Based on Colossians 3:1-4. Romans 6:3-11 and Romans 8:11, this message is about how not only has Christ been raised, but so have we!
The service is available for download or listening at http://www.mediafire.com/?2yga4maeold
(We had to edit out all the music due to some unexpected distortion in the recording process... our apologies)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008--Sunrise Service
ENCOUNTERS WITH THE RISEN CHRIST is the theme of this service, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and highlight certain encounters Jesus had with his friends and followers--way back then, and now.
The entire service is available for listening or download by clicking on this link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4wx3tyzcjhh
The entire service is available for listening or download by clicking on this link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4wx3tyzcjhh
Sunday, March 9, 2008
March 09, 2008--THY WILL BE DONE
The sermon in its entirety is posted here...
For the past several weeks, we have been focusing on the Lord’s Prayer, one line at a time. Today we look at the petition: “THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” What can we expect to happen when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE?” Will we be able to know God’s will for our lives...just like that? Perhaps some of us are saying: “I’ve been praying this petition for years and I’m still not totally clear about God’s will for my life!”
Right off the bat, we must acknowledge that knowing the specific will of God for our lives can be tricky. You may have heard about the middle-aged farmer, who always wondered in the back of his mind whether God really wanted him to be a great evangelist. One day he took a break from working in the fields and lay down under a tree. Looking up in the sky he saw the clouds form what seemed to be the letters “P” and “C”. He was sure it stood for Preach Christ. So, he got up, sold his farm, and went out to do evangelistic crusades, because he was quite confident that this was God's will for his life. The only trouble was...he was a terrible preacher. One night at one of his crusades after a horrible, horrible sermon, a compassionate friend of his who knew the story of how the “evangelist” got his "calling" went forward and whispered in his ear, "Is it possible that when the clouds formed the letters “P” and “C”, God was asking you to simply Plant Corn?"
While we may not be able to discern God’s specific will for our lives readily all the time, we are able to find in the Bible a number of clues about God’s general will for us--as individuals and as a church and for the world. Certainly we can expect God’s will to be done in these particular ways when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, amen?
Let us look at a few of them...
#1. In John 6:40, Jesus says: “God’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day." We read something similar in I Timothy 2:4, where Paul says that “God our Saviour...wants all men (and women) to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” In other words, it is God’s will that everyone believe in Jesus as the Messiah, as the One who saves us from sin, as the One whom God raised from the dead...and be saved. So, when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, we are praying that everyone be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
Do you know anyone right now who is not saved, who has not yet come to a knowledge of the truth? Someone in your family? A friend? A co-worker? A neighbour? An e-mail contact? Someone with whom you play games online? Take a moment right now and pray for them as Jesus taught us. Just repeat after me:
“Father, it is your will that all men and women be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth. So, I pray “THY WILL BE DONE”, for everyone who needs to be saved, especially (now name them before God).........................................”
#2. We read in I Thessalonians 4 verse 3 onwards: “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
God’s will is not only that we be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, but that we not simply stop with the experience of salvation. He wants us to be sanctified, which means, to be made holy, to be set apart, to be pure, to be made more and more in the likeness of Jesus. In verse 8 of the same chapter, we are told that God gives us his Holy Spirit, so that we may be sanctified and avoid sexual immorality and learn to control our bodies, so that we may live a holy life.
So, when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, we can expect God to sanctify us. Have you ever had difficulty in controlling your own body? You’re smiling, because that’s like asking: “Have you ever given in to temptation?” Would you like to live a life that is holy, that is continually being made holy, sanctified? Then, repeat after me: “Father, it is your will that I be sanctified, and live a holy life. And, so I pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE.’”
#3. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we read, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." It is God’s will that we give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. So, when we pray: THY WILL BE DONE, we can expect to give thanks to God in all circumstances.
Easier said than done, isn’t it? Is it possible, though?
Matthew Henry, the great Biblical scholar, was walking home one night when he was mugged, beaten to a pulp and his wallet was stolen. That night in his journal, he wrote these words: "Lord, I thank you. I thank you that I have never been robbed before. Lord, secondly I thank you that they took my wallet, but not my life. Thirdly Lord, I thank you that I was the one who was robbed, not the one doing the robbing." Obviously this petition of the Lord’s Prayer worked for him, amen?
