Anything we’ve done that offended God, let us ask for His forgiveness. We want to make right our relationship with God. Only through a sincere repentant heart, can we hear God’s message. As we come together, we also carry each other in prayer, to seek God’s mercy and to receive strength from God’s Holy Spirit to help us live lives that will glorify our Sovereign Lord. May God remove in us the redundancy in the way we treat the Lord’s day. May He give us the freshness of His presence so we may experience newness. May we all be rejuvenated together as a church, solidified in our conviction, to uphold our faith and to strive towards our goal.
31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Is it possible to be a Christian and still be lost? You do the church thing, you pray, you tithe, you even enjoy hanging out with people from church and actually like some of them. You know the Lord’s Prayer, almost able to memorize the Creed, and the first few lines of Amazing Grace. Beyond that, you’re just going through the motion, and some of you here do just that.
I’ve been going to church since about 4 or 5, and all through high school. I joined fellowships, went to retreats, sang in the choir, went Christmas caroling, and served with other brothers and sisters at the leprosy center. And even though I was known to be a Christian when my non-Christian friends asked, or when I had to declare my religion when filling out paperwork, I gave little thought to what I learned at church as I was too busy trying to learn how to fit in to the world I existed in. The only thing different between me and all of my friends was we didn’t have an altar at our home like my Buddhist and Hindu friends. I struggled with my own identity as who I was just so I could fit into ‘my world’ at the time.
This problem became greater when I was in high school. First, because almost all of the 7th grade students were a year older than me, smarter and more mature, and spoke fluent Mandarin, while I didn’t. Second, because of their religion, whenever I’m around them, I would abandon my identity just to blend in with theirs. But I still go to church every Sunday.
I didn’t do anything ‘bad’ per se, but I didn’t do anything to share Jesus with anyone. I was just a church-going person that never really grew or mature spiritually. When I saw the various colorful rituals that my Buddhist and Hindu and Muslim friends practiced, little did I know, my simple act of going to church on Sundays were also ritualistic. I was a so-called Christian, but was totally ineffective in my purpose as a real Christian.
“I’ve always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin.
Question #1 – What is God doing in my life?
• God has been at work in me since the beginning.
o World of the person – Your World
? Family background
? Character
? Motivations
? Values
? Social issues of your day
? Religions, moral system, philosophical worldview people live in (A worldview is the set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of Reality that ground and influence all one's perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing.)
? People’s pursuit as life’s greatest goods
o World of the story – Your Story
• Culture, morality, psychology, worldview, ideas, events, thoughts, feelings, preferences, gifts, pet-peeves,
Who you are today is likely because of what happened yesterday. Who you will be tomorrow rest in how you let
God change you today.
o My Audience (people, society, others – circle of influence):
? World of audience – Your Audience
• How I am shaped (from historical, social, cultural and philosophical backgrounds) affect and enrich interpretation of me by others
• What I believe (religion, experiences, testimonies) impact others and their perception of God*
In some other religions, impact is subtle. Buddhism, Hinduism – focus more on self. Islam – peace, rituals, devotion. Quran teaches the necessity of both faith and good works for salvation – Paradise. For a Muslim, the purpose of life is to live in a way that is pleasing to Allah so that one may gain Paradise.
Christianity is about Evangelism.
Question # 2 – Why does it seem that God and I don’t always see eye-to-eye?
When things go well, work out as you plan it, or things happen the way you like (your way), it’s easy to thank God and attribute it to your own effort. (My obedience, my faithfulness, my patience, my prayer.)
But when things don’t go the way you’d wished, despite your obedience, faithfulness, patience and prayers), it’s hard to thank God and seek what His plans and will are.
So far, the God who “knew me and did stuff” in me, and the God that “disagrees” with me, is a distant “thing”.
Congratulations towards having a child and Parent relationship. You and your parents don’t see eye to eye. You and your spouse don’t see eye to eye. You and your church don’t see eye to eye.
God is Authority, Power and King yet He does not exercise His dominion although He is fully capable and we are fully deserving it – yet He lets us choose.
Develop a single spiritual vision.
Question # 3 – What is it that my God is doing in my life?
Your life is still yours to live even though your life truly belongs to Him. But somewhere
? “I died for you.”
? “I am here with you.”
? “I want to talk with you.”
? “I want to show the world who you really are.”
? “I want you to see the world the way I see it, and I want you to change it.”
? But first, let Me change you.
Created, Cultivated and Charged.
Old people are often told, “God’s not done with you yet.” I am telling you now, “He wants to get started with you.”
What are your fears? What are you lacking?
? Being told negative things?
? Having experienced crisis?
? Being weighed down by past failures?
Be strong. Be courageous. Not by yourself. But by His Spirit said the Lord.
God doesn’t want you to hide behind the identity of others. He wants to free you and bring you out of the deception of this world and in turn deliver God’s truth to the world. Identity theft is not just an internet issue. It’s a real issue when we submit to being who the world wants us to be. God wants to help you claim your true identity back – who He made you to be – what He designed you to do – whom He prepared you to lead!
God gave us the ability to choose and the freedom to decide who we want to choose. C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity wrote, “Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself.” Are you ready?
I want to challenge (Church) to be more driven, gathering to be more intentional, people that are more passionate, studies that are more committed to learn, grow and multiply, more dependent on Jesus, more Christ like and Kingdom greatness. Leaders that are courageous to explore unchartered territories like Jabez whom God answered his prayer.
The Only Thing That Can Be Changed
A famous preacher once said, "When people tell me that human nature cannot be changed, I am moved to reply that in light of my experience, human nature may well be the only thing that CAN BE CHANGED!" We cannot change the course of the moon or the sun. We cannot change the laws of the physical world. We cannot change the movement and flow of the ocean. We cannot change the stars in the skies and the course they move in. However, the Bible pulsates with pages of testimonies of the lives, purposes, events, and habits which have been changed and can be changed.
Eric S. Ritz, Why Change Is Possible
Constructing a building starts with scaffoldings. Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. As each floor is built according to its frame, the structure is then solidified with concrete walls. The building goes through dressings of paint, furniture, plumbing, electrical and other amenities. Once near completion, out go the scaffolding.
You don’t bring anything into the world when we were born. You can’t take anything from the world when you die. But, through Christ, you can leave something in the world when your time is up. By letting the purpose which God has for you materialize. Bear fruits. Bear good fruits. By living a life that matters. Be someone, not just anyone, that will make a difference. How? Let the work of your Creator continue to manifest in your life. Don’t block. Don’t build a firewall to resist every unpleasant events in your life that God is allowing to turn you towards Him and see His amazing work accomplished through your surrender and obedience to Him.
