All you need is love

4 kinds of love:
1. Eros--physical attaction
2. Phileo--love among friends or boy-girl relations, conditional and limited
3. Storge--exclusively for filial relations
4. Agape--concern for others, unselfish, committed, willing; not emotional but deliberate

5 Reasons why we should love
1. God's very nature is love
-It serves as the motivation and action for us (vv8, 16b).
-We need to behave like him, where the sone is a mirror of the Father.

2. God paid a high price to show His love (vv.9,10)
-We don't deserve to be saved, but He gave it anyway.

3. We grow in maturity when we love (vv.17,18)
-We become perfect, growing spiritually.

4. Loving others is proof of His dwelling in us (vv.12, 13, 16)
-It is the Spirit within us that empowers us to love

5. Loving others is proof that we love God (vv.19-21)
-We must show our love for Him by showing His love for others through us.

*based on 1John4:7-21
by Rev. Alex Uy

The true and only door

Functions of a door: entrance, exit, protection

There are 2 kinds of "gate" in their time--a physical wooden gate in a rented kural or the shepherd himself at the entrance of a cave.

Three important lessons from Jesus, the gate:
1. Jesus us the gate of salvation
-There is no other way to get to heaven. not all roads lead there. Christianity is an exclusive belief.
-Only by faith in Jesus can we get to heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1Tim2:5)
-His death was all inclusive, open to all tribes and tongue (Matt11:28)

2. Jesus is the gate of protection
-Satan is the predator (1Pet5:8)
-We are commanded to resist the devil (James 4:7)
-Jesus enables us to flee from temptation (1Cor10:13)
-We must be conscious to keep ourselves in God's will and not just tolerate attacks.

3. Jesus is the gate of satisfaction
-Life with Jesus leads to greener pastures (Ez34:14, Ps23:1, Jn10:10)
- Abundance does not necessarily mean material wealth, but that life becomes meaningful.

*based on John 10:10
by Rev. Alex Uy

No excuses

What makes us fall under God's wrath? Why can't we be excused from it?

1. Because knowledge of God is readily available. Each of us is given as equal opportunity to know God...
-through creation--which showcases God's eternal, powerful qualities (v. 19, ps. 19:1-3, job 12:7-9)
-through man's conscience--who knows within itself that there is a moral keeper, who is God.

2. Because we have failed to honor God or giving the honor due Him, thus substituting things in the image of man and animals for the real God.

3. Because we deliberately sin against God.
-This is a product of man's disobedience and not honoring Him.
-God will let us go through with our sins when we desire to commit them, not that God intends that we sin, but that He allows us to have our own choice.

While we may be spared from the wrath of God as believers, many are still lost in their sins, so we must take responsibility in sharing His Word.

We must see the gravity of sin, as God's redeemed people, and should no longer allow it to dominate us. Instead, let us forsake our sins and choose to please God.

*based on Romans 1:18-32
by Rev. Alex Uy

That's not fair

Receivers of good things tend to not complain that life is not fair.

We accuse God of being unfair when we
-do not forget what we ask for
-feel that we have been faithful yet don't feel blessed
-when lawless people get away with sin

In Malachi's time, Jews
-called God unfair due to false assumption regarding His justice (v17)
-questioned God's presence amidst the injustice (v17)

What will happen in the day of the Lord?
1. Intense refininf (3:2)
-purging of sins, when we are being made clean. We who belong to Jesus Christ will go through times of testing, lest we become complacent

2. Condemnation (3:5)
-God will testify against evil doers and we must wait upon the Lord.

'The God of justice has come!' is a prophecy that has been fulfilled (3:1)
-in the being of the messenger as John the baptist who prepared the way
-as Jesus Christ, the Lord people are seeking, the messenger of the covenant.

*based on Malachi 2:17-3:4
by Rev. Alex Uy

Justified

JUSTIFIED:
-to show or prove to be right or reasonable
-adjusting text in a document to form straight edges on both sides
-to declare or make righteous in the sight of God

What are the implications of God's justification?
1. We have peace with God
-not just the absence of conflict or mere civil behaviour towards one we previously had conflict with
-it is the showing of His love and favor as one repents from sin and coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

2. We have access to God's grace
-'Prosagoge" means to gain access, being ushered in to the presence of royalty, also an area where a ship docks for safety in time of a storm
-we approach Him in our prayers and can meetin him in our time of need. We can be confident that He will hear us not because of anything we do, but because of His own action.

3. We have hope
-this hope is guaranteed, eternal life and a future ressurrection, reward in heaven, and Jesus' return, certain forgiveness. This will motivate us to live life differently.
-suffering is part of life and can be something beautiful, resulting in preseverance and character.

4. We have salvation
-we SHALL be spared of future outpouring of God's wrath. Salvation is a completed act. He will continue to do this for us.

