1 Timothy 5:13

   For anyone who desires to learn to read the New Testament in the original language.  We meet 7:00 pm Thursdays.

   In 1 Timothy 5:13 we find the word "busybodies" in the KJV, NASB & NIV versions.  But who exactly is a busybody?  According to Thayer, "busy about trifles and neglectful of important matters." Paul is referring to those who prioritize the minor and minimize the major.  It is a warning for us to focus on what matters.

 

Christmas Message: Simeon

     In Luke 2:25-32 we read how Simeon met the baby Jesus in the temple when He was just eight days old.  Let us examine six ways we can be like Simeon.

1.  I MUST BE SAVED LIKE SIMEON.  Verse 25 says that "this man was righteous."  He was declared righteous.  This is another way of saying that he was saved.  And according to Romans 1:17 the righteousness of God is received by faith.  Simeon depended, not on his own righteousness, but on the righteousness of Christ.

2.  I MUST BE SURRENDERED LIKE SIMEON.  In verse 25 the text also says that Simeon was "devout."  He was devout because he was surrendered to God's will and fully submissive to his Lord.  Our human nature despises the thought of submission.  We want to be bosses; we want to run our lives.  But to be devout we must submit to God's Word, His Will and His Ways.

3.  I MUST BE SPIRITUAL LIKE SIMEON.  Verse 25 also states that "the Holy Spirit was upon him."  As God's child we seek to become spiritual, to grow in the faith and mature in our walk with the Lord.  Someone opined, "To be Scriptural is to be spiritual."  One way to become spiritual is to delight and be filled with the Scriptures.

4.  I MUST BE SENSITEIVE LIKE SIMEON.  In verse 26 we read, "It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit."  He was sensitive to hear the voice of God.  There must be times when we are alone with the Lord, seeking His face, and listening to His voice.  He speaks to us through the vehicle of the Holy Spirit.  If you desire to hear from God, you must be alone with Him, as Moses was at Mount Sanai.   God wants to speak to you; but we must be sensitive to His voice.

5.  I MUST BE SEEKING LIKE SIMEON.  In verse 26 we read that Simeon "would not see death before he has seen the Lord's Christ."  He was seeking and awaiting the Lord's coming.  Similarly, we must seek and await the Lord's second coming.  Christ's second advent is not dependent on us.  As God had appointed a time for Christ to come the first time (Galatians 4:4), so God has also appointed a time for Christ to come the second time.  And as Simeon eagerly sought Christ's appearance, so we must eagerly seek His reappearance.

6.  I MUST ATTEND SERVICE LIKE SIMEON.  In verse 27 we read that Simeon met the Lord in the temple.  Yes, he could worship, praise and bless the Lord at any place; yet he chose the temple to do so.  W tooe can worship, praise and bless the Lord at any place, but like, Simeon, let us do so in God's house.

The Potter and the Clay

Prayer Service tonight 7:00 pm
Text:  Jeremiah 18:1-10

     In our text we see six truths.
I.  WE  BELONG TO GOD
     The Lord is the potter; He made the pot or vessel.  We are that vessel.
     It is the Lord who made us; not we ourselves.
     And because God made us, we belong to Him.

II.  WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD

     Because God made us; we are accountable to Him.
     As the employee is accountable to his employer; the student to his teacher; the child to his
parents; the congressman to his constituents; and the pastor to his congregation, so we are
accountable to God our Potter.  As v. 6 says, "So are you in my hand."  We are in His
hand, the One we must give account to.

III.  WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR OWN DECISION

     The first choice is to do good and obey Him.
     The second choice is to do evil and disobey Him.  Verse 10, "If it does evil in my sight and
does not obey me."

IV.  WE WILL RECEIVE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR DECISIONS

     Good choices produce good results; and bad choices produce bad results.
     I can choose to continue in sin and dishonor the Lord.  That person will "be uprooted, torn
down and destroyed" (v. 7).
     Or I can choose to repent and do right.  In that case God will withhold His judgment against
me.  Verse 9 says, "then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned."

V.  WE SEE GOD'S JUSTICE IN ACTION

     God is just when He punishes the sinner who refuses to repent and continues in sin; and blesses the sinner who repents, does good and obeys Him.

