today's sermon

Hey everyone. I'm baaackkk. I don't know why I'm but I'm always super excited to post new stuff on my blog. Came back from church and will need to go bowling at 6ish.. so this will be a bit short. Plus, my mum is making me dinner. So the sermon verse for today was Romans 8:28-30. Spoken through Pastor Chris. I added a bit of stuff in it too..

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Pastor Chris went over the topic of struggling last week so I'll review a bit. When struggling, God teaches us things that can only be taught in hardship such as gentleness, compassion, patience, sympathy, etc.... Basically one who experienced a similar situation can influence and help you more since they've gone through the same thing. There's a korean saying, "If you haven't gone through this, just don't say anything." God uses suffering so that He could draw us to him. Whenever we fall into temptation, we are humbled, helping us realize how much more we need God and his Word to overcome. So, in all cases, we must understand that when it's written ALL WORKS in v28, it includes the good and the bad,.. not only the good. We might win the lottery or have a business that is going well, and believe that God is using this work for the good of us. This might be so, but I would ask what about the deaths that happen in our families? or bankruptcies? or heartbreaks? Is that being used by God to later glorify Him? I believe so.. The world might see blessings as in forms of money, luck, fortunes, etc... but that's not always so in the eyes of God. In order to make one more Christlike, would be seen as a blessing. The struggles, pain, and perhaps more persecution in the near future will help us realize that it's not because God's calling down curses on us but many of the times it's for us to learn how to be humbled, to be humiliated, to be meek, and basically to be more Christlike. (many times though, the hardships are sometimes what we had sown (sin) and now are reaping.) But as followers of Christ, we must share in His suffering so that we may later be glorified with His son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:17...."Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

"...for the good of those who love him..." v28. this shows that we must love him above anything and anyone else.. love him more than ourselves and our flesh. Pastor Chris mentioned that there are 9 categories of love with God.
1... mm.. i forgot this one... will ask soon.
2. to trust in his power to protect His own.
3. to have peace that only He can impart.. (this comes with training.. not depending on one's emotions but holding onto truth.)
4. is sensitive to His will and His honor.
5. to love what God loves. (you'll learn about what he loves when you read his word.)
6. to love people.
7. to hate what God hates. (violence, sin, etc.)
8. longs for Christ's return.
9. Obedience. (2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.)

I've always asked God to help me to love Him with everything I've got.. and Pastor Chris had listed out the things I need to surrender and things I should pray more specifically about. Sooo.. what is the purpose that v28 is talking about?? Everyone is wondering about purpose in life. Rick Warren sold millions of copies with the book, "Purpose Driven Life." This shows how many people are truly wondering what their purpose is. This is pretty blatantly written in verse 29. We are to be conformed to the likeness of His son.

Summary: We should continue to ask God to conform us into the perfect image of Love which is Christ. For us to hate ourselves and our sin and love God more than ourselves. To be in complete obedience to God and take the reins of our thoughts and surrender it to our Lord Jesus Christ.

How are we going to not lash back because we were humiliated for the name of Jesus, if we do not obey now? How are we going to love when we can't even love someone that talked behind our back? How are we going to forgive those who will piss at our face like Brother Yun in heavenly man? Oman, when I heard what he did, I asked the Lord to give me a heart like that. I want to be tested and tried. I want to be gold refined in the fire. To learn how to love no matter what the circumstance but it's because I want to be obedient to Him.

This reminds me of Misty Edward's sermon/testimony for Fascinate 08. Powerful sermon on the relevance of Life. Enjoy!