The Word Made Flesh

Sis Melinda Song

In the book Stewarding Christmas, author Scott Rodin pointed out that “the Incarnation is the greatest event in the history of the human race!”

As we approach Christmas I would like us to take a closer look at the Incarnation.

Text: John 1:1-3, 14, 18

A. WHAT IS THE INCARNATION?

Like the Trinity, the Incarnation is an essential doctrine of the Church. Like the Trinity, the word "Incarnation" does not occur in the Bible. It is a word which has been coined to express the idea of Jesus Christ coming to earth in human form.

It comes from the Latin words "in," which has the same meaning as our English word "in," and "carnis," which means "flesh." Flesh is the solid part of our being, the part that we can see and touch, in contrast to our mind, soul, and spirit.

The word is a Latin term that literally means "the act of being made flesh." This Latin term was used in John 1:14, which speaks of Jesus who "became flesh and dwelt among us."

Throughout human history, good men and women have been deified. In mythology, it is not uncommon for gods take on human form and walk among man. BUT there is nothing in fact or in fiction in the history of man which matches the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Humanly speaking, no one anticipated God’s coming as baby born in a humble manger. We would expect God to appear on earth like Mr Bean or Terminator-style. Even the Jews who were looking for the Messiah did not expect him to come in this way.

John 1:1-3, 14, NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Our God is a God who speaks. Christ was called “the Word,” “the Word of Life” and “the Word of God.” The LORD God who has spoken in times past has revealed Himself fully in the coming of His Son.

John declares Jesus as fully God in John 1:1-3.

 •    “In the beginning” - The virgin conception and birth in Bethlehem does not mark the beginning of the Son of God. Rather, it marks the eternal Son entering physically into our world and becoming one of us. Jesus was pre-existent before all things. He was “in the beginning with God” (v.2) and He created all things (v. 3). Compare with Genesis 1:1.

Jesus himself declared “before Abraham was, I am” (John 5:58)

•    “the Word was with God” - John affirms Jesus’ separate personality. An awareness of a diversity within the Godhead.

•    “the Word was God” – Jesus was fully God. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)

John declares Jesus as fully human.

•    The Word became flesh (v.14)

Galatians 4:4-7, NKJV

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 

The Gnostics denied that Jesus was truly a human being. Yet the Apostle John verified “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14) by the fact that the eyewitnesses of Jesus had heard, seen and touched Him (1 John 1:1-3).

John even went so far as to assert that these heretical Gnostics were false prophets in the spirit of the antichrist when they denied that Jesus had “come in the flesh” (1 John 4:1-3).

B. UNDERSTANDING THE INCARNATION

Philippians 2:5-7, NKJV

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 

Jesus did not give up any of his divinity in the incarnation. Christ “was not now God minus some elements of his deity, but God plus all that he had made his own by taking manhood to himself.” (Packer). Thus, Jesus did not give up any of his divine attributes at the incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if he were to ever give up any of his divine attributes, he would cease being God.

Jesus veiled His glory as a sign of his humility. He voluntarily makes Himself of no reputation. He sets aside His high position and waives His divine prerogatives because He loves us. But while Christ surrenders His divine glory, he does not surrender His divine attributes.

The Incarnation teaches that the eternal Logos (Word), the second person of the Trinity, without diminishing His deity took to Himself a fully human nature. Specifically, this doctrine teaches that a full and undiminished divine nature, and a full and perfect human nature were inseparably united in the one historical and divine person of Jesus of Nazareth. 

C. MISUNDERSTANDING THE INCARNATION

Theologians have grappled with the mind-boggling concept of our Lord being both fully God and fully man at the same time. Millard Erickson identified the following 6 Christological heresies in his book Christian Theology (Baker, 1985):

Heresies Regarding Christ’s Deity

•     Heresies which deny the genuineness of Christ’s deity: Ebionism

Jesus was human but possessed of unusual gifts through God’s power that descended on him in a special way at his baptism.

•     Heresies which deny the completeness of Christ’s deity: Arianism

They believed that the Word was a created being, though the first and highest created being. He was a demigod, an intermediate being, not God (this is the theology of modern-day Jehovah’s Witnesses).

Heresies Regarding Christ’s Humanity

•     Heresies which deny the genuineness of Christ’s humanity: Docetism

Jesus was a hologram. He only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but really he was a pure spirit and so could not die.

•     Heresies which deny the completeness of Christ’s humanity: Apollinarianism

Jesus had a human body and soul, but a divine mind.

