Reading and Teaching for Transformation

Rev. Dr. Tony Lim

07/02/10

Genesis 39
Joseph and Portiphar's Wife

*Teach God's empowering presence will come
*Come with expectation that God would change us
*Are we becoming more and more like Christ?
*What has my word/studies got to do with Christianity?
*Greatest threat to Christians- interpretation of the believer
*How do we teach and mentor?
*How do we do disciplining?
*Why worship a God that makes no difference?
*Where is God when it hurts?
*Joseph responded in Godly manner
*How do we train people when we face temptation, we habitually respond in a Godly manner?
*santification gap- do we read the bible in the morning and read porn at night?
*40 years increase experience, guilt and hope
*temptations of a 21 year old and 40 year old are different
*God is a personal God and is for you- can trust and depend on him!
*Joseph "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good"
*2 years in prison- Joseph didnt ask "What kind of God are you?"
*How do we heal the santification gap?
*teaching of parents shoul be personal and not merely educational
*whatever happens to my life should be reflected to God
*God is not a God of past/ God of foreigners
*Because of Jesus, we have a hope, an ending
*We look at that context so that makes parental teaching personal and not solely educational
*Its becase of the goodness of God, we are where we are
*teach doctrine that is habitully holy
*read, teach and apply the bible intentionally- a basic discipline of reading the word and praying
*love as God love us
*We cannot bared ourselves, it is the work of Christ that can transform us
*God is in work to transform us. :)

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The Meaning of life

Thomas In-Sing Leung

31.1.2010

Dream of the Red Chamber
* Is life just a book of absursity?
*Is life just a book of lies?
*Ecclesiastes 1:2
: It is useless, useless, said the Philosopher. Life is useless, all useless.

*What is the meaning of life?
*Is it just a pool of tears?
*trademark of God is in the gospels
*Creation actually has a meaning because it is created by God
*When you look at the stars and the creation, you know that there is something
*Looks like life is not a book of absursity
*Why do we want to help people?
= because human has a compassionate feeling, we cannot bear to see the suffering of others
 CONSCIENCE

*these type of human created by God because he is a compassionate God.
*not only compassionate but he took away our sins so that we could have eternal life
*there is a meaning of our life to know all these good things happening
*We help people because we are Christians and we love you all
*Love is unconditional
*Pray sincerely- love can pass throught all realms of Buddha

Buddha
- always smiles and sit down
-have achieve highest order of releasing suffering

Jesus Christ
- never sit down, don't always smile
-goes and embrace children, lepers
-touch them with his hand
-share suffering, forgive sin so you can stand up again
-transforms sinful nature into beautiful nature
-loves others.

It is the kingdom of God
*thats real CHRISTIAN LIFE
*thats the way to give the grace back
*thats the meaning o life
-Jesus Christ is the one who teaches us to love our country
-only through Jesus Christ, our life can be transform again.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Putrid Worship

Worship is a lifestyle
Psalm 150:3-5
: Praise him with trumpets.
Praise him with harps and lyres.
Praise him with drums and dancing.
Praise him with harps and flutes.
Praise him with cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.

*an act we do at a specific time

Worship is an act
Old testament
-sacrice/offerings

New testament
-Worship/praise

Exodus 29:18
: Burn the whole ram on the altar as a food offering. The odour of this offering pleases me.

Psalm 141:2
: Receive my prayer as incense,
my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

Worship = sweet aroma

Jeremiah 6:20
: What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant land? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.

*If our worship is false, it is putrid (foul smelling) before God

Isaiah 1:13
 : It is useless to bring your offerings. I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn. I cannot stand your New Moon Festivals, your Sabbaths, and your religious gatherings; they are all corrupted by your sins.

*Whats the use of coming to church when you have a putrid worship

John 4:19-24
 : "I see you are a prophet, sire," the woman said. "My Samaritan ancestors worshipped God on this mountain, but you Jews says that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God."
Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain of in Jerusalem. You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes. But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of this Spirit can people worship him as he really is."

