Who is my healer?

Title : Who is my Healer
Text: John 5
Brother Dr David Fung

30 April 2017

John 4:34 Mission statement of Jesus

Jesus often used physical items in the world to illustrate the spiritual realm. 

This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

1) Background
The third sign in the gospel of John
The scene: A pool by Bethesda and many disabled people lying in wait for the waters to be stirred up so that they could be the first one to jump in and be cured of whatever disease they had.

The beneficiary of the sign. His miracle was healing of his lameness after 38 years

2) Did the man who was healed have faith in the healer for his miracle?
No. The cripple did not have faith that the healer could heal him. He did not know who the healer was. He just obeyed when told to pick up his mat and walk and he was healed.

When was the "work" of healing performed? 
On the sabbath day. According to the Jewish law carrying a mat on the sabbath day was work and therefore unlawful.

What are the reactions to the miracle?
Instead of celebrating with the lame man over his healing the religious leaders were infuriated that Jesus had broken the sabbath law and they began to pursue him and seek his life.

3) Who healed the lame man? Jesus
But who is this Jesus who healed him?
Jesus claims to be God's son and to be equal with God. To the Jewish leaders this is blasphemy punishable by death

What and how did Jesus answer?
Jesus claims equality with God as follows:

a) Equality in working: whatever the father does the son also do v19
b) Equality in knowing: Father shows the son all he does v20
c) Equality in resurrecting: father and son gives life to whom they please v21
d) Equality in judging: all judgement is entrusted to Jesus v22
e) Equality in honor: All who honor the father must honor the son v23
f) Equality in regenerating: All who hear my words and believe in the father has life v24
g) Equality in self existence: father and son have life in himself v25

What witnesses did he refer to support this answer of equality with God.
Jesus named 4 witnesses.
1) John the Baptist with his proclamation to prepare the way for the Lord
2) The witness of his works through his miraculous and supernatural works
3) The witness of the Father by proclaiming that Jesus is his beloved son during his baptism
4) The witness of the OT scriptures. The Torah long ago predicted the coming of the messiah.

Questions

1) Are signs and wonders important to you? Why?

2) Who is Jesus of Nazareth?

3) Who is this Jesus to you?

Psalm 29

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King for ever.

11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.

http://redpilldisciple.blogspot.my/2016/06/

http://www.scatterthestones.co.uk/praise-the-lords-glorious-name/

John 4 - Christ and the Woman's Encounter

Christ and the Woman's Encounter
John 4
Elder Annie Wong
23 April 2017

I. Her attention was caught (vv1-15)
- Jesus because of divine impulse "had to pass through Samaria" (v4) despite Jewish aversion to Samaritans
- woman surprised by Jesus' request for water (factors of culture, gender, personal background)
- while Jesus began with a simple request for water, ironically His concern was for the woman's spiritual needs rather than water (Jn 4:32-34), because his top priority was her salvation
- from her physical need for water, Jesus introduced to her Living water (Jn 7:37-38) leading her to ask how she can have access to this water He was talking about

II. Her heart was challenged (vv16-26)
concerning her past
- Jesus commented on her honesty twice (vv17-18) yet lovingly called out her shameful past rather than not mentioning it
- we need to realise that ppl must be brought to a place they can recognise their sinfulness in order to truly be convicted and converted
concerning worship
- often-asked question: traditional or contemporary style of worship?
- external location (temple) does not determine true worship (spiritual act); worship is first and foremost an experience of the heart that leads us to Truth (Jn 17:17)

III. Her life was changed and caused results (vv25-42)
- her gentle yet clear invitation to the people to "come and see" led ppl to Christ
- interestingly Jesus' conversation with this woman is the longest dialogue recorded in the bible
- story of the woman on Japan trip with her daughter
- we must share about our experiences with Christ, for you never know the change it can bring to others.

An encounter with Christ is a glorious experience. It is not an experience you can keep to yourself. If you keep it to yourself, the fire it ignited within you will die.

- Ps Renny: in our own lives, what are the signs of Christ which leads us to revelation? How do we respond to those signs/revelations? How do we share these encounters with others to multiply the blessing of Life that God has given to us?


Questions:
(1) What can we learn from Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman that can help us in our witnessing?
(2) Where do we find true worship? What does Jesus mean when He says we will worship God "in spirit and in truth"? Share how to worship God in spirit and in truth.
(3) Share an encounter you had with Christ. What was the result?

The Greatest Man in History

                      Who is Jesus?

