2 and step 3. That is after they understood the word, they never apply it. Are you one of those? After today, which part of God’s word are you applying? No application of God’s word, no life transformation, no life testimonies to show to people. As a result, people cannot see how good Christianity or Jesus is to their life.
- Fourthly, our spiritual life must reach a stage or step where we can do what Apostle says in 10b and c, “ …may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, …” This is very much related to step 3 where we need to live a life worthy of Jesus. After you apply what you learn about God’s word, your life is worthy of Christ, you will surely bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness goodness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22, 23). You will surely make disciples of all nations. You will surely do mission in the name of Jesus.
- Fifthly, we will reach a stage like what Apostle Paul said in verse 10 d, “… growing in the knowledge of God.” Our spiritual growth will reach a stage or step, where we will know, understand and experience God in a deeper manner. We will have an intimate relationship with Jesus. We can experience God because He is the Holy Spirit, He lives in our hearts, and He empowers us to overcome our flesh and lusts. Otherwise, Apostle Paul will not be able to say in verses 11, 12 “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
- With all humility and I want to boast about what Jesus has done in life, I want to say to you how I experience Jesus and God, almighty. When I am able to love my wife, my 4 children, I experience Jesus in a personal manner. When I am able to forgive someone like a church leader, my wife, someone I do not like, I experience Jesus in my life. When I am able to care for an Iban like lay my hands on him or her, I experience Jesus and I find Him so real in my life.
- So, what is the secret of experiencing God? Can you tell me? It can happen to all Christians, provide you …. You obey Jesus; you practice the word of God. Is it a secret to know? I hope it is not a secret to you.
D. Conclusion
- There is life in God’s word. Applying God’s word in your life is the right thing to do; it is the right attitude towards God’s word.
- Otherwise, no matter how much bible reading, prayer, Sunday Schools, bible studies, seminars, fellowships, church activities, will be just social activities.
22nd May, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Colossians 1: 3-14
Main Idea: the process of spiritual growth
Objectives:
a. To teach the congregation of the process of spiritual growth
b. To challenge the church members to be transformed in their lives.
c. To teach them to live a life worthy of the Lord.
A. Introduction
- Those of you who have been baptized in the last 10 years, pls indicate by putting up your hands? 20 years?
- After you are baptized, have you been serving Jesus? What have you done for Jesus?
- May be some of us ask this question in your heart: Why is that after you are baptized; you still need to grow spiritually; serve God; you need to be transformed in your lives; you need to do evangelism and missions both locally and overseas; do social concerns; attend Sunday service; tithing; prayers?
- I am already saved, I just wait to go to heaven. I have my passport to go heaven, why do I still have to go through all those troubles? Have you asked like this? The answer is found in the bible passage today.
- Apostle Paul in this morning’s passage, he said a prayer that showed us how our spiritual life should grow. You must go through that process and there is no short cut.
- Let us read what Apostle Paul exhorted the Colossians in verses 9 and 10 together, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, …”
- Why Apostle Paul prayed like this? This had very much to do with the problems and challenges faced by the Colossian Christians at that time in the first century.
B. Background & Explanation of the Text
- At that time the Colossian Christians faced the heretic Gnosticism teaching. Believers of Gnosticism believed that the material, the body of human beings, and all that could be seen were evil. God who cannot be seen is good and spiritual. Human beings can only be in contact with God using our thinking power.
- This produces 2 kinds of thinking. One thinking is our mind power is more powerful than the body. People who subscribe to this thinking end up practicing self-denial exercises such as withdrawing from sex, not eating, not resting, not enjoying life, and not live a normal life. A believer will isolate himself from others, not married and not even take bath, etc.
- Another thinking is this: Since our body is evil, people will take the liberty to enjoy himself, he takes the liberty to get drunk, overeat, practice free sex, to be greedy, etc, because whatever they do, it will not affect their inner spirit, inner life.
- Apostle Paul knew the Colossian Christians were misled. He addressed Epaphras as dear fellow servant, faithful minister of Christ in verse 7. Epaphras must have shared the problems of the Colossian Christians with Apostle Paul.
- We know they communicated because in verse 8, Paul said, “and who also told us of your love in the spirit.”
- In order to lead the Colossian Christians out of Gnosticism influence, Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians kept emphasizing Jesus is the gospel of word becomes flesh. God is unseen; He becomes a human being in the person of Jesus. Since God lives in a body, so, the body is not evil anymore. Also, Jesus has the power to save us from the power of darkness, leading us to the kingdom of God, saved and our sins are forgiven. This is very much emphasized in verses 13 and 14.
- In order to help the Colossian Christians not to go astray, and they really believed what Jesus had done on His life and on the cross, Apostle Paul taught them how to grow spiritually and correctly.
- Apostle Paul taught the Colossian Christians and all of us a cycle of 5 steps of spiritual growth.
C. Application and Actions
- Firstly, you need to ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will as Apostle said in verse 9b. You must know the word of God for you, His will for you. You must read the word of God for it tells you His will for you. Can you give me a few examples of God’s will for you according to the bible?
- Secondly, God fills you with knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding in verse 9c. Now, yes, God fills you with His will but according to verse 9c today, He also gives you spiritual wisdom and understanding. It means through the help of the Holy Spirit God helps you to understand His word. It means God, through the Spirit of Jesus helps you to understand a word, a phrase, a sentence or a passage of he bible. This year, as I read Exodus 36 to 38, I was amazed by the promises that God made to Hebrew people in providing the expertise and all the metal and material needed to make the tabernacle, the ark, the lamp stand, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, etc. God spoke to me powerfully and I understood His message even though these technical chapters are on how to make those instruments of worship. I received the powerful message that if I am doing God’s will, God will provide all the manpower and resources needed to do His will.
