What is that in your hands – June 2010 Sermon – Exodus 4:1-2

I remember a story of a very rich man who made his fortune in crocodile farming, selling crocodile skins to top fashion houses. One day, he threw a party around his house. In the middle of the party he posed a challenge to the audience.

He said, if anyone of you can swim across this crocodile pool from one end to the other, he will be rewarded with the hand of my beautiful daughter. There was a big buzz in the audience as each one was eyeing who will be one courageous soul that can brave the challenge.

Out of nowhere, there was one big splash. Suddenly the audience roared in thunderous applause as one man young, swam criss crossing his way, at times wresting the crocodiles. A few seconds later he miraculously reached the other end of the pool without no injuries nor scratches. With such death defying effort, the people applauded with great celebration.
At the end of the pool, the rich man, puzzled and perplexed, interviewed the young man. He asked, young man, congratulations! You have proven your mettle.
Now before I give you the hand of my daughter, I just want to know one thing? What was on your mind when you jumped into the pool?

The young man said. Sir, I just want to know WHO PUSHED ME in the POOL?!

Can we relate to this story? That when given what seemed to be an impossible task that we need someone to push us into the unknown before we even realize that we have hidden talents or undiscovered gifts to draw men to God?

And this afternoon, we will draw lesson from scripture and be inspired by the life of one great man overcoming his own frailties for the glory of God.

Turn your bibles with me in Exodus chapter 4:1 to 2. I will be reading from the NIV translation. 1 And Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?
May the Lord bless the reading of HIS precious words.

The Title of my message today is “ WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR HAND”.

Everyone in this hall knows Moses. Who can forget Moses. With his being used by God as an instrument to God’s miracles. His parting of the Red sea. The manna in heaven. The nile river, the plague.
But tucked in Exodus 3-4, we see the man, being convicted by God in the most unusual way possible, in a burning bush.
Scroll up in Exodus chapter 3 and we see the reluctance and hesitation of the man. By drawing all sorts of excuses and alibi just to avoid the call the GOD has asked of HIM to fulfill.

First, in Exodus chapter 3 verse 11, listen to the conversation of God and Moses and observe carefully at his response.
In verse 11, when Moses saw the burning bush and as God calls him to come near the place. God started introducing who God is, Gods purpose and plan of saving the Israelites from misery in the hands of the Egyptians.

1. First Moses said, “Who Am I Lord that I should go to Pharoah and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Notice Gods response. I will be with you And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you [a] will worship God on this mountain.” For us?

2. Next, Moses said “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’? What shall I tell them Lord? God said “ I AM WHO I AM”. [b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

Now, picture yourself in Moses shoes. Here you are being confronted by God with signs and wonders of a burning bush. What would be your reaction? Will you respond like Moses. Well anyone of us in his right state of mind would have probably jumped into action right away, right.

Would we snap at attention and say, that’s it Lord, solve na ako. I will go wherever you want me to go. Can we relate to Moses. That sometimes or oftentimes, we have to wait for a clear confirmation from God in order to spur into action.
Sandali muna Pastor, pag iisipan ko pa bago mag serve. There is nothing wrong with waiting for signs from God before we act. But what if a brother or a sister is in dire need of help from you, would you say. Wala pang confirmation sis. Sorry ha. In tagalog, aanhin pang damo kung patay na ang kabayo.

3. Now it gets more interesting. Listen to the third dialogue, and here’s the twist. Moses said ‘WHAT IF THEY DON’T BELIEVE ME LORD or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’ . Observe how God responded. God said “ WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR HAND”.

And then comes the transformation of the staff into a serpent, and several other miracles.

What about us? If we were in Moses shoes, would we snap at attention and say, that’s it Lord, confirm! But why is it that we have to wait on God to give us visible signs before we act on his call? Don’t we trust HIM enough not to do his will for our lives. Teka lang Lord, hindi pa ako handa. Steady ka lang Lord. Do we have to be pushed from the sidelines before even realizing we have the gift to offer God and HIS ministry.

