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Posts Tagged ‘Kingdom’

Values To Learn In Order To Build Ourselves Up To Last1. Values of Loyalty

Loyalty is the quality of being firm in your friendship or support for someone or something. If we believe that there is only one God in this world, we will align ourselves to this one God. The same applies in your place of work. There are many companies that you can work for but for you to stay on in the same place will be greatly influenced by the leader of the company. If the CEO of the company has great visions for the company, the employees will align themselves towards the same visions. The vision of the CEO will become the vision of the employees, too. No matter what may happen, the visions and the direction remain. This is loyalty, being firm no matter how great the storm is.2. Values of Commitment (Servanthood)

Commitment is a strong belief in an idea or system, especially when it is shown by your actions and behaviour. The value of commitment is to be committed to the authority you are aligned with. This commitment is demonstrated through what you do and say. It is important to teach commitment to the people of God or else nothing can be built. If you want to build a family that will last, you must be committed to making it work.3. Values of Respect (Submission to Authority)

The value of respect is proper submission to authority. There is a proper order of relationship. If you do not understand this, the relationship will be broken up. The things that you do not guard, you will loose. Adam is a good example. He did not guard the relationship he has with God. He watched and allowed Eve to fall into the deception. In the place where God places you with authority over you, you do not elevate yourself to the same level as the authority placed over you. This is wrong. If you do, you allow the seed of seduction to be planted and it is an act of rebellion.

Knowledge can puff up a person. If a person works hard and gets promoted, he unconsciously begins to think his promotion is due to his hard works and by his own efforts. He will begin to think that he knows better than his boss. However, he does not realize that his promotion was due to his boss giving him authority to do the work. He was delegated the job, otherwise there will be no chance for him to be recognised in his works and be promoted. We have to guard ourselves against pride for it breeds familiarity and contentious in the office and this is wrong.

Jesus is an example of humility. Philippians 2:5-11 tells us clearly of Jesus’ humility where He humbles Himself and obeys God to the point of death. He was different from Lucifer. Lucifer wanted to be equal with God. Lucifer was a created being but Jesus was not. It was clear in Philippians that Jesus is equal with God but He chooses to submit Himself to the authority of God. Without this submission to authority and humility of God, His death on the cross and God’s redemption plan will not happen.

Please visit Sermon Alive to read part 1,3,4,5, and 6.

4. Values of Accountability (Connectedness)

Accountability also means connecting to the person whom you report to. There are many times you give a person an assignment to do. This person can become so busy with the work that he forgets to go back to the person to report the status and what he had done. It is important to stay connected with the person who assigned you the work. Reason is simple. The more you work on the project, you may have great ideas but these ideas may not be what the boss wanted. This lack of regular communication and update with the boss can result in misunderstanding between the boss and you as well as frustrations where you may feel that your works and efforts are not appreciated. It is important to stay connected to the boss.

John 15:5 clearly illustrates the importance of staying connected. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” The branch can not be detached from the vine, otherwise it cannot bear fruits. Without the vine, the branch has no life. It is dead. Staying connected is very important. Christians who think they are saved and do not need to go to church, be part of a cell group or attend regular bible-study, will not be fruitful in their lives. These are Christians puff up with knowledge but not fruitful.5. Values of Family (Balance)

In the midst of all your hard works and ministry, do not neglect your family. You cannot glorify God if you neglect your family even in the name of ministry. If your family does not love you nor honour you because you neglect them, this is not God’s intentions. We got to live a balance life. 1 Timothy 3:1-13 tells us of the quality of a man in authority and in verse 5, it says that if a man fails his duty as a husband and father, he will not be able to take care of the church of God. This applies to anyone in authority whether in church, in business or in a place of authority. It is said that the strength of a man is not seen in the width of his shoulders but the width of his arms. Neither is the strength of a man in the amount of hair on his chest but the heart behind the hairs. You may be a male by birth but you can be a man by choice.6. Values of Love (Forgiveness/ Mercy/ Grace)

You cannot build anything on hatred, condemnation, anger and judgemental spirit. If God shows no mercy when you sin, would you be here today? No, you will not be. We are here today because of the love of God. When we fall, we fall into the arms of God. It is the constant unfailing love of God that gives you a sense of security. It is out of love that we are able to build things that last. Out of the sense of love, we know we are still loved by God no matter what mistakes we make and when we repent. Matthew 12:20 says that “a bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory.” It is the love of Jesus that holds us to God. We cannot allow unforgiveness, hatred and bitterness to rule in our hearts and in the church. But love.1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – (NKJV) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.

