The True and Only Door - February 07, 2010, GGC

The True and Only Door
John 10:1 – 10

Introduction:

“Doors. Why do there have to be doors?” This is the first line of a sad love song sung by Michael Johnson where the singer laments about the existence of doors in the first stanza because it was through a door that his girlfriend walked out of his life. At the end of the song, the singer is hoping that his girlfriend would come back through the same door that she used earlier. While the question being asked in the song sounds rhetorical, I think we sometimes take our doors or gates for granted.

So, what is a door? I'm sure that the word itself conjures images that we are familiar with, such as the door to our homes or the door to our business establishment. The same is true with the word gate, it evokes images of the huge gates of our homes or the gates of our school building. Now, according to the Oxford American Dictionary, a door is a hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard. A gate is a hinged barrier used to close an opening in a wall, fence or hedge. Both function in the same way, although our semantics or our way of using words will make a certain degree of distinction in the way we use the two words. For example, we tend to use the word door when we are referring to the barrier between rooms in a building or the barrier between the inside of a building and the outside surroundings. Gate on the other hand, is used to refer to the barrier that separates the street from the compound or outer surroundings of the building.

A door or a gate basically has three functions. First of all, it functions as an entrance. You enter inside your house using the door. You come inside this sanctuary using the doors. You enter inside a restaurant using the door. You enter the toilet or restroom using the door. Related to this is the second function: A door functions as an exit. The same door or gate that you used to enter into a building or room is the same door or gate that you will use when exiting. Of course, there are some doors that you will never use unless there is an emergency such as a fire exit inside a hotel or a theater; but basically, doors function as exits. A third important function of a door or a gate is that of protection. Our gates and doors all have locks that we activate when needed and these serve as protection for our property as well as for our lives.
Currently, we are looking into the series of “I AM” statements Jesus made regarding himself and it is fascinating to note that Jesus made the claim that he is the door or the gate. We may be wondering as to what Jesus meant when he declared himself as the door or the gate and this morning we are going to dissect this short and yet profound phrase and understand how this particular statement of Jesus should impact the way we follow Jesus Christ.

While we will be paying attention to just one statement that Jesus made as found in our text, this saying is very closely related to another saying of Jesus. In John 10:1 – 21, Jesus made two statements regarding himself, one about his being the good shepherd and the other about his being the door or the gate. Both statements are closely interrelated to each other, but each statement's analogy can stand on its own and can be interpreted on its own.

Context:

Before we discuss about today's passage, we need to set the context as to why Jesus declared himself as the true door or gate as well as being the good shepherd. In John 9, we find the story about a blind man who was healed by Jesus. The man was very grateful for what Jesus had done for him but this caused great displeasure to the Pharisees because Jesus performed this miracle during a Sabbath and so, they questioned the former blind man regarding his healing as well as making a nasty accusation against Jesus (“He is a sinner”). When the man defended Jesus by saying “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing”, the Pharisees accused the man of being a terrible sinner and then threw him out of the synagogue, having excommunicated him, barred from entering that synagogue ever again.

When Jesus heard that this man was thrown out of the synagogue, he sought for him and when he found the man he revealed himself as the Messiah and the man responded by believing and worshiping Jesus. The Lord Jesus responded by saying, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” The Pharisees who happened to be around when all this was happening felt slighted or insulted, because Jesus was saying that they were the real blind men. They had seen the miracles of Jesus and had heard his powerful teaching and yet they refuse to believe that he was the Messiah. Thus, although they had seen with their own eyes, yet they were spiritually blind to the reality that was before them.

This now leads us to John 10 and to his two “I AM” statements, and for today's study, the statement about his being the gate or the door. Now, we need to understand that John 10 was, in a way, an attack on the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law because, instead of caring for and helping the blind man, they had judged him as a sinner and threw him out of the synagogue. So, when Jesus was talking about thieves and robbers who were out to attack the flock of sheep, he was implicitly referring to the religious authority of his time who were not interested in the welfare of the people but only in their own self-promotion; supposed leaders of God's flock who were not doing their jobs but instead, were leading people far from God.

When Jesus talked about a gate or a door, two images would come to mind for a typical Jew living during that time. The first was a wooden gate. Shepherds aren't always out in the fields but, at times, they are in town and they would have their flock be kept safe in large corrals or public sheep pens where other shepherds entrust their flock to a caretaker or a gatekeeper who keeps watch over the gate and guards the sheep at night. These large corrals have a wooden gate and they serve as the main entrance into the corral. By morning, the shepherd would come to the pen and the gatekeeper, recognizing the shepherd, would open the gate and the shepherd would then lead his flock out simply by calling out instructions or by calling each member of the flock by name.

The second picture of a door was none other than the shepherd himself. When a shepherd and his flock are in the open country and are far from the town where the corral is located, what a shepherd would usually do at night is to herd his flock inside a cave; once inside, the shepherd then lies down at the cave entrance. He becomes the door that keeps the flock inside as well as prevents thieves, robbers and predators from entering in and attacking the flock. When a sheep attempts to go out, he would have to step over the shepherd and the latter would immediately be alerted and prevent it from happening. If a thief or robber or even a wolf attempts to enter and steal from or attack the flock, the shepherd would be alerted and would defend the flock, sometimes even laying down his life for the flock. If you are familiar with the expression, “over my dead body”, which is an expression of defiance, well, the shepherd's action of lying down over the door is a very literal way of saying that expression, as he is making it clear to all intruders that, for them to attack the flock, they have to kill him first! According to some scholars who visited the Holy Land and have interviewed Middle Eastern shepherds, the respondents affirmed that not a few shepherds have died defending the flock from thieves and robbers.

No matter what kind of door is being referred to, what we must note is that the flock enters in and exits through that same door. There is no other entrance or exit to speak of.

So, we have set the background and we are now aware about the concept of doors and gates, especially in what Jesus was referring to, there are three important lessons Jesus taught regarding his being the gate.

I. Jesus is the Gate of Salvation (v. 9a)

First and foremost, Jesus is the gate that leads to salvation. Check out the first part of verse 9. Here we read, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” I believe that statement is clear enough for us to see that Jesus is the way to salvation. In another section in the Gospel of John, we read a familiar passage that affirms that Jesus is the way to salvation. In John 14:6 we read, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus did not say that he is one of many ways but the verse simply means he is the way or, he is the only way to approach the Father, the only way to attain salvation. Just as there is no other gate or door to the corral or sheep pen by which the sheep may enter, there can be no other way to enter into heaven and to attain salvation unless it is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Biblical Christianity has often been accused of being an exclusivist religion because it teaches that no one can be saved unless a person has faith in Jesus Christ, and in Jesus Christ alone. I confess that the accusation against Biblical Christianity is true and I am unashamed to say that it is true. The Scripture clearly teaches that there is only one way to salvation and that is by having faith in Jesus Christ. By faith, we are not just talking about head knowledge but we're talking about trusting that what Jesus did for us on the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins and that his resurrection from the dead is our assurance that there is eternal life and there will be a future resurrection. Jesus himself is an exclusivist; after all, he was the one who said that there can be no other way by which people can be made right with God except through him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the same analogy, the door or gate, and said that we must enter by the narrow gate for the way that leads to destruction is easy and many make the mistake of taking the easy way, any which way but Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:13, 14). Even the apostles affirmed the exclusivism of the Christian faith when they proclaimed, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul wrote that there is only one mediator between God and man, and that is the Lord Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5) The Bible is very clear – salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. It comes by having faith in Christ and not by our trying to perform to God's standards. If we think that we can perform to God's standards, we are dead wrong. God demands sinless perfection. We can't attain that on our own strength. Only Jesus could do it for us because he was the sinless Son of God who came to earth as a human being to die for our sins.

While the claim of Jesus is an exclusive claim – that he is the only way to salvation - we need to realize that his invitation is an inclusive invitation. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for the sins of the entire world and not just for the sins of a few people. Furthermore, he commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of every nation and not just to a few, select group of people. In Matthew 11, we read Jesus clearly saying to the people, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.” He invited everyone to believe in him. Biblical Christianity is not an elite membership club where only the well-behaved are saved; instead, Christianity is for all people, for all who are willing to accept the exclusive claim of Jesus Christ and to turn their backs on their sins. It doesn't matter if a person is rich or poor, male or female, a criminal or an upright citizen; everyone needs Jesus and the offer of salvation is given to all.

Before I proceed to the next point, I want to ask you all this question: Have you already passed through the narrow door that leads to eternal life? Have you sincerely repented of your sins and trusted Jesus Christ as your only Lord and Savior? There is no other way to salvation nor can you earn your way to salvation. God is giving salvation as a gift to us, we need only accept that gift by putting our faith, our trust in Jesus alone. Have you done that already? If you haven't, why not make that decision today? You can approach any of our pastors or church leaders and they can share with you more clearly how you can enter through the gate of salvation.

II. Jesus is The Gate of Protection

The second lesson we can learn about Jesus being the gate is that he is the gate of protection. It is apparent from our understanding about doors and gates is that these serve to protect those things that we deem valuable, especially the life of the people we love. Without doors and gates, our homes become vulnerable to thieves and robbers who intend to steal whatever valuable possessions we have. We also become susceptible to people who have intentions to harm us physically as they have easy access whenever there is no door or gate to keep them out.

