Fruitfulinsuffering

God Has Made Me Fruitful in the Land of My Suffering

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In the sermon, Pastor Walker spoke about the story of Joseph through Genesis 41. Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and a favored son who was sold into slavery in Egypt but eventually rose to prominence as the interpreter of Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph’s trials, temptations, and sufferings, including being in jail, showed his determination to stay pure and true to God. Despite the difficulties, God used Joseph’s circumstances to deliver his messages and Joseph was able to remain faithful, pure, and persevere, allowing him to be in the right place at the right time to fulfill God’s purposes. This serves as an example for us to learn from, reminding us to remain faithful, pure, and persevere, so that we can better understand the messages God is trying to convey in our lives.

Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream about 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine, and guidance to prepare for the famine. Joseph was able to interpret God’s Will because he was pure, not asleep in sin, and in tune with God and the message and guidance. Joseph’s deep relationship and understanding of God’s will allow him to accurately interpret the dream and gain wisdom from God. By being faithful to God’s will and surrendering to Him like clay to a potter, Joseph was carried through all his experiences, both good and bad, and God was able to fulfill His purpose.

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt and he solved the famine problem during 7 years of abundance by storing grain. God used Joseph’s difficult circumstances to further His purposes and bless others. Joseph’s name choice for his children shows that God can help us forget our past troubles and make us fruitful in a way that blesses others. To be like Joseph and have victory, we need to remain pure and faithful, store up spiritual food (the Word), and trust in God’s power. The victory of Joseph resonates with the victory of Jesus on the cross and can be experienced by us now.

May we always remain faithful to God and become victors like Joseph, no matter the circumstances of joy and hardship, as God is the one who overturns everything and gives us victory.

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sermon_strongcour

Be strong and Courageous

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In the sermon, Pastor Walker explained how the book of Joshua begins with the passing of leadership from Moses to Joshua, after 40 years in the desert following the Red Sea crossing. The Israelites were unable to enter the Promised Land due to their disobedience and lack of faith. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who had faith, but the other ten leaders with their bad report caused the Israelites to fall into despair. The lesson is that anger, disobedience, and lack of faith won’t get us to the finish line and prevent us from receiving God’s glory.

God gives encouragement to Joshua as he becomes the new leader of the Israelites. He commands him to be strong and courageous, keep the Law, and not turn to the right or left. God’s presence is with Joshua, guiding him straight. The Israelites wandered aimlessly for 40 years, but God was always with them, providing for their needs and giving them guidance. This reminds us that we need God in our walk of faith and should trust in His Word as our foundation, which provides guidance and wisdom in times of uncertainty.

Joshua’s firm faith can be understood in light of the parable of the two sons, helping us understand the importance of authentic faith in leadership. It is not enough to simply obey outwardly while having doubts inwardly. Rather, leaders must have genuine faith and show positivity even in difficult situations. The parable in Matthew emphasizes the importance of following through on one’s commitments, even if the path seems hard. Ultimately, Jesus provides an example of true strength and courage in faith through his obedient walk towards the Kingdom of God.

The faith of Joshua reminds us to have strength and courage to finish the task as God is guiding us towards Kingdom of God.

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easter

He Has Risen

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In the sermon, pastor Walker spoke about the resurrection of the Jesus. Comparing the recording in Matthew with Paul’s explanation on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Pastor Walker exhorted the members to live with faith and power of resurrection in their lives.

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isanythingtoohard

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord 

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In the sermon, Pastor Walker spoke about how Abraham received a great blessing from God through three visitors and strangers. Abraham served them generously and lavishly. We see that Abraham was simply a person of love towards others, faithfully believing that God always blesses. Indeed, God did reveal himself through these strangers and they gave him great blessing.

This blessing was that his wife Sarah would have a child, even though she was an advanced age. In that culture, not having an heir was as if life itself was cut off. Yet, God made the impossible situation possible. It’s something that God has been doing since impossibly creating this universe out of nothing. He also showed us the impossible by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. God makes impossible possibilities happen.