Let me share a true story with you about love being long suffering, patient and kind.Susan fell ill and became blind due to a misdiagnosis. From a powerful to a powerless person, she became very depressed and frustrated. Mark, her husband, was an air force officer. He knew that he has to do something to help his wife to stand up again. After rested for a period, he suggested to his wife to continue working and he offered to drive his wife to work everyday. For 2 weeks, Mark faithfully drove his wife to work and home. Susan was reluctant but she went along with Mark’s suggestion. However, after two weeks of ferrying, it became very tiring and Mark was worn out. Deciding that this is not the best solution, Mark felt that his wife has to learn how to take the bus to work everyday. When he told Susan that she has to learn to take the bus to work, Susan got very angry. Susan felt that Mark was giving up and abandoning her to face her blindness alone. He was tired of sending and bringing her to work. The worst nightmare was the thought of Mark not loving her anymore. But Mark assured her and told her that he would go with her on the bus until she was ready to go on her own. Mark did just that until Susan was able to board the bus and alight on her own.One day, Susan was going to work as usual on her own. That day, the bus driver told her that she was one blessed lady. Susan did not understand what the bus driver meant by that statement. She asked him to explain. The bus driver told her that everyday for the past weeks, there was a fine looking man in uniform who never failed to watch her get up the bus and he would be at the bus stop to watch her get down the bus. Each time, as she walked away into the office building, he would blow her a kiss and saluted to her before he went on his way. Susan, with tears welling up in her eyes, began to realise the deep love of her husband although she was blind.

Paul said that without love, he was nothing. A church, a family, and an organization must be built on love. They can fail but they can try again. It doesn’t matter whether you are poor or rich; the one thing you can give is love.

Please visit Sermon Alive to look at part 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 at www.sermonalive.com

2 Peter 1:5-11; But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

When a businessman sets out to start a business, he does not plan to open shop for only 1 year and then closes it down. Neither does one enter into a marriage and plans to end it in 5 years’ time. No one in their right frame of mind will start a new venture in life or career with the plan to let it last for a short period of time and then calls it quit. When we plan, we plan to build. When we build, we build to last.

The bible says that if we take God’s words and put it into our lives, we will not fall or stumble easily. However, if our lives are not productive, then we need to access ourselves and ask whether we are focusing on the right thing. If the focus is wrong, it is important to take a step back and ask God what is really important in order to refocus ourselves back on the things that are productive, fruitful and crucial. Simply put, we need to focus on the right thing and we need to change.

The bible has lots to say about being focus. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the things (i.e. food, clothes) we need will be added unto what we already have. Jesus was teaching the disciples not to focus on what they should eat and wear but to seek first the things of God and His righteousness. This refers to the right kind of mindset and values we hold in our lives. As we seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness, Christ’s mindset and His values will be part of our lives, too. Hence, it is critical we focus our mind on spiritual things for our lives to have a turnaround. For example, if you are a businessman, it is better to focus on giving your best to serving the customers rather than on the competitions, watch what they do and retaliate.

The bible illustrates an example of a rich young man who approached Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do in order to be saved – Matthew 19:16-22. He obeyed the Ten Commandments from his youth days but he knew not what else was missing for him to attain eternal life. When he was told to sell all he has, give to the poor and follow Jesus, the young man walked away sad. He was unable to give up his earthly possessions. For this rich young man, he focused on the commandments for the sake of obeying it. He did not understand the spirit behind the Ten Commandments. To him, the commandments were just a set of law to obey. He failed to understand that the spirit of the commandments is to love God and people. If the young ruler understands the spirit behind the commandments, he would have gladly given up everything to love the poor and follow Jesus. He focused on the need to obey the law of the commandments and not the spirit behind the commandments. This does not last for eternity. Instead, we are to focus on things that will last for eternity whether we are in business, working for others, studying, and etc.

What then should we do in order to ensure that everything we do, we build it to last for eternity? The disciples heard Jesus’ reply to the rich young man. Jesus knew their thoughts and their lack of understanding – Matthew 12:25. He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. Desolation means brought to nothing. The devil is not afraid of many people going to church but he knows that he can break the church into fragments and divide the people of God up. When the church of God is divided and fighting among themselves, they cannot be united as one. They cannot build anything as one united force that will last for eternity. Neither can the church as an individual build anything to last for eternity if the heart is divided between things of God and things of the world.

Does this mean an end for the church of God? No. In the church, there must be something that bind all the families of God together and not be divided. It is the place of agreement. The place of agreement is the place of power. God knows the strategies of Satan and He has a plan in mind for the families of God. Through the bible, the word of God, we learn about values taught by God in the Ten Commandments (Old Testament, Exodus 20:1-17) and the two great commandments mentioned by Jesus (New Testament, Luke 22:35-40).

Please go to Sermon Alive to look at Part 2 to Part 6.