Hear the Word…. Again

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of  beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD that he might be glorified.

 

As Jesus was beginning his ministry, He defined his mission citing Isaiah 61:1-3.

Here is what Jesus  said;

1. The spirit of God is on me because…
   The Holy Spirit has come in power. For what purpose?
   …To comfort all who mourn.
   To bring the consolation and encouragement of God to those who have experienced loss. God will bring justice in his time. It’s his job not ours.
2. The Lord has anointed me…
   For what purpose?
3. …To preach good news to the poor.
   The poor are targeted for preferential treatment, because their pain is greater.
4. He has sent me…
   For what purpose?
5. …To bind up the brokenhearted,
   Those who did not sleep through the night. Those who do not know how to go through this day. Those who have lost their hopes.
6. …To proclaim freedom for the captives,
   Those with salvation status issue? Those in bondage as a result of pride, greed, envy, lust, sloth, anger and/or gluttony.
7. …Release from darkness for the prisoners,
   This is release from attack of the evil resulting in enslavement  and addictions of any kinds.
8. …To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
   To prophesy God’s blessing to people. To say: “It will come to this house.”

In Luke 4:18-20, Jesus announces that the prophecy is fulfilled.

• The blind receive sight.
• The lame walk.
• Those who have leprosy are cured.
• The deaf hear.
• The dead are raised.
• The good news is preached to the poor.

Word

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:35.37

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ….No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

James 1:12-15

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

James 4:7-8

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:10

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

1 Peter 5:8-10

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Blessed

Matthew 5:2-12

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

BE BLESSED

 

Hear the word…. again

1 John 2:12-15

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 3:8

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

1 John 4:4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1 John 5:3-5

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Revelation 3:21

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.



Transition

Transition from caterpillar to butterfly has long been a suggestive metaphor for any kind of transformation. And it is certainly a challenging symbol for the new life that is ours in Christ. Butterflies are all over the place and they are not  just a caterpillar with wings on it. This comes about through a metamorphosis comparable to that of death and resurrection not death and resuscitation.  There is a big difference between resurrection and resuscitation.

Two overwhelming events through which Jesus passed into the power and presence of his ongoing life with us were death and resurrection. Those two events form the ongoing dynamic of our life as his followers. It shapes our transition in ministry. It shapes our faith in baptism. Apostle Paul wrote “you have “died” with Christ, “buried with him in baptism”. You were also “raised” with him through your faith.”

As Christians, we are new persons in Christ. Death and Resurrection are part of the ongoing rhythm of our lives.

To be a Christian is to change. It is not just to adopt a new life style. It is becoming a “new person.” That new person doesn’t emerge full-blown but takes  a lifetime of growth. (MD)

The Call of Abraham and Falling High Towers

Trade Towers were finished on April 4, 1973.  Standing on sixteen acres, they rose more than 1360 feet above the New York City skyline, each housing 110 stories sitting atop pilings that were driven 70 feet deep into the bedrock of Manhattan.

The statistics are mindboggling. The excavation alone dumped enough dirt and rock into the Hudson River to add 23.5 acres of land to lower Manhattan, creating a whole new neighborhood called Battery Park City. Two hundred thousand tons of steel formed a framework that could withstand the most violent earthquakes and hurricanes. Girding the massive steel frame was 425,000 cubic yards of concrete, enough to build a 5-foot wide sidewalk from New York City to Washington DC. During this herculean project, three shifts of 3,500 workers labored around the clock in a race to finish ahead of schedule.

Their finished project had 600,000 feet of glass windows, 239 elevators, 70 escalators, and a single sky lobby elevator capable of carrying 55 people and 10,000 pounds. There were express elevators that travelled at speeds of 27 feet per second. All of this hi-tech wizardry serviced 430 different businesses with 50,000 workers. Until the Sears tower was later built in Chicago, the Trade Center towers were the tallest buildings in the world. But, in sheer mass, their immensity still dwarfed the Sears Tower.

