22 April 2012

Topic: The True Heart of Jesus (Video Sermon)

Psalms 97:12
"Give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness".
We all give thanks when He is good. But why do we give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. The holiness when Jesus died on the cross. He met every single need of man. When He died for your sins, they already became the future because He transcends time. All the claims of God have already been answered. His holiness has already been vindicated at the cross. Righteousness and justice met and kissed at the cross.
Imagine you are the offender. Who needs to be satisfied? The offender or offender? Offended right?
Man has offended God's justice. Who should be satisfied of the injustice? Isn't it God? Then why do we have to satisfy ourselves?

Jesus says when He sees the blood, He will pass over you. He will not allow the destroyer to come to you. So we can see there is a destroyer. What does the blood on the door post mean? It means there is a death that has been paid. He will not allow the destroyer to come.

Under the law, you have to repent. But under grace, it leads the sinner to repentance. Look at the story of Peter on the boat sinking load of fishes. The moment he saw who Jesus was when He asked Peter to cast the nets down, he said, "Please depart from me, I am a sinful man". This goes to show His grace leads man to repentance. Peter has a conscious that was awaken. But he reasoned that God already knew who he was but yet He still boarded his boat.

Jesus shared the story of the prodigal son. Before the son came back, he reasoned himself and intended to say to his father that he has sinned against heaven and earth, he can't be his son and that he want to be his hired servant. But when he went home, his father ran to him, kissed him and asked for the best robe to be on him. The boy has no way to say those things he wanted to in front of so much grace. He would be so out of place if he were to say he wanted to be his hired servant wearing the best robe. He was filled with grace and he can't say that isn't it?
Imagine you are invited to a banquet, the worse thing you could do is to ask how much is it after the banquet right? The reason why people try to earn His grace is because they have not yet met grace.

The fear of the Lord is:
When Jesus was in the wilderness with the devil, he said to Jesus. If you would kneel before me, I will give you everything in this world. Jesus said, thou shall not worship other gods and worship Him alone. He was quoting this from Deuteronomy. If you go to Deuteronomy to read, it says to fear the Lord but Jesus interpreted it as worship.

Some things come by growth, not by beating. The pulpit is to feed, not to beat. In NCC, if a leader is caught in sin, he is confronted by 2 pastors. There are churches who go up the pulpit to slap other people just to slap one person. That pastor is timid.

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" in the bible is referring to Jeremiah 33:9. In this verse it is saying the people will fear and tremble for the goodness and prosperity of God has given.
Work out your salvation means that the salvation that God has given you works out something, equivalent to a talent. It does not mean to work for something. Just like Karen the keyboardist has a talent in writing music. It is the gift that God has given her that brings out the talent. If God does not give you this gift, you will not be able to work out this gift. Just like many of us do not have the gift of composing music but we have other gifts in us. That statement are misinterpreted in some churches.
In the new testament, Mark 5:33, she was fearing and trembling of something good that has happened to her. She was healed. (This was the story of the woman who was healed after touching the helm of Jesus gahment)

In closing,
Pastor reminds everyone never allow verses plugged out from the bible rob you of your joy in the verses.