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1st December
2002
Son Or Orphan? - Part IV
For the past two weeks I had shared
the first and second characteristic of an orphan;
that is self-will and selfishness. God wants us
to wake up daily and carry the cross. We must
let the old self/nature die and then only we will
live. I like what Tommy Tenney said in his daily
devotional material, he is always straight to
the point. Below are some of the examples.
'You must dismantle your glory
to minister to God.'
'To live you must find an alter and die.'
'You can't seek His face and save your face.'
3) Separation
In Luke 15:13, 'Not long
after that, the younger son got together all he
had, set off for a distant country and there squandered
his wealth in wild living.'
This is always the devil's intention
that we walk away, set off or separate from the
Father's will. The son journeyed out to another
country as stated in verse 13 above. In the western
countries, young people leave their home soon
after they reach the age of sixteen and we are
following that trend too. We leave home so that
we can have more freedom and we can do whatever
we like. This is an orphan spirit. Rules and regulations
are there to protect us and for our own good.
I will give rules to my children at home and they
will have to abide to it because I want to protect
them, so that no one and nothing can harm them.
If not, they will have to bear the consequences
of their wrong doings. It is always God's intention
that all His children will come under the covering
of His love and protection.
When I was in standard one, I
walked to school. My grandmother showed me the
way to and back to school for a few times and
then I was left to walk home alone. One day, I
decided to take another route after school. Guess
what, I lost my way and I have to walk back and
take the route my grandma had taught me. I felt
lost, unsecured and it wasn't a good feeling.
I am sure if you were to lose your children in
the shopping complex, not only will you be worried
your children will be scared too. That is why
we should not separate ourselves from other Christians
and also from God.
John
15:1-8, 'I am the true vine, and my Father is
the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that
bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have
spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain
in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it
must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear
fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and
I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain
in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away
and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. If you remain in me
and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you. This is to my Father's
glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves
to be my disciples.'
We have got to abide in Him and
then we will bear fruit. Without Him we cannot
do anything. Even Jesus has to follow God's will
and died a painful death for us. On the Cross,
Jesus felt the separation with His Father for
a second and He said in Matthew
27:46 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which means,
'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
Submit to a church and come under
the covering and protection of the church. Satan
knows that if someone is not under this covering
and they will be vulnerable to attack. Attend
a church faithfully and submit to it. Come under
the authority and protection of the church. Live
as a son and not an orphan.
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8th December
2002
Tender Heart
II Chronicles
34:1-4, 'Josiah was eight years old when he became
king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord
and walked in the ways of his father David, not
turning aside to the right or to the left. 3 In
the eighth year of his reign, while he was still
young, he began to seek the God of his father
David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah
and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved
idols and cast images.'
This morning I want to tell you
about the story of a young boy who became king
at an early age, Josiah. Can you imagine an eight-year
old boy ruling a country? But the Bible said that
Josiah sought God and did what was right in the
eyes of the Lord. Seek Him and you shall find
Him. How did David become a man after God's own
heart? He was God's favorite because his heart
was tender towards God and this touched God's
heart.
II Chronicles
34. At the age of eight, Josiah did what
was right in the eyes of God. (Verse 2) At age
sixteen, he sought the Lord. (Verse 2) At age
twenty, under his direction, he cleansed the temple
by tearing down the altars of the Baal; he cut
to pieces the incense altars that were above them,
and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the
images. (Verse 3-7) You must cleanse your temple
if you want to draw close to God. At age twenty-six,
he purified the land and repaired the temple.
Josiah collected the money that has been brought
into the temple and paid to the workers who restored
the temple. (Verse 8-13)
God spoke through the prophetess
Huldah that He is going to bring disaster to the
people of Judah but God changed His mind because
of Josiah. Verse 27-28,
'Because your heart was responsive and you humbled
yourself before god when you heard what he spoke
against this place and its people, and because
you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes
and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares
the Lord. Now I will gather you to your fathers,
and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will
not see all the disaster I am going to bring on
this place and on those who live here.'
Josiah also kept the Passover in chapter 35.
Psalm
34:18, 'The Lord is close to the broken hearted
and saved those who are crushed in spirit.' Psalm
51:17, 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not
despise.'
The opposite can be found in Mark
3:5, 'He looked around at them in anger and, deeply
distressed at their stubborn hearts…',
the religious leaders watched what Jesus would
do on the Sabbath day. They were looking for a
reason to kill Jesus. Jesus was angry because
of the hardness of heart.
Tender heart draws God. God is
touched when His people seek Him with a tender
heart. Use Josiah as the example. Verse
33, 'Josiah removed all the detestable idols from
all the territory belonging to the Israelites,
and he had all who were present in Israel serve
the Lord their God. As long as he lives, they
did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their
fathers.'
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22nd December
2002
Son Or Orphan - Part V
This morning I would like to continue
with this topic. I have shared with you that you
should live as sons and daughters of God and not
as orphans. My son knows that he doesn't need
to ask for my permission to enter my room because
of his relationship with me, likewise for us.
