Text: 2 Kings 2:7-15; Acts1: 8-11
Summary
When Elijah left Elisha and when Jesus left us, they leave behind the continuation of their mission and the means of empowerment to fulfil that mission.
I. Introduction
Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series consists of four historical novel about Julius Caesar (The Gates of Rome; The Death of Kings; The Field of Swords; and The Gods of Wars). To complement this, I read Adrian Goldsworthy’s In The Name of Rome, a non fiction book about the various Roman generals who built the Roman Empire. Men like Caius Marius, Julius Caesar, Pompey and Titus (who besieged Jerusalem in 70 AD). I find the Roman strategy of building the Roman Empire fascinating. First they conquer an area either by besieging a city or defeating a local enemy ruler or chieftain. Next, they leave behind a garrison to occupy the conquered city as the army marches on. This garrison of well trained Roman soldiers was not only to keep the local population in check but also to offer them protection. The Romans were great engineers. They would improve the conquered city by building infrastructures like aqueducts to bring water from the mountains, sewers and roads. Better roads will bring commerce, trade and Roman culture. Gradually the conquered cities will be assimilated into the Roman Empire. Many of the great cities of Europe were Roman cities, built upon existing cities: London, Paris, Plague and Istanbul. This is due to the work of those who were purposely left behind by the Roman armies and their generals.
II. Biblical Texts
This evening, we shall look at two passages concerning ascension to heaven and those who were left behind. One is from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. We shall see who ascended and what happens to those who were left behind.
2 Kings 2:7-15
2KI 2:7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
Thursday 25 May was Ascension Day. Some churches celebrate Ascension Day. Ascension Day is 40 days after Easter when the disciples say Jesus ascended to heaven.
Acts 1:6-11
AC 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Comparison of the relationship of the two passages
Elijah & Elisha
Jesus & Disciples
1
Mission
Elijah’s mission: Preaching Repentance
Jesus’ mission: preaching salvation
2
Request
Elisha’s request: for double portion of blessing
Disciples’ request: restoring the kingdom to Israel.
3
Condition imposed
If you see the me being taken up
If you wait in Jerusalem
4
Means given
Elisha received spiritual gift and Elijah’s cloak
Disciples receive the Holy Spirit
5
Mission given
Continue preaching repentance
Be His witness; Kingdom of God
6
Succession confirmed
Elisha confirmed as successor of Elijah
Disciples confirmed as Jesus’ successor on earth
Here we can appreciate the close relationship Elijah has with Elisha and Jesus with His disciples. In modern terms we would say that there is a mentoring process and there is a succession plan. In each of the narratives given in the Old Testament and New Testament, we see the completion of one’s given part of the mission and the passing on of the torch to someone else to carry on the mission.
III. The Missions of those Who Left
a. Elijah
We are introduced to Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1 when he confronted King Ahab and forecast numbers of years of drought on the land. The drought will end when he said the word. This is what the Lord commanded him. Ahab was considered the most evil king of Israel, the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 16:30). Then Elijah has to hide because King Ahab sent his men to look for him. Elijah was a prophet. His mission was to preach repentance. His mission was to call people to repent and turn back to God. That is also the overall theme of the Old Testament.
b. Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God incarnate. God incarnate means God became man. Jesus’ mission is to be the sacrificial lamb for all the sins of mankind. He did it by taking on our sins and dying on the cross for us. Follow onto to this is that Jesus is to bring the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is already here and yet to come. The Kingdom of God basically means the rule of God in our hearts. Put God first or give God top priority in our lives.
IV. The Missions of those Who are Left Behind
a. Elisha
The mission of the prophets were to preach repentance and call the people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) back to the worship of one true God. The people are easily swayed or attracted to the other gods of their neighbours such as Baal and Ashtoreth. These are fertility gods of the Canaanites.
b. The Disciples
The disciples make up the Church. When Jesus ascended to heaven, His physical presence on earth is the Church. That’s why the Church is also called the Body of Christ. Jesus’ mission to the church is to be His witnesses. Starting in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the rest of the world. Being His witnesses and making disciples of Jesus Christ is closely related.
V. The Empowerment of Those Left Behind
a. The Cloak of Elijah
Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted. Elisha asked for a double portion of his (Elijah’s) spirit. Scholars generally agreed here that Elisha did not really ask for Elijah’s spirit but for his gift of prophecy. First born usually receive a double portion. What Elisha was actually asking is that Elijah confirms him as his successor and passes onto to him Elijah’s spiritual gifts. Elijah answer is revealing. It is not up to him to confirm Elisha’s confirmation as his successor or to give spiritual gifts. It is God’s prerogative. Hence he gave a condition. If you see taken from you, then you shall have what you asked. So when Elisha saw the flaming horses and chariot, he knew that God has given him what he asked for. It is also interesting that Elijah left his cloak behind. Elijah knew that the other prophets may not accept Elisha’s words so easily that he is to be their leader. Hence he left his cloak to Elisha. Elisha used his cloak to divide the Jordan River just as Elijah did and walked across the dry river bed. Even then, as the later part of the chapter shows, the other prophets still want to search the surrounding area for Elijah. God has equipped Elisha to carry on Elijah’s mission. The spiritual gift of prophecy.
b. The Holy Spirit
In Acts, Jesus told His disciples to stay in Jerusalem. When he leaves, He will send the Holy Spirit who will give them the power to be His witnesses. Thus Jesus did not leave behind his disciples powerless. He knew that there are forces that will attack his disciples. But He knew He had to leave. He left so that he can take His place at the right hand of God and to continue to intercede for us as our High Priest in heaven while here on earth; the Holy Spirit empowers us to continue His mission of bringing redemption to the rest of the world.
VI. Lessons for Us
Steven Spielberg’s movie, “E.T” wonderfully illustrate our point about left behind. E.T. stands for extraterrestrial or aliens. The story is about an alien exploration team while on earth was surprised while in their attempts to collect plant samples and accidentally left one of them behind. Fortunately, the extra-terrestrial soon finds a friend and emotional companion in fatherless 10-year-old Elliot, who discovered him looking for food in his family's garden shed. E.T. slowly gets acquainted with Elliot's brother Michael, his sister Gertie (a very young Drew Barrymore) as well as with Earth customs. The rest of the movie is about how these children and the alien outwit attempts by the US government and the local sheriff department to capture the alien. But before long, E.T. gets seriously sick, and because of his special connection to Elliot, the young boy suffers, too. The mothership finally came back for the E.T. after the alien made the first galactic phone call, “E.T. call home”. This movie illustrates what it’s like to be left behind, what is “being in the world but not of the world” and how by his/her presence impacted the lives of the children.
We have all been left behind. It is not a mistake. It is part of God’s plan. Jesus had to leave us when He has completed His part of the mission. But He did not leave us powerless. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us fulfil His mission.
a. Our Mission
Be His witnesses in the world. What is more important is not to lose the focus of Jesus Christ as the centre of our lives and ministries. Until and less we are focused on Christ, we will not be effective witnesses of Him but instead poor imitations of our Saviour.
b. Our Mean
Allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Truth and Freedom. The Holy Spirit does not compel us to allow Him to work. We have to allow Him to work. So if we are to receive power and become Christ’s witnesses, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Recently I was on a 10 days silent retreat. Being on a silent retreat is challenging as those of you who have been on such a retreat will tell you. Being on such a retreat will force you to separate from the world and to focus on God. Unfortunately you will also have to face yourself. During this retreat, I came to the realization that we cannot be holy by our own effort. All our efforts will always be tainted by our natural self. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we make any progress.
Conclusion Summary
When Elijah left Elisha and when Jesus left us, they leave behind the continuation of their mission and the means of empowerment to fulfil that mission.
Soli Deo Gloria
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
What does Easter means to you?
Text: 1 Cor.15:17-19 (NIV)
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Summary
Easter means ‘Jesus is alive!’ Because He is alive, this proves our faith is real and offer forgiveness of sin, those who have died believing are saved from their sins and we have a purpose and power for living the Christian life.
Introduction
What does Easter mean to you?
Public holiday? Unlike Christmas, there is no mad shopping for presents.
Easter eggs?
Easter bunny?
Chocolate Easter bunny.
Christian ‘Cheng Ming”?
The empty tomb?
The Good Friday service in Dampara Baptist Church, Chittagong, Bangladesh, was packed. Little children sat on the floor in the aisles and across the front of the church. Rows of people stood in the back, craning their necks to see the crucifixion scene as depicted in the "Jesus Film."
Weeping and gasps of unbelief could be heard in the shocked hush as Jesus was crucified. As the Bengalis watched, they were feeling the agony of Jesus' pain and the disappointment of the disciples.
In that emotional moment, one young boy in the crowded church suddenly cried out, "Do not be afraid. He gets up again! I saw it before."
A small boy's encouraging cry gave new hope to the viewers of the film. "He is risen!" is the cry that gives new hope to all[1].
Director Mel Gibson, explaining why The Passion of the Christ ends with a scene of the empty tomb[2] said, "Without the resurrection, our faith is dead. The story's not complete without it."
For me, Easter is the empty tomb. The empty tomb means that Jesus is alive. God has raised him from the dead. Jesus did not raise himself from the dead. God did. God raised Jesus from the dead. After the events of Good Friday where Jesus was unjustly condemned, tortured and crucified, Jesus died on the cross that Friday afternoon. He really did die. He had not fainted, he was not substituted and Judas did not take his place. Jesus of Nazareth was nailed to the cross and he died on the cross. All this was part of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for our sins. He died in our place for our sins. Jesus, the Son of God who is God died as sin, separated from God the Father. An innocent man died for the sins of all mankind. How can this be? Can one man die for the sins of all men? Yes, if this man is also God. And as we all know, God is sinless. The events did not end with Good Friday. It was on Easter morning when the tomb was discovered empty. It was Easter morning when the disciples met the risen Jesus. He is not a ghost. He is alive. Jesus is alive. Jesus was resurrected.
That is the meaning of Easter for me; Jesus is alive, Jesus’ resurrection. The apostle Paul writing in 1 Cor. 15 talked about this. He gave us three points about the meaning of the resurrection. In this letter to the Corinthians church, Paul giving an answer to those who denied the resurrection of Jesus had even taken place.
I. Easter changes the meaning of faith
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Jesus being raised from the dead proved to us that all that he has said is true. How many of you have met someone who has died for three days and come back to life again?
If someone tells you that he is going to die but will come back to life is three days, would you believe him? You must think him mad, delusional or wonder what drugs he is high on. But if he is not mad, delusion or on drugs and his character is so perfect that you almost believe everything he said except maybe the dying part. But if he did die, and come back to you alive. Would you believe all the other things that he said? You would, won’t you?
If he died and does not become alive as he said he would, then he is a liar and not to be trusted. But if he died and then come alive, then what he said has to be true.
If what he said is true; that he is the Son of God who took away the sins of mankind by his dying on the cross, then your faith in him is not futile. It is real. Your sins have been forgiven you. You are now blameless before God.
A man once asked his friend, “What must I do to be saved?” His friend answered you are too late.” He asked again and got the same reply, “You are too late.” He asked again the third time and again he got the same reply. Finally he asked again, “What must I do to be saved?” His friend replied, “You are too late. There is nothing you can do. Jesus has done it all for you.”
Jesus died on the cross for us. After doing that and completing the task, God raised him from the dead.
