Psalm 16 is a psalm of David. Let us take a look first at the conclusion of this psalm, the last verse, verse 11. The conclusion of this psalm says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” David said he has fullness of joy and eternal pleasures. In verse 9, he said, “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.” David said his heart and his body know gladness and security.

From these verses, we can deduce that a joyful life is not impossible. David himself had experienced it, but what is the secret to having a joyful life? The first word in verse 9 is “therefore”. The use of “therefore” means a conclusion has been made. The supporting evidences for his conclusion are found in verses 1 to 8. Verses 1 -8 tell us there are three attitudes that lead to joyful living. In this life, there are no irresolvable problems, only unresolved emotional issues. After an event has occurred, it becomes a part of history, it becomes a thing of the past, but if our emotional responses to this event remain unresolved, we continue to live in misery. If we want a joyful life, we must learn to have a positive attitude towards life. David teaches the three positive attitudes for joyful life in Psalm 16.

I. The Attitude of Taking Refuge in the Lord v.1

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. What does it mean to take refuge? I can lean on the pulpit stand because I know it is reliable. But I will not lean on the music stand because I know it is unreliable. When we take refuge in something, it is because we know it is reliable. A lot of us buy insurance, how much insurance have we bought? New kinds of insurance policies keep cropping up – life, home, cars, educational, health and now there are insurance against terrorism when you take an airplane. In the Philippines, there is now a form of insurance called ‘Acts of God’. This world is becoming less and less safe. Sometimes, even if one has insurance, it still isn’t a guarantee of security.

David said, “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.” David bought heavenly insurance. God is his insurance. David wrote this psalm when he was having a time of difficulty. He asked God to protect him, he sought refuge in God. In a time of difficulty, David could say `my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure’, because he sought refuge in God, God was his protection. There is no insurance company in this world that can be greater and more reliable than our God. As long as you take refuge in Him, He will protect you – whether against material or physical losses or spiritual attacks. Whenever we trust in Him, He becomes our strength, our shield, our refuge, our ever-present help.

II. Choose the Best Attitude v.2-6

David said, “ …apart from you I have no good thing.” And he also said, “…surely I have a delightful inheritance.” David tells us that nothing can compare to God. If we want a joyful life then we must choose the best. What is the best? Verse 4 says, “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.” In the original text, the word `gods’ does not appear; the sentence ends with the word `other’. It meant `anything that takes the place of God’. What are these “other”?

1. “Other” could be other gods

There is only one true God, apart from Him, there are no other gods. Sometimes, when we share the gospel, we urge people to turn to Christianity, and they will reply, “I am a Buddhist/I am a Roman Catholic/I have a different religion, I will not turn to Christianity.” Actually, we are mistaken, for what religion can save man? Buddhism cannot, Catholicism cannot, even Christianity cannot. Sharing the gospel is not asking people to change religions, sharing the gospel is to give the gift of eternal life to them. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Originally, all of us are without eternal life, all of us were bound to die. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Why? Because we have made a covenant with death. Isaiah 28:15 “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement.” We have a saying, “We will not leave unless we meet.” That is the way with death. In this world, there are two kinds of people: first, are those who wait for death. These people are very careful, they eat healthy, walk cautiously, and so they live longer than others, but eventually, they still have to meet death. The second kind are those who seek death. These are those thrill-seekers, adventure-lovers. Some bikers are simply looking for death by the way they carelessly swerve on the road; and so many times, they find death. But praise the Lord, there is a third kind of people – believers of the Lord Jesus. They have escaped death and entered into life. John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Believers in the Lord Jesus are not those who await death neither are they seeking death, they are people who possess eternal life. This is the most joyful state to be in – to have a refuge because we have the Lord, and also to possess eternal life.

2. “Other” could be wealth, material possessions, children

Psalm 17:14-15 “O Lord, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. And I – in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” Here, there is a comparison – some make wealth, material possessions, or their children a substitute for God. And in the end, their sorrows increase. I am not saying that wealth, material things or children are not good, but if in your heart, you value them more than God, then, they will bring sorrow to your heart.

III. The Attitude of Setting God before Us v.8

David said, “ I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Who among us is able to set the Lord before us? The Bible says God is spirit and he does not have any physical form. For if God is a physical form, then he would become bound by space and time. If he possess a physical form, then he would have a beginning, he would be bound by time, and then, he would also be bound by space. When he is bound by space, then, he can only be at one place at one time. The second commandment states: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” We must remember – the true God created man, false gods were created by men. Since God is spirit, and our eyes cannot see him nor can we touch him, how can we set Him before us? This verse actually refers to the attitude of our hearts. Let us look at this from another angle – why do we often become angry, unhappy or worry? It is because we set the people we dislike or who make us unhappy before us, we set our troubles and difficulties before us, thus, our hearts become disturbed and unhappy.

Here, David teaches us a good approach – do not set men, things, matters before us, set the Lord before us. This is an attitude of the heart. How is your heart? What are the things you focus on? What kind of eyeglasses do we wear to look at the world? If they are dark glasses, then the world will be dark. If they are red glasses, your world will be red. When we wear God’s eyeglasses, we look at the world through his lenses, we will truly have a way out.

I will ask a last question, do you know God? Is God your Lord? If your answer is yes, then God is your refuge, your help, then you will have true joy. If not, today, by faith, accept Him, let Him become your strength, then your life can be totally transformed.

The post Living the Joyful Life (Psalm 16) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the Lord wanted them to circumcise themselves. Crossing the Red Sea symbolizes salvation, while crossing the Jordan River symbolizes victory. We must seek not only to be saved, but also to live victoriously. Salvation is by faith, victory is also through faith.

Romans 1:17 “a righteousness that is by faith, from first to last.” We are to walk by faith all our life. Some Christians begin with faith, but continue by works. They want to rely on their own good works to gain victory, but in the end, they fail. We do not rely on our own strength, but on God, to live a life of victory. Let us reflect on three matters regarding circumcision:
1. What is circumcision?
2. Why circumcision?
3. The blessings of circumcision.

I. What is circumcision?

The first time circumcision occurred in the Bible is in Genesis 17:1-2 “When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

V. 10-11 “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you.”

The Lord wanted to establish a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the dust of the earth. The sign for this covenant was for every male child to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth, a testimony that he belongs to God’s people. Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the male sexual organ. Why did God require circumcision? During Abraham’s lifetime, there were 13 years wherein God did not speak to him. After these 13 years, the Lord spoke to him and said, “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” This statement carried three important meaning:

1. I am God Almighty, nothing is too difficult for me; you did not have to use your own way to have a child.

2. Walk before me and be blameless and I will bless you and greatly increase your numbers. Relying on your own strength, you can only have, at most, one child; but I can make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the seashore.

3. I will make the covenant of circumcision with you as a sign, so that you and your descendants will walk blameless before me and no longer walk according to the desires of your flesh.

Colossians 2:11 “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ.”

Every Christian, whether male or female, must be circumcised spiritually; meaning our sinful nature must be cut off. Jesus said in Matthew 5:29 – 30: “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus meant that we must cut off with utmost determination our sinful desires, allow the flesh and its desires no opportunity at all. This is the true meaning of circumcision.

II. Why Circumcision?

1. The Older Generation Did Not Obey the Lord’s Commands

According to Israelite regulations, a male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after he is born. It was the parents’ responsibility to perform circumcision on their child. But the Israelites did not fulfill this duty. Verse 5, “All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not.”

