God Is Sovereign by Ptr Peter Tan Chi

[Applause] good morning it's always a privilege and a delight to visit a venue for many reasons but many old friends here when I see you guys now I know why I don't see you in the CCF Center it's because you are hiding here no or you're being placed here but of course special reason why I enjoy coming here I'll be I'll be this is a very good friend of mine we have known each other for many years even before he came to know the Lord when he was still naughty and after he became naughty he got worse but God is so good and Jean a bit the whole family so praise God and I want to thank all of you for your generosity in helping a venue is one of those amazing satellites that are financially more than self-sufficient you are a blessing to many for example in the last Tacloban crisis when a lot of people suffered CCF came up with this CCF too long Dario and many of you helped just to give you an update for example we have received among all of us including the center over 13 million pesos for donations to this project we have also we have sent already over 20,000 family packs that will help a family of four five people and we are sending 1000 Ballack bhai boxes now I don't know if you can see your faces here but we have a group of people well Albert can you see your face there you know what I bet you don't see your face because you are not there all right but we claim or more for Jesus some of our members including those in Cebu when there to help and it's a very touching scene and you can see many of our people we have doctors we have sent them but if you want to help in counseling you can go to the villa more airbase where these people need counseling they need help and we are planing program for that what's the next step well we will be sending medical professionals counselors and many other good works to help the people and in case you want to continue helping feel free to give through the satellites here and albiet will be meeting with some leaders tomorrow to see what are the other things we can do now ladies and gentlemen before I continue I want you to turn to your neighbor look at them in the eyes and say welcome the shishya you know I'm not yet so convinced you really welcome them I want you to look at them really in the eyes and say I really welcome you one more time okay ready go look at them in the eyes and say I really welcome you from the bottom of my heart I really welcome all of you do you realize CCF is always growing do you understand the mission of CCF my job is to remind people of our vision and mission we are here to connect people to Jesus this is not a religion we want people to come to know Jesus to make disciples to make disciples do you notice we don't use the word Christian because the word Christian is already abused by many people people don't really know what is the meaning of a Christian if you go to the middle is the word Christian is anathema to many of them if you go to certain parts of Asia Christians is bad word why because of the many abuses of former colonizers they equate Christian with opium they equate Christian with the crusade were they a quick Christian with killing many Jews many Muslims etc but that is not really Christianity Christianity is what a disciple a follower of Jesus you up and behave like Jesus and that's our mission to connect people to Jesus first we model it we are not perfect but we want to do our best amen so that's what we are here for to connect people to Jesus and help them love him this morning I have a special message to give to this beloved brethren now before I do that I know it's discouraging to hear a lot of bad news for example the recent hurricane you have good news and bad news bad news people died good news you know the good news one of our members was right in the heart of the hurricane and he gave his story and I had the privilege of meeting him five days after the devastating effect and when I met him I could not believe his story would you like to hear his story now he took this picture and this was the place where he stayed right in the heart of Tacloban City that famous hotel there and look at before the water was blue after of course it was damaged now he was staying in a Cabana right along the sea on the left side of his cabana you will see that damages away the left side the right side it was bad I mean you have no idea what is a 300 kilometer per hour wind what it can do so it was so bad you know what the inside of the companion but then this brother of ours his name is Drake's have you home if you have heard of his testimony it was in the CCF Center all right in a CCF Center you get the news in advance in a venue that's okay we we want to pass this on to you on his left side the Cabana was destroyed on his right side the Cabana was destroyed but where he was he said pastor I I do not explain this it is as dog God parted the hurricane as she parted the Red Sea look at his cabana right this is the kobani of those who were destroyed but look at his okay before-and-after is still intact still okay the tree fell but it did not hit him now if you say chúmbala and chamba and listen to me the cars were destroyed would you like to know what happened to his car the only car that was not destroyed all right look look at his car the other cars were destroyed now you may say a chúmbala ka chúmbala Mian now listen to me o ye unbelieving people I'm just kidding his fuel was already half less than half now how can he get out of Tacloban City no more fuel understand the problem he could not refuel he prayed now I realized the Lord has a special kind of fuel it's called the holy spirit high octane and he was able to drive all the way from Tacloban all the way to the bridge all the way would you believe it it's only when he crossed after three four hours of driving he was able to refuel and he got to Manila amazing you know it's got amazing yes or no he dropped the club on Leyte summer etc so my question to you is this my question to you is this not everyone was saved like him some lost their lives now how do you comfort these people who lost their lives how do you comfort yourself your family members when you encounter trials one thing I'm learning I want to tell believers after coming to Christ it does not mean you are going to be exempted from problems on the contrary you will have problems