II. Easter changes the meaning of death
17 (And if Christ has not been raised ) 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost
What Paul meant here is that if there is no resurrection, then those who believed in Christ and died is still in their sins and thus are lost. They will still have to face God’s judgment. But if there is a resurrection, then those who have died in Christ are not lost. They will have been saved from their sins.
There is an afterlife. Death does not mean the end of everything.
Death is not like someone switching off the computer and there is nothingness.
Death is not a waiting room, where you wait to be reincarnated into another creature. Hey, there’s a cockroach here. Wait, don’t squash it! It may be your great grand uncle.
One of the most haunting movies I have watched is “What Dreams may Come” staring Robin Williams. It was about a doctor who stopped at a roadside accident to help and was killed by a runway trunk. He found himself dead and in a wonderful place full of flowers, trees and mountains. Meanwhile, on earth his children were drowned. His wife could not take the pain and committed suicide. On hearing this, he decided to go to hell to save his wife (the Roman Catholic believes that all suicides has committed an unpardonable sin and goes straight to hell. Our belief is that all sins except the sin against the Holy Spirit can be pardoned). After being shown the horrors of hell, he saved his wife. He discovered that ‘Hell is what we made of it’. It is not God who cannot forgive the suicides but that the suicides cannot forgive themselves. While this is a movie, it assumes that heaven and hell are a state of mind and we are responsible for our actions in this life. Heaven and hell is not a state of mind. Heaven and hell are real places. Paradise, a part of heaven is a real place.
Death is paradise where you will be with Jesus until he comes again. Remember the thief on the cross? Jesus said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise”. Those who died in Christ will be in paradise. We will meet our loved ones again. They will be there with Jesus waiting for us to join him. They are not reincarnated away somewhere.
Three years ago, my mother went to be with the Lord before Easter. There are a lot of things I wanted to say to her but never have the chance to say it. I know I will see her again and have the opportunity to say what I have to say. Again I want to appeal to those whose loved ones do not know Christ yet to continue praying for their salvation. When they are called, let them be called ‘in Christ’. There is no second chance.
III. Easter changes the meaning of life
(And if Christ has not been raised ) 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then everything he said is a lie. Then why should we live a moral life? Why should we be good? Or as the apostle Paul said, “If the dead has not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”” (1 Cor. 15:32b). Why bother with being good if there is no afterlife? If there is no accountability after death, why should we behave ourselves” If there are no consequences, we can do anything we like: rob, kill, murder, rape, destroy, burn, enjoy ourselves to the detriment of others.
But Christ has been raised. Jesus is alive.
Because Jesus is alive, there is meaning and purpose for our lives. There is purpose and calling because we know God has called us to be involved in his plan of redemption for this creation. There are no little people in His Kingdom. We are all called to be his instruments for his purpose.
Because Jesus is alive, we have power: the power of the resurrection.
Rick Warren, the author of the Purpose driven Church and the Purpose driven Life, wrote in a Christianity Today newsletter, “The number one complaint I hear from people today is this: "My life is out of control." I hear it a thousand times:
· I feel powerless to change the situation…
· I feel powerless to break a bad habit…
· I feel powerless to save a relationship…
· I feel powerless to get out of debt…
· I feel powerless to manage my schedule.
What you need is a power greater than yourself. You were never meant to live this life on your own power. God want to have a relationship with you. And here's the good news. Ephesians 1:19-20 says: "How incredibly great is his power to help those who believe him, the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead."
The same power that enabled Jesus to rise from death will help you rise above your problems. The same power God used at the Resurrection 2,000 years ago can be used in your life right now. You don't know what the future holds. I don't either. I don't know what's going to happen next year, next month, and next week. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, and neither do you. But it doesn't matter, because even though it's out of my control, it's not out of God's. He will give me the power to face it. Philippians 4:13 says: "I'm ready for anything through the strength of Christ, who lives in me."
"I want to help out," God says. Some of you came crawling in here—you've had a tough week. God wants to say to you this: "Don't give up."
No problem is too big for God. No situation is hopeless if you'll turn it over to him. "I am ready for anything through the power of positive thinking"? No, it doesn't say that. "I am ready for anything because I psyched myself up"? No. "I am ready for anything through the strength of Christ, who lives in me."”
So there is purpose and power in our lives because of the resurrected Christ.
Conclusion
One of my patients, a 7 years old Chinese boy was born deaf from birth. There was something wrong with his nerves so he cannot hear. In such cases, a hearing aid will not help. Recently, he had a cochlear implant. It cost RM 30,000 for a cochlear implant device. We have to help the parents raise the money. After the operation was done and I reviewed the child in my clinic two weeks later. “Listen”, he said. I listen but cannot hear anything out of the ordinary- a baby howling outside my clinic. “Listen,” he said again. I listen again but I could not hear any special sounds. “Listen to the creak of your chair,” he said with a smile on his face, “You are putting on too much weight!” Cheeky fellow. One event has changed his life. The cochlear implant enables him to hear. He can hear now and life is never the same for him.
What does Easter mean to me?
Jesus is alive! Because He is alive, this proves our faith is real and offers forgiveness of sin, those who have died believing are saved from sins and we have a purpose and power for living the Christian life.
What does Easter mean to you?
Soli Deo Gloria
[1] William D. Barrick, Christian Reader, Vol. 35, no. 2.
[2] Outreach Magazine (Jan/Feb 2004)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Raising Ebenezer
Marking the places where God has helped you
Summary
Ebenezer, ‘stone of help’, mark the places where God have helped you. These are milestones in our spiritual life. It points to where we have been so that we can have confidence in where we shall be going.
Introduction
Robert Robinson had a rough beginning. His father died when he was young and his mother, unable to control him sent him to London to learn to be a barber, Instead he learned to drink and became a gangster. One night when he was about 17, he and his friends visited a fortune teller while drunk. They made fun of the fortune teller as she tried to tell their fortune. Something about the encounter disturbed Robert so he attended later that evening an evangelistic meeting by George Whitefield. Whitefield preached from Matthew 3:7. His words haunted Robert until he gave his heart to Jesus on December 10, 1755, nearly three years later. Here is a man who have turned from a sinful life and entered the ministry at 23 years old. He wrote the hymn, ‘Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing’ in 1758 to remember the time when the Holy Spirit entered into his life and made all things new.
Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of God’s unchanging love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer,
[Here I raise to Thee an altar]
Hilter by Thy help I come.
And I hope by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God.
He to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
In an attempt to modernize the hymn, the phrase, ‘Here I raise my Ebenezer’ was replaced by ‘Here I raise to Thee an altar’. If you don’t believe me look at your hymn books. The reason being, nobody knows what Ebenezer is. Last year a couple in this church asked me what Ebenezer is. I told them that it is the short form for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The idea is to compare Robert’s previous life to the arrogant, self centered king. I was wrong and I apologize for giving wrong information. Ebenezer means stone of help. It is found in 1 Samuel 7:12, today’s text.
1SA 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
The stone is a symbol of remembrance for a time when God had helped them. Stones or pillars are often used in ancient times to commemorate important events. Jacob set up some stones to remember Yahweh theophany in Bethel (Gen.28:18, 22).
Summary of Context of 1 Samuel 7:12
To understand why Samuel set up the stone, we have to look at what happened before.
In 1 Samuel 4, the first battle between the Philistine and the Israelite resulted in 4,000 casualties. The elders sent to Shiloh for the Ark of the Covenant because they thought the ark will help them win battles (4:1-4). However, driven by fear of the ark, the Philistines fought even more fiercely and killed about 30,000 infantry and captured the ark. (4:5-11). The victorious Philistines first brought the captured ark to display in their temple to Dagon only to have their god fall over twice (5:1-5). In Canaan mythology, Dagon is the father of Baal. Yahweh also caused the people to break out in tumors and the cities infested with rats. The Philistines then decide to send the ark to Gad and Ekron. Again the Lord afflicted the people with tumors and rats. After seven months, the Philistines cannot stand it anymore. The Philistines then put the ark on a cart drawn by two cows and set them loose. The cows pulled the cart to Israelite territory, proving that it is Yahweh judgment on the Philistines. The ark was finally placed in Kirath-jearim. Throughout this time, the Philistines continued to harass the weaker Israelites.
Israel mourned while the ark was in Kirath-jearim, and Samuel admonished the people to do away with foreign gods. The people should served Yahweh alone (7:2-4). Samuel assembled the people for a water rite and fast at Mizpah where they confessed their sins (7:5-6). Frightened by a Philistine attack, the people persuaded Samuel to pray for them. Yahweh answered Samuel’s prayer by throwing the Philistines into confusion by loud thunder and the Israeli were able to route them. After the people have completed the Philistines’ defeat, Samuel set up a stone called Ebenezer to commemorate Yahweh’s help (7:13-14). Throughout Samuel’s life, the Israelite was able to overcome the Philistines and make peace with the Amorites (7:13-14). Samuel was judge over Israel and his yearly circuit took him to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. His home base was Ramah (7:15-17).
There are three lessons we can learn from this episode.
1. God will help you when you are faithful to Him
The Israelites has the following problems
· They have turned away from God and worship Baal and Ashtoreth.
· They have bad leaders- priest like Eli’s sons, Hopni and Phinehas.
· They depend on their own strength and their own reasoning- fight the Philistines with their army and using the ark like a magic talisman.
Things changes when they heel the advice of Samuel (1 Samuel 7: 3-6)
3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
1SA 7:5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.
· The Lord fought the Philistine on their behalf.
· God uses natural phenomenon: thunder
· The Israelites only have to do the mopping up.
2. Recognize God’s help when it appears(1 Samuel 7:11)
While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car
Often we look for miraculous help from God. We expect God to do great signs and wonders and are often disappointed when He did not oblige us. God often works in way that we do not understand. And we must be aware that God often work quietly and uses the natural order of things, the weather, other people, circumstances and society. God is unpredictable. Sometimes he helps by giving us things. Sometimes He helps by taking away things.
I remember reading somewhere about someone listening and visiting Dr, Martin Luther King, “Many years ago, I went to hear Doctor Martin Luther King , Sr. King said his mother had told him to always thank God for what was left. And that was something to think about: if you've got enough breath left to complain, you have something left. I thought that was very impressive, and I really made a mental note of it. Some years later I went back to Atlanta to Ebenezer Church, and by this time Dr. King had lost A. D. and M. L., his two sons, and his beloved wife had been shot to death right before his eyes at the organ in that very sanctuary. Guess what the old man was saying? ‘Thank God for what's left.' There's always enough left in life to make it worth living.”
God helps us in many different ways. Sometimes He helps us in ways that we do not expect. But the fact we must remember is that God never fails to help anyone who calls to Him.
3. Mark the place where God has helped you (1 Samuel 7:12)
1SA 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
We must always make it a point to remember how God has helped us. In the Old Testament, they use stone pillars as symbols of remembrance. They gave name to these stones – Ebenezer-‘stone of help’, because ‘thus far has the Lord helped us”. This will be recorded and taught to their children. In their version of the Sunday school (maybe Sabbath school), they will teach the children about the events that happen at Ebenezer. And any Israelite that walk pass the stones will take a moment to remember Ebenezer.
