Galatians 5:22-23
When a lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and “the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:37, 39). What an overwhelming assignment!
In our own strength, none of us can live up to this obligation, but the Lord has provided a way for Christians to do the impossible. The indwelling Holy Spirit works to produce His fruit in us, and first on the list is love (Gal. 5:22). In fact, the other eight qualities are really just descriptions of its expression.
Whenever we demonstrate kindness, patience, or gentleness, we see the Lord’s love at work through us, especially when the other person has been unkind and doesn’t deserve such pleasant treatment. This fruit is not produced by trying harder to muster good will toward someone who is irritating or hard to get along with. Instead, think of the process more like sap running through a branch on a grape-vine. The branch doesn’t make grapes; the sap does. In the same way, the Spirit flows through us, producing God’s love in us, so that we can pass it on to Him and others.
Agapelove is the reason we are able to care for someone who mistreats us—it’s God’s doing, not ours. Even the adoration we offer the Lord is not something that we can produce in our own heart apart from His assistance. Though the command to love is enormous,God’s grace makes it possible.
It is because of His loving kindness that Jesus came. It is because of His mercy that our soul was reclaim. It is because of His grace that He lifted us from the depths of sin and shame. With His tender hand, He lifted us from sinking sand and from shades of night to plains of light.
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Reason We Serve
“For we are … created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
We need to teach our children that God put them here to make a contribution, not just take up space watching TV or playing video games. It is only in giving our lives away that we find out what life's all about.
No matter whether your kids are 5 or 50, they need to know they are shaped to serve God. The Living Bible says this: “It is God himself who made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10 LB).
One of the things we are going to do when we get to heaven is serve God. So guess what God wants us to do while we’re here on earth? He wants us to practice serving.
So we need to encourage our children to start serving others in God’s name. If we don’t know how to serve him here, how will we be prepared to serve him in heaven?
We need to teach our children that God put them here to make a contribution, not just take up space watching TV or playing video games. It is only in giving our lives away that we find out what life’s all about.
What will be your contribution? What will be your children’s contribution? You need to help your kids answer this question. How will they give back? How will they use their God-given talents? Will they use them just to benefit themselves or will they use them to help others?
Everything in our society teaches us to use our talents for ourselves – make a lot of money, retire, be comfortable and die. That’s the dream. But deep down inside we know we were made for more than that. We know instinctively that there is a bigger purpose in life. It’s that deep desire inside us. We may have covered it up with our fear of failure, but it’s still there, the desire to make a difference.
What will be the contribution of your life? The Bible says, “God has given each of you some special abilities. Be sure to use them to help each other, passing on God’s many kind of blessing” (1 Peter 4:10 LB).
Help your kids look at their spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences to figure out what they would be good at. That’s one of the greatest things a parent can do, helping their children find where they can make the greatest contribution.
Help your kids define themselves by saying, “Am I going to be more in giving or getting in life?”
We need to teach our children that God put them here to make a contribution, not just take up space watching TV or playing video games. It is only in giving our lives away that we find out what life's all about.
No matter whether your kids are 5 or 50, they need to know they are shaped to serve God. The Living Bible says this: “It is God himself who made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10 LB).
One of the things we are going to do when we get to heaven is serve God. So guess what God wants us to do while we’re here on earth? He wants us to practice serving.
So we need to encourage our children to start serving others in God’s name. If we don’t know how to serve him here, how will we be prepared to serve him in heaven?
We need to teach our children that God put them here to make a contribution, not just take up space watching TV or playing video games. It is only in giving our lives away that we find out what life’s all about.
What will be your contribution? What will be your children’s contribution? You need to help your kids answer this question. How will they give back? How will they use their God-given talents? Will they use them just to benefit themselves or will they use them to help others?
Everything in our society teaches us to use our talents for ourselves – make a lot of money, retire, be comfortable and die. That’s the dream. But deep down inside we know we were made for more than that. We know instinctively that there is a bigger purpose in life. It’s that deep desire inside us. We may have covered it up with our fear of failure, but it’s still there, the desire to make a difference.
What will be the contribution of your life? The Bible says, “God has given each of you some special abilities. Be sure to use them to help each other, passing on God’s many kind of blessing” (1 Peter 4:10 LB).
Help your kids look at their spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences to figure out what they would be good at. That’s one of the greatest things a parent can do, helping their children find where they can make the greatest contribution.
Help your kids define themselves by saying, “Am I going to be more in giving or getting in life?”
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7
An old phrase says, "The leader's job is to keep the main thing, the main thing." Moses attempts this in Deuteronomy 6 by reminding the Israelites that their existence revolves around loving God. He also tells family leaders how to transfer truth to their children. Reggie Joiner notes the principles Moses develops:
1. Relationship comes before rules.
2. Truth must be in you before it can be in them.
3. Each day offers natural opportunities for teaching.
4. Repetition is the teacher's best friend.
Make use of all of these opportunities. Decide on issues you can discuss and ask questions of each other. Pray about your priorities together.
An old phrase says, "The leader's job is to keep the main thing, the main thing." Moses attempts this in Deuteronomy 6 by reminding the Israelites that their existence revolves around loving God. He also tells family leaders how to transfer truth to their children. Reggie Joiner notes the principles Moses develops:
1. Relationship comes before rules.
2. Truth must be in you before it can be in them.
3. Each day offers natural opportunities for teaching.
4. Repetition is the teacher's best friend.
Make use of all of these opportunities. Decide on issues you can discuss and ask questions of each other. Pray about your priorities together.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Three ways to help teens:
The culture our students live in tells them consumer-ism/materialism is the road to satisfaction and happiness. The Scriptures tell them sacrifice is God's plan for each of us. The culture teaches them everything is relative; there are not any moral absolutes or truths that apply to every situation. The Word of God teaches them God has clearly established principles and precepts that tell us what is right and wrong for all people everywhere. This same culture encourages students to seek instant gratification of their drives and desires: Why wait for marriage? Indulge your desires and satisfy yourself now. The Bible encourages and admonishes them to pursue holiness, purity and self-control.
How can we help our students make kingdom choices instead of yielding to cultural pressures? How can we enable them to see the benefit of living by kingdom values rather than accepting cultural values? What can we do as Christian parents and youth leaders to stem the tide of consumerism, relativism and narcissism invading the lives of our students? Many principles can be cited, but three rise to the top of the list.
Look into the mirror
We need to begin by looking into the mirror to see what messages we are sending to our teens. Do our lives model kingdom values or cultural values? Have we allowed the cultural forces that prevail in our world today to invade and influence our lives? Have we accepted consumerism, relativism and self-gratification as an inevitable part of our daily lives?
Our youth need to see examples of believers who do not accept the idea that all truth and morality is relative. They need to see Christian adults who clearly believe money and more "stuff" do not satisfy their deepest needs and desires. They need to see Christian parents and adults who consistently demonstrate self-control and discipline in their relationships and life-style. As Mueller writes, "We have to live the truth in the context of deep, meaningful and enduring relationships with young people."
Teach your children well
We also need to be teaching our youth the Word of God. Teens are ignorant of and con-fused about truth because we have failed to teach them the Scriptures consistently and effectively. The best and most gifted teachers in our churches need to be teaching the Word to our junior high, senior high and college students. We need to teach our students sound, basic, biblical theology in our churches and our homes. We need to help and encourage our teens to wrestle with tough doctrinal questions in the context of their daily lives. We cannot give them pat answers or superficial glimpses into the depth of God's Word.
This will require intensive study and preparation on the part of those who teach our youth. We need to take teens below the surface and enable them to search for truth on their own. We also need to challenge them to read and study the Word for themselves.
I (Ralph) challenged our junior highers to read through the Bible in the year 2000. I continued to remind and encourage students throughout the year. Nearly a dozen took on the challenge, with more than half reading through at least the New Testament and three students completing the entire Bible by the middle of December. One mom wrote to me, "You can't imagine what a difference this made in my son's life."
Provide experiences of sacrifice
Finally, we need to provide youth with personal experiences that will clearly show them life is much more than the sum of the things we have accumulated or the self-gratifying experiences we enjoy. We need to en-gage them in experiences that will teach them how, and motivate them, to be self-controlled and sacrificial. When they learn the meaning and value of sacrifice, it can be life-changing.
Last year one of my high school students approached me (Jared) and asked a rather intriguing question: "We never take an offering during youth group time - can I give some money anyway?" Needless to say, I was almost blown away. I told him he certainly could give an offering. When he came to youth group the next week, I expected maybe $5 or $10, but once again was surprised when he handed me $60! Even though it meant he had to go out of his way, and no one else knew what he was doing, this teen was committed to living by the value of sacrifice.
Mission trips, retreats and service projects are vital experiences for our youth. We need to be sure that what we do as a part of those experiences will communicate the kingdom values we believe are important to our youths' spiritual development. Parents need to look for ways to expose their children to biblical truths and values. Perhaps the family vacation to Disney World is substituted with a trip to serve together at a mission in Mexico or on a Habitat for Humanity site in the inner city.
If we are concerned about the influence cultural values are having on the lives of our teens, we need to begin thinking in radical ways about how we can help them experience the joy and blessing of being sacrificial, truthful and self-controlled.
The culture our students live in tells them consumer-ism/materialism is the road to satisfaction and happiness. The Scriptures tell them sacrifice is God's plan for each of us. The culture teaches them everything is relative; there are not any moral absolutes or truths that apply to every situation. The Word of God teaches them God has clearly established principles and precepts that tell us what is right and wrong for all people everywhere. This same culture encourages students to seek instant gratification of their drives and desires: Why wait for marriage? Indulge your desires and satisfy yourself now. The Bible encourages and admonishes them to pursue holiness, purity and self-control.
How can we help our students make kingdom choices instead of yielding to cultural pressures? How can we enable them to see the benefit of living by kingdom values rather than accepting cultural values? What can we do as Christian parents and youth leaders to stem the tide of consumerism, relativism and narcissism invading the lives of our students? Many principles can be cited, but three rise to the top of the list.