do you believe but people will have prob that's easy yeah but people should have problems do you believe that good people will have problems also are you good people do you believe that bad things can happen to good people louder listen to me guaranteed you will have problems Jesus tells us in this world you will have tribulation now the only difference is how do you process this so I submit to you your faith will be tested but how you deal with those trials is dependent on your knowledge of who God is and that's why in CCF when we teach we teach the Bible and we teach theology everybody is a theologian the only problem is a really good collodion or a bad deal doujin but all of you have a belief about God you believe in something about God the only problem is is it accurate is it who God is or is it your own idea about who God should be and what God should be like it is your own theology and that expressed the difference between those people who have problems and they overcome the problem because they know God they have an anchor the anchor is the Word of God you see the Word of God tells us who God is what is like let me ask you how many of you believe that the Bible is the Word of God raise your hand you know I am amazed you all believe the Bible the Word of God one more time you believe the Bible is the Word of God raise your hand all right how many of you have read the entire Bible raise your hand see the difference you and I believe but whether you have read the Bible is another story I call that the great disconnect the disconnection between your head and the heart I suggest you humble yourself come before God and ask yourself who and what do I really believe about God I want to share with you something that is very important we are we are going through a series of who God is yes or no a bit we are going through a series who God is this morning I want to share with you something about God help you transcend problems the type that's very simple anybody read this the sovereignty of God one more time the sovereignty of God who is in charge who is in charge of the Philippines today who you may say President Aquino can I hear something who is in charge god yes or no so today next Sunday Lord willing you will have a series on the sovereignty of God now before I tell you the meaning of the sovereignty of God can you whisper to your neighbor in your own Tagalog or English language what do you think is the meaning of the word God is sovereign singing up wrong or right answer not just do me a favor try try in one sentence what does it mean God is soft the rain you know if you don't whisper to your neighbor I will tell the videocamera to really focus on you and right are you trying are you trying to share something God is sovereign all right now reverie I'm going to give you couple of verses to explain the meaning of God is sovereign after that I'm going to give you a story on how to translate the sovereignty of God into everyday action so do you understand the mental outline I'm going to speak to you the sovereignty of God just one main point God is in charge say that with me God is in charge I'm going to show you Bible verses to show us what it means God is in charge then I'm going to share with you a story so that how do you apply God is in charge in your life is that okay with you alright God is in charge God is sovereign so what this is an amazing understanding of who is in charge according to Charles Spurgeon a famous theologian let's read this together there is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of God's sovereignty under the most adverse circumstances in the most severe trials they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions sovereignty over all them and that sovereignty will sanctify them on if you truly believe that God is in charge you and I will know that there are no accidents in the lives of God's people whatever has happened it is because God has allowed it to happen and if God allows you to happen it should give you comfort if you know who God is because you believe that God is in charge and that God loves you and that he's in control and if he allows you and something bad happens to you it can only mean one thing God has a plan that you don't understand now but it's going to be good for you now that takes a lot of faith because this are the objections to the sovereignty of God number one are you telling me we are robots number two are you telling me God is incapable of removing evil that he's allowing evil to happen to us see these are questions hopefully I'm gonna answer those questions so let's look at some verses how what you mean God is sovereign well some 115 verse 3 everybody that's with this our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases you know this verse is telling me and telling you our God is not only all-powerful he has the right to do what he pleases when he pleases he does not need your permission he does not need your approval God is God my advice is this do not make God into your image many of us we don't mind God being our Aitor God is not just our Creator he is God if God is God let him do what he wants to do he has every right the problem is this we think God is accountable to us we think God owes us an explanation on the contrary as I show you verses you begin to realize God does not owe us anything because God is God that can be scary let's read the next verse all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing he does according to his will in the host of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth no one can word off his hand or say to him what have you done you see for you to understand the sovereignty of God is not easy because there are no equivalents for example in the Philippines President Aquino was just told by the Supreme Court that the p-taff have you heard a PDF have you heard of nopales have you heard of all of these billions of pesos that has gone to waste now look at me the Supreme Court has just come up with a decision you can do that now many people are happy are you happy yeah they can do that you see all almost all the rulers of the people of this world have limitations many dictators are propped by a general their power is because the army is supporting the person for some people their power is because the Congress gave them that power for some people their powers because