HOLY SPIRIT BLESS US
July 28, 2002
Philippians 2: 5- 11
WHERE IS MY GREAT I AM?
I praise the Lord for this beautiful Sunday because God gave me this opportunity to share with you the message of God.
My special thanks to Rev. Paul Kelly for allowing me to use his pulpit.
I am so grateful for that.
Also, I would like to thank Bro. Jim for his invitation during the yesterday UMM breakfast fellowship. I would certainly join them again.
Rev. Kelly told me to take this time to give you a little information about the Filipino Mission. Thanks to the Lord, the Filipino Mission is 18 months old now. We have about 40 people who are actively involved or shall I call them supporters because they are not members yet.
We are holding our Sunday Worship Service at the First UMC of Melbourne along New Heaven Ave. which is @ 2:30 p.m.
Of course, we have a fellowship meal after the service.
So, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to come and fellowship with us and a chance for you to taste our tasteful Filipino foods……
It’s hard to accept the fact, but for sure you will agree with me that… people nowadays tend to live without Jesus Christ in their life.
The reason why I mention such because obviously if you will look at our churches, there are many vacant pews (pls look around) while, in the sports arena like the swamps for the Gators, all seats are taken… full of people cheering for their favorite team and players.
My friends, we need to be reminded always that in our life, “apart from Jesus Christ we can do nothing.”
As minister of the Gospel for almost 17 years now …and based on what I have observed to people… there is a call for us to go back to the basic… to the very foundation of our Christian belief.
Our Methodist faith was established under the guidance and power of God.
The very basic foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ, the Bible, Prayer & Fasting.
When I was in the college I read a book that says about the Methodists in the early days which statement I will never forget.
The author said that “ Methodist members fasted at least ones a week.” And that was the time in the history of the United States that “3 out of 10 Americans are Methodist.”
The question now is where are they?
Have they lost their love for “The Great I am”.
Are they one of the people these days, who are asking the question…
Where is My Great I Am? Where is my Savior- Jesus Christ?
It is a reality that, most of the times… when everything is all right and everything is calm… God is not there in our thoughts, in our hearts and minds.
But when the situation is unfavorable… when Sept 11 comes…
when sickness troubles us… Worries come our way… we ask, Lord why?
According to reports, after that tragic & devastating events of 911…churches overflowed with people.
But afterwards, people say, “Lord, excuse us today because we have to attend an important party… or we have to do this… and we have to do that… excuses, excuses and excuses… again and again.”
But obviously, just like the message of a song, “People need the Lord.” No matter what your condition or situation is… no matter how you feel.. no matter what you think… no matter who you are... I tell you… we have a Great I am & His name is Jesus Christ.
And Jesus said: “I am the Bread of Life”. John 6: 35
Obviously, Americans will survive with bread over their plate, that is why Atlanta Bread & Panera bakeries along Wickham Road are always full of costumers because of their bread.
Even one of my members convinced us to buy Panera bread –the Bagel Asiago Cheese and it taste good. I like it. But… I like rice better because I think Filipinos cannot survive without rice.
People are so busy, working and earning so that they can buy bread for themselves and for their families. We need to feed our physical being.
But, what Jesus Christ refers here is the real Bread of Life.
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus Christ is telling us that we have a spiritual being that needs to be fed by Him.
I believe that there are lots of people who are spiritually starving and malnourished.
Jesus’ statement is very relevant in our present situation. People are starving to death especially those who are in the poor countries because they don’t have something to eat and what they need is material blessings but more so they need spiritual food.
There are people who have enough food in their freezers.
Piles of foods in their pantries... They will never get hungry, they can fill their stomach anytime they want to… they are physically healthy but the question is …
“ Are their spiritual being as healthy as their physical body? Or are they malnourished because the real bread of life is not in their life.
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Two words are needed in order to enjoy the promises of Jesus Christ. “Come & Believe”
We can do this free of charge. You don’t need to work hard to look for it… We can always come and believe our Bread of Life…
Jesus Christ embraces diversity and his invitation is open for all…. no matter what color you are… We are compelled to extend the invitation to others so that they may also come & believe.. the real bread of life.
Look around my dear brothers and sisters… there’s a lot of people who are hungry for the word of God… They are waiting for you…
Jesus also said, “I am the good Shepherd.” John 10: 11
Pastors come and go and members will always remain in the Church unless they move to another place for several reasons. But while you are here, especially those who love this church of the “God is with us”or Emmanuel UMC … enjoy being a member while enjoying the presence of your pastor…
Pastors are extension of God’s love and care… so that under your Pastor’s care… you may also grow to become God’s sheperds to people who are lost.
