Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” (1 Peter 3:8-14 NIV)
A. Formula to good life
1. Right Attitude
2. Right Response
3. Right Standard
4. Right Incentive
B. 5 Aspects of attitude
1. Harmonious
2. Sympathetic
3. Brotherly love
4. Kind hearted
5. Humble minded (most essential)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)
C. How to bless others
1. Unconditional love
2. Pray for salvation
3. Thankful for them
4. Speaking well
5. Seek & desire their well-being
6. Forgive them
Easter Sunday message on Surrender to Supremacy by Wong Chong Wah & baptismal service.
Baptismal Service
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV)
Baptism is a graphic illustration of Jesus death, burial & resurrection.
Only in the Lord Jesus Christ will there be salvation.
Lord, savior & master.
Our faith is based on the Resurrection
Proclamation on resurrection morning “The Lord is risen!”
Overall ~11 appearances of Jesus after He is risen
Surrender to Supremacy by Wong Chong Wah
John 21:1-19
Intro
7 disciples would be restless & aimless thus led by Peter went fishing.
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (John 21:3 NIV)
A reminder of beginning as originally met Jesus at the Sea of Galilee (#Luke 5:1-11)
Fishermen likely fishing at night. Yet Jesus comes in daytime & the great haul is there.
Both in John & Luke unable to haul in the fish.
Both times needed help hauling in fish.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. (John 21:5 NIV)
Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. (John 21:5 KJV)
Jesus used very intimate terms to address them – friends, children, etc
Fishers of Men
As a believer we are told to be fishers of men.
Jesus will turn our failures into success.
Fishermen wait long periods of time, have courage & patience.
Likewise, As believers we need to have those as fisher of men.
A fisherman catches live fish but once caught the fish will die.
However, fishers of men catch men who are ‘dead’ spiritually & they gain life.
Shepherd of Men
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17 NIV)
Jesus also calls us to be shepherds of men.
Jesus calls Peter 3x, just as how Peter denied Jesus 3x, to restore him.
Peter had to confess he loves Jesus.
Having been restored, will be surrendered to Jesus’ supremacy.
Conclusion
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:20-22 NIV)
For you & I to not worry about others. But to fix our eyes upon Jesus.
The Gospel message is simple: Come to Jesus
Jesus Christ came, died for our sins, buried & rose again. He promised us a very tender loving relationship with Himself.
Easter Saturday message on Shame to Sovereignty based on John 20:1-18 by Wong Chong Wah.
Introduction
Today is Saturday evening which is the 3rd day.
Hung 9am. Darkness from 12pm. Buried by Friday 6pm.
(Jews not allow body to hang after sunset 6pm).
Thus today (at 7pm) is the 3rd day.
Women went to the tomb on Sunday morning.
Today is the day Jesus if risen from the dead (no one knows the exact time).
Yesterday we saw Jesus die in shame in the worst form of execution- crucifixion.
By right story should end there. All books biography/autobiography until person’s death.
Something happened! Jesus died BUT is no longer in the tomb!!
Luke, writer of Both Luke & Acts, as a doctor writes accurately.
In Luke chapter 1, Luke is writing the biography of Jesus which he & others have witnessed.
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. (Acts 1:1-2 NIV)
But in Acts, Luke is writing about the risen Jesus.
Yet then there were people who did believe Jesus. Or believed in vain & had fallen away.
People’s response either excitement or fear.
By rising from the dead what Jesus says that “Your sins are forgiven” is true.
Gospel merely proves to us that Jesus is the Son of God.
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” (Acts 2:32, 36 NIV)
Empty tomb & empty cross are ‘receipts’ that Jesus died for our sins. Our sins are forgiven. Our sins are no more.
Conspiracy theory: Jesus body stolen by disciples
Q: Could disciples move the stone & steal the body?
