Message Outline 19th Mar 2006

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit – Part 1

The often neglected Third Person of the Holy Trinity

A We shall have a look from 2 angles
1.The Apostle Creed – it dates from very early times in the Church, a half century or so from the last writings of the New Testament.
2. The Bible from Old to New Testament

“The Apostle Creed”
•I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
•Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
•He descended to the dead.
•The third day He arose again from the dead.
•He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
•I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
•Amen.

What does the Holy Spirit does? I will use C.R.E.A.T.E as an easy acronym as we search th scriptures...

1. The Holy Spirit was fully involved in Creation & bestows Creativity

•Creation - Genesis1: 2 He was involved in the Creation! Then The Holy Spirit was mentioned again and again in the OT.

•Bestows Creativity - Exodus 31:1 “Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. “

2. The Holy Spirit Restores and Revives
• The Holy Spirit was fully involved in a the fledgling chosen Nation of Israel.

In Numbers 11:25 He took the Spirit on Moses & distributed among the 70 elders.

•In the book of Judges – The Holy Spirit revives the fledgling nation whne theywere oppresed as they forsake God and "did evil in the eyes of the Lord"
•Judges 3:10 - Othniel
•Judges 6:34 – Gideon
•Judges 11:29 – Jephthah
•Judges 13-15 - Samson

3. The Holy Spirit Empowers
Periods of the Judges to Monarchy
•1Sam 10:1, 5-7 – Saul was empower to prophesy in the prophetic worship service – the y pull out all their musical instruments.
•The miracle working prophets – eg Elijah & Elisha, then the writing prophets – major & minor.

4. - The Holy Spirit Anoints
Anoints the Priests - Exodus 30:25 "Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil – anoints the priest."

•Anoints the Kings - Eg King Saul & King David and most other kings – Oil is a symbols of the Holy Spirit – healing, soothing, fragrance and odour, light giving etc.

•1 Samuel 10:1- "Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?"


5. The Holy Spirit Teaches
•Through the teaching prophets & prophecy
•Through revelations, signs and wonders
•The last of the OT Prophets – Major or minor – eg Ezekiel, Joel, Zechariah, Malachi etc
•The Spirit that bring revival and sustain the remnants!
In the New Testement - The Holy Spirit will testify and glorify Jesus


6. The Holy Spirit Enlightens

•Isaiah 11 - 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

•Joel 2:28 "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.

Application & take home message
•The Holy Spirit is God of CREATION
•C – Let us worship and adore the creator
•R – Look to Him for restoration & revival
•E – Ask Him to empower us for ministry
•A – Seek to be anointed to serve
•T – He will teach us & points us to Christ
•E – He will enlightens us with revelations

There are much more…….. Part 2 coming soon......

Vision Sunday - 12th Mar 06 - message outline

Vision Sunday

What kind of a church shall we be?

A. Our core beliefs and values
The 3 Cs
Christ-centeredness – Jesus is our center – NOT a person, a family or tradition
Culture of affirmation – presence of Faith, Hope and Love. A faith to believe God will do great and mighty things even though we may or may not see it.
Christ-like Character - integrity, love for God and passion for souls, righteousness, grace and mercy etc

B. What sort of a church are we?
Some core beliefs
The authority of the Scriptures
The doctrine of salvation, Heaven & Hell.
The doctrine of the Trinity - God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The eternal judgment and second coming of Christ

C. Core Values - expanded
Beside Biblical integrity, we have the following core values.
1.Courage & Faith.
2.Excellence but yet not being perfectionistic.
3.Faithfulness.
4.Generosity.
5. Innovative.
6. Kingdom Oriented.
7. Pragmatic & Common sense
8. Servanthood.
9. Spirit-led.
10. Integrity and accountability.

D. Desire Characters – The "Soul" of our Church
Gene Getz – in his book "The measure of a Church" stated these basic characteristics: We would strive for as a church:-
Honesty
Self-control
Ethical behavior
Generosity
Wholesome talk
Lack of Bitterness
A spirit of forgiveness
Morality

These qualities are repeated in all of the Epistles of Paul to the church in Corinth, Thesalonica, Galatia, Colossee, The Prison Epitles, Peter's letter, and The book of Hebrews - see the concluding remakrs in Chapters 12 & 13

E. Some key emphasis that will help us get there – the 4 Ws
WORSHIP - Awed by His glory – a real community of faith is a community of worship.
WEEP - Prayer & Intercession – "if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…" (2 Chronicles 7:14) Mourn for the lost, mourn, for so few are mourning.
WORD - Knowing and Living the word
WORKS - making service our lifestyles, a manifestation of our love to the Lord.

F. Conclusion : Let us get Practical & Realistic
1. The church exists to win the lost for Christ. Let each of us try to reach one person per year. Ask for one, put in some action, pray for the person unceasingly.
2. The soul of our church – obedient to the Great Commandment & Great commission!
3. Spiritual Health and Culture is more important than mere numbers - Help us fulfill it! You are the answer! It can and it will happen here!
4. When we dare to ask, and ask for the right things – God will answer!

Message outline 5th Mar 06

The Map



Restoring Your First Love - by Pastor Tong

Text: Revelations 2 :1-7

1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The pattern of the Letters to the Seven churches

1. Address: To angel of the Church in……..’
2. Attribute: These are the words of him…
3. Approval: I know your deeds…..
4. Accusations: Yet I hold this against you
5. Advice: ‘…or else I will come and...
6. Assurance: To him who over comes, I will
7: Appeal: ‘…let him hear what the Spirit says….’

Love is like a cough... you cannot hide it....

Our first love can diminish due to complacency, passage of time and pure neglect....

We are not only called to persevere and be faithful, we must rekindle the first love for the Lord.