Anybody here want to respond like Matthew Henry did? Just repeat after me:
“Father, it is your will for me, to give thanks in everything. And so, I pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE.’”
We began this message by talking about how we would like to know the specific will of God for our lives as a result of praying this petition. While this may not always be easy to discern, we do have some clues from the reading from Romans 12 about how we could place ourselves in a position for this to happen. Let me read those verses again:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul tells us in these verses that it is indeed possible to know God’s will. After all, it was possible for Jesus, wasn’t it? How was it possible for Jesus? These verses give us the keys. Verse 1 talks about “offering our bodies as living sacrifices.” Another way to phrase this might be to say that we are called to surrender ourselves totally to God, as Jesus did. Offering comes before knowing the will of God. We want to know His will first, and then decide if we want to give ourselves to it. That’s not the way God operates. He says: “Give me your life and I will show you my will.” If you do not know God’s will for your life, could this be why? Would you like to put yourself in a position where you can know God’s good and perfect will? If you are, please pray with me:
“Father, I give you my body, as a living sacrifice. THY WILL BE DONE.”
Another clue is in verse 2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We read something similar in I John 2:15-17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful humanity, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what you have and do—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
When we pray THY WILL BE DONE, the Holy Spirit of God creates in us a craving for the things of God, and a corresponding dislike for the things of this world. It begins not in the body, but in the mind. He transforms us by the renewing of our mind. It is not rocket science to realize that we are called to co-operate with Him in this process. By a conscious act of our will, we decide that we will no longer conform to the pattern of this world, to the thought processes of this world, but we will put ourselves in a position where our thoughts are transformed.
How do we do this?
We feed our minds with the thoughts of God. We spend time in His word. We spend time with Him in prayer, particularly silent prayer, soaking, where we allow Him to speak to us, where we allow the Holy Spirit to get into our minds and make this renewal happen.
We also do this by a conscious editing of what we allow into our minds. If we are allowing the patterns of this world to have an input into our mind, by what we watch on television, what we hear from those with whom we hang around, from what we listen to on the radio and on our mp3’s, then we consciously cut that input out, so that it does not interfere with the renewing work that is being done by the Holy Spirit, amen?
Jesus taught us to pray: THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Think about heaven for a minute. In heaven, there is total surrender, total non-conformity to the world, total transformation of the mind...hence God’s will is done in heaven! For His will to be done on earth, we are called to total surrender, total non-conformity with the world and total transformation of the mind. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Are you ready to make a conscious choice not to conform to the world and to have your mind renewed? Just pray with me:
“Father, I choose from this day forward, not to conform to the pattern of this world, especially in my thoughts. I choose to allow your Holy Spirit, to renew my mind. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
A Sunday School teacher once asked her class: “Who can tell me why Jesus wants us to pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE?’ One child quickly piped up: “Because his will isn’t done?” Out of the mouths of babes, eh?
After today’s message, one thing is for sure. If God’s will is not revealed or done in our lives because we did not know His will for us, that is no longer the case. We do know that it is God’s will that:
All be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,
That we should be sanctified and
That we should give thanks in everything.
We also know now that we can put ourselves in a position to know God’s will when we:
Surrender ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice and
Refuse to conform our thoughts to this world, but choose the renewal of our mind instead.
Next Sunday, we will look at discerning God’s will in difficult situations by spending time with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. But, for now, we can be confident that when we pray: THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, we can expect it to happen here on earth in our lives!
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
THY WILL BE DONE...ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
For the past several weeks, we have been focusing on the Lord’s Prayer, one line at a time. Today we look at the petition: “THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” What can we expect to happen when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE?” Will we be able to know God’s will for our lives...just like that? Perhaps some of us are saying: “I’ve been praying this petition for years and I’m still not totally clear about God’s will for my life!”