people gave them the boat with god none of the above God does not need an army to be sovereign God does not need the approval of the Congress he does not need the approval of the Senate he does not need the approval of the supreme court because God is God there is no higher power accountable to none answerable to none because God is God now that is very painful for proud human beings because we want God to be answerable to us and that is why you need to know who God is if you don't know who God is your worship will be a problem you want to be a problem loving him because in your mind God is cruel if God is God how come he allows evil I have good news for you and what's the good news let's split this God makes no excuses I am the Lord everybody real I am the Lord there is no other the one forming light the one creating darkness causing well-being creating calamity i am the lord who does all of this you and i don't have to defend god but one thing I can tell you God tells us one day evil would be removed as of now there is even as of now God allows evil allows pain but one day the Bible is very clear evil will be gone in the meantime you'll live in this time and space and God is saying you trust me I am in charge if you don't like the idea of the sovereignty of God God has a message for you this morning this is the message everybody oh woe to the one who quarrels with his maker and earthenware vessel among the vessels of Earth will that place a to the pattern I'm gonna go on yeah tagalog version look at this verse can I not o house of Israel deal with you as this patter does declares the Lord behold like that play in the Potters hand so are you in my hand o house of Israel the truth is this I don't fully understand everything but one thing I know who is in charge can you turn to your neighbor there your neighbor God is in charge now this is the problem are we robot let me explain to you one of the closest illustration I can think of are you ready before I explain to you I think I'll give you one more burst let's read this together Isaiah 46 verse 10 declaring the end from the beginning from ancient times things which have not been done everybody read say my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure God is never pressured by anybody it's not forced to do anything God is gone now this is the problem what about human will I'll be robots God is sovereign he makes you responsible for your choices I'm gonna explain them I wanted to imagine now you are on an ocean cruise ocean cruiser okay this big big yacht how many how many of you been to a cruise raise your hand cruise alright guys I really am learning how to enjoy the cruise join me in October 30 we will go we will go to the Apostle Paul journey and you'll be on a cruise okay in a cruise ship now in a cruise ship listen to me now you have freedom you can go to any restaurant you want you can join any sport you want inside that big big cruise some of them the stuff is alone is 5,000 stuff it's a big city in an ocean you can sleep you can play games you can watch movies you are free but at the end of the day the destination of that cruise will be there and you will be arriving in that destination whether you like it or not if the cruise is going to go through from here to San Francisco it will there but you are free to do what you want to do you are responsible how many of you know how to play chess games of chess you know what chess chess as how many pieces 36 no 32 they're little pieces 16 16 okay you can play chess you can be on the side of God or you can play against him you are free to make your move you can do any move you want you can fight him at the end of the day you will be checkmate there's no way you can win you can fight him you are free but at the end of the day checkmate who wins answer God let me share with you this amazing look at me first don't owe calipers just look at me now hey everybody are you look at me be honest look at me what is the most unfair thing that ever happened in the history of humanity that you can think of the most unfair the most and just event in the history of humanity can I suggest something if you think children are being murdered that's bad but if you ask me the most unfair thing that ever happened was when humanity condemned an innocent man to torture into death and that man was no other than Jesus now look at God's sovereignty and human responsibility at play is God in charge yes or no did his son suffered tremendously now look at this verse everybody truly in the city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus both Herod and Pontius Pilate they are responsible along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do what every your hand and your purpose predestined to occur God is never taken by surprise when it comes to evil he knows everything but he allowed it to happen at the same time he made us responsible this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men put him to death you see God makes us responsible at the same time he is sovereign you know people ask me how do you explain that everybody look at me now how many of you have seen the world's biggest passer do you know the world's biggest pastor do you know how to play puzzle look at me I'm good up to 12 pieces that's my IQ hey I'm not very smart okay I have a lazy brain maybe now I can improve maybe a few more pieces the world's biggest puzzle is called the Ravens burger pasa 17 feet long 17 feet it's over probably 6 feet tall so it's a very big puzzle 30-plus thousand pieces of pasa now everybody how do you sort pasa tell me how what's the secret to solve a puzzle what must you do you must first see a picture am I correct if a puzzle is about a car about and you are thinking the passer is about a palace will you ever solve the puzzle no because the palace is about a terrible and you are thinking it's a building you will have a problem the same thing in life I do not know everything because life is a puzzle billions of pieces and sometimes the piece that I have is a bit dark and I don't like it but you know what I had to entrust that to the King of Kings because he's the one who was woven everything to become a beautiful magnificent picture but in the meantime I don't see it you don't see it so what must you do you must know who is in charge who is in charge tell them it God is in charge one more