Hey guys,
The church I am attending here in Tasmania, Sandy Bay Baptist Church, has posted their sermons on their website as either downloadable or streaming format. Please take a look. -> http://sbbc.net/sermons.php
Jerry
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
I have a love issue : God asks us to love one another. How?
I just want to share on something that I strongly believe. I have a love issue to confess.
I think most of us would probably be sure of the ten commandments (Exodus 20) and also the most important commandment from Jesus Christ (Matt 22:36-40, Matt 5:43-44, John 13:34). It is to love your neighbour like yourself, love your enemy like yourself and most importantly love everyone else just like how Jesus love us.
I thought about it long ago, why does the Lord love us so much? What is it in human that the Lord values us so much? The concept of love from the Lord I believe is not the human concept of liking, not about features, appearance and nice moments. I think it's by the Lord's grace that I have understood that the Lord treasures us so much because of human's great propensity to love. Human having to be made in the likeness of the Lord (Genesis 1:26) has this propensity to love one another. This is what I believe is how humans are different from animals.
But why is it so hard for me to love one another? What about people who treated me badly? This I believe is due our physical body having the propensity to sin. That sin and our bad physical behaviour drove our friends away and increased our hate for some of the people around us. Jesus Christ and the Father definitely have understood this from the beginning. The good news is that our Lord has made it in the last days, for believers who are either dead or alive to be given a redeemed body (Ezekiel 39:9-10) (redeem = purchase of God). It is a perfect body that cannot sin and allows our inner soul to love one another even more. And even as I write about this, I know in my mind that this day will be such a joyous moment.
Why is this so important to us. I believe for many people, including myself, there is a love issue. How do we love one another? It is important that when we do not like anyone, we must understand that is a problem with sin and that sin is the problem between the sinners and God. If someone has treated me badly, I should not be affected because it is his sin ,not mine. Instead, it is important that we value people just as Jesus Christ valued us. God so loved us that He sent His son to die for us and to wash away our sins (John 3:16). We have to love one another because we have the ability to love and to care for one another, not only in humanly sense but also in spiritual sense. We have to love one another because eventually we would have to spend an eternity to love each other in the kindgom of God in the near future. How would that kingdom of God be different from any nation we have in the world now if there is no strong loving bonds between one another?
For this, I pray for New Wave Church just as I have prayed every night for New Wave Church; for everyone of us to have good fellowship with each other. I acknowledge the fact it is you guys(Yingxuan, Yinghan, Paul, Eric, Huiling, Angelina, Jessica, Hansel, Stephanie and all the rest in New Wave Church) that has brought me into faith, into the dwelling of Jesus. Without the love and warmth from you guys, I would not have been redeemed in the first place. Without the day that you guys shake my hand to congratulate me for having to have confessed my faith, I would have been a lifeless soul. I know that for whatever reason that people have left New Wave Church, I pray for you guys to not stop pursuing God, His word, His Gospel and not stop loving one another. And of course, when I come back to Singapore, I want to see all of you. I really miss all of you... ...
Jerry
I think most of us would probably be sure of the ten commandments (Exodus 20) and also the most important commandment from Jesus Christ (Matt 22:36-40, Matt 5:43-44, John 13:34). It is to love your neighbour like yourself, love your enemy like yourself and most importantly love everyone else just like how Jesus love us.
I thought about it long ago, why does the Lord love us so much? What is it in human that the Lord values us so much? The concept of love from the Lord I believe is not the human concept of liking, not about features, appearance and nice moments. I think it's by the Lord's grace that I have understood that the Lord treasures us so much because of human's great propensity to love. Human having to be made in the likeness of the Lord (Genesis 1:26) has this propensity to love one another. This is what I believe is how humans are different from animals.
But why is it so hard for me to love one another? What about people who treated me badly? This I believe is due our physical body having the propensity to sin. That sin and our bad physical behaviour drove our friends away and increased our hate for some of the people around us. Jesus Christ and the Father definitely have understood this from the beginning. The good news is that our Lord has made it in the last days, for believers who are either dead or alive to be given a redeemed body (Ezekiel 39:9-10) (redeem = purchase of God). It is a perfect body that cannot sin and allows our inner soul to love one another even more. And even as I write about this, I know in my mind that this day will be such a joyous moment.
Why is this so important to us. I believe for many people, including myself, there is a love issue. How do we love one another? It is important that when we do not like anyone, we must understand that is a problem with sin and that sin is the problem between the sinners and God. If someone has treated me badly, I should not be affected because it is his sin ,not mine. Instead, it is important that we value people just as Jesus Christ valued us. God so loved us that He sent His son to die for us and to wash away our sins (John 3:16). We have to love one another because we have the ability to love and to care for one another, not only in humanly sense but also in spiritual sense. We have to love one another because eventually we would have to spend an eternity to love each other in the kindgom of God in the near future. How would that kingdom of God be different from any nation we have in the world now if there is no strong loving bonds between one another?
For this, I pray for New Wave Church just as I have prayed every night for New Wave Church; for everyone of us to have good fellowship with each other. I acknowledge the fact it is you guys(Yingxuan, Yinghan, Paul, Eric, Huiling, Angelina, Jessica, Hansel, Stephanie and all the rest in New Wave Church) that has brought me into faith, into the dwelling of Jesus. Without the love and warmth from you guys, I would not have been redeemed in the first place. Without the day that you guys shake my hand to congratulate me for having to have confessed my faith, I would have been a lifeless soul. I know that for whatever reason that people have left New Wave Church, I pray for you guys to not stop pursuing God, His word, His Gospel and not stop loving one another. And of course, when I come back to Singapore, I want to see all of you. I really miss all of you... ...
Jerry
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