A Light In the Darkness

A Light in the Darkness

15 years old Tee Hui Yee made headlines last year when she received two heart transplants within a week. Prior to that, in 2006, she was on a mechanical heart for one year in IJN (Institute Jantung Negara), making a record for the longest period anyone is on a mechanical heart. Her own heart was too weak to work. It would not have been comfortable as the mechanic heart need a battery that weighs 9 kilograms.

In October 2007, she received a suitable donor heart from a man in Perak. Unfortunately, her body rejected the donor heart within one week. On 3 October, a 20 year old mechanic was killed in an accident in Johor. The parents agreed to donate their son’s heart and Hui Yee received a second heart transplant. This time, her body accepted the new heart and she was able to be discharged in time for Christmas last year.

Finding a suitable heart for transplantation is very difficult because the heart must match our bodies. If it does not match, our bodies will reject the foreign organ. This is like kidney transplant. For Hui Yee to find and receive 2 hearts within a week is nothing short of a miracle. The down side is that for a heart transplant to occur, someone has to die. No one can give away their heart and yet live.

Now what if like Hui Yee, your doctor tells you that you have a heart problem. Your heart is not working properly and you need a heart transplant. If not you will die soon. However there is a man whose heart is suitable for your heart transplant. Your doctor has done all the tests and only one man on the whole earth has a heart suitable for you. The man is alive. To donate the heart, he has to die. Do you think that will happen? What if that man is willing to donate his heart for you? How will you feel? I have never heard of any man who is willing to donate his heart. Kidney maybe, we have two. Donors want to live too.

However, I have heard of a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus said some interesting things which are found in the Bible.

Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work
5. that he will come back from the dead

1. the world is sick

Jesus said the world is sick. The world is broken. This is not what it is supposed to be. If you look around, I am sure you are aware that there is something wrong with this world
• The crime rate is Johor Bharu is very high. You are afraid to go out. Snatch thieves not only snatch your bag but may injure you first. Want to take, take lah. No need to use a knife.
• There are more wars in the twentieth century than in the whole of human history
• There are more people starving now than in the whole of human history. It is not that there is not enough food. It is that the rich nations eat more than 80% of the world’s food. There is not enough for poor nations
• Many people in Africa are dying of AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa had 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS by early 2003. 2.4 million Africans died in 2002. Ten million young people (aged 15–24) and almost 3 million children under 15 are living with HIV.
• In some countries, parents are selling their young children, sons and daughters to be prostitute for money.

There is something wrong with the world. This is not how it is supposed to be. The world is supposed to be a good place. The Bible tells us that in the beginning the world is paradise. It is called the Garden of Eden.

2. the world is dying

Recently, a friend of mine went to Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, he visited a museum where prisoners were tortured and killed. The skulls of the victims were still there in the museum. Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge may have killed 750,000 to 1.7 millions of his own people. During the Second World War, Hitler may have killed 6 millions Jews. How can human beings be so evil? How can we do such horrible things?

The Bible tells us that in the Garden of Eden, something terrible happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Because of the disobedience, our human nature changed, become evil. That made God very angry. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden. To make this world we live in today.

There are many things our eyes can not see. This does not mean that it does not exist. We do not see the electricity, but we know it exist. Try putting your hand in an electric socket. There are angels, demons and devil at work in this world.

The world is dying. God is still angry and one day he will destroy the world. He will send everyone to hell. Hell is a place of eternal fire.

3. that Jesus is the cure

God though angry still loves us. That is why he created Adam and Eve is the first place. He loves us as a parent loves their sons and daughters. No matter how bad our children are, as parents we still love them. So God wants to save us from his judgment. The world is dying and need a cure. The cure is his son, Jesus Christ.

4. that Jesus has to die for the cure to work

For the cure to work, Jesus has to suffer and die. Jesus has to bear all our wrong doings, our evil and suffer judgment for us. He even has to go to hell for us. By doing that, our slate is wiped clean. Punished completed. The summon has been paid. The sentence of death has been carried out. This is like Hui Yee. To get a new heart, someone must die. Because of a young man’s accident death, she is alive today. His heart is beating in her. A sentence of death has been imposed upon us. Jesus has gone out and died in our place 2000 years ago. Sentence has been carried out. We are free.


5. that Jesus will come back from the dead


When Jesus’ work was finished, he rose from the dead. How many people have you met that come have come back from the dead? Even before he died, Jesus has told his followers that he will come back from the dead. Even his followers did not believe him. According to the Bible record, he was crucified and died on Friday. He was laid in a tomb which is a like a small cave and a heavy stone was placed over the entrance. That’s the way they buried the dead in Jerusalem. The governor also placed some Romans soldiers to guard the tomb. They were afraid that someone will come and remove Jesus’ body.

On early Sunday morning, some of Jesus’ female followers went to the tomb to clean up his body. When they arrived, they found the heavy stone rolled way and the tomb was empty. Jesus then appeared to them. All in all, Jesus appeared to 500 of his followers including his own brother, James who did not believe in his teaching. Then Jesus went up to heaven, promising that he will come again. When he comes back, it will be to carry out God’s judgment on earth.

This is an important point. If anyone who can prove that Jesus did not come back form the dead will show that Christianity is wrong. That all that the Christians believe in are fairy tales.

My friends, after more than 2000 years nobody was able to disprove that Jesus rose from the death. That is not for lack of trying. Thousands of people, from scholars, lawyers, CSI experts have tried. Not one can came up with any proof that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

What does that tell you? If someone who claims that he will die and then come back to life again tells me something, I will listen to him.
• He died a horrible death, tortured and crucified on the cross
• He was dead, otherwise they would not have entombed him
• He rose from the dead as he said he will

I will believe all his claims
Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work

Believing is one thing, but acting upon your belief is another. If Hui Yee were told that a second heart was available to her after her first heart transplant and her body was rejecting the first heart, do you think she will believe it?
• It is so hard to get a heart in the first place, now another heart within a week. She has been waiting for the first heart for so many years and was even on a mechanical heart for a year.
• So easy
She may think that the doctors may be bluffing her, trying to console her and make her feel better. What if she did not believe them? What if she refused the second heart transplant? She would be dead now. She will not be able to celebrate Christmas at home and eat Yee Sang during Chinese New year at the home of her heart donor’s family.

What if Jesus is correct?
Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work
5. that he will come back from the dead

That he will take your punishment and give you a second chance. No going to hell. Will you believe him? Can you afford not to take the chance? All you have to do is to believe him and accept his death for you. Then Jesus is the light in the darkness.

There is a simple prayer you can make:

Dear God, I believe that you have sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins and I accept his death on the cross for me. Please help me to understand this more. Amen.

Approach any members of this church and they will help you to know more about Jesus.

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The Christian's Responsibility to Vote

The Christian’s Response to Government

Introduction

On February 22, 1986, Saturday evening in Manila, Philippines, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Deputy Armed Forces Chief Lieutenant General Fidel Ramos announced over the radio that they were quitting the Marcos government saying that Marcos did not win the February 7 election fairly. They holed up in Camp Aguinaldo (later transferring to Camp Crame across the road), with only a few hundred soldiers to defend them. Over the Roman Catholic Radio Veritas the call was issued for a large number of civilians to surround the military camps to serve as a buffer between the rebels and the Marcos forces that were sure to come.

Many Christians are in a quandary. Would not participation in a barricade be equivalent to armed rebellion against the Marcos government? Is it not better to simply pray in our homes and in our churches? As it turned out, many Christians elected to pray as the main and only response.

There are Christians who did not hesitate to join the barricades. They have no intention of toppling the Marcos government by force of arms. Their reason for joining the barricades was simple and straight-forward: by providing a civilian buffer between the Enrile/Ramos forces and the Marcos soldiers, a shooting war would be prevented from breaking out and a peaceful resolution of the conflict could hopefully be worked out. The Christians know that their lives were in danger should the Marcos forces decide to attack. Their faith was in God.

As it turned out, the civilian barricade was so large (perhaps a million people surround the military camps by Sunday afternoon, February 23) that Marcos had to flee for his life, as defection after defection characterized his armed forces. A non-violent “revolution” finally toppled his 20-year regime!