Verse 7, “So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised.” The new generation born in the wilderness were uncircumcised because their parents did not obey God’s command. Verse 6, “The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord.” This is a warning for all of us who are parents — we must fulfill our responsibilities as parents. Are we training up our children according to the Lord’s commands?

2. The New Generation Obeyed the Lord’s Commands

After crossing the Jordan River, the new generation under Joshua’s leadership camped at Gilgal. Then, the Lord commanded Joshua to circumcise them. At that time, there were six hundred thousand male who were twenty years old and above. These six hundred thousand men had not been circumcised before. They obeyed the Lord and underwent circumcision. There were six hundred thousand foreskins removed from six hundred thousand men; the foreskins piled up to make a hill, that is why the place is called hill of foreskins. This is a sign of their obedience to the Lord.

III. The Blessings after Circumcision

1. The Lord Rolled Away their Reproach

The Lord said, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” The Israelites thus called the place Gilgal, meaning roll away. When God created man, man was without a sense of shame. But after man sinned, Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

They felt shame. Shame came about as a result of sin and sin is disobedience to God’s Word. There is only one way to roll away our shame. Gen 3:21 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Putting on garments rolled away their shame. Ephesians 4:22- 24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” In this passage, there are two verbs, “put off” and “put on”. We must put off the sinful nature, and put on the new self. The new self is created like God in true righteousness and holiness. Circumcision is putting off the sinful nature, and putting on the new self.

2. They Enjoyed the Produce of the Land of Canaan

Possessing Canaan and enjoying Canaan are two different matters. We may possess it, but we may not necessarily enjoy it. V. 10 – 12 records that not only did the Israelites possessed Canaan but they also enjoyed Canaan’s produce. From that day on, the manna from heaven stopped, for there was no longer a need for it. After the Israelites underwent circumcision, they started to enjoy the Lord’s blessings. Is it because we haven’t dealt away with our shameful deeds that we are not enjoying God’s blessings, that the Lord’s blessings are not forthcoming?

3. The Commander of the Lord’s Army Appeared

Verse 13 – 15 “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army appeared. He was going to lead the six hundred-man army to battle seven tribes of people. After the six hundred thousand had undergone circumcision, the commander of the Lord’s army appeared. This is of course not a coincidence. The commander of the Lord’s army is holy, he cannot lead an unclean army into battle. This is truly a challenge for us, if we want to be soldiers of Christ, we must put off our sinful nature; if not, we are but an army without a commander, we are but relying on ourselves to face difficulties and temptations; we will not be truly victorious, we will keep failing. When we obey the Lord’ s will, rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, undergo circumcision of our sinful nature, make a clean break from sin, then the Lord’s blessings will come upon us.

The post Have You Been Circumcised – Joshua 5 appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Life goes through many stages, there is the period of

• Infancy to childhood
• Adolescence
• Single adulthood
• Married state and
• Adulthood to Old Age

This is also true of our spiritual lives, but with one unique difference – our spiritual lives do not automatically grow. If we do not pursue growth in the spiritual life, we can remain immature even if we are already a thirty year old Christian. That is why Paul told the church, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” Stop being an immature spiritual child:

I. Recognizing an Immature Child

From the moment of birth until about six years of age, children not only need the love of parents, but more so, their concrete discipline. We must remember one important principle- parents must be parents before they can be friends to their children. The relationship between friends is one of equality, but that is not so with parents and children. Parents are above their children, this is parental authority. Young children need the firm authority of their parents, because young children have six characteristics:

1. Self-centered

The young child is always the center of his own world, ‘I am my world, I am the center of the world.’ In a young child’s heart, ‘I am the greatest, I am most important, everything is about me, whatever I do is right.’ If parents do not concretely teach and discipline the child, the child can become a small tyrant.

2. Insensitive to others’ feelings

This is often the difficulty parents face. When a child is unhappy, he will immediately show it, not caring how others feel. You may prepare the most nutritious and delicious food, but if he does not like it, he will not eat no matter what you do. When he is unhappy, he refuses to speak. He is totally indifferent to his parents efforts, because in his heart, `I wasn’t the one who asked for it, you were the one who wanted to cook, that has nothing to do with me.’ When he sees an unattractive person, he will say out loud `how ugly’; sometimes, he tactlessly hurt others, because he is insensitive to others’ feelings.

3. He wants his own way

For a child, `my way is the only way’. Whatever a child wants to do, he will do. And in fact, he wants to do it his way. This characteristic is especially true of strong-willed children; if you do not do things his way, this child may totally refuse to cooperate. If parents do not firmly discipline such strong-willed children, they will someday become their parents’ problem. But discipline is not simply spanking. Spanking is not effective with such children, it may only add to the relational discord between the parents and the child. As parents, we must learn how to bring up our children properly.

4. Throw tantrums at will

Small children do not know how to control their temper. They cry when they feel like crying, they throw fits any time they want to. Sometimes, you see parents bring their children to the shopping malls. When the child sees a toy he wants, and the parents refuse to buy it for them, they will cry, throw tantrums, lie on the floor and refuse to get up. At that point, many parents would then give in. Actually, parents must not give in to such tantrums; for once they do, they will become powerless to control these children. Neither should grandparents play the role of the good guy, and meddle in the parents’ efforts to discipline their children. Grandparents, if you do that, you will harm your grandchild. Many parents find it hard to be parents because of the grandparents.

5. With regards to his own actions, he is irresponsible

When a child makes mistakes, he will not admit it because he does not have a sense of responsibility over his actions. We must entrust responsibility to our children, but of course, it must be age-appropriate. As parents, we must not entrust all responsibilities to our children, because they are not yet capable of handling them, if you do, then you are not being a responsible parent.

6. Does not listen to reason

The child’s reasoning power has not yet developed fully. If you try to reason with him, he may not understand. Proverbs 22:15 “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.” If you ask your child, `Do you prefer to study or to play the computer?’, he will surely choose the computer. And then, you start lecturing him about the importance of studying, and the harm of too much computer-playing. His answer will continue to be, ‘I prefer to play the computer.’ A child is immature in his thinking, because his reasoning power has not yet developed to maturity, you cannot reason with him. But during this time, the child is able to obey concrete and firm authority. You are to give him orders, and help him learn obedience to authority; if not, he will grow up rebellious. When the child is still unable to understand, do not reason with him, exert your authority as parents.

II. Recognize the spiritually immature person

In the spiritual aspect, we must also grow into maturity, and not remain a spiritual infant. A spiritually immature person is:

1. Self-centered

Luke 15 narrates the story of the prodigal son. The prodigal son was not a small child anymore, but he was spiritually immature, a self-centered person. In his own heart, he was king of the world. He did what he wanted to do, he totally ignored others’ feelings. He told his father, “Give me my share of the estate.” He sounded as if his father owed him. This prodigal son wanted to leave home. We must remember, independence does not mean rebellion. A mature person is someone who is able to leave his parents, not rebel against his parents. An immature person rebels against his parents, but is unable to leave his parents.

2. Insensitive to others’ feelings

A spiritually immature person is insensitive to others’ feelings; he cares only about his own feelings. His attitude is `I will do what I want to do, I will say what I want to say.’ 2Kings 2:23 “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!'”

