LAMP POST : Unfolding the Word of God

A Troubled Times

Look at the news today; approximately 120,000 dead in Myanmar due to a cyclone and neglect, a 7.9 earthquake caused the death of more than 30,000 people in China many of them school children and only child in a family, six million children in Ethiopia faces malnutrition, 9 working people brutally killed inside a bank, 8 dead 5 of them sleeping children massacred by a monster with an M-16 rifle. Knock, knock Hello, Mr. Crypt are you asking how a loving God would allow such a thing to happen to innocent people.

Lord, you have given hope to Brother Jun and you have kept him safe in your mercy for a long time. A year ago, he has given up hope but Lord you showed him compassion. A year has passed, he has to undergo chemo-therapy again but it seems his body is frail and weak. But, I know and the church knows; we all know our God is an awesome God who reigns! Sister Muriel has waited for four years and years of painful dialysis for a kidney and pancreas donor and my Lord and my God you did a good job. When I first saw her she can barely stand nor walk by herself. Now she’s as agile as her 17 year old donor; may she be enjoying your heavenly bliss.

GOD IS NOW HERE

Mr. Crypt you may have been blind and deaf for a long, long time. You have eyes but you were blinded by sin and ignorance. You have ears but your ears were covered by your selfishness and conceit. You just do not want to listen. You just do not want to see. All that you crave for and all that you ever wanted most are the lust of your flesh and the pride of your life. What else is new Mr. Crypt? God to you is a non-entity. God to you is some one who does not care. God to you is no where. But as for me and to all who have faith; GOD IS NOW HERE!

God does not delight in suffering and death. He is pained the more when any of us His creature suffers or is facing death. He shed his blood for us. He wept. He cried out loud from excruciating pain and agony. Through our pain and suffering God accomplished His purpose and will. That we may know Him the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ our Savior.

God accomplished His purpose and will

At the cross of Calvary, God showed us through Jesus that He could take the pain and bear it for our sake. When we suffer He suffered the most. When we are in pain He was pained the more. For His love is far greater than any pain or any suffering that we could ever bear. And He bears them all. Do you know that you can take your pain and suffering to God? He said, “Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest…” The truth was He took our pain, our suffering and our death with Him at the cross.

At the cross of Calvary, God showed us through Jesus that He could face death and triumphed over it. He conquered the fear and pangs of death so that we also could face it with hope of life. For we are all looking forward to that glorious day when God would tap us on our shoulder and say, “well done good and faithful servant.”

In Life Two things are sure to come; Death and Taxes.

Ephatha!

The Lordship of Jesus Christ

The gospel is good news because it brings a message of redemption and reconciliation coming from God. In His goodness, God intervenes in a point of time in human history to bring about salvation for men. “And you shall call his name, Immanuel, meaning God is with us.”

The Lordship of Jesus Christ is the message of the gospel. All his teachings, all his parables, all of his acts of mercy and all of his healings and miracles were intended for us to see the redeeming works of God and God’s desire that all may come to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Repent and believe; it is the will of God that we may have life eternal in Jesus Christ.

Let us humble ourselves in the presence of God for that is exactly what He did for us. Jesus humbled himself even to the point of suffering and ultimately death on the cross. However, Jesus did not remain on the grave because on the third day, He rose up from the dead. His triumphed over sin and death is victory to those who have placed their hope in Him. For just as He lives the faithful will live with Him.

Jesus went up to God in glory, “so that every knee should bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord for the glory of God the Father.” The redeemed of God are living in hope and power in the Spirit of God.

One day, Jesus will be back.

Maranatha!

What is the Church?

The word translated “church” in the English Bible is ekklesia. This word is the Greek words kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus, the word means “the called out ones.” However, the English word “church” does not come from ekklesia but from the word kuriakon, which means “dedicated to the Lord.” This word was commonly used to refer to a holy place or temple. By the time of Jerome’s translation of the New Testament from Greek to Latin, it was customary to use a derivative of kuriakon to translate ekklesia. Therefore, the word church is a poor translation of the word ekklesia since it implies a sacred building, or temple. A more accurate translation would be “assembly” because the term ekklesia was used to refer to a group of people who had been called out to a meeting. It was also used as a synonym for the word synagogue, which also means to “come together,” i.e. a gathering. “Body of Christ” Since believers have been united with Christ through spiritual baptism, they are sometimes corporately referred to as the body of Christ. (Rom. l2:4-5; 1 Cor. l2:11,13,l8,27; Col. l:l8; Eph. 5:30) The church therefore means an assembly of believers gathered together as a worshipping community dedicated in worship and service to God and as a witnessing community to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all nations.

The Reinvented Church

The church has a crisis of identity. It has become a Reactive Church. The emphasis of churches today can be summed up in the following concepts:

First, the church is saying to itself, “God in me. God in you”. The church is reacting to the stimulus of human experiences in shaping its agenda and purpose.

Second, the church is looked at in, “God in socio-political-cultural perspective”. The church is being determined by sincere socio-political-cultural experiences in developing its agenda and purpose.

Third, the church is molded in, “God in tradition and heritage”. The church is being caged by Regulative Principles from a very commendable ecclesiastical era.

Reclaiming the Church

The church was built upon the foundation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to his disciples, who do you say I am? Peter answered saying, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God”. And Jesus said, “…upon this rock. I will build my church.”

The church is a worshipping community dedicated in worship and service to God. The duty, ministry and mission/missions of the church were committed and intended for the glorification of God and in the proclamation of the Gospel.

In the prayer of Jesus in John 17:13 he said, “Now this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God and Jesus whom you have sent.”

