by Pastor Lee Meng Cham
1 Corinthians 15:58
How do we incorporate God's messages into our work place?
3 things about work :
1. Definition of Work
- "Work is the expenditure of energy (manual or mental or both) in the service of others, which brings fulfillment to the worker, benefit to the community and glory to God." - John Stott
2. Design of Work
- God's design of Work is 6 days He work and 1 day He rest @ creation. There is work before & after the fall and after the fall. Work is for our benefit, it is a gift for us from God. God created us to be occupied, fully functioning as His co-workers as we live on this earth)
- Our work matters to God, both now and eternally. The value we place on our work determines our missional effectiveness. How we do what we do daily transforms and reclaims the workplace for His glory.
- God is The Worker (Genesis 2:2-3)
- Humans are God's Co-Workers (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13)
- Before the Fall : Humans are God's Co-workers (Genesis 1:28; 2:15)
- After the Fall : Humans are still God's Co-workers (Genesis 3:17b - 19)
3. Dignity of Work (God created the world intentionally and Jesus is the chief worker John 15:1; 5:17; 9:4; 4:34; 17:4)
How should we develop the right perspective of our work?
1. Get a Right Regard of Work
- Every good work and every good worker counts including a pre-believer
2. Restore a Right Relationship to our Work
- God wants us to be OUR best not be THE best
- the WORKAHOLIC (Fear of Failure) and SHIRKAHOLIC (Fear of Success) are not the best examples that pleases God
- We give identity a meaning to our work because we are God's children (Proverbs 22:13)
- Instead of living by the understanding of Fall --> Redemption --> Great Commission, we should live by
- Creation --> Fall --> Redemption --> Restoration --> Grand Commission
Confucious says :
If you love your job, then you will never have to work again
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Colossians 3:23-24
The loafer says, "There's a lion on the loose! If I go out I'll be eaten alive!"
Provers 22:13
"Driven people tend to focus all their energies on an activity that feeds the inner dysfunction, and this activity becomes an addiction."
- R. Paul Stevens -
What is this work?
Stay tune .......
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
from Setbacks to Comeback (Part 2)
by Pastor Calvin Lee
COMEBACK
- Setbacks do not have the last say in our lives
- turnaround, fresh start, beginning
- God is a God who gives a second chance (God is a God of Mulligans)
3 scenarios can happen when we face setbacks :
- Overwhelm
- Survive
- Make a strong comeback
My setback is a setup for a comeback
1st Principle :
Run to God, not away from God (Genesis 39:2)
2nd Principle :
Make the best out of the bad situation (Genesis 39:4; 23)
- We need the presence of God most during setbacks moment, do not slide and don't ever allow your situation or setbacks to lead you away from God.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when the calamity strikes (Proverbs 24:16)
3rd Principle :
Genesis 41:15
- God joined the dots
4th Principle :
Understand that your comeback is not payback time (Genesis 50:15)
5th Principle :
Remember that your comeback is a result of someone else salvation (Genesis 50:20)
- For the kingdom and glory of God
1 Peter 5:10
- Samson hit rock bottom
- It's never too late for God. There's always hope from God
- Samson came back from a life of waywardness and sin
Judges 16:21; 28
Focus on Giants, fear will cripple you.
Focus on God, faith will strengthen you.
Focus on Goliath, you will be overwhelmed.
Focus on God, you will overcome.
"CHOOSE YOUR FOCUS, DIFFICULTY OR YOUR DELIVERER!"
COMEBACK
- Setbacks do not have the last say in our lives
- turnaround, fresh start, beginning
- God is a God who gives a second chance (God is a God of Mulligans)
3 scenarios can happen when we face setbacks :
- Overwhelm
- Survive
- Make a strong comeback
My setback is a setup for a comeback
1st Principle :
Run to God, not away from God (Genesis 39:2)
2nd Principle :
Make the best out of the bad situation (Genesis 39:4; 23)
- We need the presence of God most during setbacks moment, do not slide and don't ever allow your situation or setbacks to lead you away from God.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when the calamity strikes (Proverbs 24:16)
3rd Principle :
Genesis 41:15
- God joined the dots
4th Principle :
Understand that your comeback is not payback time (Genesis 50:15)
5th Principle :
Remember that your comeback is a result of someone else salvation (Genesis 50:20)
- For the kingdom and glory of God
1 Peter 5:10
- Samson hit rock bottom
- It's never too late for God. There's always hope from God
- Samson came back from a life of waywardness and sin
Judges 16:21; 28
Focus on Giants, fear will cripple you.
Focus on God, faith will strengthen you.
Focus on Goliath, you will be overwhelmed.
Focus on God, you will overcome.
