The Church & I : Christian Submission in our New relationships (Eph 5:21-6:9)

Snippet of Sermon by Mr Daren Lee
When we come to a relationship with Jesus Christ, our existing relationships becomes new because of Him.

V21: Christian submission is a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul mentioned that submission in 3 areas:
1. Wives and husbands;
2. children and father;
3. slaves and masters.

To put this verse in context, i.e. v 15-21 there is no period (full stop) after the phrase, " filled with the spirit." Instead a participle follows, rendering the "filling of the holy spirit" and "being submissive" as one i.e. the latter i.e. of "being subject (or submitting) to another out of reverence for Christ"  following from the former.

We are to "submit to one another" as a fish would adapt to water. But is this true today? Illustration of his re-dedication to God: He had a new love for the word, new fervency to pray. All these are evidences of a Spirit-filled life. Yet he noticed that he continued to struggle with submission. It doesn't get easier with time also. Is there something more fundamental that we need to deal with? The verse tells us we are to submit to one another our of 'reverence for Christ'. Our new submission is possible because it is rooted in our identity in Christ. In Lk 9:23-24, Jesus' invitation to follow him is a call to submission, to deny ourselves daily so that Christ will reside in us. We are called to practise submission on a daily basis.

Many are afraid to submit ourselves to another for fear of losing our identity, having to give up our personal rights etc. But when we practise true godly submission, we are going to receive the new me, the new identity in Christ. Power is the rule of the day in our world but Christ denied himself and gives us a new power to live. We are able to do so because for once in our lives, through Christ we know that we are of infinite worth. We now have a new identity to relate to others. Our surroundings continue to be filled with unreasonable bosses etc. they have not changed. But now desiring to deny ourselves daily, we are no longer the same. We can respond differently now that we know we are infinitely loved by Christ.

This is how it can be practiced: v 22 submit yourselves... To your own husband... Added in by the modern translators. Wives to your own husband as you to Christ:

1. Submission and love of husbands and wives

2. obedience of children and nurture by parents

3. Obedience of slaves and forbearance of masters.

Rather than emphasizing on the women, the slaves and the children, the focus is on man (Emphasis of man to be submit is mentioned 3 times). Focus on man:

• love your wife as your own body: 5 languages of love: gifts, words of affirmation, quality time, touch and acts of service. The way you feel most loved is typically the way your express your love. But it may not meet the need of your spouse. Figure out your spouse's love language.

Illustration: A talented and creative artist, an enthusiastic radio-show host; a happy mother and wife — no one would doubt the preciousness of Muriel McQuilkin's life — until her decline into the darkness of Alzheimer's disease.

Muriel spent the last decade of her life battling Alzheimer's, while her husband, Robertson, battled critics of his decision to stay home with her. Robertson's decision became controversial when he resigned as president of Columbia Bible College to care for Muriel full time. With his 22-year career at a peak, many urged him to put Muriel in a nursing home and continue with "God's work."

Many urged him to put Muriel in a nursing home and continue with "God's work."

 

God's work, Robertson concluded, was taking care of his wife. "There are others who can lead the Bible college," he said, "but I am the only one who can care for Muriel." He didn't debate the ethical value of her life. The McQuilkins' story is about abiding love. "I wrote a book on ethics; I even researched euthanasia," Robertson said. "I know the issues. I am keeping a promise: 'til death do us part. I made my decision because I love her. I thought, Here's my lover; what can I do to make her life easier?" "When will you put her in a home?" "When someone else can take better care of her than I can."

To the oft-asked question, "When will you put her in a home?" Robertson always answered, "When someone else can take better care of her than I can." That never happened. Robertson kept his promise right up until Muriel's death in September 2003, feeding her, bathing her, loving her even when she could only respond with grunts and groans. "Love takes the sting out of duty," he says.
All of us who peek into the McQuilkins' story receive lessons in love. Robertson painted the portrait of Christian marriage as that of Christ and the church. He loves His bride even when she doesn't show love in return.

"Of course, love is designed to be reciprocated," Robertson says, "but true love is not about how lovable the object is but rather the heart of the one loving." Robertson notes that the decision to stay home with an ailing loved one is not for everyone. "My story doesn't always help people struggling with this issue," he says. Some people may not be old enough to retire from their jobs; some might not be physically strong enough to lift a sick person; some might not be emotionally strong enough to handle it. "I was fortunate to be in a position that I could do what I did," he says.

In Muriel's case, perhaps God used her most profoundly in her mental darkness. Their story has been published many times and has spurred countless marriages to deeper commitment. One afternoon Robertson received a foreign magazine with their story in another language. "See there, honey, you're preaching all over the world!" he told Muriel.