 -Jesus and the Samaritan woman -what is NOT a putrid worship

*It does not matter if we worship in a contemporary or traditional service,
we sit or stand, we jump or clap
but the most important things is those who worship in spirit and in truth

John 4:24
 : God is Spirit, and only by the power of His Spirit can people worship him as he really is.

*God is not interested in any form of worship
*aligned to his purpose, plans, and his will, we will enjoy the presence of the Lord
*Only in true worship where bondages are broken, delivery takes place and broken relationships are mended.
*But many Christians do not offer true worship but putrid worship

Hindrances in worshipping in spirit and in truth
1. Presence of sin
Hosea 8:13
 : They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat of the sacrifices. But I, the Lord, am not pleased with them, and now I will emember their sin and punish them for it; I will send them back to Egypt!

Psalm 66:18
: If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me.
*Have unconfessed, secret sins or live in sinful ways = our worship is putrid

2. Absence of truth
John 4:24
: God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is."

*Some people don't mean what they do or say
*That should not be the way as we should give lip service to God

Matthew 15:8-9
: "These people, says God, honour me with their words,
but their heart is really far away from me.
It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach man-made rules as though they were my laws!"

*Are we sincere in our worship?

Mark 9:24
: The father at once cried out, "I do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more!"

-give me the strength to be sincere
-God in his mercy will give you the strength and do what you say

3. Practice of Idolatry
* Idolatry manifest itself in every form

Ezekiel 19:7-8
: He wrecked forts, he ruined towns. The people of the land were terrified every time he roared. The nations gathered to fight him; people came from everywhere. They spread their hunting nets and caught him in their trap.
Deuteronomy 5:6-9
: "I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves.
" 'Worship no god but me.
" 'Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, for I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.

"I am a jealous God" - He will not share His heart with anyone

*In worship, we give the Lord our FULL ATTENTION
*When you think everything else but God, you are giving a putrid worship

4. Heart of Pride
James 4:6
: But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

"I do not need God" "Who cares about God"
-thinking this brings a putrid worship

*People who are humble before others might be proud to God or vice versa
*Those that are proud are unteachable

Ecclesiastes 5:1
: Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices as foolish people do, people who don't know right from wrong.

Jeremiah 6:19-20
: Listen, earth! As punishment for all their schemes I am bringing ruin on these people, because they have rejected my teaching and have not obeyed my words. What do I care about the incense they bring me from Sheba, or the spices from a distant lant? I will not accept their offerings or be pleased with their sacrifices.
*We must have a teachable heart, heart that is prompting

5. Lack of love for one another
Mark 12:33
: And man must love God with all his heart and with all his mind and with all his strength; and he must love his neighbour as he loves himself. It is important to obey these two commandments than to offer animals and other sacrifices to God."

*We cannot adore or praise which we cannot love
*Love your neighbours and one another
*We cannot truly love one another without truly loving God first
*Worship God, unity and love for one another

1 John 4:1-8
: My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere. This is how you will be able to know whether it is God's Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the Spirit who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God. The spirit that he has is from the Enemy of Christ; you heard that it would come, and now it is here in the world already.
But you belong to God, my children, and have degeated the false prophets, becasue the Spirit who is in you is more powerful that the spirit in those who belong to the world. But we belong to God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This, then, is how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

NOT UNIFORMITY
*Take the step of love and seek reconcialiation -seek forgiveness and to forgive nomatter whether your right or wrong
*Do not bear grudges but have the same mind and love one another
*Return to TRUE WORSHIP- lives will be changed

Isaiah 1:18-19
: The Lord says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.
*All begins with a purpose in your heart.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Running away like Jonah!

Micah 6:6-8
: What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him? Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive-oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child to pay for my sins? No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he required of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

2 Chronicles 7:14
: if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.

*God acts in holy judgement against Christians for 'running away'
*increasing persecution

*God acts in gracious love when we repent and return to him

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Taking Salvation For Granted

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
: Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last for ever. That is why I run straight for the finishing-line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.