Verse 24, “He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.” These `youths’ were not small children. When they saw Elisha’s bald head, they made fun of him. Elisha called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord, and forty-two of them were mauled by two bears. Immature people like to make fun of others’ weaknesses. When someone is overweight, they call them pigs; when someone is thin, they jeer that he is a monkey. Does this mean we should be serious and never make jokes. Yes, we may joke, but we must not hurt others’ self-esteem. An immature person is inconsiderate of others’ feelings, while a mature person will consider others’ feelings.

3. He wants to have his way all the time

For the immature person, `my way is the only way’. If you do not do things his way, he will be displeased, and he will even oppose you. Such people are very troublesome. We must learn to humbly listen to others’ opinions. The Lord said it is not good for man to be alone, so He created a woman to be his helpmeet. A wife is God’s gift to us. She was given not to harm us, but to be our helpmeet. She can be your right hand person. Women are very wise and talented. Brothers, listen to your wife’s opinions, for a mature person is one who is willing to listen to views that may be different from his own.

4. Quick-tempered person

Luke 9:52-54 “And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?'”

James and John irately asked the question. They were quick to lose their temper. Some people are unable to control their temper, instead, their temper controls them. A mature person is a gentle person, able to control his own temper.

There are four stages to anger:

• An unpleasant thing happened
• Negative thoughts arise
• Physical manifestations occur (body temperature rise up, heart beats faster) and then,
• Temper flares.

This process could happen within a matter of seconds. The secret to controlling one’s temper is to extend the time period between the moment of provocation to the moment of reaction. The longer you are able to extend this time period, the lesser the chance of you losing your temper. A real man is a gentleman. Are you a gentleman or a spiritual infant?

5. Irresponsible

Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” When a person matures, he will leave his parents, because he has become independent. He is able to take care of himself and others, he is, then qualified to marry. A real man lives by conviction not by convenience. A mature person is a committed person – he is committed to his marriage, to his family, to his profession. Brothers, if we are irresponsible, our wife may be compelled to become our mother.

A mother has two responsibilities : 1. Correct the child’s mistakes 2. Teach the child what is right. If we are irresponsible, our wife will try to correct us, resulting to her becoming a mother to us. Brothers, be a responsible, mature, and committed man, a real man.

6. Unreasonable person

There is one big difference between an immature and mature person. One is childish, he does things according to his impulses. The moment he is moved emotionally, he will act upon it, not considering the consequences. But a mature person will think before he acts upon anything. He will think through the situation, ‘Is what I am going to do right or wrong? What consequences will it bring?’

A Jewish rabbi said, “Psalm 19:1 states that the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. This scripture passage tells us this earth declares and proclaims the glory of God, but only men’s lives can live out God’s glory, because man was created in the image and likeness of God.” We have God’s kindness, righteousness, and love. Our lives are to manifest the glory of God. A mature Christian is a person who glorifies God.

Physical growth happens naturally, but becoming a real man is a choice. Do you want to be a real man or not, are you willing to pay the price and pursue growth; if not, you will forever remain an immature person. Have you made your choice?

The post No Longer Childish (1 Cor 14:20 / 1 Cor 13:11) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

A philosopher once said, “We have been given an extraordinary life, but we chose to live the ordinary.” Life’s greatest sorrow is not failure, but living without purpose. Many people do not know the purpose of their existence at all. Of course, only the Creator would know clearly the reasons he created man. According to the Bible, God created man for three important purposes. When we understand these purposes, then we can make the best life choices.

I. To Glorify God (Gen 1:26-27 / Rom 3:23)

A Jewish rabbi said, Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This world declares the Lord’s glory. The wonders of nature can truly move us to utter, “God is great!” But only human beings can live out the glory of God’s nature, because humans were created in the image of God. God’s goodness, God’s righteousness, God’s love, God’s patience — God put all his character in man, thus, only man can live out God’s glory. This is God’s first purpose for creating man and it is also our first purpose on this earth – to glorify God. But because man fell into sin, he fell short of God’s glory.

In Greek, the word sin means missing the mark. Sinning and violating the law are different. Violating the law is breaking set rules and regulations, while sinning is violating God’s standard. Our lives originally were meant to glorify God, but because we sinned, we fell short of God’s glory. The wages of sin is death. All of us are destined to die in our sins, but because God loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Christians, do you really have the life of Christ in you? Can people see Christ in your life?

A Jewish rabbi said, “The younger generation of Jews today are messengers without a message.” Christians, how about you? Are we Christians without Christ? Beloved friends, do you really have Christ in your life? If not, then, accept Jesus today by faith to be your personal Savior, allow Christ into your life, so that you will be a Christian with Christ, and be a Christian who glorifies God.

II. To Enjoy God (1Tim 6:17)

God created the world in six days, and man was created on the sixth day. When man was created, God placed man in the Garden of Eden to enjoy His creation. Why did God create man on the sixth day? Someone has said, “What parent would prepare the baby’s needs only after the child is born?” As parents, we prepare the baby’s needs before it comes out — clothings, milk powder, crib — and await the baby’s birth. God loves us and so before He created us, He prepared the earth, created the perfect environment, so that we can enjoy it. To enjoy God is the second reason God created us.

1 Tim 6:17 “(do) not put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” God’s purpose for creating us is so that we may enjoy Him. God did not create us to make us suffer, He wants us to have a wonderful life, to enjoy Him. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Life with Christ is a life of abundance and freedom. The Bible says, “All things are permissible” — how freeing this is. However, true freedom entails boundaries. Without boundaries, freedom is not freedom, but indulgence. The fish can only be free in the water, the birds can only be free in the air; the fish cannot walk on land, the birds cannot fly in the water; and man can only be truly free in the Truth. What is true freedom?

1st. Everything is permissible but we must not be controlled by anything.

What does it mean to be controlled ? It is becoming enslaved. It is being unable to stop doing something even when you do not want to do it. You want to stop smoking but you can’t. You want to stop drinking but you can’t. You do not want to gamble but you cannot not do it. Because you have been enslaved, you are unable to enjoy true freedom. Often, people ask me, `Pastor, do you drink wine?’ I tell you, ‘I can drink and I can refuse a drink, because wine has no control over me.’ How about you?

2nd. Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.

Everything we do has some benefit, they benefit us or others. We do not do wicked things intentionally to harm others. But you may argue, “Some Christians are not good testimonies.” Please do not forget, all Christians are in the process of growth; as long as we truly have the abundant life, our lives will improve gradually, we will mature more and more. How about your life?

3rd. Everything is permissible but we must seek to glorify God in everything.

Glorifying God is our first purpose. We should not do anything that will bring shame to God. Every true Christian must be a good citizen, a good worker, a good student, a good husband, a good wife, a good father, a good mother. Because we have an important mission — to glorify God in everything.

III. To Serve God (Gen 1:28)

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” God wants us to be masters over the earth, God wants us to be His managers on this earth, and this is one way we serve God.

The greatest inventor Edison, invented the light bulb, phonograph, and 2000 others things. On the average, he invented something every 15 days. A reporter asked him what his greatest discovery was and he replied, “I discovered Jesus is the Savior of mankind!” In his laboratory, there is a piece of stone, engraved with these words, “I deeply believe that there is an all-wise, all-powerful, most high and most exalted God.”

When a person believes in Jesus and has new life, he begins to understand that life is for serving God. He realizes that whatever he does, he must do it to serve God – he does business for God, and any profession is unto God, be it doctor, lawyer, chef, or preacher. God, on the other hand, is very willing to help us be the best doctor, lawyer – because God’s will is that his children be extraordinary men and women in the midst of the ordinary. Do you still remember that I said, “We had been given an extraordinary life, but we chose to live the ordinary. The greatest sorrow of life is not failure, but living without purpose?”