Since Muriel's death, Robertson speaks at churches, conferences and universities on the topic of love and marriage, most often sharing his lecture "Six Things Muriel Taught Me About Love." Through it all, their journey of love lives on and encourages many.

Chinese New Year Message: An Opportunity to Mend (Gen 43:24-34; John 21:9-14)

Snippet of Sermon by Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan


Chinese new year is a special time when we not only catch up with our immediate family but also with the extended family. These often appear in our visitation list for Chinese New year. Yet, how often have we experienced the abrupt deletion of one or two families over time. What happened? Usually these are dropped because there is some grievance with them that never got resolved. Especially when the link-pin to that family is gone (e.g. grandma etc.), the visits are discontinued and the list just got shorter and shorted. Sometimes the distance is created bvy years of neglect, misunderstandings, differing perspectives regarding the elders of the family... everyone has a story, a justification why we should skip this home and that.


As we come to this time of the year, particularly this evening (CNY Eve with the tradition of Reunion dinners), we will notice who is missing from the table and has not been invited to come. We will call to mind the ones we want to continue not to visit the next day. We make these decisions to avoid:

·         being reminded of the matter that led to this state of affairs

·         having to deal with it

·         having to apologize and make good whatever it was

·         the awkwardness of having to meet and receive these persons

·         being disappointed yet again, if there is no response or if things are not going to be mended the way we perceive they should be.

This morning we want to think about these ruptures and the family and how we may respond to them as believers celebrating Chinese New Year. After all, in God's eternal plan, he will be calling to all the 4 corners of the earth to bring together those who are in his family. We will all then share the same heaven, see each other for ever. Amongst this group, we will certainly meet people with whom we have had differences, fought legally in court. What would we do then in heaven if we do not attempt to restore some measure of peace at least our part in the responsibility?


How are we to answer the Lord's instructions given in Matt 18:21-22, "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to 7 times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not 7 times, but 70 seven times.' Rom 13:8 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." If you feel the person owes you, then make that debt even more outstanding than it has ever been before. That's what Paul is saying. We have not come to 70 seven times.


Jesus also says in John 13:34-35, 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you may love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.' Ever wonder why the remaining relatives who are not believers never want to cross that line to believe in Christ? They can't see how Christ's love can be genuine if 2 believing sets of relatives continue to keep up the rebuff. Peacable and peacemaking are to be the character of the children of God.


John 15:12 "This is my commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you." 1 John 3:1-3, 'See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself, just as He is pure.' If our rift is with non-believers, we want to become like Jesus before he appears. We show that we belong to Jesus when we are able to imitate the Lord: to lay aside our grievance against someone, forgive and extend once again that hand of kinship/friendship. Surprise them this festive season, be prayerful tonight as you gather your family together for the meal.


How will we do this?

·         Pick up that phone number that we’ve chucked away for a long time. Invite this person to your home for dinner tonight. He/she can only say, “No, I have other plans.”

·         Put that family back on that visitation list and just ring the door bell tomorrow. It’s unlikely that they will turn you away.

By doing these, you would have:

·         Sown seeds of peacemaking in just that one phone call or that one visit

·         Demonstrated what the Lord has done in your life. More than all that you’ve ever said to this family, this act or attempt at receiving the other will speak louder than those words.

·         Pleased the Lord more than you can ever imagine.

The challenge to us then is this: Think of Matt 5:46-47, “⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” Does Jesus make a difference in your life when it comes to loving those whom you find difficult to love?

Remember the admonition Paul gave in Rom 12:17-21, “17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Can we leave our accumulated anger in the hands of God and let him take from us the right to repay those who have caused us loss and pain? Will you make the first move in imitation of Jesus Christ? Will you allow this embedded pain to be healed after all these years?

Yet, we are always waiting for the other to make the first move. Our pride will not let it go. We are fearful that if we make the first move, it would mean that “I am admitting that I was at fault.” Think of Joseph making that first move to usher his brothers into his house for a meal. Jesus made that first move to invite his disciples for breakfast by the shore. Both men knew that there were outstanding matters regarding the people they were going to eat with, yet they did not hesitate to open their arms to love. Can we do any less?

God is never far away when we learn to make peace because He is the ultimate peace-maker who alone is our inspiration. It was God who had intervened and blessed Esau in the years that Jacob had not seen him so that he had no thoughts of getting back at Jacob when they met again. God had not been idle all that time, but had prepared his brother. Similarly, it was God who gave Joseph perspective regarding his slavery and exile to Egypt and the years of suffering so that he could embrace his brothers who had done him in years ago.