Look into the mirror
We need to begin by looking into the mirror to see what messages we are sending to our teens. Do our lives model kingdom values or cultural values? Have we allowed the cultural forces that prevail in our world today to invade and influence our lives? Have we accepted consumerism, relativism and self-gratification as an inevitable part of our daily lives?
Our youth need to see examples of believers who do not accept the idea that all truth and morality is relative. They need to see Christian adults who clearly believe money and more "stuff" do not satisfy their deepest needs and desires. They need to see Christian parents and adults who consistently demonstrate self-control and discipline in their relationships and life-style. As Mueller writes, "We have to live the truth in the context of deep, meaningful and enduring relationships with young people."
Teach your children well
We also need to be teaching our youth the Word of God. Teens are ignorant of and con-fused about truth because we have failed to teach them the Scriptures consistently and effectively. The best and most gifted teachers in our churches need to be teaching the Word to our junior high, senior high and college students. We need to teach our students sound, basic, biblical theology in our churches and our homes. We need to help and encourage our teens to wrestle with tough doctrinal questions in the context of their daily lives. We cannot give them pat answers or superficial glimpses into the depth of God's Word.
This will require intensive study and preparation on the part of those who teach our youth. We need to take teens below the surface and enable them to search for truth on their own. We also need to challenge them to read and study the Word for themselves.
I (Ralph) challenged our junior highers to read through the Bible in the year 2000. I continued to remind and encourage students throughout the year. Nearly a dozen took on the challenge, with more than half reading through at least the New Testament and three students completing the entire Bible by the middle of December. One mom wrote to me, "You can't imagine what a difference this made in my son's life."
Provide experiences of sacrifice
Finally, we need to provide youth with personal experiences that will clearly show them life is much more than the sum of the things we have accumulated or the self-gratifying experiences we enjoy. We need to en-gage them in experiences that will teach them how, and motivate them, to be self-controlled and sacrificial. When they learn the meaning and value of sacrifice, it can be life-changing.
Last year one of my high school students approached me (Jared) and asked a rather intriguing question: "We never take an offering during youth group time - can I give some money anyway?" Needless to say, I was almost blown away. I told him he certainly could give an offering. When he came to youth group the next week, I expected maybe $5 or $10, but once again was surprised when he handed me $60! Even though it meant he had to go out of his way, and no one else knew what he was doing, this teen was committed to living by the value of sacrifice.
Mission trips, retreats and service projects are vital experiences for our youth. We need to be sure that what we do as a part of those experiences will communicate the kingdom values we believe are important to our youths' spiritual development. Parents need to look for ways to expose their children to biblical truths and values. Perhaps the family vacation to Disney World is substituted with a trip to serve together at a mission in Mexico or on a Habitat for Humanity site in the inner city.
If we are concerned about the influence cultural values are having on the lives of our teens, we need to begin thinking in radical ways about how we can help them experience the joy and blessing of being sacrificial, truthful and self-controlled.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Message of Evangelism
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...
—1 Corinthians 15:1-4
What is important in this life? There are many, many things that are important to us as human beings, as fathers, mothers, children, husbands and wives, professionals and students. To some it is their jobs and career goals. To others it is their children and the future of their children. To others still it is the simple happiness of their life partner. Whatever it may be, each one of us has something, something specific that is dear and important to us.
Whatever that important thing is it will be the last thing as well that we will give emphasis too when our life is almost done. The apostle Paul, basically writing his final farewells to his son in the faith Timothy, reminds Timothy not about wealth, not about fond memories, not even about those that he would be leaving behind, but in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he writes:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
—2 Timothy 4:1-2
Even in the twilight hours of his life, all that Paul was concerned about was the preaching of the Word. The preaching of the Gospel. It was, in fact, of first and utmost importance for Paul, so much so that it transcends all other things of this life.
What is Not the Message of Evangelism
1. Be a good person, live like Jesus, love God and love others
"If you try your best to be a good person, follow the teachings of Jesus, love God and love your neighbor as yourself, then God will accept you and He will let you enter heaven."
This is not the message of evangelism. There is not even one ounce of Gospel in this supposed message. All that this statement presents is straight Law. It screams out at us like the Old Testament law saying, "Do this and live." Yet the same inspired text of Scripture tells us plainly, "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?" (Gal 4:21)
The moment we tell people that salvation is based upon anything they do, no matter how small it may be, we have begun to present not Gospel, but law. And if it is by the law that we are to be justified, then not one will be justified. In Paul's words, "Christ will be of no advantage to you" (Gal 5:2), "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace." (Gal 5:4)
2. Your personal testimony
No matter how dramatic, no matter how compelling or how convincing your personal testimony may be, your personal testimony is not the Gospel. Your personal testimony is not the message of evangelism. People do not repent from their sins because of a dramatic presentation of one's personal testimony. Not one has put their faith in Christ savingly because someone else's life was changed.
One's personal testimony may be helpful when used wisely in giving credance and integrity to a person as a bearer of the message, but it is not and must not take the place of the message itself. The message is and always is Christ and Him crucified.
We are to preach God's story, not our story. We are to preach Christ not ourselves.
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
—1 Corinthians 2:2
3. God has a wonderful plan for your life
What happens when you tell an unregenerate person that God supposedly has a wonderful plan for his life? He will be interested, compelled and intrigued for all the wrong reasons, why? Because he too has a wonderful plan for his life. I don't think that there's any person that despises a wonderful plan for their own personal lives. So you tell a person that God has a wonderful plan for his life, he'll surely take that God, but he will be given no reason for repentance, there will be no conviction of sin and no saving faith in Christ. He has only come to God because the gifts of God appeal to Him, not the Giver.
So then, "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:25)
4. Jesus will save your marriage and heal all your sicknesses
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
—Philippians 2:5-8
How many of us are prepared to say that Christ Jesus, God in the flesh endured all these things, humbled Himself even to the point of death, even death on a cross, Him who knew no sin became sin (2 Cor 5:21), so that your marriage will be fixed, you will be healed of your sickness, have nice homes, and have perfect families?
This here is the same sin again, the lifting up of gifts above giver, the exchanging of the created instead of the Creator. It is esteeming God as the provider of needs, a cosmic butler, not a sovereign Lord that graciously condescends to save wretched worms like you and me. The only reason people will come to God with such an invitation as this is because, like the 5,000 disciples that Jesus fed, they were given free food. They are still dead in their trespasses and sins and still wedded to their idols and lusts.
What is the Message of Evangelism
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...
—1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1. A message in accordance with the Scriptures
What then is the message of evangelism? Basically and plainly, the message of evangelism is the Gospel, the Good News. It is the message of first importance. A message not based from opinion. A message not drawn from personal experience, or from one's own personal testimony. But a message that is an objective reality that occurred in History. A message that is drawn from Scripture itself, from the breathed out Word of God. (1 Cor 15:3-4)
So then the message of evangelism is the message of God Himself. It is in fact, a declaration from the Creator God Himself about what He has done in time. Not a story of personal experience, not an episode of heights of emotion, but a declaration of what God has done, and what He has done and accomplished in the person of Christ Jesus the Lord.
A message by God drawn from the Word of God.
2. Christ died for the forgiveness of sins
What is this Gospel? "That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." (1 Cor 15:3-4)
It is generally known that Christ died to accomplish a purpose, but for some reason that "purpose" has taken a whole new different meaning in our day and age. Christ did not die that you and I may have material wealth. Christ did not die to fix your family problems. Christ did not die to fix your financial problems.
See, the problem with us today is that we do not see the fundamental problem of the human race. The root of man's problem is not that he doesn't have enough money, or his relationships are falling apart, or that he's unhappy in this life. The root of the human problem is this, it is sin!
Leonard Ravenhill said this,
If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached, I got baptized and...' Are you saved? What are you saved from, hell? Are you saved from bitterness? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from bad manners? Are you saved from rebellion against your parents? Come on, what are you saved from?
Post-modern Christianity thinks that Christ died to help us mend our character flaws and make us better people and grant us happy lives as our finances and relationships are fixed, that is not what Christ came and died to accomplish. Christ died to save us from the condemnation and wrath of God against us because of our nature as sinners, because of our sin!
In the final analysis, Christ died to save us from God Himself. Though deserving of nothing but death and Hell, the fury of the wrath of Almighty God, "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21)
3. Christ was raised for our justification
Christ died on the Cross for the propitiation of sins (Rom 3:25). He was made to be sin, receiving the full weight of the punishment of the wrath of God against sin. He was forsaken by the Father. Condemned, and He died.
Brethren, herein is the glory of the Gospel. The glory of the Gospel is this, Christ did not stay dead.
If all we preach and herald in making known the Gospel to men is that Jesus died, we have robbed God of His glory and withheld grace from men. Yes, in a way the resurrection is always implied when the death of Christ is mentioned, but it is a grave disservice if we refuse to declare this amazing event in History.
If it seems it’s not important for most Christians, well, it was very much important for Paul to emphasize it.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
—1 Corinthians 15:14
If all we mention is Christ dying and never giving emphasis of Christ being raised on the third day, would it be too farfetched to say that our preaching as well is in vain?
It [righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. —Romans 4:24-25
Why is the resurrection so important? Because without it, there is no redemption. Without the resurrection Christ dying for sins is for naught. Without the resurrection, no one person would be justified. Without the resurrection we are still in the bonds of death.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
—1 Corinthians 15:17-19
But yes, Jesus did rise from the dead. He rose and showed Himself to Peter, to 500 of his disciples, to the rest of the apostles and lastly to the apostle Paul (1 Cor 15:5-8). Jesus rose from the dead as a historical fact. He did really, factually rise from the dead.
