Who is Jesus? I think at the heart of Christianity, and the most important question before we even come to believe in him, will be this: Who is he?
One of Jesus' biggest claims is this: he is the son of God. He was sent by His Father above. If anyone made those claims today, you can be sure he will be sent to IMH in no time. So what credentials does Jesus have in saying those loaded words and claims? Why are so many people convinced that he is God, not a lunatic? Or are we deluded and deceived?
In Luke chapter 3, some of those credentials were being recorded for us.
- 3:22 The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.
- and a voice came from heaven: "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
- 3:23-38 tracing his genealogy, Jesus was a descendent of David, of Abraham, of Adam and ultimately of God.
- 4:1-13 Jesus was the only person who resisted the temptations of Satan in the desert. He was perfect and sinless.
Why was Jesus sent to earth? What was his mission?
Jesus stated his mission explicitly in Luke chapter 4 that he was anointed by God to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind and to release the oppressed. In the Old Testament, the prophets have talked about such a person coming to bring freedom to God's people and Jesus is saying here that he is the one that fulfils the Old Testament prophecies.
It is interesting to note that Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed. It is unlikely that he meant these solely literally or many of us would not have been saved. But rather, the point here, and later in other parts of Luke, is that only those people who recognised their sinfulness and their need to be saved would respond to his offer of salvation and freedom. In addition to the physical freedom from poverty, illness and oppression that he claimed to bring, the underlying mission is to bring spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin which we are all under.
Despite his preaching of this good news, Jesus himself knew that many would come to reject him and his message, even among his own people, the Jews. Many would ask for him to perform miracles and signs, and yet many would not believe.
Isn't this true for us today? In the face of such good news, we choose to continue to give ourselves excuses and reasons why we cannot believe. We continue to ask for signs and miracles and choose to disbelieve when there are none of those. We choose to believe in these acts of miracles rather than in the person of Jesus Christ. We continue to doubt and question and ask for more evidence for his existence. And yet there are people, when thrown with all the evidence and proof, will choose to reject him..
My point is simple. God sent his son Jesus down only once to offer freedom and salvation to all who choose to hear him. And fortunately for us, this was recorded in the 4 gospels by his disciples. When we want to find out who Jesus is and what he came to do, we can look no further than the 4 gospels in the bible. There is no way for us to look elsewhere for answers or to look internally for our own human wisdom and understanding to decipher this mystery. Which is in fact no mystery at all..
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The best season in life
This is a sermon I typed out from about 2 weeks ago. I thought it was a pretty good sermon to share with you, especially for non-Christians, and it is one of the rare few sermons by Pastor Chris that are simple and short enough to be typed out and easier to understand for the uninitiated.
1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 8 to 10:
The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Pastor Chris:
"Life is about seasons. Good and bad seasons. Up and down seasons.
Here is an account of Christianity in Singapore. Story is about the Anglican bishop of Singapore called John Leonard Wilson during World War II in the 1940s. Bishop Wilson was jailed with 3000 others in Changi Prison by the Japanese. Once he was accused along with 56 others of plotting against the Japanese. So they were questioned and interrogated. He was kicked, punched, lashed and whipped 300 times until there was no more skin on his legs.
World War II ended. The prisoners were released. 2 years after the war ended, Bishop Wilson was conducting a baptism at the cathedral in town. From the corner of his eye, he saw this person come forward. He saw one of the Japanese officers who had tortured him come forward for baptism. Here are the words of Bishop Wilson,"I have seldom seen such great a change in a man."A person who was full of hatred and violence who lashed him and whipped him was now coming to him as a Christian, a convert to be baptised.
The best season in life for us is usually when something bad has ended. The best season is when something good has started. The message of Christianity is about the best season in life. Why so? Because our season of war with God has ended and our season of peace with God has begun. And how has that come about? It has come about because God has sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for us.
And this best season leads to changed people. And the truly changed people are believers in Jesus Christ. The believer in Jesus Christ has 3 main changes in his life.
