19 feb -??

Sermon 1-understanding our Christian calling
God calls us because he loves us and cares about us.

God will call us individually, and the divine call will be a personal one.

Our general calling is that of all God's people and is therefore the same. Our particular calling is that of each us and is therefore different. We all share in the same general call of God; we have each received a different particular call from God.

God's call to us is to be understood as primarily a call not so much to do something as to be someone. it is not a call to do but a call to be.

The quality of being called with the sense of drivenness that is so pervasive causes the driven persons to be confused about their identities. They are unable to separate role from person. What they do is indistinguishable from what they are.
The result is that these people find it difficult to give up a position as they seek at all cost to retain it. they are concerned about fame and the symbols of status such as titles, ranks, and privileges. this is why retirement is so difficult for many men and woman.

God ... takes the final step in calling us. the initiative is wholly his.

St. Francis of assissi's prayer "let me be an instrument of thy peace."

God's people are "called to be holy" or "called to be saints."

There is a misconception that holiness has to do with being deeply religious and being a good person ... They(the Israelites) were a holy nation in the sense that they were separate or set aside for God.

So when we are called to be holy, essentially, we are called to be set apart for God.

Holiness is not something we grow into, something we strive for, or something we obtain after a long time. Indeed, it is something unreachable and for which we are to struggle for the rest of our lives to obtain.

Holiness
1)Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God.
2)A holy person endeavors to shun every known sin and to keep every known commandment.
3)A holy person will strive to be like Jesus.
4)A holy person will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kind temper, government of his tongue.
5)A holy person will follow after temperance and self-denial.
6)A holy person will follow after charity and brotherly kindness.
7)A holy person will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence towards others.
8)A holy person will follow after purity of heart.
9)A holy person will follow after the fear of God.
10)A holy person will follow after humility.
11)A holy person will follow after faithfulness in all duties and relations in life.
12)A holy person will follow after spiritual mindedness.

To be in fellowship with Christ is to belong together with him, to have a share in Christ.

Unless a fellowship exists between Christ and us, we will not bear fruit. Indeed, we "can do nothing"(John 15:6)

Only when we know who we are should we think about what we are to do. People who have not sensed the call of God drive themselves to do things.

Let us respond fully and humbly to God's call.

Sermon 2-The act of consecration
Who is willing to consecrate or give himself to the Lord?

Consecration is the next spiritual step in ones spiritual walk.

To consecrate a person is simply to set him or her apart for God's use. He or she is to turn from evil to the Lord, and be prepared to be used by God.

Consecration is not a sudden impulse or an emotion developed in excitement. It is not something that you can do and then think you are done with it ... Consecration has to become a way of life.

"So here's what i want you to do, God helping you; take your everyday ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life and place it before God as an offering." Eugene Peterson's translation of Romans 12:1

We are not commanded to do so (consecrate ourselves) by force or authority. Our consecration should not be prompted by fear.

The mercies of God include justification, identification, sanctification, indwelling of the Holy Spirit, no condemnations, daily help, eternal life, etc.

In the new testament, religion is grace, ethics is gratitude.

Simply put, we shall not be forced to surrender ourselves; consecration is to be our choice, our response to the mercies of God who loves us so much.

Metamorphosis is a fundamental transformation of character and conduct, away from the standards of the world into the image of Christ himself.

There is no use talking about inward change unless there is also outward transformation.

Each one should use whatever gift he has to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms.

I don't know what your destiny will be but one thing i do know. The ones among you who are really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

Sermon 3-called to be servants.
In doing what is required, the servant is not doing anything deserving thanks; he is simply doing his job.

There is a simple reason why we are to serve, It is because we are God's servants. We were once in debt but now redeemed, bought and owned by God.

Romans 6:22-"you who have been set free from sin have become servants to God."

The call to be a servant is extended to all God's people, rich or poor, young or old. no one should bow out.

I realized that i was a servant-not a celebrity. So i am here as God's servant on planet earth to share what i have experienced that others might know the glory of God.

We may wonder why mere duty is not enough. It is because there are many needs of others to be met. Strive to serve one another in love.(serve one another not out of duty even if it is our duty, but out of love)

... Mere duty is not sufficient ... It is not enough to fulfill our obligations. No one should feel that he has earned thanks for doing what in ANY event he MUST do.

The truth is that it is very easy to give up. In Christian service, there are inevitable times of discouragement and frustration. Practice the heroism of GOING ON.

It is our supreme duty to serve. We are the Lord's servant. We and all that we have belong to God. Mere duty is insufficient which means that we must do more than the minimum required of us. Service is never-ending and there should be no let-up. Neither should we give up.