Christianity is not a religion that is based from poetry and superfluous fairy tales. No, Christianity is built upon this truth, that the Creator of the universe, because of the love that He loved His Son in that the God-head would be glorified throughout all eternity, created a people to reflect His glory, and though this people went their own way, violated the character of the Holy God, profaned His holiness, exchanged His glory for a lie, deserving of death eternal in the fury of the wrath of God in Hell, still in His love and mercy He sent His Son to live a perfect life that not one of us could ever live, He was tortured, crucified, murdered, bearing our sin, He died, was buried, and on the third day was raised from the dead.
So then, we now can declare with the apostle:
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
—1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Coram Deo
When was the last time you gave consideration to this Gospel? If indeed this is the message of utmost importance, if indeed this message declares the most historic and most momentous event in history, as Christians, how much of yourself do you give to it? How much of yourself do you give to study it? To love it? To live it? A couple of minutes a day? An hour or two?
We spend so much for education that we may be able to earn a living. How much have you lost, how much have you spent to take hold of a knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in this Gospel?
When was the last time you preached this Gospel? If I gave you a hundred dollars for every person you would share the Gospel to, would you do it more often than you have before? Most would. A hundred dollars is a lot of money, and a hundred dollars for each person we share? We can make a living out of that. But consider this, I can give you ways and reasons to help you overcome the fear of man and the pride of self, in this case by using money, but how is it that a love for God and a love for dying souls cannot compel us to preach in the highways and byways?
"Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell;
I want to run a Rescue Shopwithin a yard of hell." —C.T. Studd
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...
—1 Corinthians 15:1-4
What is important in this life? There are many, many things that are important to us as human beings, as fathers, mothers, children, husbands and wives, professionals and students. To some it is their jobs and career goals. To others it is their children and the future of their children. To others still it is the simple happiness of their life partner. Whatever it may be, each one of us has something, something specific that is dear and important to us.
Whatever that important thing is it will be the last thing as well that we will give emphasis too when our life is almost done. The apostle Paul, basically writing his final farewells to his son in the faith Timothy, reminds Timothy not about wealth, not about fond memories, not even about those that he would be leaving behind, but in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he writes:
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
—2 Timothy 4:1-2
Even in the twilight hours of his life, all that Paul was concerned about was the preaching of the Word. The preaching of the Gospel. It was, in fact, of first and utmost importance for Paul, so much so that it transcends all other things of this life.
What is Not the Message of Evangelism
1. Be a good person, live like Jesus, love God and love others
"If you try your best to be a good person, follow the teachings of Jesus, love God and love your neighbor as yourself, then God will accept you and He will let you enter heaven."
This is not the message of evangelism. There is not even one ounce of Gospel in this supposed message. All that this statement presents is straight Law. It screams out at us like the Old Testament law saying, "Do this and live." Yet the same inspired text of Scripture tells us plainly, "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?" (Gal 4:21)
The moment we tell people that salvation is based upon anything they do, no matter how small it may be, we have begun to present not Gospel, but law. And if it is by the law that we are to be justified, then not one will be justified. In Paul's words, "Christ will be of no advantage to you" (Gal 5:2), "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace." (Gal 5:4)
2. Your personal testimony
No matter how dramatic, no matter how compelling or how convincing your personal testimony may be, your personal testimony is not the Gospel. Your personal testimony is not the message of evangelism. People do not repent from their sins because of a dramatic presentation of one's personal testimony. Not one has put their faith in Christ savingly because someone else's life was changed.
One's personal testimony may be helpful when used wisely in giving credance and integrity to a person as a bearer of the message, but it is not and must not take the place of the message itself. The message is and always is Christ and Him crucified.
We are to preach God's story, not our story. We are to preach Christ not ourselves.
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
—1 Corinthians 2:2
3. God has a wonderful plan for your life
What happens when you tell an unregenerate person that God supposedly has a wonderful plan for his life? He will be interested, compelled and intrigued for all the wrong reasons, why? Because he too has a wonderful plan for his life. I don't think that there's any person that despises a wonderful plan for their own personal lives. So you tell a person that God has a wonderful plan for his life, he'll surely take that God, but he will be given no reason for repentance, there will be no conviction of sin and no saving faith in Christ. He has only come to God because the gifts of God appeal to Him, not the Giver.
So then, "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:25)
4. Jesus will save your marriage and heal all your sicknesses
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
—Philippians 2:5-8
How many of us are prepared to say that Christ Jesus, God in the flesh endured all these things, humbled Himself even to the point of death, even death on a cross, Him who knew no sin became sin (2 Cor 5:21), so that your marriage will be fixed, you will be healed of your sickness, have nice homes, and have perfect families?
This here is the same sin again, the lifting up of gifts above giver, the exchanging of the created instead of the Creator. It is esteeming God as the provider of needs, a cosmic butler, not a sovereign Lord that graciously condescends to save wretched worms like you and me. The only reason people will come to God with such an invitation as this is because, like the 5,000 disciples that Jesus fed, they were given free food. They are still dead in their trespasses and sins and still wedded to their idols and lusts.
What is the Message of Evangelism
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...
—1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1. A message in accordance with the Scriptures
What then is the message of evangelism? Basically and plainly, the message of evangelism is the Gospel, the Good News. It is the message of first importance. A message not based from opinion. A message not drawn from personal experience, or from one's own personal testimony. But a message that is an objective reality that occurred in History. A message that is drawn from Scripture itself, from the breathed out Word of God. (1 Cor 15:3-4)
So then the message of evangelism is the message of God Himself. It is in fact, a declaration from the Creator God Himself about what He has done in time. Not a story of personal experience, not an episode of heights of emotion, but a declaration of what God has done, and what He has done and accomplished in the person of Christ Jesus the Lord.
A message by God drawn from the Word of God.
2. Christ died for the forgiveness of sins
What is this Gospel? "That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." (1 Cor 15:3-4)
It is generally known that Christ died to accomplish a purpose, but for some reason that "purpose" has taken a whole new different meaning in our day and age. Christ did not die that you and I may have material wealth. Christ did not die to fix your family problems. Christ did not die to fix your financial problems.
See, the problem with us today is that we do not see the fundamental problem of the human race. The root of man's problem is not that he doesn't have enough money, or his relationships are falling apart, or that he's unhappy in this life. The root of the human problem is this, it is sin!
Leonard Ravenhill said this,
If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached, I got baptized and...' Are you saved? What are you saved from, hell? Are you saved from bitterness? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from bad manners? Are you saved from rebellion against your parents? Come on, what are you saved from?
Post-modern Christianity thinks that Christ died to help us mend our character flaws and make us better people and grant us happy lives as our finances and relationships are fixed, that is not what Christ came and died to accomplish. Christ died to save us from the condemnation and wrath of God against us because of our nature as sinners, because of our sin!
In the final analysis, Christ died to save us from God Himself. Though deserving of nothing but death and Hell, the fury of the wrath of Almighty God, "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21)
3. Christ was raised for our justification
Christ died on the Cross for the propitiation of sins (Rom 3:25). He was made to be sin, receiving the full weight of the punishment of the wrath of God against sin. He was forsaken by the Father. Condemned, and He died.
Brethren, herein is the glory of the Gospel. The glory of the Gospel is this, Christ did not stay dead.
If all we preach and herald in making known the Gospel to men is that Jesus died, we have robbed God of His glory and withheld grace from men. Yes, in a way the resurrection is always implied when the death of Christ is mentioned, but it is a grave disservice if we refuse to declare this amazing event in History.
If it seems it’s not important for most Christians, well, it was very much important for Paul to emphasize it.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
—1 Corinthians 15:14
If all we mention is Christ dying and never giving emphasis of Christ being raised on the third day, would it be too farfetched to say that our preaching as well is in vain?
It [righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. —Romans 4:24-25
Why is the resurrection so important? Because without it, there is no redemption. Without the resurrection Christ dying for sins is for naught. Without the resurrection, no one person would be justified. Without the resurrection we are still in the bonds of death.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
—1 Corinthians 15:17-19
But yes, Jesus did rise from the dead. He rose and showed Himself to Peter, to 500 of his disciples, to the rest of the apostles and lastly to the apostle Paul (1 Cor 15:5-8). Jesus rose from the dead as a historical fact. He did really, factually rise from the dead.
Christianity is not a religion that is based from poetry and superfluous fairy tales. No, Christianity is built upon this truth, that the Creator of the universe, because of the love that He loved His Son in that the God-head would be glorified throughout all eternity, created a people to reflect His glory, and though this people went their own way, violated the character of the Holy God, profaned His holiness, exchanged His glory for a lie, deserving of death eternal in the fury of the wrath of God in Hell, still in His love and mercy He sent His Son to live a perfect life that not one of us could ever live, He was tortured, crucified, murdered, bearing our sin, He died, was buried, and on the third day was raised from the dead.
So then, we now can declare with the apostle:
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
—1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Coram Deo
When was the last time you gave consideration to this Gospel? If indeed this is the message of utmost importance, if indeed this message declares the most historic and most momentous event in history, as Christians, how much of yourself do you give to it? How much of yourself do you give to study it? To love it? To live it? A couple of minutes a day? An hour or two?
We spend so much for education that we may be able to earn a living. How much have you lost, how much have you spent to take hold of a knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in this Gospel?
When was the last time you preached this Gospel? If I gave you a hundred dollars for every person you would share the Gospel to, would you do it more often than you have before? Most would. A hundred dollars is a lot of money, and a hundred dollars for each person we share? We can make a living out of that. But consider this, I can give you ways and reasons to help you overcome the fear of man and the pride of self, in this case by using money, but how is it that a love for God and a love for dying souls cannot compel us to preach in the highways and byways?
"Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell;
I want to run a Rescue Shopwithin a yard of hell." —C.T. Studd
The Challenge and Duty of Evangelism
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 1:18
Overcoming Consumer Resistance
In the Christian world today, especially in light of the Gospel and evangelism, as the years progress by more and more is Christian religion being influenced by the secular world. We see these influences in how worship has changed from one generation to the other. Not merely in musical preference of genre, but in its content and goal.
