Sat, Jun 2nd - 10:59AM

The Gospel of John Chapter 9 - 10 Main Summary

Do download the lesson guide @ http://z02.zupload.com/download.php?file=getfile&filepath=30993

I'll discuss the lesson in my blog tomorrow =)

God bless

Sun, May 27th - 8:57AM

The Gospel of John Chapter 8 Main Summary

Welcome sinners, not sin

Dowload the slide @ http://z28.zupload.com/download.php?file=getfile&filepath=59708

Intro: Kaka - one great Christian footballer!

This photo was taken after AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1 in Athens. Kaka was there on his knees (must have been thanking God for the victory) with his shirt saying, "I belong to Jesus". Kaka is really one great Christian footballer of our times I must say (although I support Liverpool), whose devotion to God is well known throughout his career so far. This photo really moved me as I do my Bible study lesson on the Gospel of John Chapter 8. There are a lot of players who go to famous and rich (let's not deny it) to get a fat pay cheque. Kaka, in his height of success, yet chose to believe in Jesus and I believe God must have answered his prayers. Congrats AC Milan for being the Champion anyway.

Jesus welcome the sinner but not the sin

Jesus love us, as we have seen in the study on John so far, but what specific things He love in us? In the example of the adulterous woman (and the Samaritan woman), we see that Jesus, despite being in a trap set up by the Pharisees unconcerned of the sins within them, highlighted the weakness in the Pharisees and so-called won this round. Then He said to the woman "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8: 11b) Indeed, Jesus is the friend of sinners. He loves the sinners as a person, not for how worthy or holy he or she can be. This is the love that Jesus came down to show.

And so by doing this, He questioned whether the Pharisees had the right to judge because they were sinners too and would only judge based on corrupted human standards. However, Jesus, whom God has given the power to judge, is sinless and so He judge based on fairness, love and compassion. Sinners, too, need to be given by God and so since Jesus came down to forgive, not condemn, Jesus taught that we should forgive each other. For God is love and Jesus gave God's two greatest commandment: Love Him and love each other. So, forgiveness, unheard of during the Pharisees' era (when they believed in "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"), was one of the message Jesus said in John 8. 

So, let's highlight what Jesus said of sin in this Chapter:

1) We are loved therefore we can love; we are forgiven therefore we can forgive - No more guilt and hatred against each other as created by sin

2) All of us have sin and will die unless we believe in Jesus Christ - No more damnation and death, the punishment for sin

3) All of us who believe and abide in His Word (Be disciples, not believers only) - We are children of God on earth to glorify God, no longer children of Satan glorifying evil and become slaves to sin

This is the freedom we know: The freedom from slavery of sin and death

So what can we be assured of?

1) We can be free from sin. Hence we are free from guilt and shame.

2) We can have the love and joy of the Lord, just like Abraham rejoice as Jesus said in verse 56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

3) We can have the privilege to be His adored children doing His Word and works

So fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, rejoice for God is with us! Let's praise Him in the storm.

God bless

- As inspired by the Holy Spirit on 27th May 2007 -

Sun, May 20th - 11:49PM

The Gospel of John Chapter 7 Main Summary

Judge a book based on its cover? Hmm...

200 Pounds Beauty!

Anyone who see the Korean movie 200 Pounds Beauty will remember one of this quote:

(Translated)

"Only three types of women exist in this world: beautiful woman, average woman... You're a reject."

In a nutshell, this movie says of this obese woman, who has been a backup voice for this singer, being discriminated and rejected solely due to her size and in order for her to get close to a guy, she undergoes surgery to make herself slim and beautiful.

In reality, people's perceptive of slim and beauty as a criteria for acceptance into their social circle has been one way some of us have been judging. In this movie, the internal beauty of the girl is her voice. Hence, sometimes, even me fall into this trick of judging people based on looks and what's written, but really never continue to think of what's beyond. So, in this Bible study on John 7, we see how Jesus challenging the people to think beyond what they have been believing as taught by their teachers.

John 7: The way we judge

In a summary, Jesus was asked by His half brothers to attend the feast of tabernacles or Sukkoth (an eight-day Jewish harvest festival http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Tabernacles ) in Jerusalem as Jesus had been avoiding Judea in His Ministry (as we recall His first ministry there when He drove out people from the Temple) but He initially rejected. Still, He went there quietly while the people were discussing where Jesus was. Halfway into the festival, Jesus went up to teach the people and they were amazed that a person who was known (based on their knowledge of Jesus and hearings) to be unlearned would have such wisdom. Jesus then proclaimed that His knowlegde was from His Heavenly Father, so Jesus was doing this in honour of the One who sent Him (v16-18) and highlighted the Jews' plot of killing Jesus to the ignorant crowd. He justified His actions to that of circumcision (just one part of body) during the Sabbath in Moses’ era to prove that what He was doing (that He healed the whole body) was not wrong (as we recall John 5 and see Matthew 5:17). We can see that He came to fulfill the Word and not abolish them. So, in verse 24, Jesus urged the people to judge rationally according to the Law and not blindly following it.