time God is in charge what must you do trust him so what's my message today God is in charge trust him everybody copy God is in charge trust him now when I see you next Sunday and I ask you what was the message last Sunday please don't tell me good very good what is the message was the application Busta it's good you know what we are here not entertained by the transformed people listen to me now God is in charge trust him tell your neighbor now let's look at the few more verses therefore those who suffer according to the will of God in other words the Bible does not give excuses yes there is pain let's read this verse one more time therefore those also who suffer according to the will of God shall and trust trusting their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is read look at me everybody the power of God can never be vested to a person you know why absolute power will Cora pot absolutely it's scary can you imagine a person that has all power he does not need Congress he does not need approval and he has the power to do what he wants to do no man can ever have that kind of power understand except somebody who is absolutely good who is absolutely holy and the Bible tells us that person is God do you realize when I gave this message I was telling people even in my own company we need to signature in CCF there is not one pastor including me that can sign checks alone no way we have an audit or sgv why we believe that system is important even though it is B it is not the antidote for honesty do you understand what I'm saying because we are sinful people but ladies and gentlemen I want you to understand God is absolutely trustworthy you can trust him why because he will never do anything look at me now that is bad for his people but what is bad now you don't understand it's like I remember this boy in fact it can be my boyfriend isn't this story he needed to see a doctor he needed to have an injection this boy the velvet nightmare you know why he does not like injection he does not like pain and when he saw that doctor coming he ran to his father not imaginary you are the son you run to me when you run to me what did I do to you instead of protecting you from the doctor I not bring you to that doctor and what will you be thinking people and emotional cow in other word you are thinking I'm gonna protect you but instead of protecting you I'm allowing that doctor to hurt you with that injection but listen to me that boy will probably not understand at that time why I'm allowing him to suffer the pain of injection and sir it's going to save his life the same thing with you you don't understand what God is doing many times I don't understand but one thing I'm learning God is in charge but Macedo thrashing so that that is what this verse is saying and trust their souls everybody to a faithful creator in doing what is right therefore if you don't know God how are you going to trust him do you now understand why some people are angry with God because you and I interpret events and then we conclude God is bad because of the events don't do that what is the next verse after verse 19 you know what is the verse I'm sorry the verses before verse 19 what are the verses before 90 do you know what they are tell me are you good in mathematics what is before 19 what is before 18 what is before 17 what is before sixteen all right that's the answer let's read make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or thief or evildoer or troublesome meddler in other words the Bible is saying suffering will come but make sure none of you create your own suffering it's called you don't need to suffer but because of your own foolish choices God is say don't suffer unnecessarily look at that word I like that word troublesome meddler you know what is that troublesome meddler in Tagalog Russia zero hey pal palomero common problem mo kamo hear him say BAM POW understand don't suffer unnecessarily but look at the next verse but if anyone suffers as a Christian he is not to be ashamed but deep glory to the Lord so what did we discuss over who is in charge God what about human will he makes us responsible what about pain evil well I don't fully understand everything but I can give you some ideas why there is suffering for example my own study of God's Word it is to mold your character it is to make us humble God will use suffering to accomplish his purpose but you have you have to know his purpose so there are many reason but to I want to give you an actual life story how do you apply this in your life are you ready alright but first let me summarize what is the meaning that God is sovereign let me explain what is the meaning everybody are you ready to listen God is in charge the meaning is God is God he has the right and the power to rule he has the right to do as he pleases when he pleases answer important and accountable to none he is the Lord God does not need any approval from you or for me he is the creator he is the king of kings he is in charge so just remember one sentence God is in charge everybody God is in charge therefore trust him now let's see this in action by the way I made sure you know the message today what's the message today God is in charge trust him which is the easy part the first or the second I think once you know God is in charge you know who God is you're able to trust him if you don't know God it's hard to trust him let's look at this amazing story now a certain man was sick Lazarus the word Lazarus means God is my help he was sick the village of Mary and sister Marta it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment wipe his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick so you are introduced to a problem sickness do you like sickness I don't like sickness I don't like problems but the truth is this we do get sick now if sickness always from the devil as some people will teach you and that's why it's the ology is important many people listen to a lot of TV speaker or whatever other speaker you've got to look at the Bible objectively God is in charge no sickness can happen to you without his poober look at me the devil is not in charge the devil has power but he is not in charge do you understand I have a big God he's in charge now the problem is this Lazarus is sick what do you do well Mary did writing the sisters sent word to Jesus saying Lord he whom you love