Great commandment

Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

This sound simple. How to love God? Let take the father and son relationship. In modern day trend the father would like the son to do well in study. But go back to your childhood,  what you like to do?  Study? I don't think so,  of course it is play.

So what Father in heaven wanted us to do?  Love Him with all the heart and soul and mind. Imagine when you are courting,  if you are in love with the other person,  you will do whatever it take to make her or him happy.  Why because of love.

So if man love God with all the heart,  soul and mind,  man will do whatever it take to love God. When you love God of course you want to make God happy. So you will do whatever it take to make HIM happy.  Immediately then God put it that we must love our neighbor.

Few things off the book
1.  Obedient
2.  Follow the Holy Spirit but not the flesh
3.  Ten commandments
4. Etc

Like this incident. I have been telling him that don't jump on the sofa. But he was basically ignoring me. Because he is still strong and success in doing it many times. Now I understand why Jesus always put the statement that listen if you have ears. Last time when I read it I was  curious why he said so. Of course I have eats and of course I can listen or hear what you said. But many times our ears can hear but cannot listen. Last week Brown Yoong from Australia put it in the cripple bird story. Sometimes God need to cripple the man and when we are weak we listen. Now the guy never jump over the sofa anymore after the fall. 

Book of Act: Ananias

In the older day God punishment for disobedient or cheating is dealth.

Acts 5:5 NIV
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

Not only Ananias,  his wife also got the same punishment.

Acts 5:10 NIV
At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Both of them tried to cheat God.

Acts 5:2 NIV
With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Book of Act: Peter and Paul

To the certain extend it was quite confuse between Peter and Paul. I think the name was used interchangeable. But later found out it is not.

When the begger is heal it is still Peter.

Acts 3:6 NIV
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Paul is actually Saul.

Acts 13:9 NIV
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,

Forty years

There are many places where bible touch on forty years

When Moses rescue the Isrealite in Egypt by killing the Egyptian,  he was forty years old.

Moses was in the wilderness for forty year in Genesis after killed the Egyptian.

The Exodus was forty years. Due to their disobedient,  God used forty years to wipe out the older generation.

Numbers 14:33 NIV
Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

Isrealite ate manna during forty years of exodus.

Exodus 16:35 NIV
The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

Joshua was forty years old when he start to serve Moses

Joshua 14:7 NIV
I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,

Peter heal  lame begger who are forty years old.  So forty years old is the new beginning for the begger,  life changer.

Acts 4:22 NIV
For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Book of Act: Peter heal the lame begger

Famous story in book of Act that Peter heal the begger.

Instead of giving the silver or gold to the begger,  Peter heal him.

Acts 3:6 NIV
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Book of Act: Peter escape from prison

This is the second time Peter get out from the prison. But this time they - Peter and Timothy- saved the jailer who is about to kill himself.

Acts 16:26 NIV
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

The first time was an angel lead Prter out of the prison without been seen by the guard.

Acts 12:9 NIV
Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.

Crisis expose character

All challenges,  sum up all these challenges,  that is you

Rick Warren . Don't let your suffer wasted.
Man. When have problem. Think and dort it out. This is how man brought up.

Lady. When problem. Go to friend and cry. This is how lady brought up.

Broken leg bird story
God have to broken your leg so that you have no choice to come to God to seek help.

Building high rise building
- false building , scaffolding
- when building completed
- took down the scaffolding
- reveal the real building , eternal life

Fear and respect Lord

You control God or God control you?
God prosper me - control God
God glorify your name - God in control

Psalm 90:12 NIV
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Young
Short past
Long future

Old
Long past
Short future

Robe walking story
- all are spectator
- non are participant

Most Christian are believer or soectator but not participant or disciple or apostle

Jeremiah 2:8 NIV
The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord ?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.

Only know the word of Lord but did not know God Himself

If you know God you can introduce God to other

Discipline
Result come with great discipline

Purpose of life
- born   blank
- die. Full of memory

Creating and collecting memory
Living a legacy behind

Money. Cannot transfer to heaven
But can create the memory of other

Rushing through time
Rushing to death

You die but not actually not die
Because of the memory you left behind for other

Memory impact other

Consumer of love
Nut not the producer of love

Time traveler
- bondage - past issues
- future - worried
- how about Now. ?

Cannot change past and cannot predict the future

Now. Gift of God. Present.

Set you free.
- from sadness of past
- worry about future

How to change the past
- now will become past
- you do the right Now. It will become right past. More good Now will have more Good past
- your past will have more good past after long time

Now - God give you this to change the past

Devil
- bow you to the past
- worry you for the future

Food sacrifice to idol

Blood eating

Blood eating. Is bible talk about anything regarding blood eating.  Finally found one.

Acts 15:20 NIV
Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.

Discipleship is a journey

Matthew 4:19 NIV
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

"Come"
- action
- commitment

"Follow me"
- learn from Jesus
-

5 misconception of discipleship

1. Knowledge
- story of the driving license
- got the license but never practice to drive

2. Program
- disciple program
- God spoke to Adam

3. Growth
-- Adam and Eve

4. Growth without effort
- sow what you planted

Busy. ?
Driven by passion.
Story of 50% sales in Giant - everyone gone

4. Transformation
- last 40 years not follow God word
- it cannot happen overnight

5. Cycle
- if parent serve kids will serve as well
- best discipleship - parenting
- inspired by the life of their parent
- parent leave behind his disciple

Change! !
- memorized bible verse
- it stuck with you for life

"Conviction"
-

Knowledge + application = breakthrough

John 8:32 NIV
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Break Free.  Breakthrough

1Corithian
- you body is the temper of God

Matthew 25:40 NIV
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Hebrews 12:1 NIV
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Matthew 28:19 NIV
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Who you can disciple. .?

CORE
- Sunday service
- koinos
- reach out

Book of Act: Jesus Return

After Jesus being taken up angel came and promise Jesus will return

Acts 1:11 NIV
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

But no one know the time but only the Heavenly Father

Acts 1:7 NIV
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Book of Daniel

I will category the Book of Daniel into 3 section :

1.  Time with Babylon King
2.  Vision and Dream
3. End time

1.  Two famous story of the furnace and the lion dent

Daniel 3:25 NIV
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Daniel 6:22 NIV
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

2.  There are many dream and vision which I also cannot understand

3. End time
God did not tell very clearly about end time and keep His mouth tight

Daniel 12:9 NIV
He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.

Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

After reading this today,  I felt God is so good. I think earthly father also like the Heavenly Father,  where you want your son to be strong but it not just happen like that. Your son need to go through the work or hardship or learning curve in order to become strong.

Similarly sometimes we need to be tempted and go through it and in it. Then we can realized what is right and what is wrong.

I think the most important is to be able to get out of the temptation. That is the declaration of success against the evil one.

The World

1 John 2:16 NIV
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

The world is wicked. We know that the world is wicked but many cannot run away from the world or tempted by the world.

Pastor Lawrence actually asked the question in the sermon. It is wrong to be rich. ? But he added that it is wrong to be flirty rich. Meaning the wealth is not coming from the right way or it come from illegal way.

Bible also have few people who are very wealthy. The one that I recently read is Job.  At the end God blessed his second half of his life many times more than the first half. Read below.

Job 42:12 NIV
The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.