This is perhaps the most recent example of the Christian’s response to the government. Years before this happened, the Church in the Philippines has been struggling with the issue of the Christian’s response to the government. When Cardinal Jamie Sin was critical of the Marcos government, a catholic layman wrote to the newspaper asking him to read “Romans 13!” The study of Romans 13 proved to be the basis of a Christian’s response to government.

The first eleven chapters of Romans (in particular chaps 1-8) explain in marvelous detail what it means to be saved and how men become saved - by being justified by God’s grace working through faith.

The miracle of salvation impacts every relationship associated with the believer’s life. When we are saved, our initial response should be to present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship (12:1). Then Paul wrote about our having the right relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ (12:2-16) and with non-Christians, including even our enemies (vv.17-21). After dealing with this matter, Paul focuses on the need to have the right relationship to the human governments under which we live (13:1-7)

Text: Romans 13:1-7 in the New International Version:
1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.
3. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
4. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
5. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
6. This is also why you pay taxes, for authorities are God’s servants, who gives their full time in governing.
7. Give everyone what you owe him; if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.


This passage teaches five vital principles concerning the Christian’s response to the government:
A. The Government….
1. ….. is by divine decree (v.1 b.)
2. ……is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)
3. ……serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

B. The Christian’s Response…..
4. ……to submit through their conscience (v.5)
5. ……to pay taxes and whatever is due to the government (v.6,7)


1. Government is by divine decree (v.1 b.)

v.1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

First Paul says that human government is ordained by God for the benefit of society. In whatever forms it exists, civil authority derives directly from God.

6 types of government:
i. Perfect government will only come when Jesus the King returns to establish His Kingdom in all its fullness.
ii. Just government is possible where full participatory democracy is in bloom so that people elect good leaders and replace them as necessary.
iii. Mediocre government takes place if less than the best people are chosen to rule.
iv. Ineffective government happens in places where rulers are changed too frequently or the people are ungovernable for some reason.
v. Corrupt government develops when rulers assume public office mainly for private gain.
vi. Wicked government ensures when those in authority are particularly wicked, unjust and oppressive.

Like marriage, it is a universal institution of God, regardless of place, culture, race or any other circumstances.

There is no civil authority except from God. No matter what forms it takes, no matter where it is, no matter what ideology, no human government that has existed, existing or will exist , all government are under the sovereign authority of God. The entire world, everything in the heavens, on earth and under the earth are subject to the Creator. Without exception, the power that any person, group or society may possess is divinely given. How well or poorly this power is used is another matter. Paul’s point here is that this power has only one source – God.

Yet in his divine wisdom, God has permitted Satan to have vast but limited power over the world and the affairs of men. And this include governments. Many if not most government are under the influence of Satan and are a means of promoting and perpetuating satanic activity.

Governments have authority by divine decree. The autocratic, ruthless and demonic regimes of Adolf Hilter, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung were no exceptions. The equally ruthless empires of ancient Assyria and Babylon were no exceptions. The Roman empire, ruled by caesars who declared themselves god are no exception.

2. Government is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)

v.2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.

The logical conclusion we can draw is that since government is an institution of God. Any rebellion against a government is a rebellion against God.

The seriousness in which God takes rebellion is illustrated in the book of Numbers. God has chosen Moses not only to be the law-giver but also to be the human leader of Israel to lead them from Egypt, through the wilderness to the Promised land.

Numbers 16: 1-3 Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron. “ With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who has been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”…v.13 “Isn’t enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord over us?” They are questioning Moses and Aaron’s authority. And God was so angry that “the ground under them split apart and swallowed Korah’s men and their household and fire came out of the Lord and consumed 250 rebels.

The next day, the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They were still defiant. The Lord then send a plague which killed 14,700 people.(v.49). Had not Aaron made atonement, the whole community would have perished!

God takes seriously any rebellion against those who challenge His appointed authority.


3. Government serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

vv.3,4 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Paul then described the purpose of government. The government has a dual purpose- to promote good and restrain evil. Government is the God ordained vehicle to promote good and restrain evil in human society.

i. Promote good

To promote good is to promote order. The opposite of order is anarchy. Anarchy means there is no rules and everyone does whatever they want. Look at Indonesia when the government could not maintain order- the killing and raping, the destruction of properties. Look at Bosnia and Kosovo. Judges 21:25 “ In those days Israel has no king; everyone did as he saw fit “(NIV)

Rukun Negara were proposed to be the basis of our government:

1. Belief in God
2. Loyalty to King and Country
3. Supremacy of the Constitution
4. The Role of Law
5. Mutual Respect and Good Social Behavior.

This is a strong foundation to build a multinational society. As no human government is perfect, there will be shortcomings. We must accept these shortcomings and work to resolve them.

ii. Restrain evil

In order to promote and protect the good in society, human government must punish evil. Consequently, those who do what is evil have reason to be afraid. Because the sword is an instrument of death, the weapon here symbolized the right of civil government to inflict punishment, including the death penalty for crimes that deserve it.

To restrain evil, there must be a code of law that applies equally to everybody, rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate. No one can be above the law.

Interestingly, rulers are called God’s servant. This means that our Prime Minister Dr.Mahathir is God’s servant whether he knows it or not and he is carrying out God’s divine purpose whether he acknowledges it or not.

Servant is translated  diakonos. It also means deacon, pastor or minister. This means our deacon is the same rank as Pak Lah!


4. Christian’s Response is to submit through conscience (v.5)

v. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

Does vv.1-4 means that Christians must submit to whatever government they are under – whether good or bad. Are they to accept whatever government, keeping a low profile and hoping the government will leave them alone?

One of my favourite movie is Fiddler on the Roof. A musical with songs like “If I were a rich man” and “Sunrise, sunset”. It is a story about a community of Jew being persecuted by the Russians. The ruler of the Russian is the Tsar. In one scene, the Jew were asking their rabbi, ”Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar?” The rabbi said, “ Blessing for the Tsar? May the Good Lord bless the Tsar and keep the Tsar …………. far away from us all!”

v.5 comments on the above section on government. Here Paul is saying that the authority given to human government is not absolute. Submission is based on conscience. Conscience here refers to the Christian’s knowledge of God’s will and purposes.

When Jesus was asked a trick question about paying tax, He replied, “ Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:17)


So what are the limitations to the authority of human government:

i. When it is contrary to God’s law

When rulers give orders which are contrary to God’s law, for example, by ordering the killing of newborns (Exodus 1) or the worship of idols (Daniel 3) or by prohibiting evangelism (Acts 5), then Christians must say: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)

ii. When it fails to promote good.
iii. When it fails to restrain evil and become evil itself.


5. Christian’s Response is to pay taxes and whatever is due (v.6,7)

vv.6,7 This is also why you pay taxes, for authorities are God’s servants, who gives their full time in governing. Give everyone what you owe him; if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.

No one enjoys paying tax. But taxes are part of everyday life and we as Christians must pay our taxes.


When God established the nation of Israel, He also instituted a taxation system:

i. Tithe or a tenth (Lev 27:30) This tithe is given to the support of the priestly tribe of Levite which had no land allocated to it and has no support. It is also called the Levite’s tithe.
ii. Annual Festival Tithe. Used for sacrifices, for supporting the tabernacle and then the temple, for cultivating social and cultural life, and for fostering national unity (Deut. 12:10-19)
iii. Triennial Tithe. Levied every three years (about 3.3% per annum) to help the aliens, the orphans and the widows.
iv. Annual half-shekel Tax. Levied on every male Israelite twenty years and above as a contribution to the Lord.(Ex 30:14)
v. At the end of every harvest, Jews were required to leave some of their crops unharvested, allowing the remainder to be gleaned by the poor (Lev 19:10)
vi. Every seventh year, cultivated land is to be left fallow. Whatever crop that comes up is to be left for the poor and what remained was left for livestock to each.

The total of all these six taxes, all of which are mandately amounted to 24% per year. The taxes are for governmental administrative costs, religious costs and social welfare.