I’m not saying Moses concern is not valid. Rightfully so. Simply because he knows that the assignment GOD is asking him to pursue is almost an impossible task for a man under his stature would accomplish.

4. Now lets look at the 4th dialogue. By this time, you might say, dapat alam na ni Moses ang gagawin nya. But, still Moses is hesitant. Notice how he responded. Moses said” BUT I CANNOT SPEAK WELL, ”. O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.

And GOD said “ I WILL HELP YOU SPEAK”. Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf mute? What gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I the Lord? Now go, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say!

Lets pause for a moment and imagine you are in the shoes of God. What would you do?

5. But lo and behold. God was still patient with Moses. Moses is reluctant. See how Moses responded ‘. O Lord please send someone else to do it? Now God is really angry at Moses. Still the Lord led him to a solution. God said “What about your brother Aaron, he can speak well. Talk to him and I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do”.

SERMONIC IDEA
So what is the point? That in spite of the signs and wonders of God, still our disobedient hearts stands in the way.

Often, we only see ourselves in the scheme of things relative to OUR world, OUR community, OUR society, OUR family, OUR friends, OUR officemates, OUR jobs.
Instead we have to open our eyes and see events, circumstances and situations based on God’s way, God’s plan, God’s design, God’s timeframe, God’s purpose.
No wonder, when Jesus was alone with the 12 disciples and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’

And these are the 2 Truths that we can draw from this study of scripture today.

EVAT #1.
1. Do not ignore ordinary things. God can turn ordinary things to turn into extraordinary events to accomplish HIS plan.

What is special about Moses staff? Nothing. It is not even fashioned from an expensive tree or expensive metal? It simply represented his position and possession in society.
Position meaning his stature as a shepherd in the ancient near east. Possession means the staff somehow symbolizes that he owns flocks or herds of grazing animals.
Again, nothing special. In today’s context, the staff could mean your position in society and the way God has blessed you with your material possession.
The question becomes, are you willing to obey God and let God work in your turning your own staff to become an instrument of salvation to many people.

But pastor I am shy, I don’t know how to talk? I cant sing well. I cant play the instrument well. Ah that’s in your perspective. And that is today. Tomorrow may be totally different. You are who you are today, tomorrow given the right heart. It may be different story when you become a willing accomplice to Gods salvation plan for mankind.

EVAT #2
2.Do not ignore ordinary people. God uses ordinary people to accomplish HIS Grand redemptive design.

What is special about shepherding? Nothing as well. One thing is for sure, it is very very hard work. If you have been to the provinces in the Philippines, it is a long and arduous job. I know. Because I myself was brought up in a Lolo and lola environment.

In Moses case his familiarization of the terrain in the desert becomes the critical factor in leading people to the promised land. So don’t ignore the people that are around you.

Have you noticed the tendency for most of us to pass judgement on the external appearance of a person?

Moses mission proves to us we can never be too young nor too old to serve God. If you observe carefully, all of Moses life, we see GOD’s hand at work.

His forty years in the cudgels of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Learning the ways of the Egyptians, dining with them, going to social places, their way of life. So that when the ripe time comes, he knows how to handle the Egyptian people when God asked him to rescue the Israelites.

Then comes the next 40 years. This time round, in the wilderness. The Desert. Little did he know that all of that experience is to be used mightily in the end. Being familiar in the deserts harsh environment. With minimal if not zero resource to depend on. We see the mans character and behavior being molded and shaped to handle animals in the most challenging place could be.

And finally, the next 40 years in the same desert that he was already familiar with. By handling millions of Israelite out of Egypt and into the promised land. Imagine yourself rounding up all the Singaporean people. Arm with only a staff, crossing over Johor bahru bridge to cross and go to Malaysia. Can you imagine the scenario?

FINAL THOUGHTS
What is that in our hand brothers and sisters? Are you willing to offer it to God to be used for his glory.

What is that on your hand? Are you using it for Gods glory?