When we believe in the Lord, we come to realize our purpose on this earth:

• to glorify God
• to enjoy God
• to serve God.

Once we have a clear and correct purpose, then our life will have direction and meaning.

Romans 11:36 is a precious passage in the Bible that tells us an important principle – from Him, through Him and to Him are all things.

What does `from Him’ mean? Everything in this world came from Him. Mankind was created by God, He is our Creator. What does `to Him’ mean? Everything in this world will someday return to Him, He is our eternal dwelling place.

In Psalm 90, Moses said, “Lord you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” Someday, we will all return to God. Those of us who belong to God know where we came from, and where we are going someday. What does `through Him’ mean? We do not know how long our life on this earth will be, but each day, we trust in him, we rely on him; He is our trust, our help, our refuge.

A believer in the Lord knows where he came from, and where he is going. And while he lives on this earth, he has God as his help and rest, what a blessing this is! On the contrary, a person without God does not know where he came from, nor does he know where he is going; all his days are full of trouble and difficulty, and most pitiable of all, he has no one to rely on, to trust in and to help him. Have you made your choice? Are you willing to trust Him? All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him. Do not lose this precious opportunity, turn to Him now!

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In Joshua chapter 4, we can see two piles of stones. Each pile is composed of 12 pieces of stones. God had commanded Joshua, when they crossed the Jordan River, that twelve men chosen from each of the twelve tribes were to take up twelve stones from the river and put them down at the place where they were to stay that night. The second pile of stones was set up in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. These two piles of stones had the same purpose, they were both a testimony to the same thing – how the Lord cut off the flow of the Jordan and allowed the Israelites to cross the river on dry ground. The only difference is that one is under the river and cannot be seen, the other pile is on dry ground and can be seen.

The pile on the ground is a testimony which can be seen. Which among these two piles of stones is more important? The pile under the Jordan River is more important, because without the one under the river, the one on the ground would be a false testimony. This reminds us that real testimony is unseen, not the external, but the internal. The unseen pile of stones testifies to the pile that can be seen.

2Cor 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What can be seen are all temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. The unseen are truly more important than what can be seen. Joshua set up two piles of stones, the unseen pile of 12 stones testifies three important truths:

I. The Twelve Stones are a Testimony of the Twelve Tribes’ Unity

The twelve stones were picked by twelve people. These twelve represented the twelve tribes of Israel. These 12 stones are a testimony to the unity of the 12 tribes. But remember, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had decided not to cross the Jordan River. They wanted to reside east of the river, so, in reality, only 9 tribes crossed the Jordan River. But verses 12-13 tell us ‘The men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.’ These two and a half tribes sent out forty thousand warriors to help the 9 tribes in battle.

The Book of Numbers, chapter 26, records that the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh together numbered approximately a hundred thousand warriors. Now they had sent forty thousand to help in fighting, that would be about 40%; 60 percent remained to protect the women and the children. Imagine a nation sending 40% of its troops to help another nation fight its battle, this is not an easy thing to do. But if the two and a half-tribes did not go, Joshua would not have set up 12 stones, he would have only set up 9 and a half stones, then, this would not be a testimony of unity, it would be a testimony of disunity.

This is a generation of disunity. People and nations find it hard to cooperate with each other, even churches find it hard to cooperate with each other. But the Lord wants us to establish a testimony of unity. Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” In an age of disunity, we can learn an important principle for cooperation, from the pile of stones, that is, maintaining unity in principle.

The twelve tribes had been slaves in Egypt, they had no freedom there, the Lord brought them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. There, they were no longer slaves, they had true freedom. These twelve tribes had the same goal, and under this great cause, although they had different views, they were willing to unite in battle. What is unity? Unity is acknowledging our differences; yet seeking similarities amidst them , so that we can cooperate with each other for the bigger cause.

II. The Twelve Stones is a Testimony of God’s Faithfulness

Four hundred years before, God promised Abraham his descendants will inherit the land of Canaan; four hundred years later, because of unbelief, the Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness. After 40 years, Joshua led them across the Jordan River and they stepped into the Promised Land. As they set up that pile of 12 stones in Canaan, they set up a testimony of God’s faithfulness. The Lord is faithful, he will never fail us. Four hundred years ago, the Lord promised them the land of Canaan, four hundred years after, God’s promise came true.

Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” The Lord wants us to enjoy his safe pasture. The Chinese have a saying, “For the people, food is of the utmost importance.” Nothing is more important than food. Without food to eat, the people will riot. Having food, the people will dwell in peace and security. When a nation is impoverished, it becomes unstable, there will be turmoil within. When a man is hungry, he is capable of anything. God wants us to trust in his faithfulness, and enjoy safe pasture, because when we have spiritual food, we will not be restless, but thrive in abundance.

God is faithful but men are not. There are three reasons why men are unfaithful:

• Forgetfulness. Sometimes, we promised to do something, but we forget.
• Unwillingness. Sometimes it is not because we forget, but because we are unwilling; maybe, because it is difficult or inconvenient, so we fail to do what we promised to do.
• Powerlessness. Maybe, at the start, we did not know that the task would be so difficult, so we make promises; but when we find ourselves unable to complete the task, we have no recourse but to apologize and beg off.

But our God is faithful, He is omniscient, He will never forget. He is omnipotent, He will not be powerless to accomplish anything. He can never be unfaithful. He will forever be faithful.

III. The Twelve Stones is a Testimony of God’s Power

Verses 21- 24 “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

The Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Israelites then, this was a great matter, because that generation of Israelites was born in the wilderness. They had never seen a vast river, do not know how to swim, so, for them, crossing the Jordan River was a big problem. When the Lord divided the Jordan River, their hearts must have shouted within, “God, how great you are!” Isaiah 43:2 promised “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Can this be possible?

The Lord divided the Red Sea and the Jordan River, so that the Israelites could cross over. When they pass through the waters, the waters did not sweep over them. Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to the gold image set up by Babylon’s king. They were walking around in the fire, the fire did not burn them. And then, the king saw that there were four men in the furnace. The fourth man looked like a son of the gods. This is Jesus in the Old Testament. Jesus was walking around with Daniel’s three friends. When you go through fiery trials, do not forget the Lord is with you, he is beside you, he goes through the waters with you, he goes through the fire with you. As long as we acknowledge God’s power, we can face all difficulties with faith. The Lord causes us to know Him through many different situations, and His goal is so that we may revere Him. In the original text, the meaning of the word “revere” is “to fear.” Psalm 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.” There are two reasons we fear God:

1. We are afraid of God’s punishment – Sometimes we revere God because we are afraid of Him. God is a consuming fire, God will pursue us for our sins. A man who reveres God will not easily give in to sin, because He is afraid of God’s punishment. Just like a son who fears his father’s spanking.

2. We are afraid of grieving God’s heart – There is another reason we revere God, it is because we love Him, we do not want to sin against Him, we are afraid of grieving His heart. Joseph told Potiphar’s wife, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Logically, Joseph could have argued in three ways 1. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against my master? My master trusts me so much, how can I do such an unfaithful and wicked thing? 2. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against you, turning you into an immoral woman? You are my master’s wife, it would ruin your reputation, you would become an adulteress! 3.How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against myself? This is a holy body, how can I defile it and sin against myself? But Joseph said, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” We see, therefore that Joseph was afraid of grieving God’s heart. A man who truly reveres God is one who truly loves God. Love is a special force. When you love someone, you will not do anything to hurt your loved one.