"CHOOSE YOUR FOCUS, DIFFICULTY OR YOUR DELIVERER!"
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
What is a 'Good" Mother-In-Law?
Someone has said a good mother-in-law is not nosy, not biased, and not jealous; rather she is kind, a peacemaker, knows when to come and go, is as wise as an owl and harmless as a dove.
Some of these traits were in Naomi, a mother-in-law we read about in the book of Ruth. She was living in the country of Moab. Her husband and sons had all died. She and her two daughters-in-law lived alone with no support. She heard that the famine in her homeland was over, so she decided to go back home.
Her two daughters-in-law were going with her. While on the way, she urged them to go back home to their parents, hopefully to find new husbands. One daughter-in-law Orpah, left Naomi to do just that. The other one, Ruth, chose not to go back home. Her words to Naomi are unforgettable. "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!"
Ruth clung to Naomi, not for what she could get, but for what she could give her mother-in-law. God rewarded her loyalty. She met Naomi's relative, Boaz; they married, and she became an ancestor of King David, and of the Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
Some of these traits were in Naomi, a mother-in-law we read about in the book of Ruth. She was living in the country of Moab. Her husband and sons had all died. She and her two daughters-in-law lived alone with no support. She heard that the famine in her homeland was over, so she decided to go back home.
Her two daughters-in-law were going with her. While on the way, she urged them to go back home to their parents, hopefully to find new husbands. One daughter-in-law Orpah, left Naomi to do just that. The other one, Ruth, chose not to go back home. Her words to Naomi are unforgettable. "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!"
Ruth clung to Naomi, not for what she could get, but for what she could give her mother-in-law. God rewarded her loyalty. She met Naomi's relative, Boaz; they married, and she became an ancestor of King David, and of the Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
What does it mean "By Faith?"
by Dr Jerry Horner
We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the mean of communication between us and God. Our Christian walk is a walk of faith and our Christian life is a life of faith.
How do we walk and live by faith?
Take a look at the Father of faith - Abraham in Romans 4:23-34
- An untested faith is a worthless faith
- God test and challenge our faith to strengthen us and assure us
There are 3 great crisis in Abraham's walk of faith :
(1) Genesis 12:1-3
- The essence of faith is simply letting go of one thing so that God can give us something else. Leaving security and identity. The first word is to get out and leave
- Until we let go, God cannot give us all He wants to give us
- The way to grow up is to give up
- God is seeking to set Abraham apart but He couldn't do it if Abraham stay where he was. God wants to be the shaping influence of Abraham's life. We must not allow the world to be the shaping influence of our lives
- We are not to live by the standards of the world (Romans 12:2)
Example :
The story of monkey picking up a trinket from a cut open coconut shell. If it doesn't let go of the trinket, it will be caught because it's hand is too full to go through the hole
- Am I willing to travel and willing to let God lead me to the unknown?
- Walk into the unknown just like when God called Abraham, God didn't say where He is bringing Abraham to
- God wants us to walk and trust Him even though we don't know what is going on or what's happening in our lives
- He doesn't want us to depend on our own knowledge when He calls us out by faith if we know where we are going beforehand
Example :
The stairs of darkness where one light will light us as we take a step forward.
The only way we can see God and His plans for us is from the back, in retrospect. Look back over the path from which I have come from.
(2) Genesis 17:15-18
- Letting go of Ishmael
- Abraham was saying in v18 he wants it his way since Ishmael was already 13 years old. But God wants Abraham let go of Ishmael else God cannot continue doing His works in us
- Ishmael is like our career, ideas, plans, dreams, visions etc
- God may not command or demand that we give us our Ishmael but if our Ishmael collide with God's plan for us, then we must decide whether we want to let go or stay put in our comfortable zone
(3) Genesis 22:1-2
- Let go of your Isaac
- What if what you have now is good and pure and right and perfect, YET God wants you to give up?
- God will never test you in a way you cannot pass the test or in any way you are unable to endure
- Letting go the best you have, the right and good and perfect
- The ultimate test of walking in faith is when you come to the place when you don't need the promise or reward when you obey God
Example :
Paul's biggest threat is not the hardships nor people but it is the blessings that he had (2 Corinthians 12)
God just wants our heart of obedience
We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the mean of communication between us and God. Our Christian walk is a walk of faith and our Christian life is a life of faith.
How do we walk and live by faith?