Firstly, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9: "They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.." The first change is that we have "turned". The word "turn" means conversion. It means a decisive break from idols. And we ask: what is the difference between idols and the living and true God? And many of us who grow up like me in a multireligious setting may not know the difference.
It is a bit like this. You want to go buy a television set. Which should you choose? Samsung, LG, Sony. You want to buy a car. Hyundai, Kia, Toyota. There is no difference or not much difference. It is just a price difference or quality difference. Because at the end of the day, if you really think about it, it is simply a car. It is simply a televison set. But what Paul says here is different. He says it is not the same between idols and God. Idols are dead; God is living. Idols are false; God is real. Idols are human creations; God is the creator, the creator of the universe and the creator of you and me. There is a big difference. The first change in the believer is a decisive break from idols.
One of my relatives is now in his 70s. When he was younger, he was known to be rich, a playboy. He gambled. And he went from one place to another to pray, praying in Malaysia, praying in Thailand, praying anywhere he could find powerful idols. Then by God's grace, somebody shared Jesus with him. He believed and he got converted. You know how this relative now in his 70s now spends his days? He spends his days telling his friends over coffee, over tea, over meals, lunch and dinner, telling them,"Don't waste your time. Idols don't work." It is not that he is rude. But he has experienced being under the bondage , the slavery, the prison of believing in idols. And now he knows the difference between idols and God , and knowing this God personally.
Believers in Christ are people who have done a U-turn in their lives. We are previously going in one direction. We now realised our mistake and do a U-turn. We have turned from false gods and false hopes to the true and living God.
And we must say that an idol is anyone or anything who takes our right love and loyalty away from God. So some modern day idols, some modern day unseen idols could be obsession with money, obsession with sex, obsession with power, obsession with fame. Believers in Christ have made a decisive break from that. He (Paul) now says they have turned from that and turned to what? We turn to an active service of the true and living God.
So believers in Christ are not just U-turners, but we are servants of God. We are no longer servants of dead idols. We are no longer servants of ourselves as little gods.
Last week, our church ARPC took part in a national movement and the person who came was Richard Khalil as part of the Yellow Ribbon Project. The purpose of the Yeloow Ribbon Project is to help former drug addicts and former convicts assimilate into society. Many people came up to me after the service and said that Richard Khalil who shared about his former background and now his conversion and new life is very brave. Not easy to stand in front of people and tell them about your past, your sinful past.
Every single person who comes today for baptism or transfers (church was conducting baptisms and transfers that day) is saying to you: we all have a past. The past was when we served ourselves. And now we are servants of God.
Once I was talking to a parent whose son was on drugs. And he sadly said that his son was still on drugs. And I asked him,"What do you think is keeping him on the drugs?" And he said without hesitating,"It's just his selfishness. It's all about himself."
You know we have an advertisement on our television which basically ask how much do drugs cost. And basically it says taking drugs cost your job, your friends, your family and your life. The actual price of 1 shot may be 60 dollars, 80 dollars. I am not sure, I don't know. The price of it may be 60, 80, 100 dollars per shot but the cost of it is your family, your friends, your job, your life.
And so believers in Christ are saying: we have had enough of that (serving idols and serving ourselves). We are now no longer serving ourselves, we are no longer serving idols. We are serving the living and the true God.
There is a final change in the believer. And the final change is in verse 10: "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." Christians are not just servants of God, we are also "waiters". I do not mean waiters in a restaurant serving food but Christians and believers who patiently wait for Jesus to return. And Paul tells us 2 things about this Jesus who will return.
This son who will return was raised from the dead. Friends, let me ask you, have you met anybody last week who came back from the dead? I don't think so, right? Cos when you and I go to funerals, you expect to bury them, you expect to cremate them. They do not return from the dead. Paul tells us that Jesus is the one whom God has raised from the dead, which tells us that Jesus is the head of a new human race. He is the head of a new human race free from the power of sin, free from the power of death. This man does not die.