After all these years, what new perspective has God given you regarding some of these buried grievances, a new way to view the past? Have you experienced that grace that Joseph was able to show to his siblings?

God honors our efforts to make peace and He will yet surprise you, just like he did with Jacob.  God is a specialist in mending broken relationships, pray and invite him to give you courage and bless your efforts to make that first move.

Illustration: Chancing One’s Arm

A dispute between two leading noble families of medieval Ireland, the Butlers (Earls of Ormond) and the FitzGeralds (Earls of Kildare) was resolved in 1492 by a brave act and a magnanimous response. Black James, nephew of the Earl of Ormond, fleeing from FitzGerald's Geraldine soldiers, took sanctuary in the chapter house of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Though he had the upper hand, with his soldiers surrounding Black James and his men, Gearoid Óg FitzGerald, Ireland's premier earl, wished to end the bloody feud between both families. He concluded that feuding was foolish since both families worshipped the same God in the same church. So he pleaded with Black James through the Chapter House's oak door to meet him to negotiate a peace. Black James rebuffed all requests. FitzGerald grabbed his spear and chopped a hole in the door with it. Then, having explained how he wished to see peace between the families, the Earl thrust his hand and arm through the hole to shake hands with Black James. It was a risky venture; any of Black James's heavily armed men could have hacked the Earl's arm off; however, James grasped his hand and opened the door. The 2 men embraced and ended the dispute. Can we learn to be like them, to “take a chance” in reaching out to someone in reconciliation this festive season?

New Beginnings (Phil 1: 3-6)

Sermon snippet by Rev Helen Hoe
Paul have had a great start in the letter. He says, “being confident of this” and ends with “will bring to completion.” It is as if those verses were like life's bookends. In between we are held by God's grace.

Began: He initiates to start a good work in us. Makes that first move, maybe we will not move at all. Recall Christian journey, we are mostly running away, deaf to the Lord. Not one time, God takes initiative and takes personal responsibility to continue in our life. There is a good work that he intends to accomplish in our lives. He will not rest till the good work is completed. od is not like man, he does not leave things unfinished. Our future does not depend on human will people but on the fact that God is our partner, the one. joint partakers of grace.

How are you? The polite answer is, “I am fine.”  Most of us feel we have some parts with no words to describe. For the moment, we are not all right. But it will change. We are God’s work in process.  Our role is to surrender, to place ourselves in God's hands and to trust the Master Designer as he shapes us. We may not see too far, we hope to be able to do that.
2 areas:

1.      With one another: so much healing is needed. Many of us are hurt because  of unmet expectations. Thank God for last our Townhall meeting last week. There was that mutual expectation, commitment to one another and to the body (the Church) despite the disappointments. Paul saw people through eyes of faith to the time when God has completed his work. The readers were not on good terms with each other and no amount of preaching will change that. In the same way, we need to pray fervently for the Lord to heal our spiritual myopia, for patience, for those who have disappointed us. One particular area: hurts: pastor often hear hurts from married and single people, from parents...  is this, “The going-on is so tough”. Pastor can offer the work of God to pray for them. God is not done with us yet. Our hope is not in the next therapy and strategy, we have so much with and in God. God can heal us.

       How to be patient with ourselves?  We may have started out well in the journey of obedience with the desire to know his word and will. Yet, we can become jaded, bogged down by life's share of despairing situations. What does it mean? In his 9 years of ministry, Paul shared that "Thrice he was beaten with rods..."  despite all that, Paul’s passion and zeal could not be shut down. There was an internal strength that will not be bashed by criticisms that can resist being shakened.  Is our passion level high enough? Pastor Andrew shared a song during Christmas Day written by Laura Story. In it are the words, “ For who am I to serve him, at times I feel discouraged, how many times will you pick me up? How far will it... A long as you are seeking on face, you will be given sufficient grace for each day.”  Laura Story's Song: Grace Let's be patient with ourselves.

2.      With people around us: We need healing with our community of faith as well.

Commitment : Is it a bad word? (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

Snippet of Sermon by Mr Charles Loh

In the passage, we are told how Paul endured dangers, betrayals for the gospel for Christ. He was committed to a cause he believed in.  Today, commitment is not something that is upheld as we see divorce rates rising, where the turnover in just about every other company is an issue and worshipers taking membership seriously is an issue. What is commitment? It is a strong whole-hearted belief in a system demanding our support in terms of time and energy. If someone is committed, it's clearly visible in his actions. How does our commitment to church measure up? How do we view the announcements which are outside the scope of our participation? What can we say about our commitment and relationship with the church?

CAUSES FOR LACK OF COMMITMENT TO THE CHURCH

One’s diluting commitment is a gradual process of wandering away. No one is blatant enough to disappear suddenly.