is sick I wanted to to look at the emphasis of the Bible he whom you love is sick the emphasis is Jesus loved Lazarus not glossaries loving Jesus look at the next verse verse 4 when Jesus heard this he said this sickness is not to end in death but for the glory of God short of the Son of God may be glorified by it now Jesus everybody read love Marta her sister Lazarus the emphasis Jesus loved Lazarus Mary Martin everybody look at me why is this important I want you to realize something when you have problems it does not mean God does not love you if you are sick having financial problem relationship problem look at me now it does not mean God is angry of you God loves us God loved Lazarus and yet Lazarus got what sick now look at that verse look at verse 3 sisters sent word to him why did they send word to Jesus to tell Jesus Lazarus was sick can you tell me why if you are sick and you tell the doctor you are sick why what do you want the doctor to do you know I praise God for CCF doctors really I praise God we have many CCM doctors they're the best you know I remember calling them I said doctor do you have time I need to see you you know what she said doctors will do they attorney Peter don't come to me I'll go to you where are you just the other day my father who is 95 years old was staying with us and he had a hard time breathing he was he stopped eating of course we got concerned and I call the doctor doctor you know where the doctor did before I could even finish Peter a boondoggle John you see why because when somebody needs help and you love the person what do you do you go am I correct you know what Jesus did they ask for Jesus now this is something I cannot understand okay let's read the Bible when Jesus heard he was sick what did he do he stayed there two days longer in the place where he was now what does that tell you I want to imagine now a pastor added one of the most loving pastor in the Philippines you tell him pastor mom attendant a teiko can you drop by pray for him I did will tell you sorry I'm busy now I'm shopping in mega mall and then he didn't bother will you feel bad in a many of you sometimes you feel bad about God because God has not answered your prayer you will be praying for something how many of you have unanswered prayers raise your hand be honest with me in most England that they're gonna be on the other side you know you know what I'm learning this what I'm learning and answered prayers that's not always mean God is deaf God is never deaf you see when I tell you God is sovereign it simply means he's in charge is in charge of schedule he's in charge of time God has his own timetable you cannot force God to comply to your timetable because who's in charge God God is in charge and sometimes you feel he is a bit slow do you understand in my experience God is seldom early you know what I am impatient I really want God to do things immediately but God is seldom early at the same time he is never too late you know years ago I had this our family had business problem years ago 30 plus years ago I was helping my father and we had some political problem and it was bad we could not import without government approval I don't know if you recall during those days you can open letters of credit without central approval I mean the whole thing was under control and we had problems with the government so I talked God lord I need you to answer my prayer because I'm teaching Bible okay I was bargaining with God I gave God three options on how to solve my problem with those three options I gave God the scenario I said Lord you've got to do this so that this will happen now if you don't do it at this time this is gonna happen and it's not good however if you don't want this plan I have another plan for you so you do this Tata Tata but at this time you gotta make sure it's done if not that that that would happen you know to me it was the best business plan you can ever imagine understand I got my MBA and I felt I can have the Lord you know what God did he didn't listen to me he didn't listen to my advice he didn't answer any of my prayers you know what he did he did the opposite horrible but you know when I look back now you know I look back my goodness you know what I discover God is sovereign he knows better than you and me when he does something you may not realize it at that time but now as you look back it is the best that can ever happen to you when God takes away something it is because you have something what better amen yes or no I tell you God is amazing you know people used to tell me Peter when God closes the doors what will he open windows now I've been you saying when God close the windows he will open the roof I tell you God is amazing this girl was praying Lord I want to get married thirty years old nah what happened on Yuri 3501 Impa 41 lap I the membership is now 28 years old oh well she's here so I know this tourist but would you believe it is God sovereign yes at the right time at the right place this lady got married at the age of 50 no no I know some he was a Peter how depressing all right knock or am I gonna wait that long listen to me listen to me what is worse than getting married what is worse than not getting married what is worse marrying the wrong person you marry the wrong person you may marry the right person but you are the wrong person you know why you are not ready you know some people think this person should marry me you know when they come to us for counseling you know what we tell them on this a real story okay but I cannot mention names and that person is not here so don't worry he's not from this aid venue okay but we get permission when we give stories I want you to know okay how come all my girlfriend leaves me examples that they go 100 last year I'm supposed to get married and then she called it off I praise God for my son my son is a very good counselor my son said he began to us him and the guy talked to me about the story I discovered why you know why this guy is emotionally very needy he's good looking away like a baby good looking he's big okay so my personality my character except emotionally he's so needy that when the girl begins to like him he gets excited and he begins to function as a car you mean emotionally you want to control the girl what what do you call that is mothering you you smoother is man there however you called