Thursday, 19 February 2015

True Love

 Note:  If you want to listen to the audio recording, please click:

They say: “Love conquers all.  Love is a many splendored thing.  Love comes from the most unexpected places.  Some say “love is blind”.  Some say “love is not blind, but it is actually an extra eye”.  So, is love blind or not?   Some say "love is in your eyes,"  or "love is in the air,"   "love me tender, love me sweet."  The apostle Paul said "love is the greatest!"

They say that when a man and a woman are in love, the world around them stops revolving.  Today, we are going to talk about love and romance from the context of married couples. So what if you are not married?  Will this message be interesting for you? I call you stake holders.  Yes, you may not be married but I am sure you know somebody who is married --your parents, your brother or sister, your son or daughter, your friends could be married.  Even if you are single now, you may  eventually get married.
So each one of us, whether married or not, should be interested in this message.    If your parents who are married, or your friends or loved ones who are married are not doing what they are supposed to be doing as couples, I am pretty sure you’ll be affected one way or the other.    That’s why we are all stakeholders in this message.

Since the book Song of Songs is not commonly preached or it’s not even a common Bible study material for us in general, allow me to share with you some background about this book.  The purpose is not to overwhelm you with information but instead it sets the tone and provides a much clearer picture of the culture, the people, the events that took place when the book was written.   When I read an Old Testament book, usually I look for two things.  First, how the OT story points out to our Lord Jesus Christ, and Second, in what sense can this Old Testament story apply to my life today. 

Background:


  • Solomon is believed to have written this book around 960 B.C. 
  • Solomon wrote 1,005 songs (see 1 Kings 4:32)
  • This book, Song of Songs in Hebrew is Shir ha-shirim” which literally means “song of songs” 
  • This book is also part of the five books being read publicly during annual Jewish feasts and for Song of Songs in particular, it’s being read during Passover.
  • The book uses  allegories or symbolisms  
  • The  Bible says Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.   I read about a Sunday school teacher who asked a young boy about Solomon, he said Solomon had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.  Scholars believe that the woman in this book could be Solomon’s first wife during his younger days as a king.


Song of Songs is inspired by the Holy Spirit, being part of the Bible and it is as Biblical as John 3:16 or Malachi 3:10.  And since our God is the God of love and of relationships, I believe He has a special purpose why this book became part of the Bible that we have today.  It shows us how important and how dignified romance and love and human sexuality is and how it can be a pure, wholesome beautiful experience if taken within the context of marriage.

Solomon was identified in the book as the bridegroom or the lover
The name of the woman was not mentioned but the book says she was a Shulamite woman.  She was identified as the bride or beloved.  
The book Song of Songs is also being interpreted allegorically between God and His love for His people.
On the other hand it also talks about marriage and its traditions.   In the olden days, marriage are usually arranged by the parents and sometimes the couple haven’t met each other until the day they will officially become engaged.  

Beloved (Woman)
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out.  No wonder the young women love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!  Let the king bring me into his chambers.
Lover (Man)
10   How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice
11    Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride, milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon

Sister during that time means “beloved” – so don’t think there was some form of an incestuous relationship here.

Life Lessons:

#1.  TRUE LOVE DELIGHTS
To delight means to have great enjoyment and pleasure with the company of your partner.    Remember it was much easier when there’s just the two of you.  However, it’s a challenge  when you start to have children. 
Children, you have to give privacy to your parents sometimes.  
Wives, should remember that you are wives first before being mothers.
Sometimes you will hear couples saying after several years of marriage we’re just like siblings…the spark is gone, the romance fades away!  Well you have to do something about it… you’re not siblings… you’re couples.

 Beloved (Woman)  
1:16   How handsome you are, my lover, Oh how charming! And our bed is verdant.  2:3   Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men.   I delight to sit in his shade and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has taken me to the banquet hall and his banner over me is love.

Verdant  means it’s lush.. luxurious.. The writer uses an allegory here comparing the marriage bed to a field. 

Lover (Man) 

1   How beautiful you are, my darling, Oh, how beautiful!
    Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats
    descending from the hills of Gilead.  9   I liken you darling to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh. 10  Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. 

#2.  TRUE LOVE ADMIRES

Well at least during those times, it’s a compliment to be compared to a horse.   A mare is like a stallion, a thoroughbred.

Couples should not stop being attracted to each other.  It makes me wonder why the problem for most couples is infidelity.  We are weak (especially men) when it comes to physical attraction.  I am not trying to justify anything here but  sometimes, the wife is also somehow part of the problem.   Couples stop being attractive.  They became too familiar with each other.  Sometimes, the wife will work so hard during the day –- all those household chores like cooking, doing the laundry, taking care of the children, cleaning the house…or sometimes she goes to work and at the end of the day, when the husband sees her… she looks like a character from a horror movie already… so sometimes, the wife's sacrifice during the day is not very well appreciated just because of how she looks at the end of the day.

