Giving 10 November 2013

Giving 10 November 2013

Happy holidays po sa inyong lahat its december!

Hopefully our families and relatives back home were able to survive Yolanda's visit

Some of my relatives in bohol are still staying on tents outside their houses due to earthquake the last 2 weeks and here comes Yolanda so excited to visit.

I would like to share about our attitude towards giving or even extending help to the needy specially these days na a lot of people would really need some financial assistance back home.

Illustration

A son in law being ask for a gift by his mother in law (the 2 doesnt get along well)

One november morning the mother in law asked his son in law on what gift would she be receiving on christmas. The son in law replied I will think about it.

The son in law really had a hard time finding a gift for his mother in law

So the son in law decided to give his mother in law a memorial plan as a gift.

On christmas day he presented his gift to his mother in law and was quite happy about it.

Then come november on the following year the mother in law asked again the son in law on what would she be receiving as a gift on christmas. The son in law annoyed by his mother in law replied "you haven't use yet my gift for you last year and now you were asking for another gift?"

So what's the moral lesson of the story?

In our own lives if we give something to God it should be coming from our heart and its should be sincere.

maybe there is a point in our lives that we are not at peace with God and giving something to the Lord becomes a burden instead of doing it wholeheartedly.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (#4 of 15 Bible Verses about Giving)
7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Our service is our gift to the Lord

Let us pray

References

http://voices.yahoo.com/15-bible-verses-giving-5171769.html

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Driven by love - PA 8 Dec 2013

Driven by love - PA 8 Dec 2013

Rev 2:4

God measures our love on how we love our neighbor

as a church we have to take care and be responsible with each other

an act of true love can melt a frozen heart -frozen

love quote
work like you dont need the money
dance like nobody's watching you

love like you've never been hurt








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Giving 22 Sep 2013

Giving 22 Sep 2013


Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. (Proverbs 19:17 NIV)

home for the aged when we visited them way back last August
As we know that the building is 90 percent complete

As I see there situation parang sa ating govt na nag karoon ng question sa puso ko ganon nalang ba talaga pag matanda na tapos abandoned?


Lets continue to support the mission and pray for our leaders. In doing this we are storing our treasures in heaven and our father in heaven will continue to reward us.

Team work

Its not about you or me but all of us working together

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV)

If we have to revisit again


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Elementary Truths - Lesson 2

A. Faith toward God 

B. The Doctrine of Baptisms 

A. Faith toward God 

Faith toward God is a natural progression from "repentance from dead works." Whereas our focus of 

attention had been self, now our focus of attention is God. Dead works always interfere with faith 

towards God. We have to "turn from" dead works to enable us to "turn to" God. 

What is faith? 

The word "faith" comes from the Greek word, "pistis," which means "firm persuasion, strong and 

welcome belief; the conviction of the truth of anything." 

Heb. 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

Faith is not the same as believing. Believing is a verb and it is an attitude, a condition of our heart. 

Whereas, faith is a noun, it is a substance, and it is something which is purely divine and given to us 

by God. 

B. Baptism in the Holy Spirit 

Acts 1:8"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be 

witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 

1.The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the key to power in the Christian life. 

It is an essential experience if we are going to forward in the Christian life and fulfill the call and work 

of God for our lives. 

When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes and fills us completely. Remember, 

"Baptism" comes from the Greek word "baptizo", which means total immersion (like a ship being 

sunk). So being baptized in the Holy Spirit means we become completely filled, completely drenched 

by the Spirit. 

One helpful analogy to help us see what the baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplishes in our lives is 

the following. Before we are saved, we are like a man, drowning in the ocean. Our doom is certain 

and we are headed for destruction. At salvation, it is like we are rescued and placed in a lifeboat. We 

are no longer drowning in sin and are no longer subject to imminent death. However, if we only sat 

in a lifeboat in the ocean, we would not be accomplishing anything. The baptism in the Holy Spirit 

then is like being given a motor for our lifeboat. No longer are we simply safe from death; we now 

can go forward with a purpose and accomplish God's will for our lives. 

This power enables us to witness. The Early Church was transformed when the Holy Spirit fell upon 

them. Just a few weeks previous, all the disciples had fled from Jesus when He was about to be 

arrested; Peter had denied Him; Thomas had doubted if He was really risen. After receiving the 

baptism in the Holy Spirit, however, they truly did go into the entire world, preaching the 

resurrection of Christ. Three thousand people were saved on the day the Holy Spirit fell (Acts 2:41). 

It is the same for us today. The baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us great boldness and ability to 

witness. 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit also comes in the form of fire. 