Heresies which divide Christ’s person: Nestorianism

Jesus was two “persons” – Jesus the human son of Mary and Jesus the divine Son of God - rendering him somewhat schizophrenic.

Heresies which confuse Christ’s natures: Eutychianism

Jesus’s nature was a hybrid of divine and human, and therefore a third, altogether new nature.

Jesus’ apostles were Jewish monotheists; nevertheless they were convinced that in Jesus Christ of Nazareth they had encountered none other than God in human flesh. 

The doctrine of the Incarnation is the result of the Christian church’s sustained and critical reflection upon the overwhelming Scriptural evidence that Jesus is indeed both God and man. 

D. THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION

Like the Trinity, the incarnation is often considered to be logically incoherent.

1 Timothy 3:16, NKJV

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.

How do we understand the mystery of the Incarnation itself?

Mystery is theology's label for any divine reality that we know is actual (because the Bible tells us so) while not knowing how it is possible (since it outstrips our minds). We know it by faith, taking God's Word for it, and see it as above (but not against) reason. The Trinity, God's sovereignty over human freedom, and our union with the risen Christ in new birth are examples. So is the incarnation of the Son of God.

Deuteronomy 29:29, NKJV

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Isaiah 55:8-9, NKJV

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

The things that are of God are far beyond the capabilities of our finite mind to comprehend, much less explain.  We have to leave room for the mysteries of God in order for God to be God.

E. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INCARNATION

1.    The Incarnation reveals the humility of our Servant King

Jesus is no typical king. Jesus didn’t come to be served. Instead, Jesus came to serve (Mark 10:45). His humility was on full display from the beginning to the end, from Bethlehem to Golgotha. Paul glories in the humility of Christ that “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8).

2. The Incarnation fulfils prophecy

The incarnation was predicted in the Old Testament and in accordance with God’s eternal plan. Perhaps the clearest text predicting the Messiah would be both human and God is Isaiah 9:6: “To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah prophesied that a son is to be born with extraordinary names that point to his deity. And taken together they point to him being the God-man, Jesus Christ.

3.    The Incarnation is necessary for salvation   

The Son of God came in the flesh in order to be the Saviour of mankind. First, it was necessary to be born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4). All of us have failed to fulfill God’s Law. Christ came in the flesh, under the Law, to fulfill the Law on our behalf (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:5).

Secondly, the shedding of blood is necessary for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). A blood sacrifice, of course, requires a body of flesh and blood.

If Jesus were only divine, or like an angel, He would not be flesh and blood. Only because He took on human flesh could He be the sacrifice to atone for our sins (Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:38). 

An early church father, Gregory of Nazianzus, said, “That which was not assumed is not healed.” By that, he meant that had Jesus not taken on (assumed) human flesh, our sins would not be forgiven (healed). Because Jesus did take on human flesh, lived a sinless life (Heb. 4:15) and offered His sinless life on the cross of Calvary, He can provide forgiveness, atonement, salvation and eternal life for us (Rom. 5:1-21).

Without the Incarnation, Christ could not really die, and the cross is meaningless.

4.    The Incarnation shows the love of God for us

The Incarnation reveals a God who loves us so much that He came to earth and took on a human form on our behalf, ultimately to give up His life to pay for our sins and offer us eternal life with Him (John 3:16).

5.    The Incarnation reveals a God who is both transcendent and immanent

He is different from us, free of our frailties and, at the same time, like us, deeply aware of our struggles, attuned to our needs, in our skin.

A god who is only transcendent is incapable of loving us.  A god who is just like us may care, but is incapable of delivering us. A god who is both transcendent and immanent is the only kind of God who can help us: different enough to be capable of saving us — enough like us to understand our needs.  Both are necessary to the Christian message.

ILLUSTRATION: There was once a man who didn't believe in the Incarnation and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes mocked her faith and her religious observances.

One snowy morning around Christmas time, she was taking the children to a church service. She pleaded with him to come, but he firmly refused. He ridiculed the idea of the incarnation of Christ and dismissed it as nonsense. "Why would God lower himself and become a human like us?! It's such a ridiculous story!" He said. So she and the children left to worship while he stayed home.

After they left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As he looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. Another thump. He looked through the window but couldn't see. So, he ventured outside. In the field near his house he saw a strange sight: a flock of geese! They had apparently been flying south to a warmer climate when they got caught in the snow storm. The snow had become too blinding and the wind too violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They fluttered their wings and flew around the field in circles blindly and aimlessly.

The man had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm." He tried many things to get them to go into the barn. In frustration, he went over and tried to run after them and chase them toward the barn. They only got scared and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter.

Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me! Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm! How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them!" He thought for a moment and realized that they just won't follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them! Then I could save them! They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

Then he began to understand the Incarnation... We are like the geese -- blind, gone astray, perishing. God became like us so He could show us the way and make a way available to save us. That is the meaning of the Incarnation, he realized in his heart.

Jesus is Emmanuel — God with us.

•     It means that God is on our side. He is not a distant deity, judging us from heaven. He made himself weak and vulnerable. He is infinitely above us, but he came alongside us.

•     It means that God identifies with and understands us. The Creator entered into His own creation and participated in humanity along with the rest of us. Jesus experienced the challenges of growing up (Luke 2:42) and of being tempted (Matt. 4:1-11, Heb. 4:15). He knows what it means to be hungry (Matt. 4:2, 21:18; Mark 11:13; Luke 4:2) and thirsty (John 4:7, 19:28).

The author of Hebrews writes, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things. . . . For because he himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:14).

Hebrews 4:15 says, "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are – yet was without sin."

E. THERE IS A MAN IN HEAVEN TODAY

One of the lesser-known biblical doctrines concerns Jesus as a man right now. Jesus did remain a man, is still a man today, and will remain a man for eternity. 

Many do not know that right now in heaven Jesus is a man though in a glorified body.  He forever joined our humanity to his divinity and for all eternity will be fully God and fully man.

1 Timothy 2:5, NKJV

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

In Philippians 3:20–21, Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Jesus didn’t shed his human skin. He still has a body—a “glorious body,” a perfected human body, a body like we haven’t yet experienced but one day will experience when he transforms us.

F. CONCLUSION

It was a quiet Saturday morning on March 5, 1994 at the Salt Lake City Library as eighty people quietly watched a Tibetan sand-painting ceremony. Then suddenly, a bearded man carrying a handgun and a bomb leapt onto a table. 

"Don't anybody leave! Don't anyone go anywhere! I've got a bomb!" he shouted, waving his .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun. 

Stunned and confused, people began screaming. 

The gunman, Clifford Draper, then began clearing the room. Hearing the commotion in the library room next door was Lt. Lloyd Prescott, who was teaching a class for police officers. As he stepped into the hallway he noticed a gunman herding 18 hostages into a room. With a flash of insight, Prescott, who was dressed in street clothes, joined the group as the nineteenth hostage. 

There was a five-hour standoff. Then the gunman began making preparations to execute one of the hostages. 

At this, Prescott sprang to his feet, identified himself and shouted, "Everybody hit the floor!" The plainclothes officer then fired five shots at the gunman and subdued him. 

One of the hostages was Michael Greer, who said, "I do believe Lloyd Prescott is a hero. Part of being a hero was his absolute humanity."

God dressed himself in street clothes of this world and joined us who are being held hostage to sin. On the cross, Jesus Christ defeated Satan and freed us from the power of sin. Are you grateful for Christ's becoming a man and dying for your sins? Today in prayer, praise Christ for His selfless, heroic act and freeing us from sin's power.

Jesus is our Emmanuel. He is God with us. Let us rejoice and know that He walks alongside us in all our circumstances.

Many thanks to Sis Melinda for her sermon notes.

SaveSave

Walk with Faith

Pastor Peter Soratana

In Psalms 119:105, your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light on my path.

Nowadays we may not use torchlight. In Thailand we use street lamps and car light as we travel. There are lights all over the city and it's bright. Sometimes we rely so much on the lamp post that we did not realise our headlights are not working. Only in darkness do we realise the headlights are not working. Without the headlights we cannot move on.

The word of God is like that light. Many times we can still go on with our lives because we rely on the street lamps in the cities. When we are in the dark, then we realise we need the light from the word.

There was one time I needed to travel from Bangkok to a place that's dark in the mountains. It's the first time we went there. We started to question the villagers how to get there. They gave directions but the best is to stay overnight. But I needed to leave because I needed to preach the next day.

The way became darker and darker and we relied on the headlights. The road has lots of bends so we had to move slowly. Near midnight it was full of fog and we could not see. The headlights shined on the fog so we cannot see the way. So we used fog lights. The moment we on the fog light, the light became so bright we could see the way.

Apart from the word of God that we rely on, we also need a special word from God so that we can break through the fog. We cannot just rely on our knowledge but based on the word of God through the relationship we have with God. It's the word of God through our experience. Something we can pull from our heart and apply it.