VI.  WE ARE GOD'S WORK IN PROGRESS

     It takes considerable time for a potter to make a beautiful vessel.  We are that vessel.  God is molding us to become "beautiful" (good, kind, patient, loving).  God is still molding us to become beautiful in His sight; He is not yet finished with us.

So Great A Salvation

   TEXT:  Hebrews 2:3
   God likes to use superlatives.  God did not just give us salvation; He gave us "so great" a salvation!  Not just plain, ordinary vanilla-flavored, run-of-the-mill salvation, but "so great a salvation."  A salvation that is beyond our comprehension.
   Hebrews 2:3 reads:
   KJV - "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?"
   NASB - "how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"
   NIV - " how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?"

    The word "salvation" in Scripture is multifaceted, as shown by its four tenses:

1.  past perfect - "I have been saved from the pleasure of sin" - repentance
2.  past - "I was saved from the penalty of sin" - justification
3.  present - "I am being saved from the power of sin" - sanctification
4.  future - "I will be saved from the presence of sin" - glorification

 We shall not look at this "great salvation" from the viewpoint of the four F's -- Fast, Free, Forgiveness, and For Now:

1.  FAST.  The moment you call upon the Lord you become saved.  Salvation is instantaneous.

   A.  Rom. 10:13, "for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

 2.  FREE.  Salvation is a free gift.

   A.  Rev. 22:17, "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.”    
         And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without
         cost."
   B.  Isaiah 55:1, "“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money       
         come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

 3.  FORGIVENESS

   God must punish sin.  God cannot simply declare a guilty person righteous.  Sin must be punished; justice must be met and its demands satisfied.  If God does not satisfy the demands of justice, then God is unjust.
   I would like to present seven verses that clearly state that God must punish sin; if not, He is unjust.
   1.  Ex. 23:7, "for I will not acquit the guilty."
   2.  Nahum 1:3 - "And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished."
   3.  Romans 1:18 - "¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
        unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
   4.  Psalm 7:11 (KJV) - "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every
        day."
   5.  Ps. 5:5 - "The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity."
   6.  Prov. 17:15 - "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of
        them alike are an abomination to the Lord."
   7.  Prov. 24:24 - He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him,
        nations will abhor him.

   This point must be made clear and be fully understood.  God cannot simply ignore or overlook sin.  He must punish and judge sin in order to be just.

   And because I am a sinner, God must punish me because of my sin.  If He does not punish me for my sin, He is unjust.
   But there is good news.  Even though I am a terrible sinner, instead of judging me, God forgave me.
   Romans 4:5 - "but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly."
   How does God justify, forgive and declare me righteous?  By the cross.  Without the cross there can be no forgiveness, no justification and no salvation.
   But it is not the cross that provides forgiveness; it is the Christ on the cross.
   At the cross justice is met and its demands fulfilled; therefore, it is by the cross God can provide forgiveness.
   Many people hold two mistaken ideas regarding forgiveness.
   1.  God will simply forgive us.  We don’t have to do anything.  God will simply overlook and ignore my sin; or turn a blind eye.  This cannot be.  God must judge sin; He cannot overlook it.

   2.  God will forgive without repentance.  There must be repentance in order to receive forgiveness.  Christ taught that if your brother sins against you and says he is sorry, you must forgive him.  Yes, you must forgive if he truly and genuinely repents. 

   Let me illustrate.  Let say I punch you in the face and I say "I am sorry."  So you forgive me.  Then I punch you again and I say "I am sorry."  So you forgive me again.  Again, I punch you again and I say "I am sorry."  So you forgive me again and again.  This happen repeatedly, seven, eight, nine or ten times:  I punch you over and over again, and you forgive me each time.  So I am forgiven?  No.  It appears that my repentance was insincere.  Therefore, the forgiveness was not possible.  

   The Pharisees came to John the Baptist to be baptized.  But John the Baptist refused to baptize them.  Why?  Their repentance was not genuine.  So, John the Baptist said to them that they must first bear fruit in keeping with their repentance (Matt. 3:8).  In other words, they could not be forgiven and baptized until they truly repented and showed proof of repentance.  At the same time, God forgives us is we repent genuinely.  There must be sorrow accompanied by repentance; for 2 Cor. 7:9 says, "but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance." John the Baptist would not baptize the Pharisees until they truly repented (John MacArthur).