What is that on your hand? Are you using your position and possession to propagate the goods news of the gospel? Gods beautiful redemptive plan to save mankind?

We don’t need to be asked 5 times by our leaders in order to commit to a ministry, right? What is that on your hand?

Mission: Possible – Aug 2009 Sermon – Matthew

Have you been to an auction house? A story is told about the devil one day auctioning his tools. So, on he lined up together tools of envy, deceit, lust, adultery, hatred and discouragement.

One buyer observed that amongst all the tools the devil is selling, the one that commanded the highest price is the tool of discouragement. However, despite of its high cost, he noticed it was also the most used. In other words, gamit na gamit. Puzzled, he asked the devil. Mr. Lucy, how is that this tool of yours is the most worn out yet is the most expensive.

And the devil answered, you want to know why ? Because this tool is the most effective of all the tools I have. If I cannot pry open a man’s heart of all the other tools I have, I will simply use this tool and it works 100% of the time. And the best part, when I’m in his heart, I can do whatever I please because the man is already discouraged to continue his mission in life to serve in Gods kingdom.

And so today, I’d like for us to recalibrate ourselves and learn what scripture has to say on serving in God’s ministry. Shall we all stand as we read Gods precious words.

Main Text
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

May the Lord bless the reading of his precious words.

The title of my sermon today is Mission: Possible.

What compels people to spring to action? Some people would sacrifice all they have and become heroes in the process. Others would take extreme measures and become martyrs. We saw many of these examples in History.

In our modern historical world, history, not God, has judged these people as either heroes of their own countries or martyrs.
• Mandela for the liberation of Blacks in Africa.
• Gandhi for freeing India from the arms of the British.
• In our very own Philippine history books we can line up Rizal to be in the same league as Mandela and Gandhi for his role as the martyr and spark for the Phil revolution that toppled spanish tyranny

CNN has also jumped into the bandwagon and started to aware ordinary people with extraordinary impact to society and calling them CNN heroes of the year. Efren Penaflorida is one example.

What is the common denominator for these people? I believe it is the compelling drive or motivation to do something for their own country. They have a strong sense of mission or purpose. They believe that things or conditions will be better tomorrow.

Along this line of thought, I want you to ponder on this numbers:
1. There are over 2.7 B ( people who have never heard the Gospel at all. And there are only 5,000 to 7,000 missionaries worldwide, working directly with these totally unreached groups of people.1 That means there is approximately one missionary for every 450,000 of these people!

2. There are over 16,000 different and distinct cultures and people-groups – even whole countries, where not one single church is in existence.2

3. There are 7,010 distinct living languages, and 5,199 of them still have no Bible or Scripture translations available in their own language!3 Do these figures move you at all?

4. Does it matter to you that an estimated 80,000 unsaved people die every day (approximately 3,333 every hour…55 people every single minute!) to face the judgment seat of Christ?4

Source: http://www.lastdaysministries.org/Groups/1000002797/Last_Days_Ministries.aspx

Do you find the news sobering?

This recent trip I took to Dallas is another enlightening experience. Not only was I able to attend Chuck Swindoll’s church. But was also able to chat to some good old Christian brothers of mine in the company. I was particularly struck to a conversation I had with my former boss and mentor.

He shared me the story about his friend and church mate who heeded the call of God for mission and became missionaries in Honduras. Of all place why Honduras right? Now that may seem an all too common story to hear.

But he said the man is a corporate executive, former football player in his college days, big guy doing well in his company. And his wife a lawyer in a topnotch law firm in dallas as well. They’ve got 3 little kids. So these are young couple, enjoying a very comfortable lives in a cosmopolitan city.

But in their heart of hearts brew a strong sense of mission and purpose. Until this past month, they have decided to heed the call and literally sold off everything they owned. Sold their house, their cars, not just car but cars, to pursue the mission trip to Honduras.

And listen to this, all that’s left are 16 boxes. Of the 16 boxes, 11 of which are packed with books and study materials.

