The post Jesus Was (9) – Jesus Was Tempted Like Us appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

This morning, let us focus on an aspect of Jesus that is often overlooked: His emotions. Jesus is our model of perfect spiritual and emotional maturity; there is much we can learn from His example.

1. Jesus was Authentic with His Emotions

What does authentic mean? It means genuine, real, true. Jesus allowed himself to feel and express his emotions. He was not ashamed to show His real self

A. Jesus expressed His Anger

Jesus shows us that it is alright to be angry — provided we express our anger at the right moment, at the right time, at the right intensity.

– John 2:13-16. Jesus drove the money changers and merchants away from the temple

– Mark 10:13-16. Jesus was indignant when the disciples prevented the little children from coming to Him

– Mark 3:1-6. Jesus looked around at them in anger and was grieved that their hearts are hardened.

B. Jesus expressed His Grief

In times of sorrow, Jesus did not try to hide his emotions. He cared enough to weep. Grief is an integral part of the healing process, and Jesus showed by His example that it’s okay to express grief.

– Matthew 14:13. Jesus withdrew to be alone when he learned of the death of John the Baptist

– John 11:32-35. Jesus wept when he saw the grief caused by the death of Lazarus.

– Hebrews 5:7. Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save Him from death.

C. Jesus expressed His Distress

Unlike Jesus, we wear masks in public and deny our distress.

– Mark 14:32-34. In Gethsemane, Jesus began to be distressed and agitated, and He said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death.”

– Mark 15:34. On the cross, Jesus expressed His distress: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The Bible is full of people who cried out to God in times of distress: see Job, Lamentations, and the Psalms of Lament (e.g., Psalms 13:1-4 or Psalms 22:1-2). Psalms 51:17 says “the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.”

2. Jesus was not Emotionally Excessive

While Jesus can express anger, grief, and distress, He was also not emotionally excessive. In His dealings with most people during his ministry, He was gentle and forgiving.

When the disciples wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans, he said no. When men came to arrest Him, he healed the soldier whose ear had been cut off.

In Closing

As a carpenter, Jesus knew to use the right tools for the right situation. In the same way, He used the right emotions to deal with people.

Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a season for everything, and a time for every matter under heaven… “a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Some ideas that may help us follow the example of Jesus:

– Create a safe place in your home to express emotions, between spouses, between parents and children

– Find a Small Group for support. Find a group that will encourage and not judge

– Learn to express our emotions with words. We can express our emotions to friends who care and to God through prayers. The book of Psalms is filled with examples of emotions verbally expressed.

– Understand yourself more. Understand why you react the way you do, why certain things make you angry. Sometimes, you’ll need to understand more than just yourself; you may need to understand your family history. And in some cases you may need professional help. Our negative emotions are warning signs, and ignoring the warning doesn’t make the underlying problem go away. Knowing ourselves is a lifelong, learning process that is part of discipleship.

– Surrender your heart to Jesus. We don’t have to let our emotions control us. Draw closer to God and let the Holy Spirit lead you. Jesus said, “come to me all of you who are weary and heavy-burdened, and I will give you rest.”

May God help us, and grant us wisdom so we can follow the example of Jesus, so we can be authentic, and not be excessive with our emotions.

The post Jesus Was (8) – Jesus was Emotionally Healthy appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Luke 21:1-4. 1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.

“I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

The post Jesus Was (7) – Jesus was a Radical Preacher appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Matthew 20:28: Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The first time Jesus came to earth, He did not come to be served, because He did not come as a king; He came to be a servant. At Jesus’ second coming, however, He will come to reign as king.

The first time He came, Jesus came as the Lamb of God; at His second coming, He will come as the Lion of Judah.

Be a servant first before becoming a Leader. This is a spiritual path the Bible instructs us to take. Jesus set an example for the disciples, that of being a servant. A person who does not know how to be a servant can never be a true leader.

Today, let me share with you two very important principles:

I. We are by nature self-centered people

Sin makes us self-centered

II. We are born-again to become Christ-centered people

1. Martha’s Ministry (Ministry of Performance)

a. Her priorities were mixed up
b. Her attitude was also mixed up
c. Her words were also mixed up

2. Mary’s Ministry (Ministry of Love)

No ministry is more important than worshipping God, drawing close to God, and knowing God.

3. Lazarus’ Ministry (Ministry of Life)

John 12:1. for on account of him (Lazarus) many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

Lazarus’ life was a testimony that led many others to Jesus.

The post Jesus Was (6) – Jesus was a Servant appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Teaching, preaching, and healing, were the three things that Jesus did when he first came out to do His ministry.