Then the people started to think if Jesus is the Christ by rationalizing along these two lines:

1) That the authority concluded this by allowing Jesus to go up and speak

2) That Jesus' origin was known, as compared to their belief and teachings that the Messiah would appear suddenly (as we see Malachi 3:1 and Daniel 9:25)

In the last day, Jesus again taught: this time of the Holy Spirit to the crowd. Many believed in Him, implying that God's Will indeed is perfect and timely for Jesus' evangelistic ministry. Still, some debated of His bloodline (that the Messiah was to be from King David's bloodline, which Joseph, His earthly father was) and Bethlehem (which Jesus was indeed born). The Jews heard of it and sent guards to seize Him but they did not, as they started to believe and were amazed by His teachings. Nicodemus wanted a fair trial should Jesus be seized, but the Pharisees, without even stopped to think, rejected that claim and said Jesus was from Galilee, from where no known prophet came and would come from according to the Scritptures.

Lesson from Jesus: Think before we judge (It is about Honouring God!)

nThis is how Jesus wants us to learn through John 7:

• Know of the background: Credibility

Jesus said that people who speak of their own will be gaining honour and credit for themselves. Hence, we need to think of credibility: Are we honouring God or honouring ourselves in teaching/following the Word?

• What is the rationale behind the belief we have:

Jesus highlighted that since a Holy act of healing like circumcision is fine in the Sabbath, why not healing the whole body? The rationale behind is important: that a Holy, good act according to the Word is glorifying God. The reason behind what we believe is what God will want from us.

So, we see:

So, take home with us...

So, God gives us a mind and free will to choose our actions and belief. However, how we judge and do what we do need to be based on ideally will be:

1) His Word (Commandments)

2) The prompting of the Holy Spirit

3) His Will for us

This is our wonderful God's plan for us =)

God bless

- As inspired by God on May 21 2007 -

Mon, May 14th - 11:02AM

The Gospel of John Chapter 6 (v25-70) Main Summary

Food, Glorious Food

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " - Matthew 4:4

Food, glorious food! As the vultures sing in Ice Age 2: The Meltdown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TSsK3MIHLU

However, this is just temporal and can be seen as a personal desire, like a child who cries out for milk. As Jesus told the Devil (as seen above), we need more than just physical food, but spiritual food. As the Apostle Peter says, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation" (1 Peter 2:2) and we can see from Hebrews:

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" - Hebrews 5:13

We see that the crowd, whom Jesus gave sufficient food using 5 loaves and 2 fish, is still not contented. They wanted Jesus, who they concluded with just one act of miracle that He is the Prophet Moses proclaimed, and wanted Him to establish an earthly kingdom to liberate them from the Roman Empire as seen here:

"Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." - John 6:15

So this is the actual physical food they crave for. So they followed Jesus till we know in verse 25-70

"I am the Bread of Life"

Jesus, however, knew of their intention and rebutted their belief. In a nutshell, Jesus told them this:

That He is here, by God's Will, to give eternal life to those who believes in Him and faith alone is sufficient without works.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

It was not the answer that the crowd followed Him for and hence, they concluded it was a hard teaching because this was not the Messiah that they wanted. They wanted their will to be done, not God's Will.

Take home with us this...

Why will God want us to come down to this earth for, in the midth of so much sufferings and tears? If the world is formed due to a big bang and we believe in this theory, then truly we are surviving and not living, because we live by our own will, which may harm others instead, as some may be selfish thoughts. God wants us to be strong spiritually and be happy in His presence while we worship and adore Him. Hence, we can see His plan of having the Holy Trinity doing various roles:

1) Our Heavenly Father: God wants us to be happy and be strong spiritually. Hence, He devises His Will for each of us on earth to follow. However, we fall from sin and get separated from Him. Hence, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ.

2) His Son: Jesus, The Word, comes down to redeem us and reunite us with God by introducing the two greatest commandments: Love God and love each other. So that everyone, regardless of differences and diversity, will be reunited under His Body: the Church with Christ as Head. However, someone needs to guide us in our walk on earth, so the Holy Spirit comes into the picture

3) His Holy Spirit: The Wonderful Counselor then comes into us to confirm that Jesus always dwell in us forever and guide us for this quest for spiritual maturity or "food"

This is the basic message that Jesus says from verse 25 to 70.

So this spiritual food comes from...

