Sunday_Service

Good morning everyone throughout the world, We are again experiencing a technical problem, with our network. The problem seems to happen every time I try to post a sermon at 2:30am Hawaii time, which would be 12:30 pm-GMT. We all have to admit that we are at war with the devil, of course he doesn't want me to preach at all, my mouth has been inflamed, and infected, for 3 months, and I haven' t been able to do any preaching in the streets, so the Church is being under direct attack, as usual. I have had work crews out here, and amplified instruments installed, but it seems the wiring system has breakage along the route to the satellite disk, every Saturday night.

Dear Heavenly Gracious Father, we come to you today begging your forgiveness, and to lead us to the righteousness of your Son Jesus Christ, We know that we are at war with the evil one and we understand that we should endure the complications and the conflicts and sufferings for the cause of Christ. Christ endured the cross for us, so we shall endure these minor complications that have been causing havoc and all kinds of demonic expressions in opposition to this church. May we all welcome each other with true love and compassion that will exceed with abounding joy within our hearts, and minds. We ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and stay with us throughout this service, and let the words of the Spirit of God speak through me, and your understanding be perfected according to the riches of His grace. Amen

Please turn you bibles to 2Cor. 4:8-12; Most of you all know of the sufferings I have been going through, but I am not giving up, I am a fighter, especially for the sake of Christ who I love. I Praise God for the internet and I also Praise God for being able to think clearly, and be able to physically type the bread of life. And I also thank God that I have the equipment, and all these bible translations in front of me.

In these scriptures Paul reminds us that though we may think we are at the end of the road, and we are about to burst into tears, we are never at the end of hope. Our fragile body is subject to sin and suffering, but we all know God will never desert us. Because Christ has won the victory over death, we have eternal life. All of our ill feelings, humiliations, hurts and trials are opportunities for Christ to demonstrate his power and presence in and through us. We all know that all things happen for a particular reason, and we also gain wisdom through our sufferings. If we truly love Christ, and follow His commandments He will always guide us on the right path.

Let us move on to verses 15-18, I and as Paul did, am still continuing facing these trials, and distresses, and also for me a broken heart, as we try to preach the Good News. But we all should know that some day it will all be over, and we will come to the point of God’s rest and rewards, I myself don’t look for the rewards, I guess in my life the peace and the rest with the Lord is enough, sometimes I feel I don’t deserve rewards, or I don’t look for them, but in the Word of God it says we will achieve them, and as I write this sermon, I have considered what some of the rewards would be. As we face great troubles, it is easer to focus on the pain, rather than our ultimate goal. Just as a runner, or track star, they concentrate on the finish line, and ignore there discomfort, and that is what we should do, focus on the reward of our faith, and the joy that lasts forever. We should not be concerned at this life, no matter what happens to us during the course of our stay here, we have the assurance of eternal life, when all suffering will end, and all sorrow will be no more.

Now that we just discussed the motivation of external perspective, let us step back to verse 16; it is easy to lose heart and quit, we have all faced problems in relationships, may it be with our neighbors, people at work, family, friends, also with me, with all these doctors, that have caused us to think about giving up. Rather than quitting when persecution arises, we should not let hurt, pain, trials, humiliation, mis-communications, take us down, or upset us in the least, or even let it bother us at all. Remember in Matt. 5:10-12 we should be rejoicing, and being glad, when we are being persecuted, or when people cast insults at us, or when people speak evil of us falsely. There they are again; our rewards are great in heaven. Not to get off the subject, we should concentrate on the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let weakness, tenderness or criticism, force you away from your work or responsibilities. Replenish your commitment to serving Christ. Don’t forsake your eternal reward because of the intensity of today’s pain. Your very limitations allow the resurrection power of Christ to strengthen you moment by moment.

Now let us move on to verse 17; our trouble, pains, persecutions, hurts, humiliations, difficulties, dilemmas, and sufferings should not reduce our faith or disappoint us. We should realize that there is a reason to our suffering. Problems and human limitations have several benefits.

1 They remind us of Christ suffering for us.

2 They keep us from self, lust, temptation, and pride.

3 They cause us to look beyond this brief and testing life.

4 They give us the chance to prove our faith, and trust in God, to others.

5 They give God the view to demonstrate His power

We have to look at our sufferings, troubles, trials, and tests as opportunities.

Please move to verse 18; our final hope when we are experiencing a dreadful illness, persecution, hurting, or just a broken heart, there is the understanding that this life is not all there is. There is Life after death. Knowing that we will live forever with God in a place without sin and suffering can help us more tolerate the pains the sorrows, the persecutions, the hatred, the bigotry, the prejudice, the lies, the cheating, the stealing, the wars, the drug addictions, alcoholism, the murders, the greed, and the lust for power,etc, can help us live above all the pain that we face in this life.

Let us finish up with 2 Tim 3:12; in this passage Paul told Timothy that people who obey God and live for Christ will be persecuted. Don’t be surprised when people get the wrong impression, pass judgment on, and even try to hurt you, because of what you believe and how you live. Don’t give up. Continue to live as you know you should. God is the only one you need to please.

Our ultimate hope is that we all come to Christ, and to experience the realism of the true Love of God, and once we are able to feel it, and know that it is real, maybe by some chance we can save this world from destruction. We do only live here for a short time; our duty is to preach the Gospel and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Cor. 4:8-12

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2Cor.4:15-18

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt.5:10-12