We sometimes just open the Bible when in trouble to look for the word of God. And we can't find it. At the end of the sermon I will call on a person to share his testimony. I want to tell you problems exist not just to war against the Christians but also everyone. Health, relationship, finance, problems in school which attacks us. Problems come with sin. Because everyone sin and fall short of the glory of God. Those who fall in sin are slaves to the sin. And there's no way to escape the sin that strangles you.

A lot of people try to be a good person to escape from sin. Or try all kinds of things. Like accumulate a lot of money to break free from sin. Some people try by going to certain places or worship idols. Or be involved in charity to break free from sin. Everything that belongs to the slave belongs to the master. All the goodness the slave does belongs to the master. So all the good things the slave does cannot break free from the master. But there is a higher power and we need this higher power to buy you out.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

All of you have been bought from sin and all of you have been bought from the master. God uses his status as King of kings to buy you out. But nobody seems to realise that and still act like a slave. Some change from Buddhism to Christianity but still live as a slave. God has bought you with the high price in Jesus Christ. God bought you expecting nothing in return. So how should you respond? Just believe in what God has done for you. God has bought and paid for you so you are no longer a slave.

Sickness belongs to a slave. Fighting with one another belongs to a slave. We don't have to fight each other. God has enough gifts for everyone so no need to be jealous of anyone.

We often have enemies surrounding us. Like receiving a letter of termination. There are different sorts of problems but it's how we response to these problems. We may respond with worries. And do not know how to handle the problem. Or you go to a doctor and is told you have a problem and we believe what the doctors say. And believe what is happening to us. Or you read a letter and and is told your son's application to a school is rejected. We respond with shock. This is the response in the example of 1King 6. Or blame the servant of God. And refuse to accept our mistakes but blame others.

In 2 Chronicles King Jehoshaphat faced the same problem when surrounded by enemies. But King Jehoshaphat seek help from God. A different kind of response from two different kings.

I'd like to invite my wife Pinky. We have been together 9 years. God is alive and he's been dealing with our problems all these years. When Pinky was pregnant three months, the doctors told us all is well and it's a boy. 95%. So we decided to name our life child as Peniel, the face of God. Someone that God will use in future. At the 4th month we consulted the doctor again and we found something's wrong. The kidney of the baby is not working. The left side is bigger and the right side is smaller than normal. Both kidneys are not working. The doctor told us to abort and that he will pay for all the bills.

He wanted to send us to KL and to provide us accommodation apart from paying for the bill. Everything seemed like a blessing because all will be paid and we were told we can try again. But we trust in God. He promised that he will bless us and it will not come with sorrow. And the child is a blessing. God will take care of it and we believed. The doctor say he won't take care of us anymore and told us to consult another doctor. We believed that when we come for an ultrasound all will be normal. But the second doctor told us the same diagnosis as the first doctor.

Many people may respond and say this had to be true because both doctors said the same things. But not us. We consulted a third doctor at Island Hospital and God blessed us with someone who sponsored us. We hoped for a change but it was the same. Both kidneys not working. And the doctor said he will do the abortion. It seems right because we can do it here instead of KL. But no, we trusted in God. If we trust in God we will continue to walk with him. It's like driving the car without a headlight. We believe God will help us to turn the situation into good.

So we decided to consult the 4th doctor and we found a Christian doctor. We had to go to Butterworth and after the ultrasound, the same thing, both kidneys not working. But the doctor didn't say abort. He said we can trust God and not worry but to praise him.

We consulted the same doctor the 5th time which was the same result. We came to church and some people felt sympathy and some were negative like that we were not good servants of God. Must be the punishment of God. So some wanted us to return back to Thailand and they will take over the ministry. We still love them and forgive them. But what they told us was contradictory but we tell people about our child and all is good.

We felt pressurised by church members to move back to Thailand. But we had to be strong and appear cheerful as it will affect the health of the baby. But we didn't receive the love and support from the surrounding but we have God. Every morning we praise God and we put our hands on the child and prayed that through his stripes Peniel will have life and will be born strong. We spoke goodness on our child. We did not let the ultrasound play on our mind.

We believed that the child will be healthy and strong. If you believe you will see greater things. At 7 months during the usual check up, everything was still the same despite the prayers and trust. But our faith still remains and we believe in God that this blessing will not come with sorrow. We did not believe in what we see. We continued to put our hands on the child.

Some people will give up after 7 months because nothing have changed. But we continue to trust God because God will not fail. God will accomplish what he desires.

On the 8th month the doctor examined and there was a smile on the face of the doctor and he said God has changed the situation. The big kidney became normal and the smaller kidney became bigger and was working. And the doctor say 2 more weeks for delivery. Because the child is big at 3 kilos and is good to deliver on 8 and a half month.

