Those symbols from the rituals in the Old Testament points to our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. A continuation message from yesterday message Symbols, Shadows, Savior.
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Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Symbols, Shadows, Savior Part1
Today's message is about Symbols, Shadows, Savior. How did God see forgiveness? How did the people of the Old Testament avail forgiveness of sins? How did the people of the New Testament avail forgiveness of sins?
Just in case you cannot view this message due to limitation of our storage in Podbean.com you can e-mail us and request for the message title you want. Please make sure to write your name when you request to davaochinesebaptistchurch@gmail.com.
Just in case you cannot view this message due to limitation of our storage in Podbean.com you can e-mail us and request for the message title you want. Please make sure to write your name when you request to davaochinesebaptistchurch@gmail.com.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A GRACE AWAKENED THANKSGIVING
By: Rev. Arnel Tan
“Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does this foreigner return to give glory to God?” Luke 17:17-18 NLT
The question of Christ asking for the whereabouts of the other nine former lepers does not only reveal the heart of Christ about thanksgiving, it also reveals something about the one who returned. So far what we have about the leper that returned is that he is a Samaritan, or what they call half breed. It is also recorded that he expressed his faith in Christ as he openly shouted his praise and how he fell face on the ground as he worshiped Christ. I am sure there are more remarkable things we can see about this encounter with Christ, what is striking to me is the leper did not offer any answer to Jesus’ question “where are the other nine?
The Samaritan lepers silence indicates of an awakening of grace in his heart. His kind of thanksgiving is awakened by grace! His silence over what could be a chance of building his image over the obvious thankless lepers speaks of something only the grace of God can do, and that is to awaken a heart to grace. Though he was not intimidated by his “scandalous” kind of thanksgiving, he exercised restraint in making a comment about other lepers. Perhaps he was too focused on Christ that the weaknesses of others were set aside. Or maybe he was too overwhelmed by grace that he has no time to comment on others.
A grace awakened gratitude is truly attractive because it is expressed in faith. It is this kind of faith that comes from a broken heart is most acceptable to God. Remember Jesus did not say “your faith made you well” to the other lepers, he only said it to this foreigner. Though not explicit in the text I see these signs of grace from the heart of a thankful leper. A grace awakened heart does not compare, it is also aware that he is not in the contest of who is most thankful. Absolutely no signs of competition in him, it was all done for the glory of God. Observe further that a heart who is grace filled is not condemning or controlling. The high light of this kind of thanksgiving is that it is grace based and it was express in faith.
The ultimate question I think is not whether we give thanks or not rather is our thanksgiving God honoring? The final verdict is from Christ, and from what we read in the story it was faith not loudness of voice nor posture that Christ honored. Is our thanksgiving today expressed in faith? Are the signs of grace seen by the way we express our thanks to God. What a great pressure is released when we become people who by the grace of God refuse to unfairly compare with others and deliberately restrain ourselves from competing with other former lepers. Our response to God’s grace is thanksgiving, it is His job to give the verdict.
“Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does this foreigner return to give glory to God?” Luke 17:17-18 NLT
The question of Christ asking for the whereabouts of the other nine former lepers does not only reveal the heart of Christ about thanksgiving, it also reveals something about the one who returned. So far what we have about the leper that returned is that he is a Samaritan, or what they call half breed. It is also recorded that he expressed his faith in Christ as he openly shouted his praise and how he fell face on the ground as he worshiped Christ. I am sure there are more remarkable things we can see about this encounter with Christ, what is striking to me is the leper did not offer any answer to Jesus’ question “where are the other nine?
The Samaritan lepers silence indicates of an awakening of grace in his heart. His kind of thanksgiving is awakened by grace! His silence over what could be a chance of building his image over the obvious thankless lepers speaks of something only the grace of God can do, and that is to awaken a heart to grace. Though he was not intimidated by his “scandalous” kind of thanksgiving, he exercised restraint in making a comment about other lepers. Perhaps he was too focused on Christ that the weaknesses of others were set aside. Or maybe he was too overwhelmed by grace that he has no time to comment on others.
A grace awakened gratitude is truly attractive because it is expressed in faith. It is this kind of faith that comes from a broken heart is most acceptable to God. Remember Jesus did not say “your faith made you well” to the other lepers, he only said it to this foreigner. Though not explicit in the text I see these signs of grace from the heart of a thankful leper. A grace awakened heart does not compare, it is also aware that he is not in the contest of who is most thankful. Absolutely no signs of competition in him, it was all done for the glory of God. Observe further that a heart who is grace filled is not condemning or controlling. The high light of this kind of thanksgiving is that it is grace based and it was express in faith.