Mat. 3:11 "I indeed baptized you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is 

mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and 

John the Baptist declared that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fire is 

intricately connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He imparts a burning passion in our hearts to 

spread the Gospel and to do His will. The fire of the Holy Spirit is the consuming passion for God's 

presence and zeal to win the lost that overtakes and envelops us. It is God-given, God-breathed, 

God-inspired, and it is comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we will lead a powerless, fireless Christianity. God calls us 

instead to a powerful life in the Spirit, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the first step to getting 

there. 

2.The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Promise from Christ and the Father 

Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until 

you are endued with power from on high." 

Jesus promised His followers they would receive the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy 

Spirit. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they received this power. This promise was to all 

of Christ's followers for all time. 

Acts 2:39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the 

Lord our God will call." 

Where in the Scriptures did the Father make this promise?

Isa. 44:3 – "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My 

Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring." 

The Father is speaking prophetically to Christ in this verse. He promised to pour out His Spirit on 

Christ's descendants. Who are those descendants? The church! We are all to receive this promise 

from the Father. 

Therefore, we see that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all believers, in all time. It was not 

decided by man, but is based on the promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore we know 

without any doubt that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and/or the accompanying gifts was only for a 

limited time, but there is not a single shared of evidence for this position in Scripture. Rather, the 

constant testimony of the Scripture is that the miraculous gifts of the Holy spirit are for all the 

Church, for all time. 

3. How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit 

Like everything in God's Kingdom, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit comes through faith. God desires to 

pour out His Spirit on all His followers, but we must have a receptive heart. 

During the last year of His life, Jesus Himself gave us an outline of qualities we should have in order 

to receive the faith for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit as a river of 

life which would flow out of His people. 

Read: John 7:37 – 39 

There are three steps in receiving the Holy Spirit in this passage: 

1. Thirst – we must have a desire for the Holy Spirit. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

we will be filled (Mat. 5:6) 

2. Come – we need to come to God in our prayers and ask Him for His spirit. 

3. Drink – when the Holy Spirit begins to be poured out to us, we must accept Him. If we reject 

and refuse to drink, we will not receive 

4. The Initial Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit 

The first evidence that we are baptized in the Holy Spirit is speaking in other tongues. Speaking in 

tongues is the experience where we begin speaking a language that we do not know by human 

means. It can be either a heavenly language, or an earthly language that we do not know. Speaking 

in tongues does not come from us, but comes from the Holy Spirit. Our mouth and words are yielded 

to His control. 

I Cor. 14:2-4 "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one 

understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks 

edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he 

who prophesies edifies the church." 

When the Holy Spirit filled the 120 in the upper room, they immediately began speaking in other 

tongues. When they went into the streets, people from all over the nations heard the disciples 

speaking in their own languages. The disciples were speaking of God in languages they themselves 

did not understand. Speaking in tongues was the first outward sign that the 120 had been filled. 

Read: Acts 2:4-12, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:6 

Thus, speaking in tongues should always accompany the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is the outward 

sign that God has completed inward reality of baptism in our lives. 

I Cor. 14:18 – "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all." 

The Apostle Paul practices speaking in tongues on a continual basis. In fact, he declared he spoke in 

tongues more than all the others in the church. His encouragement to believers was that we should 

continue to practice praying in tongues. Paul teaches us more about this in the book of Romans. 

Read: Romans 8:26 

Praying in the Spirit, in unknown tongues, is a way through which the Holy Spirit is able to guide our 

prayers. 

5. Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

After we have filled with the Holy Spirit, from speaking in tongues, we are now open to moving on in 

the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

I Cor. 14:5 – " I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied, for he who 

prophesies Is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church 

may receive edification." 

I Cor. 12:7-10 – "But the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for 

to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the 

same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to 

another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another 

different kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues." 

6. Ongoing Experience 

Eph. 5:18 – "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but filled with the Spirit." 

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is both instantaneous and progressive. In other words, there is a 

moment in time where we are first filled with the Spirit (a one – time experience), but then we 

should we should live a lifestyle of continually being filled. In Ephesians 5:18, the verb translated "be 

filled" actually has the thought of "be being filled continually."

As we progress in our Christian life, we should always seek God for deeper experiences in the Holy 

Spirit. Although, being baptized in the Holy Spirit means we are filled with the Spirit, we can receive 

more as our spiritual capacity is enlarged. We should thus always be filled with more and more of 

the Spirit.

Elementary Truths Lesson 1

A. The Importance of Foundation 

B. Repentance from Dead Works 

"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: "He is 

like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid foundation on the rock. And when the flood 

arose, the stream beat vehemently against the house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on 

the rock. "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a 

foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that 

Scripture speaks of two kinds of foundations: 

 ROCK – Scripture tells us who is our Rock – "For they drank of that spiritual Rock that 

followed them, and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4) 

 SAND – Sand represents many things in life that people build the rest of their lives on. Things 

such as wealth, education, ambition, philosophy, games, sports, humanism, etc. 