Philippians 2:12
:So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation.

*Some have been Christians for a long time
*Many heard Jesus died on the cross to save our sins to the points that we take it for granted
*we have the mindset that when we baptise or take communion, come to church, etc, we will be saved

Matthew 7:21-23
: Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do. When Judgement Day comes, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God's message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!'. Then I will say to them, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!'

*Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but those who does the will of the Lord

2 Timothy 4:3-4

: The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends.

1 John 2:19
: These people really did not belong to our fellowship, and that is why they left us; if they had belonged to our fellowship, they would have stayed with us. But they left so that it might be clear that none of them really belonged to us.

1 Corinthians 9:27

: I harder my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.

*They profess from their lips and actions that they are christians but their heart is not right
*They don't have that sincere heart of faith

Philippians 2:12
: So then, dear friendsm as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation.

Romans 8:16
: God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children.

*We need to know that we are genuinely save by confessing that Jesus Christ is your Lord

*Thus the questionis directed : "Are we saved?"
*However, we know that we are saved through grace

Ephesians 2:8-9
: For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.

Romans 10:9
: If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.

James 2: 17-20
: So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

*You cannot have faith and do not have works

*This proves that your faith is dead

*Everybody who are saved must have works but not everybody who work will be saved
*Salvation must produce work
*Bear fruits worthy of repentance
*no longer treasure or guide something that is precious to us
*Only God knows if we are of sincere faith

Few symptoms who take faith for granted
1. Taking Holiness for granted
*not something where you keep in the bank and take it out when we are in heaven
*salvation covers everything : past, present and future

1 Peter 1:15-16
: Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. The scripture says, "Be holy because I am holy."

Hebrews 10:26
: For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made know to us.

*God says "Be holy for I am holy" - this saying has never changed
*Sin is not detestable, sin is something Satan likes to pat or cuddle
*Sin has become relative not absolute
*But we tend to be tolerable with sin -"God will understand" mindset
*take sin lightly, for granted

Romans 1:28-32
: Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others. They know that God's law says that people who live in this way deserve death. Yet, not only do they continue to do these very things, but they even approve of others who do them.

*A person looking at another person with lust has already commited adultery
*gambling. We want more than what we can

1 John 3:15
: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that a murderer has not got eternal life in him.

*hate- give a person less preferential treatment, love less
*rather than repent, we continue to live with sin

2. Taking spiritual growth for granted.
*Our spirit is lighten to a muscle
*need to be worked out
*reading through liturgy, taking communion will strengthen spiritual growth
*bible study, encouraging each other, causes spiritual growth to grow
*do not regret our spiritual growth
*there is no limit to spiritual growth

2 Corinthians 3:18
: All of us, then, reflect the flory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.

*continually guard our growth
*we sometimes get tired of learning, accustomed after going many courses

*seeing our past growth, depends on it to grow

Isaiah 43:18-19
: But the Lord says,
"Do not cling to events of the past
or dwell on what happened long ago.
Watch for the new things I am going to do.
It is happening already --you can see it now!
I will make a road through the wilderness
and give you streams of water there.

*when we stop growing, we backslide, go downwards

1 Corinthians 9:25-27
: Every athelete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last for ever.That is why I run straight for the finishing-line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.

Philippians 3:14
: So i run straight towards the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

*no graduation in Christian growth
*have we been neglecting in spiritual growth?
*have we been complacent to knowing Christ?
*Are we becoming more faithful or doubtful, holy or sinful, loving or changing?

3. Taking Serving God for granted
*God calls for salvation to demand for service
*We are agent for God's will to be done on earth
*If its not us, then who?
*How many times in 1 year do we serve God?
*Is serving the Lord no longer important to us?
*Your faith must result in service to God

James 2:24
: You see, then, that it is by his actions that a person is put right with God, and not by his faith alone.

*How young or old, do not let ourselves be tired in serving
*Are we reluctant to serve God?
*Symptoms said are not dependent on serving God
*As people who are save, we ought to be holy, grow in spiritual growth and serve

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**