When we arrived to church we were questioned again. If we still want to remain in this church and still want to deliver, they will not pay for anything. When delivery came we only had RM50. We went to BM and was clueless. Those called to the counter paid the deposit and went for delivery. We did not know there was a deposit needed. We just trusted God to provide.

When the nurse called and we went to the counter, she told us to go to the labour room without asking for a deposit. The nurse asked if we wanted 4 bedded or single. To save cost we asked for 4 bedded room but she said 4 bedded full so we had to take the single room with only RM50.

And she asked what milk we wanted and we had no idea. She showed us the most expensive milk. We only had RM50. In the room, a Thai lady asked us if we had money to pay for the bill we said we only have RM50. She said you'll be here 3 days so she said she'll loan us and transfer some money. But the Bible says we will not be a debtor so we said no. As the lady said she wanted to lend us the money a message came in to Pinky's phone and a church member sent a message to congratulate us, told me to take a good rest and the day we leave the hospital he will fetch us and take care of all the bills.

With the problems with our child we got a special Visa. We are often questioned why we come so often but with Peniel's problem we can come in and out without problems. Hallelujah.

The hand of God is not short nor his ear deaf that he cannot help you. There is two ways to choose. Choose the easier way of the world and walk traditionally and walk according to the majority or you want to choose to walk with Jesus. If you choose to walk with Jesus  you have to walk with faith. If you don't walk with faith it is not possible to please God. Let the word of God today encourage you. Through our testimony it's not that we are special. God does not choose special people but it's about how we choose to respond to God. We choose to be obedient and trust God. It's not just based on the knowledge of the word of God but on how we respond to him.

Pride and Humility

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

Pride and Humility is the humbling of man and the honour of God. I believe that the church TOP will be moving into a new season even as we wait for Ps Ronald to come on board.

Pride and humility will reflect on how we react as a person and as a church. Sometimes we say people is being very humble or very arrogant. We say this based on the traits of a person whom we can see clearly. But if we look at it, all of us struggle with pride this side of heaven. It is because there are degrees of pride and degrees of humility. When we say a person is arrogant, we look at it in relation to ourselves. The same when we say someone is humble.

But I want to say all of us struggle with pride including me. No exception. I have related to some people in or not in ministry and I want to say without exception all struggle with pride. What I want to say is how the Bible looks at pride.

I want you to hold on to the fact that pride and humility has a relationship. As humility grows, pride will lessen and as pride grows, humility lessen. I call pride and humility half brothers.

Someone said there are 3 Gs that men struggle with. Gold, Glory and Girls. But I say all start with glory. If you look into the US election, I will probably be familiar with the Nixon era in the 70's until now. In all US elections, the priority were issues. But this election it was about character assassination. A man vs a woman. You see the world manifest in intensity the glorifying of self. The world celebrates pride to a certain extent. Like how well you talk. People gravitate to people who is confident. Pride to a certain extend give you much political power.

When you look at the Bible you see a total different scenario. The Bible is not about political power. It is in essence about spiritual power. God opposes the proud and give grace to the humble. And a proud man possesses no spiritual power. He cannot give you that manifestation of spiritual power. That's why we are called vessels through which God moves.

John 3:26

And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

John's disciples saw Jesus as competition to John the Baptist. And John took 10 verses to explain this. And it ends with He must become greater and I become less. He must increase and I must decrease. And this is the basic understanding of Christian humility. It is not about denying self but glorifying Jesus Christ and emptying self.

Philippians 2:6-8

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

But the key word in Greek is "he made himself nothing". What does this mean? It meant Jesus emptied himself. He did not release his deity but he emptied himself of self. When we think of God we think of supreme glory but when we look at Jesus we see this little baby on Christmas day. When he grew up, you may want to think that he grew up as a young superman but he was not like that. He was just like any ordinary child. But at the end of his life, you will think of someone who is laughed at and mocked at and lastly as someone half naked and a laughing stock for everyone to behold. Jesus humbled himself was an ultimately humbled into humiliation. You watched the Passion of Christ.

But it did not end at verse 8.

Philippians 2:9-11

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You will find the exaltation of Jesus Christ and he was exalted to the highest place. In heaven, on earth and under the earth, all will bow to Jesus Christ. Only whether you now willingly or unwillingly. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

Have you ever thought what is the gospel? When we preach the gospel and someone accepts Christ, which all of us did many years ago. What is the essence of what you did? We think of eternal life. But what is really the difference between someone who is a child of God and someone who has yet to know Christ? Those that have not become a believer has some form of self pride while those who is a child of God lives for the glory of Christ. That is the gospel. It is primarily not about us but about Christ crucified.