"Will you keep to the old way which wicked men have trod, Who were cut down before their time, 

Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?" (Job 22:15-16) 

B. Repentance from Dead Works 

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, 

not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the 

doctrine of baptisms, of laying of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And 

this we will do if God permits." (Hebrews 6:1-3) 

The first foundation truth in our Christian teaching is that of repentance from dead works. It is both 

the first and also a continuing part of the Christian walk. When we first come to Christ, we come in 

repentance of our sins and acknowledging that we need a Savior. Then as Christians we begin our 

Christian foundation with a continuing attitude of repentance from "dead works".

Romans 5:12 – "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, 

and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned –" 

Romans 3:9-10 – "…. Both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin." As it is written: there is none 

Romans 3:23 – "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 

Repentance comes from God. It is a gift. God initiates repentance in us. On our own initiative, we 

would never repent. We should never take it lightly when God comes with conviction and the spirit 

of repentance in our lives. It is His goodness to us that leads to repentance. Repentance is a process 

whereby God changes the way we think about Him, ourselves, others and circumstances of life. 

Romans 2:4 "….. the goodness of God leads you to repentance." 

The word "repent" means to think differently or to reverse a decision. Repentance is a process 

whereby God changes the way we think about Him, ourselves, others and circumstances of life. True 

transformation takes place by changing the way a person thinks. 

Isaiah 55:7-9 – "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return 

to the lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My 

thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. For as the heavens are 

higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." 

Repentance is a divine act whereby someone walking on a pathway of sin changes his mind, turns 

around 180 degrees, and walks in the opposite direction. It is total change in direction and attitude. 

Repentance causes one to walk away from sin and then stay as far away from sin as possible. 

The following are some aspects that are seen in true repentance: 

 Godly sorrow – 2 Corinthians 7:10, Psalms 38:18 

 Confession of sin – Psalms 32:5, I John 1:9 

 Forsaking of sin – Proverbs 28:13 

 Restitution – Luke 19:8, Lev 6:2-5 

 Hatred of sin – Ezekiel 20:43-44, Psalm 97:10 

 There is a worldly repentance, which results from "being caught with your hand in the 

cookie jar". What does this sorrow accomplish? 2 Corinthians 7:10

 Worldly repentance is often an emotional, tearful experience. Did Esau's shedding of tears 

bring repentance? Hebrews 12:16-17 

 Worldly or false repentance is also being sorry for something, which we have done, which 

cannot be changed or undone. It is not enough to be sorry; we have to change our mind and 

life. We see an example of this with Judas in Matthew 27:3-4. 

 Neither is true repentance to be associated with carrying out some special religious rite or 

ordinance, "Doing Penance". 

Saul, the first king of Israel, is a good example of false repentance. God sent Saul to completely 

destroy the Amalekites. But, he did not obey God. When confronted by Samuel, he admitted his sin, 

1 Samuel 15:30 – "Then he said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my 

people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God." 

In short, false / worldly repentance is: - 

 Being sorry for being caught 

 Regretting having done something because of the outcome 

 Being emotionally distraught over the consequences of your actions 

 Doing something to make up for your wrong 

 Saying I was wrong but let's carry on like nothing happened. 

Hebrews 6:1 describes our repentance as being from "dead works". Dead works are works not 

initiated by God. They are devoid of life. Anything that is produced from the fleshly / carnal mind is 

without the life that flows from Christ. When we are not walking in obedience and faith, then we are 

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, an d it was through this that death entered 

into the world. They did was what seemed right to them, but it brought death. For this reason, the 

doctrine of repentance is called "repentance from dead works". Therefore, any works that spring 

from our thinking, produced by the fleshly mind, produces death. 

Galatians 5:19-21 – "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, 

uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish 

ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell 

you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not 

Romans 14:23 – "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith, for 

The gift of repentance begins at new birth, but repentance must continue all the days of our life. As 

we allow God to bring us to repentance, we are being transformed into the image of Christ. 

* Diagram taken from "Changed from Glory to Glory" by Rev. Robert Tucker

Revelation. God takes the initiative to change us. He reveals Himself to us in some manner as He did 

to the prophet Isaiah – Isaiah 6:1-5 

Conviction. God uses circumstances to work in us and show us how our ways are contrary to His. 

The conviction of the Holy Spirit comes and godly sorrow works in us. Emotionally, we may feel we 

are at the lowest point of our lives. 