In chemistry,
He turned water to wine.  
                  John 2:6-10
                  John 4:46

In biology,
He was born without the normal conception;
       
                 Isaiah 7:14
                 Luke 1:26- 37

In physics,
He disapproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven;

                     Mark 16:19

In economics,
He disapproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with
two fishes & 5 loaves of bread;

               Matthew 14:19
               John 6:13

In medicine,
He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs;

               Matthew 15:30
               Mark 1:34

In history,
He is the beginning and the end;

            John 1:1-5
            Revelation 22:13
            Revelation 21:6

In government,
He said that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace;
                    saiah 9:6-7

In religion,
He said no one comes to the Father except through Him;

                    John 14:4-6

So, Who is He?              He is Jesus!

The Greatest Man in History

Jesus had no servants,
yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines,
yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime,
yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

I feel honoured to serve such a Leader who loves us.

Unknown Writer

Easter Sunday : I Am The Resurrection And The Life

Easter Sunday

Title : I Am The Resurrection And The Life

Text : John 11:1-44

Pr Lo Yi Ping

16 April 2017

Introduction

Last Friday, many of us gathered at the church to embrace Christ's suffering. On that morning, the bulletin we received printed, "Friday is the road to Sunday. There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. There is no Resurrection without the Cross." Indeed if Jesus had not suffered and died, there will be no resurrection. Or if Jesus died but did not resurrect, we would not be here celebrating Resurrection Sunday either. It would be pointless and hopeless for us to come together Sunday after Sunday. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 that "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." If Christ has not been resurrected, we have believed the gospel in vain and our faith is futile. Christ's resurrection is the foundation of Christianity! To demolish a skyscraper, engineers would strategically place explosives at the point where the support structure of the building is, so that when the explosives are set off, the building would collapse into a heap of rubble in no time. The same goes for the Christian faith. You only have to set the explosives at one point to bring Christianity down. Blow up the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the whole Christianity would come tumbling down. In the movie "Risen", we saw that many people disapproved of Jesus' teaching and tried to disprove His resurrection. Had Jesus not been resurrected, there would be no hope. If Jesus really did not resurrect from death, our faith today is hopeless and we would still be in sin. There would be no salvation for us and no eternal life. However, Jesus did resurrect from death and is now seated on the right hand of our Heavenly Father. And the time wiIl come when Jesus will return for us, to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe? Jesus has resurrected and defeated death. But how are we to understand His claim about being the resurrection and the life? 

People like to use or quote from this verse in newspaper obituaries. John 11:25-26 - "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." When and under what circumstances did Jesus make this claim? Let the Word of God in John 11:1-44 minister to us. 

John 11:1-44

 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Martha interpreted Jesus' message of "rise again" as in the resurrection of the last day. Both Martha and Mary said the same thing to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus is the master of time and distance. His ability to perform miracles would not be restricted by time and space. Jesus had actually resurrected others before He resurrected Lazarus. In Luke 7, He resurrected a widow's son and was seen as a Prophet. In Luke 8, He resurrected Jairus' daughter and His identity was as a Teacher. The resurrection of Lazarus is Jesus' last miracle on earth, in which He wants to be seen and known not only as a Teacher and Prophet, but also as the Son of God.

1. Jesus' ability and identity

- Lazarus (John 11:1-44) - Son of God

- A widow's son (Luke 7:11-16) - Prophet

- Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:49-56) - Teacher

Risen from death and the crowd addressing Jesus as:-

During Lazarus' case  - they called Him Son of God

A widow's son Case - they called Him Prophet

Jairus daughter Case - they called Him Teacher

Father, I thank you that you have heard me, you always hear me, 

He said it for the sake of the people around him. For the first time, Jesus made it known that He is the son of God. 

2. Three "types" of resurrection

- Physical

- Resurrection of the last day

- Spiritual.

We are spiritually dead and spiritually asleep until the point we are made alive in Christ and accept Him as Lord and Saviour. 

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 - "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

3. Die in order to gain life. Have life in order to defeat death.

- Death must come or happen first before resurrection. We do not like to talk about death. Death bounds people. We fear death. In Christian perspective, death is not necessarily a bad thing. Death to certain things in life can set us free and bring resurrection to our spiritual life. Hebrews 12:1. Romans 6:4. We must die to sin that so easily entangles. John 12:24-25. We must die to sin to gain life in Christ. Jesus told them to "take off the grave clothes" from Lazarus. The grave clothes can symbolise sin which so easily entangles. All 3 of them responded to Jesus' call and gained life to defeat the grip of death. We need to break free from death to come back to life. Jesus told them to "give her (Jairus' daughter) something to eat." We all need to eat in order to regain strength and to continue to have life. Spiritually how do we understand that? We need to eat and feed ourselves with the spiritual food from God to be strengthened in our spiritual life. We need to abide and remain in Him and to bear fruit. We need to remain in the Lord and allow the Lord to remain in us. 

