Have faith in God Himself instead of what God gives
E.g. Mary, a virgin decided to have faith in God to give birth to Jesus as she was called even though this child comes with a price. She would be condemned, scorned upon by family, friends, strangers and probably stoned in those days AND she would even risked having her favorite man, Joseph, leaving her. If she had faith on what God gives, she probably would give up living her calling from all the pain, hurts, uncertainty, fears of condemnation that comes with baby Jesus. But Mary instead, had FAITH IN GOD and lived out her calling, as we all know.
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1 Corinthians 3
God's church MUST function according to God's plan!
A man-led church will die!
If a church is done according to the standards of the world, the LIFE of the church will die!
Good programs without God can also cause growth in numbers like any other society or organisations but it will not bring LIFE in it's members as a church should. Without God, it's no longer a church.
Our goal is to be Christ like!
It's not about making members but making disciples.
A church should not have divisions
If you see people through God's eyes, through the eyes of grace, all will be good.
Without God's grace, church will have divisions
See through Jesus's eyes, the church will have grace
Love and justice through the cross acts like a filter, a mask. It blocks out pollution, the dirty things of people.
TESTIMONY OF GOD and TO PROVE GOD is 2 very different thing
Testimony of God is when we die to ourselves and follow GOD. Whatever happens, GOD is glorified.
To prove God is when we think WE can prove God and WE work hard to prove God.
Give up everything & follow His will,
Then His grace will cover us.
It is not by our strength.
If we give up ourselves, everything will be glorifying God, everything will be meaningful.
Spiritual things cannot be understood by human wisdom.
If we have too much of our own thinking, too much of human wisdom, we will not know God.
Live out God's word. It's powerful.
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PRE SERVICE PRAYER MESSAGE
How to be bounded/oppressed/have a foothold in your life:
Live by myself and my own thinking
Signs & symptoms of being bounded/oppressed/have a foothold in your life:
Get angry easily
Don't feel the presence of God
Pray but don't have confidence
Read the bible but no deep revelation
Habitual sin
The different spirits:
Fear
Divisions
Hatred, evil
Oppression, deprivation, slavery
Legalism, violence
Anger & despair
If we are bounded, we will not get the original meaning of the message, we might filter it through the spirit of e.g. legalism
If you have character that God doesn't want, that will be a foothold
Maintenance of the Holy Spirit is a daily, moment by moment thing.
Living in the Holy Spirit is the MINIMUM requirement of every Christian.
Privilege of the righteous comes through the throne of grace
Jesus is our mediator
It's not because of your merit, it's because Jesus recommend you.
PRAY AND BE SET FREE!
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1 Corinthians 2
Crucify human wisdom, we should live by God's wisdom
Wisdom of the world: How much you posses, the do's and the don'ts
Do not STRIVE to enjoy things in the world
Learn to rely on whatever God gives, not be possessors of things in the world
When we posses too much things, it slows down the process of God
E.g. a traveler cannot bring too many things
Don't posses, keep giving it out
We are not measured by the things we possessed.
We are measured by how much we obey God's word.
All problems come because you think you possess it.
In fact, everything you enjoy is God's! The truth is there's NOTHING that you have! That's why you can be free! If you have nothing, you don't need to worry about anything!
The things you have are the things God allowed you to use it for Him.
As soon as you think you own it, problem comes.
If we are really Christians, we wouldn't worry about food, etc.
God uses the weak to shame the strong
God is pleased with total dependence
You cannot live your life without God and without the power of His Spirit!
Church is different from the world. We cannot be like the Corinthians, trying to please people of the world.
Salvation belongs to the Lord. Our job is to preach truthfully and accurately.
If you don't receive the right gospel, you will not be able to walk correctly
If you pay attention to people, you not only kill yourself, you kill them as well. You should only look to God.
"Jesus, be my wisdom, my holiness"
When God forgives us, He erases out our sins and cleanse us as white as snow.
So when satan throw accusations at us, you just respond, "What sin? God has already erases my sin!"
When you believe, you receive righteousness by faith. Not striving but by faith.
When there's hope you will endure.
When there's love, you'll sacrifice.
You shouldn't feel defeated. You are not created like that!
The only reason why you are being defeated or despair is because you are CHEATED!
The Word of God is designed as an essential and fundamental to your soul and spirit!
Word of God should be LIFE in you!
You should not surrender to physical suffering, you should find the spiritual cause of it.
The important thing is to digest the word of God by FAITH, it cannot be filtered by world's standard or human wisdom. If it does, it will lose it's power!
E.g. Word of God is like cooked meat. It's good. But filtered by world's wisdom, it becomes overcooked. It's no good. It has lost it's nutrients.
Do not be malnourished without God's word!
If you do not digest the word of God by faith, you do not accept it as the truth.
It is difficult for us to accept the truth because of our evil desires
E.g. Prophet Jeremiah ate the scroll (the word) and it turned bitter
Paul did not try to persuade with men's wisdom. Truth will not be persuasive.
What made you mature is not how long you've been in church but how much of God's word have you digested.
To develop spiritual maturity takes about 6 months to a year
Does God know we will sin? Of course He knows, He is all knowing.
If God knows we will sin, why did He still created us?
It's because He loves us.
