Matthew Chapter 26 by Dr. Thomas Chung dated 20.3.16

One of the important passage in Matthew Chapter 26 was the event at the garden of Gethsemane.  That passage was important because Jesus was given a choice whether He should go to the Cross.  In a sense God gave Him a choice.  After He “gave in” all events after that were human activities.  Because He already submitted to God’s will.

Jesus instituted the Holy Communion after He ate the Passover meal with His disciples.  The Passover meal parallels the Holy Communion.  Jesus brought in the Spiritual significant of a meal and turned it into the Holy Communion.

Under the old covenant, the Jews were preoccupied with the Mosiac Covenant :

         a)      Abrahamic Covenants representing perpetuities, and circumcision.

         b)      Noah Covenant – covenant of mercy

         c)       Covenant of Moses has three streams –

                    i) Abraham’s descendants to be circumcised.

             ii) the Jews were descended from Isaac and Jacob, they have the Torah and kept the Sabbath to                      distinguish them from the Arabs.

            iii) Through Jacob Jesus came to institute the New Covenant.

There are 7 parts to Dr. Thomas Chung’s sermon :

1.       Jesus predicted His death.  Politic prevailed to get Him.

2.       A woman anointed Jesus.  Jesus said the anointment was beautiful “to Him”, meaning as a worship and it was meant “for Him” as an act of service.

3.       He was sold as a slave.

4.       The New Covenant He instituted.

5.       At the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus could chose whether to go to the Cross.

6.       The Trial of Jesus.  False testimonies of blasphemy and false politics.

7.       Peter denied Jesus three times.

Matthew Chapter 26:

Vs. 1 & 2 – Jesus predicted His death and He warned His disciples.

Vs. 3 – 5 – The politics behind the trial.

Vs  6- 13 – A woman anointed Jesus. It was the most beautiful act ever performed by a human to the   

                   Son of God.

Vs 14-16- Jesus was sold by Judas for 30 silver coins a price of a slave.

Vs 17-29- The Passover meal parallel the Holy Communion.  The difference between the Passover meal and Holy Communion is that the Passover meal was part take with meat whereas the Holy Communion did not.  Jesus instituted the Holy Communion because this was to indicate that Christians need not part take of the Passover meal.

Vs 30 -45 – Peter denied he knew Jesus.  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed that the Cup may be taken away from Him.

Vs 47-68- Judas betrayed Jesus.  Jesus’ trial was a religious trial but it was turned into a political trial.  The religious part accused Him to had blasphemed by claiming to be God and the political part accused Him of calling Himself King.

Vs 69-75 – Peter denied Jesus.  Dr. Chung explained that he was recognised by his accent as he spoke.  People from different region spoke with different accent.

Holy Communion

In explaining the Holy Communion, Dr. Chung referred to 1 Corinthians 10:14 and 1 Corinthians 11:23

Jesus instituted a new Covenant.  He also instituted the Holy Communion after the Passover meal.  The Holy Communion was a parallel to the Passover meal.  The Holy Communion was to be taken after the Passover meal.  It was not a whole meal.  It was a symbolic meal with Spiritual significance.

1 Corinthians 11:25 – Jesus instituted the Holy Communion after the Passover has ended.  The Holy Communion was for the Christians and the Passover was for the Jews.  The blood symbolised the cleansing of our sins.  Exodus 12:13 indicated the significance of the blood.  The blood of the lamb brought deliverance.  Holy Communion is also a deliverance, exorcise people.

Covenant can also means testament or agreement.

1 Corinthians 10:16 – Holy Communion is to participate in the life of God and life of the church.  In participating in the Holy Communion is also a fellowship of God’s people.  It is a fellowship in the body of Christ.

The Significance of Holy Communion

          1.       Speaks of the centrality of the Cross

          2.       An act of continuity.

          3.       Constant regular reminder of th centrality of the Cross.

          4.       Proclamation of Jesus’ death until He comes again.

          5.       A sacred act – partake with sincerity and reverence.  It is also a blessing because it cement our                     relationship with God and one another.

Parable of the sower by Ho King Swee dated 6.3.16

This sermon is based on Matthew 13:1-23 and similar passages in Mark 4:1-2o and Luke 8:4-15.

Bro. Ho paraphrased Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preach from Britain, “if you know that God is speaking, you better listen attentively.  If you know God has written the Bible, you better read this book”.

Parables are about our hearts and the words put into our hearts.

