Hand it Over

There are many reasons why we must commit our lives to Jesus. We should hand our life completely to Him because:
1. He loves you and always has your best in mind
-He set Himself apart from other shepherds at that time since He was willing to sacrifice everything for His sheep.
-From the Old Testament, God has been described as a Good Shepherd by David, Ezekiel, Isaiah.

2. He never intends to dominate, deceive, or destroy you.
-He takes care of His sheep, entering through the gate with the plan to care and fend for the sheep.

3. He will not desert you in times of crisis and dangers.
-Though with legitimate access to the sheep, the hired hands only work for the money.
-However, Jesus' attitude differs from the others because He willingly will be with us through and through.

4. He seeks to lead you to favorable places and opportunities.
-He knows our needs and leads us to the right direction, exactly the place that they need.

5. He will guard you with His life, at all cost.
-He provides what we need at the end of the da.
-When the day is over and sheep are placed in the pen, He is willing to die for our sake.

*based on John 10:1-20
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Clarifying one more time

Three evidences that Justification is by faith

1. Since the beginning, it has always been God who declares a person righteous and worthy of salvation (v1-8)
-sin is in our nature and we cannot do any rituals or actions to erase it.
-the only way for our records of sins to be removed is a declaration from God. Since sin is missing the mark of God's standard of righteousness, falling short of God's glory, thus we are unable to manifest God's righteousness

2. From the beginning, man has been trying through human effort to obtain righteousness, but no one has ever been declared righteous because of human intervention or action. Upto no, man is still in a bondage to sin. Today, people substitute this by good works, etc. but none of these are worthy of God's righteousness.

3. Since the brginnning, man has always been decllared righteous by receiving God's grace through faith.
-"Pistis" or faith is a conviction in the truthfulness and faithfulness of God

*based on Romans 4
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Walk in perseverance

To avoid BURNOUT, and to serve with perseverance and last long in the ministry, we need:

1. preparedness and willingness (v2-4)
-prepare your minds for the long haul. The future might not bring brighter days.

2. Patience and diligence (v5-8)
-keep your cool, push on, discharge your duties

3. Partners and friends (v9-12, 19-21)
-your support system who will cover you in prayer and serve as listening ears.

4. Parchments and book (v13)
-the Bible and all of its wisdom and knowledge.

5. Physical rest and provision (v13)
-for your "cloak"; and for recuperation.

6. Pardon and forgiveness (v14-16)
-not to hold grudges for those that wear you out.

7. Patience and power of God (v17-18, 22)
-not to rely on past experiences, abilities, and skills; rather a full dependence on God.

*based on 2Timothy 4
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Barking up the wrong tree

Paul explains the nature of the law, the reasons why we struggle with sin, and the solution to man's problem of sin.

1. As you struggle with wickedness and temptations, DO NOT BLAME GOD OR HIS COMMANDS.
-We like to point fingers at God when things go wrong.
-We often say that we sin because God's standards are too high.
-To blame God is totally wrong because
>our sin is from out evil inclination (v7-12)
>we simply suffer the consequences of our sin (v13-20)
>we have inner struggles with sin (v21-23)

2. BLAME YOUR SINFUL NATURE or your struggle with wickedness and temptation.
-God did not cause us to fail, but it is our sinful desires.
-Because of sin, we are predisposed to rebellion (v8-10)
-We are predisposed to evil because sin has deceived us to thinking that happiness is from the "freedom" of having no rules (v11-12)
-We do evil things because sin and the sinful nature enslave us (v13-23)

3. JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SET US FREE FROM THE BONDAGE AND CONSEQUENCE OF SIN.
[Note: Wretched means balancing a heavy weight on one's body; an extremely hard and miserable trial to bear.]
-Hope is in Jesus that we will be able to conquer sin in Him and rescue us from this body of death.
-We have hope based on the value of His death and resurrection.

*based on Romans 7:7-25
by Rev. Dr. David Go

The Six Cardinal Rules of Life

1. Fear GOD above all gods [Ps 96:4]
-not work, family, technology or anything else. rather, fear God--the Giver of life.

2. Guard your HEART above all things [Pr 4:23]
-it is the wellspring of life--it commands our actions

3. Be HONEST above all else [James 5:!2]
-it is the key to a guilt-free life, the foundation of morality

4. Love OTHERS above yourself [1 Peter 4:8]

5. Obey God's WORD above all creed [2 Peter 1:20-21]
-we need to come back to God's Word and live it out.

6. Believe JESUS above anyone or anything else [John 3:31]

by Rev. Dr. David Go

Pre-departure

Things we ought to do as we wait for Jesus' return:

1. We must constantly attune our ears to the voice of Jesus (v12-14)
-Jesus gave us new life, which allows us to be victorious.
-Oftentimes, we do not put our new lives to good use.
-We can only be victorious by obeying Jesus Christ daily.

2. We must constantly focus our attention on sharing for Jesus (v15-16)
-We should ask ourselves that thoughts we should fill our minds with everyday.
-We must consider what things we are attracted to--money, recognition, pleasure, etc?
-We ought to puruse things that will glorify Jesus.