The ultimate question I think is not whether we give thanks or not rather is our thanksgiving God honoring? The final verdict is from Christ, and from what we read in the story it was faith not loudness of voice nor posture that Christ honored. Is our thanksgiving today expressed in faith? Are the signs of grace seen by the way we express our thanks to God. What a great pressure is released when we become people who by the grace of God refuse to unfairly compare with others and deliberately restrain ourselves from competing with other former lepers. Our response to God’s grace is thanksgiving, it is His job to give the verdict.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Incense of Insult
By: Rev. Arnel Tan
“…..In this way they disobeyed the LORD by burning before him a different kind of than he had commanded.” Leviticus 10:1b NLT
Incense is supposed to be symbols of our worship and prayers that we offer to the Lord. It is done for the glory of God and it is a sweet aroma unto the Lord. This also symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ who’s sacrifice at the cross is a sweet aroma to the Father. When Nadab and Abihu mixed strange element other than what the Lord requires what is supposed to be an incense of worship became an insult. Here we ask the question what went wrong? What grievous sin did they commit that made them pay for their lives?
The sin that Aaron’s son committed in man’s eyes would be no big deal but in the eyes of God it’s a big deal. God’s wrath was unleashed and their burned cadavers brought a deep sense of fear among the priest of Israel. They did not commit an honest mistake rather they disobeyed God! Their being creative went too far, it has crossed the line, between creativity to blasphemy. This is the sin of familiarity where God is taken lightly and His commands are not taken seriously.
The true worship of God is both intimate and reverent; it is a mixture of fellowship or communion and also of fear. When our worship of God is not founded on the fear of God it will not enjoy the friendship and favor of God. Remember the sin of familiarity is not committed by pagans but by God’s Priests! Those ones who enjoyed unique spiritual privileges in serving God in this temple and are entrusted with the secrets of the Almighty are in great danger of committing this sin. It is not only of the Old Testament priests or prophets this is also true to any believe today.
How is this sin committed? I think this sin subtly starts to bud when we have made self as the center of worship, and convenience as our goal to worship. In other words it is no longer about God. The desire to be emotionally feeling good and the “cleverness” to do some short cuts become the goal of worshipers and those who lead them to worship. When God is not first the pressure to find new things to make things appealing to the flesh is tremendous. When ministers are bored in doing their duties and the congregation is in a hurry to finish the weekly rituals of worship, the sin of familiarity steps in.
It is in this context that God need to introduce Himself in such a way that refreshes us of His Holiness and revives the fear of the Lord in our hearts. Each time we gather for worship do we really believe that God is present? His Presence brings freedom as well as fire. Pleasure and punishment at the same time is at hand every time we worship God. Thank God that occurrence such as this does not happen every Sunday, this is grace to give us space to fear again. The next time we treat God lightly, the next time we become obstacle in the path of which God is greatly glorified be reminded of this story. Let incenses of praise and prayer be sweet smelling to God, and nothing is so sweet in the courts of God than a broken spirit and a contrite heart. This is the offering He will not despise.
“…..In this way they disobeyed the LORD by burning before him a different kind of than he had commanded.” Leviticus 10:1b NLT
Incense is supposed to be symbols of our worship and prayers that we offer to the Lord. It is done for the glory of God and it is a sweet aroma unto the Lord. This also symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ who’s sacrifice at the cross is a sweet aroma to the Father. When Nadab and Abihu mixed strange element other than what the Lord requires what is supposed to be an incense of worship became an insult. Here we ask the question what went wrong? What grievous sin did they commit that made them pay for their lives?
The sin that Aaron’s son committed in man’s eyes would be no big deal but in the eyes of God it’s a big deal. God’s wrath was unleashed and their burned cadavers brought a deep sense of fear among the priest of Israel. They did not commit an honest mistake rather they disobeyed God! Their being creative went too far, it has crossed the line, between creativity to blasphemy. This is the sin of familiarity where God is taken lightly and His commands are not taken seriously.
The true worship of God is both intimate and reverent; it is a mixture of fellowship or communion and also of fear. When our worship of God is not founded on the fear of God it will not enjoy the friendship and favor of God. Remember the sin of familiarity is not committed by pagans but by God’s Priests! Those ones who enjoyed unique spiritual privileges in serving God in this temple and are entrusted with the secrets of the Almighty are in great danger of committing this sin. It is not only of the Old Testament priests or prophets this is also true to any believe today.