So how as Christians are we to mark the places where God helped us?
a. Celebrations
Celebrations are an important way to remember God’s help. Easter and Christmas are important dates on the church calendar because it reminds us about the help God gave to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christmas is when God become man. Easter is when God died on the cross for the sins of man.
We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We also need to celebrate important events of God’s blessings and help. When I was a medical student in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), I started a Christian fellowship in the varsity. At that time, there were very few non-bumiputras and there was no Christian groups. On 24 March 2006, the fellowship which currently has more than 200 members will be celebrating their 30th year anniversary. They have invited me to attend the dinner function as their fellowship’s founder. In such celebrations, we remember God’s help and goodness to all the students that was part of the fellowship. Our mission statement for the fellowship was ‘to produce leaders for churches in Malaysia and beyond.’ God has helped the fellowship tremendously. I know that many of the former students are now leading the churches in many parts of Malaysia and some in other countries.
b. Remembrance
We used to build monuments to commemorate certain events. If you travel around London, you will see many statures and monuments. In Rome, you can see the Arc of Constantine, a Roman Triumphal Arch right next to the Coliseum where Emperor Constantine 1 rode in triumph into Rome. I am not advocating we build a stature of our pastor. I am very impressed with our 50th anniversary books because it document the history of the church. They are thinking of making the manse, a 125 years old building, a heritage building. These are ways we remember God’s help.
We also remember important days in our lives and maybe make it a special day of thanksgiving or prayers. For me the important days are
· Day of my giving my life to Christ
· Day I became a doctor
· Day of my wedding
· Day my first daughter was born
· Day my second daughter was born
These are important days in my life and it happened because of God’s help. These are days of remembrance, days of thanksgiving and praise.
c. Journal
Our memories are very poor and often play tricks with our mind. A personal journal will be a good way to record the events of God’s help in our lives. We can look back and see how God has been helping us all along. Journal writing is a good spiritual discipline we can use to deeper our spiritual life.
A new form of journaling is blogging on the Internet. It is an online journal that you can add to whenever you like. You can keep your blog entries to yourself. Or you can allow selected people to read your blog or you can open to anyone. It is up to you.
d. Scrapbook
A scrapbook where you paste your photos, train tickets or newspaper cuttings are also useful guide to memory.
e. Share your testimonies.
Testimonies are an important part of remembering the help of God especially in a community of faith. Sharing what God has done in your life has three benefits
· You share what God has done for you and encourage your listener in that what He has done for you, He will also do for others.
· You affirm God’s goodness because when you proclaim it to others, it becomes more real to you.
· You give glory to God when you talk about His goodness.
Continue to give testimonies in front of others, write your testimonies in newsletter and magazine (Sinews, Asia Beacon) or share with one another in your fellowship and cell groups.
Conclusion
There is an old legend about three men and their sacks[1]. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his neck and the other tied on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, "In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done. That way they're hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about them." Because he stopped so much to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he really didn't make much progress in life.
The second man was asked about his sacks. He replied, "In the front sack are all the good things I've done. I like to see them, so quite often I take them out to show them off to people. The sack in the back? I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them all the time. Sure they're heavy. They slow me down, but you know, for some reason I can't put them down."
When the third man was asked about his sacks, he answered, "The sack in front is great. There I keep all the positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I've experienced, all the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn't a problem. The sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward.
"The sack on my back is empty. There's nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. In there I put all the bad things that I can think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and out the other, so I'm not carrying around any extra weight at all."
What are you carrying in your sacks?
Are you carrying the remembrance of God’s help in your life?
Are you marking the places where God has helped you?
Are you allowing negatives events in your life drag you down?
Carrying remembrance of God’s help in your life can help you to grow faster in your spiritual life. These stones serve as reminder of the faithfulness of God. Our growing in depth in our spiritual life depends on our remembrance of the faithfulness of God. Why do you think Samuel named the stone Ebenezer and place it on the ground? It is for the edification of the Israelites. Ebenezer, stone of help, mark the places where God have helped them. These are milestones in our spiritual life. It points to where we have been so that we can have confidence in where we shall be going.
Soli Deo Gloria
Summary
Ebenezer, ‘stone of help’, mark the places where God have helped you. These are milestones in our spiritual life. It points to where we have been so that we can have confidence in where we shall be going.
Introduction
Robert Robinson had a rough beginning. His father died when he was young and his mother, unable to control him sent him to London to learn to be a barber, Instead he learned to drink and became a gangster. One night when he was about 17, he and his friends visited a fortune teller while drunk. They made fun of the fortune teller as she tried to tell their fortune. Something about the encounter disturbed Robert so he attended later that evening an evangelistic meeting by George Whitefield. Whitefield preached from Matthew 3:7. His words haunted Robert until he gave his heart to Jesus on December 10, 1755, nearly three years later. Here is a man who have turned from a sinful life and entered the ministry at 23 years old. He wrote the hymn, ‘Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing’ in 1758 to remember the time when the Holy Spirit entered into his life and made all things new.
Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of God’s unchanging love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer,
[Here I raise to Thee an altar]
Hilter by Thy help I come.
And I hope by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God.
He to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
In an attempt to modernize the hymn, the phrase, ‘Here I raise my Ebenezer’ was replaced by ‘Here I raise to Thee an altar’. If you don’t believe me look at your hymn books. The reason being, nobody knows what Ebenezer is. Last year a couple in this church asked me what Ebenezer is. I told them that it is the short form for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The idea is to compare Robert’s previous life to the arrogant, self centered king. I was wrong and I apologize for giving wrong information. Ebenezer means stone of help. It is found in 1 Samuel 7:12, today’s text.
1SA 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
The stone is a symbol of remembrance for a time when God had helped them. Stones or pillars are often used in ancient times to commemorate important events. Jacob set up some stones to remember Yahweh theophany in Bethel (Gen.28:18, 22).
Summary of Context of 1 Samuel 7:12
To understand why Samuel set up the stone, we have to look at what happened before.
In 1 Samuel 4, the first battle between the Philistine and the Israelite resulted in 4,000 casualties. The elders sent to Shiloh for the Ark of the Covenant because they thought the ark will help them win battles (4:1-4). However, driven by fear of the ark, the Philistines fought even more fiercely and killed about 30,000 infantry and captured the ark. (4:5-11). The victorious Philistines first brought the captured ark to display in their temple to Dagon only to have their god fall over twice (5:1-5). In Canaan mythology, Dagon is the father of Baal. Yahweh also caused the people to break out in tumors and the cities infested with rats. The Philistines then decide to send the ark to Gad and Ekron. Again the Lord afflicted the people with tumors and rats. After seven months, the Philistines cannot stand it anymore. The Philistines then put the ark on a cart drawn by two cows and set them loose. The cows pulled the cart to Israelite territory, proving that it is Yahweh judgment on the Philistines. The ark was finally placed in Kirath-jearim. Throughout this time, the Philistines continued to harass the weaker Israelites.
Israel mourned while the ark was in Kirath-jearim, and Samuel admonished the people to do away with foreign gods. The people should served Yahweh alone (7:2-4). Samuel assembled the people for a water rite and fast at Mizpah where they confessed their sins (7:5-6). Frightened by a Philistine attack, the people persuaded Samuel to pray for them. Yahweh answered Samuel’s prayer by throwing the Philistines into confusion by loud thunder and the Israeli were able to route them. After the people have completed the Philistines’ defeat, Samuel set up a stone called Ebenezer to commemorate Yahweh’s help (7:13-14). Throughout Samuel’s life, the Israelite was able to overcome the Philistines and make peace with the Amorites (7:13-14). Samuel was judge over Israel and his yearly circuit took him to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. His home base was Ramah (7:15-17).
There are three lessons we can learn from this episode.
1. God will help you when you are faithful to Him
The Israelites has the following problems
· They have turned away from God and worship Baal and Ashtoreth.
· They have bad leaders- priest like Eli’s sons, Hopni and Phinehas.
· They depend on their own strength and their own reasoning- fight the Philistines with their army and using the ark like a magic talisman.
Things changes when they heel the advice of Samuel (1 Samuel 7: 3-6)
3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
1SA 7:5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.
· The Lord fought the Philistine on their behalf.
· God uses natural phenomenon: thunder
· The Israelites only have to do the mopping up.
2. Recognize God’s help when it appears(1 Samuel 7:11)
While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car
Often we look for miraculous help from God. We expect God to do great signs and wonders and are often disappointed when He did not oblige us. God often works in way that we do not understand. And we must be aware that God often work quietly and uses the natural order of things, the weather, other people, circumstances and society. God is unpredictable. Sometimes he helps by giving us things. Sometimes He helps by taking away things.
I remember reading somewhere about someone listening and visiting Dr, Martin Luther King, “Many years ago, I went to hear Doctor Martin Luther King , Sr. King said his mother had told him to always thank God for what was left. And that was something to think about: if you've got enough breath left to complain, you have something left. I thought that was very impressive, and I really made a mental note of it. Some years later I went back to Atlanta to Ebenezer Church, and by this time Dr. King had lost A. D. and M. L., his two sons, and his beloved wife had been shot to death right before his eyes at the organ in that very sanctuary. Guess what the old man was saying? ‘Thank God for what's left.' There's always enough left in life to make it worth living.”
God helps us in many different ways. Sometimes He helps us in ways that we do not expect. But the fact we must remember is that God never fails to help anyone who calls to Him.
3. Mark the place where God has helped you (1 Samuel 7:12)
1SA 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."
We must always make it a point to remember how God has helped us. In the Old Testament, they use stone pillars as symbols of remembrance. They gave name to these stones – Ebenezer-‘stone of help’, because ‘thus far has the Lord helped us”. This will be recorded and taught to their children. In their version of the Sunday school (maybe Sabbath school), they will teach the children about the events that happen at Ebenezer. And any Israelite that walk pass the stones will take a moment to remember Ebenezer.
So how as Christians are we to mark the places where God helped us?
a. Celebrations
Celebrations are an important way to remember God’s help. Easter and Christmas are important dates on the church calendar because it reminds us about the help God gave to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christmas is when God become man. Easter is when God died on the cross for the sins of man.
We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. We also need to celebrate important events of God’s blessings and help. When I was a medical student in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), I started a Christian fellowship in the varsity. At that time, there were very few non-bumiputras and there was no Christian groups. On 24 March 2006, the fellowship which currently has more than 200 members will be celebrating their 30th year anniversary. They have invited me to attend the dinner function as their fellowship’s founder. In such celebrations, we remember God’s help and goodness to all the students that was part of the fellowship. Our mission statement for the fellowship was ‘to produce leaders for churches in Malaysia and beyond.’ God has helped the fellowship tremendously. I know that many of the former students are now leading the churches in many parts of Malaysia and some in other countries.
b. Remembrance
We used to build monuments to commemorate certain events. If you travel around London, you will see many statures and monuments. In Rome, you can see the Arc of Constantine, a Roman Triumphal Arch right next to the Coliseum where Emperor Constantine 1 rode in triumph into Rome. I am not advocating we build a stature of our pastor. I am very impressed with our 50th anniversary books because it document the history of the church. They are thinking of making the manse, a 125 years old building, a heritage building. These are ways we remember God’s help.