For us, we believe in Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit with us. Just like for Abraham, God would reveal himself to us in great ways. If there is a great goal, hope, and blessing for us, He would give us great ideas. These ideas wouldn’t just be from human thoughts, but we should scale up and think towards what God can fulfill. May we respond to the impossible possibilities that God has for us with faith and joyful hope.

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Crucifix cross at sunset background, crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Mark 7 Ephphatha! Be Opened

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng explained the meaning of the deaf and mute man as it relates to us. In the sinful world, we live in confined, unclear situations in our life. We don’t listen to God, nor do we speak to Him. Also living in this world, we want to be heard, but we can’t because we are in the confined situations we are.

The Lord healed the deaf and mute man by first taking him away from the crowd. Then, the Lord got up close and personal, touching his ear and tongue. Then he woke the man up by shouting “Ephphatha! Be Opened!”. We too, need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and be up close and personal with him. We must hear the words of the Lord that are waking us up from our confined situation and unclear life. God created us out of love, to have a two-way communication with him. Faith is not just God talking to us or us talking to God, but it is a relationship of love.

Finally, the Lord told the crowds not to speak about what happened, which seems hypocritical in this miracle. But the reason why is that many followed just the miracle and weren’t sharing the true good news of God’s love. If we do have lips to speak, we shouldn’t speak of worldly things, but we must speak by the Holy Spirit as it has loosened our tongue. It is about testifying the good news of salvation of Jesus Christ.

May our ears be opened to hear the truth and our tongues be loosened to share the name of Jesus Christ to the world.

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Harvest Is plentiful But Workers Are Few

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about the important moment in time now to evangelize and bring in many souls. The 3-fold ministry of Jesus which was teaching, preaching, and healing and this is a ministry we must all emulate. The Lord called his 12 disciples to follow in this ministry, so we must be those disciples. Disciples are the ones who bring others to the Lord.

In sending out his disciples, he gave a long teaching to them. He told them to go to the lost sheep of Israel, continuing on the history of God. He told them to preach about God’s Kingdom as we must do as well. He also told them to live relying on God, which speaks to us to not live money-centered. The work of evangelism is blessing others, we are giving the gift of eternal life. If some don’t accept that gift, the Lord comforted us saying that the peace and blessing returns back to us.

The Lord further comforted us by explaining how many will persecute and go against God’s work. However, all sin and evil will be revealed and judged. There is a final judgment that the Lord spoke to us about. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ, can take comfort in God’s sovereignty which protects and cares for all. Therefore, even though many may oppose us, even our families, we should continue forth to gain rewards in heaven. The greatest rewards are for those who evangelize and save lost souls.

May the members of Gratia Church be the ones to bring in many lost souls of the harvest to faith in Jesus Christ and the glory of God’s Kingdom.

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Esther-and-Mordecai-1024x576

Esther 2-8 Esther and Mordecai

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng shared the story of Esther and Mordecai, how by God’s grace, Esther became queen to the powerful King of Persia. However, one of the King’s wicked advisors plotted against the Jewish people, because of his hatred towards Mordecai, who was Esther’s cousin. Esther was asked to plead to the King, but she was afraid that approaching the King without permission could be death. However, Mordecai encouraged her saying that perhaps she was placed in the royal position as Queen for such a time as this. It is a message that speaks to us, whom God has prepared by His providence in the time, place, and position I am now.

Esther answered with faith, listening to Mordecai, and heeding to God’s Will. Her famous words were “If I perish, I perish”. Her fear turned into faith and trust in God. She now understood that her life was only meaningful in God’s Will. What kind of fears to we have living in this world? Perhaps we try to “play it safe” and not risk ourselves. Apostle Paul said to live is Christ and to die is gain. It speaks to how our life is meaningless in the world and meaningful only is the bigger context of God’s Will. If we perish, we perish, but we still believe in God’s great power to bring resurrection.