We also see a change in the minister’s duty. They have gone from being an appointed shepherd and watchman of a flock, a person that nurtures and cares for every spiritual need of his sheep, a speaker and prophet of God Himself to a CEO or marketing expert that seeks a good rate of return for his investments.
So then it has been in church life as well.
People have assumed that preaching is analogous to a marketing exercise, and what you have in the preaching event, we’re told, is a product, namely the Gospel; consumers, namely the congregation; salesmen, the preacher. And the job of the preacher is to overcome consumer resistance and persuade people to buy his product.
It is a recipe for the worst kind of disappointment, eventually. Because what do we discover when we turn to the Bible? We discover that according to Paul there is one overwhelming reason why the analogy is no good. And that is because the preacher doesn’t overcome consumer resistance. The preacher cannot overcome consumer resistance.
2 Corinthians 4:3 says that the Gospel is veiled to those who do not believe.
When Jesus told the parable of the sower, there was one sower and four soils. If it was told today in marketing terms it would be completely the reverse, wouldn’t it? Namely, you would have one soil and four sowers.
Sower number one goes up and does quite a good job, but not a very good job and nothing happens.
Sower number two, he goes up and he’s a little more skillful in the way he does it, and he has a bit of a better response.
Sower number three goes up, and he’s been doing some church growth reading and some marketing analysis and his thing is really beginning to take off.
But number four, he has got all of the technology and all the marketing strategy down, and he knows how to overcome consumer resistance and, hey, presto, look at his field!
Do we really believe that Christian conversion is the result of human persuasion? Absolutely not. God said let light shine out of darkness. See, much of the trouble with our contemporary preaching is that it is built on the fallacious assumption that anybody can and will respond to the Gospel if it’s only presented to them in a proper fashion….
Preaching will be effective because it is God’s chosen method by which he opens people’s eyes and brings them to an awareness of his grace. And that is why it will demand from us 110 percent committed devotion.
—Alistair Begg, The Gospel in Contemporary Culture
Why then is that the case? Why is it that we cannot overcome consumer resistance, really? Why is the Gospel foolishness to the world? Why is the Gospel so hard to believe? Why is repentance and faith in Christ so much an impossible task for men? (Luke 18:27)
Rick Holland used this illustration which I think is very fitting. It’s like a man trying to listen to the radio. The man is trying to listen to an FM station, but his radio has no FM function, only AM. That’s his first problem. His second problem is that his radio has no antenna. His third problem is that his radio has no battery. His fourth problem is that he is deaf. His fifth problem is that he has no arms and legs to operate the radio in any way, shape or form. His sixth problem is that his radio is on the moon. And finally, his last problem is that he is dead.
So no, brethren, we cannot overcome consumer resistance because, frankly, the consumer in this case, is dead.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
—Ephesians 2:1-3
All that is called for us to do is preach the Gospel and preach it faithfully. Make known to men their need of the Savior by showing them the sinfulness of sin through the law and revealing the character of God in His holiness and justice.
By the Holy Spirit, a person is brought from death to life when he sees his only hope in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone.
Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.
—G. S. Bishop
Ashamed of the Gospel
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
—Romans 1:16-17
“Ashamed of the Gospel”? If there’s anything in Scripture that is hard and difficult to understand, more than complex doctrines and systems of theology, surely it is this! Ashamed of the Gospel? Why would anyone be ashamed of the Gospel? The Gospel, the greatest message given among men for all time and in all of Scripture, people are ashamed of?
Paul had every reason to be ashamed of the Gospel. He had fame, glory, and prestige. He had every desirable thing a pious person would want in his era. He got his righteous clothing line on, of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the 8th day, sat at the foot of Gamaliel, Hebrew of the Hebrews, to the law blameless. Then this, a message of a crucified Savior?
“Oh no”, says Paul, what a shameful and humiliating message that is!
I am sure you’ve seen yourself in a similar situation before. You’ve studied your Scriptures, stocked up on memory verses, rehearsed at home on what to say to certain objections coming from unbelievers. “How did Noah fit the dinosaurs in the ark?” So you’ve prepared yourself, mentally, emotionally, and I hope spiritually as well. Then a friend comes by to your home and asks, “Well, what’s the big deal?” Startled and surprised, you replied, “Big deal about what?” And you find out that this friend of yours, having been bothered by your friendship, of having a “Christian” friend in you, is genuinely asking “What is the big deal about Christianity”.
How many of us have gone through a similar experience and instead of declaring boldly what “the big deal is”, we find ourselves doing our best to make the message palatable. We discover after reflecting over such experiences, that we have actually done anything and everything except to make the message clear as it is.
We think to ourselves, “Oh no, he might be offended by that point there”, so we add a piece of candy on the side. “Oops, that was too straightforward”, so we add some chocolate on top. Then we find ourselves making all these excuses and when we’re done we discover that somehow our message has been sunk deep in a gallon full of ice-cream.
In other words, we have removed the offense of the Gospel. From being Good News that saves us from desperately Bad News, we turned it into amusing and entertaining news that serves as a past time for people. From being heralds of God, we have become marketers, salesmen, and quite tragically, there are those who have become “gospel entertainers”. Indeed, from being messengers of the King, we disguise ourselves as ice-cream truck operators.
But no, it must not be so. We must not cower in fear of what people should react, but we must remember, “What exactly are we afraid of?” Are we afraid of what dead men will say to us after we’re done if indeed we would seek to be faithful to preach the clear message of the Bible? What is there to fear in the empty threats of a man bound in sin? Especially in our day and age, the worst thing a man can tell us is “No, I don’t want to believe that.” And if we do lose our life, wouldn’t it be nothing less than to graduate us into glory? So what are we afraid of? Or is it because we are not afraid enough? At least we are not afraid of the right Object, God, Himself?
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
—Jesus, Matthew 10:28
So then, when people ask “What’s the big deal”, we should not turn it into an exercise of apology where we say sorry every two sentences. But we should cry out, “Men, women everywhere, hear this!” We should imitate the boldness of Christ, where He set His face as flint on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. We must emulate the confidence the apostles had and their passion and desire for this so great a message. We must look at the blood of the martyrs and find encouragement in their shed blood, and see that the Gospel, that Christ indeed is worth dying for.
Power of God unto Salvation
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 1:18
Yes, to the sinful, unregenerate, God-hating man, the Gospel may be foolishness, but nevertheless to those whom God pleases to save it is in fact the power of God unto salvation. Such is the confidence we have in the preaching of the Gospel. As it is God's message drawn from Scripture itself, in its very essence are God's words, it is just as much God's work to accomplish.
I'm convinced that the very reason why we are so ashamed of the Gospel is because we are not convinced of this fact, that God actually saves through His Gospel and that His Gospel does actually save even the most wretched of sinners. How many of us today are convinced that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation? How many of us are compelled to great confidence and boldness in that fact? In that it is not by eloquence or fancy speech, but only by the preached Word that men are saved?
In the words of the apostle Paul:
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 2:1-5
So we see many ministers today employing all sorts of gimmickry to make the Gospel appealing to men. They stylize the Sunday meeting to fit the needs and wants of men. Make it more attractive, more enjoyable, more entertaining. They labor to make the Gospel as inoffensive as possible.
But at the end of the day the question is not how much the unregenerate was entertained; the question is “are they being convicted of their sin?” The question is not are they amused with your message; the question is “are they seeing their grave need of a Savior?”
It is simply not true that faithful Gospel preaching is not enough to save people. In fact, it is because of unfaithful preaching which is why many of our churches are filled with false converts.
Brethren, the word of the Cross is in fact, not fiction, the power of God to salvation. Jesus saves.
Gospel preaching is in fact an endeavor wherein God is pleased to raise people from the dead. Where God is pleased to use cracked clay pots, weak, stuttering, frail, feeble, frightened and trembling vessels, as vessels of mercy that the power of His sovereign grace may be magnified as it cannot be done in any place else.
Through the message faithfully preached, the power of God unto salvation, as I hope is the experience of each one reading this text, He picks up the dead and rotting corpse of a sinner, breathes His own breathe into him to spiritual life and clothes Him with righteousness in Christ, life everlasting.
Heralds not Negotiators, not Salesmen
Our duty as men and women of the Gospel, Christian men and women saved by free and sovereign grace, is not to argue people towards salvation, neither is our duty to simply suggest that people should repent from their sins and believe in Christ.
Dear beloved, the Gospel is not a suggestion, it is a command.
We are not selling a product. We are not marketers or advertisers. Brethren, we are not professionals. We are prophets or we're nothing. We are not to negotiate the terms of the King. We are heralds not negotiators.
Are you willing to be a herald of God today?
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
—Isaiah 6:8
Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
People have often asked me, "What is the secret of your success?" I always answer that I have no other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the gospel,—the full, free, glorious gospel of the living Christ who is the incarnation of the good news.
Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon.
You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, "If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon."
"No," answered the young man, "because I did not see that Christ was in the text."
"Oh!" said the old minister, "but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, 'There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'"
"Well," said the young man, "but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?"
"Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him."
So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them.
There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul.
Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to charwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon.
—C.H. Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: Sermons Likely to Win Souls
—1 Corinthians 1:18
Overcoming Consumer Resistance
In the Christian world today, especially in light of the Gospel and evangelism, as the years progress by more and more is Christian religion being influenced by the secular world. We see these influences in how worship has changed from one generation to the other. Not merely in musical preference of genre, but in its content and goal.
We also see a change in the minister’s duty. They have gone from being an appointed shepherd and watchman of a flock, a person that nurtures and cares for every spiritual need of his sheep, a speaker and prophet of God Himself to a CEO or marketing expert that seeks a good rate of return for his investments.
So then it has been in church life as well.
People have assumed that preaching is analogous to a marketing exercise, and what you have in the preaching event, we’re told, is a product, namely the Gospel; consumers, namely the congregation; salesmen, the preacher. And the job of the preacher is to overcome consumer resistance and persuade people to buy his product.