Take a look at the Father of faith - Abraham in Romans 4:23-34
- An untested faith is a worthless faith
- God test and challenge our faith to strengthen us and assure us
There are 3 great crisis in Abraham's walk of faith :
(1) Genesis 12:1-3
- The essence of faith is simply letting go of one thing so that God can give us something else. Leaving security and identity. The first word is to get out and leave
- Until we let go, God cannot give us all He wants to give us
- The way to grow up is to give up
- God is seeking to set Abraham apart but He couldn't do it if Abraham stay where he was. God wants to be the shaping influence of Abraham's life. We must not allow the world to be the shaping influence of our lives
- We are not to live by the standards of the world (Romans 12:2)
Example :
The story of monkey picking up a trinket from a cut open coconut shell. If it doesn't let go of the trinket, it will be caught because it's hand is too full to go through the hole
- Am I willing to travel and willing to let God lead me to the unknown?
- Walk into the unknown just like when God called Abraham, God didn't say where He is bringing Abraham to
- God wants us to walk and trust Him even though we don't know what is going on or what's happening in our lives
- He doesn't want us to depend on our own knowledge when He calls us out by faith if we know where we are going beforehand
Example :
The stairs of darkness where one light will light us as we take a step forward.
The only way we can see God and His plans for us is from the back, in retrospect. Look back over the path from which I have come from.
(2) Genesis 17:15-18
- Letting go of Ishmael
- Abraham was saying in v18 he wants it his way since Ishmael was already 13 years old. But God wants Abraham let go of Ishmael else God cannot continue doing His works in us
- Ishmael is like our career, ideas, plans, dreams, visions etc
- God may not command or demand that we give us our Ishmael but if our Ishmael collide with God's plan for us, then we must decide whether we want to let go or stay put in our comfortable zone
(3) Genesis 22:1-2
- Let go of your Isaac
- What if what you have now is good and pure and right and perfect, YET God wants you to give up?
- God will never test you in a way you cannot pass the test or in any way you are unable to endure
- Letting go the best you have, the right and good and perfect
- The ultimate test of walking in faith is when you come to the place when you don't need the promise or reward when you obey God
Example :
Paul's biggest threat is not the hardships nor people but it is the blessings that he had (2 Corinthians 12)
God just wants our heart of obedience
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
God's Graciousness
Taken from YouVersion Bible
Billy Sunday once said about hypocrites, “Don’t hunt through the church looking for a hypocrite. Go home and look in the mirror. See that you make the number of hypocrites one less.”
The Apostle Paul also spoke about hypocrites. In Romans 2, he addresses people who look down their noses at others while practicing what they condemn in them.
He reminds his readers of three criteria God uses to judge people–including hypocrites. (1) God judges according to truth: Paul writes, “We know that God’s judgment against those who do wrong is based on truth–that is, on the way they really are." (2) God judges according to a person’s deeds: He writes, “God will give to each person according to what he has done.” (3) God judges according to the light a person has. Paul writes, “The day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life. Hypocrites will have no standing in that day."
Because God judges so thoroughly, none of us can escape the consequences of our actions–no one except those whom God forgives because of what His Son has done. God forgives those who ask Him because His Son Jesus died for our sins. With Jesus Christ as our Savior, we do not have to pretend as hypocrites do. True believers know they are not perfect. They are simply forgiven.
Billy Sunday once said about hypocrites, “Don’t hunt through the church looking for a hypocrite. Go home and look in the mirror. See that you make the number of hypocrites one less.”
The Apostle Paul also spoke about hypocrites. In Romans 2, he addresses people who look down their noses at others while practicing what they condemn in them.
He reminds his readers of three criteria God uses to judge people–including hypocrites. (1) God judges according to truth: Paul writes, “We know that God’s judgment against those who do wrong is based on truth–that is, on the way they really are." (2) God judges according to a person’s deeds: He writes, “God will give to each person according to what he has done.” (3) God judges according to the light a person has. Paul writes, “The day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life. Hypocrites will have no standing in that day."
Because God judges so thoroughly, none of us can escape the consequences of our actions–no one except those whom God forgives because of what His Son has done. God forgives those who ask Him because His Son Jesus died for our sins. With Jesus Christ as our Savior, we do not have to pretend as hypocrites do. True believers know they are not perfect. They are simply forgiven.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Growing in Spiritual and Power
by Pastor Ben
The Big Idea
(1) Fight from a Position of Victory
- What's our position as believers? (Ephesians 2:6)(Luke 4:6)(Colossians 2:15)(Matthew 28:18)
- Jesus delegated His authority to us (Luke 9:1)
- Know God's Word & be informed (continuing learning) (1 John 4:4)
- Not allowing ignorance for satan to deceive us. Ignorance is not a bliss
- When "in Jesus' Name doesn't work" would mean either the person is in a state of mental unsound or this person is seeking attention
(2) Embrace the Purpose of fulfilling the mandate
- What are we wired to do on this earth? (Ephesians 2:10)
- We are always fighting battle on this earth
- Deliverance is a non-negotiable in fulfilling the mandate (Mark 16:15; 17-19)
(3) Adopt a Posture of submission to Christ
- Authority means the right to rule. Power is relying on heavens' strength to bring about the desired result
- Jesus demonstrated a life of total submission (John 5:19)
- The way Jesus prayed : He Commanded & Rebuked
Every member of the body of Christ has the same authority and power because it is based on our identity and position in Christ.