1.      A faltering relationship with God: In Rev 2:4, Paul chided the Ephesians with having left their first love. Many of us go through the up’s and down’s in our Christian life. When we come down, we give up serving and detach ourselves from community of faith. We allow our spiritual life to be like a yoyo. We need to guard our spiritual lives and have an accountability partner to keep us on track. Commit ourselves to be godly, find someone to walk the journey with us. Let us constantly ask ourselves the question that Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Make it a habit to read the bible daily.

2.      Priority of the church is low in our lists of priorities.  Engaging in sports, keeping fit, supporting our favorite football club, catching up with In-laws, we are often carried along with so many activities. When the competition for time becomes more intense, that prayer meeting will be dropped, but that golf game will remain. Let us review our priority list. What comes first? Where do I place God and that attentiveness to events that are related to Him?

3.      Technology has hastened our pace of life and we commit ourselves to more activities than ever before. Social media brings many people to our attention even more than before. Are we slaves to technology? Among the 7 things we always have by our side is our ipad, handphone etc. We feel lost without them as want to stay in touch and we want to be reachable. We can be giving one or two hours a day in these online activities. We must not underestimate the impact of technology in our lives as it saps away sour energy to do anything else. Many of us have grown up with it and we may not be able to imagine a world without them. Let us learn to be conscious how technology can impact our lives. Let us jealously guard our time for activities with the church.

4.      Concept of church is changing: Apparently, Singaporeans move 3 times on average. More Christians are moving from church to church as well because the praise time is not good, we are not getting much from sermons. Moving from church to church is not what it used to be. This phenomenon was rare just a few years ago. While we complain that many things done in church are not the way we like it, it's normal. Running away does not help. I would encourage you to step right in.

In Charis, we want to think connectedness. We have 3 congregations but we still have a long way to go to think one church. We still have a long way to go t, reach out and deliberately get to know each other. W2 is much younger their energy will have positive impact on the others. Can we partner them to reach out to a relatives and friends? We want to work at establishing that spiritual and emotional tie with the church. This year, we will be promoting the idea of one big extended family.  Let it become the focal point of our family.

5.      Breakdown of values: increasing young adults are unwillingly to commit to marriage. In 2010 two in seven marriages end in divorce.  This is also a serious problem among Christians. When we accept worldly values our spiritual values become diluted, our commitment will then diminished. We want to strengthen spiritual values in Church. We want to choose to lead godly lives based on the Bible.  How can we express our willingness? Sign up for membership and baptism and be willing to be identified with the church, make known your desire to live daily as a disciple of Jesus. Uphold the church by presence, prayers, gifts and service. Choose not to attend because it is boring or that church has nothing to do with you.

Baptismal/membership questions touched on: 

·      Loyalty to God: Among the top 3 concerns and priorities highlighted by our LCEC members, discipleship topped the list. God desires to see us grow in our discipleship, growing deeper in the word. Can we continue to believe God's plans for us when we encounter difficulties? Let us participate in the church’s program to build our own relationship with God.

·      Loyal to the church by our presence, prayers, gifts and service body life: joining  the family in its various get-togethers. Make effort to befriend those who are shy. Take the challenge to know everyone in the congregation. It’s about making effort to join cell. Let us not stay in comfort zone, especially the new ones from other congregations.

·      Commitment to the Great Commission: church mission. It is our responsibility to evangelize those in our midst. We have 3 evangelism Sundays where we can bring our friends. Make our church a hospital for those who are unwell. Don't turn it into a museum. Seize every opportunity to share the gospel, we want to serve the church financially. Our offering has been flat in the last 2 years and our giving per person is declining. $1.94 million was our target last year but we received much less, lower by $200,000. We want to grow in missions and social concerns, but how do we do that if our offering does not grow in tandem. Tithing is not old testament law, it is part of our worship today. From 2011 years to 2015 be strengthened and reach out, we will hear about how to reach out. Identify with the theme for ourselves. Bishop Solomon said last week, "church is not a spectator sport, we need to be active participants."

We need to start by centering around our relationship with Christ.
Commitment is a good thing when we commit ourselves to things that are important to us:

·      Relationship with God and Relationship with his body, the Church
Remember our call to share the gospel with others. Evaluate how you are keeping our membership vows. Make firm commitment to the Lord in 2012.

Advent Series: Secret Revealed (Rom 16:25-27)

Snippet of sermon by Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan

This morning this last paragraph in our text is a doxology. The word “doxology” comes from two Greek words: “doxa” which means glory and “logos” which means word. A doxology is a word of glory. Paul wants to wrap up his letter by offering up a word of glory to God and not to himself. To glorify something is to draw attention to it or to shine the light on the wonder of something. He shines a spotlight on God and the gospel.