Right off the bat, we must acknowledge that knowing the specific will of God for our lives can be tricky. You may have heard about the middle-aged farmer, who always wondered in the back of his mind whether God really wanted him to be a great evangelist. One day he took a break from working in the fields and lay down under a tree. Looking up in the sky he saw the clouds form what seemed to be the letters “P” and “C”. He was sure it stood for Preach Christ. So, he got up, sold his farm, and went out to do evangelistic crusades, because he was quite confident that this was God's will for his life. The only trouble was...he was a terrible preacher. One night at one of his crusades after a horrible, horrible sermon, a compassionate friend of his who knew the story of how the “evangelist” got his "calling" went forward and whispered in his ear, "Is it possible that when the clouds formed the letters “P” and “C”, God was asking you to simply Plant Corn?"
While we may not be able to discern God’s specific will for our lives readily all the time, we are able to find in the Bible a number of clues about God’s general will for us--as individuals and as a church and for the world. Certainly we can expect God’s will to be done in these particular ways when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, amen?
Let us look at a few of them...
#1. In John 6:40, Jesus says: “God’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day." We read something similar in I Timothy 2:4, where Paul says that “God our Saviour...wants all men (and women) to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” In other words, it is God’s will that everyone believe in Jesus as the Messiah, as the One who saves us from sin, as the One whom God raised from the dead...and be saved. So, when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, we are praying that everyone be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
Do you know anyone right now who is not saved, who has not yet come to a knowledge of the truth? Someone in your family? A friend? A co-worker? A neighbour? An e-mail contact? Someone with whom you play games online? Take a moment right now and pray for them as Jesus taught us. Just repeat after me:
“Father, it is your will that all men and women be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth. So, I pray “THY WILL BE DONE”, for everyone who needs to be saved, especially (now name them before God).........................................”
#2. We read in I Thessalonians 4 verse 3 onwards: “It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God...For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
God’s will is not only that we be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, but that we not simply stop with the experience of salvation. He wants us to be sanctified, which means, to be made holy, to be set apart, to be pure, to be made more and more in the likeness of Jesus. In verse 8 of the same chapter, we are told that God gives us his Holy Spirit, so that we may be sanctified and avoid sexual immorality and learn to control our bodies, so that we may live a holy life.
So, when we pray: “THY WILL BE DONE”, we can expect God to sanctify us. Have you ever had difficulty in controlling your own body? You’re smiling, because that’s like asking: “Have you ever given in to temptation?” Would you like to live a life that is holy, that is continually being made holy, sanctified? Then, repeat after me: “Father, it is your will that I be sanctified, and live a holy life. And, so I pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE.’”
#3. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we read, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." It is God’s will that we give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. So, when we pray: THY WILL BE DONE, we can expect to give thanks to God in all circumstances.
Easier said than done, isn’t it? Is it possible, though?
Matthew Henry, the great Biblical scholar, was walking home one night when he was mugged, beaten to a pulp and his wallet was stolen. That night in his journal, he wrote these words: "Lord, I thank you. I thank you that I have never been robbed before. Lord, secondly I thank you that they took my wallet, but not my life. Thirdly Lord, I thank you that I was the one who was robbed, not the one doing the robbing." Obviously this petition of the Lord’s Prayer worked for him, amen?
Anybody here want to respond like Matthew Henry did? Just repeat after me:
“Father, it is your will for me, to give thanks in everything. And so, I pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE.’”
We began this message by talking about how we would like to know the specific will of God for our lives as a result of praying this petition. While this may not always be easy to discern, we do have some clues from the reading from Romans 12 about how we could place ourselves in a position for this to happen. Let me read those verses again:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul tells us in these verses that it is indeed possible to know God’s will. After all, it was possible for Jesus, wasn’t it? How was it possible for Jesus? These verses give us the keys. Verse 1 talks about “offering our bodies as living sacrifices.” Another way to phrase this might be to say that we are called to surrender ourselves totally to God, as Jesus did. Offering comes before knowing the will of God. We want to know His will first, and then decide if we want to give ourselves to it. That’s not the way God operates. He says: “Give me your life and I will show you my will.” If you do not know God’s will for your life, could this be why? Would you like to put yourself in a position where you can know God’s good and perfect will? If you are, please pray with me:
“Father, I give you my body, as a living sacrifice. THY WILL BE DONE.”