And when my friend sends them off to the airport, he said he has never seen their face lit up and their aura so peaceful as that moment. Truly they have aligned their lifes mission to Christ mission – work in his vineyard.

What struck us when we hear stories like that? I don’t know about you but I was moved, inspired and a sense of admiration grew for this couples I don’t even know. Venturing into God’s vineyard is not an easy task.

But I believe when their eyes were opened and saw the situation thru God’s lenses, that become their strong desire to compel them to action and take the road less travelled.

In the passage we read earlier, such acts of people springing to action is nothing new. 2000 years ago we already saw Jesus, our savior, modeling the life every Christian believer should take.

Point #1 Jesus modeled true service.

In verse 35 of Matthew, 35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Here we see Jesus modelling true service in the kingdom. Notice this verse 35 is almost an exact pattern of advise to God’s Great commission verse ending in Matthew 28. “ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you….”

And if you are observant enough you will notice too that Jesus ministry patterns follows the preaching, teaching and healing lifestyle.

He not only walked his talk. But showed us the way to true service. He was mission oriented and wasted no time to act. His is a ministry of the towel (symbolic for servant) not the title.

To the sick, He is a welcoming sight. To those with problems, He is a counselor. To the troubled, He came to bring peace. In the process He wore many hats. But the best part is when his servant and compassionate heart was unveiled.

Richard Foster beautifully articulates the difference between self-righteous service from true service in his book “celebration of disciple”.

First, self-righteous service comes thru human effort. It expends large amount of energy calculating and scheming how to render service. True service comes from the relationship to the Divine deep inside. We serve out of whispered promptings, divine urgings. Energy is expended but not in the frantic energy of the flesh.

Second, self-righteous service is impressed with the big deal. It is concerned to make impressive gains on ecclesiastical scoreboard. It enjoys serving, especially when the service is titanic. True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large. A true servant indiscriminately welcomes all opportunities to serve. (Malaki maliit, pareho ang tingin)

Third, self-righteous service requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. It seeks human applause – with proper religious modesty of course. True service rests contented in hiddenness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention. But it does not seek them either.

Fourth, self-righteous service is highly concerned about results. It eagerly waits to see if the person served will reciprocate in kind. It becomes bitter when the results fall below expectation. True service is free of the need for result. It delights in service. It can serve enemies as freely as friends.

Fifth, self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. Sometimes the high and powerful are served because that will ensure a certain advantage. Sometimes the low and defenceless because that will ensure a humble image. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry. In Mark 9:35 we hear Jesus command to be the “servant of all”.

Next, self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims. It can serve only when there is a feeling to serve. Ill health or inadequate sleep controls the desire to serve. True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need. It knows that feeling to serve can be hindrance to true service. True service disciplines the feelings rather than allowing the feeling to control the service.

Finally, self-righteous service is temporary. It functions only while the specific acts of service are being performed. Having served, it can rest easy. True service is a lifestyle. It is ingrained in the pattern of living. It springs spontaneously to meet human need.

Wow, powerful rebuke to those that are in the ministry for the wrong purpose!

Point #2 Felt the Pain (of the crowd)

In verse 36 we read;36”When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. “

Jesus certainly felt the pain and the need of the people in his day. You know what’s interesting, these very needs are the same to this day, right?

The word compassion comes from the Latin word and has the same rootword to that of suffering. It means “more vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another’s suffering. “

It is the same gut turning feeling when you saw someone in dire need or helpless person needing immediate care.

In the great feeding of the multitudes, when the disciples saw the 5000 people coming up the hill, human nature panicked and complained. Human nature did not do what to do. Human nature avoided the problem by suggesting to Jesus to send these people back to where they belong.

Jesus looked at this event differently. Thru the lens of the divine, HE modeled the right response. He knew the journey back would be impossible for these people to turn back. And so He prayed. He prayed before turning the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to feed the 5000 people. What a miracle.