At their dedication, a New York City official boasted, “These towers are so indestructible that even God himself can’t tear them down.” Yet, on the morning of September 11, 2001 two hijacked airliners slammed into them. The impact hole left in the northeast face of Tower One extended from the 92nd to the 98th floor. More than 10,000 gallons of fuel spilled out of each airliner, igniting infernos that burned 1,000° Fahrenheit. The molecular reaction melted steel beams causing upper floors to collapse down on the lower ones in a devastating domino effect. The whole world watched in astonished horror as each tower disintegrated and collapsed, leaving 2,753 fatalities and a radically more dangerous planet in its aftermath.

Since the beginning of time, people have struggled with two infuriating questions: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” And its corollary: “Why do good things happen to bad people?” Why did good folk, on their way to offer sacrifices to God, have to die in a street riot? Why did 18 hard-working workers get crushed to death when the tower fell in Siloam? Or worse, why did 2,753 innocent people die in the World Trade Towers? When towers tumble, we need to know why. So, after every disaster, we scurry around to find answers. Why did it happen? Who can we blame? Can we build a failsafe system to keep it from happening again?

When Abraham left Southern Iraq, he fled a Chaldean civilization that specialized in building high towers. He traveled among the Syrian and Canaanite peoples in a land of high towers like the citadel city of Jericho. He saw the grandiose pyramids and towering cities on the Nile. He had heard of the massive walls of Babylon to the north. But the Jews had no high towers. They traveled naked and exposed to the desert winds, sleeping at night in flimsy tents.

These desert nomads must have felt vulnerable out in the open. But Abraham watched the towers of Sodom and Gomorrah fall under the hailstorm of blazing hot oil and molten salt that was unleashed by a violent earthquake and rained down a holocaust of God’s judgment, reducing those Canaanite towers to ash. For 400 years the descendants of Abraham were the slaves who built the towers of Egypt. But they watched at the Red Sea as God destroyed the armies of the tower architects. Later they marched around the towers of Jericho and watched them fall. The prophet Samuel later wrote, “God is my rock. In him will I trust. He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my savior who saves me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:3) Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:10, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe.”

NO TURNING BACK

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God is at work throughout the earth to bring everything to consummation in Jesus Christ. In the face of the dark prospects overshadowing this generation and despite any paralysis that temporarily renders the church ineffective in serving Christ’s through evangelism, worship, education, ministry and discipleship, we can testify that God is setting the stage for an extraordinary advance of Christ’s kingdom.

God is saying we have unprecedented opportunity to preserve the vision and mission which is a reflection of the conviction of those who established and set out to not only incorporate but steward transitions that  resulted in relocation.

Relocation has been a spiritual journey where we have learn to worship God.  God has taught us how to fall down on our knees and seek his face. We  know what it means to go through times of severe testing and trouble in church growth. In the process we have seen that most new churches today have very little future for the system of the world is more prepared to close small churches and match with other bigger and more dynamic churches in the community.  In the midst of such realities we find ourselves asking what in the world are we existing for? To steward the end? To stand in the gap as God brings about the new? To give  everything we have for the work of  evangelism, discipleship and occupational work in pastoral ministry for those called?  What is the mission that we are called?

We are called to the mission defined and articulated by our Lord and Savior. Jesus while starting his ministry summarized his mission in terms of Isaiah 61.  At the end of his ministry, he articulated a vision and mission for his disciples  as one of evangelism and discipleship in Mathew 28:18-20.

We are thankful that we are not asking the question to whom do we belong?  Apostle Paul declared;  “Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12). We know  the Savior. We know to whom we belong. We belong first and foremost to God. Second, we belong in the body of Christ that is nationally recognized as the General Conference of the Southern Methodist Church. It is the blessing of this connection that we have had many faithful churches support this mission. Were it not for the support of the General Conference,  friends and family we could not have survived to this date. Were it not for the sacrificial giving, words of encouragement, prayers, and many visitations, of our leadership, friends and family we would not be looking to the future with hope.

The scripture says; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Therefore, the  future is bright and we know what we exist for. We are here as local body of believers because God is at work throughout the earth to bring everything to  consummation in Jesus Christ. In the face of the dark prospects  overshadowing this generation and despite any paralysis that temporarily  renders the church ineffective in serving Christ’s through evangelism,  education, equipping and edification, we can testify that God is setting  the stage for an extraordinary advance of Christ’s kingdom.