Second thing we need to know about Jesus is that he will rescue us from the coming wrath. Friends, how do you feel this Sunday morning? Some may be cold because of the air-conditioning. Some may be hungry because you didn't prepare in time to come here. You missed breakfast. I do not know how you feel this morning. But do you feel or think that God could be possibly angry with you? Do you realise that there is a possibility that God's wrath is upon you and me? The bible tells us that that is the case whether we feel it or not. And Jesus is the only person, it is called here, he is the only saviour who can rescue us from God's anger and God's rightful wrath.
We now live in the best season of human history. Why? We live in the best season of human history because God is offering us a rescue from our sin and from his wrath. And the rescue plan is Jesus as saviour and Lord.
People who believe in Jesus experience change in 3 ways. Firstly, a decisive break from the past idolatry. We turn from idols. Secondly, it is the present experience of serving God, no longer serving selves and serving idols. And thirdly, the 3rd change in the believer is a patient look to the future when Jesus will surely return. We are "waiters". That is why this is the best season of life necause it is the only time left for us to respond to God's offer of salvation.
May you come to believe in the Lord Jesus and experience this best season of your life for all eternity with God."
To listen or watch the sermon, go to http://www.arpc.net/sermons/index2006.htm, God for all seasons, Sep 24 2006, A Season for Retirees (wrong title I think)
1 Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 8 to 10:
The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Pastor Chris:
"Life is about seasons. Good and bad seasons. Up and down seasons.
Here is an account of Christianity in Singapore. Story is about the Anglican bishop of Singapore called John Leonard Wilson during World War II in the 1940s. Bishop Wilson was jailed with 3000 others in Changi Prison by the Japanese. Once he was accused along with 56 others of plotting against the Japanese. So they were questioned and interrogated. He was kicked, punched, lashed and whipped 300 times until there was no more skin on his legs.
World War II ended. The prisoners were released. 2 years after the war ended, Bishop Wilson was conducting a baptism at the cathedral in town. From the corner of his eye, he saw this person come forward. He saw one of the Japanese officers who had tortured him come forward for baptism. Here are the words of Bishop Wilson,"I have seldom seen such great a change in a man."A person who was full of hatred and violence who lashed him and whipped him was now coming to him as a Christian, a convert to be baptised.
The best season in life for us is usually when something bad has ended. The best season is when something good has started. The message of Christianity is about the best season in life. Why so? Because our season of war with God has ended and our season of peace with God has begun. And how has that come about? It has come about because God has sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for us.
And this best season leads to changed people. And the truly changed people are believers in Jesus Christ. The believer in Jesus Christ has 3 main changes in his life.
Firstly, 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9: "They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.." The first change is that we have "turned". The word "turn" means conversion. It means a decisive break from idols. And we ask: what is the difference between idols and the living and true God? And many of us who grow up like me in a multireligious setting may not know the difference.
It is a bit like this. You want to go buy a television set. Which should you choose? Samsung, LG, Sony. You want to buy a car. Hyundai, Kia, Toyota. There is no difference or not much difference. It is just a price difference or quality difference. Because at the end of the day, if you really think about it, it is simply a car. It is simply a televison set. But what Paul says here is different. He says it is not the same between idols and God. Idols are dead; God is living. Idols are false; God is real. Idols are human creations; God is the creator, the creator of the universe and the creator of you and me. There is a big difference. The first change in the believer is a decisive break from idols.
One of my relatives is now in his 70s. When he was younger, he was known to be rich, a playboy. He gambled. And he went from one place to another to pray, praying in Malaysia, praying in Thailand, praying anywhere he could find powerful idols. Then by God's grace, somebody shared Jesus with him. He believed and he got converted. You know how this relative now in his 70s now spends his days? He spends his days telling his friends over coffee, over tea, over meals, lunch and dinner, telling them,"Don't waste your time. Idols don't work." It is not that he is rude. But he has experienced being under the bondage , the slavery, the prison of believing in idols. And now he knows the difference between idols and God , and knowing this God personally.
