The Beatitudes

I consider the beatitudes as one complicated sermon. Having heard of it a couple of times in previous bible studies, I have always wanted a better understanding and a deeper knowledge
on what a true Christian attitude ought to be.


v.3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
-they are the ones who do not depend upon themselves but rather in everything that they do, in every aspect of their lives, they always depend on God.


v.4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
- it is not enough that we promise not to do the wrong things that we've done and after a few months, we go back to our sinful ways. These who mourn are the people who are truly repentant of the sins that they have committed.

v.5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
- Oftentimes, when people have wronged us we want them to correct the things that they have done - sometimes, we even want to get even.
In life, we should learn to acknowledge those who are better than us and not be in competition with them. we must learn to be humble and take a step back when we view others,
not having a proud spirit/attitude toward them.

v.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled
- We should seek after spiritual things in life. Indeed the world is not fair and life in this world isnt fair either but everything will be when we reach the kingdom of heaven.

v.7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy
- these are the people who extend compassion to others just as God had given us mercy.
How we treat those people who do not have use to us is a good gauge whether we are compassionate towards others.


v.8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
- As Christians, we should continue to acknowledge that we are sinful and the we need the Lord's forgiveness for our sins.

v.9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Sons of God
- we should be replicating Jesus the prince of peace. Being peacemakers, it is not necessary that we reconcile with our enemies or we reconcile people who doesn't get along but rather is it also bringing Jesus
in their lives for them to realize that God is the only one who brings true peace in their hearts.

v. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom if heaven.
- We should be reminded that living a Christian life in this world is difficult, there are a lot of challenges that we have to face. When we do good in the eyes of God, we are ridiculed by the people around us - it's ok, because great is your reward in heaven.

Sermon and Message by Reverend Steve
Grace Christian Church, Sunday, October 18, 2009

Driving Through Fog

Golden gate bridge is a famous suspension bridge located in San Francisco. Other than the bridge itself, the flow of summer fog through the bridge makes the view more spectacular.

The fog however, sometimes get so thick that you barely see through anything further that a foot from your eyes. Faith, is actually driving on a bridge with heavy fog while desiring to go to the other end.

When burdens and trials are so heavy and you can't see what lies ahead of you, do you go back? Wait for the fog to disappear? Or, you drive through it with faith?

II Kings 8: 1-6 tells us the story of the Elisha speaking to the woman who son he restored to life. She was asked to leave their household because of a famine that was about to come for seven years.

She went away and did according to the saying of the man of God and dwelt in the land of the Philistines. After 7 years, the woman returned and discovered that someone has already taken over her house.

She made an appeal to the king for her house and land. When the king found out who she was (woman whose son Elisha restored to life), the king immediately restored what was hers and all the proceeds of the fields from the day she left until she returned.

The story is an illustration of our daily walk with God, sometimes we don't understand why things happen - in this case the woman who followed God to leave and upon returning, finds out that somebody has taken over her place.
The woman wasn't sure what was ahead of her when she left her home - but still, she followed God.

It's actually when you cannot see what lies ahead that you cling on to God.

when you turn back, you cannot see the glory that awaits on the other side of the bridge.
when you continue to drive through the heavy fog, you will experience the anticipation of seeing how God will work it out in the end.

Joruney to God: Challenges

Message taken from the book of Hebrews
-Sermon and Message from Rev. Anthony Co Hao


Road signs are basic guides that we should follow when driving. Ignoring these would lead motorists to danger and sometimes tragedy.

As Christians and passers-by here on earth, we should also be following a series of road signs to be able to safely reach our destination. We should be well-aware of the dangers that we may encounter along the way.

What are the dangers of Pilgrim Life?

I, Drifting (Hebrews 2:1)
This occurs to those who are careless and those who care less and less about God. This is associated to those people who are disinterested in growing in God.

Oftentimes, this happens slowly and by the time that you realize it, its already too late and you are already far away from God.


II, Doubting (Hebrews 3:12)
This usually occurs to those "spiritual spoiled brats" who already has everything and yet they were never contented -- they always want more!

A note: When you hear God's voice, do not harden you're heart but be grateful to God for everything that He has done in our lives.

In spite of being paralyzed neck down when she was young, Johnny Ericsson thanks God that she is still able to share God's Word and be an inspiration to every Christian.

III, Dullness (Hebrews 5:11)
This happens when people become lazy to learn and grow in their Christian life. A good illustration of this would be children not wanting to learn algebra but would settle to the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division because they feel that these basics are the only ones that they need in life.