The Bible said: “ the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
We are at a lost at one point in our life… Jesus Christ died for you and me… God the Father gave his only begotten son to die on the cross for the redemption and forgiveness of our sins.
We as Christian Methodist believers cannot save ourselves… We cannot wipe away the sin in us… We need the blood & life of Jesus Christ for our salvation.
If we say that… indeed, we have experienced the saving grace of God… we need to testify to the lost… to those who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior…. Share Jesus… Tell people what God has done to your life…
The problem now is… other believers are afraid to become witnesses for the Gospel… We are hesitant… we are scared because of so many factors playing in our mind…
Do people know about your faith?
Do people know……… that Jesus… whom you are serving? ……..
I know some instances wherein in one office you have are fellow Methodist working with you but you don’t even know that you go to the same Methodist Church… Sometimes, Christians are tempted to compromise their faith because of fear of losing their love ones… friends… or job.
If we love someone.. we don’t want them to go astray like lost sheeps… we don’t want them to live in sin & misery… so… we need to share Jesus Christ.
But, you may probably say: “not in this country men.”
Many Americans nowadays , live without the great I am…. They remove the 10 commandments & the prayers in school …and now the “Pledge of Allegiance ”with the phrase “under God” was declared unconstitutional.”
Ouch!!! believe me… your forefathers are weeping… but more than anything else our Lord Jesus Christ is not happy on what is going on in this country.
We as Christians need to voice out our commitment and love for the Lord by telling other people that we have Jesus Christ- the good shepherd who lays down His life for you and me.
There are so may people who chose to live in darkness… they need the One who said:
“I am the Light of the world.” John 8: 12
“Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
ILL.
I would like to share with you the story about the grandfather who took his little grandson for a walk in the woods. As they were walking along they stopped for a moment & the grandfather asked,
"Do you know where we are?" The little boy said, "No!"
The grandfather asked, "Do you know where we’re going?" And the little boy again said, "No!"
The grandfather chuckled & said, "Well, I guess you’re lost then."
The boy looked up at his grandfather & said, "No, I’m not lost. I’m with you."
When Jesus is with us we are never lost. He is our light & our salvation. Of whom shall we be afraid?
Even Apostle Paul said, “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son (Jesus Christ), but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else.” Romans 8: 31,32
We are so blessed, we know the One who said, “I am the Light of the World.”
But that gift,… of knowing the Light of the World is coupled with a task….
Jesus said: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Mt 5: 16
This means, we need to be a living witness and good examples to others.
Be careful on how we live our life. God is watching us… People are watching us.
At work, although the supervisor is not looking at us, still we need to do our work well… How are we treating other people? How do we respond to the situations we are confronted with.
We, Christians are compared to the fishes inside the aquarium. Others are observing and looking at us. Their reactions will depend on how we perform inside the arena of life.
We can draw them near or away to the saving knowledge of Jesus our Lord by the way we live.
Hebrews 12: 1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
v. 2a. looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,”
Yesterday morning during the UMM breakfast fellowship one of the gentleman said that “we need to pray for the children who are kidnapped, raped & brutally murdered.”
That is true, we need to do that… the situation nowadays is alarming.
There is a call for us-Christians to pray for this darkening world.
According to the study made by Paul Lee Tan: “the murder rate in the U.S is roughly 10,000 per year- more than one per hour everyday in the year. In all the wars in the nations’ history, 530,000 US combatants have been killed; but since 1900, deaths from guns alone in the U.S. have totaled more than 800,000.”
While the National Right to Life study says, “In the U.S, over 32 million unborn babies have been killed in the twenty-one years since abortion was legalized, and more than 1.5 million are killed each year.”
I am not here to discredit the people of this country, I love your people because through the missionaries from this beloved country, true Christianity arrived in the Philippines- and that is Protestantism. And these things are also happening all over the world even in my own country-The Philippines.
The Bible teaches us that, “the truth will make you free.” John 8: 32b
My brethren here at Emmanuel UMC, listen!! - our Lord Jesus Christ, “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on the cross.”
And because of that, “God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2: 5-11
Those who are aware, for two years in a row, the Florida conference of the UMC adapted the theme that challenged every Methodist Christians here at Florida to… “Dare to Share Jesus.”
The world needs the Bread of Life…the Good Shepherd… the Light of the World… Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Great I am!… Where is your Great I am?
If you claim that he is in your heart… Share Jesus!
The world desperately need the Savior… the Redeemer… and His name is Jesus Christ.
Are we willing to accept and respond to this call? … Today is the time… not tomorrow… because tomorrow might be too late! Amen.