Because Jesus is the gate, he is the protector of the flock. As we've learned a moment ago, the shepherd served as the door to the sheep pen when the flock is camped out in the open. For any predator to successfully attack the flock would entail passing and overcoming the shepherd. Satan is the predator who is out to attack God's people. He is described as being a roaring lion who prowls and seeks for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is also named as the accuser of the brothers who, without ceasing, is attacking the church. How does Satan attack us? He attacks us through temptations. He attacks us by using other people who would cause us either physical or emotional harm. He use false teachers and false prophets to lead us astray spiritually. He brings charges against us before the throne of God in his attempt to take away our salvation.

However, Jesus is our protector and he will not allow us to become easy prey to Satan. In fact, the Lord Jesus will enable us to be victorious. When we are tempted, he enables us to either resist the devil (James 4:7) or to successfully flee from the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will also give us the strength and the grace in order to bear up to Satan's attacks that come from other people. He gives us discernment through the Holy Spirit in helping us to know and embrace the truth while renouncing the lie. He gives us the assurance that we will never be separated from God's love (Romans 8).

Jesus is our protector and he is able to protect us completely. However, we do need to do our part. Just as the sheep who stays within the sheepfold will be safe from predators, the believer who stays within the will of God will find safety. How do we stay within the will of God? We stay within the will of God when we are careful in reading the Word and then obeying it without question. We stay within the will of God by spending time to pray and listen to God's voice. We stay within the will of God when we are constantly in fellowship with God's people and we build each other up through accountability and encouragement. By being in the center of God's will, we will find true protection. Is Jesus your protector? Are you keeping yourself within his fold and not straying away? Are you keeping yourself within the will of God?

III. Jesus is the Gate of Satisfaction

Finally, the Lord Jesus is the gate that leads to real and lasting satisfaction. If we look at verse 9, we see Jesus stating that he, as the gate, not only gives salvation and protection, but he is also the gate that leads to pastures or rich feeding ground for the sheep. Here, Jesus is using the picture of Psalm 23:2 where we read that God makes the flock lie down in green pastures and leads them beside quiet waters and he is declaring that he is God himself and that he is the one who will constantly be leading his people to experience real satisfaction. Here, we also find a fulfillment of the OT prophecy where Ezekiel wrote, “I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 34:14).

Jesus further elaborated on this point in verse 10, a verse that we are all familiar with - “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus didn't come just to give us eternal life in the future and then leave us like destitute or poor people; instead, Jesus also gives us an abundant, meaningful life right now. Now, abundance doesn't necessarily mean material blessings, although God does give those things to us; instead, abundance means that our life here on earth becomes purposeful or meaningful. We go beyond just existing to actually enjoying life when we have Jesus in our lives and we continually cultivate our relationship with him.

Brothers and sisters, are you enjoying abundance in your life right now because of your growing relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you finding that there is meaning in what you do every day because of Jesus? The key to experiencing the abundant life is to let Jesus lead you – to give him control of your life. We simply need to surrender our desires, thoughts and ambitions to him and ask him to give us the directions we should take. Without surrendering ourselves to Jesus, I doubt that we will ever experience the abundant life that he intends for us to have. For the sheep to find green pastures, it must follow where the shepherd is going. It must follow the shepherd through the door where the shepherd enters and exit. Likewise, we must follow Jesus carefully and completely in order to experience real, lasting abundance.

Conclusion:

Jesus declared, “I am the Door” and we have learned that Jesus is the door to salvation. If we do not believe in him, we cannot be saved from our sins. He is the door of protection; in Him we are safe from the attacks of the enemy and our salvation is sure. Finally, he is the door of satisfaction, the one in whom we find real and lasting abundance.

Have you acknowledged Jesus to be the door by personally accepting him as your Lord and Savior? Have you continuously surrendered your life to him and kept yourself in the center of his will? I pray that Jesus will truly be the Door in your life because, apart from him, there is no real, lasting joy and security.

Sow and Reap - preached on January 3, 2010 (GGC)

SOW AND REAP

John 4:35 - 36

Introduction:

First and foremost, I would like to greet everyone a very Happy New Year. My wish for everyone this New Year is that you will prosper in every area of your life, but more importantly, I pray that your relationship with God will go to greater heights this year and for every New Year that comes your way.

I believe I have shared with you a few years back about an experience that I had in high school. Back in first year high school, we did vegetable gardening as part of our Practical Arts subject. Admittedly, I did not possess a green thumb and I barely passed this subject because I had a hard time making my vegetables grow. However, as I look back on that experience, I realized that gardening or farming for that matter is hard work. I remember that we spent the first few days just breaking up the soil. It was only after we had done this could we then sow the seeds. After sowing the seeds, we didn't just sit back and do nothing. We also had to visit the field everyday and water it as well as to remove unwanted weeds and we did this for a period of time, depending on what was planted. Planting was never easy but you could sense our excitement when we see the sprouts coming out and we become more excited when we see the plant grow taller or bigger everyday. Finally, the most exciting day for us was the day of harvest, when we would pick our produce and show it to our teacher for our grades. It was hard work but it was quite rewarding when you see your effort bearing fruit, be it pechay, corn or mongo.

Interestingly, the growth of God's kingdom is compared to farming. From today's passage, we see that the principles of sowing and reaping exist within the Kingdom of God. Of course, along with the sowing comes hard work or effort that needs to be poured in. These tasks – sowing and reaping – are not the exclusive domain of pastors, missionaries, church workers and leaders; these are responsibilities we are all called to participate in. Let us make that point clear. Even if you were to forget everything I will say after this, remember that the tasks of sowing and reaping – the task of sharing the gospel and helping bring people to faith in Christ – is the responsibility of every person here this morning.

All of us are called to be part of the work of the kingdom, of sowing the message of the gospel and reaping the harvest of souls. While reaping means we lead people to the make a decision or a commitment to faith in Jesus Christ, sowing means we prepare people to hear the Word and we plant the Word in their hearts. This morning, I would like for us to see how Jesus demonstrated the work of sowing to his disciples through our study of a familiar passage in the Gospel of John – the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman by the well at Sychar – and learn important principles when we sow God's Word.

Context:

In the interest of time, I have chosen for us not to read the entire passage during our Scripture reading, however, our message does revolve virtually the whole of chapter four.

At the start of Chapter four, we find Jesus was gaining a significant following and his disciples were baptizing them. This aroused the attention of the Pharisees who felt threatened by the ministry of Jesus. According to a Bible commentator, the Pharisees tolerated John the Baptist but Jesus was definitely viewed as a threat to the religious institution of his time, and, with what had happened earlier (in chapter 2) when he cleansed the temple, the Pharisees were definitely alarmed and disturbed by the ministry of Jesus.

Knowing the negative sentiment of the Pharisees, Jesus left Judea and went back to Galilee. Was Jesus afraid for his life? I don't think so, but Jesus probably did not want to have any premature confrontations with the Pharisees. Furthermore, Jesus knew that he had an important mission that he had to fulfill, which necessitated his leaving Judea and travel to Samaria. This leads us to our first principle about sowing the Word.

I. Don't Just Stand There, Get Going!

I would like for us to pay attention to the word “go”. In our passage this morning, we find that Jesus “had to go” to Samaria. He felt compelled to go and reach out to someone in Samaria, in particular, in the town of Sychar. Jesus did not wait for this woman to come to him in either Judea or in Galilee. He went out to her because he knew this woman would never step foot in his town or in his country.

The same is true for us. If we are expecting a non-believer to step inside a church and listen to the gospel, we are deluding ourselves. This is an extremely rare occurrence, like when a person is so desperate he is beginning to seek for God. Other than that, a person under normal circumstances would never step inside a church unless invited by you. Thus, it is necessary that each believer shouldn't just sit down and wait for someone to be saved but that he should go out and look for the lost.

Who are the lost? They are the people who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They can be your friends, your family, your classmates, your business clients and customers. The lost can be anyone whom you encounter regularly in the course of doing business or studying or working. They all need the gospel and the best person who can reach them is none other than you because you have contact with them. As I have said, don't expect them to just come to church and hear the gospel and be saved without human participation. That is why, you need to go to them, you need to be among them. While the Bible does command us not to love the world or to be of the world, it does however say that we are in the world and that we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

What is unfortunate for many Christians is that, once they become saved, they tend to gain a lot of Christian friends to the point that they have lesser contact with non-Christians. Another unfortunate thing is that some Christians feel inadequate about sharing the gospel and they expect the paid professionals – the ministers, the pastors, the church workers – to do the work. You need to understand this: You have been placed in your office, your school, your business establishment in order to be a witness for the Lord through your words and deeds. The “paid professionals” cannot do what God wants for you to do.

So, I want to encourage you as you are in your respective spheres of influence, don't isolate yourselves but interact with people, befriend them without compromising your faith and conviction. In so doing, you will eventually be able to win a hearing for the gospel.