When we hear God's Word and we learn something from church, we should apply it in our Christian life

IV, Disregarding (Hebrews 10:26, 35)
This is when we ignore what Jesus has done for us. It’s His sacrifice in the cross for our sins

We must not throw away our confidence - God - in our lives. We should be able to include Him in all aspects of our lives.


V, Denying (Hebrews 12:25)
Of all the dangers, this is considered to be the worst and this occurs when one declines, refuses or rejects God.
A lot of Christians in the Bible went far from God, but when God reached out to help them, they didn't refuse Him and they came back to Him.

Our journey here on earth will never be smooth all the way. Surely, there will be bumps and trials along the way. But, through following proper road signs and guidance from His Word, we will be able to reach our destination safely.

Journey to God

"A Call to Pilgrim Life" taken from Hebrew 13:13-14
-Sermon and Message from Rev. Anthony Co Hao

Pilgrim
> Defined as is a person who undertakes a pilgrimage.
> This is usually visit to a place of some religious significance according to the dictionary.
> As Christians, our pilgrim life is actually a Journey to God.

I, Being a Pilgrim 101
A good example of how to be a pilgrim is found in Hebrews 13:13-14.
v. 13 "Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore"

Jesus suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem to die on the cross for our sins. As Christians, we are faced with a lot of challenges in life but, we should be able to suffer for Christ and to act like Him.

A good example for this would be the story of Steven Curtis Chapman when a tragendy occurred in the family. His 5-year old daughter died when his son accidentally ran over her as he backed their car out of their driveway. As they were rushing little Maria to the hospital, As Steven was leaving to follow the ambulance where little Maria was in, he then called his son and told him "Son, your father loves you!"

How many parents can manage to do that? But here, he managed to be like Christ. It is really difficult in this world, especially in this modern day to be like Him. But, as Christians, we should be able to stand out and let the crowd know that we are His children through our actions.

II, We are just passing through Earth
v. 14 "For here we do not have an enduring city but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Our present life here on earth is only temporary, oftentimes we get too comfortable with the things we have that we forget that we're only passing through.

As Christians, we should let God reign in our lives (in every aspect). There may be a number of hindrances in our lives, but we should be able to surrender it all to God.

Following Jesus The Right Way

"7 Requirements of Following Jesus" taken from Luke 5:1-11
-Sermon and Message from Rev. Isiah Tingson


I, Hear God's Word
To be able to know God fully, we should be able to read the Bible. Attending worship service also helps us to better understand the scriptures.
The China experience of Rev. Tingson serves as a good example of what Christian attitude should be in Church:
1. Instead of sitting at the back, they would all come early just to be able to seat in front near the pulpit.
2. The congregation would bring their own stool to sit and they would not even complain even if it’s hot inside the church
3. They don't have powerpoint presentations BUT, they take down everything that the preacher is preaching
4. They don't come late in church and they didn't mind even of they stayed for long hours to listen to the sermon.

Their zealousness to listen to God's Word should be followed by all Christians around the world.


II, Allow God to use you
In the passage, Simon had his own boat. This is where he stays all the time -- his livelihood is in this boat and everything else he has is in this boat.

Like Simon, each one of us has his/her own boat. It may be our family, work, business, profession - but we must be able to use it for God's purpose.

There is a Chinese saying that goes… "Lao Lo, bo tong ying…" [fookien] ("I'm old, I'm useless...") but in God's eyes, there is no young or old, we can all be used by God.


III, From "Please" to "Go"
Oftentimes, we Christians are shy towards certain circumstances to the point that our fellow Christians would request us to do something before we take action.

We should change our attitude them inviting us to being proactive towards serving Christ.

IV, Following God and Experiencing His Reality
Jesus told Simon to go to the deeper and cast down their nets. Simon being a fisherman told Him that it is impossible for them to catch fish because they haven't got any since that morning. But because it was Jesus' command, he will follow.

Indeed there was a great number of fish and their net was breaking.

By following God's commands, He will truly bless us and He will show you what He can do.

V, Following Jesus through help of spiritual partners.
When Simon was able to catch a great number of fish, his net was breaking so he had to signal his partners so they could help.

In our everyday walk with God, we need spiritual partners to encourage us in times of trials, to pray for us in times of need and to rejoice with is on happy times.


VI, Know Yourself
Knowing your strong points and weak points will actually help you grow more in Christ. You are your greatest enemy.

VII, Be fishers of Men
As Christians, we should be leading people to Christ. This is our calling. This is our duty.

One Way

"Jesus, Word of God" taken from John 1
-Sermon and Message from Rev. Vince Burke

The Message of this sermon focused on understanding and knowing who Jesus is.