- I also read from Leviticus chapters 1 to 5 recently, God is very particular about every sin you committed. For the Hebrew people, for every sin committed, they need to do a sacrifice of an animal or birds or flour.
- Can you give me some examples of the word of God which you understand and remember? Only when you know, understand, then, you can use it, apply in your life. I understand the concepts of making of disciples of all nations. So, I reach out to people regardless of races, skin colors, languages and religions. I reach out to Ibans in Bahasa Malaysia. Last Sunday I preached in BM to Tudan Methodist Church members who are Ibans. I prayed and counseled for 15 of them one by one for about 2 hours. On Thursday, I joined Rev Chan Jing Mei, the lady pastor in charge of the Church in visiting 5 Ibans. It is all because the bible says nations, not nation, not just the Chinese. I understand and remember, and so I can do it. Do you know your bible well? Do you have the discipline to read it? Do you attend seminars to equip yourself with the word of God to serve Him?
- As you read the bible, you need to ask yourself these questions: what has the word of God to do with my life? I can apply to which area of my life? Finance? Family? Work and career? Nurturing children? Ministry in Church? Missions and evangelism? Social concerns?
- I believe that every passage that you read in the bible, there is God’s message for you. I always write down the message after I got it. I have a spiritual journal to do it. You can read a passage and write down the verse, or word or phrase which God speaks to you. Write a sentence or two to say how you apply it in your life.
- Thirdly, the next step of the spiritual cycle is to live a life worthy of the Lord (verse 10). The sermon title is taken from this verse. Why this verse? This is because in our spiritual growth journey/ process, ultimately, it requires you, believers and all of us as Disciples of Christ, to be transformed in our lives. This is very much related to actions. Apostle Paul taught in this prayer for the Colossian Christians that after you know the word of God, understand it, you need to apply it. You need to apply it in your life. There must be actions in your life based on the word of God. Therefore, he said in verse 10, “…live a life worthy of the Lord…” God’s word is so good, so meaningful, so full of inspirations, but if you do not have any action to practice it, everything still remain zero. Especially your life transformation will remain zero.
- Furthermore, your actions must be worthy of Christ. How? When you made a decision, is it according to your conscience? What about others? A lot of Christians when they made a decision they never ask Jesus whether He is Okay with it or not. We Christians, when we make a decision, or take an action, we must get Yes from 3 persons (your conscience, others who are affected or not affected and most important of all, Jesus). Do that you will become a strong and matured Disciple of Jesus.
- In the name of Jesus I tell you, in your daily life, when you are full of care and love towards others, you are full of Christ’s testimonies in your life, you do what you promise, you are consistent in your word and action, when you invite people to come to attend church special program, they will come.
- A lot of Christians or disciples of Jesus do not grow because they cannot breach the gap between step 2 and step 3. That is after they understood the word, they never apply it. Are you one of those? After today, which part of God’s word are you applying? No application of God’s word, no life transformation, no life testimonies to show to people. As a result, people cannot see how good Christianity or Jesus is to their life.
- Fourthly, our spiritual life must reach a stage or step where we can do what Apostle says in 10b and c, “ …may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, …” This is very much related to step 3 where we need to live a life worthy of Jesus. After you apply what you learn about God’s word, your life is worthy of Christ, you will surely bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness goodness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22, 23). You will surely make disciples of all nations. You will surely do mission in the name of Jesus.
- Fifthly, we will reach a stage like what Apostle Paul said in verse 10 d, “… growing in the knowledge of God.” Our spiritual growth will reach a stage or step, where we will know, understand and experience God in a deeper manner. We will have an intimate relationship with Jesus. We can experience God because He is the Holy Spirit, He lives in our hearts, and He empowers us to overcome our flesh and lusts. Otherwise, Apostle Paul will not be able to say in verses 11, 12 “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
- With all humility and I want to boast about what Jesus has done in life, I want to say to you how I experience Jesus and God, almighty. When I am able to love my wife, my 4 children, I experience Jesus in a personal manner. When I am able to forgive someone like a church leader, my wife, someone I do not like, I experience Jesus in my life. When I am able to care for an Iban like lay my hands on him or her, I experience Jesus and I find Him so real in my life.
- So, what is the secret of experiencing God? Can you tell me? It can happen to all Christians, provide you …. You obey Jesus; you practice the word of God. Is it a secret to know? I hope it is not a secret to you.
D. Conclusion
- There is life in God’s word. Applying God’s word in your life is the right thing to do; it is the right attitude towards God’s word.
- Otherwise, no matter how much bible reading, prayer, Sunday Schools, bible studies, seminars, fellowships, church activities, will be just social activities.
AGM Honor Your Parents
8th May, 2011.
Parents’ Sunday
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Ephesians 6: 1-4
Main Idea: Honoring parents is God’s command.
Objective: a. To teach the congregation to obey the age old command of God, to honor our parents.
b. To teach parents not to exasperate our children.
c. To bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord.
A. Introduction
- Why is it that Methodist Churches in Sarawak and Sabah every year dedicates one Sunday to do Parents’ Sunday? Can you answer please? Is it because it is an appropriate program as so many others are doing it, so, we must not be left out? We do it for our children and ourselves to show that we are important?
