November 14 Garden of Prayer and Sermon Summary
I want to thank you for all your prayers for the brethren for this shows your unfeigned love and care for each other and for us fulfilling our Lord’s command to love one another.
I was glad to see Dave and Ulena back from the US last Sabbath, yet it was sad to see Minwoo leave for Korea. We hope to see him again in the future. He was such a blessing in the YA and his music had blessed us each Sabbath he was with us.
Please include the following in your daily prayers:
Trudy – her mom is coming to visit her in Taiwan, pray for the trip next week
Dave R. – trip of their daughter and son
Nenita C. – her best friend had a surgery please pray for her; also pray for our dear sister’s family (daughter-in-law and two sons) who acquired the H1N1 virus may they be well soon
Pilimi – Nini is coming home, please pray for her safe trip, too
Elizabeth – her qualifying exams will be in about less than two weeks, she needs lots of confidence from the Lord. Let us pray for her.
Frank – his friend Zhoujia from Myanmar lost all his identifications and is now in prison. The Immigration Department has a hard time tracing his personal identification and until they could find it he has to stay in prison (that’s sad!). With no money, family and friend in Taiwan how could this soul survive in a strange land? Let us join Frank in praying for him, especially now that he is searching the Lord through Bible studies. What else do you think we can do to help him?
Lynne – safe trip for our friend Minwoo to Korea; pray for her sister and friends who stood for no-Sabbath exams (which was given last Sabbath) because they were not granted special privilege by the school, the result will come out next week. Let us pray for these brave young people.
Minwoo – his last Sabbath in Taiwan (I hope not); thanks for everybody and for the fellowship, he hopes to come back again
Daniel – blessings and prayers for all God’s people and the ministry all over the world
Jo -please pray for the students’ exams this week
Cease not praying for Rachel G. and Steve. Let special prayers for them be offered daily to the Lord.
Sermon this week: “The Heart of God” (Watch it here)
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
What is in the heart of God? Love. Yes. But what kind of love?
Love is a term used very loosely. If there is one closest to it, it must be the original Greek word used by Apostle Paul – AGAPE.
It is easy to see what’s inside our heart, our thoughts. But can we see what’s inside the heart of God? Yet God had revealed Himself to us. This Sabbath, Pastor Robbie had delivered a wonderful and very touching message that allowed us to have a glimpse of that Heart.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Creator. In his innocence, he could behold the glory and character of God. To be like Him was the ultimate purpose and goal of his existence. But sin spoiled all of these. He lost the privilege to know God. In his sinful state, he could not by himself know his Creator. A big chasm was created between him and God.
God is love. No one but God could reach man in his state. Only God could bridge the chasm that sin had made. But this required from God a great sacrifice. He had to give up everything and to go down to reach man in his humiliation. Do you think it was an easy thing for God? To be limited, to have nothing, to be a servant, to die? I don’t think so. Yet He did it – for you and me.
Now the truth is revealed. God wanted His only begotten, His beloved Son to die. The Father knowing that man would rebel against Him had, before the foundation of this planet, planned to give up His Son as a ransom for us. The whole truth? God purposed us to live and Jesus to die. Jesus was not forced but was compelled with the love He has for us, because He knew that only He could bridge the chasm between us and the Father.
Jesus the Son, “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
Why? It was a question I asked my self. I looked at the Cross and keep pondering why the Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Master of the entire universe, would go down the ladder of humiliation and death to reach sinful ungrateful human being like me.
At the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus began to die. He was dying the second death for you and me. He poured out His soul, not knowing, not seeing beyond the grave. At the Cross His cry, “My God, my God why has Thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34), was a cry of anguish of the eternal separation that each sinner must feel and experience at the second death. He went to the grave so that you and I would have the freedom of being sons and daughters of the Most High. He humiliated Himself that we might be exalted and lifted up to the level of God’s children.
Forsaken by God. No one but Jesus had and could experienced it. Nobody would ever know the eternal separation that sin had brought. Oh, the heart of God! Beaten, bruised more than his body, he died of a broken heart!
What are we doing? Are we still sleeping as the disciples?
What is in the heart of God? “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 3:36) Look up at the Cross and ponder. Behold Jesus and you will see through the heart of the Father. Amazing love! Be astonished and be humbled before Him whose love was stronger than death and the grave. Yes, so strong that even the grave could not keep Him. He broke the shackles of death. He was triumphant from the grave!
Jesus, the heart of the Father. May we reflect upon it. Because only through the Cross can we see the Father’s heart.
This is my constant prayer. See you this Sabbath.
Prayer Blog | Rofe-Amor Obena November 15, 2009