Many of us have stepped over and become the children of God but many of us have not changed our mind set yet and we sit down and wonder what else God can do for me. Or why God did not do this or that for me.

I heard someone said, if I had known accepting Christ is like that I would not have accepted Christ. I think her experience of God is where she is the centre of the relationship. I wonder if she is God and Jesus is merely servant instead of Jesus is God and she is the servant. She has self glory, you glorifying yourself. Biblical humility is about honouring God. The confession of Jesus as Lord and God.

Philippians 1:20-21

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

The whole life of Paul is the emptying of self and the exaltation of Christ in Paul's life. Not just in his life but also ministry.

1 Corinthians 1:31

Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 2:1

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

They were comparing Paul with Apollos who was a trained orator.

1 Corinthians 2:2

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

His focus was upon Christ and the ultimate focus of all his ministry. This was the centre of his ministry. When we look at ourselves on a daily basis, as disciples and servant of the most high, do we live for the glory of God in Christ and not about how much we will get from God but for the living for the glory of God. On our ministry have you thought about this? That finally Jesus is the centrepiece and focus. That is biblical humility.

I believe when a person is full of himself what place can there be for God to be the focus. When a person's heart is full of money, there will be less of God. That's why in Matthew, it's says you cannot serve both God and mammon. You cannot serve two masters. And if a person wakes up and wonder where to find entertainment and pleasure, then you will have less of the presence of God. If you're full of some form of prosperity you will be less of the purpose of God in your life. I want you to reflect a little bit on this even as you have walked some ways with God. Ultimately it is the glory of God that gives purpose and meaning to our walk with God. God does bless us but it is not the purpose in our walk with God.

What defines us as children of God is that we have the capacity to give glory to God regardless of how well or not well we do compared to unbelievers. But you may ask what is there in it for me?

The expression of our biblical humility.

Philippians 2:3-5

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

That is biblical humility. Consider others more than yourself. A proud person is someone who sees weaknesses of people. A humble person is someone who is focused on someone's strength. None of us is perfectly strong or weak but a humble person focuses on a person's strength.

Romans 12:3

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

A proud person will always think of how good he is but a humble person will see his need to work on his weaknesses.

If you often say I'm right and you are wrong. Then there's sign of a lingering pride. This is a clear sign. A humble person will ask are you alright? A humble person is interested in the welfare of the person and not so much who is right or wrong.

We also have met people whose number one trait is to argue. They just like to argue whether right or wrong. Humility is marked by a person who likes to discuss. I had a good time with Bro Kuna. I discussed a lot with him. You say something and then you stop to listen to the other person. You try to learn together. Arguing is about the other person being wrong.

Next, a proud man is someone who goes by law. He goes by coercion. But a humble man works by persuasion. Recently I had a chat with a young man. A young man nowadays to me is in his thirties. He spoke to me about some issues and I told him to give some space and time for God. To give space for the Holy Spirit to work. When you deliver God's message, the seed has been planted so you need to give some space for God to work. Persuade, don't coerce. A person who is proud is easily agitated. When there is disagreement, the person with a shorter fuse is someone with a lingering pride.

There was one many years ago. The person said send to me a prophet. I got jammed because I'm not a prophet. So I went to the Ten Commandments. I said we actually don't need a prophet because the word of God says you shall not covet. That is pride as he wanted to listen not to me but to a prophet. He turned red. That is lack of self control.

Another is the language. See how many times you see the person use the word "I". You see the world in terms of you. I did this. I did that. I know. If you are exalting God it is not about I, it's about him.

Finally I want to bring this to the church. It's about biblical humility as it affects the church. Paul in Philippians was talking about humility. As our church goes through this transition, remember that humility is the root to unity. Paul was talking about the unity of the spirit in Corinthians and it's having love for one another. A pre-requisite of love is humility. People who is proud have no capacity to love. Love is about putting people's concern above self. You have the welfare and concern of others at heart. People who are full of pride has relationship problems.

I encourage all of us as we go through this transition we want to look at each other in our strength. If you are someone who is gifted in one way or another, God wants to use you. Not with pride but to serve with humility. Sometimes when we are in ministry we have to remind ourselves that we are working in the spiritual realm.

I read 30,000 Greeks against hundreds of thousands of Persians, how did they win? The Greeks fought as a square, not as individuals. It is about fighting as a team and the Greeks perfected that art. The church needs to have unity of the spirit and it will augur well for 2017.