- Neil Anderson : from the book Your Authority in Christ -
There's no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every minute of every hour is claimed by God and counter-claimed by satan.
- CS Lewis -
Satan can't do anything about your identity and position in Christ, but if he can deceive you into believing that is is not true or irrelevant, you will live as though it isn't.
- Neil Anderson : from the book Your Authority in Christ -
After Creation (Psalm 8:5 / Genesis 1:28) God -> Humans -> Satan
After the fall (Luke 4:6) God -> Satan -> Humans
After Crucifixion (Colossians 2:15) God -> Jesus -> Humans -> Satan
The Big Idea
(1) Fight from a Position of Victory
- What's our position as believers? (Ephesians 2:6)(Luke 4:6)(Colossians 2:15)(Matthew 28:18)
- Jesus delegated His authority to us (Luke 9:1)
- Know God's Word & be informed (continuing learning) (1 John 4:4)
- Not allowing ignorance for satan to deceive us. Ignorance is not a bliss
- When "in Jesus' Name doesn't work" would mean either the person is in a state of mental unsound or this person is seeking attention
(2) Embrace the Purpose of fulfilling the mandate
- What are we wired to do on this earth? (Ephesians 2:10)
- We are always fighting battle on this earth
- Deliverance is a non-negotiable in fulfilling the mandate (Mark 16:15; 17-19)
(3) Adopt a Posture of submission to Christ
- Authority means the right to rule. Power is relying on heavens' strength to bring about the desired result
- Jesus demonstrated a life of total submission (John 5:19)
- The way Jesus prayed : He Commanded & Rebuked
Every member of the body of Christ has the same authority and power because it is based on our identity and position in Christ.
- Neil Anderson : from the book Your Authority in Christ -
There's no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every minute of every hour is claimed by God and counter-claimed by satan.
- CS Lewis -
Satan can't do anything about your identity and position in Christ, but if he can deceive you into believing that is is not true or irrelevant, you will live as though it isn't.
- Neil Anderson : from the book Your Authority in Christ -
After Creation (Psalm 8:5 / Genesis 1:28) God -> Humans -> Satan
After the fall (Luke 4:6) God -> Satan -> Humans
After Crucifixion (Colossians 2:15) God -> Jesus -> Humans -> Satan
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Jesus Christ real?
Experts say the best way tell if gold is genuine is to give it the old fire test. Fire will burn away impurities and leave the gold intact. Some people ask how we know Jesus Christ is truly God's Messiah, especially since other religions claim to be just as valid.
Fifteen hundred years before Jesus came, God promised through Moses to send a prophet like Moses. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy and hundreds of others that predicted what the Messiah would do when He came. Jesus displayed perfect moral character. No one could accuse Him of moral failure.
While He was here on earth, credible witnesses testified that they heard God's voice from heaven say about Him, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him." Jesus worked miracles no mere human could do. One mark of a true prophet is that His words must come true. Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. He also predicted that the nation's enemies would destroy Jerusalem.
It happened in 70 A.D. Jesus said He came from God, spoke for God, and would return to God. Since then, His followers proclaim the Good News about Him all over the world. They build hospitals, help the poor, and work for justice in our society.
Millions of people who accept Him experience changed lives. All these realities point to Jesus as unique and fully reliable. That is why we trust Him as God's Son and our Savior.
Deuteronomy 18:15-22
Fifteen hundred years before Jesus came, God promised through Moses to send a prophet like Moses. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy and hundreds of others that predicted what the Messiah would do when He came. Jesus displayed perfect moral character. No one could accuse Him of moral failure.
While He was here on earth, credible witnesses testified that they heard God's voice from heaven say about Him, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him." Jesus worked miracles no mere human could do. One mark of a true prophet is that His words must come true. Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection. He also predicted that the nation's enemies would destroy Jerusalem.
It happened in 70 A.D. Jesus said He came from God, spoke for God, and would return to God. Since then, His followers proclaim the Good News about Him all over the world. They build hospitals, help the poor, and work for justice in our society.
Millions of people who accept Him experience changed lives. All these realities point to Jesus as unique and fully reliable. That is why we trust Him as God's Son and our Savior.
Deuteronomy 18:15-22
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