Warren Wiersbe beautifully illustrates the principle. Listen to what he has to say and I quote “The trouble with too many of us is that we think God called us to be manufacturers when He really called us to be distributors”

Very true! He alone has the resources to meet human needs, all we can do is to receive HIS riches and share them with others. Problem happens when we believe we are the source of the blessing and grace to others.

But, once we accept ourselves as distributors of Gods riches and not the manufacturer, we will experience a wonderful new freedom and joy in service. You wont be afraid of new challenges because you know God has the resources to meet them. You wont be frustrated trying to manufacture everything needed to get the job done, and when God blesses your work, you wont be tempted to take the credit.

I would like quote Dr. Bob Cook when he said “ if you can explain whats going on, God didn’t do it”.

And that compassion propelled and compelled Jesus to finally say these 2 verses and I quote:

Point #3 Jesus looked thru the lens of the father.

“37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus looked thru the lens of the father. And in the process he saw the people are harvest, ripe for picking, that needed to be attended and tended to, by his workers.

Too often, in many churches or materials out there, we are only made aware of the first part of the verse (harvest is plentiful workers are few) and forget the context and its entirety.

The biggest realization we need to understand on this verse is that it is HIS harvest field and HIS workers.

I’m sure you can relate to the fact that as years go by, as you mature in your handling of your ministry, you tend to own it and have a strong sense of ownership. Ministry ko ito. Akong mananagot ditto. It is my leaders, my workers.

I’m not saying it is OK not to be responsible. What Im saying is that we always need to remain faithful to scripture and realize that it is HIS workers and HIS harvest field. All were asked is to do is to Pray and Ask.

And in the process once we do so, you begin to look thru the lens of the father. You begin to understand. You begin to see things that matters most to HIS kingdom.

In other words, we now see the motivation for action.

If you’ve seen harvest season in the Philippines, you can appreciate what I’m saying. Have you seen a harvest? What are some of its attributes? First it is seasonal and second it is cyclical.

Seasonal, so timing is critical. Go in too early and you reap an unripe fruit. Go in a little late and you see the fruits getting spoils. Either way the harvest is of little or no use. Most to waste.

Cyclical, so a pattern of faithfulness to do repetitive task is somehow expected of the workers. In our church alone, you can see the pattern of these 2 attributes being manifested. People come and go. And so workers and leaders have to be trained a new. Problems come and go. And so solutions have to be crafted (sometimes the same) time and time again.

But that IS the essence of the ministry. Working with people. People are never stagnant, they are dynamic (quoting Peter Chow). People change. They are unpredictable. Who we are today is DIFFERENT ( I hope) from who we were 5 years ago.

If we are still the same, in terms of our capacity to love people, in terms of our desire to serve in HIS kingdom, in terms of our ability and skill to serve in HIS vineyard, then we are growing.

If not, then HOUSTON we have a problem.

CONCLUSION and FINAL THOUGHTS

What is the implication of what we learned to us now, in our day and age?

I can tell you discouragement. Small word. But big implication. The enemy is lurking behind every scheme meant to nurture God’s vineyard. He can play tricks on you. And one of the biggest tricks associated with discouragement is DOUBTING. But why do we doubt anyway?

We doubt because we don’t trust, right? And why don’t we have trust? We don’t trust someone or somebody for a variety of reasons. It could be because the person do not have the competence nor commitment? Or because we don’t have the relationship to begin with.

For example, what happens if you see a pilot half drunk while you waiting to board your plane? I don’t know about you but thank you very much, I will take the next flight? The pilots competence and level of commitment has been compromised and so trust is gone.

Looking thru the lens of God allows us to make our mission in life similar to HIS. Jesus fulfilled the plan, felt the pain and modeled the right way to solve the biggest problem of his day and ours, the need for more workers to tend God’s vineyard.

Isaiah reminded us again that these words spoken from the pulpit would fulfill the purpose it was meant to do: Isaiah 55 verse 10-11 says:
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

If you are uncertain of your mission in life, this is the time to ask God to give you wisdom and understanding, and put in your heart the sense of purpose aligned to HIS. And I would like to invite you to come forward and our pastors will pray for you.