A: The tomb is carved into or a natural cave. There are often many levels. And the stone covering is 2 tons! Tomb before closed has rock on groove. Then rolled & locked into place the stone. Additionally Jewish leaders due to fear requested tomb guarded. Thus guards were posted & Roman seal placed. Believed likely 16 soldiers forming perimeter & anyone approached killed. Soldiers did not approach own centurion but went to Jewish leaders & were paid a large sum.
Q: Jesus not really dead. Rolled away stone.
A: 2 ton stone?!
Q: Disciples saw hallucinations?
A: Reverse is true. Disciples actually saw Jesus but did not believe. Truth is more than 500 people saw Jesus after resurrected.
In John & other gospels we see a progression of faith.
1st frightened & run away.
Burial ceremony done by Joseph of Aramithea & Nicodemus in hurried manner without bathing body to be done before sabbath.
Women went there as very concerned & loved Jesus.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. (John 20:1-7 NIV)
Mary went early Sun morning but did not see Jesus’ body.
Mary was afraid & her faith was eclipsed (shaken). Like the eclipse from 12-3 the day Jesus was crucified.
Mary quickly ran to report the matter to Peter & John.
If stolen, entire body would have been taken away.
Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (John 20:8 NIV)
John saw & believed (!)
In the mind of John there can only be one conclusion – Jesus is risen!
“saw” appears 3x in the passage but different meanings in Greek
v5: to glance at casually
v6: to look carefully; observe
v8: to perceive with intelligent comprehension
Challenge to you to not just glance or look BUT to PERCEIVE with intelligent comprehension that Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus previously talking in parables “will destroy temple & 3 days again raise it up”.
Disciples difficult to fathom Jesus talking on his death & resurrection.
Disciples saw then believed. Even Jewish leaders in a sense believed but tried to hide the truth.
For us, we have the Gospel to help us believe.
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NIV)
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew 28:8 NIV)
Suddenly dawn on them like morning sunshine that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.
Respond in JOY!
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:18 NIV)
Jesus said to Mary, “You have seen me. Now go & tell!”
When you come for this meeting are you looking for a historical narrative OR are you seeking to know on Jesus who has died & risen!
Do we view Jesus as a hero, prophet & a great man? A good ‘guru’ with good examples & good sayings? Jesus principles good to apply in business & life?
Jesus is much more than that!
Jesus wants you to know that He is your savior & my savior. He is your Lord & my Lord. He is my Master & your Master!
Good Friday message on ‘Sinfulness to Salvation’ by Wong Chong Wah @ BRGH
#Isaiah 53
Introduction to Isaiah 53
Consider a man who was mocked & hated
Yet remembered for all the generations – today 20 centuries after his death
Yes does not end with his death
Isaiah 53 talks about this man
The servant of God
– Establishing justice for all
– Restoration of Jews & light to Gentiles
– God given wisdom
– Servant as the one who suffers & dies
Who has believed our message? Nobody Isaiah!
But Isaiah doesn’t give up, “Watch this man. And you will see what He says is fulfilled”
Isaiah 53 in summary:
The innocent servant Jesus will die on the cross in place of the guilty
1-4: life
5-8: suffering
9 : burial
10-12: resurrection
Humiliation (1-2)
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:1-2 NIV)
A tender shoot – men did not believe Him or His word (sarcasm & doubt)
Dressed like a servant; only 4 things on Him during crucifixion- sandals, tunic, turban & outer garment
Valued at only 30pcs of silver (In Exodus, that is the price paid for killing a servant)
Rejected (3)
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:3 NIV)
There are things we are attracted to today:
– Wealth (Like Pharisees in His time; Some ‘churches’ today promise wealth & health)
– Fame (Want to be seated near head of table; Want to take photo with famous people)
– (False) Humility (Prayed thank God I am not like the tax collector)
– Pampered (Want the best of everything even resorting to theft & selling own body)
Punished (4-6)
Surely HE took up OUR pain and bore OUR suffering, yet we considered HIM punished by God, stricken by HIM, and afflicted. But HE was PIERCED for OUR transgressions, HE was crushed for OUR iniquities; the punishment that brought US peace was on HIM, and by HIS wounds WE are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6NIV)
Via Dolorosa
HE took up punishment for OUR faults
Sacrifice for our sin so we are accepted by God
Wounded & pierced is not the usual punishment & not known during the Isaiah’s time (Remember written more than 700years before crucifixion & in accurate detail!)