How does God get glorified? How Does God Seek His Glory? First, I want you to notice how God goes about getting glory. Many Rulers Have Other Ideas About Getting Glory. Many have sought it through their power, riches, wisdom, and influence. They have done so at the expense of others. They do it by keeping their people poor, uneducated, and powerless. Many attempt to gain power, influence, glory by keeping others just a bit beneath them and they will use anything to do it: race, gender, politics, wealth, health, where you live or even what kind of car you drive

There are an infinite number of good ways Paul could have given glory to God. He could have listed the attributes of God. Yet here at the end of the letter to the Romans, he decided to takes a different tack.

·       Paul writes that God seeks His glory by making His children strong! He is able to establish you in accordance with the gospel, Isn't that great?! God plans, purposes, and commits all the resources of heaven itself and the holy Trinity to make His children strong in the faith. . But when Paul speaks of our being established, he means putting us on solid, stable ground so that nothing gets to you, or shakes you up, or throws you off balance.

Reflection Question:

·       What usually shakes you up and throws you off balance in your Christian faith and witness? Have you ever had the desire to be established?

·       How may you allow God’s dynamite to work in your life?

This is the goal of all Christian teaching in the New Testament (and especially the goal of the letter to the Romans) that we believers might be brought to that place of security where we are not shaken by things. God seeks His glory by making His people strong. Interestingly, Paul uses the word “dynamite” describing vividly the sort of power that we are connected to when we trusted in the gospel.

It is God himself who is responsible for this through the dynamite of His power. God did that with Abraham, who was an idol worshiper. Abraham could not tell the truth about his wife. He was always lying about her because he thought that would save him from difficulty. He had various character faults but God stabilized him, established him, and brought him to a place where he became one of the great names of all time. God did this with Moses and David and, of course, with Paul himself. God broke him, softened him, changed him and put him through circumstances that Paul did not understand at the time. This finally established him, so that no matter what came, he remained strong, steady, trusting and certain. That is the great good news of this letter. "Now to him who is able to establish you..."

·       God is glorified by creating in believer's hearts that desire to obey Him (v 27)

This gospel has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith. This is the goal of our faith: to bring glory to God by obeying Him from faith. Real faith in Jesus Christ produces obedience and obedient lives make God look glorious. That's what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Here's the purpose of God strengthening us. To make us obedient by giving us hearts that believe He is worthy of our allegiance. By His word and the present help of His Spirit we now can obey Him.  When we get saved we're not only acquitted by grace we are also transformed by grace. Grace not only forgives us it changes our hearts. It changes what we value, cherish, prize and treasure up in our hearts. This is the word of God's promise in Ezekiel. He says,

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone (hard and unresponsive) and give you a heart of flesh ( living and pliable) I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." The reality of justifying faith is made manifest through the changes God has made in us in Christ.

Reflection Questions:

·       Have you glorified God through the obedience that comes from faith, confidence and trust in Him? How can you begin to obey more consistently? Which area should you begin with?

 ·       The third way God is glorified here is when all nations believe and obey him through the faithful proclamation/revelation of the secret that has been concealed for a long time.

You can hear echoes of chapter one, where Paul said that he was "set apart for the gospel which He promised beforehand through the revelation of His prophets in the Scriptures concerning His Son Jesus.”  This gospel did not begin with the coming of Jesus. It had its origins in the promise of God or command of God in eternity past. God promised the coming of Jesus as early as Gen.3:15 when God told Eve that a child of a woman would prevail over the enemy of our souls. He said, the serpent will "bruise His heal but He will crush his head."

Illustration: Have you played the game Reversi before? Reversi (also marketed by Pressman under the trade name Othello) is a board game involving abstract strategy and played by two players on a board with 8 rows and 8 columns and a set of distinct pieces for each side. Pieces typically are disks with a light and a dark face, each face belonging to one player. The player's goal is to have a majority of their colored pieces showing at the end of the game, turning over as many of their opponent's pieces as possible. The player with the most pieces on the board at the end of the game wins.

Imagine the world is the Reversi board. It appears that God’s world is going to be completely reversed, the dark pieces overcoming the light pieces. That’s how some of us are thinking that perhaps God has gone on tea-break leaving the world to drive itself to the ground. But the doxology lifts our heart upwards to sound the fact that the game is not over. Adam and Eve had made the wrong move but it will not ruin God’s plan forever. When we read the Old Testament you find men and women puzzled as to how God was going to put together all its great promises and themes. There is the promise of the restoration of Israel. There is the promise of the forgiveness of an individual's sins. There is the mighty promise of the healing of the nations and the cessation of war. Then it began to unfold. Jesus came. He was the secret. He would be the one who would bring to pass all the tremendous promises and themes of the Old Testament. That is what Paul means when he says that the mystery was "hidden for long ages past, but now revealed."

