It
is not a nice experience to have your family name stripped off you, to be
called names and to be regarded as no more being worthy to be identified with.
It is not easy to see everything that the world offers slip through your
fingers, especially, when you have once received them as your treasures in
life. And yet, it all would be worth it losing everything for the surpassing
greatness of Christ.
1) Risking
it all for the sake of Christ-vv. 5-6
▪ Giving
up that which is fleshly-vv. 5-6
▪
Treasuring Christ above all this world could offer.
▪
Everything is worth the loss for the sake of Christ-v. 7
2) The
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ-v. 8
▪ Suffering
the loss of all things-v. 8
▪ Counting
everything as dung-v. 8
▪ Gaining
Christ-v. 8
3) Attaining
the resurrection of the dead-vv. 9:11
▪ To be
found in Him in His righteousness.
▪ Knowing
Him
i.The power of His resurrection
ii.The fellowship of His sufferings
iii.Conforming to His death
Conclusion:
All things that we struggle to
defend in this life; things this world has offered in competition with what God
had made us in Christ are nothing but one BIG DUNG!
May we be willing
to risk everything for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ that we may
attain the resurrection of the dead in Christ Jesus; who Himself is our example
in all things. I encourage each one of us today to at least visit someone this
week who no one would want identify with. It may be in the hospital, prison, on
the street, old people’s home or in an orphanage. Let us count it a privilege
to risk it all for Christ!
Based on today’s message, let us consider
the following questions in sharing with one another the understanding and
insight we have received from the Word of God. We are also encouraged to share
with others how we want to apply the meaning of today’s message in our personal
Christian life.
Name
some of the treasures that the world offers, think and share with one other
what they truly mean to you as a Christian.
How did Paul want to
attain the resurrection of the dead?
How
would you apply the truth you learned from today’s message to your
Christian walk with God?
1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your
God. 2“ Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is
ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand
Double for all her sins.” 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare
the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4Every
valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked
places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it
together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6The voice said, “Cry
out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its
loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower
fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are
grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up
into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your
voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10Behold,
the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.11He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently
lead those who are with young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of
His hand, Measured heaven with span And calculated the dust of the earth in a
measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13Who has
directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14With
whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of
justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the
nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the
scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16And Lebanon is
not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17All
nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than
nothing and worthless. 18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will
you compare to Him?
19The workman
molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith
casts silver chains. 20Whoever is too impoverished for such 9 contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To
prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21Have you not
known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have
you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is He who sits above
the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches
out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall
their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they
will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25“ To whom then
will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift up
your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their
host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And
the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27Why do you say,
O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just
claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have
you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator
of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is
unsearchable. 29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He
increases strength.30Even the
youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31But
those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with
wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not
faint.
Sunday October 16, 2016
“LET
THE LORD ALONE BE YOUR FEAR AND YOUR HOPE!”
Pastor
Enoch Hanokh
1) You
are backed by the limitless power-v. 12
▪ His
reach is unimaginable-v. 12;
▪ His
strength is unmatched-v. 12
2) You
are instructed and guide by unsearchable wisdom-vv. 13-14
▪ The
Spirit of the LORD is the Spirit of counsel-vv. 13
3) You
are backed by the power that powers cannot oppose or compete against-vv. 16-17
▪ He
does not need anyone’s service-v. 16
SMALL
GROUP STUDIES
Based on today’s message, let us consider
the following questions in sharing with one another the understanding and
insight we have received from the Word of God. We are also encouraged to share
with others how we want to apply the meaning of today’s message in our personal
Christian life.
1.What
are some of the spiritual principle that we have learned from today's message?
2.How can you apply these principles in your
spiritual journey with God?
1“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your
God. 2“ Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is
ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand
Double for all her sins.” 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare
the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4Every
valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked
places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it
together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6The voice said, “Cry
out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its
loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower
fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are
grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up
into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your
voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10Behold,
the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.11He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently
lead those who are with young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of
His hand, Measured heaven with span And calculated the dust of the earth in a
measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13Who has
directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14With
whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of
justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the
nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the
scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16And Lebanon is
not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17All
nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than
nothing and worthless. 18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will
you compare to Him?
19The workman
molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith
casts silver chains. 20Whoever is too impoverished for such 9 contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To
prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21Have you not
known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have
you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is He who sits above
the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches
out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall
their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they
will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25“ To whom then
will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift up
your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their
host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And
the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27Why do you say,
O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just
claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have
you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator
of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is
unsearchable. 29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He
increases strength.30Even the
youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31But
those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with
wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not
faint.
Sunday October 9, 2016
“IN
HIS REVEALED GLORY, YOU ARE COMFORTED”
Pastor
Enoch Hanokh
1) Behold
your God-v. 9
▪ Lift
up your voice with strength-v. 9;"Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter
of Babylon." (Zech. 2:7 NKJ)
▪ It is
God working through His people-v. 9-“Behold your God!”; Isaiah 25:9- “…This our
God whom we waited for...”
▪ Raise
an altar to the LORD (Prepare your heart)-v. 9; Ez.3:2-4
2) Your
God shall come to you-vv. 10
▪ The
LORD shall rule in the midst of oppositions-v. 10-“…His strong arm shall rule
for Him…”
▪He
shall reward everyone accordingly-v.10; a Righteous Judge!
▪He
shall accomplish His purse-v. 10; “…His work is before Him…”
3) He
is the Good Shepherd-v.11; Ps. 80:1; Jn.10:11;
▪ He
takes care of His flock-v. 11
▪ He
takes special care of the weak-v. 11
i.He will gather them in the power of His
arm; 2 Cor. 12;9; “…His strength is made perfect in their weakness…”
ii.When they wonder away, He shall draw back;
Jn.10:28
iii.He will carry them in the bosom of His
love
iv.He will gently lead them
SMALL
GROUP STUDIES
Based on today’s message, let us consider
the following questions in sharing with one another the understanding and
insight we have received from the Word of God. We are also encouraged to share
with others how we want to apply the meaning of today’s message in our personal
Christian life.
1. 1. What
are some of the spiritual principle that we have learned from today's message?
2. 2. How can you apply these principles in your
spiritual journey with God?