- The most important biblical reason for the church (not from the commercial point of view) is it is a one of the Ten Commandments we need to obey.
- The church needs to make sure that we as disciples of Jesus we must teach ourselves to honor parents. It is stated in the Old Testament and it is repeated in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke, by Jesus). That will teach us on the importance of the commandment.
- Jesus affirmed the law (commandment to honor parents), He fulfilled the law, as He Himself had said. And now Apostle Paul reinforced it for the teaching of the universal church.
- Let us now take a close look at Ephesians 6: 1-4 to study the command to honor your parents.
B. Explanation of Ephesians 6: 1-4
- Before the passage today, Apostle Paul wrote a great passage on husband and wife relationship, Ephesians 5: 22-33, emphasizing very much on husband, love your wife and , wife, submit to your husband, very much in the context of Ephesians 5: 21, which says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
- Based on that principle, Apostle Paul urged the husband to love his wife and his wife to submit to her wife. Now, using the same principle, he is now urging children to honor our parents. Therefore, to honor parents is to fear God; to revere Christ. Is this good news in Christ? Honoring parents is honoring God in the person of Christ. Honoring God is a very spiritual act.
- When Apostle Paul addressed the children in verse 1, he referred to children who were responsible members of the congregation in Ephesus then. This is an imperative absolute obedience, it must be done in the context of one’s submission to Christ, as the command said, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” And this is part of Christian discipleship.
- The motivation for such obedience was because it was right, Apostle Paul appealed to a general sense of what was fitting and right in the Graeco-Roman ethics.
- To support his exhortation for children to obey parents he quoted the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” From the Old Testament (Exodus 20: 12). Honoring one’s parents in the Old Testament reflected one’s relationship with Yahweh. In the Old Testament, honoring one’s parents means obeying them; dishonoring them means disobeying them.
- Take note, in the Old Testament, for children living with parents; it meant obeying father and mother. For adults who left home, it involved a respectful attitude and care for them in their old age. I want advise all of us to do the same.
- Apostle Paul in the context of the Ephesian Christian community, he taught them that obeying parents, honoring parents, were their Christian commitment ‘in the Lord’. It is an example of submission that arouse out of a godly fear of Christ (5:21).
- This submission is a distinguishing mark of those who are filled by the Holy Spirit, which he taught the Ephesians in 5: 18, which says, “… be filled with the Spirit.”
- In exhorting the Ephesian Christians to honor their parents and of course all us today, he quoted from Exodus 20: 12 the second part, where it promised the Hebrews of long life in the Promised Land. But here, Apostle Paul said in verse 3, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
- Today, based on Apostle Paul’s teaching, we Christians believe that honoring parents will give you long life on earth. My observation is it is generally very true, assuming everything else is equal.
- Next, probably to balance up the situation at that time, where in Hellenistic Judaism culture, severe cruel inhuman punishment could be given to children who disobeyed their parents. Probably this could happen to parents who abused their authority and went overboard and punished their children harshly.
- That might be one of the important reasons for Apostle Paul to say in verse 4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
- Negatively, Apostle Paul exhorted the fathers and of course all of us parents today, not to provoke our children to anger. Now, it was and it is one very important concern of the Apostle for the Ephesian Christians as prolonged anger could be used by Satan to achieve its end in chapter 4 verses 26 and 27, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
- After reminding the fathers not to provoke their children to anger, Apostle Paul complemented the negative by a positive urge to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. This is basically to teach and discipline their children in the fear of the Lord. What Apostle Paul wanted to drive home was for parents, fathers, all the more to teach and discipline their children to obey Jesus most important of all, not only to obey and honor parents. That is why he said in the training and instruction of the Lord. He wanted Christian parents to be different from the non-Christian in that they need to be educators who led their children to be loyal to Christ as the Lord of their life.
C. Relationship of the passage with your life
- Do you see that the passage today is relevant to your life?
- Do you see the importance of the command to honor your parents in your life as Apostle taught? I pray that you do.
- Do you see why you must control your anger in front of your children when you nurture and educate them in the Lord?
- You see the point why you must teach and discipline your children to obey Jesus as the Lord and master of their lives?
D. Applications and actions
- Those of you who are honoring your parents, keep it up. Remember you are fearing/revering Christ, by honoring your parents. Some of us may have problems with our parents, you may not in talking terms with them for the reasons best known to you, you are not honoring your parents. Do ask God for forgiveness and ask your parents for forgiveness for you have not honored them. All of us who are adults here, do take care your parents as your parents age, it is one of the best ways to honor your parents. By no means, we burn paper money to worship them during Ching Ming after they leave this world as an act of filial piety. We only worship Christ our Lord.
- The second point of application is this: do not provoke your children to be angry with you. Have you any of these wrong attitudes, words and actions? Excessive severe discipline, unreasonable harsh demands, unfairness among your children, constant nagging and condemnation, subjecting your children to humiliation, and all forms of gross insensitivity to your children’s needs and sensibilities. If you have been guilty in any of these, do humble yourself before Christ and your children and even ask them for forgiveness.