 4.  FOR NOW. 

   A.  Each year you wait it becomes harder for you to be saved  So don’t postpone or procrastinate.
   B.  Here is a frightening statistic taken from 4,100 respondents.
        Nineteen out of twenty who were saved, did so before they reached the age of twenty-five;
        After twenty-five, only one in 10,000;
        After thirty-five, only one in 50,000;
        After forty-five, only one in 200,000;
        After fifty-five, only one in 300,000;
        After sixty-five, only one in 500,000;
        After seventy-five, only one in 700,000.
   C.  Procrastination is from the devil.  A story was told about a council meeting with Satan and his demons.  The subject was how to prevent sinners from coming to Christ.  One demon replied, "I will convince them there is no heaven."  The suggestion was rejected.  Another angel said, "I will convince them there is no judgment."  Again the suggestion was rejected.  A third angel said, "I will convince them to postpone their decision."  That won the approval of the whole council.  The devil wants you to postpone and procrastinate your decision in receiving the Lord Jesus as your Savior.  And if you keep postponing, you will never come to Jesus and receive salvation.

.So what are the steps needed to receive this "so great a salvation?"

     A. You must be a sinner;
     B. You must be aware of your sin;
     C. You must of your sin
          Acts 17:30, " God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent;"
     D. You must receive Jesus as Lord and Savior
          Rom. 10:9-10, " ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
          heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  ^For with the heart a person   
          believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
          salvation."

CONCLUSION:

     Four years after the Titanic went down, a young Scotchman rose up in a meet­ing in Hamilton, Canada and gave a testimony.  He said "I am a survivor of the Titanic.  When I was drifting alone on a plank of wood on that awful night, the tide brought Mr. John Harper of Glasgow, who was also clinging on a piece of wreck, near me. `Man,' he said, `are you saved?'  'No,' I said, `I am not.'  He replied, 'Be­lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'  The waves bore him away; but, strange to say, they brought him back again.  He asked me a second time. 'Are you saved now?' `No,' I said, 'I cannot honestly say that I am.'  He said again, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'  Shortly after­wards, he went down, and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed.  I am John Harper's last convert."
     Like those who were aboard that ship, none of them knew that day would be their last.  Neither do you know which day will be your last.

    "Jesus paid it all,
   All to Him I owe,
   Sin had left a crimson stain,
   He washed it white as snow."

    Please do not risk losing your soul; come to Jesus, trust in Him alone as your personal Lord and Savior. Believe in Him with all your heart.  And receive this "so great a salvation."

The Purpose of Prayer

   There was an Amish person with a sign protesting outside a large multinational corporation.  One man stopped his car and told him, "Don’t you know that you can't change them?"  The protestor replied, "I am doing this not to change them, but so that they don[t change me."  By prayer we prevent the world from changing us.
1.  Delight.  God delights when His children come, seek and pray to Him.  "The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Prov. 15:8).  God delights when we expend the effort and energy in prayer.
2.  Displeasure.  Samuel Chadwick, a Wesleyan Methodist preacher of the early 20th century, articulated about the devil, "He laughs at our toil, he mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray."  Satan will do all he can to prevent you from praying, including procrastination.
3.  Development.  There are certain essential disciplines for Christian growth, which include surrender, fellowship, Bible reading and prayer.  Consistency in prayer is the hallmark of a mature believer.  Prayer will drive out the worldliness in us.  
4.  Dependency.  Prayer is the outward sign of an inward dependence upon God.  By prayer we show we depend on the Lord for guidance, wisdom and insight.  Prayer displays our weakness and the need for His strength; our simplicity and the need for His wisdom; our timidity and the need for His boldness; and our frail abilities and the need for His supernatural abilities.  As a child depends on his parents, so we are to depend on our heavenly Father. 
5.  Decree.  Prayer is not a suggestion; it is a divine command (1 Tim. 2:1,2; Phil. 4:6, Acts 6:4).  Prayer must be an active part in everyday living.  His command must be obeyed. 