Flogged, wounded & needed to carry own cross
Made to walk the longest snaking road possible deliberately – Via Dolorosa
The most humiliating form of punishment
Punished for you & for me
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)
Trials (7-8)
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. (Isaiah 53:7-8 NIV)
Total of 7 trials Jesus went through
Illegal trials failed interrogation
False witnesses
Pilot tried to release Jesus but was too weak to do so
Jesus kept quiet to fulfill even though tortured & His life is at stake
Jesus the Passover lamb
John, “Here comes the lamb of God”
Revelation mentions “lamb” more than 28x
If criminal crucified, no relatives would come to claim body which soldiers would be thrown to the dump site
But Jesus had 2 secret disciples Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus
Conspiracy theory that a group of people all behaved in a certain way purposely to fulfill what was prophesied in Isaiah? Possible?!
Satisfaction (from God’s point of view) (9-11)
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:9-11 NIV)
Jesus did not attempt to be a martyr
He fulfilled God’s plan
Jesus died so we can have life (12)
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12 NIV)
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV)
Know Bible but not place trust in Jesus?
Unbelievers – Blinded (2 Cor 4:4)
Believers – Light from God (Acts 7:54-60
Seeing God through the Light of the Holy Spirit
Natural man > Spiritual man
Knowledge of the Light of God’s glory in the Face of Jesus (Rom 1:19-20)
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, (Ephesians 1:15-18 NIV)
Only when Jesus shines his light into our hearts then only can we see the beauty of God
Outline on Sunday message “How can I keep on hoping? The scriptures” by Johnny.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4 NIV)
1. God knows all of us & everything on us
God loves us
2. When discouraged know that God has a plan for us
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. (Hebrews 11:13 NIV)
Ever feel you don’t belong in a school, workplace or even in a country?
We are created for heaven; citizens of heaven; God’s people
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:13-20 NIV)
The below is an excerpt On Character in Action taken from The Character of the Christian which is part of the reference materials used for the STM (Missions Trip) 2015.
“When God wants to drill a man
And thrill a man
And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great & bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him & hurts him,
And with mighty blows coverts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendour out –
God knows what He is about!”
Help shape believers lives & allow yourself to be shaped by God!
The cost? a worthwhile inconvenience of serving for 10 days
Note: Required leave days if you’re working a 5day work-week: 6days
For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. (Galatians 5:5 NIV)
We hear of many disasters occurring all over the world. Even in Malaysia we see flooding & natural disasters. We also see many people from organizations, including religious organizations, helping out. Do our charitable & righteous actions then help us to be saved before heaven’s gate?
The truth is that we are not saved through righteousness by good works & our own effort (aka legalism)
Matthew 5:20: For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
But we are saved by grace, receiving from God what we do not deserve through Christ.
People today filled with self-righteousness & pride
God hates the sin of pride, self-righteous, conceited
Move from actions & lists of things to do to freedom in Christ!
Repent of our ‘good deeds’?!
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:8-9 NIV)
Salvation involves:
Justification + Sanctification
Imputed + Imparted Righteousness
Forgiveness + Holiness
Difference
Justification – wholly God’s work
Sanctification – we work with God
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13 NIV)
A Crown of Righteousness
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV)
Does this mean God will reward Paul for all he has done?
Actually no! Paul said all he has done are like filthy rags
Look forward to His righteousness (not Paul’s!)
Applications
STOP trying to be good enough for heaven
LOOK to Jesus for God’s righteousness
GO on walking with the Spirit day by day
… Hoping for the crown of righteousness God will give us
“Christian faith is a life long journey to reach the celestial city.” ~A Pilgrim’s Journey by John Bunyan
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:11-14 KJV)