1. The Parable give Matt 13:1-9

         a)       some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

         b)       Other seeds fell on rocky ground,  -not much soil, immediately they sprang up -when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away.

         c)       Other seeds fell upon thorns,  the thorns grew up and choked them.

         d)       Other seeds fell on good soil - brought forth grain (fruit), some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty

2. The Purpose of parables  Matt 13:10-17

10: Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

11: And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Also vs. 13,14,15.

Parable Explained:

       1.       First kind of soil –wayside/path (Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12)

       2.    Second kind of soil - rocky ground (Matthew 13:20,21; Mark 4:16,17; Luke 8:13)

       3.    Third kind of soil - thorny ground (Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12)

       4.    Fourth kind of soil - good ground (Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12)

All the 4 kinds of people are subject to the same conditions:

        (1)     Satan is working on them (2) They face tribulation & persecution (3) They face temptations of the world

The 4th kind of people are different from the 1st three in that

They bear fruit

We can conclude that :

1. They receive and hold fast to the word

2. They do not fall away in tribulation and persecution

3. They do not love the world

What fruits? Gal 5:22-23, John 15:1-8

Lessons

Sufferings are inevitable John 15:18, 20, John 16:33

Sufferings produce characters Rom 5:3-5

Blessed are those who are persecuted for Christ’s sake Matt 5:10-12

Never trade our eternal life for anything here Matt 16:25-26

E,g Paul live for Christ Phil 1:12, Rom 8:18

All who died in faith Heb 11:13

Are you fearful of suffering? Have you died for Christ?

What and where is your treasure?

The 4th kind of people are different from the 1st three in that

They bear fruit

We can conclude that :

1. They receive and hold fast to the word

2. They do not fall away in tribulation and persecution

3. They do not love the world

Application

4. Live daily for eternity – as sojourners on earth Heb 3:12-14

What is Jesus doing in my life? By Pastor Daniel Kion dated 14.2.2016

This sermon is based on John 11:38 – 45.  It is the familiar story of Jesus raising Lazarus his good friend from the dead.

What can we learn from this story?  When Jesus learnt of Lazarus death, He was in another place and Lazarus had died four days already.  Jesus was very sad when He learnt of his death.  His disciples wanted Him to stay where He was, but He insisted of going back to Lazarus’ village.  When Jesus reached the village he ordered the stone to be taken away from the tomb, but people were reluctant because of the odour after four days.  Jesus knew, He wanted to show them He was God.  He also wanted to show His love for Lazarus.  In this away, God show great love for us, also Jesus was raise from the dead for us.  Those who believed will have eternal lives.  Jesus returned to raise Lazarus as well as to show His love for Lazarus.  Although Jesus could have roll the stone from the tomb, He asked his disciples to do that. This was because He was teaching the disciples, similarly He is teaching us.  God will do His part, let us do our part.  Sometimes we cannot understand like what Pastor Daniel experienced in his ministries, but we just obey God.  Pastor Daniel said doing mission work is not easy.  Many of these activities are new to him.  Like raising Lazarus was new to the disciples.  God wants us to do the unfamiliar.  Like removing the stone, to show love to the people.  To be closed to the people.  It was like Jesus even though He knew people hated Him, He still wanted to go back to the village.

Pastor Daniel related an incident in the longhouse his ministry is helping.  A man who usually opposed his ministry came to ask for his help to give him some stones, cement and bricks to build his house as he was an invalid.  People had told Pastor what this man had done to his ministry in that kampong.  Pastor said he will pray about this man’s request.  After two weeks this man received what he requested for and he was so thankful and came to the Lord.  Pastor Daniel said the lesson is that sometime Christians are the ones who do not share the Gospel with non-Christians.  It is the hope that Jesus brings to people, regardless of who they are.  Pastor Daniel also observed that believers in the kampong have stronger faith then believers in the city.

When the stone rolled away from the cave, Jesus shouted to Lazarus to come out.  Actually, His shout was for the people presence, and not about Lazarus.  Jesus could have raise Lazarus without going to the village but He chose to go there.  His shout was meant for the villagers.  He brought a message of love.  Jesus has also given us spiritual authority so let us use this authority.

When Lazarus came out of the tomb he was in grave cloths.  When Jesus asked the people to remove his cloth, they hesitated.  May be people were sceptical and worried about the odour.  Why Jesus wanted the people to remove the cloths? Because He wanted the people to be involved in the Kingdom, also they have to do their part and God will do His part.  This lesson also applies to us today.