5. We have God's love
-once we belong to Christ, nothing can separate us from it; we are lavished by His love.
-man can easily be deceived that God does not love us, but we can be assured that God lovees us, part, present, and future.

*based on Romans 5:1-11
by Rev. Alex Uy

The Marks of a True Disciple

1. Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
-the state of being poor: resorting to begging because they know they cannot help themselves
-spiritual poverty means that apart from God, we can do nothing--that there is emptiness left to ourselves

2. Blessed are those who MOURN for they will be COMFORTED
-the state of mourning: recognizing how wretched we are and being truly sorrowful for it.
-there can be no real salvation unless there is a realization of sin that leads to repentance--that only Jesus can fill the void in our hearts.
-it is not just being sorry because we were caught in sin, but because we know that the act of sin is offensive to God.

*based on Matthew 5:1-12
by Rev. Alex Uy

Unconditional Surrender

We must surrender to the claims of Jesus regarding diety
-we must offer our allegiance to Jesus alone.
-we must trust Him alone as our Saviour.
-we must acknowledge Him as our Master.

We must surrender to the demands of Jesus
-are we willing to part with what hinders us from completely following Jesus?
-anything can become an idol that replaced God/Jesus

We will experience the rewards when we surrender
-while it is difficult for the rich to come to Jesus, and it is impossible to reach God on out own, these are only possible with God.

*based on Mark 10:17-31
by Rev. Alex Uy

True Greatness

The world dictates that we must be first, and this was brought to the church by the disciples.
True greatness is not being in the top position, having tons of money, or being high in society. Instead, True Greatness is all about being a servant, being last than first, in His Kingdom.

There are 3 things we can do...
1. Change our mindset (v33-35)
- Let life not be defined by position, possessions, and power.
- Rather, let life be defined in service and ministry to God and others.

2. Not choose whom we want to serve (v36-37)
- We should not just serve family, friends or relatives.
- We shouldn't just serve the socially esteemed, the rich, or the celebrities.
- Instead, we should serve everyone, whether they can reciprocate or not.

3. Not look down on fellow servants (v38-40)
- Let us not look down on those who do not belong to our group
- Let us not look down on those who do "small" tasks

*based on Mark 9:30-40
by Rev. Alex Uy

Seeing the Light at the end of the Tunnel

Jesus brought Peter, James and John with Him becasude they were the three who were:
-most ready to receive the truth
-acknowledged as leaders in the pack
They witnessed three life-changing events in this experience:

Transfiguration: "I (Jesus) am the Messiah!"
-All through His life, Jesus is the Messiah, only that the world does not know it yet
-Jesus presented Himself to them, declaring this as truth

Appearance of Moses and Elijah: "Jesus must fo through suffering and death to accomplish His mission."
-Luke 9 records them talking of Jesus' exodus--His journey to the cross and death
-Israel's great heroes were talking to Jesus--an act that must have convinced the disciples about Christ's accepted/claimed fate
-These characters were representatives of the Law and Prophets.
-Moses and Elijah spoke within earshot of the disciples, but in their fear, the latter did not listen to what was being discussed.

God speaks audibly: "This is My Son, whom I love, listen to Him!"
-The cloud symbolized God's presence
-Jesus, as an obedient Son, lived out John 14:31
-God's audible voice should've crushed any inkling of doubt from the disciples, leavin gthem to accept His word and live it out.

Jesus' ressurection marks the light at the end of the tunnel

*based on Mark 9:2-8
by Rev. Alex Uy

Are you a good steward?

Steward: anyone given responsibility to take care of something else
-WE ARE ALL STEWARDS (Ps.24:1-2)

I. The Lord entrusts us with treasures to manage, as the Lord determined according to our ability.
-treasures may be in the form of money, but may be some other physical items
-treasures also includes time, skills, abilities, children, and even our bodies
>invest wisely in such things
>we may not "embezzle" or "misuse" our treasures, but doing nothing with them is just as bad.

II. The Lord will call us to give an account
-some will be accountable
-the third slave did not grow the treasures he was entrusted with and even accused the master. He did not own up to his actions.
-regarding the second slave, there was no favor for higher quantity, just a report of eventual result.

III. The Lord gives corresponding rewards to the faithful.
-the reward of more responsibility come with having more privileges
-they may not be material, and may not even be in our lifetime, but there is an certainty in that we will receive gifts.
-another reward is the invitation to be with the Lord.