We need to die to certain things in order to be set free.

Hebrews 12:1

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

We need to break free from death in order to come back to life.

Conclusion: 

Jesus is the resurrection and life. He who believes in Jesus will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the Lord. We celebrate the cross and the empty tomb.

Questions:

1. Share an occasion where you prayed for something/someone and expected God to do it your way. What was the outcome?

2. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life"; what do these words mean to you?

3. What are some of the things you need to die to in order to gain life?

Good Friday Meditation

Good Friday Meditation

Ps Renny Khoo

14 April 2017

Peter's Confession of Christ 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death 

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling- block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

The necessity of the cross

The misery of the cross

The brutality of the cross

The cross presented - He must go to Jerusalem. It's a necessity and part of God's plan at the foundation of the earth. That the creator will die for His creation.

Must does not mean Jesus had no choice. He has the choice.

He who has no sin was pinned down by sins on his body. 

He bore the emotional mockery by the people.

He endured the spiritual separation from the Father.

We cannot accept good things if we do not accept His entire plans and package. 

It is a daily taking up of the cross to follow Jesus, its dying to self. 

We belong to Christ twice - by creation and by virtue of redemption through the cross.

My personal reflection :-

This year, the church made a cross for everyone who attended the service that Good Friday, it was a very meaningful to have a "personal" cross made out for each one of us. My reflection for this Lent conclusion: Christ has loved us and may we not take His love in vain. His suffering was real and brutal, may we  not nail Him to the cross again with our repeated falling into sins.

Christ and His Work of Conversion

John Overview- Christ and His Work of Conversion

John 2-3

Pr Janice Chin

9 April 2017


The Revelation of Christ 

1) Changing of water into wine
This is the first miracle performed by Jesus. The high quality of the wine and the large quantity of wine converted (1080galls) revealed that Jesus is the master of quality and quantity.

John was the only one who recorded Jesus turned water into wine among four gospels 

Christ is the Master of quality. He turned water into choice wine, the finest of the entire wedding.

Jesus was questioned about His authority to turn merchants away from the temple.

2) Jesus clears the  temple. 
Jesus was infuriated with the merchants selling animals for sacrifices at the temple court for gentile worshippers and the money changers who cheated pilgrims from foreign land with unfair currency exchanges.

His righteous anger by overthrowing the merchants revealed that he will never let anyone disrespect or make a mockery of God's house of worship. When questioned about his authority to do this. He said you destroy the temple and I will raise it up in 3 days.

Here Jesus is not alluding to the physical temple but his body which will be crucified and resurrected on the third day. He alluded himself as the indwelling Christ working in us breaking the dividing wall so that both Jews and gentiles can have direct access to God. 

3) Jesus encounters Nicodemus 

Jesus revealed to Nicodemus that unless he is born again from above and in the Spirit he will not enter the kingdom of God. The kingdom is personal not national or ethnic and the requirements are repentance and spiritual rebirth which cannot be earned by deeds. The kingdom will come to the whole world and not just to the Jews (Jn.3:16).

Christ-fullness of Gods time (Gal.4:4-5)

When the time had fully come God sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins and redeem us from the law so that we can receive his rights as sons, daughters and heirs. His Spirit at work in our hearts testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and we call him Abba father.

Christ-fullness of God's truth (Jn 1:14, Jn 3:33-34)

Jesus in essence, is the truth of God. He is the only one who came from heaven and have seen the father. He is the Word that became flesh and dwells among us. His Spirit of conversion is continually changing us into new life, renewal and Christlikeness

How can it be, rabbi? Nicodemus asked Jesus out of his quest for the truth.

Our Response

Every revelation demands a response

When God's goodness and loving kindness appear in Jesus what is our response. Have you chosen fullness of life ,your faith in Jesus and be born again or to remain in darkness and condemnation.

Titus 3:5
God extends his kingdom and love to us not because of righteous things we have done but because of mercy and cleansing through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 

Conclusion

We either reject or receive him and that is we either have fullness of life or darkness. 

Questions

1) How do you understand "born again"in the life of a Christian convert? What is Christ work of conversion in your own life 

2) Share one example of how your response to Jesus in a particular decision/situation led to a deeper experience of the fullness of life God has for you. How did that impact you? And others?

3) As a church how can we overcome the challenges we face today when communicating Christ and his work of conversion to others?

John Overview

Title: John Overview - Follow Me

Text: John 1

Overview of John

Ps Renny Khoo

2 April 2017

A broad overview or big picture of the Book of John. It's harder to assemble a jig-saw puzzle without the big picture. The aim of the Book of John is to bring the reader to a faith in Jesus. The Book of John proves to the reader beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Many of us are on a journey of search or seeking. John does not deal with the parables of Jesus. There is no mention of The Last Supper in John because John is written for a different purpose from other Gospels.