How is this sin committed? I think this sin subtly starts to bud when we have made self as the center of worship, and convenience as our goal to worship. In other words it is no longer about God. The desire to be emotionally feeling good and the “cleverness” to do some short cuts become the goal of worshipers and those who lead them to worship. When God is not first the pressure to find new things to make things appealing to the flesh is tremendous. When ministers are bored in doing their duties and the congregation is in a hurry to finish the weekly rituals of worship, the sin of familiarity steps in.
It is in this context that God need to introduce Himself in such a way that refreshes us of His Holiness and revives the fear of the Lord in our hearts. Each time we gather for worship do we really believe that God is present? His Presence brings freedom as well as fire. Pleasure and punishment at the same time is at hand every time we worship God. Thank God that occurrence such as this does not happen every Sunday, this is grace to give us space to fear again. The next time we treat God lightly, the next time we become obstacle in the path of which God is greatly glorified be reminded of this story. Let incenses of praise and prayer be sweet smelling to God, and nothing is so sweet in the courts of God than a broken spirit and a contrite heart. This is the offering He will not despise.
Friday, November 19, 2010
STRAIGHT FROM MY HEART
I hope it does not sound like heresy to you when I say’ I’m so glad I am only preaching once today!’ I look forward to taking an unhurried breakfast after this 7am service. I can smell the fresh coffee at Mcdonalds’ and my breakfast favorite- sausage mc muffin (without egg) and hash brown ( I like gravy on it). After that I look forward to spending the whole day and have an overnight stay at Eden. I am thankful that my wife allowed me to be away for a night just to get some much needed solitude and sleep. I am also grateful to you folks for your grace . . . allowing me to stretch a little bit. It’s so rare that I feel this holy joy of only preaching once today.
Thanks to Pastor Cezil Perales who will take my place at 10am and to Pastor Dino Fajardo, a young prayeful man of God, pastor of Kinuskusan Baptist Church in Bansalan, who will be preaching for the rest of the 2 services in the afternoon and evening. Thanks to my co workers for filling-in the ministry this Sunday, so I can have this rest. Hmmm, let me see, last week we had baptism during our prayer meeting and I had a wedding yesterday…thank God, today I can rest. Next Sunday I will be in Iloilo with my family to preach in my former church, now called New Life Christian Fellowship. This trip is also rare since my whole family will be with me. Lord-willing, I will be back on Dec 1, 2010, ready for our prayer meeting.
Let us pray for our coming ‘Dawn Christmas prayer meeting’ which starts on December 21-25. It will begin at exactly 5am to 6am, after which we will all enjoy simple breakfast coffee and food. Consider this as a meaningful way of celebrating the season of Christmas… a time to be silent and a time to savor the presence of the Savior! Come with a heart ready to pray and commune with Jesus. Don’t let activity overwhelm our celebration of nativity. Wait for the next edition of “straight from my heart” for more prayer-filled activity this Christmas. Come and be blessed.
Again, thank you for your grace, allowing me space to enjoy hash brown today… without rush. I am sure God has something to say to all of us this day through prayer and the preaching of His words. I truly need your prayer for wisdom, humility and discernment as I pray and prepare for the coming season of Christmas. Thanks to all of you who are so gracious to me and my family. By the way, keep sending us your help so we can buy more “Our Daily Bread” devotionals for the 6,000-plus public school teachers in the city. Please don’t give if you have not prayed about this first. The generosity of many of you has blessed my heart seeing how God is honored in our sharing!
I can smell coffee brewing now!
Joyfully,
REV. ARNEL C. TAN
Thanks to Pastor Cezil Perales who will take my place at 10am and to Pastor Dino Fajardo, a young prayeful man of God, pastor of Kinuskusan Baptist Church in Bansalan, who will be preaching for the rest of the 2 services in the afternoon and evening. Thanks to my co workers for filling-in the ministry this Sunday, so I can have this rest. Hmmm, let me see, last week we had baptism during our prayer meeting and I had a wedding yesterday…thank God, today I can rest. Next Sunday I will be in Iloilo with my family to preach in my former church, now called New Life Christian Fellowship. This trip is also rare since my whole family will be with me. Lord-willing, I will be back on Dec 1, 2010, ready for our prayer meeting.
Let us pray for our coming ‘Dawn Christmas prayer meeting’ which starts on December 21-25. It will begin at exactly 5am to 6am, after which we will all enjoy simple breakfast coffee and food. Consider this as a meaningful way of celebrating the season of Christmas… a time to be silent and a time to savor the presence of the Savior! Come with a heart ready to pray and commune with Jesus. Don’t let activity overwhelm our celebration of nativity. Wait for the next edition of “straight from my heart” for more prayer-filled activity this Christmas. Come and be blessed.