It is a recipe for the worst kind of disappointment, eventually. Because what do we discover when we turn to the Bible? We discover that according to Paul there is one overwhelming reason why the analogy is no good. And that is because the preacher doesn’t overcome consumer resistance. The preacher cannot overcome consumer resistance.
2 Corinthians 4:3 says that the Gospel is veiled to those who do not believe.
When Jesus told the parable of the sower, there was one sower and four soils. If it was told today in marketing terms it would be completely the reverse, wouldn’t it? Namely, you would have one soil and four sowers.
Sower number one goes up and does quite a good job, but not a very good job and nothing happens.
Sower number two, he goes up and he’s a little more skillful in the way he does it, and he has a bit of a better response.
Sower number three goes up, and he’s been doing some church growth reading and some marketing analysis and his thing is really beginning to take off.
But number four, he has got all of the technology and all the marketing strategy down, and he knows how to overcome consumer resistance and, hey, presto, look at his field!
Do we really believe that Christian conversion is the result of human persuasion? Absolutely not. God said let light shine out of darkness. See, much of the trouble with our contemporary preaching is that it is built on the fallacious assumption that anybody can and will respond to the Gospel if it’s only presented to them in a proper fashion….
Preaching will be effective because it is God’s chosen method by which he opens people’s eyes and brings them to an awareness of his grace. And that is why it will demand from us 110 percent committed devotion.
—Alistair Begg, The Gospel in Contemporary Culture
Why then is that the case? Why is it that we cannot overcome consumer resistance, really? Why is the Gospel foolishness to the world? Why is the Gospel so hard to believe? Why is repentance and faith in Christ so much an impossible task for men? (Luke 18:27)
Rick Holland used this illustration which I think is very fitting. It’s like a man trying to listen to the radio. The man is trying to listen to an FM station, but his radio has no FM function, only AM. That’s his first problem. His second problem is that his radio has no antenna. His third problem is that his radio has no battery. His fourth problem is that he is deaf. His fifth problem is that he has no arms and legs to operate the radio in any way, shape or form. His sixth problem is that his radio is on the moon. And finally, his last problem is that he is dead.
So no, brethren, we cannot overcome consumer resistance because, frankly, the consumer in this case, is dead.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
—Ephesians 2:1-3
All that is called for us to do is preach the Gospel and preach it faithfully. Make known to men their need of the Savior by showing them the sinfulness of sin through the law and revealing the character of God in His holiness and justice.
By the Holy Spirit, a person is brought from death to life when he sees his only hope in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone.
Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.
—G. S. Bishop
Ashamed of the Gospel
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
—Romans 1:16-17
“Ashamed of the Gospel”? If there’s anything in Scripture that is hard and difficult to understand, more than complex doctrines and systems of theology, surely it is this! Ashamed of the Gospel? Why would anyone be ashamed of the Gospel? The Gospel, the greatest message given among men for all time and in all of Scripture, people are ashamed of?
Paul had every reason to be ashamed of the Gospel. He had fame, glory, and prestige. He had every desirable thing a pious person would want in his era. He got his righteous clothing line on, of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the 8th day, sat at the foot of Gamaliel, Hebrew of the Hebrews, to the law blameless. Then this, a message of a crucified Savior?
“Oh no”, says Paul, what a shameful and humiliating message that is!
I am sure you’ve seen yourself in a similar situation before. You’ve studied your Scriptures, stocked up on memory verses, rehearsed at home on what to say to certain objections coming from unbelievers. “How did Noah fit the dinosaurs in the ark?” So you’ve prepared yourself, mentally, emotionally, and I hope spiritually as well. Then a friend comes by to your home and asks, “Well, what’s the big deal?” Startled and surprised, you replied, “Big deal about what?” And you find out that this friend of yours, having been bothered by your friendship, of having a “Christian” friend in you, is genuinely asking “What is the big deal about Christianity”.
How many of us have gone through a similar experience and instead of declaring boldly what “the big deal is”, we find ourselves doing our best to make the message palatable. We discover after reflecting over such experiences, that we have actually done anything and everything except to make the message clear as it is.
We think to ourselves, “Oh no, he might be offended by that point there”, so we add a piece of candy on the side. “Oops, that was too straightforward”, so we add some chocolate on top. Then we find ourselves making all these excuses and when we’re done we discover that somehow our message has been sunk deep in a gallon full of ice-cream.
In other words, we have removed the offense of the Gospel. From being Good News that saves us from desperately Bad News, we turned it into amusing and entertaining news that serves as a past time for people. From being heralds of God, we have become marketers, salesmen, and quite tragically, there are those who have become “gospel entertainers”. Indeed, from being messengers of the King, we disguise ourselves as ice-cream truck operators.
But no, it must not be so. We must not cower in fear of what people should react, but we must remember, “What exactly are we afraid of?” Are we afraid of what dead men will say to us after we’re done if indeed we would seek to be faithful to preach the clear message of the Bible? What is there to fear in the empty threats of a man bound in sin? Especially in our day and age, the worst thing a man can tell us is “No, I don’t want to believe that.” And if we do lose our life, wouldn’t it be nothing less than to graduate us into glory? So what are we afraid of? Or is it because we are not afraid enough? At least we are not afraid of the right Object, God, Himself?
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
—Jesus, Matthew 10:28
So then, when people ask “What’s the big deal”, we should not turn it into an exercise of apology where we say sorry every two sentences. But we should cry out, “Men, women everywhere, hear this!” We should imitate the boldness of Christ, where He set His face as flint on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. We must emulate the confidence the apostles had and their passion and desire for this so great a message. We must look at the blood of the martyrs and find encouragement in their shed blood, and see that the Gospel, that Christ indeed is worth dying for.
Power of God unto Salvation
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 1:18
Yes, to the sinful, unregenerate, God-hating man, the Gospel may be foolishness, but nevertheless to those whom God pleases to save it is in fact the power of God unto salvation. Such is the confidence we have in the preaching of the Gospel. As it is God's message drawn from Scripture itself, in its very essence are God's words, it is just as much God's work to accomplish.
I'm convinced that the very reason why we are so ashamed of the Gospel is because we are not convinced of this fact, that God actually saves through His Gospel and that His Gospel does actually save even the most wretched of sinners. How many of us today are convinced that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation? How many of us are compelled to great confidence and boldness in that fact? In that it is not by eloquence or fancy speech, but only by the preached Word that men are saved?
In the words of the apostle Paul:
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
—1 Corinthians 2:1-5
So we see many ministers today employing all sorts of gimmickry to make the Gospel appealing to men. They stylize the Sunday meeting to fit the needs and wants of men. Make it more attractive, more enjoyable, more entertaining. They labor to make the Gospel as inoffensive as possible.
But at the end of the day the question is not how much the unregenerate was entertained; the question is “are they being convicted of their sin?” The question is not are they amused with your message; the question is “are they seeing their grave need of a Savior?”
It is simply not true that faithful Gospel preaching is not enough to save people. In fact, it is because of unfaithful preaching which is why many of our churches are filled with false converts.
Brethren, the word of the Cross is in fact, not fiction, the power of God to salvation. Jesus saves.
Gospel preaching is in fact an endeavor wherein God is pleased to raise people from the dead. Where God is pleased to use cracked clay pots, weak, stuttering, frail, feeble, frightened and trembling vessels, as vessels of mercy that the power of His sovereign grace may be magnified as it cannot be done in any place else.
Through the message faithfully preached, the power of God unto salvation, as I hope is the experience of each one reading this text, He picks up the dead and rotting corpse of a sinner, breathes His own breathe into him to spiritual life and clothes Him with righteousness in Christ, life everlasting.
Heralds not Negotiators, not Salesmen
Our duty as men and women of the Gospel, Christian men and women saved by free and sovereign grace, is not to argue people towards salvation, neither is our duty to simply suggest that people should repent from their sins and believe in Christ.
Dear beloved, the Gospel is not a suggestion, it is a command.
We are not selling a product. We are not marketers or advertisers. Brethren, we are not professionals. We are prophets or we're nothing. We are not to negotiate the terms of the King. We are heralds not negotiators.
Are you willing to be a herald of God today?
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
—Isaiah 6:8
Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
People have often asked me, "What is the secret of your success?" I always answer that I have no other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the gospel,—the full, free, glorious gospel of the living Christ who is the incarnation of the good news.
Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon.
You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, "If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon."
"No," answered the young man, "because I did not see that Christ was in the text."
"Oh!" said the old minister, "but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, 'There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'"
"Well," said the young man, "but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?"
"Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him."
So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them.
There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul.
Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to charwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon.
—C.H. Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: Sermons Likely to Win Souls
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Funny Text Messages
TATAY: mula ngayon walang magsasalita ng ingles.. ang sinumang magpa dugo ng ilong ko at sa nanay nyo, palalayasin sa pamamahay na to ! klaro ba ?
ANAK: ang mga namutawi sa inyong mga labi ay mataman ko pong iiimbak sa sulok ng aking balintataw,
sa kaibuturan ng aking puso, gugunam-gunamin, aariing salik ng aba at payak kong kabatiran..
tatalikdan ang matatayog at palalong banyagang wika, manapay kakalingian,
bibigkasin at sakdal timyas na sasambitin ng aking sangkalooban..
TATAY: (tulala)
,mas dumugo il0ng..hahaha
........................................................................................................
Juan:bkt my tali k s paa?
Pdr0:gs2 q ng m2tay,mgb2gti aq!
Juan:bkt s paa? dpt s leeg!
Pdr0:cnubukan q n s leEg knina.
hnd aq mkahinga eh,.
.......................................................................................................
pag iniwan ka ng mahal mo ..
PASALUBONG
kamo ! haha :D
.......................................................................................................
5 tips for a happy man's life
1 is to have a gurl to help you @ work,
2. have a gurl to take care & love u.
3. have a gurl who can make you laugh.
4. have a gurl who spoils u.