Matt 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matt 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

These three, teaching, preaching, and healing, were also what Jesus continued to do when He had already been in ministry for a period of time.

Teaching was one of Jesus’ ministries. Jesus was a Teacher of the Truth. He often used the Truth to teach His followers. Let us learn from Jesus how to be a Teacher of the Truth.

1. His teachings had Authority

a. The authority of Jesus’ teachings come from His message

b. The authority of Jesus’ teachings come from His life

2. Jesus’ Teachings were very practical

Jesus’ teaching has direct, practical application on the lives of His listeners.

Anyone who listens carefully to the teaching of Jesus will be certain to have a reaction. His listeners will either love Him or hate Him. None will remain unmoved or apathetic.

3. Jesus’ Teachings were very interesting

a. Preaches profound truth in simple terms

b. Adds color in conveying the Truth

c. Uses stories to put the Truth across

The post Jesus Was (5) – Jesus was a Teacher appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Luke 2:52 (NIV). And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Jesus had a balanced life, growing:
– physically
– intellectually
– spiritually, and
– socially.

In Jesus, we find an example of how we can live a Balanced life, and by following His example, we are able to honor and glorify God.

The post Jesus Was (4) – Jesus was a Balanced Person appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Jesus used storytelling extensively in his work as a preacher.

Luke 18:9-14 talks of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector that Jesus preached. Luke explains in v9 that the parable is intended for an audience of people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt.

The Pharisees are viewed as righteous and take pains to obey the Law. In contrast, the tax collectors were disliked and even hated for their greed and corruption.

Both men did the same thing; they went to the temple to pray. But they also prayed differently.

The NIV translation states that the Pharisee prayed about himself: “I thank You that I am not like other people…”

Contrast the Pharisee’s attitude with the prayer of Mary in Luke 1:48-49, after she learned she was to bear the holy child: “For the Mighty One has done great things for me…” Her focus was on what the Lord has done, not on herself.

Similarly, the tax collector in the parable (verse 13) stood a distance away and was “even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying ‘God be merciful to me, the sinner!'” He considered himself unworthy of even looking up to God; he was too embarrassed and ashamed.

Jesus concludes the story in v14 with “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The lesson of the story is not difficult to understand. We can say with confidence that the listeners of this story could identify with either the Pharisee or the Tax Collector. But there’s an interesting catch to this story: if we the listeners identify with the Pharisee, then we must be guilty of being like him. If we identify with the Tax Collector, then in reality we are actually like the Pharisee, for we are starting to think of ourselves as being self-righteous.

Whether we realize it or not, we all have a little Pharisee within us. Let us examine ourselves and strive to be like the Tax Collector.

The post Jesus Was (3) – Jesus Was a Storytelling Preacher appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd has two characteristics (John 10:14).
– He loves his sheep
– He knows his sheep

Jesus gave us a great example, and we need to learn how to be a shepherd from Him.

Psalm 23 is the best scripture passage from which we can learn how to be a good shepherd. These six verses tell us how the Great Shepherd shepherds us.

Verse 1 says “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.” This is the most important verse in the whole of Psalm 23. Verses 2 to 6 interpret the first line of this psalm. We all know that “wants” are different from “needs.” We don’t really need much, but we want a lot of things; but when the Lord becomes our shepherd, even our wants are satisfied. How so?

1. He provides (v2)

2. He restores (v3)

3. He protects (v4-5)
See also Eph 6:14-17

4. He promises (v6)
– He will shepherd us all our lives
– His grace will not leave us
– His love will not leave us

The Lord is our Shepherd, we only need to follow Him.

The post Jesus Was (2) – Jesus was a Shepherd appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Our topic today is “Jesus was a Carpenter.” Why did Jesus have to be a carpenter? Jesus began his work at only 30 years of age, and his ministry only lasted for three years. Jesus was a carpenter longer than he was a preacher. Don’t you think this is a bit odd? With his wisdom, intellect, talent, and power, why did Jesus have to be a carpenter for so many years before he began to preach?

Carpentry was simply Jesus’ earthly profession; more accurately, we should be asking: “Why did Jesus have to be human for 30 years before he came out to preach?”

There is only one answer to that: Jesus wanted to identify with us. He has to be 100% human so he could truly know and understand everything about us, so that he could understand our weaknesses. (Hebrews 2:14, Hebrew 4:15)

When we come to him, he will not say, “You’re here again!” Instead, He says, “Child, I understand.”

1. He understood human relationships

– He understood problems regarding families

– He understood problems regarding friends

2. He understood problems men faced regarding work

3. He understood the suffering that men faced

The post Jesus Was (1) – Jesus was a Carpenter appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.