Afterwards, Esther appeared before the King and by God’s grace was accepted. Then through a series of events, Haman was executed. Later, Mordecai and the Jewish people were lifted up. This is how God works so mysteriously in the background. When everything seemed to be going against the Jews, and even genocide was imminent, God worked to turn the situation around. This is God’s faithfulness towards the ones who live righteously by faith. As Christians, we also do not fear death and have faith in God who has the power of resurrection.

May we be guided by the Holy Spirit in our lives, believing in the power of the resurrection, and live for God’s glory and Kingdom.

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whatfaithcando

Jesus Walks on Water – What Faith Can Do?

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke the wind and the waves that may rock our lives. It makes us realize we are not in control and the unknown feeling puts us in fear and anxiety. However, faith is understanding that God is sovereign and in control of this world and He does not leave us alone. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, but he actually came by walking on water. In the same way, God doesn’t just come to us mystically, but He helps us practically and tangibly in our lives.

Peter also does something amazing by walking on water as well. It shows that he has love and courage and was willing to change his thinking. Peter would not have been able to walk on water if he didn’t get out of the boat in the first place. It’s the same with us, in order to have the miracle of walking on water, we need to get out of the boat that we are stuck in. This is about changing our hearts and relying on God is in control and helps us walk on water.

What started off as love and courage, however, ended up with doubt in Peter and he fell when he saw the winds. Doubt is being double-minded, while faith is being single-minded and having simple obedience to the Lord. At no time does the Lord shake, he is in complete control even amidst the wind and the waves. We must have faith in order to go straight and continue on absolutely.

That being said, Peter’s story doesn’t end badly, because he did have faith in the salvation of the Lord. He said, “Lord, save me” and Jesus did reach out his hand and save Peter. Faith in salvation is the basic Christian faith. Without faith in salvation, who would ever go beyond their boundaries? However, Peter got out of the boat, he walked on water, fell in doubt, but was saved by the Lord in faith. This kind of dynamic life is one that we must live as well for the Kingdom, trusting in God who saves us.

We are all limited, but may we all be the ones who walk on water like the Lord, and follow him in faith.

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The Parable of the Ten Minas

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng explained how the minas represents time. While it may seem that God gives us each different amounts of time in our life, this is not a quantitative measure of time, but a qualitative measure of time. In God’s eternity and love, He gives us all our own individual time and treats us in this time in the same way.

This treatment of time is that God gives us a responsibility, a purpose to use that time. Although God is almighty in His providence and sovereignty, taking responsibility for all things in our lives and for the Kingdom, we still have a responsibility in our time. It is to receive God’s purpose in our life joyfully with love because He is the loving God.

The final servant regarded God in a “hard” way, pessimistic, cynical, and lawful. The logical conclusion to this heart is due judgment. Rather, may we receive the time and responsibility we’ve been given by God joyfully. God will allow us to bear fruits and allow our lives glory.

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Luke 18:9-14.

The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

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In the sermon, Pastor Tzeng spoke about the prayer of the Pharisee which tried to use outward actions to gain righteousness before God. However, we cannot gain peace by our own actions compared to others. It may temporarily ease us to compare ourselves to others, but even the richest and most powerful people have anxiety and lack of peace. This is because our peace only comes from God.

The prayer of tax collector had radical sincerity in it. We can compare this prayer to the calling of Matthew, the tax collector, who Jesus reached out to with radical love. A sincere person will pray to God with a sincere posture like the tax collector did. Jesus himself prayed in this way, with struggling sincerity at Gethsemane.

Whether it is the prayer of the Pharisee or tax collector, we find that we are all completely limited. Even in the heart of trying to be humble, we can be prideful at the same time. Therefore, it’s not as if we can resolve self-righteousness and pride on our own. We need the grace of God from above and that is accepting the love of Jesus on the cross.

May we have the faith in God’s love that is completely beyond us and be sincere in our relationship with Him.

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