Lastly
5. make sure these FOUR gurls don't know each other.
.......................................................................................................
dalawang mag x nagkita..
x bf: ui..mzta na luvlyf?
girl: e2..parang 'yang gf mo....
...hindi maganda!
.......................................................................................................
N0EL: ippangalan
ko s aking anak
"LE0N" baliktad ng
N0EL.
NIN0: skin "0NIN"
baliktad ng NINO.
T0T0: wg ny0
ak0ng maisali-sali jan s usapan ny0!
hehe =]
.......................................................................................................
buLag at duLing magsusuntukan!
buLag: hay0p ka duLing! Lumabas ka dyan,wag kang mgtago sa diLim!
duLing: in ur dreams! bkt aq lalaBas eh daLawa kau! =
.......................................................................................................
Sabi ng mga pangit:
"what is beauty if your brain is empty?"
ganti ng mga magaganda at gwap0:
"what is knowledge if your face is damage?"
.......................................................................................................
DIONISIA: Manny anak, sabi ng mga tambay sa labas, pangit daw ako.
MANNY: Ma, alam mo ang kagandahan ay nasa loob. Kaya huwag ka ng labas ng labas!
.......................................................................................................
Ama: Bakit ka umiiyak?
Anak: Pumasa po kasi ako sa test. Huhuhu!
Ama: Aba, magaling! Anong subject yun, anak?
Anak: Pregnancy test po itay!
.......................................................................................................
Dying Chinese: "Ako lapit na patay. Ikaw sabi totoo kung sino ama ng bunso natin kasi pangit siya kumpala sa 9 kapatid niya."
Wife: "Siya lang tunay mo anak!"
.......................................................................................................
Nagtanong ang teacher kay juan
Teacher:juan anung hayop ang nagsisimula sa letter k
Juan:mam kuto po
Teacher:hindi!! nagtatapos ito sa letter w
Juan:mam alam ko na kutow
Teacher:hindi!! Pang lupa ito
Juan:mam alam ko na po kutow lupa
Teacher:hindi!! May sungay toh
Juan:mam dimonyong kutow
.......................................................................................................
Tcher:ok claz, r leson 4 2dy s abwt planets.
Earth s d 3rd planet frm d Sun.Nw,wat s nxt 2 Mercury?
Juan: murag Rose Pharmacy mn tingali mam!d lng q sure ha! Hahahahaha!
.......................................................................................................
1 bata,ngpass ng blank pper s art tcher..
T: bkt blank ang work m?
B: ngdrowng po aq ng baka at damo.
T: (tningnn ang ppel) san ang damo?
B: ubos npo,kinain ng baka.
T: (kamot s ulo) e nsn ung baka?
B: ano p ga2wn ng baka jn e wla ng damo? sympre umalis n. common sense nmn mam!ΓΌ
.......................................................................................................
My ttl0ng bampira sa bar.
RICH VAMPIRE:oorder ako ng fresh blo0d.
ORDINARY VAMPIRE:skn isang order na dnuguan.
POOR VAMPIRE:hot water nlang skn.
WAITER:bkit hot water lang po.?
POOR VAMPIRE:nkpulot ksi aq ng napkin sa kanto.Mag-tsa tsaa na lang ako...hehehehe
.......................................................................................................
MATH CLASS:
GURO: jUaN, kUnG aKo'Y mAy 5 aNaK sA uNaNg aSaWa aT 7 nAmAn sA pAnGaLaWa aT 3 sA pAnGaTLo, mEr0n ac0hNg ? . . .
JUAN: KALANDIAN p0h . . .iSa kAnG kErEnGkEnG mA'aM, mALaNdi kA, hALiPaRoT, kALaDkAriN, mAkAti, mAhiLiG, pAriWaRa, p0kPoK, iMoRaL . . .
GURO: uMuPo kA, di kA mAkAkApAsA gAg0!
-hala?
.......................................................................................................
Juan:0y,ano yan?Pinya?
Pahingi nman.
Pedro:Pahingi? Nsaan ka nung ngbu2ngkal ako ng lupa sa ilalim ng init ng araw?Nasaan ka nung ngtatanim ako hbang kumukulog, kumikidlat at bumubuhos ang ulan?Nsaan ka nung oras na ng-aani ako na ngkalat ang mraming ahas sa daanan ko, nung naghihirap ako sa pgpasan ng pinya? Nasaan ka?
Juan:Nakulong ksi ako noon! Nkaptay ako ng madamot!
Pedro:gnun ba?
Kuha ka na, khit ilan!
May langka pa dun!:]
.......................................................................................................
Driver: oh ung mga panget jan pwde ng magsi-babaan, my checkp0int sa hrapan!
Pasahero: eh kuya? Cnu npo magMamaneho?
.......................................................................................................
Pare 1: pRe, wats ur bigGest fantasy?
Pare 2: to be kisSeD by sum1 in da rain.how aBouT u?
pare1: to be dat sum1 pare.
.......................................................................................................
Mom:anak lu2in m0 2ng gulay..
Anak:mmaya n gngwa ko pa 2ng saranggola..
Mom:punyeta bkt mkakain mu b ung saranggola mu?.!
Anak:hndi bkt lilipad b ynggulay mu?!..
Mom:hndi..
Anak:hndi pla eh.. umayos k nay kung ayaw mung kw pliparin ko...
.......................................................................................................
isang araw nahuli ng anak ang magulang habang nagsesex
anak: ma bakit po tumatalbog kayo sa ibabaw ni daddy?
Ina: wla anak, pinaliliit ko lang ang tiyan ni daddy
anak: wa epek yan.. kasi hinihipan ulit ni yaya.
.......................................................................................................
Prof: ano ang pagkakaiba ng adultery at fornification
Girl: nasubukan ko na pareho yan eh. parang wala namang diferrence
.......................................................................................................
tanga1: pare hindi tau kasya bawas tau ng isa. sa lapag nalangmatulog
(bumaba si tanga 3)
tanga2: ayan pare maluwag na akyat ka na d2!
.......................................................................................................
Nurse1: hoy gaga bakit may thermometer sa tenga mo?
nurse2: ha? susmaryosep kaninong puwet ko kaya naiwan yung ballpen ko!
.......................................................................................................
Amo: inday, paalisin mo nga yung pulubi sa labas ng bahay
Inday: off you go! under no circumstance this house would relent to such unabashed display of vagrant destitution!!!
Pulubi: oh! im so ashamed! such mancion of social climbing freaks! nakakuha ng katapat si inday!!!
.......................................................................................................
Mom: doc ano gagawin ko sa anak ko ang liit ng ari nia?
Doktor: madali lang yan misis.. pakainin mo ng hot cake kinabukasan ng luto ng 10 hotcake si mommy
Anak: wow daming hot cake
Mom: hep hep.. tatlo lang ang sau dyan.. sa daddy mo ang pito
.......................................................................................................
Lolo:Laro tayo.
Lola:ano?
Lolo:Kahit ano wag lang taguan
Lola:bakit naman?
Lola: because a girl like you is impossible to find
lupit ni lolo
.......................................................................................................
Anak: nay galing ng titser ko.
Nay: bakit namn?
Anak: tinuruan kami ng kagandahang asal
Lola: e d marunong ka ng gumalang at mag-PO at OPO?
Anak:Natural! tanga ka Ba? hmmp...
......................................................................................................
An ambitious NURSE INTERN in a tertiary hospital dialled canteen and shouted: " get me a cup of coffee quickly!!!"The voice from the other line said" "You fool!!! youve dialled the wrong extension! Do you know who you are talking to?im the Chief nurse of this hospital, you idiot!! "The intern shouted back " and you know who are talking to you bitch?"
Chief Nurse: No!
Intern: Thank God!(hung up)
.......................................................................................................
Teacher: Lahat ng tanga dito sa klase tumayo
may isang batang tumayo
Teacher: bakit tanga ka ba?
bata: eh sir.. naaawa lang po ako sa inyo kasi mag-isa lang kayong nakatayo kaya sasamahan ko na lang kayo para dalawa tayong tanga..
.......................................................................................................
Titser: use "anyhow" en "anyone" in a sentence..
Pacman: hoy Pidro!! baki mo kinain ang "anyhow" na manok na "anyone" ko dyan sa mesa para kay Jengkeh
.......................................................................................................
Maid: mam si junjun nakalulon ng ipis!
Mam: ha nsaan si junjun
Maid: tulog po mam. pinainum ko agad ng Baygon!!patay na siguro yung ipis
.......................................................................................................
Amo: inday nasaan yung sabon namin sa banyo? ginamit mo ba?
Inday: with due respect, i will not allow my skin to be touched by that highly commercialized so called anti-bacterial soap. Only belo touches my skin, who touches yours? safeguard?
Amo; letche lumayas ka nga!!!
.......................................................................................................
Bata: pabili pong ubas...
tindera: wala kaming ubas
kinabukasan
bata: pabili nga pong ubas
tindera: wala nga kaming ubas..isa pang tanung iiistepler ko na yang bibig mo
kinabukasan
bata: may istepler kau?
Tindera: wala bakit?
bata: Pabiling ubas :)
.......................................................................................................
totoo ba na ang gwapo at maganda ay mahina sa isfelling at grammers? my gas! did they sure? wat does they proof? it hurts me i am not belief of diss. does u?
.......................................................................................................
sabi ng hangin mabait ka daw
sabi ng dagat malambing ka daw
sabi ng ilog at bundok cute ka daw
tama nga ang hinala ko...
sira na ang kalikasan
.......................................................................................................
Boy: Sir apply akong sundalo!!
Officer: hindi puwede!! ang dami mong sirang
ngipin bungi bungi ka pa
Boy: bakit ser? ang gyera ba ngayon?
kagatan na?
.......................................................................................................
hinahanap ng mga NPA sina Juan, pedro at berting
Nagtago sila sa sako sa bodega ng kamote
NPA: san n kaya sila? hmm.. baka nagtatago lang ang mga yun dito
Sinipa ang sako 1
Juan: meow meow
NPa: Pusa lang pala
Sinipa ang sako 2
Pedro: arf ! arf !
