Sanctification by the Grace of God

Date: Sunday 3rd April 2005
Venue: Chinese Gospel Church of Dublin

A picture of Grace (Parable of the Vineyard, Matt 20:1-16)

Sanctification is the will of God (1 The 5:23-24), He initiated it and he will complete it.
Sanctification is the work of the Spirit, but it also requires our responses.

Common Mistake: We are saved by Grace, but sanctified by Work.

The Ultimate Goal of Sanctification of is to be like Christ (Eph 5:1) and restored to status quo of human creation (Gen 1:26).

The Journey of Sanctification is akin to preparing a garden ground for growing fine grass. One has to remove away the big rocks, mid-size stones, and finally lots and lots of pebbles. The big rocks can be compared to our obvious sins, God helps us to take these away, then the mid-size stones become visible, these are then taken away. The process of repenting on the obvious sins is generally rapid even though it is hard-work. The little pebbles are those will take a life time.

Refined sins: The little pebbles can be defined as refined sins. These are sins of nice people, sins that we Christians regularly commit and still retain our outwards righteous position. We have developed skills to hide these what God's called sins as not. E.g.

• Critical spirit
• Gossip
• Resentment
• Bitterness
• Unforgiving spirit

Signs of continuously living unsanctifiedly Christian life

• lack of integrity
• Feel uncomfortable when others start to confess their sins
• Judgmental of others
• Sin is bigger than the Cross (unwilling to submit to God)

We need to the continuous Renewal

1. Begin with admitting our sins and needs (John 7:37, 1 John 1:8)
2. Turn from Self Sanctification-Grace-02april2005.docas the source of life (Rom 7:18, Phil 3:7)
3. Believing in Christ as the only Source of life (John 6:27-29, 15:5)
4. Acting on the promises in Christ (Eph 1:3-14, 1 John 1:9, Rom 6:6-7, Eph 5:18)

因著主的恩果成聖

成聖是神的意願（提前5:23-24），衪開始也完成。成聖是聖靈的工作，但亦須要我們作回應。

普遍錯誤：我們因著神的恩典被救，但成聖須要行動。

成聖最終目的是像基督（弗5:1），和恢復受造物的身份。（創1:26）

成聖旅程類似為花園裏長出好草作準備，要移開大石，中等石頭和數之不盡的小石。大石可比作我們顯易而見的罪，神幫助我們拿走它，中等石頭方才可見，然後拿走，認罪過程變得快些，雖然是很困難，雨邢些小石將用一生去面對。

細微的罪：小石好比作細微的罪。一般被世人認為好人所犯的罪，這些罪亦是基督徒常向神認錯的，在別人眼中，仍可保持我們外在的義人形像。我們逐漸有技巧地埋藏甚麼是神所稱為的罪，如：

• 評論的靈

• 說閒話

• 憤慨

• 苦毒

• 不願諒的靈

不斷在不成聖生活的信號

• 缺乏完整

• 當別人認罪時感到不安

• 批判他人

• 罪大過十架（不願意委身給神）

我們須要不斷更新

• 開始交上我們的罪及須要（約7:37、約一1:8）

• 轉移自我成聖的生活來源（羅7:18、腓3:7）

• 相信主是生活唯一的來源（約6:27-29, 15:5）

• 行在神的應許上（弗1:3-14、約一1:9、羅6:6-7、弗5:18）

Parable of the Sower - What kinds of soil are you?

Date: Sunday 13th March 2005
By: Ghee Seng Teo

Bible verses: Matthew 13:3-23

The parable speaks of the condition of our hearts which could be one of the four at a particular moment of our life when responding to God's words.

• Along the path - with God's words with contempt
  
• Shallow Soil - understand God's in a self-beneficial way
  
• Thorny Soil - unwilling to denial self
  
• Good Soil - understand and accept God's words as they are

God's desire is that our heart should be of the Good Soil. We can go from any types of those soils to a Good Soil when we are willing:

If you are Along the path: you need to take heeds and treat God's words seriously. Do not along the words come in from the left ear and and leaves from the right ear.

If you are Shallow Soil: you need to persevere when troubles and persecutions come for the difference between you and the Good Soil is that, the Good Soil just lasted a bit longer. You need to endure your sufferring by fixing your eyes and hope on the Lord and also to grow in the truth.

If you are Thorny Soil: where your source of troubles came from within. The worries of this life and deceutfulness of wealth choked us of any spiritual growth. It is like wireframed on a tree stem, the tree will never grow beyond certain size. But the Lord taught us not to worry about what to eat (good foods), what to wear (brand names), not to store up treasures (finances) in this world. (Matthew 6:19-34). Let us have our hope on Him.

If you are Good Soil: be sure to grow in multiplicity, 100 folds, 60 folds, 30 folds. For a seed has to die before it can grow abundantly.

Servant of God - Thoughts 1

Date: Sunday 27th Feb 2005
By: Ghee Seng Teo

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

We are God's workmanship like the clay in the porter's hands. He is to mould, build, shape us in Christ Jesus and to do good works during the process. Through Jesus' death on the cross, we are considered righteous, but His continuos saving grace is to touch, move, change and transform us into the likeness of Chirst.

To do the good works that God prepared is to serve Him. To be a servant of God there are a number of attitudes that we need to develop.

(1) Not afraid of Troubles
Luke 10:30-35 spoke of the good samaritan who had gone through lots of troubles to help one who had been robbed. We are to be of the same heart attitude too. For indeed if everyone are afraid of troubles then:
- No one would have bothered to preach the Gospel to you and I
- No one would have preached the Gospel to our parents
- The missionaries would not have gone to China
- The Apostle Paul would not have stayed away from far places like Rome or Spain
- The Lord Jesus would have stayed in heaven

We know therefore to serve the Lord to do good works, not afraid of troubles is essential.

(2) Not to ever give up
Luke 11:5-8 spoke of the persistent we ought to have in prayers. Likewise we serve the Lord the same level of persistent and perservance are required. If Nehemiah has given up, he would not have achieved the restoration of the wall. If we have given us, many more people that we know may not get to know the Lord!

(3) Not to live for I but Christ
Just like the Lord Jesus came to serve and gave his life as a ransom for many. Let the 'I' become 'C'hrist in our life. Let not live our lives based on other people's expectation. Let not live our lives hinged on other's criticisms. Let not luve our lives driven my our own's understanding. Rather we are to live a life according to the desires and will of the Lord.

Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, he saw only the joy of all people returning to God and found meaning and purpose in the life starting from this life into eternity. Hence He willingly endured the pain, the shame of the cross. (c.f. a mother endures the gaining of weight, the pain of child bearing yet she is joyful as she looks forwards to the birth of a new life). Let us be likewise as the Lord is.

Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem - Sunday 20th Feb 2005

Topic: Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem
Date: Sunday 20th Feb 2005

Key verse: Nehemiah 4:19-20 "Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. ²⁰ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"

Nehemiah as called by God to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. Where the city wall significant the presence of the King and hus subjects. A destroyed wall is a disgrace to the people and the King. Nehemiah and the people achived in 52 days of the incomplete tasks started some 92 years before. It just shows the mighty power of the Lord and now the Temple is restored, the wall is restored, the people were reformed waiting for the coming of the King. The King indeed came as promised some 400 years later.

Taking a similar line, the church is restoring the kingdom's wall. The restoration takes many dimensions. However, the key is that we are like the Israelites re-building the wall though it may be tough going, but the Lord God is with us. He should enable us as he has done with Nehemiah and the people then, once the wall of his kingdom is restored, his people reformed, the Christ King shall return in triumph.