Another clue is in verse 2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We read something similar in I John 2:15-17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful humanity, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what you have and do—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
When we pray THY WILL BE DONE, the Holy Spirit of God creates in us a craving for the things of God, and a corresponding dislike for the things of this world. It begins not in the body, but in the mind. He transforms us by the renewing of our mind. It is not rocket science to realize that we are called to co-operate with Him in this process. By a conscious act of our will, we decide that we will no longer conform to the pattern of this world, to the thought processes of this world, but we will put ourselves in a position where our thoughts are transformed.
How do we do this?
We feed our minds with the thoughts of God. We spend time in His word. We spend time with Him in prayer, particularly silent prayer, soaking, where we allow Him to speak to us, where we allow the Holy Spirit to get into our minds and make this renewal happen.
We also do this by a conscious editing of what we allow into our minds. If we are allowing the patterns of this world to have an input into our mind, by what we watch on television, what we hear from those with whom we hang around, from what we listen to on the radio and on our mp3’s, then we consciously cut that input out, so that it does not interfere with the renewing work that is being done by the Holy Spirit, amen?
Jesus taught us to pray: THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Think about heaven for a minute. In heaven, there is total surrender, total non-conformity to the world, total transformation of the mind...hence God’s will is done in heaven! For His will to be done on earth, we are called to total surrender, total non-conformity with the world and total transformation of the mind. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Are you ready to make a conscious choice not to conform to the world and to have your mind renewed? Just pray with me:
“Father, I choose from this day forward, not to conform to the pattern of this world, especially in my thoughts. I choose to allow your Holy Spirit, to renew my mind. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.”
A Sunday School teacher once asked her class: “Who can tell me why Jesus wants us to pray: ‘THY WILL BE DONE?’ One child quickly piped up: “Because his will isn’t done?” Out of the mouths of babes, eh?
After today’s message, one thing is for sure. If God’s will is not revealed or done in our lives because we did not know His will for us, that is no longer the case. We do know that it is God’s will that:
All be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,
That we should be sanctified and
That we should give thanks in everything.
We also know now that we can put ourselves in a position to know God’s will when we:
Surrender ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice and
Refuse to conform our thoughts to this world, but choose the renewal of our mind instead.
Next Sunday, we will look at discerning God’s will in difficult situations by spending time with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. But, for now, we can be confident that when we pray: THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, we can expect it to happen here on earth in our lives!
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
March 02, 2008--THY KINGDOM COME--part 2
This message continues our exploration of the petition "THY KINGDOM COME". It focuses on Jesus' saying: "The Kingdom of God is within you" and explores "The Ambassador Mentality & Embassy Lifestyle" based on II Corinthians 5:16-21. The message concludes by looking at what it means to "take the Kingdom by force", particularly in the area of restitution.
You may listen to the message by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?zckmtdjjfbm
The entire service is available here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dn9bvy30xq0
You may listen to the message by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?zckmtdjjfbm
The entire service is available here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dn9bvy30xq0
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Feb. 24, 2008--THY KINGDOM COME
This message looks at the meaning of the word "kingdom", the teaching of Jesus regarding the "kingdom of God/heaven", and the effects of praying these words of the Lord's Prayer. It calls us to Repent, Receive and Release the Kingdom of God, on earth as it is in heaven.
You may listen to the message only by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?fyyttvw6cyy
or the entire service: http://www.mediafire.com/?cjmxtnde9tj
Be blessed!
You may listen to the message only by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?fyyttvw6cyy
or the entire service: http://www.mediafire.com/?cjmxtnde9tj
Be blessed!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Feb. 17, 2008--HALLOWED BE THY NAME
The sermon series on the Lord's Prayer continues with what Jesus meant when he told us to pray: "HALLOWED BE THY NAME." The Scripture reading from Exodus 3:1-15 focuses on the name by which God wanted to be identified in His conversation with Moses--I AM.
