I Promise!

Last January 2, 2011, i was requested to speak in our Children's Church.  It was a joint worship for all children ages 6-14, so somehow i had difficulty delivering my sermonette, but praise be to God.  May the Lord's word as applied by the Holy Spirit to them do the changing word in their hearts.

The topic given to me was about Commitment.  At first, i had difficulty in preparing this sermonette becuase i do not have any passage to preach on.  However when the topic was given to me, the first thing that came into my mind was to preach about the covenant, more in particular the Abrahamic Covenant.  I choose to preach on the covenant becuase it is through the covenant that we can see God's commitment, God's truhtful word, God's faithfulness.

At first i had reservations about it, but when i talked about it with my girl friend that i was having difficulty in choosing a passage to preach on about the topic Commitment, she suddenly mentioned the Abrahamic Covenant. Thus i opted to preach on the Abrahamic Covenant.

So below is the outline that served as my sermonette manuscript.  i hope that all of you may be bless.

I PROMISE:

Short discourse about God’s Covenantal Commitment and Our Act of Gratitude

Text: Gen. 15-17; Gal 3:16-17; Matt 5:33-37

Objective: To teach children to be men and women of their words as their proper act of gratitude towards God’s commitment in His plan of salvation.

Intro:

How many of you had made you new year’s resolution?

For how many years? Have you been consistent?

What is commitment?

My working definition: sticking to one’s own word or promise; performing once oath or promise.

Body:

In order for us to have a better understanding of God’s commitment, we have to understand first what is a covenant.  It is through the context of a covenant that we can have a better grasp of God’s commitment.

What is a covenant?

It is a bond in blood sovereignly administered.[1] (in short it is a serious relationship that would involve the shedding of blood)

A covenant is a relationship of “oaths and bonds” and involves mutual, though not necessarily equal, commitments.[2]

·         The idea in a covenant is that animals are cut into half and both parties in a bond/relationship would pass through those pieces, and take a curse upon themselves that they would end up like those pieces of animals if they would break their promise.

Genesis 15

V1-3 Abram’s situation

v.4-7 God’s covenant promise

v.8-10; 17 Covenant cutting.

Now we go to the nation of Israel. 

Where the nation of Israel faithful to God? No,The nation of Israel was unfaithful and worshipped other God’s

Did their faithlessness cause God to revoke His promises?

No. their unfaithfulness did not cause the Lord to renege His promise to Abraham.

But it seems right this present day that God seemed to fail to fulfill his promise. Did God abandoned His promises?

No.  God did not abandoned His promises but instead already fulfilled it in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In Gal  3:16-17 we read:

(Gal 3:16 [ESV])

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

(Gal 3:17 [ESV])

This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

With regard to the Land promise the book of Hebrews says,

(Heb 11:8 [ESV])

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

(Heb 11:9 [ESV])

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

(Heb 11:10 [ESV])

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

We can see that despite man’s unfaithfulness, God remained faithful to His promises

Implications:

1.    Salvation is also by grace through faith in the OT as seen in the case of Abraham (Romans 4)

2.    As God’s children we ought to be faithful to our Lord and Savior.

3.    God can be trusted, so we can trust God.  We may not see things the way we want it to be but we can trust Him that every circumstance in our life is under His control and it is for our good.  Trust Him, pray to Him

Application:

1.    We should be committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have to obey his word. (Luke 14  and Genesis 17:1)

2.    We have to be men and women of our word (Read Matt 5:33-37)

Negative consequence of being untrue to our words: Lost of Trust and Confidence from other people.  If we lose the trust and confidence of our friends or parents, it would be difficult for us to be trusted. Secondly, it would be difficult for us to be good testimonies for Christ.

---

[1] Definistion from O. Palmer Robertson’s Christ of the Covanant.

[2] Horton, Micheal. Introducing Covenant theology. p. 10.

Some of the Differences Between Baptists and Reformed theology on the New Covenant Part 1

Most often than not, Baptist and Reformed/Presbyterians would differ in their beliefs especially with regard to baptism, Lord's Supper and Sabbath keeping is becuase of their different views and interpretation regarding the New Covenant.