We also remember important days in our lives and maybe make it a special day of thanksgiving or prayers. For me the important days are
· Day of my giving my life to Christ
· Day I became a doctor
· Day of my wedding
· Day my first daughter was born
· Day my second daughter was born
These are important days in my life and it happened because of God’s help. These are days of remembrance, days of thanksgiving and praise.
c. Journal
Our memories are very poor and often play tricks with our mind. A personal journal will be a good way to record the events of God’s help in our lives. We can look back and see how God has been helping us all along. Journal writing is a good spiritual discipline we can use to deeper our spiritual life.
A new form of journaling is blogging on the Internet. It is an online journal that you can add to whenever you like. You can keep your blog entries to yourself. Or you can allow selected people to read your blog or you can open to anyone. It is up to you.
d. Scrapbook
A scrapbook where you paste your photos, train tickets or newspaper cuttings are also useful guide to memory.
e. Share your testimonies.
Testimonies are an important part of remembering the help of God especially in a community of faith. Sharing what God has done in your life has three benefits
· You share what God has done for you and encourage your listener in that what He has done for you, He will also do for others.
· You affirm God’s goodness because when you proclaim it to others, it becomes more real to you.
· You give glory to God when you talk about His goodness.
Continue to give testimonies in front of others, write your testimonies in newsletter and magazine (Sinews, Asia Beacon) or share with one another in your fellowship and cell groups.
Conclusion
There is an old legend about three men and their sacks[1]. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his neck and the other tied on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, "In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done. That way they're hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about them." Because he stopped so much to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he really didn't make much progress in life.
The second man was asked about his sacks. He replied, "In the front sack are all the good things I've done. I like to see them, so quite often I take them out to show them off to people. The sack in the back? I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them all the time. Sure they're heavy. They slow me down, but you know, for some reason I can't put them down."
When the third man was asked about his sacks, he answered, "The sack in front is great. There I keep all the positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I've experienced, all the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn't a problem. The sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward.
"The sack on my back is empty. There's nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. In there I put all the bad things that I can think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and out the other, so I'm not carrying around any extra weight at all."
What are you carrying in your sacks?
Are you carrying the remembrance of God’s help in your life?
Are you marking the places where God has helped you?
Are you allowing negatives events in your life drag you down?
Carrying remembrance of God’s help in your life can help you to grow faster in your spiritual life. These stones serve as reminder of the faithfulness of God. Our growing in depth in our spiritual life depends on our remembrance of the faithfulness of God. Why do you think Samuel named the stone Ebenezer and place it on the ground? It is for the edification of the Israelites. Ebenezer, stone of help, mark the places where God have helped them. These are milestones in our spiritual life. It points to where we have been so that we can have confidence in where we shall be going.
Soli Deo Gloria
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Love in Truth and Action: How Should We Love?
Text: 1 John 3:16-18
Summary
We love by opening our eyes to the needs of the world around, by opening our hands (giving-action) and getting them dirty in helping others (action-action) and by opening our hearts to love as Jesus loves (faith-action).
Text (NIV)
1JN 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Introduction
Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: “If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody”.[1]
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.[2]
I would consider Martin Luther King, Jr to be one of the great leaders in American history. It is men like him who influenced the American public to discover that there is a great need to look after the poor and the exploited. Thus the civil rights movement was formed which led to reforms in the United States. I love his ‘I have a dream’ sermon. We know that the motivation behind Martin Luther King, Jr’s mission and sacrifice is love. Love is not a feeling. Love is not valentine day. Love is action. Love is doing something for someone.
John, ‘the beloved disciple’ understood love very well. He was with Jesus in the whole 3 years of His ministry. He travelled with Jesus all around the Sea of Galilee and in Jerusalem. He has seen first hand how Jesus loved. Jesus loved us unto His death and beyond. So here in 1 Jn 16-18, John teaches us how to love.
1. Open your eyes (1 Jn 3:16,17)
v.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
To love, we have first to open our eyes to the needs of the world around. With modern technology, news comes to us very fast. Sometimes too fast and too much information. We get information and sensory overload. On our living room television screens, we are able to see real time footage of disasters with broken bodies, damaged homes and damaged community. We get overwhelmed by these images. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and wars and the list of human suffering goes on and on. We begin to suffer from compassion fatigue. We wonder what we can do to help the suffering. Is there anything we can do will make a difference given the magnitude of the problem?
In the fifth century, a monk named Telemachus wanted to live his life in pursuit of God, so he lived alone in the desert praying, fasting, and meditating. One day as he prayed, he realized his life was based on a selfish love of God, not selfless. If he were to serve God, he must serve men. He decided to return to the city where there was sin and need.
Telemachus headed for Rome. He arrived at a time when the Roman general, Stillcho, had won a great victory over the Goths. Since Rome was officially Christian, triumph brought people pouring into the churches.
But one pagan practice still lingered in Christian Rome—the gladiator games. While Christians were not thrown to the lions, prisoners of war were cast into the arena to fight and kill each other. Spectators roared with blood lust as the gladiators battled.
Telemachus arrived on the day of the games. Following the noise, he made his way to the arena where 80,000 people had gathered to celebrate. The fights began and Telemachus stood aghast. Men for whom Christ had died were about to kill each other to amuse a supposedly Christian populace.
He jumped into the arena and stood between the two gladiators, imploring them to stop. The crowd was furious at the delay of their "entertainment," and after several shouts and threats, it stoned the monk to death. The rest of the contests were cancelled that day. Three days later, Honorius (the Roman Emperor) declared Telemachus a martyr and ended the gladiatorial contests.
Historian Edward Gibbon observed the following about Telemachus: "His death was more useful to mankind than his life."[3]
Open your eyes and seek the needs of the world. Then do whatever you can. God does not expect us to do more than we can. How do we eat any elephant? A piece at a time. So we are to help people in whatever ways that we can. If you have money and you see someone in financial needs, give him or her some of yours. No interest. No loan. Just a love-offering. I wonder how many of us have actually given money with no strings attached. Without expectation of seeing the money again, of receiving the undying gratitude or feeling ‘good’ ourselves? Love is giving-action.
2. Open your hands (1 Jn 3:16,18)
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
v. 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
John also teaches that love is action-love. Action-love means opening our hands and getting them dirty. Love is not just words only. ‘I love you, brother and I shall pray for you’. I do not know how many of us really pray for the person. I may be wrong but I think that is a pious way of saying, “I would like to help you but I won’t or I can’t.”
“I love you as a sister but I’ll get back to you on this.” Unfortunately, this is another way of saying, “I can’t help you. I will not call you back and hope you will forget this conversation.” Love is opening you cheque book and writing out a cheque. Love is going to the person’s house and help out with your hands. Love is getting personally involved. This love is action-action.
The movie, Armageddon tells the story of a last ditch effort to stop a massive asteroid from colliding with Earth. The only hope is to split the asteroid so both halves veer away from the planet. An unlikely crew of military experts and oil drillers land a space shuttle on the asteroid, drill into its center, and drop a nuclear bomb in the hole. To save the rest of the crew, Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) chooses to stay behind on the asteroid to make sure the bomb detonates. Just before the ship leaves, he takes a final moment to speak to his beloved daughter, Grace, back at the command center in Houston. With tears in her eyes, she tells him, "Everything good I have inside of me I have from you. I love you so much. I am so proud of you. And I'm so scared." "There won't be anything to be scared of soon," he assures her. After the talk with his daughter, Harry heads out onto the asteroid to save the planet. Fighting the shifting rocks and unstable ground, Harry struggles to hold the detonator as the shuttle launches into space. When the shuttle is finally away Harry whispers, "We win, Gracie," and then he pushes the button. For a brief, powerful moment, images flash across the screen of Harry's great love for his daughter “from when she was a little girl laughing with him on a swing, up until she's radiant and dressed in white on her wedding day.” A split second later, the asteroid erupts, fractures in two, and careens clear of Earth as the crowds below cheer.[4]
Not all of us will be called to sacrifice our lives for others. But we are called to act for others out of love. Jesus chose the cross out of love to free us from danger and from fear. Jesus looked into the future and saw us, the Bride of Christ, radiant on that day we would meet him and, as it says in Hebrews, for the joy set before him he endured the cross.
3. Open your mind (1 Jn 3:16, 18)
v. 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
What is this truth that is the basis of our love? The basis of our love is in v.16. Jesus died for us. This is faith-action love.
Katie Funk Wiebe wrote, “As I contemplate the cross, I grasp that its wonder is not in its appearance, but in the Superglue of love that took Christ to the cross and held him there”.[5]
Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection empowers us to love. Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology of Regent College in Vancouver, in his latest book, Living The Resurrection (2005, Navpress) reflects on three aspect of the Risen Christ in everyday life:
Resurrection Wonder as the central focus of our life in Christ.
Resurrection Meals as the invitation to spiritual formation in our most common daily experiences.
Resurrection Friends as the intimate fellowship in whose midst the risen Jesus makes His joyful home.
It is this power of the resurrection that empowers us to have faith-action love. If we love by giving-action and action-action alone, we shall run dry and burn out. It is the faith-action that sustains us and keep us loving in the long run.
Closing remarks
To love others is not easy. We love by opening our eyes to the needs of the world around, by opening our hands (giving-action) and getting them dirty in helping others (action-action) and by opening our hearts to love as Jesus loves (faith-action).
C. S. Lewis said, "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements...It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable ...The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love ... is Hell."
Soli Deo Gloria
[1] William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002), p. 53
[2] http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
[3] Nancy Hardin in “On Target,” William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark
[4] Armageddon (Touchstone, 1998); directed by Michael Bay, written by Robert Pool and Jonathan Hensleigh
[5] Katie Funk Wiebe in The Christian Leader (Feb. 1995). Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 4.
Summary
We love by opening our eyes to the needs of the world around, by opening our hands (giving-action) and getting them dirty in helping others (action-action) and by opening our hearts to love as Jesus loves (faith-action).
Text (NIV)
1JN 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Introduction
Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: “If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody”.[1]
At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.[2]
I would consider Martin Luther King, Jr to be one of the great leaders in American history. It is men like him who influenced the American public to discover that there is a great need to look after the poor and the exploited. Thus the civil rights movement was formed which led to reforms in the United States. I love his ‘I have a dream’ sermon. We know that the motivation behind Martin Luther King, Jr’s mission and sacrifice is love. Love is not a feeling. Love is not valentine day. Love is action. Love is doing something for someone.
John, ‘the beloved disciple’ understood love very well. He was with Jesus in the whole 3 years of His ministry. He travelled with Jesus all around the Sea of Galilee and in Jerusalem. He has seen first hand how Jesus loved. Jesus loved us unto His death and beyond. So here in 1 Jn 16-18, John teaches us how to love.
1. Open your eyes (1 Jn 3:16,17)
v.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
To love, we have first to open our eyes to the needs of the world around. With modern technology, news comes to us very fast. Sometimes too fast and too much information. We get information and sensory overload. On our living room television screens, we are able to see real time footage of disasters with broken bodies, damaged homes and damaged community. We get overwhelmed by these images. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and wars and the list of human suffering goes on and on. We begin to suffer from compassion fatigue. We wonder what we can do to help the suffering. Is there anything we can do will make a difference given the magnitude of the problem?
In the fifth century, a monk named Telemachus wanted to live his life in pursuit of God, so he lived alone in the desert praying, fasting, and meditating. One day as he prayed, he realized his life was based on a selfish love of God, not selfless. If he were to serve God, he must serve men. He decided to return to the city where there was sin and need.