NPA: aso lang pala
Sinipa pang sako 3
Berting; tahimik walang reaksyon
Sinipa ulit yung sako 3
Berting: wala ulit reaksyon
Sinipa ng sinipa ang sako 3
Berting: tang ina naman oh!! kamote ako..
wala akong sound!!!
.......................................................................................................
Boy: Miss may titulo ka ba?
Girl: wala bakit?
Boy: tingin ko kasi pag-aari kita
Girl: how sweet? ilang pages ka ba?
Boy: (naconfuse) bakit?
Girl: ang mo kapal kasi!!!!
.......................................................................................................
sa buhay ko daming dumaan...
problema, pagsubok,kawalan...
"pero ng dumaan ka"
natawa ako kasi
pabango mo SURF!!! Wais ka talaga...
.......................................................................................................
may dalawang magkapatid, si malaki at si maliit... sumulat si malaki sa kanyang tatay..
Dear Tatay,
ibili nyo po kame ng isang dosenang itlog at isang kilong baboy
ang inyong anak... malaki
inutusan ni malaki si maliit na ihatid ang sulat sa post office
habang naglalakad napaaway si maliit at ang sulat ay nagkapunit punit
binuo ang sulat sa pamamagitan ng tape ng mabasa ng ama
Dear Baboy,
ibili nyo po kami ng isang dosenang anak at isang
kilong tatay.
ang inyong itlog... malaki
.......................................................................................................
Eto na ang pinaka walanghiyang banat:"Miss may baril ka ba?Patira naman kahit isang putok lang..."
.......................................................................................................
Ina: Anak matalino ka daw sa math sabi ng titser mo
Anak: Opo Ina: sige kunwari binigyan kita ng 5 apples and 3 grapes. Ano ang sagot mo?
Anak: Thank you po!!!
.......................................................................................................
Ilang beses ka man maligo at uminom ng tubig buksan mo man ang aircon ion mo man ang electric fan eh kung katabi mo naman ako?Talagang magiinit ka!!!
.......................................................................................................
Isang probinsyano nagrent ng room sa hotel
Prob: alam ko probinsyano lang ako kaya wag mo akong lokohin! bakit ganito room ko?Maliit!! walang kama at bintana!! mahal na mahal ng binayad ko tapos ganito lang??
Roomboy: Sir nasa elevator pa lang tayo.. Huwag kang excited!!!
.......................................................................................................
Nene: nay pinatambling ako kanina sa school
Nanay: gaga!! gusto lang nila makita panty mo!!!
Nene: Alam ko!!! kaya nga tinago sa bag yung panty ko eh..
.......................................................................................................
hindi namn ako HOMEWORK...
but why there are so many people
wants to take me home
.......................................................................................................
AnaK: Mom i know the truth
Mom: ha?? eto P500 huwag ka lang maingay sa Dad mo!!
Anak: Dad i know the truth
Dad: ha?? eto ang P1000 huwag ka lang maingay sa Mom mo
Anak: (ok pa ito... subukan ko nga sa katulong) Inday i know the truth!!!
Inday: SA WAKAS!!! YAKAPIN MO AKO ANAK!!!
.......................................................................................................
Sa sabungan walang entrance fee ang may dalang panabong..
Si juan para makalibre pumasok may dalang sisiw..
Bantay: hoy!! ano yan?
Juan(galit pa) manok!! bakit?
Bantay: alam ko.. eh bakit sisiw??
Juan: heller?? may laban ang ama niya siyempre moral support.. tanga!!!
.......................................................................................................
Nanay: nak lutuin mo na yung sardinas..
AnaK: kakaliskisan ko po ba?
Nanay: tanggalin mo na rin ang hasang ng masulit ang katangahan mo hayup ka!!!
ANAK: ang mga namutawi sa inyong mga labi ay mataman ko pong iiimbak sa sulok ng aking balintataw,
sa kaibuturan ng aking puso, gugunam-gunamin, aariing salik ng aba at payak kong kabatiran..
tatalikdan ang matatayog at palalong banyagang wika, manapay kakalingian,
bibigkasin at sakdal timyas na sasambitin ng aking sangkalooban..
TATAY: (tulala)
,mas dumugo il0ng..hahaha
........................................................................................................
Juan:bkt my tali k s paa?
Pdr0:gs2 q ng m2tay,mgb2gti aq!
Juan:bkt s paa? dpt s leeg!
Pdr0:cnubukan q n s leEg knina.
hnd aq mkahinga eh,.
.......................................................................................................
pag iniwan ka ng mahal mo ..
PASALUBONG
kamo ! haha :D
.......................................................................................................
5 tips for a happy man's life
1 is to have a gurl to help you @ work,
2. have a gurl to take care & love u.
3. have a gurl who can make you laugh.
4. have a gurl who spoils u.
Lastly
5. make sure these FOUR gurls don't know each other.
.......................................................................................................
dalawang mag x nagkita..
x bf: ui..mzta na luvlyf?
girl: e2..parang 'yang gf mo....
...hindi maganda!
.......................................................................................................
N0EL: ippangalan
ko s aking anak
"LE0N" baliktad ng
N0EL.
NIN0: skin "0NIN"
baliktad ng NINO.
T0T0: wg ny0
ak0ng maisali-sali jan s usapan ny0!
hehe =]
.......................................................................................................
buLag at duLing magsusuntukan!
buLag: hay0p ka duLing! Lumabas ka dyan,wag kang mgtago sa diLim!
duLing: in ur dreams! bkt aq lalaBas eh daLawa kau! =
.......................................................................................................
Sabi ng mga pangit:
"what is beauty if your brain is empty?"
ganti ng mga magaganda at gwap0:
"what is knowledge if your face is damage?"
.......................................................................................................
DIONISIA: Manny anak, sabi ng mga tambay sa labas, pangit daw ako.
MANNY: Ma, alam mo ang kagandahan ay nasa loob. Kaya huwag ka ng labas ng labas!
.......................................................................................................
Ama: Bakit ka umiiyak?
Anak: Pumasa po kasi ako sa test. Huhuhu!
Ama: Aba, magaling! Anong subject yun, anak?
Anak: Pregnancy test po itay!
.......................................................................................................
Dying Chinese: "Ako lapit na patay. Ikaw sabi totoo kung sino ama ng bunso natin kasi pangit siya kumpala sa 9 kapatid niya."
Wife: "Siya lang tunay mo anak!"
.......................................................................................................
Nagtanong ang teacher kay juan
Teacher:juan anung hayop ang nagsisimula sa letter k
Juan:mam kuto po
Teacher:hindi!! nagtatapos ito sa letter w
Juan:mam alam ko na kutow
Teacher:hindi!! Pang lupa ito
Juan:mam alam ko na po kutow lupa
Teacher:hindi!! May sungay toh
Juan:mam dimonyong kutow
.......................................................................................................
Tcher:ok claz, r leson 4 2dy s abwt planets.
Earth s d 3rd planet frm d Sun.Nw,wat s nxt 2 Mercury?
Juan: murag Rose Pharmacy mn tingali mam!d lng q sure ha! Hahahahaha!
.......................................................................................................
1 bata,ngpass ng blank pper s art tcher..
T: bkt blank ang work m?
B: ngdrowng po aq ng baka at damo.
T: (tningnn ang ppel) san ang damo?
B: ubos npo,kinain ng baka.
T: (kamot s ulo) e nsn ung baka?
B: ano p ga2wn ng baka jn e wla ng damo? sympre umalis n. common sense nmn mam!ΓΌ
.......................................................................................................
My ttl0ng bampira sa bar.
RICH VAMPIRE:oorder ako ng fresh blo0d.
ORDINARY VAMPIRE:skn isang order na dnuguan.
POOR VAMPIRE:hot water nlang skn.
WAITER:bkit hot water lang po.?
POOR VAMPIRE:nkpulot ksi aq ng napkin sa kanto.Mag-tsa tsaa na lang ako...hehehehe
.......................................................................................................
MATH CLASS:
GURO: jUaN, kUnG aKo'Y mAy 5 aNaK sA uNaNg aSaWa aT 7 nAmAn sA pAnGaLaWa aT 3 sA pAnGaTLo, mEr0n ac0hNg ? . . .
JUAN: KALANDIAN p0h . . .iSa kAnG kErEnGkEnG mA'aM, mALaNdi kA, hALiPaRoT, kALaDkAriN, mAkAti, mAhiLiG, pAriWaRa, p0kPoK, iMoRaL . . .
GURO: uMuPo kA, di kA mAkAkApAsA gAg0!
-hala?
.......................................................................................................
Juan:0y,ano yan?Pinya?
Pahingi nman.
Pedro:Pahingi? Nsaan ka nung ngbu2ngkal ako ng lupa sa ilalim ng init ng araw?Nasaan ka nung ngtatanim ako hbang kumukulog, kumikidlat at bumubuhos ang ulan?Nsaan ka nung oras na ng-aani ako na ngkalat ang mraming ahas sa daanan ko, nung naghihirap ako sa pgpasan ng pinya? Nasaan ka?
Juan:Nakulong ksi ako noon! Nkaptay ako ng madamot!
Pedro:gnun ba?
Kuha ka na, khit ilan!
May langka pa dun!:]
.......................................................................................................
Driver: oh ung mga panget jan pwde ng magsi-babaan, my checkp0int sa hrapan!
Pasahero: eh kuya? Cnu npo magMamaneho?
.......................................................................................................
Pare 1: pRe, wats ur bigGest fantasy?
Pare 2: to be kisSeD by sum1 in da rain.how aBouT u?
pare1: to be dat sum1 pare.
.......................................................................................................
Mom:anak lu2in m0 2ng gulay..
Anak:mmaya n gngwa ko pa 2ng saranggola..