3. We must constantly keep ourselves accountable to others (v16-18)
- We have to be true, pure, strong, brave, and faithful.

*based on Philippians 2:12-18
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Open your eyes

To grow in the faith, you must:

1. pay close attention to God's Word (not to treat it mechanically)
- we do christian duties
sometimes like the pharisees, without understanding but only out of habit and practice
-OR-
sometimes like the disciples, who experience Jesus but do not understand clearly

2. open our heart to the Holy Spirit (not rely on ourselves for understanding and obedience)
-the Holy Spirit is there to show us where to go, but we
often, like the pharisees, follow custom or depend on intelligence
-OR-
often, like the disciples, trust in our association to Jesus

3. always check our spiritual health (and not assume that you are always well)
-we may seem okay outwardly, but
like the pharisees who are blind, we may have eyes but actually could not see
-OR-
like the disciples, we may have eyes that do not see clearly

4. remember what God has done for you (and not forget His love and grace)
-regarding strong and clear experiences with Jesus Christ, we may be
like the pharisees who have seen Jesus' earlier miracles but refused to recognize Jesus as the Messiah
-OR-
like the disciples who have been with Jesus through the miracles but forget them when it counts

*based on Mark 8:11-30
by Rev. Dr. David Go

How Dare You!

As Christians saved by grace, we cannot and should not continue to live in sin because...

1. We had a change of status when God gave us new life
-from being children of darkness to children of light
-along with this change in status is a change in behaviour (v.1-4)
-as we accepted Jesus Christ, we are along with Christ in His death and ressurection
-like a newly sworn in president, our baptism gives us a change in status with a higher standard of living and expectations.
-we may look the same outwardly, but we are now a new creation from the inside.

2. We had a change in our spiritual capacity when God gave us new life.
-we now have a newly wired power to combat sin.
-not that we will have no more desire for sin, nor are we free from temptation. instead, we will have the power over sin and power to resist sin (v.5-7)
-this power is inherent to the new life.
-to utilize the power, we must always be reminded to be connected to the source, who is God Himself.

3. We have a change of sight when God gave us new life.
-we have a different perspective and direction as we turn over our lives to Jesus, being His slaves (v.8-11)
-the command to count ourselves dead to sin is in its present perfect tense, and it is imperative and compelling.
-along with the constant compulsion, we must take action
>nip sin in the bud--as early on as possible (v.12)
>do not offer any part of our body to sin (v.13)
>offer each part of our body to God (v.13-14)

*based on Romans 6:1-14
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Do Miracles still happen?

MIRACLES: supernatural event that has NO human explanation
: God's temporary suspension of the law of nature to intervene directly into human
affairs to bring about the fulfillment of a special and divine purpose

CRITERIA for a miracle:
- deliberate intervention of God
- unexplainable
-temporary suspension of the laws of nature
- has a divine purpose

When and How of miracles:
- God can perform miracles anytime, but He doesn't do it all the time
- To authenticate His people and leaders
- Seldom performed for personal enjoyment
- Ultimately, it is done to direct people to Him

How we should respond:
-We must put our faith in God and His character, rather than miracles.
- Let us trust in Him because it is God who knows what is best for us.

*based on John 4:46-53
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Faithful to the End

Following Jesus doesn't guarantee a WORRY-FREE life.
- What we proclaim is not prosperity gospel
- The disciples were obedient, bu they were tired.
- Jesus' promise was His presence with us to the end.

Following Jesus guarantees the HARASSMENT from the ENEMY.
- Satan wouldn't just sit around
- Jesus' prayer in John 17 was for the disciples to be protected from the evil one.

Following Jesus guarantees the PROTECTION, POWER, and PRESENCE of GOD.
- In the squall, disciples aired out emotional reactions to tough situation, but God guarantees protection.
- Jesus' orders to the wind and waters solved the disciples' problem.
- The safest place to be in is the center of God's will.

As we follow Jesus, there may be obstacles, but:
- do not be discouraged (which is what Satan wants us to feel)
- submit yourself to God and continue to do His will
- thank God for what has happened (because Satan's attack simply implies that you are doing what is right and important)

*based on Mark 4:35-41
by Rev. Dr. David Go

There must be a reason

The command to not love the world sometimes appears illogical. Afterall, God is the one that put us here. He does not want us to be attracted to the world, but God Himself loves the world. There must be a reason to this command. As Christians, we must realize that:

1. This is not our world. The ways of the world are ways that we must find offensive. And the way we ought to live should be offensive to the standards of this world.

2. The world is wicked and is controlled by satan. The system or ways of the world are always in opposition to God.

3. Loving God and loving the world cannot exist.

4. The world will cause you to be sinful, proud, and selfish--three things that fuel the system od the world. In particular, we must resist the:
- lust of the flesh (inappropriate sex, food, revenge)
- lust of the eyes (improper desire to own things)
- the pride of life (being overrun by achievement, power)

5. The world is temporary. We so not intend to stay here for long since our citizenship is in heaven. As we are here, we are to accomplish one particular purpose: to GLORIFY GOD.

6. Loving the world affirms that we are still of the world.

The challenge is to evaluate where our love lies.

*based on 1 John2:15-17
by Rev. Dr. David Go