- The third point of application and action is this: train your children to be faithful to Jesus as their Lord of their lives. I believe all of us understand the importance of education for our children. But I think not all of us realize the importance of our children in fearing/revering Jesus. We may not be giving a good life example to our children in terms of fearing, trusting and loving Jesus. I pray for my children and pray with them for thanksgiving, and needs. I get them to thank God for our meals. I get them to say sorry to one another when there is a conflict. I get them to express gratitude to their mom for the meals my wife cook. I get them to say thank you when they receive things from others. I build up godly characters in their lives so that as they grow up, they will always keep close to Jesus and allow Jesus to be the Lord of their lives. What about you?
E. Conclusion
- The word of God today is so practical and yet it is very challenging. It is so because we know it and yet we are practicing it.
- In fact, you lose nothing by honoring your parents; by not provoking your children to be angry; by training your children to be faithful to Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
- On the other hand, eventually, you will have reasons to regret if you do not practice them. The worst is sins will come knocking at your door, we all suffer the consequences of disobeying Jesus’ word.
F. Small Group Discussion Questions
1. Discuss you bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord? That is how do you disciple them to revere Jesus as the master/ Lord of their lives so that they will never leave Jesus?
2. How do you avoid provoking your children to anger? (If they are angry until sunset, the devil can have a foothold in their lives to attack them and you)
Parents’ Sunday
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Ephesians 6: 1-4
Main Idea: Honoring parents is God’s command.
Objective: a. To teach the congregation to obey the age old command of God, to honor our parents.
b. To teach parents not to exasperate our children.
c. To bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord.
A. Introduction
- Why is it that Methodist Churches in Sarawak and Sabah every year dedicates one Sunday to do Parents’ Sunday? Can you answer please? Is it because it is an appropriate program as so many others are doing it, so, we must not be left out? We do it for our children and ourselves to show that we are important?
- The most important biblical reason for the church (not from the commercial point of view) is it is a one of the Ten Commandments we need to obey.
- The church needs to make sure that we as disciples of Jesus we must teach ourselves to honor parents. It is stated in the Old Testament and it is repeated in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke, by Jesus). That will teach us on the importance of the commandment.
- Jesus affirmed the law (commandment to honor parents), He fulfilled the law, as He Himself had said. And now Apostle Paul reinforced it for the teaching of the universal church.
- Let us now take a close look at Ephesians 6: 1-4 to study the command to honor your parents.
B. Explanation of Ephesians 6: 1-4
- Before the passage today, Apostle Paul wrote a great passage on husband and wife relationship, Ephesians 5: 22-33, emphasizing very much on husband, love your wife and , wife, submit to your husband, very much in the context of Ephesians 5: 21, which says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
- Based on that principle, Apostle Paul urged the husband to love his wife and his wife to submit to her wife. Now, using the same principle, he is now urging children to honor our parents. Therefore, to honor parents is to fear God; to revere Christ. Is this good news in Christ? Honoring parents is honoring God in the person of Christ. Honoring God is a very spiritual act.
- When Apostle Paul addressed the children in verse 1, he referred to children who were responsible members of the congregation in Ephesus then. This is an imperative absolute obedience, it must be done in the context of one’s submission to Christ, as the command said, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” And this is part of Christian discipleship.
- The motivation for such obedience was because it was right, Apostle Paul appealed to a general sense of what was fitting and right in the Graeco-Roman ethics.
- To support his exhortation for children to obey parents he quoted the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and mother.” From the Old Testament (Exodus 20: 12). Honoring one’s parents in the Old Testament reflected one’s relationship with Yahweh. In the Old Testament, honoring one’s parents means obeying them; dishonoring them means disobeying them.
- Take note, in the Old Testament, for children living with parents; it meant obeying father and mother. For adults who left home, it involved a respectful attitude and care for them in their old age. I want advise all of us to do the same.
- Apostle Paul in the context of the Ephesian Christian community, he taught them that obeying parents, honoring parents, were their Christian commitment ‘in the Lord’. It is an example of submission that arouse out of a godly fear of Christ (5:21).
- This submission is a distinguishing mark of those who are filled by the Holy Spirit, which he taught the Ephesians in 5: 18, which says, “… be filled with the Spirit.”
- In exhorting the Ephesian Christians to honor their parents and of course all us today, he quoted from Exodus 20: 12 the second part, where it promised the Hebrews of long life in the Promised Land. But here, Apostle Paul said in verse 3, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
- Today, based on Apostle Paul’s teaching, we Christians believe that honoring parents will give you long life on earth. My observation is it is generally very true, assuming everything else is equal.
- Next, probably to balance up the situation at that time, where in Hellenistic Judaism culture, severe cruel inhuman punishment could be given to children who disobeyed their parents. Probably this could happen to parents who abused their authority and went overboard and punished their children harshly.
- That might be one of the important reasons for Apostle Paul to say in verse 4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
- Negatively, Apostle Paul exhorted the fathers and of course all of us parents today, not to provoke our children to anger. Now, it was and it is one very important concern of the Apostle for the Ephesian Christians as prolonged anger could be used by Satan to achieve its end in chapter 4 verses 26 and 27, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
- After reminding the fathers not to provoke their children to anger, Apostle Paul complemented the negative by a positive urge to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. This is basically to teach and discipline their children in the fear of the Lord. What Apostle Paul wanted to drive home was for parents, fathers, all the more to teach and discipline their children to obey Jesus most important of all, not only to obey and honor parents. That is why he said in the training and instruction of the Lord. He wanted Christian parents to be different from the non-Christian in that they need to be educators who led their children to be loyal to Christ as the Lord of their life.
C. Relationship of the passage with your life
- Do you see that the passage today is relevant to your life?