Repentance. The goodness of God leads us to repentance. We confess and forsake our sin. As God 

changes the way we thinks and act, our sin is blotted out. ( Sin is anything which causes us to miss 

the mark, to come short and wander from the right path.) 

Revival. God is able to refresh us in His presence. We are then able to walk in a greater level of 

After a time, we are ready to return to point A, where the whole process is repeated in our lives by 

God for the next revelation of the Lord that would lead us into a new process of repentance in 

another area of our lives. Thus, we "are changed from glory to glory." 

The Apostle Paul lists 7 fruits of repentance. These are the characteristics of a believer who has truly 

repented and whose heart is on fire for the Lord.2 Corinthians 7:10-11 

 Diligence – the first fruit of repentance. True repentance will produce a diligence that 

ensures that everything in our lives is well pleasing and well ordered before the Lord – 

Hebrews 11:6, Romans 12:11 

 Clearing of yourselves – Ephesians 4:28, Example: Story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 

 Indignation – Repentance will produce a hatred for sin. 

Psalms 45:7. Many people love righteousness but they still do not hate sin and that is why 

their anointing is weak. To see an increase in anointing in your life, you must hate sin. 

Whatever you had a problem with, begin to have indignation against – that is a fruit of 

 Fear – Holiness is perfected in the fear of God. The fear of God is to hate the things that God 

2 Corinthians 7:1 – "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 

all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. 

Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and 

the perverse mouth I hate. 

One of the ways we know that we have truly repented is that we are very fearful of 

displeasing the Lord. We are also very aware of the fact that He is watching us at all times. 

You can just get an awareness that He is just standing there beholding you. 

 Vehement Desire – Repentance will produce a strong desire in your life for holiness. It will 

produce a strong desire to pray. When we find our prayer life lifeless, the reason is that our 

 Zeal – The dictionary defines zeal as being eager or enthusiastic. The zeal that the Apostle 

Paul is referring to in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 is the zeal to want to please God, to make up for 

all the hurt that we have caused Him. When you are truly repentant, you have such a zeal to 

please God and you just want to be careful in your words, thoughts and actions etc. 

Revelation 3:19 – "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." 

 Vindication – The dictionary defines vindication as avenge. When you truly repent, there is 

such a desire to vindicate yourself. However, we must not be mistaken, only God can truly 

The will be such a zealousness to live right with God that any trace of sin in our lives has to be 

removed or we are not going to be happy.

Un-stuff Your Schedule

Do you ever get to the end of your day and think, "Did I accomplish anything?" 
Where does all the time go? 

If you don't master your schedule, it will master you! 

Here are three suggestions from the Bible for reducing the stress of your schedule and increasing the margin: 

Line up your priorities -- Obviously, you don't have time to do everything, so you must make choices. You must decide what's really important and what isn't. 

Take some time to consider the direction of your life. The Bible says, "An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions" (Proverbs 17:24 GNT); "It is stupid to waste time on useless projects" (Proverbs 12:11 GNT); "We should make plans - counting on God to direct us" (Proverbs 16:9 LB). 

Lighten up your attitude -- Do you really have to do everything on your to-do list? No one is forcing you; a lot of stress is self-imposed. 

The Bible says, "Worry weighs us down . . ." (Proverbs 12:25 MSG); "A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life" (Proverbs 14:30 LB); "Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time" (Proverbs 17:22 GNT). 

Look up to God -- Stress is always a warning light that you've taken your focus off God and are looking at your problems from your limited viewpoint. 

I believe the single greatest cause of stress is this: We take ourselves too seriously and we don't take God seriously enough!

We shall take account for what we sow

   If there is one certainty in life it is that we shall reap what we sow. Moreover, we shall reap in accordance to that which we have sown. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

   Those who sow evil things will reap them. In the book of Esther, Haman devised an evil plot to have Mordecai, a godly man, hanged. The plot was exposed and Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. He learned a lesson, albeit too late, that "what goes around comes around!"

   Those who are intolerant of the views of the others, seem the most irritated when their views are not tolerated. "What goes around comes around."

   Those who are impatient with others, seem the most disgruntled when others complain that they themselves act too slow. "What goes around comes around."

   Those who are insensitive to the needs of the poor or elderly, are among the first to complain when they themselves appear neglected. "What goes around comes around."

   Those who steal from others, seem to cry the loudest when someone steals from them. "What goes around comes around!"

   Those who stab others in the back, die a slow death when they become the victims of their own ways. "What goes around comes around!"

   Those who pass up a person in distress along the way, complain the loudest when they themselves are passed up. "What goes around comes around."

   The tragedy of evil deeds is that we do them also unto Christ. In Matthew 25:40 He reminds us that what we have done to the "least of these" we have done also to Him. 

   "What goes around, comes around."

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