I, Jesus is the God of the Universe
He preceded the universe - Jesus being born in Bethlehem is not the time that He existed, but it was only the time He took human form.

He created the universe - Darwin mentioned in his theory of evolution that matter, when broken in its smallest particle, would be in its simplest form.

Current studies by scientists shows however that matter, when broken in its smallest particle, is very much complex.

“Like a watch who has a watchmaker, so does the earth who has a creator.”

II, Jesus is the Lord of Life

There is only one way, one truth and life and that is Jesus Christ.

ALL roads CANNOT lead to God because there is only one way to Him and that is through accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

Practically speaking, we cannot say that all roads will lead to say, Tagaytay, because if that were case, there would be confusion.


III, Jesus is the Savoiur of sinners

Only through the shedding of blood will the sins of the world be taken away and this was Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.


What will you do with Jesus?
As believers,

1. Witness - tell the good news to people. Tell them what you know about Jesus Christ.
2. Worship - let us continue worshiping and giving praise to God.

As seekers,
1. Receive - receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Jesus continuously knocks, but only you can open the door of your heart to let Him in.

Peek-a-Boo!

The title of the sermon yesterday at church was about "open you eyes and see!" This was taken from II Kings 6:8-23
It was interesting way on how Pastor Stephen used the concept of the Peek-a-boo game for babies as an introduction for this sermon.

Thinking about it, the said baby-game is so simple and yet kids are happy whenever their parents play peek-a-boo with them. Perhaps, there is something more significant than the game itself.

I. Background (vv8-15)
-The king of Syria was making war against Israel and he informed his servants that his camp will be at this place.
-Elisha went to the king of Israel and told him that Syrians are in this place and them to avoid the place.
-The king of Syria was troubled because the King of Israel knew where his camp was
-Servant of the king of Syria told him that it was Elisha the prophet who knew what he (Syrian King) speaks of even inside his own bedroom.
-King of Syria wanted Elisha captured so he sent horses, chariots and army to seek him

II. See the Protection of God (vv 14-17)
-When the servant of Elisha has awoken, he saw the Syrian army surrounding them
-With the words that he uttered, you can easily conclude that he is afraid and worried because of the huge army about to attack them
-Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of the young man
-The Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw the army of the Living God greater than the army that has surrounded them
-These were composed of the angels that have been protecting Elisha

III. See the Power of God (vv 18)
-When Syrians were coming down to get them, Elisha prayed that the Lord strike them with blindness, and it was so.

From here we can see that God never leaves His children. Like what Pastor Stephen mentioned, “There are no “IFs” in God’s worlds, but our safety is always the center of His will. Like a father to his child, God will never abandon us, especially in time of need. True power and protection is through God alone.

IV. See the Sovereignity of God (vv. 19-20)
-When the Syrians were blinded, Elisha led them to Samaria (enemies) and then opened their eyes.


Peek-a-boo is a kid's game which actually reminds us that we should try to open our eyes a little bit more like toddlers for us to see the greater things that God has given us.

-Sermon and Message from Pastor Stephen Tan

Everyday Faith

The topic of the sermon yesterday at church was "Faith in Everyday Life" taken from II Kings. There were a few points I've learned that I should be applying in my everyday walk with God that i wanted to share...

God works in our everyday life
Even in our smallest problems, He is always there. Even in the simplest things in our life, God is in control and we should be thankful that are able to get through each day.

As Christians, we should be talking to God on a daily basis -- not only when problems arise. God allows us to have trials in our lives not because He wants us to suffer but He wanted us to grow.

Never think that God never listens to the little problems that we have. God is never too busy for us. Like a father to his children, God will never leave us in the midst of our problems be it great or small.


God Takes care of your daily needs
Like what the Bible has mentioned in Matthew 6:25-34 "God takes care of the lilies and the birds, so He will take care of his children."

Pastor Stephen mentioned that we live in a buffet generation. We wanted to get our money's worth so, we tend to not eat breakfast nor lunch so we could eat a lot when the buffet meal comes. It's true that even though our stomach ached because of the amount of food that we ate, we are satisfied in a way because we got the value of the money we paid for.

A plate of food is actually enough for us but we always wanted more... As our Father, God will always provide for our needs -- never too much never too little. Oftentimes, most of us are not contented and want more, just like a buffet meal. I myself is not exempted of that but we should learn to be contented and be thankful for the things that God has provided for us.

As Christians we should be living a Christ-like life even though it is difficult in this generation AND we should be ambassadors of Christ to our community of unbelievers.

-Sermon and Message from Pastor Stephen Tan