An audio file of the message is available for listening or download at http://www.mediafire.com/?1rzwe6cyqyx
You can also listen to the entire service (including the message) by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?aqmjyzdozum
An audio file of the message is available for listening or download at http://www.mediafire.com/?1rzwe6cyqyx
You can also listen to the entire service (including the message) by clicking on http://www.mediafire.com/?aqmjyzdozum
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Feb. 03, 2008--RETURNING TO OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN
RETURNING TO OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN
An audio file of this message is available for listening or download at http://www.mediafire.com/?f9nbfiibdnm
Below are my sermon notes.
The Audience:
From Luke 15:1-3, it is clear that this story is not for the general public, but for "the Pharisees and the scribes"--the good, upright, God-fearing, law-abiding, religious leaders of the Jewish faith.
We in the church are the modern equivalent of the Pharisees and the scribes. This story is not for our "pagan" neighbours out there, but FOR US, THE INSIDERS.
We in the church are the modern equivalent of the Pharisees and the scribes. This story is not for our "pagan" neighbours out there, but FOR US, THE INSIDERS.
The Focus:
Even though we have traditionally tended to focus on the younger son, the focus of this story is in Jesus' opening words: "A Man had two sons." THE FOCUS IS ON THE FATHER.
Can you imagine going to your parents while they are still alive and asking for your share of the estate? The Father grants his son's request for his share (1/3), even though it was a slap in the face...as though the son were saying..."Drop dead, Dad." The Father had every right to tell the son to drop dead, refuse the request, but he grants it without any conditions, without a lecture or warning.
The Father's Love allows us to have our own way, to make poor choices, to live in rebellion. He could stop us, but chooses not to. HAVE YOU HAD THIS HAPPEN TO YOU...WHERE GOD LET YOU HAVE YOUR OWN WAY?
Have you as a parent experienced this with a child?
The Son wastes his inheritance in a distant land, in "dissolute (reckless, wild) living." Most likely, this refers to seeking sexual pleasure (as implied by the older brother later on in the story) and drunkenness...both of which can be a drain on a fortune. He seeks to replace the intimacy he had with his Father with a counterfeit that gives the illusion of intimacy.
Highly publicized "falls from grace" of Christian leaders who were leading others to the Lord and operating in the anointing of the Holy Spirit also seeking counterfeits to the Father's love.
Similarly...Christians seeking refuge in adultery, pornography, sex before marriage—counterfeit intimacy; similarly alcoholic excess in bars...
Then a famine hits the land, he goes from living high on the hog to looking after pigs...only a desperate Jewish young man would stoop to such a low position. He hits rock bottom.
The Father's Love does not want to interfere with the gift of free will, so He allows us to go our way, get lost, and get to the place where we can sink no lower. ..JUST LIKE IT IS WITH OUR KIDS SOMETIMES.
The young man comes to himself...to his senses... and remembers his Father's house...giving children proper foundation, e.g. church school so critical...starts heading back with a rehearsed speech...note part of the speech... "I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
GUILT vs SHAME:
"Guilt says I've done something wrong; shame says there is something wrong with me. Guilt says what did was not good; shame says I am no good."
Guilt says: "I did something unworthy." Shame says: "I am unworthy."
The closer we had become to the Father, the more shame we have when we went away from the Father...keeps us from coming back...we wonder whether we will be truly received or not. (Falls from grace)
The Father, in the meantime, does the only thing he can do...wait and watch for the Son's return. (See on the portals He’s waiting & watching)
When the Son is still far off, the Father runs to him (act of indignity for a Jewish father to lift up his robe), hugs him and kisses him...no speech, no reprimand, no "told you so" (I would’ve!)...just welcome. The Son goes into his rehearsed speech, but the Father does not respond to him. Instead he tells the servants to get him a robe, a ring and sandals. These actions speak more loudly than words ever could: "You are still my son."
CELEBRATION..fatted calf...
The Father is so glad to see us "come home" again. As far as he is concerned, "You were my son, you are my son, you will always be my son."
AN INVITATION:
To all the "younger sons"...come home. Whatever counterfeits you have chosen, whether you've hit rock bottom or not... SHAME ISSUES...Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you are in the Father's house or how close or far you are from the Father's House. Father Loves You and wants you in His house. He is so glad when we make that choice.
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