Mom:punyeta bkt mkakain mu b ung saranggola mu?.!
Anak:hndi bkt lilipad b ynggulay mu?!..
Mom:hndi..
Anak:hndi pla eh.. umayos k nay kung ayaw mung kw pliparin ko...
.......................................................................................................
isang araw nahuli ng anak ang magulang habang nagsesex
anak: ma bakit po tumatalbog kayo sa ibabaw ni daddy?
Ina: wla anak, pinaliliit ko lang ang tiyan ni daddy
anak: wa epek yan.. kasi hinihipan ulit ni yaya.
.......................................................................................................
Prof: ano ang pagkakaiba ng adultery at fornification
Girl: nasubukan ko na pareho yan eh. parang wala namang diferrence
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tanga1: pare hindi tau kasya bawas tau ng isa. sa lapag nalangmatulog
(bumaba si tanga 3)
tanga2: ayan pare maluwag na akyat ka na d2!
.......................................................................................................
Nurse1: hoy gaga bakit may thermometer sa tenga mo?
nurse2: ha? susmaryosep kaninong puwet ko kaya naiwan yung ballpen ko!
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Amo: inday, paalisin mo nga yung pulubi sa labas ng bahay
Inday: off you go! under no circumstance this house would relent to such unabashed display of vagrant destitution!!!
Pulubi: oh! im so ashamed! such mancion of social climbing freaks! nakakuha ng katapat si inday!!!
.......................................................................................................
Mom: doc ano gagawin ko sa anak ko ang liit ng ari nia?
Doktor: madali lang yan misis.. pakainin mo ng hot cake kinabukasan ng luto ng 10 hotcake si mommy
Anak: wow daming hot cake
Mom: hep hep.. tatlo lang ang sau dyan.. sa daddy mo ang pito
.......................................................................................................
Lolo:Laro tayo.
Lola:ano?
Lolo:Kahit ano wag lang taguan
Lola:bakit naman?
Lola: because a girl like you is impossible to find
lupit ni lolo
.......................................................................................................
Anak: nay galing ng titser ko.
Nay: bakit namn?
Anak: tinuruan kami ng kagandahang asal
Lola: e d marunong ka ng gumalang at mag-PO at OPO?
Anak:Natural! tanga ka Ba? hmmp...
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An ambitious NURSE INTERN in a tertiary hospital dialled canteen and shouted: " get me a cup of coffee quickly!!!"The voice from the other line said" "You fool!!! youve dialled the wrong extension! Do you know who you are talking to?im the Chief nurse of this hospital, you idiot!! "The intern shouted back " and you know who are talking to you bitch?"
Chief Nurse: No!
Intern: Thank God!(hung up)
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Teacher: Lahat ng tanga dito sa klase tumayo
may isang batang tumayo
Teacher: bakit tanga ka ba?
bata: eh sir.. naaawa lang po ako sa inyo kasi mag-isa lang kayong nakatayo kaya sasamahan ko na lang kayo para dalawa tayong tanga..
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Titser: use "anyhow" en "anyone" in a sentence..
Pacman: hoy Pidro!! baki mo kinain ang "anyhow" na manok na "anyone" ko dyan sa mesa para kay Jengkeh
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Maid: mam si junjun nakalulon ng ipis!
Mam: ha nsaan si junjun
Maid: tulog po mam. pinainum ko agad ng Baygon!!patay na siguro yung ipis
.......................................................................................................
Amo: inday nasaan yung sabon namin sa banyo? ginamit mo ba?
Inday: with due respect, i will not allow my skin to be touched by that highly commercialized so called anti-bacterial soap. Only belo touches my skin, who touches yours? safeguard?
Amo; letche lumayas ka nga!!!
.......................................................................................................
Bata: pabili pong ubas...
tindera: wala kaming ubas
kinabukasan
bata: pabili nga pong ubas
tindera: wala nga kaming ubas..isa pang tanung iiistepler ko na yang bibig mo
kinabukasan
bata: may istepler kau?
Tindera: wala bakit?
bata: Pabiling ubas :)
.......................................................................................................
totoo ba na ang gwapo at maganda ay mahina sa isfelling at grammers? my gas! did they sure? wat does they proof? it hurts me i am not belief of diss. does u?
.......................................................................................................
sabi ng hangin mabait ka daw
sabi ng dagat malambing ka daw
sabi ng ilog at bundok cute ka daw
tama nga ang hinala ko...
sira na ang kalikasan
.......................................................................................................
Boy: Sir apply akong sundalo!!
Officer: hindi puwede!! ang dami mong sirang
ngipin bungi bungi ka pa
Boy: bakit ser? ang gyera ba ngayon?
kagatan na?
.......................................................................................................
hinahanap ng mga NPA sina Juan, pedro at berting
Nagtago sila sa sako sa bodega ng kamote
NPA: san n kaya sila? hmm.. baka nagtatago lang ang mga yun dito
Sinipa ang sako 1
Juan: meow meow
NPa: Pusa lang pala
Sinipa ang sako 2
Pedro: arf ! arf !
NPA: aso lang pala
Sinipa pang sako 3
Berting; tahimik walang reaksyon
Sinipa ulit yung sako 3
Berting: wala ulit reaksyon
Sinipa ng sinipa ang sako 3
Berting: tang ina naman oh!! kamote ako..
wala akong sound!!!
.......................................................................................................
Boy: Miss may titulo ka ba?
Girl: wala bakit?
Boy: tingin ko kasi pag-aari kita
Girl: how sweet? ilang pages ka ba?
Boy: (naconfuse) bakit?
Girl: ang mo kapal kasi!!!!
.......................................................................................................
sa buhay ko daming dumaan...
problema, pagsubok,kawalan...
"pero ng dumaan ka"
natawa ako kasi
pabango mo SURF!!! Wais ka talaga...
.......................................................................................................
may dalawang magkapatid, si malaki at si maliit... sumulat si malaki sa kanyang tatay..
Dear Tatay,
ibili nyo po kame ng isang dosenang itlog at isang kilong baboy
ang inyong anak... malaki
inutusan ni malaki si maliit na ihatid ang sulat sa post office
habang naglalakad napaaway si maliit at ang sulat ay nagkapunit punit
binuo ang sulat sa pamamagitan ng tape ng mabasa ng ama
Dear Baboy,
ibili nyo po kami ng isang dosenang anak at isang
kilong tatay.
ang inyong itlog... malaki
.......................................................................................................
Eto na ang pinaka walanghiyang banat:"Miss may baril ka ba?Patira naman kahit isang putok lang..."
.......................................................................................................
Ina: Anak matalino ka daw sa math sabi ng titser mo
Anak: Opo Ina: sige kunwari binigyan kita ng 5 apples and 3 grapes. Ano ang sagot mo?
Anak: Thank you po!!!
.......................................................................................................
Ilang beses ka man maligo at uminom ng tubig buksan mo man ang aircon ion mo man ang electric fan eh kung katabi mo naman ako?Talagang magiinit ka!!!
.......................................................................................................
Isang probinsyano nagrent ng room sa hotel
Prob: alam ko probinsyano lang ako kaya wag mo akong lokohin! bakit ganito room ko?Maliit!! walang kama at bintana!! mahal na mahal ng binayad ko tapos ganito lang??
Roomboy: Sir nasa elevator pa lang tayo.. Huwag kang excited!!!
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Nene: nay pinatambling ako kanina sa school
Nanay: gaga!! gusto lang nila makita panty mo!!!
Nene: Alam ko!!! kaya nga tinago sa bag yung panty ko eh..
.......................................................................................................
hindi namn ako HOMEWORK...
but why there are so many people
wants to take me home
.......................................................................................................
AnaK: Mom i know the truth
Mom: ha?? eto P500 huwag ka lang maingay sa Dad mo!!
Anak: Dad i know the truth
Dad: ha?? eto ang P1000 huwag ka lang maingay sa Mom mo
Anak: (ok pa ito... subukan ko nga sa katulong) Inday i know the truth!!!
Inday: SA WAKAS!!! YAKAPIN MO AKO ANAK!!!
.......................................................................................................
Sa sabungan walang entrance fee ang may dalang panabong..
Si juan para makalibre pumasok may dalang sisiw..
Bantay: hoy!! ano yan?
Juan(galit pa) manok!! bakit?
Bantay: alam ko.. eh bakit sisiw??
Juan: heller?? may laban ang ama niya siyempre moral support.. tanga!!!
.......................................................................................................
Nanay: nak lutuin mo na yung sardinas..
AnaK: kakaliskisan ko po ba?
Nanay: tanggalin mo na rin ang hasang ng masulit ang katangahan mo hayup ka!!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Let God Worry About Your Promotion
Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;don’t push your way into the place of prominence.It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.Proverbs 25:6–7 (The Message)
In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul tells us that aspiring to a position of leadership is a good thing (3:1). However, there’s a difference between stepping forward to accept the responsibility of leadership and stepping forward to put yourself into the spotlight for the benefit of self–promotion.
The road to biblical leadership comes through service. Leaders may find themselves in the spotlight, but they also take the heat that often comes with that place of prominence. They speak up for the sake of the mission, but they are also willing to remain silent when it serves the organization. And at any moment, they must be willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for the sake of their people.
When you have the opportunity to lead, serve well. You cannot force yourself into a position God does not want you to have, nor will you miss the opportunity to serve where God desires you to be.
In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul tells us that aspiring to a position of leadership is a good thing (3:1). However, there’s a difference between stepping forward to accept the responsibility of leadership and stepping forward to put yourself into the spotlight for the benefit of self–promotion.
The road to biblical leadership comes through service. Leaders may find themselves in the spotlight, but they also take the heat that often comes with that place of prominence. They speak up for the sake of the mission, but they are also willing to remain silent when it serves the organization. And at any moment, they must be willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for the sake of their people.
When you have the opportunity to lead, serve well. You cannot force yourself into a position God does not want you to have, nor will you miss the opportunity to serve where God desires you to be.
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