II. Cross the Cultural Barrier

The second principle is a sensitive one, especially for us who are Chinese-Filipinos. I am talking about crossing the cultural barrier. Now, I am not necessarily saying you should become a cross-cultural missionary unless God did call you to be one, but I am saying that we all need to remove our blinders and see that everyone needs the gospel, regardless of color or race.

When Jesus went into Samaria, he was crossing a cultural barrier. You see, the Samaritans were nothing like the Jews. In fact, they were hated by the Jews because their ancestors had betrayed their heritage as Israelites when they intermarried with the pagans or gentiles. Thus, the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans; Jesus, however, knew that the Samaritans also needed the good news and thus, he willingly entered into Samaria in order to proclaim the gospel to the Samaritans.

While we may not be called by God to enter into a different country and to immerse in her culture, we do live in a multi-cultural society. We come in contact with people from different races in our offices and in our schools. We should not shy away from befriending them and letting them hear the gospel because they also need the Lord. The gospel is not just for the Chinese-Filipinos or for the Chinese race, it is for everyone. Regardless of who we come in contact with, we must be willing to cross the cultural barrier and bring the gospel to them. Jesus did just that when he entered Samaria in order to reach out to a Samaritan woman by the well. We can do the same without having to cross over to another country.

III. Engage With the Lost

Jesus did not only go to meet a lost person nor did he just cross a cultural divide, but he also engaged with the Samaritan woman in conversation that led to spiritual things and eventually, to the revelation of himself as the Messiah. Just being there, just showing up isn't enough. We have made a huge case for living out the Christian life by our honesty and integrity, by our excellence and diligence, and these are important in maintaining a good testimony; however, if we're not going to engage the people around us in conversation, then we cannot build a relationship with them and we will not be able to share the gospel to them when the right opportunity comes along. Jesus could have just sit there by the well, smiled at the Samaritan woman, acknowledged her presence, and even help her draw water; this would have made the woman appreciate him but she would still be lost because she didn't get to hear the life-changing message of the gospel. I think we're often guilty of that. We behave very well in school or in the office. We're model employees, employers or students but we are poor witnesses of Christ, simply because we do not engage people in conversation.

Now, when I am talking about conversation, I am not saying that we always have to be talking about the gospel because that would make us obnoxious to a lot of people and they'll think that our only motive for talking to them is because we want to talk about becoming a Christian. We don't need to pound the gospel on people's heads all the time. Sometimes, we can talk about how God helps us when we have problems at work or in school, or we can talk about what God means to us. We can even offer to pray for people who have needs – they will be more than happy to hear that we're praying for them. These will get people interested in the Lord Jesus whom we worship and follow. At times, even if we're not talking about religious things but when we're talking about sports or common interests and hobbies, these can serve as a bridge to strengthen our relationship with people and, hopefully, make them open to hear the gospel.

Conversation builds friendship and friendship makes it easier for us to convey the gospel message when the right time comes, when the person seems ripe for the gospel. Without friendship, it would be hard, although not impossible, to tell a stranger or a mere acquaintance about the gospel. So, don't be shy to engage with people in good conversation. Who knows? Those conversations may one day lead you to sharing the gospel to others.

IV. Love, Don't Judge

Finally, when we engage people in conversation and when we share the gospel, be sure to do it in a manner that is not judgmental. When Jesus was in conversation with the Samaritan woman, he knew that she was living in with someone who wasn't her husband, that she had already been in five marriages and all of them ended in divorce, yet how did Jesus react to this truth? He never condemned the woman, although he did let her know that he knew the details. He never pressed on the issue any further after that, but rather, he showed love and acceptance to this woman who desperately needed it in her life.

When we meet someone like that, do we shudder at the thought that here is a terrible sinner and we should shun her, or do we see a terrible sinner who needs our love and compassion, someone who needs to hear that we care for them and God cares for them?

So often, Christians are guilty of being judgmental, of being “holier than thou” and we often unleash this on the sinner and make them feel worse or defensive or both. We make them feel as if their sin is the worst of all but we fail to see that we are just as sinful as they are. We're all aware of the statement, “hate the sin, love the sinner”, but unfortunately, we have not distinguished the two and we end up hating both sin and sinner.

Last November, the leaders of the church had a seminar on disciple making and the question was asked as to what was the impression of the typical American regarding a Christian and there were three impressions mentioned – Christians are hypocrites, judgmental and hates homosexuals. Sadly, I believe this is true for American Christians and even for Christians here in the Philippines. We say one thing and behave in another way; we judge people as if we're always right and others are always wrong; and we hate homosexuals. But then its not only the homosexuals that we dislike, but we dislike anyone whom we classify as a “sinner”.

I will never forget an incident that happened to me sometime late 2008. I was going to meet with my wife for dinner with someone and I had to take the LRT (light rail transit) from Sta. Mesa to Recto terminal. From Recto terminal, I decided to walk all the way to my wife's office since I felt the distance was way too short for me to spend seven pesos for a jeepney ride. The short cut was to walk along Rizal Avenue (aka Avenida) and enter into Gonzalo Puyat St. (aka Raon). As I walked along Rizal Avenue, I suddenly felt a hand holding my arm. I then saw a woman looking at me and muttering some words that I couldn't decipher. Immediately I reacted by pulling my hands away and I made a sound that startled people usually make and I walked away as quickly as possible. As this was happening, I made the assumption that this woman was a street prostitute and she was probably asking if I wanted to be with her. When I pulled my hands away from her, I reacted as if I had been touched by somewhat who had leprosy. As I looked back on that incident, I felt that maybe I shouldn't have reacted so negatively towards her because in so doing, I had judged her and had given her the guilty verdict.

What ever happened to the impression that Christians are loving and gracious? I think we need to recover these two impressions and we can do this in how we treat the people we meet and engage with. We must not judge them or make them feel worse for their sins – that's the Holy Spirit's work. Our job is to tell them God's love as well as the need for repentance but not to make them feel guilty or that what they're practicing is the worse of all sins. Remember, in God's sight, sin is sin. Whether a person cheats in school or he is a homosexual, both fall under God's judgment, thus we are in no position to judge a homosexual, an adulterer, or a murderer, because what we've committed against God would merit the same punishment.

Jesus never judged the woman but showed grace to her and this led her to eventually become a believer in Jesus as well as a leader in bringing others to Jesus. It was because she felt accepted and love that she wanted others to have the same thing, too.

Conclusion:

This morning, we've learned four important principles when sowing the Word of God. First of all, we cannot wait for people to come to church to hear the gospel, instead we must go to them. Second, we must be willing to cross the barrier of culture. We cannot stay only with people who are like us but we must reach out even to those who are different from us because they also need the gospel. Third, we must engage the lost with meaningful conversation that would pave the way for our presenting the gospel in its proper time. Finally, we must be loving and not judgmental towards people who have sinned heavily. Only God can judge them; our role is to let them know who God is, that God loves them and desires for them to be made right with him.

Before I close, I would like to make a challenge to you all. Our theme for this year is, “A Willing Church for A Waiting World”. Brothers and sisters, the church is not a building but it is you and I, men and women who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ who make up the church. Our calling as the church is to go into the world and proclaim Jesus. We also have for our goal an attendance in our worship service of 600 people. This cannot be accomplished unless each of you will do your part in sowing the seeds and reaping the harvest. Will you take part in sowing the seeds of the gospel? You are all needed for this task. I hope you will all be up to the challenge of sowing the Word of God and reaping the harvest.

If He Had Not Come - Preached at GGC, 12/20/2009

If He Had Not Come

Luke 2:8 - 20

Introduction:

First of all, I would like to take the opportunity to greet everyone here a very Merry Christmas! I hope that your celebration of the season would be a meaningful one.

We all have certain traditions or observances during the Christmas holidays that are peculiar to our families such as going on a family vacation every Christmas time or opening one's gift only on December 25. One particular tradition or observance that I've heard of is the watching of certain movies with a Christmas theme. There are actually many movies or shows that play on the theme of Christmas but not all are necessarily worthy of our time and attention; however, there is one movie that I have watched before which is worth viewing during the Christmas season and it is an old, black and white movie entitled, “It's A Wonderful Life”.

“It's A Wonderful Life” is all about a man named George Bailey who thought that he was a failure in life. George Bailey never went to college, having to assume responsibility in running the family housing and loan business at a young age. Everything he wanted to do in life, he was unable to (such as traveling to Europe on his honeymoon and going to college), because of the needs of the housing and loan company. One day, his uncle who helped in the business, inadvertently loses US$ 8,000 of the company's money and George Bailey was accused of embezzling the money by the banker, Mr. Potter, who is out to buy the housing and loan business in order to eliminate his competitor. This drove George Bailey to deep despair. It was Christmas eve when this problem happened and he could take it no more that he decided he wanted to end his life by jumping into the freezing river. Thankfully, angels were watching the entire scene and they send a junior angel named Clarence to save him. Although George Bailey eventually didn't commit suicide through Clarence's intervention, he did however made the wish that he had never been born. Clarence grants George Bailey his wish at that moment and everything changes. In the movie, there are five significant events that George Bailey played an instrumental role; (a) during his childhood days, he was able to save his younger brother from drowning, (b) he prevented a pharmacist from inadvertently prescribing a poisonous substance to a sick child, (c) he keeps the town from falling into the hands of the greedy banker, Mr. Potter, (d) he marries a fine woman named Mary and they have four wonderful children, and (e) he establishes a place called Bailey Park where the poor could build their own homes.