 And these promises are for ALL nations not just Israel. It’s not an “Ang Moh” faith. The secret that needs to be revealed is that the gospel promises are meant for all who believe in Jesus for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is the mystery, the secret that we must begin to share.  Paul in his doxology reveals that God intends to add to his battle strategy, all the other nations and races. He intends to unite both Jews and Gentiles into one body. All that God is, wrapped up in a Person and given to you and to me -- the only hope we have of ever discovering the glory that God intended for us as human beings: Christ in you, the hope of glory. The subversive element is planted in each person when they respond to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the radical, powerful secret of authentic Christianity: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Reflection Questions

·       Do you know that mystery? Do you know it, not only in your mind, but do you live it? Picture our lives as a reverse game board. What would it look like? The Holy Spirit works in us to establish us, turning our sinful selves on their heads.

·       Are you actively cooperating with the Spirit in obedience to the gospel, living out the change that Jesus has been sent into the world to effect? It is the knowledge of it and the living of it that turns Christianity into an exciting adventure. It may be demanding, it may even be scary, but I can guarantee you one thing: It will never be boring, because the mystery is at work.

·       God is glorified when all the Gentiles come to the obedience that comes from faith in the gospel. There is this global, cosmic aspect that will bring the glory of God to a crescendo. The present creation, which began at the beginning of the heavens and the earth, has long since grown old and is passing away. But gradually through the centuries God has been building up a new generation, a new race of beings, a new kind of man which the world has never seen before---better even than Adam. But he has had a goal and a purpose in mind that he intends to fulfill, and the instrument by which he is doing it is the Church. This is something we can never fully grasp, but it involves the education of the whole universe.  

Reflection Question

·       What can you do to be part of this new race that can be involved in the education of the whole universe about the ways of God?

CONCLUSION

Do not lose sight of what God is doing. The world cannot see it. It has no idea what is taking place. But you know, and you can see it, so do not lose heart.

Advent Series: Apostolic Instruction (I Thess 5:16-24)

Snippet of sermon by Rev Helen Hoe

Background : Paul was in prison but he was able to continue his work. He wanted to get the good news out to the people. When we talk about being strengthened and reach out, we need to begin rebuilding our inner life in 3 aspects:

1. Cultivate a heart of Thanksgiving: 1 Tim 6:17The Love of money is the root of all evil. Things of God will pale in comparison when we cherish this love. We do not want to join the world in our grumblings. While complaining makes us feel better in that it enables us to get our frustrations out, it also giving the devil a foothold to spread discontent and discord. Psalm 77:3 talks about growing seeds of bitterness in each others' lives. Choose rather to cultivate a heart of thanksgiving. While it is true that it is alright to complain to God (psalm of lament), something happens inside us when we give thanks. We need to build that tank of resource: giving thanks. Do we compartmentalize our life or is the Lord the Lord of all aspects of our life? Build that tank of resource. Problem: our daily routine our priorities shifted to look like that of the world. We are to pray without ceasing. We must practise keeping that posture of prayer throughout the day. Many of us discontinue our conversation with God when we close our Bibles after our quiet times.

2. Grow in Discernment: When we lift our hearts to God, we become alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophesizing (i.e. declaring the mind of God in the power of the spirit). We must learn to test everything, even the prophecies. Be mindful that we can be so  sincerely wrong. It is possible to find someone sharing in all earnestness, yet what he shares does not gel with the Bible. The Bereans Acts 17:11 searched the scriptures daily to check things out  especially the conflicting views about God's will. We need to grow in our discernment.

3. Rest in God's Promise. 1 Thess 5:23-24 God is able to minister to our whole being. Until we reach the end point: the coming of the Lord, we look forward to God's kingdom come. Our lives need to tell a different story.     

Reflection Questions
1. Have we allowed the seeds of bitterness to grow in our lives? What can you this Advent, to grow the resource  of thanksgiving.

2. What would you say about your alertness to the Holy Spirit? Do you run what you hear from prophets through the scriptures to check things out? What would the issue be?