We as Christians are required to give the government their due.

i. Taxes

ii. Services

Some government may require some additional services. Singapore have compulsory national service for their youth. Malaysia requires all doctors to do three years of compulsory service after their housemanship.

iii. Prayers

We are required to pray for our government whether we like it or not. Jeremiah in writing to the Jews in exile in Jer 29:7,8
And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” (NLT)

Mind you, this is the Babylon that destroyed the Temple and carried them into slavery and exile. Yet Jeremiah did not ask them to rebel or pray for God’s vengeance on Babylon. Instead he asked them to pray for the prosperity of Babylon.

iv. Election

The new element that we now have which Paul and the Roman Christians do not have is called participatory democracy. Abraham Lincoln’s dictum of a government by the people, of the people and for the people is now everywhere embraced, in theory if not in practice. In a democracy, we have the awesome privilege of choosing those who rule over us.

Conclusion

Romans 13:1-7 gives us very clear teaching on the Christian’s response to government.

A. The Government….
1. ….. is by divine decree (v.1 b.)
2. ……is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)
3. ……serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

B. The Christian’s Response…..
4. ……to submit through their conscience (v.5)
5. ……to pay taxes and whatever is due to the government (v.6,7)

It teaches that government is not a necessary evil that we Christians have to endure. It is appointed by God and is part of His divine plan.

And how are we to be involved?

1. Prayer
2. Taxes
3. Service
Some Christians should take up politics. A Christian brother who is also a doctor is standing for election in Sarawak. We should support him.

Another way is to be involved in NGO. The government is being to listen to NGOs. We must be involved in NGOs such as environment groups, woman advocate groups, Rotary International, Lion, Kiwanis

4. Election

We must vote. This time more than 9 million Malaysians will be voting tomorrow. We always think one vote is not going to make a lot of difference. We are wrong. One vote means a lot. One vote cast with the understanding of Romans 13 makes all the difference.



Recommended reading:

Eugene H. Peterson, Where Your Treasure Is (Grand Rapids, MI : Eerdmans, 1985)

G.k. Chesterton wrote:

O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry;
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide;
Take not Thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches,
From lies of tongue and pen;
From all the easy speeches
That comfort cruel men;
From sale and profanation
Of honor and the sword;
From sleep and damnation,
Deliver us, good Lord!

Tie in a living tether
The prince and priest and thrall;
Bind all our lives together,
Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
A single sword to Thee.

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Spiritual Formation: Education of the Heart

Spiritual Formation : The Education of the Heart
Text: Mark 12:28-31

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness; characterised by knowing and loving God, knowing and loving ourselves, knowing and loving other people and experiencing the Presence of God in our everyday lives. The basis of spiritual formation is the call of God the Father, the finished work of Jesus Christ the Son and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1. Heart
The heart is a wonderful organ, a pump that keeps the blood circulating in our bodies. One we affectionately call our ticker. But we also use the word ‘heart’ in many different ways. We say our hearts may be glad or sad, troubled, aching or sick. Our hearts may be heavy or light, warm or cool, cruel or kind. Our hearts may be aflame with love or broken. To have a heart is to be empathetic, to have no heart is to lack feelings. We pray to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh and blood. We open our hearts or close our hearts. Two hearts beat as one. We may take heart or lose heart. We may be faint-hearted or stout hearted, half-hearted or whole-hearted, weak-hearted or lion hearted. The heart suffers and the heart endures. On the Titanic, Celine Dion sang that her heart will go on forever.

It is obvious that when we refer to the word ‘heart’, we often refer to more than the organ in our bodies. In the OT, the Hebrew word for heart is lēbāb and the Greek word in the NT is kardia. It carries the meaning of the organ-heart and the metaphor that the heart is
(1) the inner spiritual life
(2) the center of personality
(3) the place in which God reveals Himself to man.

Thus the heart is who we are, our real self and it is out of this center that we relate to God, to other people, and the world. Our heart is not static. It is continually being moulded and formed by our thoughts, our desires, our feelings and our reaction to the external world. By default our hearts are self-centered. When we became Christian, we invite Jesus into our hearts. We called this the conversion of the heart. What it means is that our hearts are to be converted from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

2. Definition of Spiritual Formation.
Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness. Spiritual formation is the education of our hearts
Spiritual formation is known by different names throughout the Christian eras. It is known as spiritual growth, growing into communion with Christ, sanctification, regeneration, discipleship, peregrinatio (journey) and Renovation of the Heart (Dallas Willard, Professor of the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California). Spiritual formation or sanctification is an essential part of Christian life. We cannot be a Christian without sanctification, just as we cannot be a Christian without justification.

The moment we accept the redemptive act of Jesus Christ – that Jesus Christ who is fully God, fully human and is therefore sinless, died on the cross for our sins and rose again thereby defeating death- we are saved or born again. That very moment, we have justification by faith and we have sanctification. We are justified in God’s eyes because Jesus died for our sins. As evidence of our justification, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who can to dwell in us. The Holy Spirit immediately begins the process of sanctification or spiritual formation.

Justification by faith can be considered as a once-off event. Sanctification or spiritual formation is a past, present and future event.
 Past, because as God has chosen us from the beginning of time we are already in Christ when he died to set us free. Hence when He rose, we rose with Him sanctified.
 Present, because as long as we are in the world, we are in the process of sanctification or spiritual formation.
 Future, because the process of sanctification or spiritual formation will ends when we receive our resurrected bodies and are presented to God as being made perfect in Christ.

Sanctification or spiritual formation is not optional. We cannot be like Peter Pan and refuse to grow up. Like any living organism, we have to grow if we are alive. If any organism is not growing it is dead. Similarly if we have accepted Christ and is not growing, we need to relook at our salvation. The Bible said if we are not saved, we are still dead in our trepasses and sins. And dead things do not grow.

3. Goals of Spiritual Formation.

3.1 Become like Christ.[Christ-likeness](Gal. 4:19)
19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
The process of spiritual formation is so we can become more like Christ. Jesus Christ is the ideal man. He has the fruit of the spirit. And the goal of spiritual formation is to make us like Him. In the Orthodox tradition, they call spiritual formation, theosis, the process of divinisation.

3.2 Restore the Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Man was initially created in the image of God. With the Fall, the image of God was distorted. One of the goals of the new creation in Christ is to restore the image of God.
John Wesley, in his sermon On Perfection stated that one of the features of sanctification is “the restoration of the image of God in the soul, a recovery of man to the moral image of God which consist of righteousness and true holiness.”

3.3 The People of God. (Rom.8:29)
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Adam and Eve were to be the first of the people of God. The laos. The people that God will stay with. That why in the beginning there was close fellowship with God. God will seek out Adam in the evening. Unfortunately, this relationship was broken by the Fall. Yet God has not given up His plans for His people. He again called His people through Abraham which led to the tribes of Israel and finally through the church. In the end, God will have His people to dwell with. God will be with His sons and daughters. Spiritual formation is the process in which His sons and daughters are transformed into His people. It is the process of building the Kingdom of God.

4. Aspects of Spiritual Formation.
For our discussion of the aspects of spiritual formation, we shall look at our text Mark 12: 28-31.
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Have you ever wondered why the Ten Commandments were given? The Ten Commandments can be considered the guidelines for the spiritual formation of the Israelites. It is to form a people of God. Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments is given for our spiritual formation. I would like to use the Celtic cross to illustrate the various aspects of spiritual formation. The Celts are the ancestors of the people of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. St. Patrick evangelized the Celts and a strong Celtic Church was developed way before the Roman Catholics. Celtic spirituality is strong in itself embrace of all aspects of life in Christ. The Celtic cross is unique to their part of the world. It stands twelve to fourteen feet high.The image is a powerful one- the circle of creation with the cross of redemption brought together into one whole. I would like to use it with a modern interpretation.

4.1 Know and love God
‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
One aspect of spiritual formation is to know and love God. Unless you know someone, you cannot love the person. It is the same with God. Unless you know God, you cannot love Him. Unless you know God, you are loving an image or concept you have of God. It is not the real God, just your concept of Him. And often this concept of God is based on our own concept of our fathers. If our father is strict and distance, our God is strict and distance. If our father is warm and loving, our God is warm and loving. As Philip Yancey said in his lectures when he came to Singapore a few years ago, we need to move from knowing our own conceived idea of God to meeting the real God. What is worst is that our own conceived idea of God is a form of idolatry.