mothering but everybody call it okay see em play I said shim today if I were the girl below so Brandon now maybe some girls they like that but this particular girl does not like that person who control any other hot you know my son asked me a very wonderful question you like a girl of this type but are you the man right kind of man for that kind of girl that's the meaning who is in charge god I'm table who's in charge god bless him so what you want may not happen but class him God is out for your good but you may not understand you know the next thing that happened jesus said to them Lazarus is dead but for your sakes I was not there I was glad in other words Jesus Neulasta Luke was going to die jesus knew that he is not going to save him at this time my goodness when Jesus came he found he already been dead in the tomb how many days four days now listen to me again if you were Mary Martha and you asked the doctor the doctor business sure Jesus did not show up for four days when he showed up what happened to the patient in tagalog dead body dead ball in other words not just dead the Jewish tradition have these crazy ideas that when somebody dies the spirit is hovering around for three days so they believe that there's a possibility that that guy can come back to life understand tradition Jesus arrived four days why four days it's called dead ball the dead ball you see sometimes you are angry with God because you are praying for something and God does not answer your prayer and you think well I'm pegasion I suppose you are cynical already you are discouraged you want to give up on Christianity you know why because your God is so small look at me how big is your gun big or small louder big how big is your problem big or small CC efforts are smart people when you have small God all your problems are big when you have a big God all your big problems are small because God is bigger than your problems now this is the worst problem you can think of in here I blame you but what's the problem with come come come I tell you you are always living in the past you will all be blaming people you know some people they blame their parents if only you did not marry him you didn't marry him you won't be here in the first place what are you talking about if if you look at it sometimes people make stupid decisions I know them and sometimes they hurt you I know that sometimes your husband's your wife will say things that are really wrong you are in pain I know that but if you live with this mentality if if if you'll be paralyzed by your past and that's exactly what the devil wants you to do so your eyes will no longer focus on God your eyes will be focused on the past on what you have done some of you are blaming yourself if only I did not do this if only I did that look at me who is in charge now there are you responsible yes can God make you know I'm glad some of you are smiling you know you have as possible listen to me I remember this girl asking for counseling she was so angry at God she told the counselor I don't understand I've been I've been dating this guy for four months and now I got pregnant why did God allow me to get pregnant you are blaming God hello look at me now who is in charge what must you do trust him what if you make mistakes look at me you have to humble yourself acknowledge your mistake and then trust God to redeem your mistake don't blame because you are responsible yes or no but you may not understand why well Jesus given an amazing statement jesus said I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in Me will live even if he dies everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die this is probably the greatest statement in the Bible the greatest statement in the history of humanity I encourage you to study all other religious leaders you will not find anybody claiming I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in Me will live even if he dies and anyone who lives and believes in Me will never die who alone can make this statement tell me Jesus unless it is true he is crazy he's deceiving us you see in order for Jesus to teach his disciples the reality of who he is so that they can trust him the reality of who Jesus is so that you and I in the generations to come will know who is our Savior he loved Lazarus to get sick Lazarus had no idea what is God's purpose but you know what now as you read the Bible you begin to understand how in the world will you understand when Jesus tells us I am the Savior if you believe in me you will have eternal life you will never taste death you see humanly we will die but somebody once shared this with me death is like falling asleep boom you close your eyes when you wake up remember this boy he asked his father he was dying of leukemia and he said dad I am afraid of dying that said don't be afraid to die he said remember when you were playing in the field you get tired and you fall asleep with my arm and when you wake up in the morning you are no longer in my arm you're in the bed and the father said so is death you sleep you wake up you are already in the presence of God don't be afraid who is in charge God and the Bible tells us when Jesus heard all of these stories in there crying if you want to memorize one verse this is it John 11:35 please read Jesus web so the Jews were saying see how he loved him now this is a simple verse but it's very profound go home tell your mother tell your friends I've memorized versed this morning close your eyes now John 11:35 ready go close your eyes John 11:35 Jesus well you know what you can trust him you know I can trust him he's in charge he shows us Jesus showed us the God is capable of feeling Jesus wants you to know I know your problem I know how you feel you see many people don't believe that God empathizes with us on the contrary you have an amazing God amazing Savior he cried he wept to let you know I know what's going on in your life I feel for you so folks when you are in trouble and you don't understand tragedies my advice is this trust him because we have a God who knows how you are feeling he cares for us Satan will tell you God does not care he does not understand I discovered people may not understand me may not understand you people may not know what's going on in your heart they may not know your heart is broken but one thing I can tell you Jesus know he is in charge what