Telemachus headed for Rome. He arrived at a time when the Roman general, Stillcho, had won a great victory over the Goths. Since Rome was officially Christian, triumph brought people pouring into the churches.
But one pagan practice still lingered in Christian Rome—the gladiator games. While Christians were not thrown to the lions, prisoners of war were cast into the arena to fight and kill each other. Spectators roared with blood lust as the gladiators battled.
Telemachus arrived on the day of the games. Following the noise, he made his way to the arena where 80,000 people had gathered to celebrate. The fights began and Telemachus stood aghast. Men for whom Christ had died were about to kill each other to amuse a supposedly Christian populace.
He jumped into the arena and stood between the two gladiators, imploring them to stop. The crowd was furious at the delay of their "entertainment," and after several shouts and threats, it stoned the monk to death. The rest of the contests were cancelled that day. Three days later, Honorius (the Roman Emperor) declared Telemachus a martyr and ended the gladiatorial contests.
Historian Edward Gibbon observed the following about Telemachus: "His death was more useful to mankind than his life."[3]
Open your eyes and seek the needs of the world. Then do whatever you can. God does not expect us to do more than we can. How do we eat any elephant? A piece at a time. So we are to help people in whatever ways that we can. If you have money and you see someone in financial needs, give him or her some of yours. No interest. No loan. Just a love-offering. I wonder how many of us have actually given money with no strings attached. Without expectation of seeing the money again, of receiving the undying gratitude or feeling ‘good’ ourselves? Love is giving-action.
2. Open your hands (1 Jn 3:16,18)
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
v. 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
John also teaches that love is action-love. Action-love means opening our hands and getting them dirty. Love is not just words only. ‘I love you, brother and I shall pray for you’. I do not know how many of us really pray for the person. I may be wrong but I think that is a pious way of saying, “I would like to help you but I won’t or I can’t.”
“I love you as a sister but I’ll get back to you on this.” Unfortunately, this is another way of saying, “I can’t help you. I will not call you back and hope you will forget this conversation.” Love is opening you cheque book and writing out a cheque. Love is going to the person’s house and help out with your hands. Love is getting personally involved. This love is action-action.
The movie, Armageddon tells the story of a last ditch effort to stop a massive asteroid from colliding with Earth. The only hope is to split the asteroid so both halves veer away from the planet. An unlikely crew of military experts and oil drillers land a space shuttle on the asteroid, drill into its center, and drop a nuclear bomb in the hole. To save the rest of the crew, Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) chooses to stay behind on the asteroid to make sure the bomb detonates. Just before the ship leaves, he takes a final moment to speak to his beloved daughter, Grace, back at the command center in Houston. With tears in her eyes, she tells him, "Everything good I have inside of me I have from you. I love you so much. I am so proud of you. And I'm so scared." "There won't be anything to be scared of soon," he assures her. After the talk with his daughter, Harry heads out onto the asteroid to save the planet. Fighting the shifting rocks and unstable ground, Harry struggles to hold the detonator as the shuttle launches into space. When the shuttle is finally away Harry whispers, "We win, Gracie," and then he pushes the button. For a brief, powerful moment, images flash across the screen of Harry's great love for his daughter “from when she was a little girl laughing with him on a swing, up until she's radiant and dressed in white on her wedding day.” A split second later, the asteroid erupts, fractures in two, and careens clear of Earth as the crowds below cheer.[4]
Not all of us will be called to sacrifice our lives for others. But we are called to act for others out of love. Jesus chose the cross out of love to free us from danger and from fear. Jesus looked into the future and saw us, the Bride of Christ, radiant on that day we would meet him and, as it says in Hebrews, for the joy set before him he endured the cross.
3. Open your mind (1 Jn 3:16, 18)
v. 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
v. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
What is this truth that is the basis of our love? The basis of our love is in v.16. Jesus died for us. This is faith-action love.
Katie Funk Wiebe wrote, “As I contemplate the cross, I grasp that its wonder is not in its appearance, but in the Superglue of love that took Christ to the cross and held him there”.[5]
Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection empowers us to love. Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology of Regent College in Vancouver, in his latest book, Living The Resurrection (2005, Navpress) reflects on three aspect of the Risen Christ in everyday life:
Resurrection Wonder as the central focus of our life in Christ.
Resurrection Meals as the invitation to spiritual formation in our most common daily experiences.
Resurrection Friends as the intimate fellowship in whose midst the risen Jesus makes His joyful home.
It is this power of the resurrection that empowers us to have faith-action love. If we love by giving-action and action-action alone, we shall run dry and burn out. It is the faith-action that sustains us and keep us loving in the long run.
Closing remarks
To love others is not easy. We love by opening our eyes to the needs of the world around, by opening our hands (giving-action) and getting them dirty in helping others (action-action) and by opening our hearts to love as Jesus loves (faith-action).
C. S. Lewis said, "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements...It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable ...The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love ... is Hell."
Soli Deo Gloria
[1] William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002), p. 53
[2] http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
[3] Nancy Hardin in “On Target,” William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark
[4] Armageddon (Touchstone, 1998); directed by Michael Bay, written by Robert Pool and Jonathan Hensleigh
[5] Katie Funk Wiebe in The Christian Leader (Feb. 1995). Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 4.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Paul, the Purpose Driven Apostle
The Purpose Driven Apostle
Dr Alex Tang
Who is Paul, the Purpose Driven Apostle?
Paul was born in Tarsus in southeast Asia Minor. He was born Saul. The exact dates of his birth was uncertain, probably between 6 BC and A.D.10, probably on A.D.5 (based on the terms ‘young man’ Acts 7:58 and ‘old man’ Phm 9. He was born in an observant Jewish family belonging to the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5); his parents gave him a Jewish name- the name of the most illustrious member of the tribe of Benjamin in the history of Israel, King Saul.
Tarsus is a Roman city with Greek culture. For Paul to become a Roman citizen, his father must have some influence. The Romans do not give away their citizenship easily. How Roman citizenship come into the family, we do not know. One archaeological scholar suggested that a firm of tentmakers could have proved very useful to the Roman army in these parts and received the citizenship for the services rendered.
Tarsus is also a university city surpassing Athens and Alexandria. Is Paul a Jewish Theologian or Greek Philosopher? Paul must have learned to speak and read Greek when he was a child. His Greek was too fluent, too eloquent (though he made occasional grammatical mistakes) to convince that he picked up the language after he became a Christian. This meant that he was exposed to the Greek philosophy and has knowledge of their culture, philosophies and worldview.
Paul is trained to in Greco-Roman rhetoric. To understand Paul, we have to understand rhetoric. The purpose of rhetoric is to persuade. Education in the ancient world was primarily rhetoric- how to recognise the way in which someone is trying to persuade you (i.e. how to listen wisely) and how to form a speech in order to persuade someone else (i.e. how to read and write effectively). We learn early on in our cultures the ploys of the advertising industry, for example, how to read television commercials. Unfortunately, we tend to read Paul as two years old watches a television commercial.
Paul was also educated under Rabban Gamaliel I in Jerusalem. Gamaliel was the first to receive the title Rabban and was regarded as the greatest teacher of the Law. This has no doubt given him an excellent knowledge of the Scripture and of the oral Torah which supplemented, interpreted, and applied the written Torah of the Old Testament. Tradition has it that when he heard about the Christians in Tarsus; he hurried back to Jerusalem. This implied that he has completed his training and was back home in Tarsus. Aside form being a tentmaker, he may be a Rabbi of the local synagogue. Like his father before him (Acts 23:6), Paul was with the Pharisees (Phil.3:5), which he calls “the strictest sect of our religion” (Acts 26:5).
1. Paul has a purpose because he has a passion for God.
a. Paul was brought up in the Jewish Pharisee tradition to love God.
“I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers”Gal.1:14 (NIV)
Being a Pharisee has very bad connotation for us nowadays. That’s because of the frequent criticism of the legalism of the Pharisees. But the Pharisee has a well developed systemic theology of Yahweh. Their action is often in obedience to what has been revealed in the Torah. And this is based on love for God. Sometimes, when we have so much passion for someone, we then to go to extremes. To give your girlfriend a dozen red roses is acceptable but 9,999 as reported in the Star newspaper? Paul’s zealousness comes from a love of God.
b. Paul was very zealous in preserving the purity of his religion.
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.” Acts 9:1-2 (NIV)
The reason why Paul hurried to Jerusalem when he heard about the followers of Jesus or ‘the way’ is that of his zealousness for God. He was in Tarsus. But he rushed back to Jerusalem. Why? Because he considers this ‘sect’ of Jesus followers to be a threat to his belief in God. Paul believed that unless he acts, the claims of Jesus’ followers will be a threat to Judaism. He is very passionate about his God.
Have you seen older brothers or sisters being protective of their younger brothers or sisters? Or of friends or family members being protective of your reputation. I once was speaking to the parents of one of my patients. The child was brought in at about 2 pm. It was 4pm and the fever has not settled. The father was frustrated and was angry that my treatment did not make his child well. Suddenly, to my surprise, the parents of my patient in the next bed rose to my defence. They scolded that father, “What do you expect about 2 hours? Doctor is a good doctor”. I did not expect that.
c. Paul found the fulfilment of his religion in Jesus Christ.
“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Phil 3:8-11 (NIV)
Paul was not a convert. He is already a believer of God and the Messiah. Paul’s Damascus experience was a reorientation of his worldview 180 degrees! He found that Jesus is the messiah he has been waiting all his life. Jesus is the fulfilment of his greatest hope. Paul with all his great learning in Greek and Hebrew studies has his spiritual eyes opened when he met the living Christ in his Damascus experience. The God whom he loved has done what he said He will do. He has sent the Messiah, the chosen one. How not to have passion for God?
2. Paul has a purpose because he has a passion to serve God.
a. God has chosen him
‘But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” Acts 9:15 (NIV)
Frederick the Great of Russia was gloomed to be an emperor since he was born. He was taught the right way to act, the right way to talk, the right way to rule and the right way to live. He has a purpose because he knew that he was chosen to be emperor one day. And he has a passion for his country. Therefore he knew that the moment he became king, he will modernised his beloved country, Russia. So he spent his life preparing for the time when he would become emperor so that he can implement what his purpose is. Paul knew that he was special, a chosen one of God. God is the one who chosen him. Imagine the power and reassurance that you have been specially chosen. It becomes a purpose for your life. Nowadays we speak of destiny. People are chosen to fulfil their destiny. Fulfilling their destiny becomes a purpose for their lives.
b. Paul has chosen to serve God, God’s way
“But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles” Gal.1:15,16a (NIV)
Aside from the sense of being chosen by God, I believe that Paul has a purpose in life and that is to serve God. But Paul is unique in the sense that he choose to serve God on God’s term and in God’s way. Paul could have wanted to be a Rabban in a Jewish theological seminary. Or he could be a famous rabbi of a famous synagogue. Paul has this unique gift of doing what Henry Blackaby has been teaching us in his book, Experiencing God: see where God is going and join Him in the project. Paul sees that he is to be the apostle to the Gentiles. So his purpose is to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s missionary efforts have some important points which shows that there is a purpose in what he did:
(1)He taught from where the people are. To the Jews, he taught the Jewish way. To the Greeks and other Greek speaking people, he taught as a Greek philosopher.