Because George Bailey wished that he was never born, everything good that he did in his life never happened: (a) his brother drowned, (b) the pharmacist kills a sick child by accidentally giving cyanide to him, (c) the town is not known as Bedford Falls but as Pottersville, named after the greedy banker, and the townspeople are living in poverty, (d) Mary ends up being an old maid, and (e) there is no Bailey Park but instead, the place becomes a cemetery. Thankfully, he recants his wish and everything goes back to normal. He realized that he has a wonderful life after all, even if he still had to deal with the US$ 8,000 shortage as well as all the other problems in his life. In the end, everything turns out ok as the very people whom he had helped in the past all came to bail him out financially, his younger brother comes home that day and then gave a toast to George, calling him “the richest man in town”. George Bailey made a difference in his community and in the lives of the people he comes in contact with everyday; without him, things would have turned out differently.

While the movie is definitely fictional, what was thought-provoking was the issue of one person's effect on an entire community. As I watched excerpts of the movie recently, it got me thinking, what if the same happened to our Lord Jesus Christ? What if he had never been born into this world, what would happen to it? What would happen to us? What would life be like without him?

This morning, I would like to explore this particular theme: “What would it be like if Jesus had not been born?” and what would have been the consequences of his “absence” if things really went that way. While I believe there are numerous consequences of Jesus not coming into the world, I can think of three that are most important.

A. If Jesus Had Not come . . .We Would All Still Be Lost Sinners

If the Lord Jesus had not come, all of us would still be lost sinners. As sinners without Christ, we would all remain under the penalty of sin. The Bible makes it clear that the wages or the penalty for our sin is no less than death (Romans 6:23). Without Christ, there is no hope of escaping sin's penalty, no escaping the guilty verdict, no one who is qualified and willing to pay for the consequences of our sins. We must all face the prospect of physical death and, ultimately, spiritual death or permanent separation from God. That permanent separation will come in the form of our being thrown in hell, where the agonizing fire does not go out.

Not only would we be under the penalty of sin, but while we are still alive, we will remain in bondage to sin. Sin is unconquerable if we are going to rely on our own strength; there is no way in which we can just stop sinning or to even sin less on our effort, that is just utterly impossible. No matter how hard we try, no matter how good we want to become, we will still not be able to keep ourselves from sinning.

If Christ had not been born, then up to now, you and I are still sinners who remain lost and, unfortunately, we will not have any means to be rescued from our sad plight both now and in the future. We will have to pay for our sins by getting ourselves thrown into the fires of hell as well as living a life now under sin's bondage.

Thankfully, Jesus was born 2000 years ago and we know that 33 years after his birth, Jesus was crucified to a cross in order to die for our sins. Through his death on the cross, the penalty of sin was paid for, that all who believe in him would find that they are no longer guilty and they have been pardoned for their sins. Not only that, through his death on the cross, the power of sin has been rendered impotent and we can live victorious (though not totally sinless) lives. Without his birth, there would be no cross and there would be no victory over sin as well as forgiveness of sin. Thank God, Jesus did come to defeat the powers of sin and death!

B. If Jesus Had Not Come . . . We Would Live Hopeless Lives

If the Lord Jesus had not come, not only would we be still under the bondage of sin, but we would right now also be living hopeless lives; by hopeless, I mean that we will be living as if there is nothing to look forward to. It is as if we merely exist but there is no meaning to our existence. We wake up, go to school or to the office, study or work and then come home, sleep and do everything over and over again without knowing why we are doing these things. For those who have retired from working and you don't have Jesus in your life, then it gets even worse as you don't know what you want to do in life right now since you've equated life with the work you do at the office. Life without Jesus is an endless cycle of meaninglessness. We don't know why we exist. We can try all we want to give our life meaning but it will always be unsatisfying.

In the Old Testament, King Solomon, the wisest man on earth, wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, that life is meaningless apart from God. Without a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then there can be no real fulfilling of purpose or meaning for the life we live now. There will also be no future to look forward to. This explains why some people live life as if there is no tomorrow – they party hard and they do a lot of bad stuff to their bodies because there is nothing to live for in the present as well as in the future. This explains why some will take their own lives – it is because they don't see any meaning to their current existence; committing suicide is viewed as the means of escaping the agony of a hopeless, meaningless life. As I was preparing for this message, I decided to check on the suicide rate and I found out that in 2005, around 33,000 committed suicide in America or that is about 89 suicides a day; however, the highest number of suicides is actually in China where about 287,000 people committed suicide in 2007 or a staggering 786 people per day. The main reason people are committing suicide in huge numbers is because people feel that life is no longer worth living, that there is nothing to look forward to in this life and even in the next.

If Jesus did not come, then all of us would be living a life devoid of meaning and hope. We would be living aimless, directionless, purposeless lives and we would probably want to end our lives now rather than keep on living. Thankfully, he did come, and he did promise that he came in order to give us abundant life (John 10:10), a life that is purposeful or meaningful. He came in order to give us abundant life so that we live no longer for our own selfish pleasures and desires which, in reality, is very frustrating and is an empty, vain pursuit; he gives us new direction and meaning in life where we pursue the things of God, the things that really satisfy. But that is not the only thing that he gives us; through Jesus we are also promised eternal life where we would be with the Lord Jesus forever in heaven. The coming of Jesus gave us hope to live in the present as well as a hope that we can all look forward to. If Jesus did not come, we would all be hopeless people, merely existing without really living, but thank God, Jesus did come, and he gave meaning and hope to all who believe in Him!

C. If Jesus Had Not Come . . . There Will Never Be Real Peace

Finally, if Jesus had not come, there will never be real peace. Peace, as we all know, is very elusive. There is the absence of peace between individuals as well as between groups of people and between nations. What is worse is the absence of peace between humanity and God. Because we have sinned against God, we have practically declared war against a Holy God.

If Jesus had not come, we would all still be at war with each other; we would all still be God's enemies. Thankfully, Jesus did come. In fact, around 800 years prior to his coming, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah and one of his title is “The Prince of Peace”. When Jesus was born on that first Christmas day, the angels declared that because of his birth, there would be “peace on earth.”

Of all the relationships that need to be mended, it is our relationship with God that must take priority. We have offended God with our sins; we have become his enemies; we must pay for our sins with death. Jesus became the bridge by which the broken relationship between sinful humanity and a holy God is restored. Through Jesus Christ, we are no longer viewed by God as his enemies but we have become his children, his prized possession. This peace with God also gives us peace with ourselves, that we no longer need to struggle to be accepted by God because he has already accepted us through his Son, Jesus. We only need to put our faith in Him as our Lord and Savior.

The Kingdom of God is an inclusive kingdom – it does not discriminate as to a person's race or color; it does not discriminate as to a person's political persuasion. And so, when people come to faith in Jesus Christ, not only are they at peace with God, but even the potential of peace with others who belong to Christ will come to being. Among the disciples of Jesus Christ, we find two who stand in stark contrast to each other – Matthew and Simon. Matthew was a tax-collector and his occupation meant he was under the employment of the Roman Empire; Simon, on the other hand, was a Zealot or a rebel who was fighting against the Roman Empire. Imagine the tension and uneasiness the two probably felt around each other, but Jesus made the difference in their lives. From enemies, they became brothers in the faith as well as partners in spreading the gospel and making disciples. If Jesus could do that for Matthew and Simon, he can do that also for us today. Jesus is our peace who has destroyed the barriers of discrimination and hatred among people (Ephesians 2:14) by making people of different races, colors and persuasions united through faith and fellowship in him.

The peace that Jesus brought to this world will be fully manifested on the day that he returns again to judge this world. Sin and death will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire, and these will be forever absent from the Kingdom of God. There will be no more wars and strife among peoples. At this moment, there is much war and strife in this world but these will be temporary, for lasting peace will be fully ours in Christ. Thank God Jesus came in order to give us real peace!

Conclusion:

As we go about celebrating the Christmas season, I hope we will not celebrate simply because everyone is doing so. Instead, let our celebration be grounded on the fact that Jesus came, and because he came, we who believe in him can experience forgiveness and grace as well as have the promise of eternal life and peace that is beyond compare. Without Jesus, our celebration of the Christmas season would be pointless; it would be nothing more than senseless partying and gift-giving, everything done with purpose or meaning. More importantly, if you do not yet believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I would like for you to consider what Jesus did for us when he came and to make a decision to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why not ask your friends and loved ones who are Christians to tell you more about the Lord Jesus during this time as we celebrate his birth?

In closing, I would like for you to watch a very short video that I got from a Charlie Brown cartoon, a classic entitled “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. In the film, it is Christmas time but Charlie Brown is sad because he doesn't understand what the holiday is all about. He tries to get into the spirit of the season by directing a Christmas play and even buying a Christmas tree. Everything goes wrong and he still doesn't know what Christmas is all about. Finally, Linus gave him the answer that he needed. Watch as Linus gives the answer to Charlie Brown's and to everyone's question and let it speak to us throughout the Christmas holidays.