It is not necessary to have great faith to do ministry, but we need to obey God.  The raising of Lazarus was for the people, after he was raise from the dead many came to believe in Jesus Christ.

What is Jesus doing in your life?  Show love to the unreached, share our faith and show our love to them. 

Exercise our faith and release people into the ministries of God.

Compassion for the Lost and Networking by Dr.Tiong Tung Hui dated 24.1.16

Compassion for the lost and networking with other churches in demonstrating compassion is in our Church’s Mission Statement.

What is compassion?

Compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Greek

Splangchnon; plural splangchna

Originally referred to body parts specifically to the viscera of sacrificial animals – heart, liver, lungs and kidney (“guts” or “bowels”)

The followings are the verses used by Dr. Tiong for his sermon:

Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 22:37-39, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32, Mark 1:40-41, John 11:35

Several of these verses contain the word “compassion” and some about how Jesus showed compassion for the needy.

God’s compassion is the heart of salvation. Jesus is the expression of God’s compassion for us.  It is not about pity for us.

Jesus has the heart for two groups of people 

a) The lost

b) outcast, sick or poor.

Even though in many Bible stories we could see Jesus was very busy and yet he had compassion for these two groups of people.

How do we love God?  By loving others.

     1.       For the lost – we must share Christ whenever we have the opportunity.  In this modern time, we got to earn the rights to share Jesus Christ with the lost.  Our actions should tally with our sharing.  Do not say one thing and do the opposite.

     2.       Heal the sick – Jesus had compassion for the sick and He healed them.

     3.       The harvest is plentiful and labours are few, more so we must share Christ with those who do not know Him.

Being a Christian we cannot be uncompassionate.  He share about the work of Mother Teresa, and Amy Carmichael, how these missionaries sacrificed their lives for others.  Also in Borneo how SIB was started by the Australians who had compassion for those in Borneo who did not know Christ.  We must response to reach the unreached.  We are His hands and voices.  We are His channel and He wants to work through us.  God wants us t participate in His work.

As a Church how do we show compassion to the lost?

E.g. we have Salvation Amy works, Breakthrough, Hope Place, Tuition of English, Family Ministry and others.  There are so many avenue for us to participate.  It is not necessary to introduce new activity and organizations to do these work.

Dr. Tiong shared about his experience of serving in a hospice where a family have 4 retarded children who also suffered from kidney problems.  Last year one child died while his parents hold his hands.  Another is very sick now.  When Dr. Tiong asked them how they face such hardship and pain, they said it was God’s grace and mercy.  Dr. Tiong said he could not help but to show support and to hold their hands in the time of trouble.

In another story, he was helping a rural woman with her cataract eyes, the operation did not go well and yet the woman told Dr. Tiong that she could see.  Dr. Tiong knew she could not see.  On another occasion Dr. Tiong asked her why she said she could see when she could not ?  She said Dr.Tiong  and others had already showed her so much compassion and help and she could not say she was unable to see.

Net Working

God wants us to work with others and other churches.  Since, the “Allah” issue we can see how our Sarawak Churches of various denominations had united together for the same cause.  We have seen many churches under Kuching Minister Fellowship working together in many projects.

There are many organizations we can join, Salvation Amy, Alpha, FES, Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, Breakthrough, Hope place etc.

Conclusion

Micah 6:8

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly[a] with your God.”

Focused on Jesus by Song Ting Kee dated 3.1.16

Focused on Jesus is one of the ethos of FBC.  This sermon is based on Daniel 3:13-30.  It was about the story of King Nebuchadnezzar instructing the three Jewish men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to worship the golden idol he made, but they refused.  So he threw them into a furnace, but to his surprise they were not hurt.  He came to acknowledge the God of the Jews.

What made the three men so firm?

It was their identity with God.  It was the key to give them the confidence of His help in time of troubles.

Daniel 1:6-7

The men from Judah, their names changed by the Babylonians.  Daniel became Belteshazzar, Haaniah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach and Azariah to Abednego.

Meaning of their names

Daniel                               Belteshazzar

 God’s judge                     Nebuchadnezzar’s God

God’s judgement

God is my judge

Hananiah                        Shadrach

Yahweh is gracious        Command of Moon god (Shudur Aku)

Mishael                            Meshach 

Who is what God is        Who is what “Aku” is

Azariah                              Abednego

Whom Yahweh helps      Servant of “Nego”

Their names in the Jewish language were meaningful and they were related to God.  They knew God very well.  They had identity with God.  Whereas the Babylonian names were nothing related to the true God but related to idols and their gods.