One of the things I remind myself. I came from Penang Free School in 1970. I had a very strict HM who walks around with a cane. I learnt one thing. If you think you are smart there are a lot of people who is smarter than you. If you think you are a very good singer, there will be many who are better singers. If you think you have a heart for the poor, there will be others who have a bigger heart than you.

In Free School, I learnt this. It is all relative. Now as a teacher, I realized I have many students that knows more. Never think too highly of yourself. Paul says don't think too highly of yourself.

Now to end I want to look at the OT. Chapter 2.

Elisha was Elijah's follower. Elijah kept telling Elisha don't follow me around. When they reached the river Jordan, Elijah knew his time was up. That was when Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him.

2 Kings 2:9-10

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

And Elisha asked for a double portion of his anointing. The amount of miracles Elisha did was double what Elijah did. It was really double. It was more than just the inheritance. In this narrative there is issues of pride and humility. There is nothing wrong in asking gifting from the Lord. It is not pride to ask. It is why you ask it for. If you ask for promoting yourself, then I've nothing to say. Elisha asked for anointing for the right reasons. Elijah was willing to grant it to him because Elijah knows it is not for him to give but for God to anoint.

Elisha saw Elijah being taken up and he received the Lord's anointing. The miracles of God in the OT are primarily concentrated on these two prophets. In the NT, the miracles were mainly concentrated on Jesus Christ.

What had this to do with humility? Elijah had an anointing and his disciples asked for double the anointing and he was ever willing to give. He exhibited biblical humility by recognising that it was all for God's glory. What would a prideful man be like?

This you can see in Chinese history. If a prodigy becomes too powerful, they cut off his head. That is pride. In China, the most vivid example are these two personality. Mao Tse Tung lived only for himself. He can destroy China for himself. Dang Hsio Ping is the opposite. He is described as a small bottle. He survived three purges. He's a man that lived for China.

You need to understand pride is always there. It is the last weapon by the devil. The devil may come to me with gold and girl but it's glory that is his last weapon.

I want to end with the good, the bad and the ugly. Those of you my age will remember that movie. Lee Van Cleef. You take your pick.

If you pick the good, someone come along and say you're not good enough your reply will show whether you have a lingering pride when you say "at least I'm better than you".

You may pick the bad, and someone says you are very bad, you may reply and say "you are no better".

Or if you pick ugly, a person may say you are extremely ugly, and you reply "none of your business".

All these answers show a lingering of pride in you. How then can a believe answer?

If someone say you are not good enough, you may say I know no one good but God. Biblical answer.

Or if someone say you are very bad, say I know. But God is good and I trust him to change me.

And if someone say you are extremely ugly, you may say I know, but God is beautiful beyond description.

At John chapter 3 we see what crowns John the Baptist's humility. A man can receive nothing except what is given by heaven.

John 3:27

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.

Our honour is an honour that is given by God. The day will come when we reign with him because he has seen it fit for you to reign with him.

Confidence in the Midst of a Crisis

Rev Gideon Lee

I'm going to look at Psalms 46, but it must be read with Psalms 47 and 48 to have the proper understanding. We are gong to look at Psalms 46 so you can go back and read Psalms 47 and 48.

Psalms 46

God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.

1 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

It starts out by saying God is our refuge and our strength. There are three things I want to share from these scriptures.

1. He is still God our protector v1-4

2. He is still God our provider v4-7

3. He is still God the proven one v8-11

I mentioned you need to read Psalms 46, 47 and 48 to really understand. God saved the city of Jerusalem miraculously.

2 Kings 19:34-36

34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it

For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.’ ”

Sennacherib's Defeat and Death

35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

God protected the city miraculously. The Bible scholars said that these Psalms were written in response to this incident. That night 185,000 of the Assyrians died. No one knows exactly what happened. The people placed their trust in God and the enemy suddenly died. They didn't even to have to go to war for hand on hand combat. It was a miracle and it tells how God delivered them. They also said that most probably the person who wrote this Psalm is the prophet Isaiah. Because some of the phrases he used is the same as in the book of Isaiah. God protected God's people. He protect his people. I don't know what is coming but my message to you is that God protects his people.

1. He is still God our protector

God is our refuge. Some translations say he is our hiding place. Our shelter. He is your refuge. I don't know if you have a situation where you don't know where to turn to except the Lord. There you will find shelter in the storms of life.