must you do trust him he knows he cares for you so jesus said removed a stone Martha said the sister of the deceased Lord by this time there will be stones he has been dead for four days now listen to me everybody what did Jesus do he commanded them remove the stone now will you remove the stone everybody love me will you do it yes or no well in Martha's mine why would I remove the somebody just came out of Tacloban and joined our meeting last Tuesday morning and he was telling us folks the guy that shared a testimony he told me the city smelled so bad for many days you know right that dead protein when the protein when the meat is decay it smells bad so this girl is correct humanly speaking it doesn't make sense why would I move the stone well should you move the stone in your life can God do a miracle without moving the stone yes or no who is in charge God what must you do you are responsible when God tells you something your job is to do what he want you to do you can say Lord you're in charge by Allah and Allah stone problema Maranon las horas problema morena the hot problem mo you know Jesus told her did I not say to you if you believe you will see the glory of God so they removed the stone no this biblical principle believe and see not see and believe you see our problem is this to see is to believe how did you learn that human wisdom spiritually to believe is to see you know before I place my faith in Jesus I did not understand this if you believe in Jesus as your Savior your eyes will be open you know yesterday I was in do zina I challenge hundreds of them I said before you fell asleep when you read the Bible I said today after coming to Jesus after giving your life to Jesus I want to give you a challenge he start reading the Bible and it will no longer ever be the same that's my experience that's the experience of everybody here do you know that before I came to know Jesus when I read the Bible I fall asleep I have no interest at all but when the Lord touch my heart I tell you today you tell me not to read the Bible I will read the Bible believe and you will see if you don't believe maybe you will never see so the Bible tells us they moved a stone when he said this thing she cried out with a loud voice Lazarus come forth the man who had died came forth bound hand and foot with rappings his face was wrapped around with the cloth jesus said to them and bind him let him go do you notice something the Bible tells us Jesus shouted Lazarus come forth what did Jesus have to shout Lazarus comfort listen if Jesus just said comfort all the dead will come back to life problem I am only one glossaries comfort you know that is prophesied in the Bible someday Jesus will come again and the Bible tells us that dead in Christ shall hear his voice the dead in Christ someday should hit Perry and you and I die I have good news for you you will hear his voice and you'll come back to life but not everybody will come back to life are you sure that you will hear the voice of Jesus have you given your life to Jesus that to me is the question you may know that in the head some of you know Christianity in the head all we have is cultural Christianity but I'm not talking about cultural Christianity I'm talking about the personal relationship with Jesus the Bible tells us Jesus gave a command Lazarus comfort he came out now everybody look at me why did Jesus ask them to move the stone God is sovereign you don't dictate to him what how things should be done if he gives you a command what your responsibility you're responsible you do what he asked you to do that's your part his responsibility whatever you cannot do that's his responsibility I want to share with you a testimony that my daughter gave last Sunday she gave this test a few Sundays ago she gave this testimony with the permission of her husband many of you know that my daughter was raped almost 20 plus years ago when she was only 15 years old the worst thing that a father can imagine happened to me but people came to my house they abuse three women one of them was my daughter but he was abuse not just once not just twice not just three times more than seven men it's awful I never cried more than I did why did God allow such evil to happen to our family I want you to watch this video the testimony of my daughter I pray that what I share with you today well they really encourage you to keep trusting God being a victim of rape brought me to an important crossroad in my life a faith choice had to be made would I allow this tragedy to define my faith or would I allow faith to define this tragedy on the one hand I could have let affliction determine my perception of God after all how could a loving God allow me to be raped why did he open the hedge of his protection what happened to his promise to watch over his children his followers was God present when the nightmare was happening and if he was then why didn't he stop it I didn't know how God would redeem this tragedy back then but immediately following the night of the rape my two friends and I along with our families made a faith decision to believe that God had a purpose and a reason for allowing something so horrifying we also chose to forgive the men who did this to us my comfort was who God is that he was in control and that he loved me I said you know god you are sovereign you love me you are good I don't need to understand now but I will hope in who you are even though the tragedy felt like a black hole in the timeline of my life and I didn't understand the why I knew the who so the why could wait for me the who was God I held on to the to the to God's promise in Romans 8:28 which says but God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him this choice was the beginning of my journey towards healing there was still this inexplicable pain I felt corrupted betrayed victimized and adulterated but I let these emotions turn me towards God not away from him over the years as God brought healing he allowed me to counsel many women and help others who were also victims of rape and abuse I also had the opportunity to give my testimony like what I'm doing now and last year 700 club Asia asked me if they could do a feature on this story it was difficult for me to say yes because I had to share details of what happened but I said yes with the blessing of my husband and I knew that God had not allowed