- Do you see the importance of the command to honor your parents in your life as Apostle taught? I pray that you do.
- Do you see why you must control your anger in front of your children when you nurture and educate them in the Lord?
- You see the point why you must teach and discipline your children to obey Jesus as the Lord and master of their lives?
D. Applications and actions
- Those of you who are honoring your parents, keep it up. Remember you are fearing/revering Christ, by honoring your parents. Some of us may have problems with our parents, you may not in talking terms with them for the reasons best known to you, you are not honoring your parents. Do ask God for forgiveness and ask your parents for forgiveness for you have not honored them. All of us who are adults here, do take care your parents as your parents age, it is one of the best ways to honor your parents. By no means, we burn paper money to worship them during Ching Ming after they leave this world as an act of filial piety. We only worship Christ our Lord.
- The second point of application is this: do not provoke your children to be angry with you. Have you any of these wrong attitudes, words and actions? Excessive severe discipline, unreasonable harsh demands, unfairness among your children, constant nagging and condemnation, subjecting your children to humiliation, and all forms of gross insensitivity to your children’s needs and sensibilities. If you have been guilty in any of these, do humble yourself before Christ and your children and even ask them for forgiveness.
- The third point of application and action is this: train your children to be faithful to Jesus as their Lord of their lives. I believe all of us understand the importance of education for our children. But I think not all of us realize the importance of our children in fearing/revering Jesus. We may not be giving a good life example to our children in terms of fearing, trusting and loving Jesus. I pray for my children and pray with them for thanksgiving, and needs. I get them to thank God for our meals. I get them to say sorry to one another when there is a conflict. I get them to express gratitude to their mom for the meals my wife cook. I get them to say thank you when they receive things from others. I build up godly characters in their lives so that as they grow up, they will always keep close to Jesus and allow Jesus to be the Lord of their lives. What about you?
E. Conclusion
- The word of God today is so practical and yet it is very challenging. It is so because we know it and yet we are practicing it.
- In fact, you lose nothing by honoring your parents; by not provoking your children to be angry; by training your children to be faithful to Jesus as the Lord of their lives.
- On the other hand, eventually, you will have reasons to regret if you do not practice them. The worst is sins will come knocking at your door, we all suffer the consequences of disobeying Jesus’ word.
F. Small Group Discussion Questions
1. Discuss you bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord? That is how do you disciple them to revere Jesus as the master/ Lord of their lives so that they will never leave Jesus?
2. How do you avoid provoking your children to anger? (If they are angry until sunset, the devil can have a foothold in their lives to attack them and you)
To serve God by the name of Jesus
Agape Methodist Church By the Name of Jesus 3rd April, 2011
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 4:1-22
Main Idea: To serve God by the name of Jesus.
Objective: To teach that we need to be filled by the Holy Spirit to serve in Christ’s name
A. Introduction
- When a traffic police stands right in the middle of the road and starts to direct the traffic with his hand signals will the public and the drivers follow the instructions? Yes. Why? It is because he is trusted with authority by the government to do it. The authority is given to them by the law of the country. All that the traffic police need to do is to exercise the authority.
- When you serve in the church as Local Church Executive Committee (LCEC) leaders; you serve in your family as husbands, wives, parents and children; in your small group as leaders and members; in Sunday School as teachers; in Methodist Junior Youth Fellowship as Committee members; in your companies, as you serve your clients or when you do business, etc, by what authority you serve God? By what authority you do it?
- For the church ministries, some of us may say, by the authority of the scripture, election, appointment by pastor or LCEC or you volunteer to do it, etc. At home, by the authority of the scripture, husband loves the wife, wife submits to the husband, parents nurture their children, children honours and obey their parents. For our career and working in office, we say it is by the authority of company rules, law of the country, etc. You acted based on these authorities, all of them, by themselves, are not wrong.
- After today, you must challenge yourself to add in the dimension of the authority by Jesus name when you serve God and people. You will understand the whole world of difference when you serve God and people by the name of Jesus as you see how the early apostles did it in the book of Acts and all the more the passage today.
B. Explanation of the text
- Even in chapter 3 verses 12 and 16, Apostle Peter said to the Israelites who were astonished that they did not heal the crippled beggar by their own power or godliness, it was done in Jesus’ name and the faith that came through him that had given complete healing to the beggar (cripple).
- After the healing event, it caused quite a stir in the town. Apostles Peter and John went on to preach all over the places about the death and resurrection of Jesus with all the excitement because they had seen with their own eyes how He resurrected. Their preaching was so powerful that the number of men (not including women and children yet) who came to follow Jesus grew to 5,000 (verse 4), an alarming figure by any standard in those days. Probably a lot of Jews were switching over to follow Christ, and the Jewish high ranking religious leadership like the priests, Sadduccees (not believe in the resurrection of the dead), elders and teachers of the law must have felt the threat of Jesus’ followers to their religion of Judaism and might be even their positions.
- The 3 groups (rulers, elders and the teachers of the law) made up the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court.
- The next day, they managed to bring both Apostle Peter and Apostle John before the high priest to be questioned. You can imagine by now the burning question they wanted to ask. They were so mad by the preaching and healing as they caused great impact among the Israelites and the society in Jerusalem.
- So, they asked in verse 7, “By what power or what name did you do this?” The Jewish religious leaders really wanted to know by what authority the apostles did the healing especially.