The twelve stones Joshua set up is a testimony to the unity of the 12 tribes of Israel; it also testified of God’s faithfulness and power. Like this pile of stones, may our lives hold such beautiful testimonies.

The post The Testimony of the Stones – Joshua 4 appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

When we encounter calamities, how should we conduct ourselves in light of the Truth? Today, let us learn a precious lesson from Psalm 42-43, how to turn our scowls into smiles.

I. Face difficulties with a positive attitude

Three times, the psalmist asked himself,`Why so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?’ What makes a man’s heart downcast? Why does man’s heart become disturbed?

In the light of a very bad situation, a great calamity, our hearts will naturally feel downcast, our hearts will naturally feel disturbed. This is but normal. But the more your heart is downcast, the more disturbed it will be, and before long, you will find yourself easily losing your temper. We must learn to use a positive attitude to face our difficulties. Is it possible to face difficulties with a positive attitude? The secret is in learning to speak to your own heart.

In Hebrew, the word comfort means ‘to speak to one’s heart’. Speaking to one’s heart is a very important way of finding true comfort. But, when we speak to our hearts, we must remind ourselves one thing – it is important what we speak to our hearts. In life, we will encounter many important moments which can transform our lives. One such moments is when we quiet ourselves and speak to our hearts.

When we face losses and difficulties, what do we tell ourselves? What we tell ourselves can influence our life. `This world is too unfair, I have never done anything against God and men, but this is what I get. This flood brought me heavy losses. I have helped others before, but today, there is no one to help me. This world is so unfair. I loved the Lord, yet He did not bless me. From now on, I will only live for myself, I will not care about other people anymore.’

Just imagine, if you speak such things to your heart, what kind of man will you become? You will become a selfish person. On the contrary, if you speak to yourself and say, ‘Although I had encountered great losses, but God, you are my God, I have no good thing apart from you. I believe under your grace, I can rise up again. If the old don’t go, then there won’t be new things coming in. There are many who need help in this world. I will be a blessing to others.’ If you speak to your heart this way, what kind of person will you become? You will become a loving person, a person sensitive to others’ needs.

II. Hold on Tightly to God, Never Let Go

Psalm 42:5/11 mentioned God 7 times, while, Psalm 43:4-5 mentioned God 9 times. The psalmist mentioned God 16 times in all. The psalmist is reminding us that the Lord is our God. Paul told the Church, “For us, there is but one God.”

Brothers and sisters, we have but one God, there is no other God. No matter what happens, we must hold on tightly to God, never letting go, because we have no other God. Job understood this truth very well. When he met his life’s greatest trial, he lost all his possessions, he lost all his children, and even his health, he did not forsake God.

He said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Men can take everything from us, but there is no one, no power that can take away our faith from us. The one thing I worry about, when brothers and sisters face difficulties, is that their faith may be shaken. I often ask the Lord to strengthen their faith. Holding on to God tightly, never letting go – this is what we need in the face of difficulties.

The relationship of Christ and the Church is like that of a bride and groom. This truth is written clearly in the book of Ephesians. During the wedding, a couple will exchange vows, “In riches or in poverty, in sickness or in health, in favourable or unfavourable circumstances, we will not part ways.” That is how it is with husbands and wives, there is no parting of ways. When the husband encounters difficulties or fails, the wife will stand by his side, never leaving him. When the wife meets problems, and fails, the husband is to be by her side, never leaving her. This is the true relationship in marriage.

An old man was waiting to see the doctor at a hospital. The doctor took a long time in coming. The old man seemed anxious. The nurse asked him, “Do you have other appointments?” to which the old man replied, “It is almost 12 noon, and the doctor has not yet arrived. I am afraid I can’t wait any longer, because I need to go home and have lunch with my wife.” The nurse teased him, saying, “Your wife won’t be able to eat if she doesn’t see you?” The old man said, “My wife has Alzheimer’s disease, she doesn’t remember me at all.” “Then why do you have to rush back home?” The old man replied, “It’s alright that she doesn’t remember me. What’s most important is that I recognize her, she is the one I love most, how can I abandon her?” He continued, “I guess I can’t wait any longer, I have to go. Please tell the doctor I will set another date to see him.” When the old man left, the nurse cried, she said to herself, “Someday, I want to marry someone like him.” Christ is our Husband, when we encounter difficulties, He will never leave us nor forsake us, but we must also hold on tightly to Him, never letting go.

III. Go to God, our joy and delight

Much joy is multiplied when one person shares his joy with others. Good food is made so much better when shared with a group of good friends. When you are downcast, and you go see another downcast person, you will become more downcast. You must go to a positive person, a joyful person, because his joy, his optimism will influence your own mood. The psalmist said, “When my heart is downcast, when my heart is disturbed within me, I will go to God, my joy and my delight.” God is not only the God of joy, He is the God of greatest joy. Proverbs says “A joyful heart is good medicine.” When you face difficulties and are in suffering, you must take the good medicine of joy. When we are downcast, we must go to the altar of God, we will then see the smiling face of God. When our face is downcast, and we find it hard to smile, the face of our heavenly Fathe shines upon us, He helps and comforts us.

The book of Philippians was written by Paul while he was in prison, but it was full of joy. The word `joy’ appeared 12 times in this letter. How can a person in jail have such great joy? Acts 16 records how Paul was imprisoned for sharing the gospel in Philippi. He was stripped and beaten. But in the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God. In such a difficult situation, they were singing praises to God, because they went into the presence of the God of joy. The Lord helped them with his gracious smile, as a result, they were able to sing in the middle of the night.

This is the amazing aspect of our faith. The psalmist said, “I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.” Where is the God of our joy and delight? At the altar. The altar is the place of prayer. If we want to see the face of God, we must pray. When we pray, we will experience the gracious help of God. When we meet difficulties, we must remember to go to the God of joy and delight. Where is He? He is at the altar. Have you prayed?

When our face is downcast, when we cannot even smile, please go to the altar of God. Let us go to the God of our joy and delight, there, we will find God’s gracious help; then, we will be able to have a positive attitude, hold tightly to God and face our difficulties.

The post Turning a Scowl into a Smile (Psalm 42:5/11; 43:5, 43:4) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

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According to the explanation in 1Corinthians 10, crossing the Red Sea indicates baptism into Christ, symbolizing salvation. After forty years, God through Joshua, the leader of the new generation, performed another great miracle, dividing the Jordan River, allowing the Israelites to cross it on dry ground. Crossing the Red Sea symbolizes salvation, and crossing the Jordan River symbolizes victory. Once we are saved, we must become victorious Christians. We must cross the Jordan River, and enter into the Promised Land, enjoy the abundance God has for us. But how can we be victorious? Joshua chapter 3 tells us how.

I. Follow the Ark of the Covenant 1-4

Following the Ark of the Covenant means three things:

1. Not Taking the Path I Want to Take

Every person has his own dreams and direction in life; but if the path we want to take and what the Lord wants for us differ, are we willing to let go of our own life dreams? Following the ark means choosing not to follow your own path.