R. Scott Clark, professor of Westminster Seminary California, has written part 1 of his series regarding the Reformed view of the New Covenant. Click here.

Tullian and the Gospel!

Pastor Tullian is the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.  The church pastored for decased by the late D. James Kennedy.  It was not easy for Tullian to pastor this church because he was almost ousted by some of the church members from being its pastor.  The issue even became of a national interest that the problem within the church was even talked about in national television in the US.

For some of us the gospel is only for unbelievers and not for believers; not for Tullian.  See how the Gospel became the source of strength and encouragement, even for a man of God:
http://theresurgence.com/2010/12/14/how-tullian-tchividjian-rediscovered-the-gospel

PHILIPPINE SUPEME COURT ACQUITS SUSPECTS IN VIZCONDE MASSACRE!

The Vizconded Massacre Case which had been pending for 19 years was finally decided by the Highest Court of the land last December 14, 2010.  I was still an elementary student back then when the Vizconde Massacre incident happened and now that i'm already a college graduate (even  law school graduate) the case has been finally decided.

When i heard from the news that the hight court already gave its verdict, i was totally surprise.  Surprise becuase of the verdict given  was in favor of the accused Webb et. al..  Another reason for my surprise was the fact that the ponente of the Supreme Court Decision was my former professor in law school who was then subsequently apppointed as a Supreme Court Justice.

For those who are intereseted you can read the Supreme court decision:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/192935_abad.htm

Vacation Leave!

My 2 weeks vacation is nearly coming to an end. By monday, I have to prepare myself for the whole week long class. So how did i spent my vacation? Well, i just went to several malls here in manila, walk in the near vicinity and most important of all is to read.

My close friend even candidly told me, "Nababasa ka na naman!, baka magkatuluyan kayo ng mga libro mo ah!" Well, what should i suppose to do! just sleep, wake up, take a bath and walk every day during my vacation! I would increase in weight if that would be my routine! ( unfortunately i decided to eat all my favorite food coz during opening of the class, i might not be that lucky anymore hehe!)

So book did i read? law books? Hector de leon? Tolentino? or Divina? of course not! though i am anticipating from my classmates when they read this " eto na naman c moi!" Syempre hindi law books ang binasa ko noh mga pare't mare maawa naman kayo saken noh! hehe

So what was it? Some may be surprised but i read the book, Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot.

I was introduced to the book through Josh Harris message Revisiting Romance (you can download the message here). In his sermon, Joshua Harris reminisced the day when his mother gave him a copy of the book. He was in a relationship back then, yet he never bothered to read it. He thought that the book contains things that he already knew such as "date/court only Christians", "don't kiss" and the likes. When his relationship with his girlfriend ended, he then decided to read the book and he received biblical encouragement from it. The book even inspired him to write his first book when he was 21 years old, I kissed Dating Good Bye!

Since the book inspired Josh Harris to pursue a love life that would please God, so i told myself not just to give it a try, but to spend time on it and reflect.

I bought it and read it. I was not disappointed. I am the type of person who is apathetic of romantic things. Parang bale wala lang sa akin na makapanuod o makapagbasa man ng love story. However the love story narrated in the story is different! It narrated the love story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and their struggles during their courtship days.

I noticed their experiences were not different from mine. I even shared them to my beloved and to her surprise she was thankful that others had also the same experiences as ours in our journey called love.

One basic theme that i noticed through out the book and that is the concept of waiting. Not just any type of waiting but waiting for the Lord. Through out the book, i read the struggles of both young people who were in love to each other yet were undecided to continue with their relationship or not. To obey God or not.

I was renewed through this book. I was reminded that there is blessing in the road called obedience. I have to admit that i myself is an impatient person. I want things to be instant. Whenever i need it, it should be there whenever i am of need of it, yet this book taught me to be patient.

"but they who wait for 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." Isa 40:31

Oh, Lord continue to teach thy son to be patient! Always be willing to surrender to your will!