(2)He chooses areas within Roman territory. Pax Romana is safe, have a nice network of roads and literal in Latin and Greek. He, being a Roman citizen also gives him additional advantages.
(3)He chooses cities that are centres of trade and commerce- Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica.
(4)He chooses his fellow team members from different regions. At one time, Paul’s entourage consists of 9 men: Sopater (Berea, Macedonia), Aristarchus and Secundus (Thessalonica), Luke (Philippi), Gaius (Derbe, Galatia), Timothy (Lystra, Galatia), Tychicus and Trophimus (Ephesus, Asia) and Titus (Achaia).
3. Paul has a purpose because he has a passion to bring people into the kingdom of God.
a. People are lost without God
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Rom.3:23 (NIV)
If there is a great motivation for Paul and for his purpose in life, it’s that people who do not know Jesus Christ and his work of salvation on the cross are doomed. They are going straight to hell. That has been the purpose of the many great missionaries of the past like William Carey and Hudson Taylor. There is only one way to salvation. All other roads lead to damnation. So people must to told. That’s why these missionaries sacrifice so much to bring the message of salvation to the East.
b. People are the glory of God
“For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”1 Thes. 2:19,20a (NIV)
Paul knows what is valuable and lasting in life. It’s not your money, or your house, your lands or your car. All these things don’t last. It was disappear soon. What last forever are people. That is why Paul said people are his glory and joy. People last forever. Knowing this, it is surprising how much time and effort we invest in things and how little time and effort we spend in building up people. Paul’s purpose is his passion to save the lost. That’s because he knows that people have eternal value. So he spent his time making friends, teaching and mentoring the many people that God brought into his life. Even as a prisoner in his last days in Rome, he managed to convert the household of Caesar.
c. Paul loves the people
“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you”. 2 Cor.2:4 (NIV)
Here Paul reveals his heart. His purpose to save the people is not only because without God they are lost and that human lives have eternal value. It is also because he loves them. Paul’s purpose driven life has no value if he does not love the people. Without love, his purpose becomes a duty. Paul’s life story does not sound like he is acting out of duty. He was stoned, starved, sick, shipwrecked, given a lashing and travelled long tiring miles. Duty would not have carried him so far. But love would. Paul really loves the people.
My Response
a. Does God have a purpose for your life?
‘The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5
b. Do you discern where God is working and so join Him there?
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt28:18-20 (NIV)
Soli Deo Gloria
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Once Saved, Always Saved
Once Saved, Always Saved
Text: Romans 10:9,10
Summary
Whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
Introduction
The Presbyterians trace their heritage to John Calvin, one of the most important leaders of the Reformation. He improved on the theology of Martin Luther. The distinctiveness of the Presbyterian or Reformed theology can be summarized as TULIP.
The perseverance of the saints. Once saved, always saved.
A. Once Saved
Romans 10:9,10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and
it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved.
Paraphrased, the passage means whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
There are two component to be saved, signifying the internal (the heart) and the external (the mouth).
no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor.12:3b).
To receive salvation, we need only to believe that Jesus has raised from the dead and confess that He is Lord. You do not need to know any theology. Salvation is a free gift of God. This is why it is so hard for some people to accept. It is so easy. And it is free. We have been brought up in a culture where we are told that is no such thing as a free lunch. Everything comes with a hidden price tag. Well, there is such a thing that is free. Jesus has brought us free salvation. And don’t let anyone tell you different. Don’t let someone tell you that you can only be saved if you have lived a holy life or you must be water baptized in a particular church or in a particular manner or you have had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul said believe in the resurrection of Jesus and confess that he is Lord then you are saved.
B. Always Saved
There are three component to the perseverance of salvation:
(Rom 8:35) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Answer:
(Rom 8:29,30) 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.
(Rom 8:38,39) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus said (John 10:27-30)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus in John 17 prayed, among other things that the Father would keep those who believe and that they might enjoy the blessings of eternal fellowship with him.
(Phil.1:6)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(2 Tim 1:12)
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Once saved, always saved. It is a great doctrine for us to believe in and hang onto. Whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
Let me clarify here the difference between salvation and sanctification. When we are saved, three things happened.
Lessons for us:
How can believing ‘once saved, always saved’ affect the way we live our lives. Let me give you three examples:
We have to be contantly to be on the alert that we do not sin against God. Imagine the insecurity. If we die at the moment we are far from God, we lose our salvation and go to hell. That means we must be constantly trying to be good, trying to work for our salvation. We know how easily we back backslide. How weak our fresh are. How often we know what is the right thing to do and yet we do not do it. How often we struggle with pride, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, anger, greed, avarice and lack of faith. So how to have joy and security in the Lord. Our Christian life will be a life of fear.
Emperor Constantine refused to be baptized until he is close to death. He feared that if he receives his salvation early and was baptized, if he sinned, he would lose his salvation. So he waited until the last minute to be safe.
The Roman Catholics has the belief of purgatory. It is a place where the dead goes to have a second chance to work for their salvation. The reason is that there is no assurance of salvation. They believed that they could lose their salvation. Hence it is necessary to be given a second chance.
Take for example, a relationship between a husband and wife. If they take their marriage vows seriously and commit to remain together, their relationship will be different from one in which the wife said if you do not do what I want, I would leave you. In the latter, the relationship is based on the husband’s performance. If the husband do not live up to her expectation, she will pack her bags and leave.
With the assurance of salvation, we can move on in our relationship with God.
When I mention this statement, I can hear alarms bells ringing in the mind of our leaders. Alex, you must not say that. Then our people will not be motivated to be good. To be matured in Christ. To serve in church ministries. They have their ticket to heaven. They are going to sit back and relax.
Well, let me tell you something. Yes, you have your ticket to heaven. That means you have eternal life. That means that you will not spend eternity roasting in hell. But what are you going to do in heaven. And what you do now after you are saved to the time when you reach heaven has eternal significance.
The Bible taught that there is a Day of Judgement. Christ himself will judge. All men will be judged; none will be absent. Even the angels will be passed under judgment. Every aspect of life will come into account, including the ‘secrets of men’, ‘the purposes of the heart’, and ‘every careless word’. The judgment will not be confined to unbelievers. Christians too will face a judgment. There can be no avoiding this coming judgment; it is as certain as death.
Christians will be judged by their Lord in respect of their stewardship of the talents, gifts, opportunities and responsibilities granted to them during the course of their lives. The reference to this judgment in 1 Pet. 1:17 is particularly significant in conveying its character. The divine judgment of the people of God will be a fatherly judgment. It will not be such as to place in peril the Christian’s standing within the family of God; it will have all of a father’s understanding and compassion; and yet it is not therefore to be lightly or carelessly regarded. Christ will exercise this fatherly judgment at his coming. There will be rewards.
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Matt. 16:27)
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)
Paul talked about a ‘reward’ in 1 Corinthians, a ‘prize’ in Philippians and a ‘crown’ in 2 Timothy. James talked about ‘crown of life’ and Peter by the ‘crown of glory’.
Jesus said,REV 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Rev.22:12)
Somehow, we take this concept of rewards lightly, as if it is beneath our dignity to motivate our behavior because of rewards. The Bible did not elaborate what this reward, prize or crown is. Paul took it seriously, willing to give all now rather than to live in a ‘rewardless’ heaven.
If rewards do not motivate you, what about punishment? For we have to give an account to Jesus on the Day of Judgement. Some scholars believe that no rewards for eternity is punishment enough. Others believe that God will punish us in other ways.
Many of us are motivated to invest for the future, either in education, in our children and in building a financial portfolio. We are advised to invest for our retirement. It is time to think of investing for eternity. The currency for investment for eternity is not ringgits or the euros or the USD but service for the kingdom of God.
Closing remarks.
C.H.Spurgeon, the great preacher of the nineteenth century, once told this story. He said he was sitting in church and listening to a rather boring sermon. His mind begins to wander. “Why is it that I am a Christian?”, Spurgeon asked himself. “I am a Christian because I heard and believed the gospel,” he thought. He continued, “But why do I believe?”. He answered, “I believe because..” Then like a flash God opened the floodgates of heaven and Spurgeon concluded. “I saw God was at the bottom of it all’.
Once saved, always saved. This is the foundation of our Christian life. God is at the bottom of it all. God is the One who calls us. He is the One who saves us. He is also the One who keeps us saved.
Soli Deo Gloria
Text: Romans 10:9,10
Summary
Whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
Introduction
The Presbyterians trace their heritage to John Calvin, one of the most important leaders of the Reformation. He improved on the theology of Martin Luther. The distinctiveness of the Presbyterian or Reformed theology can be summarized as TULIP.
- Total depravity of man. Man is completely incapable of reaching out towards God. Man is totally at enmity with God (cf. Romans 3:10-23)
- Unconditional election by the grace of God. There is absolutely no condition in any person for which God would save him. As a matter of fact, long before man was created, God chose or predestined some to everlasting life. He did it out of his own mere good pleasure (cf. Ephesians 1:4,5)
- Limited atonement. God in his infinite mercy, in order to accomplish the planned redemption, sent his own Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a substitute for the sins of a large but specific number of people (cf. Romans 8:29,30).
- Irresistible grace of God. This is the effectual work of the Holy Spirit moving upon a particular person whom He has called, applying the work of redemption (cf. John 3:5,6)
- Perseverance of the saints. This is that gracious work of sanctification whereby he enables a saved person to persevere to the end. (cf. Romans 8:30,38,39 and Philippians 1:6)
The perseverance of the saints. Once saved, always saved.
A. Once Saved
Romans 10:9,10
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and
it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved.
Paraphrased, the passage means whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
There are two component to be saved, signifying the internal (the heart) and the external (the mouth).
- Believe in your heart that Jesus has raised from the dead.
- Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor.12:3b).
To receive salvation, we need only to believe that Jesus has raised from the dead and confess that He is Lord. You do not need to know any theology. Salvation is a free gift of God. This is why it is so hard for some people to accept. It is so easy. And it is free. We have been brought up in a culture where we are told that is no such thing as a free lunch. Everything comes with a hidden price tag. Well, there is such a thing that is free. Jesus has brought us free salvation. And don’t let anyone tell you different. Don’t let someone tell you that you can only be saved if you have lived a holy life or you must be water baptized in a particular church or in a particular manner or you have had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul said believe in the resurrection of Jesus and confess that he is Lord then you are saved.
B. Always Saved
There are three component to the perseverance of salvation:
- God’s purpose
(Rom 8:35) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Answer:
(Rom 8:29,30) 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.
(Rom 8:38,39) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus said (John 10:27-30)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."
- Jesus’ intercession
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Jesus in John 17 prayed, among other things that the Father would keep those who believe and that they might enjoy the blessings of eternal fellowship with him.
- God’s ability to keep
(Phil.1:6)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(2 Tim 1:12)
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Once saved, always saved. It is a great doctrine for us to believe in and hang onto. Whoever once truly believes that Jesus is raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he or she dies. Such a person will go to heaven when he or she dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.
Let me clarify here the difference between salvation and sanctification. When we are saved, three things happened.
- We are imputed righteous in God’ sight.
- We become adopted sons and daughters of God, meaning we become a ‘new creation’.
- We receive the Holy Spirit.
Lessons for us:
How can believing ‘once saved, always saved’ affect the way we live our lives. Let me give you three examples:
- Basis for joy and security.