The young Jewish men knew God and they will not bow down to any idol.  The Babylonians tried to shape their thinking and their identities, but they did not succeed in changing them into the Babylonian’ ways.  The young men were so sure that they told the king even if they did not survive being thrown into the furnace that was alright because God may have other plans.

Who am I in Christ?  What am I in Christ?

We often take the Communion, and we realized how much God loves us.  He died for us.  We do experience storms in our lives, but we know God is there for us.  Let us hang on to Jesus.  We in Christ are more than conquerors.  Conquerors of darkness, and inequalities to show love, grace, and sympathy to those who need them.  Christ in us help and shape us.

Bro. Song shared a story of a troubled teacher trainee who seems to give troubles to the lecturer.  Later Bro. Song and his wife found that her mother died while she sat for her Form five exam and later their father abandoned them.  She has to look after her brothers.  During school holidays, Bro Song and his wife found her a temporary work at a day care.  This shows the heart of God.

Focus on what?

Focus on love, sharing the Good News, helping the needy, pray for the people touch them.

Bro. Song shared a story of a former prisoner who was totally changed after he came to Christ.  After his release he went back to his kampong and kneed in front of all the villagers to ask for forgiveness.  They forgave him.  He asked the villagers to give him building materials to re build his house and they did.  This Christmas Bro. Song, Bro. Ben and Pastor George celebrated Christmas with him in his kampong.  This showed the heart of love.

In another story of a teacher who was about to retire.  He did not know what to do as his identity was his work as a teacher.  As he approached his retirement he began to forget usual things like locking his house.  One day he forgot to lock his house and his computer was stolen.

Focus on Christ alone, identify with Christ.

Reflect God.  We live for Christ and not for ourselves.

Conclusion

Galatian 6: 9-10

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

1 Timothy 4: Be A Good Minister to Christ (Take heed to yourself and teaching) by Ho King Swee dated 29.11.15

 Be a good minister of Christ Jesus

1. Warn about danger of false teaching (v1-6a)

2. Train yourself in godliness and be good example (v6b-12)

3. Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching (v13-16)

1. Warn about danger of false teaching (v1-6a)

-Forbid marriage

-Abstain from meats or certain food

-Are they Biblical?

How to know false prophets and teachers?

By their fruit you will know them – Matt 7:15

Ask and check :

Do these preachers & teachers have the qualifications stated in 1 Tim.3 (Titus 1)?

1Tim. 4:7  Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

Don’t waste time on the false teaching but spend time on the truth, the word of God

2. Train yourself in godliness and be good example (v6b-12)

If we are true disciples and followers of Jesus Christ,

 We should grow to be more and more like Christ, otherwise we deceive ourselves.

Are we discipline in training ourselves in godliness?

Have a goal or mission not for this earthly life only but for eternity - 1Tim. 4:8  , 1 Tim 4:12

Share your life and not just your word – 1 Thessalonians 2:8-10, James 3:1-2, Ephesian 4:29.

3. Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching (v13-16)

We can’t stop or prevent false teachings but we can and must preach and teach sound Biblical teaching

What must we do to be good minister of the Word?

3 (a) Preach and teach the Word of God at all times- 2 Timothy 4:1-3

3 (b) Preach and teach the whole counsel of God – not your favourites – Matt 28:18-20, John 14:26, John 16:13, Acts 20:27, 2 Timothy 3:16,

Examples:  Ezra (Neh. 8:1-12)

Examples:  Jesus (Luke 4:14-22)

3 (c) Preach and teach under the authority of God’s word- Not make use of God’s word

Isaiah 66:1-2, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:2,

3 (d). Preach and teach to please God and not men

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4,

3(e). Preach and teach Not for ulterior motives –e.g. dishonest gain, deceive,..

1 Thessalonians 2:3, 2:5

3(f). Preach and teach Christ as supreme to lead people to follow Him

Acts 2):29-30, 1 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Colossian 1:28,

Application: What must we do?

      1.       Watch and pray

      2.       Train in godliness & be good example

      3.       Devote yourself to obey ALL teaching of the LORD Jesus Christ (read, listen, study, meditate, preach, teach the scripture)