Latest Update

It has been a while since i posted here in my blog. i had been busy with my studies at law school that caught every second, minute, and hour of my day per week per day per week and even per months, of my time. I would say that I am privilege to study at law school. Some people wished that they would even have the opportunity to study yet didn't pursued their dream for some unknown reason.

It is not easy to study at law school. You have to read a lot, memorize several provisions, face difficult professors and even take their difficult exams!! (what do you expect! the professors are hard to deal with, how much more their exams!) You will be experiencing mental anguish whenever you enter your class, hoping that the professor would be absent or be busy to attend the class. If the professor is around, your faith will be tested, that is if you have prayed hard enough in order not to be called for the recitation. Well that's life in law school, though difficult yet it is exciting; Full of suspense! Full of Thrill! Full of wonderful experiences..
'

Camper's Notes : The Sweetest Link Part 3

With that said, the primary readiness for a relationship involves the wisdom of choosing a right partner. The following qualities are what would make a pivotal difference in the happiness of a relationship:

• Sense of responsibility. A person must be responsible and accountable in order to handle the demands of a committed relationship. He or she must be able to answer to the demands of real-life expectations and fulfill promises made.

• Emotional stability. A person who lacks emotional stability would not be able to provide the trustworthiness and dependability so important to a healthy relationship. Only those who are emotionally stable can provide the steadfastness, both in affection and otherwise, so essential in a partner.

• Leadership quality. Leadership quality is a combination of responsibility and initiative. A person with such qualities will be able to direct a family, either outside or inside the home. It is a quality that one can observe through time spent in church, school, and other community settings. (Insert: personal ad for camp officers, hehe).
  
• Ability to Focus on Others’ Needs. A person who is selfish will never be able to sustain a relationship, for a relationship is about service and forgiveness. A potential partner must be someone who helps others consistently in real life, not only in a couple setting.
  Empathy. A partner must be someone understanding. An unsympathetic person cannot be supportive within a relationship.

In personal evaluation and in evaluating someone else, one must make sure that there is at least one respected adult advisor involved. Such people help us observe things we ourselves cannot see, and they can supply opinions regarding a person’s character out of their concern and experience.

Beautiful as true love with a right partner at the right time is, the world teaches myths about love that steal our joy:

• You need a significant other to be happy. Joy is found in the Lord. No earthly thing is essential to one’s complete happiness.

• Marriage will make me happy. Once again, no earthly thing is indispensable to happiness, and marriage is not an ending point that will bring happiness in and of itself.

• A partner will make me complete. We are complete in Christ. There is nothing lacking in a person’s life merely because he or she is single. A person’s completeness can be lacking only when he or she has not found the Lord.

While a relationship can be fulfilling, there are also cool reasons to be single for the season of waiting:

• Personal identity. One who is single does not need to face the baggage and pressure of an identity linked to or formed by one’s significant other.

• Controlling the remote. A single person can make life decisions without having to consider the impact or consequences the decisions would bring to a partner.
  
• School, work, etc. When single, a person has much greater time and attention to devote to other areas of life.
  
• Jealousy will be a problem. Jealousy is a tricky and perhaps inevitable relationship issue that can consume much time, thought, and emotion. Someone single can be free from its influences.
  
• Power to have high standards. An attached person has to focus on the relationship with the person at hand; a single person can maintain high standards in the search for a partner.
  
• Better friendships. Someone single always has more freedom of time than someone in a relationship. That time can be invested in building better friendships with others.
  
• Nothing to lose. A single can have greater freedom in trying new things, for there is no fear of losing or offending one’s partner.
  
• Sweaty palms? Who cares! When one is single, there is less worry about one’s impression upon others and no worries about what one’s partner would think about one’s appearance and so forth.
  
• The sky’s the limit. With no strings attached, one can shoot for the stars carefree.
  Time to figure. Singlehood gives one time to ponder upon one’s life and choices. One can figure out what he or she wants, what he or she has to do, and how God is calling him or her.