Believers in Christ are people who have done a U-turn in their lives. We are previously going in one direction. We now realised our mistake and do a U-turn. We have turned from false gods and false hopes to the true and living God.
And we must say that an idol is anyone or anything who takes our right love and loyalty away from God. So some modern day idols, some modern day unseen idols could be obsession with money, obsession with sex, obsession with power, obsession with fame. Believers in Christ have made a decisive break from that. He (Paul) now says they have turned from that and turned to what? We turn to an active service of the true and living God.
So believers in Christ are not just U-turners, but we are servants of God. We are no longer servants of dead idols. We are no longer servants of ourselves as little gods.
Last week, our church ARPC took part in a national movement and the person who came was Richard Khalil as part of the Yellow Ribbon Project. The purpose of the Yeloow Ribbon Project is to help former drug addicts and former convicts assimilate into society. Many people came up to me after the service and said that Richard Khalil who shared about his former background and now his conversion and new life is very brave. Not easy to stand in front of people and tell them about your past, your sinful past.
Every single person who comes today for baptism or transfers (church was conducting baptisms and transfers that day) is saying to you: we all have a past. The past was when we served ourselves. And now we are servants of God.
Once I was talking to a parent whose son was on drugs. And he sadly said that his son was still on drugs. And I asked him,"What do you think is keeping him on the drugs?" And he said without hesitating,"It's just his selfishness. It's all about himself."
You know we have an advertisement on our television which basically ask how much do drugs cost. And basically it says taking drugs cost your job, your friends, your family and your life. The actual price of 1 shot may be 60 dollars, 80 dollars. I am not sure, I don't know. The price of it may be 60, 80, 100 dollars per shot but the cost of it is your family, your friends, your job, your life.
And so believers in Christ are saying: we have had enough of that (serving idols and serving ourselves). We are now no longer serving ourselves, we are no longer serving idols. We are serving the living and the true God.
There is a final change in the believer. And the final change is in verse 10: "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." Christians are not just servants of God, we are also "waiters". I do not mean waiters in a restaurant serving food but Christians and believers who patiently wait for Jesus to return. And Paul tells us 2 things about this Jesus who will return.
This son who will return was raised from the dead. Friends, let me ask you, have you met anybody last week who came back from the dead? I don't think so, right? Cos when you and I go to funerals, you expect to bury them, you expect to cremate them. They do not return from the dead. Paul tells us that Jesus is the one whom God has raised from the dead, which tells us that Jesus is the head of a new human race. He is the head of a new human race free from the power of sin, free from the power of death. This man does not die.
Second thing we need to know about Jesus is that he will rescue us from the coming wrath. Friends, how do you feel this Sunday morning? Some may be cold because of the air-conditioning. Some may be hungry because you didn't prepare in time to come here. You missed breakfast. I do not know how you feel this morning. But do you feel or think that God could be possibly angry with you? Do you realise that there is a possibility that God's wrath is upon you and me? The bible tells us that that is the case whether we feel it or not. And Jesus is the only person, it is called here, he is the only saviour who can rescue us from God's anger and God's rightful wrath.
We now live in the best season of human history. Why? We live in the best season of human history because God is offering us a rescue from our sin and from his wrath. And the rescue plan is Jesus as saviour and Lord.
People who believe in Jesus experience change in 3 ways. Firstly, a decisive break from the past idolatry. We turn from idols. Secondly, it is the present experience of serving God, no longer serving selves and serving idols. And thirdly, the 3rd change in the believer is a patient look to the future when Jesus will surely return. We are "waiters". That is why this is the best season of life necause it is the only time left for us to respond to God's offer of salvation.
May you come to believe in the Lord Jesus and experience this best season of your life for all eternity with God."
To listen or watch the sermon, go to http://www.arpc.net/sermons/index2006.htm, God for all seasons, Sep 24 2006, A Season for Retirees (wrong title I think)
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