3. What is one promise that I desperately need to stand firm till the coming of Christ?

Advent Series: Taking the Long View - 2 Peter 3:8-15a

Snippet of sermon by Rev Tan-Yeo

INTRODUCTION
The media has gone wild over the 2012 craze. This Mayan calendar thing has almost eclipsed the relevance of the Second Coming of Jesus. Are the two events one and the same? Is it possible that the Lord Jesus will use December 21, 2012 as the date of his return to the earth? All speculation is vain, but there are some very important Bible facts that have not changed, even though many are, even as we speak, throwing out any and all Bible beliefs, and swallowing hook line and sinker all the Mayan Myths. Nostradamus, Church prophets, New Age Humanists, New World Order followers, and all the internet websites in the world cannot change the validity of the Bible.

This letter, 2 Peter, was written to young believers to rescue them from spiritual disaster. The seductive influence of new and forceful teachers in the congregations was already destabilizing the faithful. They were attracting a following that was growing with high-sounding promises to bring believers to a hitherto unknown “freedom of experience (2:19). It was Peter’s intention to expose the false teachers and also to alert the congregations about guarding against error less they are deceived from the truth. Today in our text, the Apostle Peter shifts his attention from false teachers (which were in the previous chapter) to Christians in the community. Generations of believers have found in the eternal God alone a true refuge and satisfying dwelling place. By contrast, the new teachers are entirely content with the world as their home, and look for no other. This is because they do not know the Lord, either in his compassion or in his justice.

SERMON PROPER

THE LORD’S COMPASSION: Many times when coming to parts of scripture like this one here, I would not be thinking God’s compassion. When he comes and he presses the red button “delete”, I think of the people who will be left out. BUT again Peter reminds his readers that there is something they must keep in mind when thinking of the parousia of Christ. In vv. 8-9 Peter recall to them the nature of God as different from men. Time and Eternity are two quite different entities, and since God is eternal and man finite, they look at time in different ways. The quote is from Psalm 90:4 where man is pictured as "numbering his days" while God is "from everlasting to everlasting." In eternity there is no time, i.e. past or future, but only the present. Thus "time" and "delay" are virtually meaningless to God, and man must learn to adjust to that. This should help us greatly in facing the centuries that have passed since New Testament times.

3:9 LONGSUFFERING TOWARD US: Moreover Peter was anxious to reverse his opponents who insisted that the seeming delay in the parousia is proof that God is untrustworthy in fulfilling his promises. The Apostle Peter who had witnessed the love of God in Jesus explained that it is not faithlessness or even slowness tardiness which delays the coming of the end, but because God is patient! The word is makrothumeo, "that quality by which God bears with sinners, holds back his wrath, refrains from intervening in judgment as soon as the sinner's deeds deserve it, though not indefinitely" (Bauckham). God’s mercy moves Him to prolong the day of salvation. Instead [Not the usual contrast word but a strong contrast word meant to awaken the hearers] God is patient [Present Active Indicative: He keeps on staying patient. I am learning about patience these days… patience is not about having the offending element taken away. No… patience is an exercise in enduring the troubles, the injuries and offenses of the one who grates us. So Patience is not without sacrifice or value. Imagine the Lord suffering the indifference of man, their cursings, their finger-pointing, their ignorance and arrogance… and not acting to repay them for all of these… that’s patience. He keeps at showing mercy and delays his return for that very reason that someone may turn, repent and be saved. [Alla but]That they may, with that delay, make that once and for all decision to make space for the truths of God for the love of God. 

So when those who do not understand this truth about God go ahead and rant at God, do not join them. Don’t join in all that scoffing. The word for “scoffing” only appears another time in the whole NT in Jude 18. Jude 18-19 reads, ‘They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”’ These mockers were also the false teachers who interpreted God’s mercy and forbearance as betraying divine impotence or negligence. 

Peter reminds us that the non-appearance is because God is still keeping the door open… waiting.

Reflection Question:

1.     What then is left for us to do in view of God’s compassion? Can we share God’s compassion, God’s heart to rescue? We make it our urgent task in life, to ensure that God’s compassion is not “wasted/abused” by our non-action/ indifference. The very fact that you are placed next to someone who does not know Jesus is God’s assignment for you. Let his compassion be rewarded by our diligence to save one more from destruction.

Behind His apparent delay is a heart that is not willing that any should perish. Many scriptures establish that fact, notably 1 Timothy 2:4, Romans 11:32, 2 Corinthians 5:19, and Ezekiel 18:23 (let’s take a look at them). He has made provision for all to come to repentance, but if they exercise their God-given free will to refuse He cannot prevent it, for it is that free will which marks us out as men and not animals or robots.