"the man says “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.“


Beauty is important… I did not say "being pretty."    God is the God of beauty.  We have to continuously admire each other and we have to try our best to always look attractive for our spouse. 

"Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.   We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver."
Earrings are supposed to make a woman's cheeks beautiful.  Earrings are not supposed to cover her cheeks!  Sometimes, husbands cannot see their face any more because of their big earrings.   

The Bible says:  May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth! 
Do we still admire our spouse?
Are we excited to see them when we come home from work?
When you are at the mall for example, are you proud being with your spouse, do you hold her hands?  or your eyes wander around?

#3.  TRUE LOVE ENCOURAGES


In Chapter 1:17  the man said “The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. 

The cedar of Lebanon was one of the strongest and most expensive kind of wood during those times.  Men likes stability.  Men looks at himself as handsome if he can well provide for his family.  Couples, especially wives, encourage your spouses.  Show respect to them at all times. It doesn’t matter who has the bigger salary, it doesn’t matter if you have stronger personality, it doesn’t matter if you are the one who petitioned your spouse to Canada... Show respect to him especially in front of your kids or with other people.  Sometimes it’s so sad to see couples, who do not show respect to each other.  
If you keep on doing that, your spouse will lose his self respect and people will not respect both of you.  

If you don’t respect your spouse, who else will?  
The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

#4.  TRUE LOVE WAITS

These verses refers to physical intimacy between her and the man.  She does not want any intimacy until the situation is appropriate, i.e. until they get married.  Sexual relations is always viewed in the Bible within the context of marriage.  Listen to this: 

Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.  (2:7)
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;  you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain (4:12)
These allegories refer to virginity – a locked up garden, a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain..

There is always a time for everything.  The Bible says “There is a time to embrace and a time to refrain…”

#5.  TRUE  LOVE CENTERS ON CHRIST

God is the originator of marriage.  He invented it.  As way back during creation, He already had a blue print as to how a marriage should work.  Jesus Christ said,

I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Marriage is a covenant.  Not only between the man and the woman - it's a 3-party covenant between the husband, the wife and God.  This marriage triangle shows us that the more we get closer to God, the more we get closer to each other.  There is no way our marriage should work if Christ is not at the center.




Concluding Thoughts:


  •  Every marriage is a picture of God’s covenant with His church.  

Marriage is so important that Christ compared Himself to a bridegroom who loves His bride and is willing to die for His bride. 
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”  He also said “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.”  In both cases, Paul compares our relationship with each other as couples with our relationship with the Lord. 


  • Jesus Christ expressed His TRUE LOVE for each one of us by dying on the cross. 

John 15:13 says “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” Jesus calls us friends if we reciprocate His love for us by accepting Him in our lives.
The Bible tells us that one day, Christ, the bridegroom will reunite with His bride and there will be this great marriage banquet in heaven and Christ and His bride, His true love… the church, will be together … for eternity.



Prayer
Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  
Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCF Richmond on  February 15, 2015
I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.  
If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:
 www.wordchristianfellowship.com





Saturday, 7 February 2015

Forfeiting our Soul

"What profit is a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul..." (Matthew 16:26)



This has been my life verse...the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ.  A lot of people in our time today are so preoccupied with the desire to get a sense of approval from others.  What drives them are usually pursuit of material pleasures as well as admiration of men.  Jesus is simply telling us that there are far more important things than worldly desires...these are things with eternal value.  At the end of our short life here on earth, what counts the most are actually those things that we "cannot count"  and surely this world and its desires will pass away.   There are things that will last for eternity, these are the intangibles...actions that glorify God like love Him and others... those things will surely yield eternal rewards.  

Let's start focusing on those things that bring glory to Him.  We are designed by God to do good works!

Prayer
Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  
Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.  
If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:
 www.wordchristianfellowship.com

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Return to Mt. Moriah: Worship Lessons from Abraham

Read Genesis 22:1-19


Abraham’s example of faith and worship on Mount Moriah is constantly remembered throughout the Scriptures, even in the New Testament.

Background:
Abraham was  a man of faith.  He was a man who worshipped and loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.  It says in James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.” 

God promised Abraham that he would be a great nation in Genesis 12:1-3. 
The Lord said to him: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

However, he initially doubted God because his wife, Sarah, was barren. Sarah had Abraham sleep with her Egyptian slave named Hagar because they did not have the patience to wait for God’s perfect time.  Hagar bore him Ishmael when he was eighty-six years old.  This particular sin has caused mankind serious consequences through generations even up to our time today.   God was not referring to Ishmael as the son of promise.  God said Abraham will have a son through his wife Sarah.

The Lord reminded him of His promise when he was ninety-nine years old and a year after, Sara bore Isaac. Abraham, like any father, loved his son very much; he meant the world to him. But God had to test Abraham's faith and probably to find out if He was still first in his heart.