Again, thank you for your grace, allowing me space to enjoy hash brown today… without rush. I am sure God has something to say to all of us this day through prayer and the preaching of His words. I truly need your prayer for wisdom, humility and discernment as I pray and prepare for the coming season of Christmas. Thanks to all of you who are so gracious to me and my family. By the way, keep sending us your help so we can buy more “Our Daily Bread” devotionals for the 6,000-plus public school teachers in the city. Please don’t give if you have not prayed about this first. The generosity of many of you has blessed my heart seeing how God is honored in our sharing!
I can smell coffee brewing now!
Joyfully,
REV. ARNEL C. TAN
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Meet Your Substitute
By: Rev. Arnel Tan
“Lay your hand on its head so the LORD will accept it as your substitute thus making atonement for you” Leviticus 1:4 NLT
In the book of Leviticus of the old testament to offer a burnt offering to the Lord you will find yourself not in a majestic cathedral so inviting to rest and worship, but rather you will be in a slaughterhouse bloody and messy so inviting to weep and repent! Here the people of Israel squarely deal with their sins and seek forgiveness. No one would enter the place where the burnt offering is offered as an innocent person, every one comes in with their unblemished animal sacrifice guilty sinners seeking mercy.
It is also here that the one who offers is not only dropping an animal sacrifice, he or she participates in the ritual by laying hand on the head of the sacrifice and slaughtering it before it is given to the sons of Aaron for cleaning and offering by fire. These rituals are meaningless to many but to the people of Israel it is an outward expression of repentance and faith to the coming of the Messiah. The animal is not just and offering, it has also become a substitute in that absorbs all the sins committed by the individual. Though many go through this as a religious ritual it is never meant to be just a ritual. Active faith is involved, repentance before God is exercise as the individual lays his hands on the animal.
Those symbols and rituals point to the person of Jesus Christ who is the blameless Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world. Meaning it was Christ not the animal sacrifice who is our true substitute, who took all the blame for all the sins and sins of the world. So when a sinner finally believes in Him his faith is accepted by the Father. Forgiveness in the eyes of God is not cheap, God hates sin and the soul that sin must die. The perfect standard of God was fully satisfied by the perfect sacrifice of Christ the lamb of God. Anyone who puts faith in Christ now will be counted for righteousness, forgiveness will be awarded, grace will abound for Christ your substitute and mine perfectly please the Father. Hallelujah what a Savior!
Have you met your substitute? The next time you think of God’s view of forgiveness remember Someone died for it before it can be extended to us. Though the sacrifices of the Old Testament are now done, and the altars of our churches today are not bloody and messy, it leaves a trail that lead sinners and saints back to Calvary where we find forgiveness of our sins and freedom in our hearts. Therefore each time we gather for worship we continue to offer the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to Him who died for us and rose again, and whose return we await. Meet your substitute and let the meeting turn to bowing and praying.
“Lay your hand on its head so the LORD will accept it as your substitute thus making atonement for you” Leviticus 1:4 NLT
In the book of Leviticus of the old testament to offer a burnt offering to the Lord you will find yourself not in a majestic cathedral so inviting to rest and worship, but rather you will be in a slaughterhouse bloody and messy so inviting to weep and repent! Here the people of Israel squarely deal with their sins and seek forgiveness. No one would enter the place where the burnt offering is offered as an innocent person, every one comes in with their unblemished animal sacrifice guilty sinners seeking mercy.
It is also here that the one who offers is not only dropping an animal sacrifice, he or she participates in the ritual by laying hand on the head of the sacrifice and slaughtering it before it is given to the sons of Aaron for cleaning and offering by fire. These rituals are meaningless to many but to the people of Israel it is an outward expression of repentance and faith to the coming of the Messiah. The animal is not just and offering, it has also become a substitute in that absorbs all the sins committed by the individual. Though many go through this as a religious ritual it is never meant to be just a ritual. Active faith is involved, repentance before God is exercise as the individual lays his hands on the animal.
Those symbols and rituals point to the person of Jesus Christ who is the blameless Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world. Meaning it was Christ not the animal sacrifice who is our true substitute, who took all the blame for all the sins and sins of the world. So when a sinner finally believes in Him his faith is accepted by the Father. Forgiveness in the eyes of God is not cheap, God hates sin and the soul that sin must die. The perfect standard of God was fully satisfied by the perfect sacrifice of Christ the lamb of God. Anyone who puts faith in Christ now will be counted for righteousness, forgiveness will be awarded, grace will abound for Christ your substitute and mine perfectly please the Father. Hallelujah what a Savior!