- In verses 8 and 10, it says Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit, with courage, I believe without fear, he answered straight into the face of these high ranking Jewish religious leaders, it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom they had crucified but God raised Him from death, it was Jesus who healed the crippled beggar. Peter was so full of courage (as he was filled by the Holy Spirit) that he even dared to blame the religious leaders for the death of Jesus!
- Brothers and sisters, you understand the difference the Holy Spirit made to Apostle Peter and Apostle John. They were so courageous that even the whole of Sanhedrin noticed it because they were unschooled, ordinary men; they were not trained in the rabbinic school (verses 13). Yet they were able to demonstrate some authority and power of Jesus.
- The Sanhedrin was astonished by the courage shown by the two of them. They took note they were with Jesus before and they could not deny the powerful work of healing by them as this person was over 40 years old (verse 22). Normally, healing at such an advanced age at that time did not take place. The miracle was simply outstanding and they could not deny it. Everybody in Jerusalem knew it (verse 16).
- What makes the difference? The 2 apostles were filled by the Holy Spirit.
- The Sanhedrin could not punish them for the miracle but at the same time, they were very worried that the teaching on the resurrection of Jesus and in His name would influence more people. Therefore, they warned them not to teach in the authority of the name of Jesus anymore. You see, even the Sanhedrin knew very well it was the name of Jesus that carried the weight!
- Brothers and sisters, in serving God, in ministry, you need to do it in Jesus’ name, there is divine power, sacred power in Jesus’ name. Do not miss this key point of the passage today.
- Now, despite the warning, because Peter and John were filled by the Holy Spirit, they were not silenced by the so called authoritative religious figures. In fact, they even became more daring and courageous. They replied to the Sanhedrin in a form of challenge in verses 19 and 20 which you and I need to take up, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Based on a counter challenge to the so called Jewish religious authority which governed all Israelites’ religious life, now, Peter and John were no more abide by it, they, in fact, drop it and take on a new authority in the name of Jesus to continue to heal the sick, do deliverance, teach resurrection of Jesus and to set the captives free. This is a complete 100% paradigm shift in terms of the authority for what they are doing.
- The Sanhedrin still gave further threats and they could not punish them because lots of people in Jerusalem were very excited about Jesus and praising God for the great miracle. Then Peter and John were released.
C. Applications
- Do you see the relevance of this passage with your life and ministry? In the beginning I say,” You will understand the whole world of difference when you serve God and people by the name of Jesus as you see how the early apostles did it in the book of Acts and all the more the passage today.”
- The word of God, which I preach to you today, is not only for your ears to hear only; for information and knowledge only; it is very much for your life transformation. You must ask yourself what the passage requires you to do after the service. What changes in thinking, attitude, actions, motives, purposes of your life, convictions, values, etc, you need to take? What sin to repent from? Most important of all, you need to ask yourself, what is the big deal about serving God (Jesus) by the name of Jesus Christ? What do I lose if the authority of Jesus’ name is missing in my life and ministry?
- By now, you should be awakened in your soul that serving in any way in church, at home and at work and in the society in any capacity, without the authority of Jesus’ name, you definitely have no power to overcome all the odds, temptations to lie, to be a hypocrite, to commit adultery, to watch pornography, to curse, to hate, to be jealous, to look down on others, to betray, etc. By our nature, we give all the excuses to fall into the temptations and sin, however, when we are filled by the Holy Spirit, we have all the power, the divine power, Jesus power, the sacred power to overcome temptations and fight against all the odds.
- If you still do not get my message of the importance and meaning of the name of Jesus, the big deal about Jesus’ name, the authority of Jesus’ name, please imagine with me this illustration, I beg you. Do not miss this point!
- Some people curse people when they have been offended, hurt, trespassed, denied certain interest, physical hurt caused, pains caused, misunderstanding, shamed suffered, etc. Have you ever cursed someone before in your heart or with your mouth? What is your thinking, attitude, hope and wish, your greatest heart desire about your opponent? You desire with your greatest strength, hope, wish, expectation, with the strongest determination, power, you desire that person dead in the worst scenario, he suffers like you suffer, hurt as much as you do and may be even more, he will fail in his business, marriage, his children will be knocked by cars, you desire with your strongest desire all the bad and evil things that will happen. You can imagine all the negative things and thoughts that will happen to your opponents.
- In fact, when you curse, you are calling on the authority of the devil, you are appealing to the devil to come and ‘bestow’ evil things on that person. In other words, you act in the power, authority, and the name of the devil to influence your opponent.
- Now, in the name of Jesus, in the authority of the name of Jesus I preach to you, do not curse, do not hate, do not sin against others, but use all your heart desire like your heart desire to curse or to hate someone and convert it and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered by the Jesus Spirit to love, to care, heal, to forgive, to show understanding, to reconcile, to nurture, to help, to counsel, etc, by the name of Jesus. Serve God in the name of Jesus.
D. Your action
- Can you now serve God in the LCEC, as Sunday School teachers, MJYF committee members, children, parents and husbands and children, your clients, colleagues, etc by the name of Jesus?
- At times, out of frustration and anger, my sinful desire appeared and I wanted to say something to hurt my wife. I wanted to give her a good scolding for all the mistakes. When my sinful nature is operating, I always thought it was her faults, not my faults at all, etc. However, in those critical times, most of the times, I had victory over the devil, because I did not end up calling on the power of the devil to influence my wife. On the other hand, I call on the name of Jesus and I always say in my heart I want to love her, understand her, forgive her, help her, and overlook her mistakes, by the name of Jesus. Sometimes, I even say sorry to my wife. When you go home, will you do that to your family members? Not based on Pastor Law’s authority, but Jesus’ authority. He desires you to do it. Start today, now, later, in the car, over the meal tables, etc.