We have to be contantly to be on the alert that we do not sin against God. Imagine the insecurity. If we die at the moment we are far from God, we lose our salvation and go to hell. That means we must be constantly trying to be good, trying to work for our salvation. We know how easily we back backslide. How weak our fresh are. How often we know what is the right thing to do and yet we do not do it. How often we struggle with pride, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, anger, greed, avarice and lack of faith. So how to have joy and security in the Lord. Our Christian life will be a life of fear.
Emperor Constantine refused to be baptized until he is close to death. He feared that if he receives his salvation early and was baptized, if he sinned, he would lose his salvation. So he waited until the last minute to be safe.
The Roman Catholics has the belief of purgatory. It is a place where the dead goes to have a second chance to work for their salvation. The reason is that there is no assurance of salvation. They believed that they could lose their salvation. Hence it is necessary to be given a second chance.
- Basis for fellowship with God.
Take for example, a relationship between a husband and wife. If they take their marriage vows seriously and commit to remain together, their relationship will be different from one in which the wife said if you do not do what I want, I would leave you. In the latter, the relationship is based on the husband’s performance. If the husband do not live up to her expectation, she will pack her bags and leave.
With the assurance of salvation, we can move on in our relationship with God.
- Basis for rewards on the Day of Judgement.
When I mention this statement, I can hear alarms bells ringing in the mind of our leaders. Alex, you must not say that. Then our people will not be motivated to be good. To be matured in Christ. To serve in church ministries. They have their ticket to heaven. They are going to sit back and relax.
Well, let me tell you something. Yes, you have your ticket to heaven. That means you have eternal life. That means that you will not spend eternity roasting in hell. But what are you going to do in heaven. And what you do now after you are saved to the time when you reach heaven has eternal significance.
The Bible taught that there is a Day of Judgement. Christ himself will judge. All men will be judged; none will be absent. Even the angels will be passed under judgment. Every aspect of life will come into account, including the ‘secrets of men’, ‘the purposes of the heart’, and ‘every careless word’. The judgment will not be confined to unbelievers. Christians too will face a judgment. There can be no avoiding this coming judgment; it is as certain as death.
Christians will be judged by their Lord in respect of their stewardship of the talents, gifts, opportunities and responsibilities granted to them during the course of their lives. The reference to this judgment in 1 Pet. 1:17 is particularly significant in conveying its character. The divine judgment of the people of God will be a fatherly judgment. It will not be such as to place in peril the Christian’s standing within the family of God; it will have all of a father’s understanding and compassion; and yet it is not therefore to be lightly or carelessly regarded. Christ will exercise this fatherly judgment at his coming. There will be rewards.
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Matt. 16:27)
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)
Paul talked about a ‘reward’ in 1 Corinthians, a ‘prize’ in Philippians and a ‘crown’ in 2 Timothy. James talked about ‘crown of life’ and Peter by the ‘crown of glory’.
Jesus said,REV 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Rev.22:12)
Somehow, we take this concept of rewards lightly, as if it is beneath our dignity to motivate our behavior because of rewards. The Bible did not elaborate what this reward, prize or crown is. Paul took it seriously, willing to give all now rather than to live in a ‘rewardless’ heaven.
If rewards do not motivate you, what about punishment? For we have to give an account to Jesus on the Day of Judgement. Some scholars believe that no rewards for eternity is punishment enough. Others believe that God will punish us in other ways.
Many of us are motivated to invest for the future, either in education, in our children and in building a financial portfolio. We are advised to invest for our retirement. It is time to think of investing for eternity. The currency for investment for eternity is not ringgits or the euros or the USD but service for the kingdom of God.
Closing remarks.
C.H.Spurgeon, the great preacher of the nineteenth century, once told this story. He said he was sitting in church and listening to a rather boring sermon. His mind begins to wander. “Why is it that I am a Christian?”, Spurgeon asked himself. “I am a Christian because I heard and believed the gospel,” he thought. He continued, “But why do I believe?”. He answered, “I believe because..” Then like a flash God opened the floodgates of heaven and Spurgeon concluded. “I saw God was at the bottom of it all’.
Once saved, always saved. This is the foundation of our Christian life. God is at the bottom of it all. God is the One who calls us. He is the One who saves us. He is also the One who keeps us saved.
Soli Deo Gloria
Monday, January 09, 2006
Love is Forever 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Sunday Sermon
Holy Light Church (English)
8 January 2006
Spiritual gifts are important for the building up of the Church at the present moment
but agape-love builds our character for eternity.
Introduction
In the last few sermons, we have been doing a study on Paul’s great thesis on love. Paul wrote this thesis in 1 Cor. 13. The occasion is that the Corinthian church was a church that was very rich in spiritually gifts but poor in love. Or in our modern day English, the Corinthian church is love-impaired! In our study so far:
Sermon on 23 October 2005: The Necessity of Love (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
Agape love is defined as an act of will to action
Tongues without agape-love is nothing (v.1)
Prophecy without agape-love is nothing (v.2a)
Knowledge without agape-love is nothing (v.2b)
Faith without agape-love is nothing (v.2c)
Benevolence without agape-love is nothing (v.3a)
Asceticism without agape-love is nothing (v.3b)
Sermon 13 November 2005: Portrait of Love Part One (1 Cor.13:4-7)
Grammatical layout (1 Cor.13: 8-13)
8 Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and
we prophesy in part,
10 but when perfection comes,
the imperfect disappears.
11 When I was a child,
I talked like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I put childish ways behind me.
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
Here it is obvious that the main focus of Paul in verses 8-13 is love- love never fails and love is the greatest. The main body of the passage is his explanation of why ‘love never fails’ and ‘love is the greatest’
Here it must be noted that Paul never said having spiritual gifts and exercising them is bad. Here it must be emphasized that Paul is emphasizing the choosing between the better and the best. Paul, being a Hebrew scholar writes in the Hebrew way. In the Hebrew way of writing, the passage is like a piece of paper that can be folded into two. This is called a chiasma. Hence both side of the paper carries the same points. Hence 1 Cor.13:1-3 corresponds to 1 Cor.13: 8-12. The former deals with spiritual gifts being nothing without love and the former love has more lasting value than spiritual gifts.
Paul highlights three spiritual gifts: prophecy, tongues and knowledge. Prophecy because it is the most prominent gifts and one which Paul will go on in chapter 14 to encourage people to desire for. Tongues as the gift that create the most noise and controversy. Knowledge to show the limits of human ability. All these spiritual gifts will end, Paul explained. So what is all the fuss about?
Paul continues to show the limitation of spiritual gifts.
Paul illustrates that spiritual gifts are useful now because the Church needs to be built up. That is what spiritual gifts are for- the building up of the people of God. But our spiritual gifts are limited as we are limited. But one day, when we are perfect, these spiritual gifts are not longer necessary.
When I was young, my parents bought me a bicycle with trainer wheels. So I was able to cycle around. When I become proficient, they took away the trainer wheels. I was then able to cycle on my own. Spiritual gifts are like trainer wheels. It is help us along until we become perfect and there is no need of them.
Actually faith and hope is covered in love. But Paul again pointed out that faith will be fulfilled when we meet the Lord. Hope will be fulfilled when we meet the Lord. Love will go on and on, even when we meet the Lord in our resurrected bodies. That’s because love is forever and never ends.
The Bible is actually a romantic book. It is a book about love. A love story. Love between God and us and amongst us.
"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14).
"The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5).
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).
Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another" (John 13:34-35).
"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).
"Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 5:7-8).
Love is relational. Relationship is the key to understanding 1 Cor.13 because love is always a relationship. In the Holy Trinity, there is a love relationship between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ great Commandments, love is a relationship between God and man and between man and man.
Lessons for us
The documentary movie The March of the Penguins follows the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica on their incredible journey through ice and snow to mating grounds up to 70 miles inland. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this beautiful film captures the drama of these three-foot-high birds in the most inhospitable of environments.
Once the penguins have made the trek to their mating grounds and the females have produced their single eggs, a remarkable exchange occurs. Through an intricate dance, each mother swaps her egg into the father's care. At this point the father becomes responsible for the egg and must keep it warm.
As this part of the story unfolds, the camera shows remarkable shots of the penguin fathers securing the eggs on top of their feet and sheltering them against the cold, which will drop to as low as 80 degrees below zero. Freeman narrates:
“Now begins one of nature's most incredible and endearing role reversals. It is the penguin male who will tend the couple's single egg. While the mother feeds and gathers food to bring back for the newborn, it is the father who will shield the egg from the violent winds and cold. He will make a nest for the egg atop his own claws, keeping it safe and warm beneath a flap of skin on his belly. And he will do this for more than two months….
As the winter progresses, the father will be severely tested. By the time their vigil on top of the egg is over, the penguin fathers will have gone without food of any kind for 125 days, and they will have endured one the most violent and deadly winters on earth, all for the chick.”
That is a great illustration of love in action. How do we love one another? Remember we established earlier that love is not a feeling but a will or determination to action. I wish to suggest two things we can do to love.
wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue" (Proverbs 31:26).
Remember the words of Paul: "Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14).
Love should be seen in little things as well as in great ones. Remember the words of Peter: "Love each other deeply;" not a love which just barely is a flame, but a burning, shining fire, which everyone around us can see. (1 Peter 4:8) It may cost pains and trouble to keep these things in mind. There may be little encouragement from the example of others. But persevere. Love like this brings its own reward.
B. Teach others to love.
Press it above all on children, if you have any. Remind them constantly that kindness, good nature, and good disposition are among the first evidences which Christ requires in children. If they cannot know much, or explain doctrines, they can understand love.
Here is my own paraphrase of 1 Cor. 13
‘If I had earned a strings of academic and professional degrees, is a tenured professor in an world renowned university and has mastered the intricacies of ancient Hebrew and the various tenses of ancient Greek but do not care for the poor, the sick, the weak and defenseless and the lost, I am like a bag of hot air or the static caused by the feedback of a MP3 soundtrack. If I can look into the future and discern the winds of change in economies, social and political arenas and if I am a spiritual master who has a large following who believe that I am the Voice of God yet if I do not lift a single finger to help a stranger in need I am as plain useless to one who is hungry and lonely as an empty used chicken rice styrofoam container. If I am a great philanthropist and give my billions as aid relief to poverty stricken Africa and if I sacrifice my health by burning out in ministry work for the church but did it to achieve a reputation and a name for myself, I have already have my reward which is my 15 minutes of fame. My ulterior motives, the need to please people and other hidden agendas will eventually be revealed for all to see. If I see a person and not see an irritation, an interruption (to my busy schedule), a burden or a lesser being, and if I feel compassion and the need to connect with this person and maybe offer some help, I may have love.