Christ Came to Serve

Christmas series

Christ Came to Serve
Mark 10:45

     Mark 10:45 has always been one of my favorite verses.  It reads, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”  Jesus came to serve.  Great leaders see themselves as servants, not lords.
     Typically, churches introduce new programs either on January, the start of the new year, or September, the start of the school year.  For instance, we will begin a new Sunday evening service this coming January.  Pastors do all they can to cajole, persuade, convince and win members to volunteer for service; after all, churches have vacancies that must be filled if ministries are to continue.  In desperation, pastors may employ the guilt maneuver, making members feel guilty if they do not sign up.  Some churches even hold a recruitment campaign to bring in new workers.
     These methods are ineffective.  Those who volunteer usually do so to please the pastor, to win the praise of others, or out of guilt.  They do not last; they resign after the term is over, and a new campaign begins all over again.
     One can serve in the church with a right or wrong motive.  With the right motive, their service is authentic, they are joyful and continue their ministries.  With the wrong motive, their service is inauthentic, they regret their decision, and resign shortly after.
     True service is done out of a heart filled with gratitude and praise to God.A Heart Full of Gratitude
     We serve the Lord and His church because of our gratitude to the One who forgave and saved us.  Service to God is a natural response for what God has done for us. We cannot help but serve Him who gave His life for us.  Psalm 116:12 says, “What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?”  For all God has done for us, we serve Him out of a heart overflowing with gratitude.  If it comes from a heart filled with gratitude and thanks, one does not have to be asked to volunteer; he does so even before being asked.
A Heart Full of Worship
     Service to God and His church is a form of worship.  Paul exhorted Christians to “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”  Service is worship.  There are four ways we can worship the Lord.
       Praise.  We worship God verbally with our mouths.  Because of His goodness and grace we praise Him verbally.
       Giving.  Giving to God a portion of what He has given to us is another form of worship.  Jews sacrificed a lamb without blemish.  We too are to give sacrificially, for God will not accept our “blemished” sacrifices. 
       Evangelism.  Sharing our faith is another form of worship.  We who are redeemed must shared our faith that others too might be redeemed.
       Service.  Serving in a local church is another form of worship.  Without workers a church could not minister.  But service should be out of desire, not compulsion.
       But in service two factors must be considered:  spiritual gifts and passion.  They must operate side-by-side. 
Spiritual Gifts
       Each believer has been given a spiritual gift which are to be used for the edification of the saints.  These gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12:1-8, Ephesians 4:1-16 and 1 Peter 4:8-11.  They may be divided into speaking, service and support gifts.
       Speaking gifts.  There are two speaking gifts:  prophecy and teaching.
       Service gifts.  The service gifts include:  administration, encouragement, evangelism, giving, helps, hospitality, mercy, shepherding and leadership.
       Support gifts.  The service gifts include:  apostleship, discernment, faith, knowledge, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues and wisdom.
     As we can see, there are many kinds of spiritual gifts.  And according to 1 Corinthians 12:1 God wants us to know what our gifts are.  This verse reads, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.”  Furthermore, the apostle Paul exhorted believers with these words, “Do not neglect your gift” (1 Tim. 4:14).  Believers are to use their gifts for service, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others” (1 Peter 4:10).   
Passion
     What are we passionate about?  It is easy to serve when you enjoy what you are doing.  My wife loves gardening, so she enjoys planting flowers in our church.  My son loves playing the drums; he plays it as a member of the worship team. 
     Even preachers have different passions.  Billy Graham loves to win souls; he preaches salvation.  James Dobson is a family counselor; he preaches about family.  Joel Osteen is an encourager; he preaches uplifting sermons.  A missionary friend of mine is passionate about Christ’s second coming; he preaches Christ’s return every chance he has.
     Perhaps you have a deep passion to minister to the elderly, children, single mothers, or families of prisoners.  Help in these ministries, or start one if none exist. 
     In conclusion, ascertain where your spiritual gifts and passion are and leverage them for God’s kingdom.  Bill Hybels wrote that when a believer combines his gifts and passion the teaching will have more impact, hospitality will be warm, counseling will be wise, leadership will be strong, administration will be efficient, evangelism will be fruitful, and mercy will touch hearts. 
     When you use your gift and passion for service, you will have found your ministry and be happy.  If you are not happy in your area of service, it may be because it is not within the realm of your gift and passion.  There are unhappy pastors.  While there may be other reasons for this, one might be that he does not possess the gift of preaching.  His gift may be personal evangelism or discipleship.  He would be more fulfilled if he served in these capacities instead.
     Service with the right attitude worships God, blesses His church, benefits the one doing the serving, brings joy within, and improves society.  Know your gift and serve with passion. 