I was one of the first in my family to have a bike. I even knew how to ride a bike even before I got a licence. The first time I rode on my motorcycle in the rain, it was painful. I thought it would be more like a shower. In that situation when in a downpour you are desperate for a shelter. In KL you cannot stop anywhere on the highway. So you look for the next flyover to find a refuge. God is that refuge. And what a relief when you find that shelter. When you have nowhere else to go. He's the only place where you can hide.

There are days when you just want to hide under the blanket in your bed. I've had days like that. Reminds me of this story when one man said he's tired and didn't want to go to church. The mother said. You must go and encouraged him. He then said I don't want to go because I have no friends in church. The mother said then must go and make friends. Then the son said, mom, give me one good reason why I must go to church. And the mother said because you are the pastor. I'm not saying that's me ar.

If you look at that word refuge it is followed by a conjunction, the word and. The word and ties refuge and strength together. Not only is God your refuge but he is also your strength. He not only give you shelter but is also your strength. It doesn't mean he is over protective where it becomes detrimental to you. He provides you with a shelter and you receive strength from him. We are strengthened to face the storm. It's like how vaccination works, so that your child can stand that disease. It's the same. He vaccinates so that you have the antibodies to face the enemy. He loves you very much.

Psalms 91:1-4

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

He is God your protector. Your refuge and strength. Someone you can count on to take care of you. God is not protecting us to hide us but to help us. He gets us ready for the battle by giving us his strength. And I like v3, the ever present help in time of trouble. He is present, not past tense or future tense. It's when you need it now. Not tomorrow or a few years back but right there, right now. He is never late nor early. He is always on time. If your miracle have not come to you, then it's not time yet. You can count on him to be right on time. My God is a present tense God. He is an "on time" God.

Remember Daniel and the three Hebrew boys? When in the fire, there was a fourth, so he is right there, right on time. He is our ever present help in time of trouble.

V2 and 3 it says therefore. I like therefore, like in conclusion, a lawyer's term, that we will not fear. The conclusion is that because he is our refuge and help we will not fear. How many times we have let fear overpower us? The antidote is to look at the Bible and what it says. God is able to show up in your circumstances. He is able.

2. He is still God our provider

In ancient times rivers are very valuable resources. Water sustains life. Jerusalem actually don't have a river. For the city to flourish, they must have a river nearby. But there is a spring that is nearby, the spring of Gihon and it spring leads to a place call Shalom. That water can be cut of so King Hezekiah channelled the stream underground right straight into Jerusalem. That underground tunnel provided water supply to Jerusalem whenever they were under sieged. The river because so important even when they are under sieged. It's the river of living waters.

He is the provider during our crisis and we need to tapped into him. He may be our protector and provider but we need to learn how to tapped into God's resources. Has God been your provider? He had been my provider for so long but he is not my ATM or vending machine.

I remember in Bible school when I was much younger. I quit my job from Reader's Digest and I went from 10,000 a month to zero. And God was our provider. Some may say I have savings but actually no, you can ask my wife. And they wanted to collect Faith Promise, but how much can we give? But God spoke to me to give 300.00 to that mission. That was like impossible for me as a bible school student. So I said God I'm going to trust you for it. So I put 300.00 and at the end of the trimester, I still don't have the amount yet. So I asked God that he said he will provide. I was in class when I received a text on my phone from a friend I've not met for a long time.

I'm in class so I waited till the break to call him. He said wait for me and that he's coming to see me. He came and he said he felt that God spoke to him to bless me with this amount and he said he just want to do it. He passed me an envelope of money, said God bless you and he left. I counted the money and it was 300.00. I went to the chapel and gave it to missions. God is your provider and not just your protector.

3. He is still God the proven one

He is someone who has an impeccable and unblemished record. We are praying to the one who created heaven and earth by his word. That's how powerful he is. He can do anything. Someone asked me where did God come from? Someone asked who created God? He is that he is. He exists. If someone created God then he is not God. He is God the proven one. Not just to reflect on his power but to rest in it. Be still.

Psalms 46:10-11

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

Be still literally mean let God take over. Rest in him.

2 Chronicles 20:17

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

This verse is for someone here. Be still. Coming to the end there were three words I did not read our loud. Selah. It's a musical word. When you play music, Selah means it tells the singer to stop and reflect. And in this chapter there are three Selahs.

After verse 3 God says reflect. After God our protector. Then after verse 7, stop and reflect because God is my provider and after verse 11, God says stop and reflect because God is the proven one.

What a wonderful God we serve and it results in that he deserves our praise and worship. This morning let God be your protector and provider because he's the proven one. Then go back and read chapter 47 and 48 and it will encourage you and let it results in praise and worship for him.