Love has the capacity to stand outside time and wait for the right moment to come along. It is not rushed, dictated by the clock nor hurried by the tyranny of the urgent. Love has time to understand and walk a mile in another’s shoes. Love is gentle and does not carry concealed weapons. It does not see the need to cut someone down to size or make mincemeat of someone else’s ego. Love does not demand to have what others have. It does not need to prop itself up by stepping on others and stand on them to appear more beautiful, more powerful, more rich or more honored in society. Love does not need to show off, wearing masks and be putting on performances all the time. Love reveals its true face. Love speaks softly and politely because its words are words of encouragement. Words to build up and not to tear down. Love uses its words to help others to find and fulfill their full God-given potential. Love has good anger management and does not let the sun goes down on its anger. Love knows anger is but a symptom and will seek the root cause of the anger. It seeks to heal these inner hurts and understand the inner thoughts that lead people to do evil deeds. Love does not bear a grudge nor seek to get even. Love learns to forgive. Love returns good for bad. Love gathers all into its protective arms, believing that there is some good in all mankind. Love has marched with others in Alabama against racism, being beaten by batons in the salt march in India and stood before a tank in Tiananmen Square. Love believes that justice should be available to all. Love believes that there is always hope in this valley of the shadow of death. Love knows that we are living in the shadowlands and that somewhere there is our true home and that one day, Someone will lead us there by our hands. Love sees that in the darkest night, there is always a ray of light.
Love is the energy that drives the universe. It never runs out, tires or loses its power. Love is for eternity. We have begun to realize that knowledge has its limitations. Quantum theory robs us of certainty and Chaos-Fractal theory robs us of control. The only constant in our lives is change. We have not being able to develop a Unified Theory of the Universe. Hence we see in part and we understand very little. Coming to the realization that there is nothing certain in this universe and the ability to control our destiny is an illusion, we begin to understand that we have been thinking like a child. It is time to grow up and see the world as it really is. To see through the illusions that Satan has deceived us for so long. To realize that we had spent large portions of our lives chasing after the non-essential and neglecting the relationships with other people that we should have nurtured and developed. Adult thinking will help us to focus on things that are eternal. These eternal are our souls and the souls of other and the need now on earth to purify and nurture our souls. In the process we develop faith and acquire hope. But most important of all, we see and experience Love. And in the end, it is only LOVE that matters.’
Soli Deo Gloria
Holy Light Church (English)
8 January 2006
Spiritual gifts are important for the building up of the Church at the present moment
but agape-love builds our character for eternity.
Introduction
In the last few sermons, we have been doing a study on Paul’s great thesis on love. Paul wrote this thesis in 1 Cor. 13. The occasion is that the Corinthian church was a church that was very rich in spiritually gifts but poor in love. Or in our modern day English, the Corinthian church is love-impaired! In our study so far:
Sermon on 23 October 2005: The Necessity of Love (1 Cor. 13:1-3)
Agape love is defined as an act of will to action
Tongues without agape-love is nothing (v.1)
Prophecy without agape-love is nothing (v.2a)
Knowledge without agape-love is nothing (v.2b)
Faith without agape-love is nothing (v.2c)
Benevolence without agape-love is nothing (v.3a)
Asceticism without agape-love is nothing (v.3b)
Sermon 13 November 2005: Portrait of Love Part One (1 Cor.13:4-7)
- love is patient (v.4a)
- love is kind (4b)
- it does not envy (v.4c)
- it does not boast (v.4d)
- it is not proud (v.4e)
- it does not dishonour others (v.5a)
- it is not self seeking (v.5b)
- it is not easily angered (v.5c)
- it keeps no record of wrongs (v.5d)
- love does not delight in evil (v.6a)
- rejoices with the truth (v.6b)
- always protects (v.7a)
- always trusts (v.7b)
- always hopes (v.7c)
- always perseveres (v.7d)
Grammatical layout (1 Cor.13: 8-13)
8 Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and
we prophesy in part,
10 but when perfection comes,
the imperfect disappears.
11 When I was a child,
I talked like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I put childish ways behind me.
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
Here it is obvious that the main focus of Paul in verses 8-13 is love- love never fails and love is the greatest. The main body of the passage is his explanation of why ‘love never fails’ and ‘love is the greatest’
- Spiritual Gifts are Temporary (v.8)
Here it must be noted that Paul never said having spiritual gifts and exercising them is bad. Here it must be emphasized that Paul is emphasizing the choosing between the better and the best. Paul, being a Hebrew scholar writes in the Hebrew way. In the Hebrew way of writing, the passage is like a piece of paper that can be folded into two. This is called a chiasma. Hence both side of the paper carries the same points. Hence 1 Cor.13:1-3 corresponds to 1 Cor.13: 8-12. The former deals with spiritual gifts being nothing without love and the former love has more lasting value than spiritual gifts.
Paul highlights three spiritual gifts: prophecy, tongues and knowledge. Prophecy because it is the most prominent gifts and one which Paul will go on in chapter 14 to encourage people to desire for. Tongues as the gift that create the most noise and controversy. Knowledge to show the limits of human ability. All these spiritual gifts will end, Paul explained. So what is all the fuss about?
- Spiritual Gifts are for the Present Building up of the Church until the Second Coming. (v.9-12)
Paul continues to show the limitation of spiritual gifts.
- Knowledge and prophecy (v.9,10)
- Child (v.11)
- Mirror (v.12)
- Knowing (v.12)
Paul illustrates that spiritual gifts are useful now because the Church needs to be built up. That is what spiritual gifts are for- the building up of the people of God. But our spiritual gifts are limited as we are limited. But one day, when we are perfect, these spiritual gifts are not longer necessary.
When I was young, my parents bought me a bicycle with trainer wheels. So I was able to cycle around. When I become proficient, they took away the trainer wheels. I was then able to cycle on my own. Spiritual gifts are like trainer wheels. It is help us along until we become perfect and there is no need of them.
- Agape-love is forever (v.13)
Actually faith and hope is covered in love. But Paul again pointed out that faith will be fulfilled when we meet the Lord. Hope will be fulfilled when we meet the Lord. Love will go on and on, even when we meet the Lord in our resurrected bodies. That’s because love is forever and never ends.
The Bible is actually a romantic book. It is a book about love. A love story. Love between God and us and amongst us.
"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14).
"The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5).
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).
Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
love one another" (John 13:34-35).
"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).
"Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 5:7-8).
Love is relational. Relationship is the key to understanding 1 Cor.13 because love is always a relationship. In the Holy Trinity, there is a love relationship between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ great Commandments, love is a relationship between God and man and between man and man.
Lessons for us
The documentary movie The March of the Penguins follows the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica on their incredible journey through ice and snow to mating grounds up to 70 miles inland. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this beautiful film captures the drama of these three-foot-high birds in the most inhospitable of environments.
Once the penguins have made the trek to their mating grounds and the females have produced their single eggs, a remarkable exchange occurs. Through an intricate dance, each mother swaps her egg into the father's care. At this point the father becomes responsible for the egg and must keep it warm.
As this part of the story unfolds, the camera shows remarkable shots of the penguin fathers securing the eggs on top of their feet and sheltering them against the cold, which will drop to as low as 80 degrees below zero. Freeman narrates:
“Now begins one of nature's most incredible and endearing role reversals. It is the penguin male who will tend the couple's single egg. While the mother feeds and gathers food to bring back for the newborn, it is the father who will shield the egg from the violent winds and cold. He will make a nest for the egg atop his own claws, keeping it safe and warm beneath a flap of skin on his belly. And he will do this for more than two months….
As the winter progresses, the father will be severely tested. By the time their vigil on top of the egg is over, the penguin fathers will have gone without food of any kind for 125 days, and they will have endured one the most violent and deadly winters on earth, all for the chick.”
That is a great illustration of love in action. How do we love one another? Remember we established earlier that love is not a feeling but a will or determination to action. I wish to suggest two things we can do to love.
- Practice love diligently.
wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue" (Proverbs 31:26).
Remember the words of Paul: "Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14).
Love should be seen in little things as well as in great ones. Remember the words of Peter: "Love each other deeply;" not a love which just barely is a flame, but a burning, shining fire, which everyone around us can see. (1 Peter 4:8) It may cost pains and trouble to keep these things in mind. There may be little encouragement from the example of others. But persevere. Love like this brings its own reward.
B. Teach others to love.
Press it above all on children, if you have any. Remind them constantly that kindness, good nature, and good disposition are among the first evidences which Christ requires in children. If they cannot know much, or explain doctrines, they can understand love.
Here is my own paraphrase of 1 Cor. 13
‘If I had earned a strings of academic and professional degrees, is a tenured professor in an world renowned university and has mastered the intricacies of ancient Hebrew and the various tenses of ancient Greek but do not care for the poor, the sick, the weak and defenseless and the lost, I am like a bag of hot air or the static caused by the feedback of a MP3 soundtrack. If I can look into the future and discern the winds of change in economies, social and political arenas and if I am a spiritual master who has a large following who believe that I am the Voice of God yet if I do not lift a single finger to help a stranger in need I am as plain useless to one who is hungry and lonely as an empty used chicken rice styrofoam container. If I am a great philanthropist and give my billions as aid relief to poverty stricken Africa and if I sacrifice my health by burning out in ministry work for the church but did it to achieve a reputation and a name for myself, I have already have my reward which is my 15 minutes of fame. My ulterior motives, the need to please people and other hidden agendas will eventually be revealed for all to see. If I see a person and not see an irritation, an interruption (to my busy schedule), a burden or a lesser being, and if I feel compassion and the need to connect with this person and maybe offer some help, I may have love.
Love has the capacity to stand outside time and wait for the right moment to come along. It is not rushed, dictated by the clock nor hurried by the tyranny of the urgent. Love has time to understand and walk a mile in another’s shoes. Love is gentle and does not carry concealed weapons. It does not see the need to cut someone down to size or make mincemeat of someone else’s ego. Love does not demand to have what others have. It does not need to prop itself up by stepping on others and stand on them to appear more beautiful, more powerful, more rich or more honored in society. Love does not need to show off, wearing masks and be putting on performances all the time. Love reveals its true face. Love speaks softly and politely because its words are words of encouragement. Words to build up and not to tear down. Love uses its words to help others to find and fulfill their full God-given potential. Love has good anger management and does not let the sun goes down on its anger. Love knows anger is but a symptom and will seek the root cause of the anger. It seeks to heal these inner hurts and understand the inner thoughts that lead people to do evil deeds. Love does not bear a grudge nor seek to get even. Love learns to forgive. Love returns good for bad. Love gathers all into its protective arms, believing that there is some good in all mankind. Love has marched with others in Alabama against racism, being beaten by batons in the salt march in India and stood before a tank in Tiananmen Square. Love believes that justice should be available to all. Love believes that there is always hope in this valley of the shadow of death. Love knows that we are living in the shadowlands and that somewhere there is our true home and that one day, Someone will lead us there by our hands. Love sees that in the darkest night, there is always a ray of light.
Love is the energy that drives the universe. It never runs out, tires or loses its power. Love is for eternity. We have begun to realize that knowledge has its limitations. Quantum theory robs us of certainty and Chaos-Fractal theory robs us of control. The only constant in our lives is change. We have not being able to develop a Unified Theory of the Universe. Hence we see in part and we understand very little. Coming to the realization that there is nothing certain in this universe and the ability to control our destiny is an illusion, we begin to understand that we have been thinking like a child. It is time to grow up and see the world as it really is. To see through the illusions that Satan has deceived us for so long. To realize that we had spent large portions of our lives chasing after the non-essential and neglecting the relationships with other people that we should have nurtured and developed. Adult thinking will help us to focus on things that are eternal. These eternal are our souls and the souls of other and the need now on earth to purify and nurture our souls. In the process we develop faith and acquire hope. But most important of all, we see and experience Love. And in the end, it is only LOVE that matters.’
Soli Deo Gloria
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