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3 Jun 2007  THE MIDNIGHTS

In God’s clock , we are seconds to midnight

FIRST MIDNIGHT OF SALVATION

Acts 16:16

¹⁶Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar ²¹by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. ²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Acts 16:25

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. ²⁷The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16:31

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

 Midnight hour is the hour of silence

 The young slave girl was delivered  - and the evil spirit left her. In life, when we help people, we may also face hardships- there is sacrifice here. God is omnipresent. Prisoners were set free and jailor also transformed. We must be sensitive to the spirit of God and this will help us bring the salvation to others.

 Paul and Silas experienced total freedom while physically in prison. We may be mentally in prison if we do not have freedom  and if our spirit is not free to praise  the Lord. This is the  power of God and nothing can control the good news. God is always in control behind the scenes.

 SECOND MIDNIGHT OF THANKSGIVING

 Psalms 119:62

 ⁶²   At midnight I rise to give you thanks

       for your righteous laws.

 At midnight, I rise to give thanks for your righteousness. God is good and kind  and we need to be thankful with what we have. Remember thanksgiving is not just a day but a way of life.

 THIRD MIDNIGHT OF JUDGEMENT

 Exodus 11:4 

 ⁴So Moses said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. ⁵Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. ⁶There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. ⁷But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

 God protect his people even as he pronounced judgement. Let my people go- God provide divine and supernatural protection – in the Passover- by applying blood to the door posts and lintels before God exercise judgement by killing the first-borns. All your works and services will not protect you except the blood of Jesus- where there is cleansing protection. We need to apply it to our lives, our possessions  and live within the boundary of the blood of Jesus. 

 FOURTH  MIDNIGHT THE BRIDGEGROOM  COMES

 In Matt 25:1-6

¹“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

 In 2^nd Cor 11 :2

²I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

 Paul shown Godly jealousy. Oil is for burning but it also represent the holy spirit- it is the oil of the holy spirit which help you to shine- and enable  the spiritual light to shine. When the oil runs dry, we need to replenish it. Whether we have that extra oil or not, will determine our destiny  because at the coming of Jesus Christ- there will be a separation of the wise and foolish. The wise Christians will be doer and not just hearer of the Word. By doing the will of the Lord- they will have that extra oil. They will be like the wise virgins and not lukewarm Christians ( Mon to Fri type) 

 Consider Proverbs 11 :30  

 ³⁰   The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

       and he who wins souls is wise.

 Be wise and go win souls.   

The next person you meet may need to know Jesus.

10 Jun 2007  WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU

Pastor Tommy Pacatang

Our church is njec – synonymous with inject. We come to church to be “inject”.

It hurts and is painful but this is exactly the intention- because the pain will help  you recover quickly.

 In family life, the father need to get respect  and honour. We look at God our heavenly  Father to give us an image of what our humanly father ought to be. He is the one whom we get the significance from- and the reflection of our own father.

 There are different types of fathers- passive, abusive, absent and angry fathers- but we can choose to be different. From the impact of the father, we see the results of the effects and fruits of the behaviours. Father is the root and the fruits should not have thick walls with God.

 Our father is a priest, a  prophet and a King, and we see the father in different roles:

 As a priest- with the BACK TO THE FAMILY- coming and seeking before God

As a prophet- with BACK TO GOD, facing family.

As a King, he grants wisdom, protects, provides and takes care of the family

 FIRST ABSENT FATHER

 This may happen due to death, divorce, abandonment or just simply working too much. The fatherless kids are twice likely to drop out- and basing on historical facts- fatherless homes experienced higher probability e.g

 71% of teen pregnancies,

75%  of abuse of substances

75% of teenager sucides

85% of prison cases

90% homeless and runaways

 These kids grow up in an environment of fear of love,  of rejection due to the  loss and may be angry- and they may also internalize their anger with very serious implications.

 We are reminded that God is the Father to the fatherless.

 Hebrews 13:5

 ⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

     “Never will I leave you;

       never will I forsake you.”^£

 Psalms 68:5

⁵     A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

       is God in his holy dwelling.

 John 14:18

 ⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

 SECOND ABUSIVE FATHER

 This comes in different forms – emotional, verbal, physical and even sexual.

 Jeremiah 29:11

 ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 Isaiah 42:3

 ³     A bruised reed he will not break,

       and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

The inspiring story of loving father  Dick (66yrs old)and his son Rick( 44 yrs old) – the father bringing his handicapped son to participate in the marathons- we see the bond of love of a father for his son .

THIRD PERFORMANCE ORIENTED FATHER

A father who impose high standards and demands, and values strict obedience also need to consider the child’s disposition. It is better to operate under love than fear and better to be open and try to help. God cares about performance but we need to move from judgement to love. Do not blame them or else we may kill the spirits- causing shutdowns, depression..etc

 www.oneFather.com

Your heavenly Father  never takes His eyes off you

17 Jun 2007  BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS  

Pastor Mulyanto

Everyone has burdens Gal 6:1-5

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. ²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, ⁵for each one should carry his own load.

If any brother sins, we are to restore such a one. We have responsibility for our brother who is emotionally broken and spiritually broken in a spirit of gentleness . However, use caution and grace when straightening out someone who has strayed.

Do not be critical or condemning. Always remember to be slow to judge others but be quick to judge yourself. The faults  we see  in other’s lives are often true of ourselves. So ask God to  help you recognize them and not to be  hypocritical as well. According to Jesus, it is a bad idea to major in “speckology” while suffering from “plankitis”.

Matt 7:3-5

³“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

We have 3 kinds of burdens:

1.    Self inflicted

2.    From God

3.    From Satan- feeling inadequate and restless.

 DO YOU HAVE A BURDEN ?

 Yes I do not want to share my burdens. But God tell us to bear one another’s burdens- therefore, we must be willing to open up and share in order top allow the love of Christ to flow. Helping someone in Jesus’s name is your most important work for the day.

 BE AWARE

 Often in life, w edo nothave time for each other, and often in marriages, we see  wife is hurting and  husband only realize when they receive the divorce letters. We nee to be sensitive and be aware of the other persons.

 BE AVAILABLE

 We need to listen attentively and identify certain traits and behaviours in individuals  like lonely, sad, guilty, fear and inferior..etc and show them that you care about them.

 BE ACCEPTING

 Accept the person for who she  or he is. Try not to be too personal. Also in ourselves, we must accept our own weakness and limitations in order to experience God’s strength

 BE ALERT

 Be alert to the Holy Spirit on what to say and when to say..etc

 Remember the 7 wonders of the world are:

 To See

To Hear

To Touch

To Taste

To Feel

To Laugh

To Love

 Remember  Gal 5:14

 ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

24 Jun 2007  THE 7 GREAT " I AM"s

As you travel life’s weary road, let Jesus lift your heavy burden.

JESUS has proclaimed He is who he is – the great I AM:

I am the WAY -John 14:6

 ⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I am the BREAD -  Matt 6 :35

 ³⁵Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

I am the LIGHT - Matt 8:12

¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I am the DOOR  - Matt 10:9

⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^£

I am the GOOD SHEPHERD --Matt 10:11

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I am the RESURRECTION -- Matt 11:25

The empty tomb is the foundation of our faith.

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

I am the true VINE  ----Matt 15:1-5

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^£ so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.