4.2 Know and love ourselves.
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
It is only after we become Christians can be truly ourselves, to be fully human. Only God can make us authentic human beings. Many of us are living a life of lies. Instead of becoming who we really are, we hide behind a false mask and try to convince others that we are powerful, in control, beautiful and spiritual. Sometimes we even convince ourselves. This is our false self. Spiritual formation will help us to remove the false self and help us discover our true selves.
The second commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. It implies the order here. We first have to know and love ourselves. Then we can know and love our neighbors.

4.3 Know and love other people
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Christian spiritual life is relational. The Trinity is a relationship between God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. Spiritual formation is the relationship between God, us and our neighbor which are other people. Spiritual formation is not just a Thou and I affair. Between God and us. It involves the whole world as we reach out to a hurting and suffering world and bring redemption to it. It is said of Abraham Joshua Herschel (1907-1972), a prominent Jewish theologian and social activist that ‘he stormed the fortress of self-righteous power- the war makers, impressing upon them that man is not a number, but the image of God.’


4.4 Experiencing God in our daily lives
Next we look at the context in which Jesus taught the greatest commandment. It is after He has told the parable of the tenants who was ungrateful for what they have been given (Mk.12:1-12), Paying taxes to Caesar (Mk.12:13-17) and debate about marriage at the resurrection (Mk.12:18-27). Jesus did not take His disciples away from the cities to live in a monastery. Jesus taught and lived among the people. His is a marketplace spirituality. Taken in this context, spiritual formation is not done separate from the world. Spiritual formation is experiencing God is the mundane, ordinary matter of our daily lives.

4.5 Trinitarian in the Center
The key to all this is the center. Jesus who is empowered by the Holy Spirit is teaching about the greatest commandment which is to love God the Father. Here we have the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the One who called us. Jesus the Son made it possible to be reconciled with God because of His sacrifice on the cross. And the Holy Spirit is the prime power in our spiritual formation. Without the Holy Spirit, it is not possible to have spiritual formation in our lives. We can try as hard as we can but we will never succeed. It is impossible. But with the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.

Thus we can define spiritual formation as :
Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness; characterised by knowing and loving God, knowing and loving ourselves, knowing and loving other people and experiencing the Presence of God in our everyday lives. The basis of spiritual formation is the call of God the Father, the finished work of Jesus Christ the Son and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.


The book, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, was a powerful story of redemption of a soul. The novel, 1,200 pages of it, deals with the struggle of the soul, the balance between good and evil in human beings, and the continual challenge to conscience. The main character in this novel is Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean grew up as a woodcutter but could find no work. His widowed sister and her children were starving. One day, out of desperation, he raced out of his house, broke a window in a bakery and stole a loaf of bread. Due to the hard penal laws in the 1800s, he was sentenced to 5 years hard labor in prison. In prison he was dehumanized to being just a number. Four times he tried to escape and each time he was caught and his sentence extended. Finally he was released after 19 years in prison. This is a different Jean Valjean. There is no human kindness left. He is bitter, angry and cruel. Concluding that man treated, as animals become animals, Jean’s aim on release is to steal and kill until he is himself killed.

One day he came to the village where Monseignour Bienvenu, the Bishop of Digne, lives. This modest clergy diligently attempts to live in poverty and generosity of spirit in the model of Christ. When he found Valjean sleeping in the streets, he invited him home. Valjean intended to murder the priest and steal his silver spoons. Instead he just stole from the priest. However he was caught. Instead of accusing him, the priest called him his brother and sent him on his way with a gift of the silver candlestick. With this starling act of generosity and forgiveness, the bishop planted in Valjean mind that he has just bought his soul, relieving him of his bitterness and evil thoughts and given them up to God.

A born again Jean Valjean started a factory with the silver the priest has given him in another town. He became rich and prominent. He strove to be fair to his workers. The story went on to show how he saved and adopted an orphan and raise her up as his own. How he gave up himself to the authorities when another man was accused as him (Jean remained a fugitive). How he saved the life of his enemy, police inspector Javert who swore to capture him and thus making his life miserable. How he saved the life of Marius, his adopted daughter’s fiancée. It is the story of a man redeemed for good works. As the story unfolds, we saw the point of redemption of soul and also the spiritual formation of a soul. We see Jean Valjean turning to love God, to love himself, to love others and were involved in the world.

5. Practice of Spiritual Formation.
5.1 Know and love God
 Prayer
 Word
 Knowing God through His Creation
 Worship and Adoration

5.2 Know and love ourselves
 Prayer
 Solitude
 True self / false self
 Anamchara (Soul friends). One is not alone in our Christian walk but close companionship can encourage and correct one along the way.

James Houston, in his new book, The Mentored Life, wrote “Perhaps the central mystery of our humanness is that we are both individual and social selves at the same time….We are uniquely a self and yet also a self-in-relationships.” He quoted a Xhosa saying, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (Persons depend on other persons to be persons).

 Opening to God

5.3 Know and love other people
 Prayer
 Fellowship
 Exposure
 Service
 The Great Commission

5.4 Experiencing God in our daily lives
 Prayer
 Examining ourselves. Examen of consciousness
Frederik Buechner wrote in his Book, Now and Then, ‘Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness; touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are kept moments, and life itself is grace.’

 Desert spirituality: Attentiveness and Indifference
The Desert Fathers and Mothers in the fourth century are Christians who rejected the complacency of the Official church and went to leave in the deserts of Egypt. From them we have a rich heritage of writings which made up the desert spirituality tradition. This later developed into the monastic tradition. To survive in the desert, you need to be attentive to what is important and be indifferent to what is non-essential and distract you from what is important. The desert is unforgiving and will kill you. So in our spiritual formation, we also need to learn to be attentive to the essential and be indifferent to what is non-essential to our spiritual life.

 Biblical choosing
In our daily life, we are often faces with choices. Learning to make informed decisions that is pleasing to God is part of our spiritual formation.

 Practicing the Presence of God.
Brother Lawrence in his book, Practicing the Presence of God, gave practical advice on how to practice the Presence of God. While he worked in the kitchen of a monastery, the job of a manual worker yet he is the presence of the King.


5.5 Trinitarian in the Center
 Prayer
Prayer is the axis that connects all the aspects of spiritual formation with the Triune God of Grace in the center.
 Baptism (God the Father)
 Lord’s Supper (Christ the Son)
 Life in the Spirit. Cooperation with the Inner Work of the Holy Spirit in our lives


6. Concluding Remarks.

Spiritual formation is spiritual growth. It is moving from being nourished by spiritual milk to spiritual meat. It is moving from breast feeding to McDonald and to a steak dinner.

Spiritual formation is not a solo understanding. It is done in the company of the community of faith. That is why the church must be actively promoting spiritual formation, supporting and teaching spiritual formation and to provide the resources for spiritual formation. That is why in Holy Light Light, we shall be setting up a Spiritual Formation Institute. It is my prayer that God will use this Institute to help us all in our spiritual formation.


Soli Deo Gloria

The Good Soil

The Good Soil
The Matrix of Spiritual Growth in Shalom
Text: Mark 4:26-29

Dr Alex Tang
Sunday sermon
13 January 2008
Holy Light Church (English), Johor Bahru


Text
MK 4:26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

Sermon Statement
The Kingdom of God is shalom. In each of us has a spiritual seed which has the potential to grow. We cannot cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth comes from the spiritual seed and a nurturing soil (environment). The church can be the nurturing environment for spiritual growth. The components of S.H.A.L.O.M. provides the nurturing environment –Story (sharing love), Heart (experiencing love), Action (Acting love), Learning (thinking love), Oneness (living love) and Maturity (growing love).