Have you met your substitute? The next time you think of God’s view of forgiveness remember Someone died for it before it can be extended to us. Though the sacrifices of the Old Testament are now done, and the altars of our churches today are not bloody and messy, it leaves a trail that lead sinners and saints back to Calvary where we find forgiveness of our sins and freedom in our hearts. Therefore each time we gather for worship we continue to offer the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to Him who died for us and rose again, and whose return we await. Meet your substitute and let the meeting turn to bowing and praying.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Pulpit To Pew - Update News
STRAIGHT FROM MY HEART
As we begin the month of November, let us do so with our hearts filled with prayers and thanksgiving. Let us not only recall the goodness of God but also make it a lifestyle to give thanks to the Lord. Giving thanks to God honors Him and it also humbles us. Let us be spiritually alert as we sense the many blessings God has given and we enjoyed but have neglected to give thanks for. Believe me, you and I will recall a lot of set-aside items of thanksgiving.
Today, as we worship, let us express it to God. As we listen to His words, let us open our hearts and lower our defensive shields. As we come to God’s table for communion, let us remember that we come as a body, not just as a person. As we partake of the bread and cup, let us transcend our thoughts of being alone with God into becoming a community communing with God. Prayerfully, let us look at Christ and with a still heart let us savor Christ Himself and commune with Him.
Let me also challenge you to pray and seek God’s guidance as we encourage everyone to help us gather more “Our Daily Bread” devotionals to give to 6,000 public school teachers in Davao City. You can purchase the `Our Daily Bread` devotionals at the various Christian bookstores and then hand it over to Pastor Bobby Narciso, our mission pastor, or you can designate a gift marked for this purpose. I would like to reiterate that you should only share after spending some time in honest heart-searching prayer.
Your pastors gather for prayer every Monday. We lock ourselves in the Pastor’s office to pray for you and your prayer requests. We bring them to the throne of grace asking God to intervene for His glory. Please tear the portion of this bulletin marked as prayer requests and drop it into the yellow box in front. Please indicate your email address so we can let you know that your prayer request has been prayed for. This is something we, your ministers, in this church have committed ourselves to do, following the model of Epaphras’ praying that we all will mature in our walk with God, deeply rooted in Christ and His words and abounding in grace and prayer. Please remember us too in your prayers as we pray for you.
LET US COME AND BOW DOWN BEFORE THE LORD TODAY AND WORSHIP
Grace be with you all,
REV. ARNEL TAN
As we begin the month of November, let us do so with our hearts filled with prayers and thanksgiving. Let us not only recall the goodness of God but also make it a lifestyle to give thanks to the Lord. Giving thanks to God honors Him and it also humbles us. Let us be spiritually alert as we sense the many blessings God has given and we enjoyed but have neglected to give thanks for. Believe me, you and I will recall a lot of set-aside items of thanksgiving.
Today, as we worship, let us express it to God. As we listen to His words, let us open our hearts and lower our defensive shields. As we come to God’s table for communion, let us remember that we come as a body, not just as a person. As we partake of the bread and cup, let us transcend our thoughts of being alone with God into becoming a community communing with God. Prayerfully, let us look at Christ and with a still heart let us savor Christ Himself and commune with Him.
Let me also challenge you to pray and seek God’s guidance as we encourage everyone to help us gather more “Our Daily Bread” devotionals to give to 6,000 public school teachers in Davao City. You can purchase the `Our Daily Bread` devotionals at the various Christian bookstores and then hand it over to Pastor Bobby Narciso, our mission pastor, or you can designate a gift marked for this purpose. I would like to reiterate that you should only share after spending some time in honest heart-searching prayer.
Your pastors gather for prayer every Monday. We lock ourselves in the Pastor’s office to pray for you and your prayer requests. We bring them to the throne of grace asking God to intervene for His glory. Please tear the portion of this bulletin marked as prayer requests and drop it into the yellow box in front. Please indicate your email address so we can let you know that your prayer request has been prayed for. This is something we, your ministers, in this church have committed ourselves to do, following the model of Epaphras’ praying that we all will mature in our walk with God, deeply rooted in Christ and His words and abounding in grace and prayer. Please remember us too in your prayers as we pray for you.
LET US COME AND BOW DOWN BEFORE THE LORD TODAY AND WORSHIP
Grace be with you all,
REV. ARNEL TAN
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