Have we given the best gift to Jesus?

........was on sermon 25 December 2006

Four gifts that God accept:
1. Luke 1:34,38 Our purity
2. Mat 1:19 Sincerity, genuineness
3. Luke 2:8 Simplicity and obedience
4. Mat 2:1 Effort to give the best like what's shown by three wise men.

His Words

I escaped Church last week, and this week I almost escaped it again cos I chat til late and slept when the time almost hit 3.

Thank God I was able finally to push myself to attend the 9 am Church. There were already a huge number of people when I arrived; I thank God there were still seats left for us.
The preacher today it happened to be a guest preacher from abroad, he's Dr. Samuel Doctorian. How lucky I was, cos later I found out he's the one who had prophecy about tsunami (in Indonesia)- that is what some said.

He didn't really make sermon from specific verses, it was just a very general one and was mainly addressing his vision experiences and his books.
The verses were taken from John 7:46 (44-46), to point out how Jesus' words are powerful and unlike anyone else's words.



What other things Jesus said that no body else ever or can say?

- John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
- John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
- John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
- John 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
- John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
- Etc

And these are 5 points from Jesus:
1. I love you
2. I died for you
3. Believe in me
4. You never go to hell
5. You go to Heaven

Then the Reverend mentioned again about his experience in Patmos Island where God gave him 5 visions about the worlds through 5 Angels, each of them is representing Asia-Oceania, Israel-Middle East-Turkey-Asia Minor-etc, Europe, Africa, North-South America-Canada.

This link will take you to the Vision of 5 Angels.

I know.....I again was not so good in taking a note that Sunday :-D

4 Steps to get your Celestial Body

was on 2 May 2004

Death is no longer the final stop. The dead will arise with his/ her celestial body by doing these following steps (when he/ she was still alive, of course):

1. Be like Christ, not Adam.
In Christ there is Life.
Not just 'a life' but 'the life', because the word 'life' has many synonyms in Bible, and in this sermon the preacher explained 2 of them. The previous one is Bios and the latter is Zoe. I couldn't see the difference of the two had I just read Bible in Bahasa Indonesia or in plain English, because each of them only uses one word for Bios and Zoe. With e-Sword I become fully understood because I also installed English Bible 'KJV+' that includes Greek and Hebrew dictionary.

Bios is our (literally) the present state of existence; by implication the means of livelihood: - good, life, living.
While Zoe is life as the opposite of death, Zoe is the divine life of Christ, the life that conquered death.
In order to get Zoe, one must start to exercise Christ's way.

2. Be decided, walk in the Spirit!
I learnt that God created us with 'free will' because human is not a robot. In one way it seems to benefit us, but in other way it complicates our lives. The snake-Eve-Adam conspiracy caused all human sinful, that made us inherit illwill. We are vulnerable to sin, but we have our weapon, Jesus!
So walk in the Spirit, and you'll gain the victory.

3. Oopss.....!! I kinda missed this part, just got this in my note:
When a believer died, he will have supernatural body.

4. Be a spiritual man not a natural man.
In this so alluring world, do be steadfast so that we will get the secret.


FAQ:
Q: How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come
A: Don't be stupid!

Counterattack Recipe

Nahum 2:1
An attacker advances against you, Nineveh .
Guard the fortress,
watch the road,
brace yourselves,
marshal all your strength!

Who's the attacker?

Ephesian 6:12
We are not fighting against people of flesh and blood. But we are fighting against rulers and powers whom we cannot see. We are fighting against those who control the darkness of this world,and against bad spirits who have power in the air.

The Counterattack Recipe:

Guard the fortress
The fortress is your own body and mind entirely. Some ways to guard yourself is by:
- quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry , be wise with your tongue

- keep safe the entrance of your fortress, i.e. your eyes. Eye is a vulnerable access, be cautious of what you see because bad things that you see can make bad influence to yourself, use your eyes responsibly for they might make yourself get tempted by what the perceive

- perform good deeds so that His name is glorified and so people can see that we are letters from Christ

Watch the road
Learn the situation and create strategy based on that situation, be clever and kind at the same time
Brace yourselves
Make yourself steady and keep optimistic, remember our God is God who always be with us - ImmanuelMarshal all your strength
Be united with all Christian regardless denominations, be one body be Oecumenical.
When we walk in His way, we are already the winners.

1, 2, 3 are equal

I joined the first service today; it's 07.30 in the morning.

The preacher was a lady from Aussie who seems well known in the church-hood there. So, my today's breakfast was Matthew 25:14-30.
Here's the incomplete version of the sermon that I heard today that is very useful for me (myself….!! pleaseee..listen to me now!!):
- God knows my personal capacity
- He gave me talent in accordance with my personal capacity
- Eph 2:10, I was created for good works.
- No matter how many talent that I have or even only one, I must do my best to increase it or else I will have none.
- Destiny is about how I deal with the resources God has given to me.
- God set a beautiful destiny for me, it depends on me whether I get it or not.
- Faithful = Fruitful, means to be proactive, to multiply what God has given me and be a living proof of His words
- God has infinite resources and He is so generous, but first I must multiply my talents and then enlarge my personal capacity.

therefore........
1. I must identify my personal capacity
2. Manage the talent/s that God has given to me, if not, then why He wants to give more only for a mismanagement
3. Understand my limitation

then….
[she said] buy my books!
[the local pastor said] buy her books!