Introduction
Story telling has a long tradition of teaching spiritual truths. Even now, many different religious traditions use story telling to convey a lesson or lessons. Jesus is a master in story telling. He tells parables which are a story with many layers of meaning. To teach about the Kingdom of God, some of the parables he used are:
• The Parable of the Sower (Matt 13;1-9, 18-23; Mk 4:1-9,13-20; Lk 8:4-8, 11-15)
• The Lamp and the Measure (Mk 4:21-25; Lk 8:16-18)
• The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mk 4:26-29)
• The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt 13:31-32; Mk 4:30-32; Lk 13-18-19)
Book recommendation: David Wenham, The Parables of Jesus (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989)

Text Exposition
Jesus was teaching on the Kingdom of God. He was using a parable of the growing seed. Jesus was speaking to an agriculture based community who will appreciate fully what he was saying. It may not be so powerful a message if we get our vegetables wrapped in plastic from the supermarkets.

(1) What did the man do?
A man scatters seed on the ground (4:26b)
As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (4:29)

It is important to note there is a role for human effort in the Kingdom of God. The man is to sow and he has to harvest. However, there is nothing he can do to make the plant grow. People whose livelihood depends on agriculture knew this. They know that there are certain things they can do and they is much they have not control over. I believe that there is a reason why an agrarian society is more religious. They know that in spite of all the advances in technology and knowledge, thee are still elements that they cannot control. Elements like the weather; the rain comes in time or there is enough sunshine. If the rain comes too early, the seeds will not grow, too late and the seeds will have dried up. Too little and the seed with not grow or die and too much, the seed dies. The same applies to sun light.

(2) What did the seed do?
Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (4:27)
Each seed has its own potential to grow. It does not need the man to do anything. Given the right condition, it will grow because that is what it is designed to do. Thus the man has no role in the seed growing. Nowadays, even with genetically engineered seeds, growth is still the property of the seeds.

(3) What did the soil do?
All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head (4:27)
It is interesting that Jesus point out the soil producing the stalk, head and full kernel in the head. Thus even though the seed can grow, without the soil it will die. The soil is also important in producing crops for the harvest.

Thus in this parable, Jesus points out the role of man, the seed and the soil in the Kingdom of Heaven. Man is to sow and harvest, the seed has the potential to grow and soil is the nurturing environment for growth.

SHALOM as the good soil for spiritual growth
Last week, we learnt in the sermon that Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Spiritual growth is growing in love. Inside each of us has a spiritual seed that has the potential to grow. Shalom is the Kingdom of Heaven where everything is in harmony. We cannot cause spiritual growth. We cannot will ourselves to grow and mature spiritually. There are no lectures or books we can listen to or read to cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth has to occur by itself. The seed needs the soil (or nutrients solution if we are thinking of hydroponics) to grow. I will suggest that without the soil, even the Holy Spirit cannot cause the spiritual seed inside us to grow. I will also suggest that the soil is the loving culture or matrix of the church. As the seed grows in the soil, we grow spiritually in the church.

As there are certain ingredients in the soil that nurture the seeds to grow, there are certain components in the church for our spiritual seeds to grow. I will suggest S.H.A.L.O.M.
They are:
· Story telling- telling the meta-narrative of God’s great plan of redemption and also our own stories and see how our own stories fit into God’s meta-narrative. Hence the importance of testimony telling and sharing of experiences. Sharing love.
· Heart matters; a call for emotional maturity- acknowledging, embracing, mastering, and detachment from our emotions or feelings. The will include experiential encounters with God (orthokardia). Emotions are important part of our makeup and our spirituality. We are called to love God with our heart, soul and mind. Experiencing love.
· Action: Incarnational living - narrowing the gap between what we believe and and how we live, thus living an incarnational lifestyle (orthopraxis). An incarnational lifestyle is a lifestyle of love, as Jesus lived out his human life as a sign of his love for us. Acting in love.
· Learning: transformational living- age appropriate learning of the knowledge of God through the Word, creation, and from others (orthodoxis). Knowing God means receiving the revelation of God. God has revealed himself to us through his Son, the Bible and nature. Thinking love.
· Oneness in community– development of committed relationships within and without the church. Relationships are very important. Living love.
· Maturity in Christ. This is our ongoing spiritual growth. Growing love.

(1) Story Telling: Sharing Love
• Pulpit teaching
• Celebration
• Ebenezers (1 Sam. 7:12)
• Christian Year
• Testimonies
• Church archives

(2) Heart: Experiencing Love
• Baptism and Eucharist
• Normative practices
• Social action groups
• Prayer groups
• Group spiritual directions

(3) Action: Acting Love
• Baptism and Eucharist
• Normative practices
• Social action groups
• Prayer groups
• Group spiritual directions

(4) Learn: Thinking Love
• Pulpit preaching
• Teaching classes/seminars/conference
• Discussion groups
• Seminary education
• Quiet time
• Self study of the Bible
• Contemporary issues

(5) Oneness: Living Love
• Hospitality
• Fellowship
• Makan
• Counseling
• Care and concern
• Cell groups
• Modeling
• Mentoring

(6) Maturity: Growing Love
• Spiritual friend
• Mentor
• Spiritual director
• Covenant groups
• Servant leadership
• Examining ourselves
• Desert spirituality: Attentiveness and Indifference
• Biblical choices
• Practicing the Presence of God

It is in a church community practicing S.H.A.L.O.M. that the Holy Spirit will be able to cause the spiritual seed inside of us to grow and develop into a fruitful plant.

Conclusion
The Kingdom of God is shalom. In each of us has a spiritual seed which has the potential to grow. We cannot cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth comes from the spiritual seed and a nurturing soil (environment). The church can be the nurturing environment for spiritual growth. The components of S.H.A.L.O.M. provides the nurturing environment –Story (sharing love), Heart (experiencing love), Action (Acting love), Learning (thinking love), Oneness (living love) and Maturity (growing love).



Soli Deo Gloria

Our Utmost for Shalom

Our Utmost for Shalom
A New Year Resolution for 2008
Text: Matthew 22:34-40

Dr Alex Tang
Sunday sermon
6 January 2008
Holy Light Church (English), Johor Bahru

Sermon Statement

Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Text

34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt.22:34-40)
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

Introduction
Happy New Year. We are also in the season of Epiphany. The season of Epiphany, from the Greek epihaneia meaning “manifestation,” begins on January 6 and continues for nine Sundays, then concludes with the Sunday of The Transfiguration. It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the visit of the Magi from the East. The season goes on to encompass his baptism, followed by the first miracle at Canaan. As Advent celebrates Christ’s humanity, Epiphany commemorates his divinity.

The making of New Year's resolutions dates back to the early Babylonians in about 2000 BC. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to revaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the New Year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the New Year was brought to early America by the Germans.

The USA.gov posted a list of Popular New Year's Resolutions (accessed 4 January 2008). The list include
• Lose Weight
• Pay Off Debt
• Save Money
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Eat Right
• Get a Better Education
• Drink Less Alcohol
• Quit Smoking Now
• Reduce Stress Overall
• Reduce Stress at Work
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others
• Holiday and New Year Health-e-Cards

The website also offers 3 ways to keep the resolutions:
(1) Be committed.
(2) Be prepared for setbacks.
(3) Track your progress.

What are some of your New Year resolution for this year, 2008? What happened to last year’s resolutions? Did you manage to keep any of them? Making New Year resolutions are good. It allows a new start. The beginning of the year is a good time to start afresh. We leave last year behind. It is like having another chance to have another go. That is why making New Year resolutions and keeping them is important. In this sermon, we shall try to make some New Year resolutions together as a church.

Exposition of the Text
The Pharisees and Sadducees often see Jesus as a threat to the religious establishment. One group, the Pharisees who are very religious see Jesus as a threat to the basis of their divinely based religion. The Sadducees were opposed to Jesus because of political reasons. They are afraid that Jesus will set himself up as the messiah and thus incur the wrath of the Romans while diminishing their political influence. In the gospels, there are many instances of the Pharisees and Sadducees attempting to trap Jesus into saying something that will incriminate himself.

Earlier, the Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus by posing a question of a woman married to seven men consequently. This is legitimate by Mosaic Law. The brother is to marry his brother’s widow. However, whose wife will she be after the resurrection? The Sadducee do not believe in the resurrection, rejects all the extra-Torah teaching of the Pharisees and accept only what the Torah teachers. Jesus silenced them by explain a text from Exodus 3:6 by emphasis the tense of the Patriarch. "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." The present tense indicates that there is an afterlife and that in this afterlife, we shall be like angels; without families.