If you are doubting whether you can really serve in the ministry with the gifts God has given you, this is your time to be led by God and commit yourself to His vineyard. I would like to invite you too to come forward and we will pray for you.

If you are burdened by what seems to be a very tall order in your ministry, or is overwhelmed by the task ahead, Id like to invite you to come forward to be prayed over.

If you have not committed yourself to God and have not accepted HIM as your personal Lord and Savior, then this is your time to come forward and our pastors will help you with that decision.

May God bless all of us. Lets pray.

Minding the Gap – Dec 2009 Sermon – Hebrews 10:1-7

Do we know who we are?
Are we the person who likes to reflect and look back to 2009? Or are we the type of person who prefers to look forward and plan for 2010?
Or are we both?

For me, I’m the type of person who likes to look back and reflect. So allow me to look back 9 years ago when we first set foot to Singapore. There are 2 peculiar sights I observe.

• First, the Singapore MRT system.
• And second, Singapore – Johor Bridge which links the Malaysia and Singapore.

Like many of us, the MRT is the most common and convenient form of transport mode. It gets us from point A to B, or from home to work and vice versa.

I know you will agree that the air conditioning is a welcoming experience especially in Humid Singapore. So after a long days work, I bask in the comforts of a train ride. Never mind if from time to time, we experience occasional delays or rude passengers.
Similarly, on our first attempt to cross Malaysia via Johor bridge, I observed how starkly different the two countries were. From first world Singapore, you are suddenly ushered into 3rd world Johor. Of course, nowadays there is the second link and the upgraded bridge which seeks to connect the 2 countries.

But In one ride, I overheard someone who said that “para tayong bumalik ng sta. cruz, manila.”
What do these two varied peculiar sights tell us? It tells us that just by crossing a platform or a bridge, contrasts begin to appear.

We are transported from a third world experience to first world luxury. From humid surrounding to air-conditioned luxury, from litter to well manicured lawns and grass. In effect we are ushered from disorder to order.

Allow me to use these two scenarios to paint an introductory backdrop to our study of scripture. If you have your bibles with you, please turn to Hebrews 10:1-7.

I will be reading from the NIV translation.

1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 
 “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, 
but a body you prepared for me; 
 6with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 
 7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— 
 I have come to do your will, O God.’ ”

If you are taking notes, the title of my message today is : Minding the gap.

There are essentially 2 major parts of this passage. The first part, from verses 1-3 is a description of what Man DOES to sin. And the other half, from verses 4 to 7, is what GOD DID to sin.
If you are paying attention, notice how significant portion of the gospel is already interwoven into these passages.

Man sinned, so a need arises for man to be cleansed from sin in order to come closer to God. Man tried to achieve it ,but cannot thru his own efforts. So God intervened, and saved man from his misery.
And therein lies the gap, that needed to be connected thru a savior.

It is when we mind the gap that we recognize Christ’s sacrifice on the cross in order to bring salvation and bridge the distance that separates man from God

Now I remember a story that was told to beautifully illustrate the destitute nature of man. It is the story of the shipwreck sailor.

The story goes that as the crew approached land, the wind arose, and threw up enormous waves. Their ship split into two, and all the mortal souls within it were at the mercy of the great green sea.
The sailor grabbed a plank of cedar wood and stayed afloat. A wave picked him up and placed him down on the shore of an island.

After he had lain for 3 days, all alone in some bushes, he arose and looked for something for his mouth. He found it in abundance: figs and grapes, all manner of good herbs, berries and grain, melons of all
kinds, fishes and birds. Indeed, the island did not lack for any good thing.

“And after he had satisfied his hunger, I dug a pit, lit a fire, and made a burnt offering to the gods.”
You see folks, left out on our own, our instinctive nature as human beings, is to satisfy two basic need – FOOD for our Flesh and Food for our spirits. Take away one from the other and we are somehow incomplete.