2. Not Taking the Path Others Want You to Take

If you do not follow the ark, sooner or later there will be people who would want you to follow the path they want you to take. A famous author said, “I do not know the way to success, but I do know the way to failure, that is, to try to please everyone.”

Paul also understood this very well, he said in Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” May the Lord help us, if we ourselves are without direction, others will insist their directions on us, as a result, we will not be taking God’s path, but the path others want us to take.

3. Taking the Path God Wants Me to Take

Following the ark means obeying God’s will. In our ministries, in our daily life, we will sooner or later meet a situation wherein we do not know which way to take. Following the ark is like having a lifesaving device. When we are about to drown, we grab tightly to the life-saving device, and only in that way will our life truly have a way out.

II. Live a Consecrated Life

Joshua told the Israelites, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” On the Sermon on the Mount, the sixth blessing is “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Hebrews 12:14 “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”

The pure will see God, therefore, the impure will not see God. Pure means holy and pure. Joshua told the Israelites they will cross the Jordan River and the Lord will do amazing things among them, but they must consecrate themselves.

If we want to enjoy the victorious life, we must keep ourselves pure, because the Lord is holy. When we are not holy, the Lord cannot be with us; the Lord’s grace and power cannot come upon us. Jesus said, “I come to give life, and life more abundantly.” Abundant life is a holy life. When our lives are filled with filth, we will never enjoy the abundant life.

III. Take the First Step of Faith

Joshua told the Israelites to follow the Ark of the Covenant and consecrate themselves. But if they had just stopped there and did not step out in faith, they would have remained on the west of the Jordan, unable to enter Canaan. This is the importance of action. Our problem is that our knowledge increase more and more, but our actions do not. As a result Christians have been called a half-hearted people, people who only talk but fail to act. We must take action. Taking the first step of faith is very important. Are you willing to take the first step of faith? However, this path is not easy, because:

1. This is a path that has not been taken before.

It is not easy to take a path one has never taken before, thus, without faith, one cannot step out on it.

2. This is a seemingly impossible path

We do not enjoy the abundance of God because we are afraid of failure. We dare not step out in faith. A person who fears failure will never succeed. Some people need us to help them, to push them, so that they will be able to make the first step. Do you want others to push you? Or are you willing to bravely take the first step into life?

In the recent ten years, society, business, and even the church often use the term `paradigm shift’. What is paradigm shift? It is the way you are used to thinking and doing things. Swiss watches in the 1950 dominated more than 65% of the world market. But in 1980, Japan became the king of watch makers in the world, because Japan came out with the quartz watch. But the quartz watch was not invented by the Japanese. It was a Swiss who invented it. However, when he showed the quartz watch to Swiss watch- makers, they rejected it. They reasoned that it was not a watch at all; for them, a traditional watch is not like that, they criticized that it didn’t even have a wheel in it, so they rejected it. In the end, Japan took it and grabbed away the watch market and the Swiss watch industry collapsed.

To take the first step of faith, we must make a paradigm shift, or else we will forever be stuck in the same place. We will never make any progress. Yes, you may never meet any difficulties and obstacles, but your life will be very boring. And when you are 80, you will regret why you never took the step when you were young. I do not want to regret how I lived my life, because I only have one life. There is no take two with this life! How about you?

The post From Jordan to the Abundant Land – Joshua 3 appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

We differentiate tears into two kinds: 1. valuable tears and 2. value-less tears.

I. Value-less Tears

1. Tears of Greed (Deuteronomy 11:4-6, 10)

Numbers 11: 4-6, 10 “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite, we never see anything but this manna! …Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.”

The Israelites cried in the wilderness, but it brought on the Lord’s anger. Their crying displeased the Lord. Their crying was worthless, for these were tears of greed. For forty years in the wilderness, the Lord provided the Israelites with manna to eat. Manna means ‘what is this’. Manna was a food that no one has ever seen nor eaten before. When the Israelites first saw this manna, they asked each other `what is this’, so, they called this food “manna”.

What does manna symbolize? To understand, let us consider the three things inside the Ark of the Covenant:
1. Stone tablets (The Ten Commandments)
2. Aaron’s staff , and
3. Manna.

The Ark of the Covenant symbolized the Lord’s presence with his people. The Gospel of John chapter 1 tells us Jesus was the Word, and the Word became flesh, and three things are in Jesus – John 1:4 “In him was life” John 1:14 “…full of grace and truth”. In Jesus, there is 1. Life 2. Grace 3. Truth. The Stone Tablets, which are the Ten Commandments, symbolized Truth. Aaron’s budding staff symbolized life (the staff is a piece of dead wood, but it budded, therefore, it was resurrected back to life). Manna symbolized grace.

For forty years, they had manna to eat, and it didn’t cost them even one cent, it was truly grace. The Israelites wanted to eat meat in the wilderness, everyone cried at the entrance to his own tent. The Bible said they craved and started wailing. They wailed because in their hearts they craved for those things, and when they could not get what they craved for, they began to feel sorry for themselves, so they wailed.

Is there value in such crying? I tell you, all crying for material things are value-less. Because we must remember, each one of us enters this world empty-handed, and we will leave this world empty handed. We did not bring anything into this world, neither will we bring anything with us as we leave it. Just like what Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” What is there to cry about?

2. Deserved Weeping (Deut 1:42 – 46)

The Lord said to me, “ Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.” So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.”

This was a painful experience for the Israelites. When the 12 spies returned, 10 of them gave bad reports – we cannot enter because those who live there devour people, thus, the Israelites started to grumble and complain. They in fact wanted to kill Moses, and choose a new leader to lead them back to Egypt. The Lord became very angry with them, punished them by making them wander in the desert for 40 years.

When they realized they had sinned, they became willing to go, but the Lord told them not to go because `I will not be with you.’ But they refused to listen, they went and as a result, they were beaten by their enemies. They came and wept before the Lord. The Lord turned a deaf ear to their crying. I call their crying ‘deserved weeping’.

What is `deserved weeping’? Initially they didn’t have to cry, if only they had trusted the Lord. If they had trusted in the Lord’s grace and power, they would have been laughing, not crying. But because they refused to listen to the Lord, they wept. In Fookien, that is called, “putting lice on one’s own head.” Such weeping is deserved weeping.

II. Valuable Tears

1. Tears of Compassion – Job’s Three Friends (Job 2:11-12)

“When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.”

Job was a righteous man, the Bible described him as blameless and upright, feared God and shunned evil. But he was attacked by Satan, in one day he received four pieces of bad news:
1. His 1000 oxen and 500 donkeys were stolen
2. His 7000 sheep were burned by fire from the sky
3. His 3000 camels were stolen
4. His 10 children died in one day.

In one day, Job lost all his properties and his family members. Satan continued to attack Job. He afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. At this time, Job’s three friends came to visit him and when they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him, we see that Job’s physical appearance must have greatly changed because of the sores all over his body. Job’s three friends were speechless and all they could do was weep aloud. For seven days and seven nights, they sat beside Job. This was a great comfort to Job during a time of great suffering. His three friends’ tears were tears of compassion. Compassion comes from two words – passion which means suffering or passion, and com which means the same. Compassion is to feel the same as the other person; to weep with those who weep. To shed tears for others is truly shedding valuable and meaningful tears.

2. Sacrificial Tears – Jesus’ cry

Three times, the Lord had wept while He was on earth. First, in John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” Second, in Luke 19:41 “Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem” and the third, in Hebrews 5:7 “Jesus’ loud cries and tears in the Garden of Gethsemane”. These were very valuable tears, because these were shed because of others, these were sacrificial tears.