After the failure of the Sadducee, the Pharisee sent in their champion, a lawyer. The question seems to be simple one. Which of the commandments is the greater one? The Pharisees after searching scripture found 613 commandments. The trap is simple. The Pharisees recognises that there is a hierarchy in the commandments. Thus murder is worst that boiling a lamb in its mother’s milk (Deut.14:21). Whichever one Jesus chose, someone will ask why not this other one.

Instead Jesus answered by quoting the Schema (Deu. 6:5) which is about loving God.
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Then he adds about loving your neighbours (Lev. 19:18, 34).
LEV 19:18 " `Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
And then he concluded by stating that these two statements contains all that the Law and the prophets teaches.

Leon Morris, formerly principal of Riley College, Melbourne, Australia comments about this passage, ‘Wholehearted love for God means coming in some measure to see other people as God sees them, and all people as the objects of God’s love. Therefore anyone who truly loves God with all his being must and will love others, and this is expressed in the commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” a commandment that is repeated in the Pentateuch.’

We can summarise it as thus

Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind.’
Love your neighbor
as yourself.


Shalom as the Fulfilment of Love

Shalom is translated as, “(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace,peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace; and
(2)to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.

• Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16).
• When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.”
• We are to “seek and pursue it.”(Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ).
• We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11; Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11).
• Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit (Gal.5:22) and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together.
• shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together.(Eph.2:14-22)

Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,

“Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.” (Wolterstorff, 2004, xii)

Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church . Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes,

“Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to God self or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbours, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene). The heart of the meaning is close to life itself.

Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah. Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ.”

Shalom is the all inclusive term that means loving God, loving ourselves and loving our neighbours. This is what Paul taught in 1 Cor. 13. The greatest of these is love.
Loving God ---- loving others and self --- shalom

Expressing Shalom in the Church
What are some of the ways we can express our love that leads to shalom? How do we as a church learn to love God, love ourselves and love our neighbours?
We may do that by incorporating certain components in our church community life.

They are:
• Story telling- telling the meta-narrative of God’s great plan of redemption and also our own stories and see how our own stories fit into God’s meta-narrative. Hence the importance of testimony telling and sharing of experiences. Sharing love.
• Heart matters; a call for emotional maturity- acknowledging, embracing, mastering, and detachment from our emotions or feelings. The will include experiential encounters with God (orthokardia). Emotions are important part of our makeup and our spirituality. We are called to love God with our heart, soul and mind. Experiencing love.
• Action: Incarnational living - narrowing the gap between what we believe and and how we live, thus living an incarnational lifestyle (orthopraxis). An incarnational lifestyle is a lifestyle of love, as Jesus lived out his human life as a sign of his love for us. Acting in love.
• Learning: transformational living- age appropriate learning of the knowledge of God through the Word, creation, and from others (orthodoxis). Knowing God means receiving the revelation of God. God has reveal himself to us through his Son, the Bible and nature. Thinking love.
• Oneness in community– development of committed relationships within and without the church. Relationships are very important. Living love.
• Maturity in Christ. This is our ongoing spiritual growth. Growing in love.

The acronym for this is S.H.A.L.O.M.

In addition, these components of shalom includes
(1) the restoration of the Imago Dei (the Image of God)- the love for God and ourselves
Maturity, Heart and Learning
(2) The Missio Dei (the mission of God)-the love for others
Oneness, Story telling and Action

Conclusion
Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Our New Year resolution for 2008 is
This year we shall love our God, our neighbours and ourselves more.

soli deo gloria

Are Babies and Children Saved?

Are Babies and Children Saved?
Spiritual Formation of Children
Text: Mk.10:13-16; Lk. 18:15-17; Matt. 19:13-15


Summary
Children are born into the kingdom of God but as they grow into the age of accountability, they will be required to choose to follow Jesus or not. It is the responsibility of parents, other caretakers and the Church to nurture their spiritual formation to make the right decision.

Introduction
Ron Buckland, former National Director of Scripture Union in Australia wrote in his book, Children and Gospel, that he once conducted a survey, approaching a variety if Christian men and women from different denominations, both clergy and layman. He outlined the following scenario:
“Imagine there are two families, living on either side of you. Each has a two-year-old child. One set of parents are atheists; the other set are committed Christians. Now imagine that in tragic circumstances both children were killed on the same day and you are to visit each home. What would you say to their child’s destiny and on what grounds would you say it?”
All but one person he interviewed said they would want to say to both sets of parents that their children are with God. One person wants to tell the atheist parents that their child is in hell and it was their fault!

Are babies and children saved? If they die now, are they going to hell or to heaven? What we believe influence the way we do children ministry. It will also affect the way we bring up our children.

Let us consider the various possible scenarios:
1.All children start life outside the kingdom of God.
2.The presence of a Christian parent establishes right standing before God.
3.The experience of baptism establishes right standing before God.
4.All children belong to God.
5.All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability.

1. All children start life outside the kingdom of God.
This assumes that babies and children are in the same category as adults, even though they are too young to be able to exercise repentance and faith. To ‘make a decision for Christ’ means repentance and faith. What does a baby know of repentance? What does a baby have to repent for? Roman 3:23 states ‘that all have sin and fall short of the glory of God.’ Does this means babies and children too?

This comes back to this discussion of the original sin. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, sin has entered the world. And with sin comes death. Now there are two theological way of looking at this original sin:

(i) It is inherent in our nature. It is inherited. This is like a genetic disease where it passes from one generation. In this thinking, we have no choice at all. We are condemned to hell at the moment of conception or whenever the time human life begins.
(ii) It is a change in the makeup of our nature that makes us want to sin, to turn away from God. Until we make a choice, we have not sinned. For this way, there is a choice on whether one want to sin or not.

In this first option, babies have already sinned at birth. Hence there is an urgency to ‘convert’ children as soon as possible. Our entire parenting efforts and children ministry has an urgency to help children make a decision for Christ. Unfortunately, we manipulate children to ‘make decisions for Christ’. Many children do things to please the adults. So many children have made ‘decisions’ for Christ repeatedly until they became confused.

2. The presence of a Christian parent establishes right standing before God.
The basis for this thinking is based on biblical teaching about covenant. The presence of at least one Christian parent covers the child from the consequences of the original sin until he or she comes of age. Covenants like God with Moses (Ge.17), with the people of Israel (Deu.29) and the Christian church (1 Peter 2:9-10) makes participants people of God. Children born into this covenant automatically enjoys the benefits of it. Paul says in 1 Cor. 7:14
14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

3. The experience of baptism establishes right standing before God.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches believe that the sacrament of baptism has the ability to wash away all sins and to claim the forgiveness of the Cross. Hence there is an emphasis on infant baptism. There is also an interesting tradition. During infant baptism, aside from parents, certain older members of the congregation are appointed as sponsors or god parents to help the parents in the spiritual growth of the baby. In the reformed tradition, infant baptism is done more on a basis of the covenant as stated above.

4. All children belong to God.
This is a nice option. Jesus taught about this when he spoke about children and the kingdom of God. Let us look at what the synoptic gospels teach. (The synoptic gospels are Mark, Matthew and Luke).

What Jesus said about children (synoptic gospels)

Mk.10:13-16
MK 10:13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Lk. 18:15-17. Gk. Babies instead of child.
LK 18:15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Matt. 19:13-15 cf 18:1-5
MT 19:13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. MT 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Matt.18:1-5
MT 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" MT 18:2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. MT 18:5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Jesus said the kingdom of God belongs to the children. Children are already there where adults may end up if they become like children or by an act of ill become childlike. All three follow Jesus meeting with the children with their version of the rich, young man (Mk.10:17-27; Lk.18:18-27; Matt. 19:16-26). He cannot give up all and be helpless. Utter helplessness is the basis of Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God belonging to children.

This is nice and good. All children are already in the kingdom of God. But what happens when they grew up and did not become Christians? Did they drop out of the kingdom of God? This is the problem with this option that all children are already in the kingdom of God.