"That's Not Fair" - GGC, December 06, 2009

“That's Not Fair!”

Malachi 2:17 – 3:5

“That's not fair!” How often do we hear this phrase coming out from the lips of people? I bet that we not only have heard this phrase but we, at one time or another, have uttered these words in response to what we perceive to be unfair treatment. Probably, when you were growing up, you've said those words in response to how your parents treated you in comparison to how they treated your older siblings – like when they told you to go to bed earlier than your older siblings who are still watching television, or that they get to stay out longer at night while you have to be home earlier. But when we are the receiver of good things, who are we to complain? In fact, do we ever complain that life is unfair when we

• Get straight A's in school?

• Receive an unexpected bonus or pay increase?

• Are blessed with good health?

• Get the best part of the chicken or the last slice of pizza?

• Get to be first in line?

Of course not! We're not going to complain when everything is going in our favor. So, it is usually those who think they've been cheated or have been left out or who are envious of what others have who will exclaim that life isn't fair. We've all gone through that phase, that moment when we felt that we have been treated unjustly, and we go about pinning the blame on everyone – our spouses, our children, the teachers in school, our boss, our colleagues, and even God himself.

Admittedly, many if not all of us have all cried out the phrase “that's not fair”, but at some point in our lives we learn to cope and even understand why we aren't treated the same way as our siblings or our colleagues or our fellow classmates and we triumph over these issues with self-determination to improve ourselves and the resolve not to envy others. However, some will continue to remember those moments when they felt cheated upon and they let these thoughts control their lives such that they can never overcome it and they end up becoming bitter.

I recently watched over cable TV the Disney cartoon, Meet the Robinsons. The film is all about a talented young orphan boy named Lewis who travels into the future and meets his family in the future. He also meets a man who wears a bowler hat who is out to destroy him. He then learns that this mysterious man was his friend in the orphanage who had grown up becoming bitter and envious of Lewis because Lewis was getting all the attention while he was laughed at. In response to the unfair treatment he was receiving while Lewis was looked upon fondly, this other boy became obsessed with destroying Lewis and thus, he became Lewis' archenemy in the future.

I've mentioned in passing a moment ago that we also do put the blame on God for being unfair towards us. We accuse God of being unfair when we do not get what we ask for while others seem to always get their prayers answered. We accuse God of being unfair when we feel that we have been faithful to him and yet those who don't do much for God and those who don't believe in God seem more blessed than we are. We also think of God as being unfair when lawless and godless people get away with sin, and we begin to think that God doesn't have a fair sense of what justice is.

Do we personally call God unfair? I must admit that I have done so in the past and I am ashamed for having done so; and I am sure that many among you have done it in the past yourselves. But this morning, I would like for us to think about this: What does God think about our calling him “unfair”? What is his reaction to our accusations against him?

In this morning's passage in the book of Malachi, we find the Israelites calling God unfair because of their false assumption regarding God's justice (that those who practice evil were more blessed than them, thus God was dealing unjustly with his people) and the question of God's presence in the midst of all the injustice taking place (it was as if God was absent). God did not take these two false accusations very lightly. In fact, God himself said that he was wearied by what the Israelites were saying about him for this was to bear false witness against him, his reputation as God was being tainted by his own people. This morning, we will delve deeper into the issue of God's justice as well as why he felt weary about what the Israelites were saying about him.

In our past studies on the chapters 1 and 2 of Malachi, we've learned that the Israelites had returned from the Babylonian exile for quite some time already and the temple had been rebuilt and temple worship re-instituted. However, the blessing that they were expecting did not come, they were experiencing much hardship in the land, and now they were complaining to God because the ungodly were, in their eyes, more blessed materially than they were. This led Israel to become very shoddy when it came to their worship of God – from the leaders (the priests) all the way down to the people. All of them treated God with disdain or disrespect by giving their flawed offerings, by taking lightly their calling as God's servants and by disrespecting God's institution of marriage. In our passage today, we find the people questioning the justice of God and God replies to their accusations. But before we look at his reply, let us understand the implication of the people's statements.

“All Who Do Evil Are Good In The Eyes Of The Lord”

The Israelites saw the unrighteous people, those mentioned in verse 5, doing their evil schemes and yet, they go unpunished. Not only that, the unrighteous were growing wealthier everyday by their exercise of evil. This led the Israelites to conclude that God probably looks favorably on those who do evil because he doesn't punish them. So, if they themselves were to do evil things, then most likely, God wouldn't punish them. This accounts for why the Israelites behaved so badly towards God. They thought that God didn't care whether they were doing good or evil and this leads us to the second statement that the Israelites made.

“Where Is The God Of Justice?”

This second statement questions the presence of God in the midst of his people. The Israelites thought that if God was really present in their midst, then there wouldn't be a lot of injustice taking place. If God was around, there wouldn't be any bad people around. In fact, no one would dare do anything evil. But the fact is, a lot of injustice was taking place and people commit evil acts as if God never existed and this led the Israelites to put into question the presence of God in their midst. For them, God was absent and this was why evil was rampant.

Both these statements are serious accusations leveled against God and he wasn't going to take them lightly, because they were questioning one of God's key attributes – his justice. Just because evildoers seem to be getting all the breaks doesn't mean that God is blessing them. Just because evil is rampant in society doesn't mean that God is absent. In fact, in verse 1, God promised that he would send his messenger who would prepare the way for God's coming. This is a promise of God's presence as well as a promise of judgment. I will come back to this point a little later.

In Jewish theology, there is a key concept that is often used in the OT and this is the phrase, “The Day of the Lord”. The Day of the Lord is understood by the Jews to be the day of the Messiah's arriving; a day when the wrong would be made right, a day when God's people would be redeemed from the clutches of evil people, a day when a new world order would come to being where the Jewish race would enjoy being in the presence of God and where they would be rewarded. Unfortunately, many Jews take this concept and wrongly thought that all the Jews would be blessed by God, regardless of how they behaved. Check out Amos 5:18 - 19 where Amos wrote, “Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.” The Day of the LORD will not be a pleasant time at all as thought by the Israelites but it will be a day of Judgment! In today's passage, there is mention in Malachi 3:2 of “the day of his coming”, no doubt a reference to “The Day of the Lord.”

What will really happen on the Day of the Lord? Two things will happen on that great day. First is that God's people will go through a time of intense refining. Second, those who claim to be God's people but who live a life contradictory to God's law will face condemnation.

Intense Refining

The people of God will go through a time of intense refining. We get this idea from the mention of two elements – the refiner's fire and the launderer's soap.

According to some experts, refining silver is a very tedious process and requires constant attention. Silver ore is melted in intense fire. The refiner keeps constant watch over it to make sure that the silver is not overheated to the point that it is destroyed. The silver becomes free of impurities once a person can see his own image upon it. What a wonderful analogy of what God is doing in our lives. So often, when we go through God's refining fire, manifested through trials and testings, we complain and get easily uptight. We say to God, “God, why are you allowing me to go through this?” However, if we only realize that God's purpose for such refining is so that we will reflect his glory, that people will see Jesus in us, then the refining process is worth all the pain and struggles we go through.

The intense refining is also seen in the analogy of the launderer's soap. Laundry soap is a common household item and we know what it is for – to clean our clothes by removing dirt and stains. I am sure that no one here would like to wear clothes over and over again without having it washed properly. We want our clothes to be clean and fragrant, not marred with dirt and stinking in smell. Again, this is a beautiful analogy as it gives us the picture of God's reason for refining or for cleaning us. In this case, his refining is to make us blameless and holy.

The Day of the Lord will be a time of intense refining, a time when God's people will be purged of their sins and they will be made clean such that they will reflect the glory of God. It will not necessarily be pleasant at the start, but the results will be glorious. All true members of God's family are not exempted from this refining. We who belong to Christ know that we go through periods of testing because, at the end of it, we will reflect more and more the glory of God. Without refining, we will be complacent in our faith and we wouldn't care about being holy and righteous. Without refining, we would not turn out to being what God intended for us to become. This is part of God's judgment, when he disciplines us, so that we may end up reflecting the glory of God.

Condemnation

If you look at Malachi 2:17, we hear the people complaining that God is not around to administer justice and that he looks favorably upon those who do not fear God and who practice evil. Well, those who made these complaints were dead wrong! Those who presumed that God has turned a blind eye on injustice and were starting to follow evil were mistaken. God has not and will not turn a blind eye towards injustice. In fact, verse 5 of Malachi 3 shows us that on the Day of the Lord, God is going to come and he will testify against those who do evil such as those who practice sorcery, those who are adulterous, those who lie or perjure against others, those who do not treat their employees fairly, those who are oppressive towards the widows and the orphans, and those who deprive the aliens among them of justice. All those who do evil with reckless abandon, as if God were absent, will be judged harshly and they will pay dearly for their sins. While there is no mention of the word “condemn” or “condemnation”, the fact that God would testify against them is, in effect, another way of saying that such reckless sinners will find themselves condemned by God.