1st. Jesus Cried at Lazarus’ Tomb

Why did Jesus cry? John 11:33 “When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping…”.The Bible tells us, Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. This was family who was loved by the Lord. Every time Jesus went to Jerusalem, he would live in their house at Bethany. Now, Jesus saw the person he loves crying, how can he not be grieved too? The Bible says that Jesus also saw ”…the Jews who had come along with her also weeping”,and his heart was all the more grieved. When Jesus saw the tomb where Lazarus was laid, he wept; because death’s power filled the place. 1Cor 15, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” The world is under the power of sin, all men are bound to face death. Jesus wept, not because the person he loved was weeping, but because he saw the weeping of the world, because all men are bound by sin, death seeks to devour every man. Humans are really pitiful, so Jesus wept. Jesus was weeping for the sins of men, Jesus was weeping for the suffering that death brings to all men.

2nd. Jesus wept over Jerusalem

When Jesus lifted his eyes and saw Jerusalem, he wept over it. Why did he weep? Because Jesus knew Jerusalem will have to suffer. Again and again, Jesus preached the gospel of repentance to Jerusalem, but they rejected it again and again. Jesus said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” True enough, in 70AD, the Roman army invaded Jerusalem, and did not leave one stone on another. Jesus wept because he foresaw the suffering of Jerusalem.

3rd. Jesus’ loud cries and tears in Gethsemane

Jesus cried in the Garden of Gethsemane. For Jesus, the most painful thing on the cross was separation from God the Father. On the cross, he carried the sins of the world and God had to turn away from him. Jesus cried on the cross, “Father, why have you forsaken me?” This was the most painful aspect of the cross for Jesus. If you will be separated from the one you love the most, won’t you be grieved? Jesus had to be separated from the Father because of ours sins. We were the ones who were supposed to weep, but Jesus wept on our behalf.

Jesus wept three times, but never once for himself, it was all for others. Jesus’ tears were shed not for himself, but for others. Often, we cry for ourselves, because we had been unjustly treated, because I have no money, because I am not handsome, because I am not beautiful…we can cry for many reasons, but how much have we cried because of others? because of God?

Psalm 5:8 “Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll – are they not in your record?” If the tears we shed are meaningful and worthy, the Lord will remember them, because these would be the most precious gifts. May the Lord treasure the tears we shed

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In the whole Bible, the name Rahab appeared eight times. Five times, she was called Rahab the prostitute. This is an unpleasant name. Prostitution was what she did for a living, a very lowly and disgraceful occupation. But the Bible in referring to her as such was not belittling her, on the contrary, the Bible tells us that even a prostitute, a woman looked down upon by others, may be saved by the grace of God as long as she has faith. The identity, position, occupation of a person has nothing to do with his becoming saved by grace. While Jesus was on earth, he was called the friends of sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes; because Jesus did not reject any sinner, tax collector or prostitute who came to him. Jesus accepted and saved each one of them.

Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. We do not know what kind of person she had been, why she became a prostitute, whether it because of circumstances or economics, we do not know. We only know that she was a prostitute who had faith. Because of her faith, her whole family was saved.

Later, she married Salmon, and they had a son, Boaz, who with Ruth had Obed, who in turn was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. Thus, Rahab became the great, great grandmother of King David. A Gentile prostitute from Jericho eventually became the great, great grandmother of Israel’s greatest king, David. Of course, Rahab became a grandmother of David because of the grace of God. But we have to ask, why was it in the whole city of Jericho, she was the only one who was saved?

I. She had a perspective different from the rest of the people

Although Rahab was a prostitute, she had a perspective different from all the rest of the people. In the city of Jericho, only she realized that the God Israel worships is God in heaven above and the earth below. Only she saw that the Lord is the only true God who created heaven and earth. Only she saw that no nation can fight against Israel and win, that this was not a battle between men, but between men and God. She saw that the only way to be saved was to seek refuge in the true and living God. In fact, she seemed to have betrayed her country and helped the enemy’s spies, but she was not helping the Israelites, she was seeking refuge in God. That is because she already realized that the Lord is the true God and that all those she had worshipped before were false gods. She was not betraying her country, she was turning to the true God. We must let people who worship other gods know that we are not asking them to betray their gods, we are telling them to turn to the true God. For, if we seek to worship, then, why not simply worship the only true God?

Each of us has a pair of eyes, but not every one of us has perspective. Our eyes allow us to see, while perspective allows us to make the right decisions. Our Lord Jesus had such kind of perspective. When Andrew brought Peter to him, Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John, you will be called Peter.” Simon means ‘heard’, while, Peter means rock. You are… You will be. The Lord Jesus looked at Simon, which in the original text meant he looked at him intently, and then said, “You will be called Peter, a rock. The Lord Jesus saw that Simon will one day become the rock of the church, and true enough, Peter became the rock of the church.

Moses sent the 12 spies to Canaan. Ten of them came back and said, “That land truly flowed with milk and honey, but the people there are giants, we are like grasshoppers in their eyes. We cannot enter that land.” Joshua and Caleb said, “Do not be afraid. We may enter the land, their protection is gone, but as long as the Lord is with us, we can go in and take possession of the land.” Twelve people went in together to explore the land, yet they came out with two totally different opinion, why? The ten saw the circumstances, while Joshua and Caleb saw the sovereign Lord. Joshua and Caleb did not see the Canaanites as giants, they saw them as their food, they were siomai, siao long pao, peking duck… for them to devour. May the Lord grant us perspective, that we may see God’s sovereignty in all things, that way, we can make right decisions.

II. She had a faith different from the rest of the people

James 2:25 “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction.” James used the story of Rahab giving lodging to the spies as a testimony that true faith must be coupled by deeds. Rahab proved her faith by her actions. She had a faith different from the rest of the people. God will never fail his people. Isaiah 51:2 “When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.”

When Abraham was still in Ur in Chaldea, everyone there worshipped idols, only he sought the true God. At the time, God called him, Abraham did not know yet the name of the true God. The first time the name `The Lord’ appeared was during Moses’ time. At that time, Moses asked God, “What is your name?” and God answered, “I am the Lord.” Before Moses, no one knew the name of God as the Lord. In Genesis 14, when Abraham returned from fighting the four kings, the priest of God Most High, Melchizedek came to meet him and told him, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.” Then, Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The God Abram believed in was the God of heaven and earth, Most High God. Although Abram lived in an idol-worshipping land, he worshipped the God of heaven and earth. Although Rahab lived in idol-worshipping Jericho, she sought the God of heaven and earth. As a result, she and her whole household were saved. Both Abram and Rahab had a faith different from the rest – while everyone worshipped idols, they sought the true and living God.

In verse 9, Rahab told the two spies, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you”, and in verses 10 -11, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites East of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” We find out here that Rahab’s faith came from hearing about the works of God. But we must note that, Rahab was not the only one who heard about this, the people in Jericho, the Canaanites all heard, that is why their hearts melted in fear. But only Rahab decided to seek the God of heaven and earth. Why? Because the others only heard, but they did not do anything with what they heard.

Rahab however acted on what she heard. Hebrews 4:2 “ For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” The only way hearing the Truth will benefit us is when we combine it with faith. Today, if any word or statement I preached touched you, you must apply that word with faith into your life, only in this way will our spiritual life grow. Do we combine faith with hearing the word? We have heard countless testimonies of God’s works, but how much of them have we applied into our lives? Do you desire a faith that is different from the rest? Then, live out your faith with action!