5. All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability.
In this option, children start off in the kingdom but as they grow, their sinful nature (original sin) began to manifest itself. They began to realise that they can choose. There are two biblical texts that mention a period before and a period after which a child can choose.

Deu. 1:39
39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad--they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.

Isaiah 7:13-16
ISA 7:13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

We call this age the age of accountability. Is this a sudden moment or a slow gradual wakening? It may be both or either. Some children sudden come to a point when they realise their sinfulness and their need for forgiveness. Such children have reached a conversion experience. Others, especially those who grew up in Christian families may gradually grow into this age of accountability and became Christians without them knowing it. Hence some period has a specific time for their ‘conversion’ while others do not.

It is my personal conviction that ‘All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability’. It makes senses to me in view of what Jesus teaches about children and the kingdom of God and other verses about the ability to make decisions.
W.H.Griffith Thomas, an Anglican theologian argued, ‘all children are included in the great atoning sacrifice, and belong to Jesus Christ until they deliberately refuse him’.
This also means that it is our responsibilities: father, mother, brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunties that we help in the spiritual formation of the child so that he or she grows into the age of accountability with the ability to make the right choice for Christ. This is where parenting plays a large role. The church complement parenting with the community, mentoring and teachings as these children matures.

The Spiritual Formation of Children
(1) GENIUS parenting.
GENIUS parenting is based on Luke 2:52 in which 14 words covers the whole concept of parenting. GENIUS is an acronym for
Growth
Emotional Quotient (EQ)
Nutrition
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Utmost to Potential (Potential Quotient)
Spiritual Quotient.
It is the duty of all parents to ensure our children grows in all these 6 areas.

(2) Basis of GENIUS parenting.
The basis of GENIUS parenting is a balance between behavior and being. Generally, there are two approaches to parenting which starts from the 18th century. One approach is ‘to break the will of the child’. The child is to be forced, seduced into conformation to acceptable social practices. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism is an advocate for this. This approach emphasis the child’s capacity for evil. The emphasis is on behavior. For most of the late 19th century and all of the 20th century, our parenting has been greatly influenced by the behavioural sciences. Techniques of behavioural modification were introduced into parenting.
The other approach is to emphasis the child’s capacity for good. The advocate for this is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He believed that children are basically good until they were influenced by adult. This ‘romantic’ approach gives more freedom for children believing that in some ways, children are wiser than adults. The emphasis is more on the being.
I think both approach are correct but I believe that they must be balanced. There should be behavioural modification but there should also be inner growth and maturity as a person.

(2) Components of GENIUS parenting.
To achieve this balance, there should be 2 components in GENIUS parenting:
(a) Relationship to maturity.
(b) Empowerment to maturity.
Relationship is important in parenting. Relationship is to each individual child in the 6 areas of development. It is much easier to work with the child when there is a good healthy relationship. But relationship is not enough. There must be empowerment. The child must be allowed to try things out and to fail if necessary.

(3) Objectives of Spiritual Quotient in GENIUS parenting.
(a) Children who are Christians are able to call God ‘Abba/Father’ through the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them (Rom.8:15)
(b) Children who are Christians will have assurance of their salvation through the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:16)
(c) The desires of children to call Jesus ‘Lord’ is the outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit in them (1 Corinthians 12:3)
(d) Children who are Christians are candidates for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22)
(e) Children who are Christians are candidates for the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-11)

Closing Remarks
Children are born into the kingdom of God but as they grow into the age of accountability, they will be required to choose to follow Jesus or not. It is the responsibility of parents, other caretakers and the Church to nurture their spiritual formation to make the right decision.

Soli Deo Gloria

Heaven Came Down

Heaven Came Down
Text: John 1:14

Sermon statement (big picture)
Christmas, by tradition is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Who is this Jesus? What are our different perceptions of him: “Santa Claus’ Jesus; “Buddy” Jesus; “Judgmental” Jesus; “Idealised” Jesus and “Incarnation” Jesus? Our perceptions of who Jesus is, is often defined by what He did rather than who He is.

Text
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (KJV)

14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. (NLT)

14Kai; oJ lovgo" sa;rx ejgevneto kai; ejskhvnwsen ejn hJmi`n, kai; ejqeasavmeqa th;n dovxan aujtou`, dovxan wJ" monogenou`" para; patrov", plhvrh" cavrito" kai; ajlhqeiva".(NA25)

14The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (The Message)

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV)


Introduction

It’s the Advent season again. Advent is the time of the year we are reminded of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Advent ends at Christmas. Christmas Day is the day we traditionally celebrate the birth of Jesus. It does not matter whether He was really born on 25th December or not. What is important that Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph in a manger in Bethlehem.

John the Evangelist describes this event as when the “Word becomes flesh.” What does he mean by that? And why does we Christians, allow Christmas to by hijacked by the world so that
-Christmas is consumerism at its worst- buy, buy, buy
-Christmas is Christmas tree and Christmas log cakes
-Christmas is a holiday. First they remove Christ from Christmas (it is now X-mas) and then they want to remove the Christmas tree from Time Square, New York because they want it to be a secular/non religious holiday.
-Christmas is Christmas card of a baby in a barn with animals and snow outside with shepherds hanging around.

Does our perception of Christmas affect what we believe about Jesus? Christmas is about Jesus. Who is this Jesus and why should we celebrate his birth? I believe that we have allowed Christmas to be hijacked because of our perceptions of Jesus. Our perceptions lead us to behave differently.

The move Hoodwinked illustrates wonderfully how our perceptions can deceive us. It is an animated movie about the children tale of little Red Riding Hood, bringing food to her grandmother. She was stalked by a big bad wolf. The wolf went ahead of her to her grandmother’s house and pretended to be her grandmother. She was saved by a woodcutter. Our perceptions of the tale is that Red Riding Hood-innocent, wolf-bad, grandma-victim, and wood cutter-hero. However the movie gave us a different perspective:
-The wolf is an investigative reporter looking for the Cookie Recipe Bandit
-Red Riding Hood is Kung Fu expert
-Grandma is an extreme sports participant
-The woodcutter is an out of work actor who fell down the slope into grandma’s living room at the right time
-The innocent bunny is the Cookie Recipe Bandit.

So things are really not all they seem. The Word becoming flesh is when heaven came down to earth.


Exposition

(1) The Word became flesh

The Word (Logos v. 1) became flesh. “Flesh” in this verse means a human nature, not sinfulness or weakness. Christ, the eternal Logos, who is God, came to earth as man. Yet in doing so, he did not merely “appear” like a man. Humanity, in other words, was added to Christ’s deity. And yet Christ, in becoming “flesh,” did not change; so perhaps the word “became” (egeneto) should be understood as “took to himself” or “arrived on the scene as.” I like Eugene Peterson’s translation of the passage in The Message, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

John1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

As far back as man can think, in the beginning . . . the Word was existing. The term “Word” is the common Greek word logos, which meant “speaking, a message, or words.” “Logos” was widely used in Greek philosophical teaching as well as in Jewish wisdom literature and philosophy. John chose this term because it was familiar to his readers, but he invested it with his own meaning, which becomes evident in the prologue.

The Word was with God in a special relationship of eternal fellowship in the Trinity. The word “with” translates the Greek pros, which here suggests “in company with” (the same use of pros in 1:2; 1 Thes. 3:4; 1 John 1:2). John then added that the Word was God. Jehovah’s Witnesses translate this clause, “The Word was a god.” This is incorrect and logically is polytheism. Others have translated it “the Word was divine,” but this is ambiguous and could lead to a faulty view of Jesus. If this verse is correctly understood, it helps clarify the doctrine of the Trinity. The Word is eternal; the Word is in relationship to God (the Father); and the Word is God.

1:2. The Word has always been in a relationship with God the Father. Christ did not at some point in time come into existence or begins a relationship with the Father. In eternity past the Father (God) and the Son (the Word) have always been in a loving communion with each other.

(2) made his dwelling among us.

In the Greek the words lived for a while among us recall God’s dwelling with Israel in the Old Testament. The word “lived” is eskeµnoµsen, from skeµneµ (“tabernacle”). Thus, the tabernacle becomes the site of God's localized presence here on earth. Much as God’s presence was in the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34), so Jesus dwelt among people.