Sermon 4-the washing of feet
Jesus, the Lord and master of the universe, did a role reversal by taking on the function of servant.

The followers of Jesus Christ must be enough to serve one another, to do the small, lowly, even monotonous tasks that are necessary for the welfare of others. It is the spiritual principle that taking a towel is as important as taking a cross.

By his act, Jesus taught the nobility in serving others.

"In the service of God, there is no great or small, no important or unimportant." -William Barclay

Service should come before position. We should choose to serve over having a great position. Our position should humble us!

Live out our lives sincerely and costly service of others. Service is COSTLY! Helping can be an effortless action but it could also be a costly action! be ready to give for that cost!

We are all in need of divine cleansing. We are all in need of a daily wash-up on account of our repeated act and the pollution of sin, just as a traveler needs to wash the stains of the road off his feet.

All those, those only, that are spiritually washed by Christ, have a part in Christ.

There is therefore a one-time purification when we become Christians with our sin and guilt erased and a daily purging and cleansing when we deal with daily sins that still beset us.

Let us resolve to do as Jesus has done, to humbly render our service to meet the needs of others and let us avail ourselves of Christ's offer to wash us of sin and guilt, for only those who have been washed by the lamb are his.

Sermon 5-Appointed to serve
Candidates for positions IN the church should come from WITHIN the church.

Churches should find leaders from among their own numbers and that therefore the members themselves must com forward to serve.

If you are not already serving you church or organization, are you willing to offer yourself to be chosen to serve?

A certain bishop, dissatisfied with the general state of inaction, confessed,"wherever the early Christians went, they caused a revolution. Wherever i went, they served tea."

Undoubtedly, what God wants from us is not words, however fine, but acts. He wants us to actually get down to doing things and helping people. the call to office is a call to serve practically.

Any job in the church, no matter how unimportant or humble, is worthwhile doing.

What every church needs is people who are prepared to do anything. It is always possible to get people to do jobs which get publicity, prestige, praise and thanks. It is not easy to get people to do the thankless jobs which no one sees. Any job in the church is done for God and just because of that, the humblest job can be clad with glory.

There is no hierarchy of Christian ministries so we should not hesitate to accept any assignment. Neither should we regard any job as being of inferior status or beneath us.

Taking any particular post should give us the opportunity to do good, not prevent us from doing good.

Whatever we are called to do, let us do "all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Sermon 6-The essence of spiritual work
Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season.

Too often we indulge in "blessed thoughts" and too infrequently teach the word of God in all its fullness. We take our thoughts and hang them onto scripture, instead of allowing the scriptures to control our thoughts.

We use a (biblical) text as a kind of launching platform to be left behind after take-off and we never return to it.

The written word is God's revelation and it points to the living word, Jesus the Christ.

We need to remember that in ant spiritual project, God is always responsible for the result. Neither preacher, pastor, or evangelist is responsible.

Neither he who plants or he who waters is anything but only God who makes thing grow.

The Christian minister is a mere instrument used by God. Any claim to perform the supernatural is ill-advised.

The power of the clothes that Paul touched which healed others did not reside in pieces of cloth or leather but in the faith of those who used them.

Those who are not spiritual cannot hope to do spiritual work.

When spiritual work is done by qualified persons, there will be positive results. The power of the name of Jesus will manifest in miraculous ways.

It is important that in the choice and placement of people to do spiritual work, whatever it may be, we look for those who qualify.

In all spiritual work, the word of God must be accorded a central place. Ministers in the Lords work are to be regarded as MERE INSTRUMENTS whose duty is to let God work through them. Lastly, work of a a spiritual nature requires those who are spiritual to do.

sermon 7-a person of proven worth
Timothy was send to the Phillipi because he had proven himself.

The first mark of a person of worth is his or her genuine interest in the welfare of other people.

Forget yourself long enough to lean a helping hand.

As we collapse the self by looking away from those of Christ, we become more open to the Lords working in us to make us more Christ-like.

There is no need to fear being brought to an end of ourselves for the "end of self" is the beginning of God.

A person of worth is always a person who gives of him or herself in diligent service to others.

By the simple act of offering your friendship to someone, you are already taking an interest in others.

Kingdom concerns have everything to do with practical and selfless service, and the person who claims to be a worthy follower of Christ will have to serve in the work of the gospel.

Sermon 8-Administering help
The final judgement will be based on whether help was given to or withheld from people in need.

God will judge us in accordance with our reaction to human need-William Barclay

We are not asked whether we have given away large sums of money, carried out earth-shaking reforms or undertaken heroic tasks. All the task mentioned requires no special gifting or talent. Anybody could have done them.

Few of us are given to accomplish great and noble things but all of us can help in simple things. If we neglect being helpful in simple ways, it is doubtful if we will ever be able to attempt anything great.