III. She had a love different from the rest of the people

When Rahab helped the two spies, she made a request. She asked that the lives of her parents, brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them be spared. The two spies agreed but with one condition – her parents, brothers and sisters and all who belonged to them must be brought into her house; they will not be responsible for anyone who goes outside into the street. Joshua 6:23 “So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.” We do not know how many people were there in Rahab’s house; but we are certain there were many as her parents, brothers and sisters and relatives were there, the whole clan seemed to be there! She had brought the whole clan to the Lord!

Is it easy to bring one’s relatives to the Lord? We know that it is not easy, because they do not want to listen to us, what they do is look at our lives, how we live. If you say, “When you believe in the Lord, your life will be transformed.” They will ask,” How about you?” You try to say, “When you believe in the Lord you will have peace and joy.” They will ask, “How about you?”

But we have reason to believe that Rahab had shared the gospel to her whole clan (parents, siblings, relatives). She must have told them about the true and living God Israel worships, that ‘we must believe in Him or else we will be destroyed.’ Then she must have invited them to go to her house, because the two spies agreed to spare only those who were inside her house. Rahab was the first missionary of the city of Jericho, her whole clan believed her and went to her house. Have you ever considered, that if only one of them refused to believe her, that person could have gone to the authorities in Jericho and told on them, about the spies and Rahab’s involvement and that would be the end of them! Had Rahab not been afraid? She must have certainly been afraid, but love is not selfish. Rahab was willing to risk her life in sharing the gospel to her family.

From Rahab, we can learn three things:

1. Do not reject the Lord’s grace just because you had done shameful things before. But after believing in the Lord, then turn from those shameful deeds.

2. We must not only have eyes, more so, we must have perspective. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by only what the eyes can see.

3. We must have faith and love. We must exercise our faith in God and our love for our fellowmen. May the Lord be gracious to us as He was with Rahab.

The post The Harlot Rahab’s Unique Faith (Joshua 2/Hebrews 11:31/James 2:25) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Through Moses, God wanted to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, Canaan. However Moses was only able to do half the task. He led the Israelites out of Egypt but was unable to lead the Israelites into Canaan. After Moses died, the Lord called Joshua and told him, “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them … to the Israelites.”

Joshua became Moses’ successor, the leader of the new generation of Israelites. Today, let us learn from Joshua how to become a leader God chooses:

I. A good leader is willing to be second fiddle 1:1

Joshua 1:1 “After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide.”

Who wrote these words? These were written by Joshua himself; he described Moses as the Lord’s servant and himself as Moses’ aide. In the whole book of Joshua, he never referred to himself as the Lord’s servant. In Joshua 24:29 “After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten.” This verse was not written by Joshua. At that time, Joshua had already died, and this was appended by someone who came after him. During Joshua’s entire life, he always referred to himself as Moses’ aide. After he died, people referred to him as the servant of the Lord. This is one characteristic of a good leader: a willingness to be second fiddle.

What does it mean to be willing to play second fiddle? Does this mean one has no ambitions? Christians must have noble ambitions and not selfish ambitions. What is the difference between noble and selfish ambitions? Noble ambition means seeking to do great things for God, selfish ambition is to seek to do great things for oneself. Willingness to be second fiddle does not mean you are without ambition, it just means that you are willing to submit to God’s plans, to await God’s time. If the Lord wants me to be second in rank all my life, then I am willing to be second all my life.

It is the same in ministry. John the Baptist said, “He must become greater, I must become less.” This is what everyone in ministry must keep in mind – He must forever be number one. No matter where, we must lift Jesus up. He must become greater, I must become less. John 12:32 “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” We must lift Jesus up, not ourselves; we must draw all men to Jesus Christ, not to ourselves.

II. A good leader is a strong and courageous person 1:-6-7, 9

Three times the Lord told Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, “Be strong and take courage.” The first was in verse 6, the second was in verse 7 and the third was in verse 9. As leaders, many are the difficulties and discouraging situations we face and there are two primary reasons why:

1. We had really made some mistakes

Is there any leader in this world who had never made mistakes? When we make mistakes, people will use a magnifying glass to look at us, especially those who harbour malicious intentions, they will seize the opportunity to attack us. In fact, sometimes we find ourselves stunned and speechless in the ruthless way they attack us.

2. Satan attacks us

Satan will never stop attacking us. The Bible refers to Satan as the one who accuses us day and night before God. He is truly evil. Have we ever realized that Satan will never dare lie to God? Satan knows that God is all-knowing. He cannot lie to God even though he seeks to accuse us. Satan’s accusations are true.

In Zechariah 3:1-5, the prophet Zechariah saw in a vision Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him. Satan accused the high priest Joshua, but praise the Lord, although the high priest was dressed in filthy clothes, the Lord told the angel, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.”

We must take courage in serving the Lord, not because we are perfect, but because of His grace upon us. Three times, the Lord told Joshua to take courage, and the Lord also told Joshua, “I am with you” in verses 5, 9 and 17. The Lord’s presence is the reason we are able to take courage. The Lord with us means power is with us, grace is with us. Three times, the Lord told Joshua, “Do not be afraid”, because the Lord knew that Joshua was afraid. It was not easy to lead the Israelites into Canaan. Inside Canaan were seven tribes of people waiting for them, to fight them. Joshua was afraid, thus the Lord told him, “Do not be afraid, because I am with you.” A good leader is not someone who is not afraid. But because he knows God is with him, he courageously stands firm. Have you taken your stand?

III. A good leader is someone who leads courageously 16 -18

Three times, the Lord told Joshua, “Be strong and take courage.” The Lord knew Joshua was afraid. When Joshua heard the Lord’s words, he stood up and gave the people instructions (v.12-15). Joshua stood up as a leader and instructed the Israelites. He told the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to cross the Jordan River with their brothers, to fight with them before they return to their own land. The Israelites responded positively.

They told Joshua in Joshua 1:16-18 “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!” This tells us an important principle – a leader must lead courageously.

Many times, problems are not as difficult as we imagine them to be. We often use a magnifying glass to look at our problems, as a result, the problem grows larger and larger. We must face our problems courageously. If you are not willing to face it, they will not disappear, they will become more difficult to resolve.

Frank Bettger, a famous salesman, said, “While you hesitate and remain undecided, the problem could become irreparable.” This is truly a good reminder. A good leader will not wait for things to happen, he will take the initiative to make things happen. Furthermore, a good leader is someone who dare to make decisions. Making decisions is the most difficult thing for a leader to do, because, every decision will have either of two possibilities, that is, it could be right or wrong. But, whether right or wrong, a leader must learn to take the responsibility for the results.

As followers, we must learn to support and encourage our leaders. Sometimes, leaders are afraid to make decisions and it has to do with the people following them. Is there a good leader in your home, in your church? Do you encourage or criticize him? Leaders, however, must not forget the principle of “looking out the window vs. looking in the mirror”. When everything goes well, you must look out the window, and give the credit to other factors (other people or other things); when everything is going wrong, we must look into the mirror, examine yourself, and be willing to take the responsibility. If not, when you succeed, you will give all the credit to yourself, becoming more and more arrogant. When you fail, you will blame others. May the Lord teach us how to be a person willing to submit to His arrangements and courageously lead.

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