Ezekiel has a vision recorded in chapters 43 and 44. This time Ezekiel sees that the temple is going to be restored. At that time, the glory of the Lord will fill the temple; the Lord will dwell with his people; and his people will come and worship him. At this time in the future, the Lord will live among his people forever. I believe that the temple that Ezekiel 44:4 is speaking about is none other than the person and work of our Lord, Jesus Christ! John 1:14 speaks of the fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision of the future temple.

The Lord himself now comes to dwell (to tabernacle) among his people. But he does not come in tabernacles or temples constructed with human hands; rather he comes with our flesh, so that in his work we can behold his glory–the glory of the signs and wonders that he does for the salvation of man.

(3) We have seen his glory,

We have seen most naturally implies that the author was an eyewitness. The greatest testimony is a reliable eyewitness. John was among some of his disciples who beheld the revelation of his glory in a very realistic way when Jesus was transfigured before them. Christ appeared before them with "divine honor, divine splendor, divine power, and as the divine radiance of God himself." Indeed, the glory of God is fully revealed in his Son.

(4) the glory of the One and Only,

His glory refers to the unique splendor and honor seen in Jesus’ life, miracles, death, and resurrection. The one and only Son (monogenous; John 1:18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) means that Jesus is the Son of God in a sense totally different from a human who believes and becomes a child of God.

(5) who came from the Father,

Jesus’ sonship is unique for He is eternal and is of the same essence as the Father.

(6) full of grace and truth.

The glorious revelation of God which the Logos displayed was full of grace and truth, that is, it was a gracious and truthful revelation (cf. John 1:17).

Lessons for Us
How do we see Jesus Christ? How do we regard Jesus Christ? Especially in this Christmas season when we remember baby Jesus.


1. The “Santa Claus” Jesus

Many of us see God as the giver and Jesus the gift. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem arises when we see ourselves as only the receivers. In seeing ourselves as the receivers of God’s grace only, we fall into the trap of become self centered and demanding. “Give me, give me, give me” becomes our motto. We see God as a giant credit card with no spending limit and no need for repayment. We define Jesus for what he does rather than who he is. Jesus is a giver like Santa Claus. A person bearing presents or gifts free of charge with not strings attached. This leads to a Christmas n which the highpoint is PRESENTS. It’s the gifts. “Gimme, gimme, gimme” is what Christmas has became nowadays.


2. The “Buddy” Jesus

Another perception of Jesus is that he is our buddy. After all we are all children of God and co-heirs of the Kingdom. This means Jesus is our big brother. And a kindly big brother at that, like Santa Claus. Who is afraid of the jolly fat man in red? So we sit on his lap and tell him what we want for Christmas. What’s wrong with this picture?

It bothers me with the “Buddy” Jesus is that he is more than our brother. Yes, he is human. He is also God. And God is not our brother. He is our God. James, half brother of Jesus began his Epistle as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).[1] He did not say, “This is my older brother, Jesus, with whom we wrestle and play in the mud together when we were young.” James recognizes Jesus is also God.

The problem with the “Buddy” Christ is that we lost our reverence and awe of God. The Bible teaches about the ‘fear of the Lord’. It also documents that whenever anyone meets an angel of God, they fall on their faces and prostrate themselves. Do we recognize Jesus’ awesomeness? Or do we say, “Hey big brother. What’s happening? Can you get me a new computer, a PDA phone, a PS3 and while you are at it, fix my relationship with my boss so I will get my promotion?”

3. The “Judgmental” Jesus

Some of us make decisions following the formula, What Will Jesus Do (WWJD)? What we do not realize is that this also implies What Will Jesus Not Do (WWJND). Most of us think of Jesus and associate him with grace and forgiveness. Some of us associate Jesus as a judge watching us and waiting for us to make a mistake so that he can pounce on us and condemns us. This Jesus makes us feel guilty. He is like a strict disciplinarian father, demanding strict obedience from us. This is the opposite of the “Buddy” Jesus.


4. The “Idealised” Jesus

The “idealized” Jesus is the most dangerous wrong perception of Jesus. We have always seen pictures of Jesus- a handsome bearded white man with clean cut features, calm, serene and wearing a white robe. Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will be a man of sorrows and ugly to look at. I guess it will not do to have an ugly looking saviour. So we have a beautiful picture. The danger of this idealized Jesus is a form of idolatry. We are creating a Jesus in our own image. Instead of looking for the historical Jesus in the Gospels- a carpenter’s son, a peasant from the rural areas, itinerant preachers, strong enough to drive out the money changers from the Temple outer courtyards, we have an effeminate portrait to which some of us pray to!

5. The “Incarnation” Jesus

In the exegesis of John 1:14, we seen the real “incarnation” Jesus. He is the Logos, the word made flesh. He is fully human, yet fully God. He is God, of the Trinity and became human. Conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit, he grew as we did and was delivered into the world, the normal way- natural childbirth. John wrote that he was full of grace and truth.

The Magi knew who Jesus is. They traveled a long way from Persia to pay their respects.
Gifts by the three Magi
i. Gold (for the King)
ii. Incense (for the God)
iii. Myrrh (for his death on the Cross)
They knew what his coming is all about. It is to fulfil God’s mission of redemption. It is also to show us who God is in a way we can understand.

Philip Yancey in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, gives an illustration in his taking care of his aquarium. Even though he feeds and takes care of his fishes, they are afraid of him. The only way, he concludes, to make his fishes trust him and assure them of his good intention is that he himself becomes one of them. Jesus is God incarnate. We cannot see God who is spirit. We only see his handiwork. God loves us so much that he literally gave up all to become one of us. The most powerful Being in existence, because of love, became the most powerless being on earth - a human baby.

Eugene Peterson in translating John 1:14 wrote,
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (The Message)

Conclusion

Our perceptions of who Jesus is, is very important. Perceptions can change us and dictate our actions.

The leadership guru, Stephen Covey, illustrates how acquaintance with people’s pain, often provides the catalyst for service. He was travelling on a train one Sunday morning in New York. People were sitting quietly and it was calm when suddenly a man and his children got on board. The children were loud and they instantly shattered the peace. The man sat down next to Covey and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. Covey could not believe the man could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild so finally he lent across and said: “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?” The man lifted his gaze and said: “Oh you are right. I guess I should do something about it. We have just come from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.” Covey suddenly saw things differently, he thought differently, he felt differently and he behaved differently. His irritation vanished and his heart was filled with the man's pain. “Your wife's just died?” he said, “Oh I'm sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?” Understanding the man’s pain resulted in a desire to come to his aid.[2]

Christmas, by tradition is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Who is this Jesus? What are our different perceptions of him: “Santa Claus’ Jesus; “Buddy” Jesus; “Judgmental” Jesus; “Idealised” Jesus and “Incarnation” Jesus? Often our perceptions of who Jesus is, is defined by what He did rather than who He is.

What actually happened during Christmas day, 2000 years ago was Heaven came down.


Heaven came down[3]

O what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I will never forget;
After I'd wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior I met.
O what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.

Chorus
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

Born of the Spirit with life from above into God's family divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary's love, O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made, when as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer, of grace He did proffer, He saved me, O praise His dear name!

Chorus
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

Now I've a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure there in those mansions sublime.
And it's because of that wonderful day, when at the cross I believed;
Riches eternal and blessings supernal, from His precious hand I received.

Chorus
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

endnotes
[1] There is still some dispute on who is this James. It may be (1) James, son of Zebedee (Mk.1:19), (2) James, son of Alphaeus or James the younger (Mk 15:40; Mt. 27:56), (3) James the father of Judas, not Judas Iscariot (Lk.6;16) and (4) James, “the Lord’s brother” (Gal.1:19). Douglas Moo believed that it is James, the Lord’s brother who wrote the epistle. Moo, Douglas (1985), James, Grand rapids. MI: Eerdmans. p.19
[2] Stephen R Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, London: Simon & Schuster, 1989; this edition Pocket Books 2004, an imprint of Simon and Schuster UK Ltd; London, 30-31.

[3] Heaven Came Down, Words and music by John W. Peterson © 1961