- When you serve in the church, you do it by the name of Jesus, your heart desire, expectations, goals, will be all motivated by Jesus, your brothers and sisters in church and even non-Christians who are your clients, they will feel that you are very different? Why they feel that way, because they are affected by the power coming out of your life to them when you serve by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
- Today, when you leave the church, will you have this new conviction to do it on everybody whom you are in contact? Will you say Amen to it?
E. Conclusion
- In life, you have so many things to do, you need to major on important things, and living a life on earth by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is something you cannot afford to miss.
- It must be underlying everything you do; the bottom for everything you do; the motive for everything you do. Do it and see if there is anything wonderful that happens in your life and others’ life. I bet when you get it, you will want more and more of Jesus Christ.
Questions for Small Group Discussion
1. Discuss what are the implications of serving God by the name of Jesus Christ? Share your practical experience.
2. What difficulties, temptations and struggles you normally encounter when you desire to serve God in Jesus’ name? How do you normally overcome? How do we overcome it as a faith community?
3. After tonight’s bible studies based on Acts 4:1-22, what change or action you want to take to help you to serve Christ by His name?
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 4:1-22
Main Idea: To serve God by the name of Jesus.
Objective: To teach that we need to be filled by the Holy Spirit to serve in Christ’s name
A. Introduction
- When a traffic police stands right in the middle of the road and starts to direct the traffic with his hand signals will the public and the drivers follow the instructions? Yes. Why? It is because he is trusted with authority by the government to do it. The authority is given to them by the law of the country. All that the traffic police need to do is to exercise the authority.
- When you serve in the church as Local Church Executive Committee (LCEC) leaders; you serve in your family as husbands, wives, parents and children; in your small group as leaders and members; in Sunday School as teachers; in Methodist Junior Youth Fellowship as Committee members; in your companies, as you serve your clients or when you do business, etc, by what authority you serve God? By what authority you do it?
- For the church ministries, some of us may say, by the authority of the scripture, election, appointment by pastor or LCEC or you volunteer to do it, etc. At home, by the authority of the scripture, husband loves the wife, wife submits to the husband, parents nurture their children, children honours and obey their parents. For our career and working in office, we say it is by the authority of company rules, law of the country, etc. You acted based on these authorities, all of them, by themselves, are not wrong.
- After today, you must challenge yourself to add in the dimension of the authority by Jesus name when you serve God and people. You will understand the whole world of difference when you serve God and people by the name of Jesus as you see how the early apostles did it in the book of Acts and all the more the passage today.
B. Explanation of the text
- Even in chapter 3 verses 12 and 16, Apostle Peter said to the Israelites who were astonished that they did not heal the crippled beggar by their own power or godliness, it was done in Jesus’ name and the faith that came through him that had given complete healing to the beggar (cripple).
- After the healing event, it caused quite a stir in the town. Apostles Peter and John went on to preach all over the places about the death and resurrection of Jesus with all the excitement because they had seen with their own eyes how He resurrected. Their preaching was so powerful that the number of men (not including women and children yet) who came to follow Jesus grew to 5,000 (verse 4), an alarming figure by any standard in those days. Probably a lot of Jews were switching over to follow Christ, and the Jewish high ranking religious leadership like the priests, Sadduccees (not believe in the resurrection of the dead), elders and teachers of the law must have felt the threat of Jesus’ followers to their religion of Judaism and might be even their positions.
- The 3 groups (rulers, elders and the teachers of the law) made up the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court.
- The next day, they managed to bring both Apostle Peter and Apostle John before the high priest to be questioned. You can imagine by now the burning question they wanted to ask. They were so mad by the preaching and healing as they caused great impact among the Israelites and the society in Jerusalem.
- So, they asked in verse 7, “By what power or what name did you do this?” The Jewish religious leaders really wanted to know by what authority the apostles did the healing especially.
- In verses 8 and 10, it says Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit, with courage, I believe without fear, he answered straight into the face of these high ranking Jewish religious leaders, it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom they had crucified but God raised Him from death, it was Jesus who healed the crippled beggar. Peter was so full of courage (as he was filled by the Holy Spirit) that he even dared to blame the religious leaders for the death of Jesus!
- Brothers and sisters, you understand the difference the Holy Spirit made to Apostle Peter and Apostle John. They were so courageous that even the whole of Sanhedrin noticed it because they were unschooled, ordinary men; they were not trained in the rabbinic school (verses 13). Yet they were able to demonstrate some authority and power of Jesus.
- The Sanhedrin was astonished by the courage shown by the two of them. They took note they were with Jesus before and they could not deny the powerful work of healing by them as this person was over 40 years old (verse 22). Normally, healing at such an advanced age at that time did not take place. The miracle was simply outstanding and they could not deny it. Everybody in Jerusalem knew it (verse 16).
- What makes the difference? The 2 apostles were filled by the Holy Spirit.
- The Sanhedrin could not punish them for the miracle but at the same time, they were very worried that the teaching on the resurrection of Jesus and in His name would influence more people. Therefore, they warned them not to teach in the authority of the name of Jesus anymore. You see, even the Sanhedrin knew very well it was the name of Jesus that carried the weight!
- Brothers and sisters, in serving God, in ministry, you need to do it in Jesus’ name, there is divine power, sacred power in Jesus’ name. Do not miss this key point of the passage today.