And that is one of the reasons why in the ancient near east, or at least in Moses day, year after year, sin and guilt offerings were made. The book of Leviticus has plenty of references, exacting details to describe how these offerings were made.

In Leviticus 5:6, Moses wrote, “He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin”.

But in all rituals and practices, it all the more increases awareness to sin and increases guilt all the more. Instead of setting the sinner free, it dutifully bounds him even more.
Can we relate? Have you been in a situation where you felt that the sin that you have caused against God is bogging you down?

But Gods ways of redeeming mankind is truly amazing.
First, HIS words came to many prophets. We have known plenty of them in the bible. We have Elijah, Elisha, Moses to name a few.

Then, finally HE came down from HIS heavenly realm and become like one of us. The apostle John wrote in John 1:14 “14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[a]who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
You see folks, that is the kind of savior we have. Full of grace and truth. His grace alone is sufficient for us. Not a savior that would offer us 1000 virgins when we sacrifice our bodies for some personal glorification.

And the demonstration of HIS amazing love for man is again evidenced when HE himself became the atoning sacrifice. He did not only created MAN, he SAVED it too from further destruction.
HOW? By offering his own LIFE for sinful man like us. That is God’s ways!
It is freedom and liberation from the bondage of sin, past present and future! Gods ways is perfect.
Gods love is selfless.
Isnt that liberating?

So as we cross over from the year 2009 to 2010, do our hearts contain gaps that we need to close. The gaps that I now mean here are those relationship gaps or drifts that tears us apart from fulfilling the will of God in our lives?

Do we have something in our hearts that prohibits us from offering our lives as living sacrifice to do the will of the father?

Do we have anything which hinders us from giving our best for HIS ministry and in turn give him all the glory and honor?

Do we have hurts which avoids us to come before HIM and give HIM all the praises and adoration a KING richly deserves?

Our disobedience, our imperfect ways, sinful nature are all gaps that separates us from the love of GOD. But the good news? God forgave – and paid dearly on all those – on the crossl!

FINAL THOUGHTS
In our high tech world today, reminders are good ways to keep us from straying away from the schedules we planned. Nowadays, we have cellphone reminders, Ipod reminders, calendar reminders, facebook reminders. In the olden days, ang paala ng mga magulang natin ay payo at mga salita lamang.
Why because by nature, man is forgets to remember. We forget that Christ died for us, rose to conquer death and is now seated on the heavenly realms. He bridged the gap that has separated man from God.
Like in the Singapore Malaysia bridge, as you step inside the bus, you will see the distinct difference of lifestyles, of cultures and way of life between the two countries. Similarly when Christ died for us, we are now expected to live a life of holiness and sanctified from the worldly desires.
Lastly, as we prepare for the new year to come, I know that we are already preparing and planning family traditions. To some, it may mean going back home in the Philippines to be with our loved ones. To other who opted to say here, it could mean taking a day off and simply reflect and ponder what the year has brought us.

Either way, let’s be honest to ourselves too, myself included, that there will come a time when all of these events becomes routine.

And then you begin to ask, is this all there is? There is a solution friends.
Try God. He has not disappointed anyone who has ask of HIM to come, enter in his life and reign mightily. TO HIM be the glory forever and ever! AMEN!

1 Corinthians 3:8-15

My preaching verse for Feb 20 at our local outreached church:

1 Corinthians 3:8-15 (New American Standard Bible)

8Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Prepare for the voice that care: Sermon for 2011

INTRODUCTION
When was the last time you made preparations for a big event? When I mean event, it could be a big birthday bash. It could be hosting a visitor. It could also mean a wedding or a birth of a family member. Do you recall the amount of time it takes taking mental list of every minutiae making sure nothing is left to chance? We won’t have to look around but here in our congregation we are always preparing. Our leaders prepare for the weekly line up, the weekly slide projection, the weekly message. Usually the end result of an event mirrors the preparations we make.

Abraham Lincoln worded the effort beautifully when he said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours preparing and sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln

So this afternoon, I would like for you to turn your bibles with me to Matthew 3:3 and lets learn what the bible has to say on preparations. Matthew 3:3 tells us “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for HIM.”