*based on Matthew 25:14-30
by Rev. Alex Uy

Under new management

For a restaurant we love, if the management changes bu the food does not, we are open to accept it. For the country, the change in leadership is useful only if the new president effects positive change. For our lives, when we are under new management, there are changes that come along with it. With our lives, we may hear the part of the gospel talking about the benefit of heaven, but we must also reckon the change that must be evidenced in out lives as we have a change in management.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour:
1. We have a new master to whom we owe our allegiance.
-before Jesus, we were under the rule of satan, being his slaves, inclined to sin, leading to ever-increasing wickedness.
-loyalty to satan is seen in our succumbing to the sinful nature.
-when we come to faith in Jesus, we must no longer be slaves to sin, but have Him as master, and be a slave to righteousness.
-we must show our loyalty to Jesus by bringing Him glory, looking into all areas of our lives
> in our minds (rom12:2, phil4:8)
>in our bodies (1cor7)
>decision making process (prov3:5-6)
>finances
>use of time
since Jesus is now our master, we must submit all these areas to Him

2. We have new goals in life
-before Jesus, on one hand, our lives could be controlled by our own willful desires, with goals set by our own selves. on another hand, our lives could just be lived daily with no purpose or goal, living aimlessly.
-we now not only have new live, but along with it new goals and purpose. we have new objectives and instructions:
>to please Him
>to honot Him
>to pursue righteousness
>to bear fruit

3. We have a new object of affection
-before Jesus, we were married to our sins, but in Christ, we are now dead to sin
-it is hard to remember that we now have a new relationship with God and often go back to our old habits.
-we must constantly remind ourselves of our new love.


*based on Romans 6:15-7:6
by Rev. Alex Uy

To believe is to see

We are brought up with the philosophy "To see is to believe". on the issue of faith, who did better: the PHARISEES or the DISCIPLES?

The pharisees did not believe Jesus, but instead they attribute His miraculous acts to beelzebub, saying that Jesus is a false prophet.
-Deut.18:22 motivated the pharisees but Jesus refused to lay their accusations to rest because He wants people to ultimately believe in Him.
-We sometimes set out conditions on God, but He doesn't work under our timetable. He wants us FAITH FIRST, based on His character and His Word.

Jesus taught the disciples to not let the yeast of doubt, like Pharisees and Herod, to overpower who they were.
-Jesus got exasperated be the disciples who were dense and slow to learn.
-The disciples saw the miracles happen before them, participating even, yet they were unable to interpret the facts to say that Jesus can take care of them.
-We sometimes lack faith even if we have seen Him move in out lives.

Faith is an intelligent decision. God wants faith first, on Jesus, then things will follow.

*based on Mark 8:11-21
by Rev. Alex Uy

Red marks on the Report Card of Faith

The disciples failed in 3 tests:

1. Lack of compassion
- they were tired and were planning to rest, but the crowds pressed on them and gave them more work to do.
COMPASSION has no time schedule or price tag. It is done even when it is inconvenient or even if it brings hurt.

2. Lack of faith
-their focus was on the enormity of their problem and inability to solve it.
FAITH would've made them ask how Jesus intends to accomplish such feeding task as their first resort.

3. Lack of perception
-they were amazed in the water-walking because their hearts were hardened, not understanding the actual power behind the feeding of the multitude.
CLEAR PERCEPTION would reveal to them that Jesus had already accomplished harder miracles in the past.

*based on Mark 6:30-56
by Rev. Alex Uy

Who is standing in your way?

Obstacles in believing and following Jesus

1. Satan and his minions
- seen in Legion
- we must be aware that Satan is actively at work
- we must learn to resist his power as we rely on God's power and preparation (Eph 6)

2. Other people
- seen in the townspeople/swine herders
- people have their own interests (economy) and protection (safety) that stand in the way of God's will (like being called for ministry).
- a Christian's poor testimony also cause non-Christians to turn away from Christ.

3. Ourselves
- seen in the demon-possessed man
- his cutting himself could be a possiblity of his submission to his fate. modern people drink, binge, mutilate, etc.
- Christians beat themselves for committing sins they personally see as "unforgiveable"
- some Christians try to serve themselves to death, getting in the way of following Christ

*based on Mark 5:1-20
by Rev. Alex Uy

Survive and Thrive

Methods to increase numbers in Church:

1. natural addition: by having babies

2. conquest and persecution: forcing upon others, sometimes with threats.

3. mass evangelism: altar call with a popular speaker. this strategy would not stand on its own.

4. seeker sensitive church: responds to needs and provides creative ways to attract new-comers. sometimes prone to the lack of depth in teaching.

5. DISCIPLESHIP: process where a more mature believer helps a younger eliever grow in his relationship with God.



Process of Discipleship:

1. Evangelism (things you HEARD me say). This will allow you to gain disciples or followers.

2. Bible-based teaching (THINGS you heard ME SAY). Correct teaching from someone more mature.

3. Accountability (RELIABLE MEN). These teachers are required to be reliable, answerable, and blameworthy.

4. Transference (QUALIFIED TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO). This allows the process to continue on.



based on 2 Timothy 2:2

by Rev. Alex Uy