Upcoming Events

     Our church Christmas party will be held at 7:00 pm on Friday, Dec. 20, at our fellowship hall.
     Our Christmas program will be on Sunday, Dec. 22, at our regular 11:00 am service.  Potluck dinner will follow our Christmas program.

Sermons

     Future sermons will be printed here. 

Youth

   The youth just completed a 3-month series on Evangelism Explosion/Everyday Evangelism, and will begin a new series staring January 9, 2014.  Meeting time is every Thursday at 6:30 pm; the setting is informal as they meet at the home of the youth leaders.  While it is a fun time of food and fellowship, its focus is discipleship.

The Primacy of Prayer

Midweek Prayer Service 7:00 pm.

     The church is Acts was a praying church !

Acts 1:14 – “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer …”

Acts 1:24 – “And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, 
     show which one of these two You have chosen.”
Acts 2:42 – “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
     fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 3:1 – “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour
     of prayer.”
Acts 4:31 – “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was
     shaken …”
Acts 6:4 – “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Acts 6:6 – “And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their
     hands on them.”
Acts 8:15 – “who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 8:22 – “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if
     possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.”
Acts 8:24 – “But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that
     nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
Acts 9:11 – “And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and
     inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,”
Acts 9:40 – “But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the  
     body, he said, “ Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she
     sat up.”
Acts 10:2 – “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many
     alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.”
Acts 10:4 – “And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?”
     And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”
Acts 10:9 – “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter
     went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.”
Acts 10:30 – “Cornelius said, “ Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during

     the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments,”

Acts 10:31 – “and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have
     been remembered before God.”
Acts 11:5 – “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object
     coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right
     down to me,”
Acts 12:5 – “So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently
     by the church to God.”
Acts 12:12 – “And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John

     who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.”

Acts 13:3 – “Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they
     sent them away.”
Acts 14:23 – “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with
     fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
Acts 16:13 – “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we
     were supposing that there would be a place of prayer;”
Acts 16:16 – “It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having
     a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.”
Acts 16:25 – “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise
     to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;”
Acts 20:36 – “When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.”
Acts 21:5 – “When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they
     all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down
     on the beach and praying …”
Acts 22:17 – ““It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple,
     that I fell into a trance,”
Acts 28:8 – “And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with
     recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he
     laid his hands on him.”

 

Midweek Prayer

   As in many churches, we have a midweek prayer service.  We ask congregants to drop their prayer requests inside the box, and the contents will be prayed over during our Wednesday evening prayer time.  Because some requests are personal and confidential, several do not want to drop their request inside the box, for it to be read and prayed over at a later time.  They desire prayer but do not want others to be made aware of their own personal struggles and pain.  There is one easy way to solve this dilemma:  do not open and read the requests.  Simply ask everyone to place their hand on top of the box and pray for the requests inside.  After all, these requests are between the person and God; no one else needs to know.  In this manner, the request, though confidential, are still prayed for.
   Is your heart aching?  Do you have a prayer request?  Simply email me your request; we will pray over it.  Better yet, you may simply write "confidential."  After all, God know what it is. 

If you are in the area, please join us Wednesday nights 7:00 pm.

Biblical Greek

If anyone is interested in learning Biblical Greek, and would like to read the New Testament with me in its original language, we meet Thursdays 7:00 pm.  This class is for beginners.  By way of introduction, I am a Ph.D. candidate.

Location

542 Lisbon St.
Daly City  CA  94014
(650) 992-0680

Sundays:
10:00 am              Sunday School
11:00 am              Worship Service
6:00 pm                Evening Service

Wednesdays:
7:00 pm                Midweek Prayer Service

   *  There is parking behind the church.