- Now, despite the warning, because Peter and John were filled by the Holy Spirit, they were not silenced by the so called authoritative religious figures. In fact, they even became more daring and courageous. They replied to the Sanhedrin in a form of challenge in verses 19 and 20 which you and I need to take up, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Based on a counter challenge to the so called Jewish religious authority which governed all Israelites’ religious life, now, Peter and John were no more abide by it, they, in fact, drop it and take on a new authority in the name of Jesus to continue to heal the sick, do deliverance, teach resurrection of Jesus and to set the captives free. This is a complete 100% paradigm shift in terms of the authority for what they are doing.
- The Sanhedrin still gave further threats and they could not punish them because lots of people in Jerusalem were very excited about Jesus and praising God for the great miracle. Then Peter and John were released.
C. Applications
- Do you see the relevance of this passage with your life and ministry? In the beginning I say,” You will understand the whole world of difference when you serve God and people by the name of Jesus as you see how the early apostles did it in the book of Acts and all the more the passage today.”
- The word of God, which I preach to you today, is not only for your ears to hear only; for information and knowledge only; it is very much for your life transformation. You must ask yourself what the passage requires you to do after the service. What changes in thinking, attitude, actions, motives, purposes of your life, convictions, values, etc, you need to take? What sin to repent from? Most important of all, you need to ask yourself, what is the big deal about serving God (Jesus) by the name of Jesus Christ? What do I lose if the authority of Jesus’ name is missing in my life and ministry?
- By now, you should be awakened in your soul that serving in any way in church, at home and at work and in the society in any capacity, without the authority of Jesus’ name, you definitely have no power to overcome all the odds, temptations to lie, to be a hypocrite, to commit adultery, to watch pornography, to curse, to hate, to be jealous, to look down on others, to betray, etc. By our nature, we give all the excuses to fall into the temptations and sin, however, when we are filled by the Holy Spirit, we have all the power, the divine power, Jesus power, the sacred power to overcome temptations and fight against all the odds.
- If you still do not get my message of the importance and meaning of the name of Jesus, the big deal about Jesus’ name, the authority of Jesus’ name, please imagine with me this illustration, I beg you. Do not miss this point!
- Some people curse people when they have been offended, hurt, trespassed, denied certain interest, physical hurt caused, pains caused, misunderstanding, shamed suffered, etc. Have you ever cursed someone before in your heart or with your mouth? What is your thinking, attitude, hope and wish, your greatest heart desire about your opponent? You desire with your greatest strength, hope, wish, expectation, with the strongest determination, power, you desire that person dead in the worst scenario, he suffers like you suffer, hurt as much as you do and may be even more, he will fail in his business, marriage, his children will be knocked by cars, you desire with your strongest desire all the bad and evil things that will happen. You can imagine all the negative things and thoughts that will happen to your opponents.
- In fact, when you curse, you are calling on the authority of the devil, you are appealing to the devil to come and ‘bestow’ evil things on that person. In other words, you act in the power, authority, and the name of the devil to influence your opponent.
- Now, in the name of Jesus, in the authority of the name of Jesus I preach to you, do not curse, do not hate, do not sin against others, but use all your heart desire like your heart desire to curse or to hate someone and convert it and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered by the Jesus Spirit to love, to care, heal, to forgive, to show understanding, to reconcile, to nurture, to help, to counsel, etc, by the name of Jesus. Serve God in the name of Jesus.
D. Your action
- Can you now serve God in the LCEC, as Sunday School teachers, MJYF committee members, children, parents and husbands and children, your clients, colleagues, etc by the name of Jesus?
- At times, out of frustration and anger, my sinful desire appeared and I wanted to say something to hurt my wife. I wanted to give her a good scolding for all the mistakes. When my sinful nature is operating, I always thought it was her faults, not my faults at all, etc. However, in those critical times, most of the times, I had victory over the devil, because I did not end up calling on the power of the devil to influence my wife. On the other hand, I call on the name of Jesus and I always say in my heart I want to love her, understand her, forgive her, help her, and overlook her mistakes, by the name of Jesus. Sometimes, I even say sorry to my wife. When you go home, will you do that to your family members? Not based on Pastor Law’s authority, but Jesus’ authority. He desires you to do it. Start today, now, later, in the car, over the meal tables, etc.
- When you serve in the church, you do it by the name of Jesus, your heart desire, expectations, goals, will be all motivated by Jesus, your brothers and sisters in church and even non-Christians who are your clients, they will feel that you are very different? Why they feel that way, because they are affected by the power coming out of your life to them when you serve by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
- Today, when you leave the church, will you have this new conviction to do it on everybody whom you are in contact? Will you say Amen to it?
E. Conclusion
- In life, you have so many things to do, you need to major on important things, and living a life on earth by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is something you cannot afford to miss.
- It must be underlying everything you do; the bottom for everything you do; the motive for everything you do. Do it and see if there is anything wonderful that happens in your life and others’ life. I bet when you get it, you will want more and more of Jesus Christ.
Questions for Small Group Discussion
1. Discuss what are the implications of serving God by the name of Jesus Christ? Share your practical experience.
2. What difficulties, temptations and struggles you normally encounter when you desire to serve God in Jesus’ name? How do you normally overcome? How do we overcome it as a faith community?
3. After tonight’s bible studies based on Acts 4:1-22, what change or action you want to take to help you to serve Christ by His name?
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