In essence, the two complaints the Jews made against God have been answered by God himself. He still is the God of justice and he will judge the evildoers. Thus, we are in no position at all to call God as unfair. God's judgment against evildoers may not come very quickly by our standards but it will surely come at the right time. Therefore, we are to wait upon the Lord for him to execute justice and not to take matters into our own hands. We are also to continue living a just life because God sees us and God will bring forth his reward to those who are faithful to him.

The God of Justice Has Come!

Going back to Malachi 3:1, we find that God talked about sending a messenger who will prepare the way for him; then the Lord himself will come to his temple and the messenger of the covenant will come. We wonder, what is God talking about? Is there any connection with the Day of the Lord?

I personally believe that this passage is actually talking about two key characters that we find in the New Testament – John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. The first messenger, the one who prepares the way for the Lord, is none other than John. This messenger is also mentioned in Malachi 4:5 where he is called the prophet Elijah. This prophecy is fulfilled in the person of John. How do we know this? Check out Luke 1:16 – 17 where the angel of the Lord declared to Zechariah that his son will bring the people of Israel back to the Lord, that he will go on before the Lord and that he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord. The language used by the angel is similar to what God said in Malachi. Thus, it leaves no doubt in my mind that John is referred to as the first messenger.

However, there is also mention that God himself, the Lord the people were seeking for would come to his temple and this stands in apposition or parallel to the phrase, “the messenger of the covenant” whom the people were desiring for. In other words, the two phrases are referring to one and the same person, namely God himself. The one whom the people were desiring for was none other than the Messiah and the Messiah is God himself. 2000 years ago, Jesus came in the flesh. He is the Messiah and his coming marks the start of the “Day of the Lord”. Ever since the day he came up to now, he is drawing people to himself, refining them and making them holy. At the same time, ever since he came, judgment has already fallen on those who refuse to repent of their sins and believe in Him. John 3:18 clearly states, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

We need to remember though that there will still be a final judgment when Jesus returns again soon to set up his kingdom. Those described in Malachi 3:5 as well as those described in Revelation 21:7 – 8 will be condemned by God. On the other hand, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and whose life demonstrates that their faith is genuine will find everlasting reward as well as vindication from the injustices suffered in the world. The Lord Jesus that we love for his grace and mercy is the same Lord who will sit on the judgment seat on that great Day of the Lord.

This morning, we need to ask ourselves this question: What would we prefer to have, God's intense refining upon our lives or his condemnation? If you already know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you need not fear condemnation, however you must continually allow God to refine your life so that you will reflect his glory all the more. If you don't know Jesus yet as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you will not reject him but that you will accept him as your Lord and Savior. Standing condemned is not going to be a pleasant experience. You may blatantly sin against God in this life and seemingly get away with it but you will never escape the judgment of Christ when he returns. I plead with you – repent of your sins and turn to Jesus.

As Christmas is just around the corner, I hope that we won't just view Jesus Christ as merely as a loving and gracious Savior but we must also view him as the coming King who will judge this world. I pray that this season of celebration will not blind us to the reality that we all need to believe in Jesus before its too late.

NOTHING BUT THE BEST WILL DO - Nov. 01, 2009

NOTHING BUT THE BEST WILL DO
Malachi 1:6 – 14

Introduction:

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. A little boy with his younger sister couldn't playoutside, so they decided to play inside the bathroom. They filled the bathtub with some water,then took an old shoebox and made it float on the water. They were playing Noah's Ark with the shoebox representing the ark while the water in the tub was the flood. The boy was Noah while his younger sister was Mrs. Noah. Once the flood was over, the kids decided that they needed to make an offering to God.


Noah (the boy) said to Mrs. Noah (the girl), “Here, take one of your toy animals as asacrifice.” “No,” she replied, “Let’s use one of your animals instead!” When they could not agree, she ran to the attic. In a moment she was back with a toy lamb. It was dirty, it’s head smashed, and it’s tail missing. “Here,” she cried,“let’s give this as a sacrifice. We will never want it again.” Her brother agreed, and they made their sacrifice. The little broken lamb they did not want was given to God.

Now, some of us may laugh at the two little kids at how they arrived at a solution for their dilemma; what is sad, however, is that the dialogue and the action between the two kids reflect how many people (grown-ups) actually treat God. This is not a new phenomenon as people even during the days of the Old Testament were at times guilty of offering sacrifices that were less than acceptable to God. A good case in point is Cain whose offering was not accepted by God, in contrast to that of Abel, his younger brother.

Behind the issue of sacrifice is the question of how we treat God. How do we treat God? Do we take him seriously in our life such that we are willing to give everything to him? Or do we treat him as if he isn't on top of our priority list, that we don't need to take him seriously at all? Do we give him the honor and respect that is rightly due him or do we treat him with disrespect? These are questions I believe at one time or another we have been asked to reflect upon and I am certain that we have been moved and even convicted by these questions. This morning, we are going to ask these questions again of ourselves as we will study our passage taken from the first chapter of the book of Malachi. Malachi is written in a straightforward manner, thus it is easy to understand. It is also a book that reveals what God expects of his people with regards to their relationship to him as well as with others. So, let's jump right into our study of this book's first chapter and hear what God has to say to us this morning.

Context:

The Book of Malachi was written at a time when the Israelites had already returned from the Babylonian exile for quite some time and they had rebuilt the temple and reestablished temple worship. Some scholars date the writing of this book at around 460 BC, probably a few years before the coming of Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city as well as to institute social and religious reforms.

When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile, they had high hopes. Having been inspired by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, they rebuilt the temple. Although the temple did not have the glory of the original one, still it served its purpose as the place where the LORD was worshiped corporately by the Jews. However, as the years passed, the Jews became disillusioned because the promised prosperity did not come, life was hard, and the people were surrounded by many enemies who were out to destroy them. The land had also suffered from drought, which resulted in bad crops and famine (3:11). Thus, the Jews began to question and doubt the love of God (1:2) and his rule (2:17). They also argued and concluded that there was nothing for them to profit in obeying God's commandments and in walking faithfully before Him because it was the evil and the self-reliant people who were actually prospering (3:14). This led the Jews to become shabby in their worship of God.

This morning, we've read the first chapter of the book, in particular, verses 6 to 14, and we find that the Jews had been giving to God their leftovers, their rejects, their second-best, rather than what is rightly due to God – the very best. What was worse was that the priests, the people who worked in the temple and who were responsible for accepting or rejecting the people's sacrifices, turned a blind eye to the defective sacrifices and just accepted them and offered them to God. God was not pleased with what the people and the priests were doing.

This was why God used Malachi to rebuke the people for their skepticism which had led to unpleasing actions as expressed in their act of worship.

Why was God upset with his people when they gave defective offerings and sacrifices to him? There are two reasons that we can surmise from today's passage.

I. A Lack of Respect and Honor for God (v. 6)

Every Jew knew that a son was obligated to honor his father and that every servant was obligated to respect his master. Even we, in modern society, know this. No Jew in his right mind would ever go against the social convention of paying honor and respect to those whom it was due. In fact, a son who dishonors his father can be put to death; the same is true for a
slave who defies his master.

Now, in today's passage, God made it known to his people that he is their father as well as their master. We do not need to go into the detail as to why God is their father and their master but what God wanted to point out was that if the Jews understood the need to honor their fathers and to respect their masters, then why couldn't they do the same to God who is, after all, the Lord of the universe, the God who owns everything, the God who had adopted them as his very own people? The God who redeemed them from their enemies?

As we all know already, the lack of respect and honor for God can best be seen in how the Jews offered their sacrifices to God. They brought before him animals that were blemished, animals that had physical defects. In verse 8, Malachi described the blemishes of the animals being offered – some were blind, others were crippled, and others were diseased. God's standard for bringing a sacrifice to Him is very clear – the animal had to be free from any defect (you can read this over and over again in the book of Leviticus); in other words, it had to be the very best. If someone gave a defective animal to God as an offering or sacrifice, it speaks tons about the person's attitude towards God; that he doesn't think that God is worthy of his worship, that the very best should be for his personal enjoyment while God can get the scraps or the leftovers.

God further rebuked the Jews by pointing out that they would surely not give the governor their defective animals and yet they would, without hesitation, give the same animals to God instead. If they had respect for humans who have authority over them, why can't they render the same respect to God who is Creator and Lord? If you are willing to give the very best to someone of authority, then why can't you do the same when bringing your sacrifices to God?

II. An Insult and a False Witness to God's Name (vv. 11, 14)

Not only did the Jews failed to show respect and honor for God by giving their defective sacrifices, they also insulted God's name; in other words, by offering a faulty sacrifice, the Jews were saying that God was not a great God, that he was not someone whom people needed to fear. We find this idea in verses 11 and 14. In both these verses, God talked about his name and it was connected with the idea of rendering sacrifices to God. In verse 11 we read, “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations.” In verse 14 we read, “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great King, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is to be feared among the nations.”

In these two verses, God made clear to the Jews that he possesses a great name, a name that people are to revere. Reverence towards God's name will be manifested when people give what is rightly due to God. It will be an acknowledgment that God is truly great and that he is to be feared or revered by all. On the other hand, when people do not give what is rightly due to God and give him instead that which is defective or blemished, then it is an act of insult, saying that God is not a great God, that God is not to be feared. Furthermore, giving a blemished sacrifice is to bear false witness against God, to say that the Lord God is nothing close to what He claims to be.