Purpose Statement of John the Gospel

John 20:30-31

30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In John 20:30-31, the 3 key words are signs, believe, life. What does believing mean and entail? There is a definite point when you come to believe. There is a defining or decisive moment when we come to believe. It is not just a one-time decision. There is a continuation of that decision, e.g. in the way we live out our Christian walk. Sometimes we make wise decisions, sometimes we don't. What is the result through believing? That you may have life, eternal life. How do we understand "eternal life"? What is "eternal life"? John 17:3 - "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Eternal life is knowing God. It's not a static state somewhere in the future. We continue to know Him. There are two things when it comes to knowing God. First, God desires you to know Him. John 3:16 - He gave up His Son so we may know Him. Secondly, God Himself wants to have a living relationship with us. He reaches out to us through many ways. God doesn't want to stop knowing us nor does He want us to stop knowing Him.

• Signs, Believe and Life
• Believe is mentioned more than 90 times in the book of John.
• There is a moment of decision and continuous effort to believe.

John 17:3

3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Eternal life is knowing God.

God desires so much that we know Him.

God wants a living relationship with us.

Overview or Overall Picture of the Book of John

There are six MOVEMENTS:-

1. Recruitment
2. Revelation (Sign)
3. Retreat
4. Revelation (Speeches)
5. Redemption 
6. Restoration 

All the signs and miracles point out that Jesus is the Master of everything.

The Master of Quality, Time, Quantity, Nature, Misfortunes 

Jesus is the Son of God

Revelation. It demands a response from us. What is Revelation? Revelation is God revealing to us, telling us and giving us signs of what He is trying to tell us. We do not know what we do not know. We only know when God helps us to know. That's the revelation that Jesus is truly the Son of God. God gradually opens our eyes. For some, it's a gradual knowing. It's a journey. It's a process of revelation.

Revelation Through Signs.

There are 7 signs we can see in the Book of John. When He changed water into wine, Jesus is the master of quality. When He healed the official's son, He is a master of distance. When He healed the paralyzed man, He is a master of time. He transcends time. When He fed 5000 people, He is a master of quantity. When He walked on the sea, He is a master of nature. Nature has to obey Him. When He healed the blind man, He is a master of misfortune. He can turn misfortunes around. When He raised Lazarus from the dead, He is a master of dead. Whatever we face in life, Jesus knows what we are going through. Turning point in Chapter 12. The Book of John points to Jesus. People did not believe though they saw all the signs. Jesus responded to their unbelief by hiding Himself. There is always a time of reminiscing when we leave a place or a town. There is a call to a continuous knowing. Knowing God is about having intimacy. Jesus talked about love and abiding in Him. Redemption. Restoration. Jesus restored the disciple (Peter) who forsook Him. Recruitment and Restoration. Both in the beginning and in the end. Recruitment - "Follow me." Restoration - "Follow me." The book of John is an invitation to follow Jesus.

Prologue and Revelation

Revelation: Response - Reject V.1:9-12 or Receive V.1:12-13. Whenever there is a revelation, it calls for a response. 

1. Word is God V.1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

2. Word become flesh V.1:14

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."

V.1:12 - "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."

God only has children. He doesn't has grandchildren. There are 2 possible responses. We can accept Him or reject Him. 

(A) Revelation truly multiplies Encountering experiences.

Verses 35 to 51 - There were 4 encounters that were recorded here. Jesus said, "Come and see." Andrew and one unnamed disciple went and saw and had time to fellowship with Jesus. Andrew found Simon. When you know, you would always share. It's almost very natural. Jesus found Philip, and Philip found Nathaniel. 

(B) Revelation means Invitation. "Come and See." means "Come and Experience." and then there is "Follow me." Try reading John from Chapters 1 to 21 in one sitting. Ps. Renny felt (not thought) the heartbeat of Jesus when she read John in one sitting (in one and half hours). 

(C) Revelation demands Response. What would our response be? What and who do we seek in life? The invitation has already been made. "Come and See." "Come and follow me." That is the great invitation. Promise: ...greater things than these." V.1:50. What would our response be today when we hear God say, "Come and see and follow me?"

Questions

1. John 1:38 Jesus asked, "What are you looking for?" Question for us: "What/who do you seek in life?

2. Spend 3-5 minutes in quiet contemplation. Meditate on these words - "Come and see." Sense Jesus' invitation. After this exercise, share what came to your mind.

3. Share/evaluate/understand what and how does following Jesus look like for you? (Context: faith-journey with God/Workplace/School/Family/Church).