on living

think of this as your pre-sunday sermon, but i dont care. some days, i am so stricken by the power and hope we have in Christ Jesus. it goes beyond simple story of salvation to a life filled with the hope and assurance of his deliverance, a life where every step we take is victorious because of our faith in Him and the work we do in Christ's name, by Spirit's power and for the Father's glory. ive been entirely arrested by this truth and promise. in mark 13, Jesus tells his disciples of signs of the end ages. and it is a truth that defies all that this world treasures and puts its hope in.

in the end days, we will see signs of it as the world and its misplaced worship finally collapses on itself, unable to satisfy this infinite greed and selfishness. 'nations will rise against nations and kingdom against kingdoms'. there will be war, famine, earthquakes.. it will be the 'beginning of birth pains'. 'Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death'

and what of our faith? Jesus says 'the gospel must first be preached to all nations.' it will be a heavy task. we will be persecuted for our faith. we will be opposed. we will be called foolish and people will mock us. the apostles were. the early believers were. christians today are persecuted and even put to death.

'All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. '

'Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'

this world in its cycle of self perpetuating selfish desires, feeds off itself; it is never content, never content because it has never found true joy. their eyes are clouded and their hearts are hardened (ephesians 4) and they build their hope and lives on things built by man: technology, grand architectures, culture, aesthetic beauty, money, comfort.. but the Messiah tells us this is all meaningless. even the sun and moon will be forbidden to give light. stars will fall from the skies and heavenly bodies will tremble and shake. (vv 24-25) everything considered great on this earth will be thrown down, cast into cinders in the face of true kingship and His holy face revealed.

'At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.'

Lord come quick. Come and save us from this despair. what a glorious day that will be, when Christ returns and reveals His full power. every knee will fall, every unbeliever will be speechless and the entire world will tremble and quake. but despite this anticipation, my heart still yearns that the Lord would prolong this day, because otherwise, so many souls will be lost forever. Lord, wait on a little longer. Come and help us proclaim your glory so that there will be more who come to know you.

guys, stand firm and be bold in your faith. its not easy and every day is a spiritual battle, a warfare that on our own we cannot win. we will always come face to face with stumbling blocks for us to denounce our faith; we might not be literally standing in front of governments or being publicly flogged, but our demons are still very real. they look like pride, they look like shame in praying in front of our peers, they look like compromising our morals at a party we are at or a joke we are making, they look like procrastination in spending time in the Word..

look at peter. he was the rock on which Christ would build the church (matt 16:18). yet, when face to face with trial and persectution, he explicitly denied Christ 3 times (mark14:66-72). how the mighty had fallen - it shows how entirely broken we are, and how we can absolutely not trust in ourselves. our standing firm and our strength to overcome is by His power. there is glory even in partial victories, second chances in Christ (see John 21:-15-19).

'Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.'

second chances aren't without their trials and challenges (see Acts 4); peter was thrown in jail and stood trail before the elders and the Sanhedrin. yet, he did not denounce Christ. he spoke in the spirit. in the same way for you and i, the ways we are tested and challenged in our faith are very real. we will have so many chances to live with our eyes downcast and shameful and appear foolish. but do not worry about falling or being unable to overcome, because we will speak just like peter did and we will stand firm when we are empowered and living by the power of the spirit. take hope even in partial victories, but never stop striving, 'for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard'

all i once held dear, i have counted loss. (phillipians 3:7-11) indeed, nothing compares to knowing the promise and glory of the life that God has raised us to. in 1 John 2:22, it tell us that the man who denies the Father and Son is a liar and is the anti Christ ! so if you don't deny Him, then don't deny Him in the way that you live, the actions you do and the words you speak ! live no holds barred, nothing to lose !

in his reinstatement, his forgiveness, peter lived a life that proclaimed the gospel. his entire life loved and reflected Jesus. and while ultimately he too was hung on the cross, the way he followed was one of victory and salvation.

guys, live unashamed and unrelentlessly. live knowing! that you need! to stand firm. live knowing! it is won! in His name, by His power and for His glory.

and knowing this, live like it !

(service will be adjourned after a moment of silent meditation)