The Bible testifies that God is a great God, a God who is to be feared, to be held in awe. There can be no question about it. However, when the Jews decided to give God their inferior and defective sacrifices, they were distorting the truth regarding God and they were insulting his name.

Because of the Jews' belittling of God's name and glory, God is angry at his people. For God it would have been better if the doors of temple were shut so that no one would bring their defective sacrifices to Him; if the priests continued to allow this practice, then the name of God would be continually insulted and the lies about God continually perpetuated. This was why God sent Malachi to deliver his message of rebuke to Israel.

Relevance of Today's Passage for Christians:

We may wonder, what is the relation of this passage for us today as Christians? We no longer live in the era of the Old Testament where we have to offer an animal sacrifice, for Jesus Christ has already become the perfect sacrifice for us, paying for our sins with his life. So, how does this particular chapter in Malachi relate to us Christians?

While it is true that we no longer need to make animal sacrifices, we need to realize that Christians are called to become living sacrifices. In Romans 12:1 we read, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” The sacrifices of the Old Testament had everything to do with worship. In the New Testament, it is still the same thing. We are called to sacrifice because it is an act of worship. However, the sacrifice that we make is the sacrifice of one's self. We no longer are to live for ourselves and for our self-interest but we are to live for the Lord by doing the things that would bring pleasure to him.

When we are true to our faith, when we are living in a manner that is consistent with the name “Christian”, then we are rightfully testifying who God is. When we are truthful in our dealings with other people, we are testifying that the God we worship is a God of truth. When we live righteous, moral lives, we are testifying that God is righteous. When we demonstrate love to each other as well as to those outside the circle of faith, we are testifying that the God we worship is a God of love. On the other hand, if we practice deceit in business and in our relationship with others, it is as if we are saying that our God is a deceiver. If we are immoral in our behavior, we give the wrong impression that our God tolerates immorality. If we quarrel and bicker within the body of Christ and we are harsh towards other people, it gives the impression that our God is not a loving God. That is why Paul exhorts us all to offer our bodies, not just once, but continuously to God; to be a believer not only on Sundays but also from Monday to Saturday. We are called to be followers of Christ 24/7.

There is a second sacrifice that we, as believers, can offer to the Lord. We find this second sacrifice in Hebrews 13:15 where we read, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” This is the sacrifice that we offer whenever we sing praises to the Lord or when we speak of God's worth through our prayers and our verbal declarations. Note that the author of Hebrews exhorted his readers to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. This is something we are to do constantly, whether in corporate or in personal worship. We should not keep quiet when it comes to praising and worshiping God, for when we do this with our heart, mind and soul in it, then it becomes a pleasing sacrifice in God's presence.

Both these sacrifices apply not only to Sundays but to our everyday walk with God. We are to offer these sacrifices constantly because these are what will please God.

I believe today's passage also has application as to how we worship the Lord on a Sunday morning. If the Jews back in Malachi's time offered faulty sacrifices, we can also be guilty of offering faulty sacrifices in terms of our time and our “presence”.

What do we say about God when we come in late for the worship service? I know I am striking a sensitive vein here but I believe it needs to be said. When we come in late for worship, we are telling God that he isn't top priority in our schedule. We're saying to God that he is just coincidental to our schedule and that we probably prefer to be somewhere else than be here in church like inside a mall or probably in some nice beach resort or probably playing golf. We come in late because we think that singing hymns and worship songs as well as listening to the choir sing are a waste of one's time. We come in late thinking that the most important part is the preaching and we wait for the pastor to start preaching before we enter the sanctuary and we leave prior to the benediction or even before the offering when in fact everything done within the worship service is important. I wonder, we don't want to be late when we're attending a concert, we don't want to be late for our plane flight, we don't want to be late for work for fear of reprimand from your boss, we don't want to be late for a date with that special someone, but why is it OK for us to be late when we are going to worship God? Being intentionally and deliberately late for worship is to offer God a blemished sacrifice. It is to tell God that he is not our priority in terms of our time. It's telling God that he is just a coincidence in our schedule, worship being something we just need to get done and over with, a mere activity in our calendar or planner. However, if we really want to worship God, I believe we should begin by giving priority to him in terms of time. Let's be on time every Sunday as one way of saying to God that we are serious in worshipping him.

Let's consider another area of worship that we often fall short – our “presence”. I am not talking here about being either physically present or absent but I am talking about our heart and mindset when we come to church on Sundays. I am sure most of you come here because you want to worship God and you have a sense of anticipation that God is working and doing great things in our midst; however, there are people who come to church not because they want to meet with God but because of obligation. For the students of Christian schools, some of you may be coming to church simply because you'll get a higher grade if you attend worship service or Sunday School but when summer break is around, we don't see you anymore until the next school year starts. For some businesspeople, you come to church not because you want to worship God but because this is a good place to meet with other businesspeople as well as prospective clients. Others may come to church simply because you're told to come and you come but with reluctance and the wish that you were somewhere else. Still some will come to church regularly but their minds are wandering to and fro and they don't have a worshipful attitude towards God and they either spend the entire time of the service sending text messages or whispering with the person beside them. Even if you are physically present but if your heart and mind is not here, then that is not real worship. That still is a blemished sacrifice in God's sight. So, when you come to the worship service or even if you are at home doing your devotions, put your heart and mind into it. When you do so, when you involve your heart and your mind to the act of worshipping God, then that becomes a pleasing sacrifice in the presence of God.

Conclusion:

This morning, we've learned that when we worship God we must offer our very best to him. We cannot go around giving him our leftovers and our rejects for that is an insult to him,a lack of respect and honor to him and a false witness to who God really is. We also learned that, although we don't need to offer animals anymore to the Lord, we are still called to give of our very best to the Lord through the life we live each day as well as in our worship time on Sundays.

We all need to examine ourselves as to whether or not we are truly offering our very best to the Lord. Our leftovers will never do, nor will our second best. Only the very best will do for the Lord. Are you giving your very best to Him? Am I giving my very best to Him? May the Lord be gracious to all of us, forgiving us for the many times we have given him less than what is the best, and may we again live each day giving our very best to Him.

Giving A Second Chance

Giving A Second Chance
Paul's Epistle to Philemon

Introduction:

In the MSNBC news website, a fascinating story caught my attention and I would like to share it with you this morning. It is the story of how the City of Naples in Italy helped ex-convicts reintegrate into society. We all know that criminals who have served their time and have been released into society usually find it hard to reintegrate and become positive contributors to society. Usually, these ex-convicts will find that people around them would reject them, would turn them down if they're applying for a job, and this would lead many to go back to their old ways. Not all criminals are hardened. In fact, many would like to have the chance to make things right once they're released from prison. The City of Naples is a major tourist destination but it also has its share of petty crime. What then was the solution to the problem? Mobilize the ex-convicts to become tourist assistants. Many of these ex-convicts preyed on tourists before but now the government has mobilized them to assist tourists in getting around the city, escorting them through bad neighborhoods, teaching tourists how to avoid being mugged and where they can find the best pizza in the city. Initially, some people criticized the government's move, saying that it was like putting the wolves in charge of the sheep, however, as six months have passed since the start of the experiment, none of the seventy convicts who were mobilized had committed any crime, and many tourists have written the government agency thanking the tour guides for a job well done. This scheme has somehow kept the crime rate down and has even boosted the economy of certain bad neighborhoods as these tour guides provide safety for tourists who go to these places to make purchases. Some citizens have already petitioned that the government agency increase the number of the tour guides as well as the number of hours each guide works. Currently, these tour guides work 20 hours a week and receive a monthly salary of €500 or US$ 725.00. Of course, not all ex-convicts will be accepted into the program – only those who are not serious offenders (rapists, murderers, mobsters) are accepted into the program. Nevertheless, the program has given more tourist income to Naples and new hope for the 70 ex-convicts who were given a second chance.

When I read this story, I was really impressed with how Naples readily took the chance on these ex-convicts in order to give them a new lease in life. While there was apprehension and even outrage initially, in the end, the program won over many people and also, helped these ex-convicts reintegrate into society much better. We all love to hear stories like this, where people who have done wrong or are down and out are given a new lease in life. We also feel the nobility of the persons who extend second chances to others. However, what if you were directly the victim of an offense? How willing are you to give the offender a second chance? Maybe the offense wouldn't be considered as a crime by the standards of criminal law but nevertheless, it was an offense that hurt you to the core – maybe someone has slandered you and has tainted your reputation even though you are innocent of the false charges, or maybe someone has cheated you in business? What if the person who has wronged you was a fellow believer or maybe a member of your family? Would you be willing to forgive him or her if he or she asked for forgiveness from you? Or would you continue to hold a grudge against that person and even think of ways of getting back at that person?

In this morning's passage, which is the entire letter of Paul to Philemon, we find a case that was a common occurrence or offense during Paul's time. Of course, the society had a common response. However, in Paul's letter to Philemon, we find Paul asking Philemon to respond to the offense differently, in a manner no less similar to how God would treat us as offenders of his commandments. We are going to spend the rest of the time to unwrap this simple but heartwarming letter and learn some important lessons about forgiveness and giving people second chances.