I long to accomplish great and noble task, but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble for the world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.

The help we give must be uncalculating. Deeds of goodness are to be done for their own sakes and those giving help should not do so expecting to gain something in return.

The system of recognition and reward is not necessarily wrong but it sometimes unwittingly promotes a calculating attitude- to serve for a return.

Growth as a person reaches its peak when one is able to give love freely.

Giving help is meaningful by itself but it becomes suspect when we are after some hidden agenda or motive.

All help given is given to Jesus and all help withheld is withheld from him.

Do not forget to entertain a stranger, for by doing so, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

If Christ himself were among us in poverty, would we relieve him? In prison, how frequently would we visit him?

The help we are to give essentially, and in most cases, involves simple things. not great talent or skill is needed therefre no one can excuse themselves from rendering help.

Sermon 9-learning from Mary
What Mary did for Jesus, washing his feet with perfume and drying it with her hair was an act of worship and devotion, pure, unpretentious, and genuine. She had acted as one in love.

Give our greatest possessions to the Lord, all that we have, and receive his blessing back tenfold.

If we truly love the Lord, we will seek not only to give all, but to regret that we have not still more to give.

True devotion must spring from ones humility, not pride."without humility there can be no such thing as love, for the beginning of love is a sense of unworthiness. without humility, there can be no true religion, for all true religions begins with a realization of our own weakness and of our need for God." William Barclay.

God looked down from heaven to find the smallest and most insignificant creature. seeing me, he took me up and used me.

Evidently, Mary had risked her reputation but she had no thought to that at all. So deep was her love to Jesus that she had no self-consciousness.

Many are self-conscious about showing their Christianity, concerned always about what others are thinking about them. Mary loved Jesus so much that it was nothing to her what others thought.

If we expressed our love to God with such intensity like Mary, we too would bring some good effects within the circles in which we move.

Genuine love seeks to elevate the one loved above self.

sermon 10-A labor of love.
Faith is directed towards God, love towards others, and hope towards the future.

Love means a concern for, acceptance of, and an interest in the others around me whom i am trying to love. it is a self donation. it should be willing and without any expectation for return!

Paul uses the expression labor of love because love labors or works. If it does not, it is just a sentiment. Its a free gift, a giving of ourselves, our time, money, effort or will.

Love for God and love for people are congruent with each other! this is why love is the greatest virtue!!!

In contrast with the world's romanticized notion of love as self-fulfilling, the bible's portrayal of love is one of self-giving. This is not an option if we take the call to be disciples of Christ seriously.

Sermon 11
Have a firm perspective of the truths and do not be wavered nor distracted at all by what is happening or being said.

We have only what God gives to us. Conversely, if we do not have something, it is because God has chosen not to give it. The point being that God is in FULL control.

We have an immensely sound and practical suggestion by which to respond to any situation or crisis that life may deal us. It is to simply submit to the sovereignty of God.

John's flock may represent our gifts, assets, property, wealth, and even health. These are blessings that come from God and we are to manage them! We are therefore to put them to good use, but should we lose them, we do not despair.

John was aware of his own identity. When faced with the report that people were leaving him for Jesus Christ, he was not troubled because he knew who he was! He knew he was not the Christ but merely the one sent ahead of the Christ.(John 3:28)

Recognize that we are subservient to Christ!

Created excellencies, they must decrease. The shining forth of the Glory of Christ eclipses the luster of all other glory.The glory that stands in competition with Christ, that of the World and the flesh decreases and loses ground in the soul as the knowledge and love of Christ increases an love gains ground. As the light of the morning increases, that of the morning star decreases
-Matthew Henry

Men are not against you. They are merely for themselves.

Acknowledge the sovereignty of God over what we receive in life. Understand that we were meant to live in dependence of God and that we were created to serve God's purpose!

John was governed by the knowledge that all his intellect, charisma, skills, and strengths were not intended to exalt him above other people but were to be harnessed to fulfill his role in God's plan.

Life's storms may assail us even when we are doing God's will!

The fact is storms come to the righteous as well as the wicked!

The upsets of life are all around us. Lets not think of storms as exceptions to the rule of calm weather but rather the times of calm as the exceptions
-H. Norman Wright.

Being a Christian and leading a faithful and dutiful life will not always bring about a good, painless and prosperous life.

Sometimes divine deliverances are quite as unexpected and almost too good to be believed. The wonderful truth is that Jesus Christ will come to our aid, as he is closely watching us!

We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ if we are to stay in the faith.

To fix our eyes on the Lord is not a physical activity. It is to persevere in faith and stay committed to the Lord.

Believing is easy. The difficulty is to stay in the faith.