We don't have to ask God whether He is free to
talk for a particular day and you can be rest
assured that He will be there for you! He is everywhere
and you can feel Him everywhere, anytime, even
when you are driving, or in your room resting,
He will be there if you welcome Him. The fourth
characteristic of the prodigal son:
4) Sensuality - carnal living
Luke
15:13, 'Not long after that, the younger son got
together all he had, set off for a distant country
and there squandered his wealth in wild living.'
The son wasted his possession
and lived a lavish life. There are times when
we heard people comment about a Christian doing
something bad and we wonder why. This is because
many Christians choose to live carnally. They
want to satisfy their flesh. It is like they brand
themselves as Christians but yet not genuine Christians.
Living carnally is the opposite of living according
to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It also means
that your love for the world is more than your
love for the Father.
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 man, the lust
of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and
does, comes not from the Father but from the world.
The world and its desires pass away, but the man
who does the will of God lives forever.'
The Bible is very clear about
the definition of the love for the world; the
lust of the flesh, the lust of eyes and the pride
of life. If you have these in you, you love the
world more than God. Stay away from these. Keep
yourself holy. For example, if you know that you
have a problem with these sins, refrain yourselves
from getting involved or even get in touch with
things that will cause you to sin. If you have
to stop watching television, stop watching for
a while. Galatians 5:19-21,
'The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry
and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits
of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warm you, as I did before, that those who live
like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.'
Stay away from all these!
You have a part to play in order
for God to help you. You can never be in bondage
if you wish to be free and you have to do your
part. Romans 8:5-10,
'Those who live according to the sinful nature
have their minds set on what the nature desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit and life and peace; the
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however,
are controlled not by the sinful nature but by
the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is
in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet
your spirit is alive because of righteousness.'
Set your mind away from sinful
desires and keep yourself holy.
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29th December
2002
Worship
Many people know about
God but they do not know
God. I may know a lot about cars and about President
Bush but I do not really know how a car works
and neither do I know the President well.
In these coming months, I have
to start changing the doctrines that I had once
learnt and begin to know God in a different manner.
Not being religious and follow the sequence of
the church service but to let God take over. If
you know God and had a true encounter with Him,
you will never backslide. However, if you are
looking for human encounter, then you will not
last long in your faith. You can come to church
week after week, enjoy the nice worship and have
the preacher preached a good sermon but if you
have not personally encountered with Him, then
you have defeated the purpose. In Philippians
3:10, Paul said, '…that I may know Him and
the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being confirmed to His death.'
Acts
15:12-17, God says in His word that He
is going to rebuild the Tabernacle of David that
had fallen down. God did intend for it to be rebuilt,
but to me, I don't think the Tabernacle of David
ever fell. David wanted to build a bigger and
better temple for God and God allowed David's
son, Solomon (man of peace) to build it instead
of David (man of war). The Ark of the Covenant
was transferred from the Tabernacle of David to
the temple of Solomon as you read in II
Chronicles 7. The word 'tabernacle' simply
means tent. It is merely a place that David said,
'I was glad when they said unto me, let us go
into the house of the Lord.' Now I know the reason
David was so glad to go into the house of the
Lord. It is because of His encounter with God
and God's presence was there when he worshiped.
Why was David called a man after
God's own heart? It was because of his heart of
worship for God. He constantly worshipped God
and cried out to God as he had written in Psalms.
I used to think that God has no favorites and
that God died for us the same, but He has favorites!
He asked us to seek for His favor. He is touched
when His people seek His face. You should read
the book by Tommy Tenney called 'God's Favorite
House'. I've come to understand the reason when
he wrote that he was sick of what had been practiced
in the church. He only wants to be in a church
and worshipsGod.
The Ark of the Covenant was first
lost during Eli's time. Israel had sinned for
a long time. Samuel, used by God, warned Eli about
it. During the invasion of the Philistines, Israel
was defeated, the Ark was taken away and Eli's
son was killed. When Eli heard all this, he died
of shock (I Samuel 4).
Many people think that when they wear religious
symbols, perform religious rituals or give money
to charity, they will be saved. No! Worship is
what will last you through eternity.
In Revelation
4:8-11, 'The four living creatures, each having
six wings, were full of eyes around and within.
And they do not rest day or night, saying; 'Holy,
holy Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is
to come!' Whenever the living creatures give glory
and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne,
who lives forever and ever. The twenty four elders
fall down before Him, who sits on the throne and
worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast
their crowns before the throne, saying; 'You are
worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power; for you created all things and by your
will they exist and were created.' We are
going to worship God when we meet God in heaven.
You come to church and God touches
you when you sing, but that doesn't mean that
you have touched the throne of God. Satan loves
it when God's people think they 'feel' it but
in actual fact, they don't. On the other hand,
when the glory of God falls upon you, many people
will come to you crying for repentance, miracles
will happen and people will come to know God through
you. But we have not reached that level yet. I
want to encourage you to come before Him and worship
Him.
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