May the good Lord bless the reading of his words. The title of my message this afternoon is “Prepare for the Voice that Care”.

BODY
Before we move on, Id like for us to understand the background and context of these words we just read.
First, these are not the words of Jesus, rather of Isaiah. Second, keep in mind that the gospel writer here is matthew of which the main theme is to show to its hearers and readers that Jesus came to fulfill the prophecy in the old testament. We have 4 gospels and these 4 gospels are meant for different readers.
And so the question that we would like to answer this afternoon is, how do we characterize the Christian life based from the verse we just read?

1. First, the christian life all about preparations that takes time and intense effort.

The bible is full of stories where we saw that God prepares the person he will use for a great deal of time. Look at Moses. Who can tell me how old was moses when he was used by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt? 80 years old? Look at apostle paul, who can me his age? 50. What about jesus, he was about 33 years old. Abraham and Sarah were 100 years old.
What about us? We have not even reached half the age of these important bible characters and yet we are already complaining to God.
In the same manner, nowadays, we don’t have to look far and wide to notice that every great act or great accomplishment has been accomplished thru sheer acts of strong will and intense preparation.
If you observe carefully an athlete, what happens in a 10-15 sec 100 meter dash is the result of years of preparation and intense training. Or a 3 sec dive is the similar result of years of intense preparation. A sizeable 90% of time is spent on conditioning an athlete. If you are in the movie or theater business, similar amount of time is needed for rehearsals and preparation for a well executed show. From original writing to release, it took about 15 years for Avatar to get to cinemas; the workings to create the movie itself took about 4 years. But how many hours for the audience to enjoy the movie – 2.5 hrs?. If you are in the construction business, ask any architect and he will gladly tell you any great design comes with blood, toils, tears and sweat. The message here folks is that it takes time and a determined effort to prepare for something great, spectacular.

2. Preparation can be lonesome and uncertain.

When I was preparing my message I asked my two boys to listen and hear what I am about to share to you. Boy they are a tough audience to begin with. But as I told this 2nd point to my eldest son, he blurted – that is so true paps. It is lonely when we prepare for something. Nobody really how you prepare until the result is out there. If the preparation is long and that result is good, wow great. If the preparation is long and the result is not so great, we tend to get demoralized.

Matthew tells us that a voice of one is calling out in the desert. The imagery here is that of a person who is calling yet no one seems to be listening. Now, have you ever been to the wilderness? Maybe the closest you could get to the wilderness is when you found yourself out in the farm, or vast stretches of land somewhere back home. What do you observe? It is barren, desolate. No people nor buildings.

So there are two possible scenarios you can imagine on such condition. Either you can shout at the top of your voice and nobody would care to listen because its barren. Or you can shout and any passerby would immediately sprang into action because the voice is so clear, so audible. The context of what we read today is based on the 2nd imagery.

You know the good thing about the bible? It is very honest. It does not sugarcoat the words just to appease the readers or hearers. It tells the truth as it is. And the truth is that preparations can be lonesome and uncertain.

Look at Jesus. I can guarantee you that as he hung there on the cross 2000 years ago that he felt sad or lonely because he is just like us a human.
Last point,

3. Every preparation has to be focused on a single goal.

The problem with us these days is we want to achieve multiple goals in as little time as possible. The word for that is ‘multi-tasking. We brush our teeth while cooking. We sms while we talk to our friends. The problem with that is there is no depth, just breadth. So if there there so much breadth and no depth, the task is just very superficial.

If God calls you for teaching ministry, teach. If God calls you for leading people, lead. If God calls you for music ministry, sing. If God calls you understand and solve other peoples problem, counsel.

Sermonic Idea: The Christian life is characterized by a life of preparation for the works that God will do in our hearts.

Have you prepared the way for the person to receive Christ in his/her life.
Are you prepared for the voice that care?
Bow your heads before the Lord.