God commanded Abraham to take Isaac, his only son, whom he loves very much, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. Many would call God’s command “extreme”, or “unnecessary”.   But if God is going to use Abraham as the foundation for the great nation of Israel, He has to be certain that his faith will stand strong under any circumstance. Abraham kept his faith and followed God.

Worship Lessons from Abraham (The Five P’s of Worship):

1. When you worship, PRESENT your best offerings (verse 10)

-  One of the purposes of worship is to bring our offerings.   Exodus 23:15  says "No one is to appear before me empty-handed."  When we give, we do not give to the church but instead, we give through the church so that the work of the Lord will prosper.  


- Abraham’s best offering to God was the one he loved the most, Isaac. What is yours?  What are you willing to give up for the Lord?


2. When you worship, be PUNCTUAL (verse 3a)

- The early bird catches the worm” or in our case, more opportunities to worship God and strengthen our relationship with Him if we arrive early or be punctual during our church service.  

- When you’re late to a church service, you are on the losing end. The first part of the service, the PRAYER and PRAISE AND WORSHIP – this is the time we talk to God.  We sing songs to Him.  We pray to Him.  We prepare our hearts.  That is US talking to GOD.  When it is time for the sermon, this is GOD talking to US.  It is a two-way communication.

3. When you worship, be PREPARED physically, emotionally and spiritually (verse 3b)

- Abraham was ready when it came to offering Isaac to God.  The Bible says he got up early, saddled his donkey, chopped wood and even carried fire.  Are we prepared when we go to church on Sundays?  Do we bring our Bibles?  Our pens?  Do we pray before going to church? Do we get rid of all kinds of "baggages" that may keep us from truly worshipping God?

4. When you worship, stay POSITIVE and trust in God (verse 5-8)

-  In verse 5  … "We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  In verse 8,  Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  Abraham had complete faith and trust in God that He knows what He is doing.

- Staying positive in life requires faith in knowing that  God will guide us in our lives into something better.

5. When you worship, PREVENT any kind of distraction (verse 5,9)

- Abraham made sure that there will be no distraction or anything that will prevent him from worshipping the Lord.   He asked his servants to stay behind.  Otherwise, they might even interfere when they saw him that he will sacrifice Isaac.  The Bible did not even tell us where Abraham’s wife Sarah was, she was probably sleeping when he left otherwise, she could also interfere.  And while Abraham was there in the mountain, the Bible said he bound Isaac… again making sure that he won’t be able to refuse or prevent him from the sacrifice.

- When we come to church on a Sunday, are we really there?  Or are are just physically present but our minds are distracted?  We come to church but we are distracted by so many things.

- Worship is important. God deserves our complete attention so we should do our best to make sure nothing will take our minds off Him.  

Concluding Thoughts:

In the end of God’s test for Abraham, an angel came and stopped him from offering Isaac, and instead, God provided a Ram to sacrifice. Abraham’s faith paid off, and he was blessed with God’s promise. Similar in our lives, trials may seem impossible to get through, but if we follow the Five P’s when it comes to worship, God will always deliver. 

When God is pleased with our worship, He will bless us.

About 1000 years after Abraham’s visit to Mt. Moriah, a righteous king in Israel bought a land on Moriah, a threshing floor from a man named Araunah  to build the Lord’s Temple.  The name of this king is David.  Araunah offered to give the land to King David for free – but King David refused. It was a kind gesture, but David insisted on paying for the land, and he gave Araunah 50 shekels of silver. The reason that he gave was this:

 I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. (2 Samuel 24:24 NIV)

David recognized that an important aspect of worship is giving God something that belongs to us, something that requires some sort of sacrifice.  

God deserves our wholehearted worship.. He deserves our best.  Our best mood.  Our best appearance.  Our best offering.  Our best attitude.    We worship the Lord out of respect.  We worship the Lord out of gratitude. 

From the time of David, another thousand years have passed and a sacrifice is once again required.  But this time, it’s different.  This time, the sacrifice is to substitute for the sins of mankind, once and for all.  Biblical scholars believed that this sacrifice  once again, happened in Moriah.  A lot of scholars believed that the apex of Mt. Moriah was actually Mt. Calvary where Jesus was crucified.

This time, the sacrifice is not a ram caught in thickets or a son of an important leader like Abraham – this time the sacrifice is God’s only begotten Son,  the Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sins of the World...not a ram but a LAMB.

The main difference -- this time the sacrifice pushed through...the sacrifice happened...Jesus was crucified once and for all as a substitute for your sins...as a substitute for my sins.  Just like how Abraham obeyed God and how Isaac obeyed Abraham, Jesus obeyed the will of the Father.

This is the reason why we can worship the LORD with all those five Ps of worship without any issue. Are we not supposed to worship Him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength?  With what Christ has done, is He not deserving of our worship?

Worshipping God is something we will do for eternity.  Let us start doing it right.... starting today!

Prayer
Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  
Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCF Richmond on  February 1, 2015
I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.  
If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:
 www.wordchristianfellowship.com