Many of us have plenty of cool ideas about the end of the world. It is just a separation of the devoted followers and the nominal followers of God… we are mostly also not thinking unbelievers. Then God metes out the punishment to all the different groups. A mild closure… after all how scary can it get. We also secretly hope that there is a safe place to catch all (those who have not professed faith in Jesus)…

THE JUSTICE OF GOD

At least twice in this passage is the description of the end. There is nothing cool there. Jesus will come like a thief in the night and then the destruction of the present heavens and earth will take place. It would be as previously stated, by unceasing fire, totally destructive. Everything as we know it is going to melt or dissolve into nothingness. Think of the expensive homes that we have invested our monies in… all things material will not be preserved. The structure (Gk. stoichea) of the universe would melt and the present civilization of men would disappear. There is no safe place to be. For many of us, it’s like yes, I know but isn’t all this just scare tactics used by the Apostles to control people and exercise power over them.

Chuck Colson is right when he says: Not to believe that there will be a time for the reckoning of all accounts, for the consummation of history as we know it, is not to believe in a just God. For Christians the great eschatological hope is that Christ will return and judgment will be rendered, accounts will be set straight, the scales balanced, wrongs righted, and we will live in the love of God for eternity. This is why most Christians are able to affirm what the apostle Paul said, that to live is Christ, to die is gain.

In view of God’s justice,

Reflection Questions

2.     Examine your priorities, how much of your time is for laying up treasures on earth, only to watch them burn up in the day of the Lord?

3.     How can you re-prioritize your life if the fiery end is a certainty?

4.     Are we asleep basking in the sunshine of God’s Kingdom oblivious to how the day will turn out?

RESPOND WITH THE DAY OF THE LORD IN MIND
Only those who diligently lived out their pilgrimage on earth will be spared. Set against the fearful background of the Day of the Lord, how are we to live? The false teachers lived as men of the world in contrast to those who know the truth. Today, even within the church, there are teachings that promise their listeners that spiritual hunger and heavenly aspirations can find complete satisfaction in the here and now. There is no urgency to long for Jesus’ coming. It will merely be an enhancement of the happiness solely in this world.  Nothing spectacular. The end is going to be a smooth ride out of the turmoil, just like the way we go through the rides at the Universal Studios. After the scary explosions, come the calm. With striking incisiveness Peter returns to his exhortation to godly living.

· 3:14 BE DILIGENT: Peter now returns to his word of 1:5 and 1:10 "be diligent," to urge a practical result of their forward-looking hope. Jesus himself had raised the question: "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He left the question hanging in the air, waiting for each hearer to answer in his own heart. Peter suggests a diligent response that seeks to avoid the shame of the false teachers ("spots" and "blemishes"), has dealt biblically and honestly with any personal failure and therefore has found peace that passes understanding. We need to make every effort, hasten to exert yourself  give it due diligence and make that once and for all decision not to waver but be found to be spotless (i.e. unsullied) and blameless (that cannot be censured, blameless, without rebuke) and at peace with Him. Illustration: Talking about spots and blemishes, my girls are growing up and increasingly we notice these on their faces. However, they are still not too conscious or even if they are, they want to appear pretty cool about them. Their resolve to put the cream on their spots each night is weak… they waver and just let them be when they are too tired after a day in school or when they think the spots are improving a little. My husband is particular about them so when he sees them appearing on the faces of my girls, he will run after them with the Daktarin, his miracle cream, and smear it on the blemishes and spots every night. He goes at them with a vengeance.

 Reflection Questions:

5.     What about you when it comes to the spots and blemishes that continue to be in us? Do we decisively work at them with the intention that they are removed for the sake of Christ? Or do we simply let things be or keep wavering in our resolve to deal with the parts that sullies our lives and our witness to Jesus Christ?

Advent is the perfect time to clear and prepare the Way. Advent is a season for training in righteousness for those who desire peace with God. By reflection and prayer, by reading and meditation, we can make our hearts a place where a blessing of peace would desire to abide and where the birth of the Prince of Peace might take place. Check the blemishes and the spots:

Reflection Questions:

6.     "During this season of Advent, let us daily make an Advent examination. Are there any feelings of discrimination toward race, sex, or religion? Is there a lingering resentment, an unforgiven injury living in our hearts? Do we look down upon others of lesser social standing or educational achievement? Are we generous with the gifts that have been given to us, seeing ourselves as their stewards and not their owners? Are we reverent of others, their ideas and needs, and of creation?

These and other questions become Advent lights by which we may search the deep, dark corners of our hearts. 

Many of us believe in God but haven’t come round to believing in God-in-me. Many of us believe in God in heaven, but we haven’t come round to believing in God-on-earth. This is to take the short view about the end. Don’t let this advent season go to waste. Let the Holy Spirit stoke the kind of fire in our worship and devotion that can truly change our hearts.

Peace is the heritage of Christians and its presence indicates one whose expectation of the return of Christ has given a sense of balance and proportion despite whatever chaos the world may present.