me to go through something this tragic to keep the experience to myself he wanted me to tell the world how amazing he is and by God's grace that feature won an international award and more important than that it reached so many people and gave glory to God for what he has done in my life in Genesis 50 verse 20 Joseph said you intended to harm me but God intended it all for good when I look back on my life I've been the recipient of so much good as for my two friends who were also victimized I remain in touch with them they too would say the same thing God has been good to all of us we all married wonderful godly men we all have children that we're enjoying and we are serving God alongside our spouses I wanted to read to you the words of a song by Ginny Owens which helped me to process what I went through reminding me of God's love it says the pathway is broken and the signs are unclear and I don't know the reason why you brought me here but just because you love me the way that you do I'm going to walk through the valley if you want me to because I'm not who I was when I took my first step and I'm clinging to the promise you're not through with me yet so of all of these trials bring me closer to you then I'll walk through the fire if you want me to it may not be the way I would have chosen when you lead me through a world that's not my home but you never said it would be easy you only said I'd never go alone so when the whole world turns against me and I'm all by myself and I can't hear you answer my cries for help I'll remember the suffering your love put you through and I will go through the valley if you want me to like like me many of you have gone through personal tragedy and experienced disappointments pain and loss but I want to encourage you by saying that God purpose is to write each person's life story the question is will we let him hold the pen it is his authorship that makes a life beautiful when we fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our of our faith as Hebrews 12:2 says it we let him be the writer and the editor and no matter how crooked or bent our way no matter how laden with hardship the journey is if it ends with God getting the glory our tragedies turn into stories of God's grace to bless others and point them to Christ to God be the glory you know what I'm learning and what I'm seeing is this tragedy trials will change the person but it is not always for the good because some people will not cooperate with God you see trials and pain does not automatically change you for the better it can change you for the worse you can become bitter you can become angry or you can respond by trusting him when you trust him it become better look at what happened because Lazarus and the people trusted in Jesus they moved I stone when they moved I stone you saw the miracle happening now everybody look at me there are stones in your life today that God wants you to move you are responsible God is sovereign you can either fight him or you can cooperate with him at the end of the day his glory his named his purpose will be accomplished with or without your cooperation the choice is yours I have chosen my daughter abhorson our entire family have chosen to trust in Jesus now at that time I don't see any good coming out of this but now as I look about 20-plus years later I have seen how it has drawn CCF closer together how my daughter is probably one of the best counselor when it comes to sexually abused women my eyes were opened to see there are many women in the Philippines that had been sexually abused by family members but you see all of this blessing will not happen people will not come forward they're embarrassed but can I tell you something God is not true in writing the history of humanity Amen God has a great plan as we close look at this verse therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and so what he had done believed in him God used Lazarus to be the instrument of amazing transformation of a community and today of us will you be part of God's amazing program what's your role God is in charge that's it but some of you are not trusting the evidence of trusting is moved a stone you've got to do something let's bar heads I don't know what are those stones in your life but you are not moving the stone for some of you it is probably bitterness anger for some it is asking for forgiveness for some perhaps it is a relationship an immoral relationship that God is saying you to see my power get rid of that for some of you I don't know what stone is holding you back from surrendering everything to God you are not cooperating we will turn your eyes onto Jesus and do not look at the size of your stone just do your best and let God help you let's bow our heads and pray humble yourself if you have never asked Jesus to help you remove the stone maybe today you should do them if you have never asked Jesus to really to really be your Savior do that some of you you need to repent the stone of unrepentant father God in heaven will you examine the hearts of your people here this morning I want to pray for some of our people here who are hurting what is courage Lord they are afraid to move the stone they are afraid to walk in faith will you tell us to trust you means to obey you to trust you means to do our part Lord you are in charge we are responsible to obey you help us do our part Lord - some of us who are not yet even sure that they have eternal life they are afraid of dying they never had assurance of forgiveness Lord will speak to them right now and pray this prayer with me if you want to be sure how to have eternal life pray this prayer Lord Jesus you are in charge of death and life you are in charge of our salvation today I accept your plan of salvation I accept your sovereign way of receiving forgiveness that is through your son Jesus Lord Jesus come into my heart i humble myself before you by faith I believe you love me and you have the best plan for my life I look forward to what you will do I surrender to you my pain I surrender to you my trials I surrender to you the stones of my life thank you in Jesus name we all pray amen amen [Applause]

Channel: CCF Makati

Views: 32,095

Rating: 4.7469878 out of 5

Keywords: ccf makati, ccf, makati, Jesus, A.Venue

Id: DmjbNVp-S6I

Length: 69min 37sec (4177 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 03 2014