1) The Word: The Bible is more than a series of moral-telling stories, it is Jesus. Hence, we can see the relevance of our life inside the Bible by looking at God's Will for each of us

2) Pray: God wants us to talk to Him. Hence, He gives us the straight road of praying to Him through His sinless perfect Son, Jesus Christ

3) God's Holy people: With the two greatest commandments, we are united in Christ. Hence, our growth also depends on each other

4) Experiences: Through sufferings and happiness, we can experience the joy that we all have by depending on Him alone

And then the Counselor will guide us through these medium. God just ask of one request: That we believe in Jesus Christ, His Son.

God bless

- As inspired by God on May 14, 2007 -

Fri, May 11th - 9:42AM

[Personal] [= The Joy I have and all of us have =]

"When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul." - Psalm 94:19

As I am currently doing a gospel study together with my youths on John, it is amazing to see the different miracles that Jesus did in His ministry on earth about two thousand years ago. However, there are just a written account and doesn't really have an great impact on my life. Until today, I really appreciate the miracles that are written, because truly God is great and have done yet another great miracle in my life. I have truly seen God's perfect plan and why He wanted me to go through these trials: So that I will experience the Joy He promised us to share to all of you: Truly God is good!

Today, I officially passed my driving test after about 1 years plus worth of driving lessons. It was remarkable, I must admit there is this joy inside me. Really, if you were in my shoes, you would be feeling very lucky and happy. I was struggling with some personal issues within me in the middle of doing examinations that seemed so difficult, and I had my second driving test right after that. I really felt God was playing a trick on me then. Even before the test, I had quite low morale to go through it. Everything, I thought, would not work for me.

But then, in His plan, I have found this amazing, new song by Hillsong United: Saviour King by Marty Sampson, Mia Fieldes, which has the lyrics (hopefully no copyright breach, haha):

Listen to Saviour King here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y70KgZuczSA 

"Let now the weak say I have strength
By the Spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead...

Oh my portion is Him and I'm more than blessed

I love You Lord, I worship You
Hope which was lost, now stands renewed"

These few verses impacted me while I listened to it. Soon, I listen to this song every day, constantly reminding myself of His love and the Joy that we have in Christ. Then, amazing, in my heart, I feel the peace that surpasses all understanding within. Is that what the Psalmist trying to express too?

Not long ago, my friends celebrated my birthday for me. I was truly greatly touched, as I did not really celebrate my birthday for almost a decade. Thank you guys! =) Then it was getting to shine on me that God has a different twist in His plan for me: that I would experience His joy after a storm. What will God want sufferings in our lives even though He loves us? It is to mould us to be Christ-like, so that we will experience the same joy that John the Baptist had too, when he said, "That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:29-30). That we will be less and let God take over to become greater in us so that we will be great testimonies of His Glory and worship Him more with our whole heart. How great is our God!

So, back to my test. During the warm up, the instructor pointed not to be too nervous, as I displayed during my trial test. I became worried and thought, "Would I fail again?" My heart became more worried and so everything did not seem very smooth, as intended. So I prayed to Him to guide me later.

When I was doing my vertical parking, suddenly the tester pointed out, "You hit a kerb." My hear sank. Again? "You go out and look." He knew that I did not believe him. Oh my God! Again? Then he kindly guided me, "Just reverse; you will only hit the kerb once." And so the whole mood went down from then. I became panic but somehow I managed to stay calm and continue with that peaceful mood. Later, he kept pointing my mistake of changing the wrong gear and being too slow. I thought it was over.

Then when I stopped, he started writting on my driving test assessment and to my surprise, he said, "I'll let you pass". 16 points, just 4 more and I would fail again. My heart stopped a while. Serious? I passed? I looked at the paper he passed to me. Hit kerb constituted 4 demerit points and another 6 was due to failure to check for obstacles. The rest were just minor faults. I never felt so happy before. God be the Glory!

How can I ever thank God? I finally saw His plan, and it was perfect. This dawned onto me.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrew 12:2

What is the difference between joy and happiness? Happiness is due to an event; we feel happy because of something. Joy, however, is due to a reason. In my study on the Epistles of Philippians (Philippians 2:1-18), Mr Eric Ling, my mentor, told me this differentiation. So, what's the difference between Christians and the world: that we have this Joy, this Peace that is so differently from the world's definitions of these two words. Peace is not feeling at ease inside our heart, but it is a status: that the Holy Spirit will come in and gives us this peace. As it is written,

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23

So, I share this joy to all of you and pray that you too will experience the miracle inside your lives that will firmly establish this conviction that God is in control, like King David sang in his psalm,

"The LORD is my light and my salvation—
       whom shall I fear?
       The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
       of whom shall I be afraid?"

(Psalm 27:1)

God bless

As inspired by God on May 11, 2007