Context:

The letter was specifically addressed to Philemon. Philemon most likely was a believer living in the city of Colossae as construed by the presence of one of Paul's co-worker named Archippus, who is also mentioned in the letter to Colossae. The letter is addressed to Philemon and then to Apphia, probably the wife of Philemon, and to Archippus who is most likely the son of Philemon and who served as the pastor of the house church that meets in the home of Philemon.

Philemon was probably a man who had some material wealth and he was the owner of a slave named Onesimus. Now, slavery during the time of Paul is vastly different from the slavery that we read of in America and England. The slaves during the 17th to 19th century were brought to England and America from Africa and they were made to work in plantations. These slaves were usually uneducated. However, slavery during the time of the Bible was more closer to the concept of the employer and employee, where many slaves were usually highly-skilled people, except that they were exclusively owned and were the property of their masters. Since slaves were usually treated as property rather than as human beings, there was the tendency for some masters to be harsh toward their slaves. Ancient history recorded that there have been slave uprisings resulting from their poor treatment such as depicted in an old film entitled “Spartacus”. In today's passage, we see no indication of harshness on the part of Philemon towards Onesimus so we are not certain as to the reason why Onesimus fled from his master, but what is apparent is that, in leaving, Onesimus probably also stole some valuables in order to sustain him in his flight. What is also apparent from the passage was that Onesimus, prior to his conversion, was not living up to the meaning of his name - “useful”; this may give us an idea also to how Philemon may have treated him – not necessarily with harshness but probably demanding him to perform his job well and this could have triggered the desire to flee.

Onesimus fled to the big city, probably for him to easily blend into the crowd and not get easily arrested by slave-hunters who may be hired for a price in order to recover runaway slaves. There was the likelihood that Onesimus ended up in the city of Rome. I am not certain as to how he met the apostle Paul who was under house arrest at that time, however, he did meet up with him, probably in a moment of desperation, and at that moment, he became a believer of Christ, and real change took place in his life, such that he was now living up to his name. In fact, Onesimus had become a valuable assistant in Paul's ministry (v. 11).

It probably didn't take long before Onesimus began entertaining the thought of returning back home to his master in order to make amends with him. He knew that he had done wrong and most likely, Paul may have encouraged him to go back. However, as much as Onesimus wanted to go back and make things right, he knew that his master had the authority to punish him severely for his crime. Slave owners back then were known for being severe to runaway slaves and if Philemon chose to be severe, it was well within the rights granted him by the Roman Empire with regards to runaway slaves. In fact, it was common for slave owners to kill runaway slaves as punishment. Thus, Paul sent Onesimus back together with a letter which we now know as the epistle to Philemon and in it, he appeals for the case of Onesimus. There are three things that Paul asked from Philemon in his treatment of Onesimus. Let us examine what these three things are.

I. Consider the Offender As Being Dear (v. 16)

Paul asked Philemon to consider Onesimus, the one who offended him, as being dear to him. Prior to his fleeing from Philemon, Onesimus was not a believer; he was not a part of the family of God. However, after his conversion, he had become a member of the family of God and he was now a brother in Christ to Paul and also to Philemon. Thus, Paul exhorted Philemon to accept him back because he was not just an ordinary slave but he was also a brother in Christ. Although the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul never taught about abolishing slavery, here we find that the dividing wall between master and slave being torn down as a new relationship, the relationship of brothers and sisters in the Lord, taking supremacy over an earthly relationship. The master-slave relationship was temporary but the brotherhood in Christ was for all eternity, thus what Philemon was getting back was way much better than a slave.

Like Philemon, we are to hold dear those who belong to the faith, even if they may have offended us. I know that at times it is hard to love a fellow believer when they have committed an offense against us; It is the normal response of fallen human beings like you and I to just ignore them or to even fight back. However, even though we feel the effects of the fall, we also have the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts and he enables us to love even those who are unlovable. We must also remember at all times that when a fellow believer offends us, he is still a member of God's family and God still treats him dearly even when he is unlovable. If God treats every true believer with tenderness and love, we should do the same for each other.

II. Welcome Back the Offender (v. 17)

The second thing that Paul desires for Philemon to do was to welcome back Onesimus. The word “welcome” is not just an instance or manner of greeting someone; it is to greet someone in a friendly way, to accept someone gladly and with open arms. In other words, Paul wished for Philemon not to accept Onesimus back begrudgingly but with friendliness and goodwill. Philemon is to be like the loving father who, upon seeing the prodigal son, gladly takes him into his arms and bestows love upon him.

So often, when a brother who has offended us come back in repentance, we don't behave like the loving father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son but, instead, we behave just like the older brother who looks at his younger brother with disdain and blames his father for loving him. In fact, if given a choice, most of us probably don't want to see the offender or if we do see him, we want to make sure that we are a long-distance away from him, where we won't be forced to converse with him. But that was not how Paul would want Philemon to behave towards Onesimus nor would Paul want for Philemon to be harsh to him, but instead, he encouraged Philemon to welcome him back with gladness. In fact, he was to welcome Onesimus as if he were welcoming Paul himself, to extend the same kindness and love to his runaway slave who was returning back to make amends and to be subject again to his master.

When people who have offended you return to you in repentance, we must welcome them and treat them with the same kindness and love that Christ extended to us. Extend the hand of friendship to them, give them a tight hug or embrace. Show them that you still care for them and you love them and that you are more than willing to forgive their offense, and this leads us to the final thing Paul instructed Philemon to do in relating with Onesimus.

III. Forgive His Debt (vv. 18 - 19)

Paul asked on behalf of Onesimus that whatever the latter owed Philemon, he would be willing to pay on his behalf. In other words, Paul was asking Philemon to forgive the offense Onesimus committed and if there were any material or financial loss incurred, he was more than willing to pay for it. Paul then goes on to remind Philemon that the latter actually owed him a bigger debt, for it was Paul who shared the gospel to him and it was through Paul's ministry that he became a follower of Christ (v. 19).

When we suffer offense from other believers, the debt may or may not be material in nature. Not every loss that we've suffered has a monetary price tag; however, forgiveness is possible when we remember that God himself forgave us of the debt that we could not pay up, and that God has also forgiven the one who has offended us through Christ, the same way through which we were also forgiven.

We are all called to be forgiving, especially towards those who belong to the faith, if they have offended us, and when they have come to us in repentance. We are not to have any grudges against them but we must willingly forgive because we belong to the same family – the family of God. There is a saying that goes, “blood is thicker than water.” What it means is that the family relationship must be of a stronger bond than any other relationship. This should especially be true for Christians because we belong to God's eternal family and we should hold on to our bonds more tightly than anything else. Thus, forgiveness must be an essential to keep the bonds strong.

Two Foundations Necessary for Forgiveness:

We have talked about how Philemon was supposed to treat Onesimus when he returns to him. We know that he was to (1) Consider Onesimus as being dear, (2) He must welcome him back gladly, and (3) he must forgive his debt. Don't think that these three things are easy to do. In fact, they are quite difficult if you have been hurt deeply by the offender. However, I would like to just briefly discuss about the two foundations necessary for offering forgiveness to others. It is also found in the text and these two foundations are existing in Philemon's heart, which would probably give Paul the confidence that Philemon will heed his word. Let's look at verse 5. Here, Paul talked about Philemon's faith in Christ as well as his love for all the saints. Philemon had an outstanding reputation as a believer in Christ. In fact, the verb “hear” is in the present tense and it could well imply that Paul, whenever he received news from the believers in Colossae, would constantly be hearing of good reports regarding Philemon.

Philemon had faith in Jesus Christ for his salvation; he knew what it was like to experience grace. He was also living out his faith everyday through his words and actions. Not only that, he was constantly manifesting love not just for some but for all of the saints. In fact, the love that he was constantly showing was a great source of refreshment for all the saints and this has brought about great joy and encouragement to Paul. Here was a person who was constantly maturing in his walk with the Lord. He has probably gone through his share of trials and testings and has triumphed. Philemon was no baby Christian but he was probably someone whom the church looked up to, someone whom the believers acknowledged as being in the level of a spiritual father. So, the case with Onesimus was going to be a test of his faith and love. Paul had great confidence that Philemon would triumph, that he would be more than willing to forgive and accept Onesimus (v. 21); it is because Philemon was constantly growing in his faith.

Conclusion:

This morning, we've examined the entire letter of Paul to Philemon and we have learned that we may have been offended by other believers should be willing to (1) consider the offender as someone dear, since he is dear to the Lord, (2) welcome the offender back willingly, and (3) forgive the offender's debt or offense against you. For you to be able to do this, I urge all of you to grow in your faith in Christ, in knowledge and wisdom as well as through your words and actions; grow also in your love for others such that it gives refreshment to them and encouragement for others to follow in your pattern.

Maybe there is someone in the congregation that you haven't been in good standing for quite some time. I think it is about time that you let all the hostility cease. If you have wronged someone, repent of your sins before God and sincerely apologize to the person you've wronged. If you have been offended, then be willing to forgive just as Christ has forgiven you. I pray we will all do that.