The church is a witnessing community empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 states, “And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Great Commission is the impetus that moves the church to action.

Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I will be with you until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The Bible is the Word of God it is the only source and basis of the church faith and practices.

Tole, Lege

An Exposition on Worship

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

A.W. Tozer in his book Worship: The Missing Jewel wrote, “It is delightful to worship God, but it is also a humbling thing; and the man who has not been humbled in the presence of God will never be a worshipper of God at all. He may be a church member who keeps the rules and obeys the discipline, and who tithes and goes to conference, but he’ll never be a worshipper unless he is deeply humbled.”

Worship and Service

Worship and service are two distinct concepts with two different meaning. Although closely related, should not be confused as synonymous terms. However, many modern translations failed to make clear the difference. It is therefore very important that we understand what this entails. The basic meaning of the word “Worship” is to express, by word or by bowing down, profound and submissive respect or adoration. It carried with it the idea of subjects falling down to kiss the ground before a king or kiss their feet. On the other hand, the root meaning of “Service”- is service rendered for hire. It is used for the carrying out of religious duties by human beings. We see the picture of Levites doing their official service inside the Temple. In Matthew 4:10 “worship” and “service” were used together in the same sentence conveying the idea that the words were expressing different thoughts. It has been said: “All worship may be said to be service to God, but not all service rendered to God is worship.”

The Focus of Worship

Worship is God centered. True worship begins with a deep respect or reverence for God, a frame of heart, an attitude. Worship is a conscious glorification of God flowing from an inner attitude of lowly submission to His authority and awe at His majesty. This glorification can be expressed by prostration and by words. Since God can hear the thoughts of the heart, the words do not have to be audible. Since God can see through the hearts of man, the action may refer to contrition of the heart and/or the humbling of the spirit. In worship man takes his proper place, with his face to the ground and God is acknowledged for who He is: the Creator, Redeemer and King. When God is confessed in this way, our whole life, attitude, world-view and perspective on all things will be radically changed. Millard Erickson wrote, “In the pictures of heaven in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere, the people of God are represented as recognizing and declaring the greatness of God. It is appropriate that the church, which belongs to God, praise and glorify God. The church must center its attention upon who and what God is, not upon itself. It aims at appropriately expressing who and what He is, not at satisfying its own feelings.”

Service to God

Service to God in the New Testament can be summed up into three main categories:

First, Worship attributed mainly to the glorification of God.

Second, is the Edification of the believers. This involves; Instruction and Fellowship. Both of which are intended primarily to believers, for the believers and among the believers. It is imperative for believers to be instructed in the word and find growth in faith in the assembly of the church. This is where the interaction of worshippers takes place. In Ephesians 4:12 Paul said that God has given various gifts to the church for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ. Believers are to grow up in Christ.

Lastly, is the Conversion of the soul. This involves; Evangelism and Social Concern. Both activities technically are towards the unbelievers and outside the sphere of the church but instances may demand are also needed by some inside the church. The believers were tasked to undertake to bring the gospel to all people everywhere and anywhere.

All worship may be said to be service to God, but not all service rendered to God is worship.

To God be the Glory!

Knowing God

Knowing God is easy. We may think we are the one searching for God. Far from the truth, it is God Himself initiating the search for us. The word of God is very clear, all it takes is “to repent and believe.” Meaning, we must let God take control of our life. We must learn that; it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance and it is by the word of God that we hear that leads us to believe.

It is very important for us to understand that God has always been revealing himself to those that He wants to show mercy and compassion;

Many times God has shown Himself to us right at our own face.

Many times God has spoken to us in easy words to hear.

Many times God is just right beside us.

Many times God is the soft breeze of the wind that touches our skin.

Many times God is a deafening silence in our loneliness.

Many times God is a stranger who gave us words of wisdom when we are in need.

Many times God is a sweltering heat that stopped us from doing something bad.

Many times God is a small still voice telling us what to do.

Many times God is an earthquake that shakes us to the foundation of our belief.

Many times God is an unceasing storm that never lets go.

Many times God is an annoying sense of uneasiness.

Many times God is a sense of urgency of doing things with enthusiasm.

But, many times we just can not make out of these experiences. We just can not understand. Maybe, all it takes is a little faith. Then our faith will grow into a fuller knowledge of God. We must let God open our eyes that we may see and let God open our ears that we may hear.

Yes! my dear Subi (my granddaughter is trying to get my attention), God is God. That’s who He is. He is and will tell us His will. His Words are clear and precise. Follow and obey. Let God be God. He will do all things (All means all) and accomplish all things (All means all) for His glory. No one and no man and not any of man’s devices can prevent Him from doing His Will. Men may mean to do things for evil but God meant it to bring about good to accomplish His purpose. He is the God we worship.

All things came into being because God created all things (All means all). It means we owe Him our very existence. The life we lived must be a life to live for His glory and His glory alone. We must give back our life to Him.

All things belong to God (All means all). It means all that we have is ours because of God’s goodness and benevolence (All means all). All our cherish possession, all that we love, all that we value, all that makes us happy: God gave them all to us. We must give them back to God.

Finally, God is our Redeemer. We have come to know God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God. His life and teachings is the Word made flesh. His miracles are touched of God’s compassion and mercy. The outpouring of His blood at the cross cleanses us from all our sins and unrighteousness. His death and resurrection sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father.”

God is revealing Himself. Will this fall on deaf ears? Do you have eyes but can not see? Do you have ears but can not hear? Maybe, it is not because of little faith but the lack of faith. I wonder!