E.g. If you have a son and you know all the mistakes that he will make in the future, will you still love him?
If you know that your son will betray you, whip you and crucify you next time, are you still able to love him?
He chose to give up His all knowing power so that He can love us.
God has already decided to take responsibility for all our mistakes that we will make.
God has the best solution to everything that we decide, even our mistakes.
Through the cross you realize how good God is. You don't use your own strength.
E.g. CEO of a company decided to let his son runs his company, there is a risk.
When God appointed us to be His church, there is a risk
Whatever you do, He will be responsible for your actions and behavior
He knows the best route for us
He love us so much that He gave us everything!
You are God's church
You have the authority in the kingdom of God.
You must be excited to be part of the church
If majority of the congregation is immature, it will cause a lot of issues and problems.
When immature people is in an organisation, it will be affected negatively. Mature people however, will edify
Immature people are people who cannot control their bodies.
E.g. For a infant to point his finger to the middle of his nose is difficult cos it's hard for infants to control their bodies but for an adult is easy.
Infants will treat God as rubbish if there's no gain (possessions)
They are like a 65yo that still choose to wears diapers not because of any illness.
Traits of the immature: Quarrel, strife, jealous, don't see their own weakness, magnify a small problem (e.g. to an adult it's a small problem, but to the child it seems like a big problem and make a big fuss over it)
The glory of the church does not depend on the number of people.
If we live by flesh, we are just like animal who live just to eat.
If we live by the flesh, the more we want to posses, the more we want to eat.
Do not pursue anything that's not eternal.
No man will invest in a bank that will perish!
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Correctly give what God has given you.
Minister should minister according to the grace you are given
Minister according to the portion given by God, not to add or subtract
Live according to what God provides
We often strive by our own effort and this cause death
Be careful of greed (subtract: take something that is not yours) and despair (add: you feel that the things God has given someone is not enough & you try to add/stop the person from trying to give God) and loneliness (do it alone, instead of with God) when you are doing ministry.
Greed
E.g. Take some money out from mission fund for your salary
Despair
E.g. A poor man wanna give God offering and you said, don't need to give. You are already so poor already, keep for yourself. You are not God. He's giving to God, not you. You don't need to worry about him. God will take care of him. God will provide for him.
E.g. People who wants to come camp but has no money. You take ALL your salary and gives them until you have no money for yourself. It is God's responsibility to provide for them, not yours. You are not God.
God is the boss, He is our Father. He is the One who provides all our needs.
God is the CEO, not the pastor of the church.
The pastor is also your God's worker, and your fellow worker.
We often think that if we don't go, somebody is gonna die
Even if you don't preach, God will save
Our job is to do the things that God entrusted us to do
You just spend what you've been given by God
Unless you become pure and holy, God cannot flow through.
Your mind must be molded by the truth, then the Holy spirit will flow through you.
You are a channel of God. You are a vessel. Do not add or subtract to whatever God gives. Let God Himself flow through your life.
God is the focus of our ministry: what God wants me to do, where is God placing me, who God wants me to meet
Secret of successful: Do not limit the presence of indwelling Holy Spirit
Only through the spirit can we know God- personal encounter (Romans 8:26)
E.g. When you choose to love your enemies, your Holy Spirit will communicate to God & God will give you grace and help you to love your enemies.
The Holy spirit is our helper!
Know the truth & respond according to the truth (Hebrews 10:16)
It will be impossible to live in this world if you limit the presence of indwelling spirit
Demons can intervene in your mind and manipulate your mind.
Above all things, guard your heart.
You have the power to defeat satan
Only when you are deceived, you will be defeated- because you don't know who you are and what God has done for you.
God's spirit is in you
We can enter the King's chamber
Live by the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27)
Spiritual things should be discerned by the spirit
Moment by moment, you have to live by the Holy Spirit, if not you cannot live.
Leaders must live by the Holy spirit
We must have the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit
To be like Jesus, you need to know exactly who He is.
We need to see Jesus through the spirit
1 Cor 3:10-15
Architect should built according to the blueprint/plan instead of what they want
Earthquake will tell you how strong the building is
Eph 4:11
If you try to teach with human effort, it will spoil the plan of God
Everyone is important! Cherish your body. Even your little finger. You can't use your thumb to dig your nose.
See through the eyes of faith
Seeings is believing
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Pray by the strength of God, not in your own strength
Grow in God's rest
First thing in the morning read, read the word of God, not tv, newspaper, or other things of the world
Be a man of faith, except totally what God has given you.
Habakkuk
The more of the world you have, the less the Holy Spirit will be able to move
The more you wanna possess, the more you'll lose
Uproot the impurities in you!
Ezekiel 40
You need to empty yourself so that you can let God fill your life!
We are drown cos we depended on our own strength. Actually even if we don't know how to swim we can still float if we relax in the water
Obey and submit to the word of God
1 Peter 2:22
Don't depend on your own feelings to fast or pray. Depend on God.
Amos 3:3
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Philip 1:6 God's part
2 peter 1:4 Our part
Prov 4:23- guard your heart
Mark 7:15, 20-23
Luke 6:43-45
God and us are a team! All team members must give something to the table. God gives love, grace, forgiveness, joy, we too must give all we have, our brokenness, our weaknesses, etc.
