Lord’s Day Message
Bible Verses: 2 Tim. 2:1-13 (NLT)
1 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. 3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. 5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. 6 And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 7 Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. 11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
Outlines
I. The learning in serving (1~7)
- Be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus
- Continuation of the Words
- Becoming soldiers of Christ Jesus – to please Him
- Becoming athletes – follow the rules to win the prize
- Becoming farmers – labour to enjoy
II. The experience in serving (8~13)
- Seeing God’s words cannot be chained in the sufferings
- To endure for the chosen people
- To die and to live with Christ
- To endure and to reign with Christ
- Knowing God is faithful
Next Topics: 2 Tim. 2
Church Meetings/Time/Place
Home Meeting: 17/3 Mon. 7:30pm, Richard & Flora’s
Young Professionals Meeting: 18/3 Tue. 7:30pm, Meeting Hall
Sister meeting: 19/3 Wed. 10:00am, Anne’s
Prayer Meeting: 19/3 Wed. 7:30pm，Meeting Hall
Young People Meeting/Pursuing for Adults：22/3 Sat. 7:30pm, Olsen & Likun’s
Announcements:
- We welcome all the new ones who are joining us today and hope you can leave your information for us to contact you in the future.
- If the brothers and sisters see something need to be fixed in the meeting hall, please report to brothers Michael Lin or Richard Chen. If anyone has questions or suggestions for the cleaning service, please fellowship with brothers Richard Cui or Patrick Li.
- This afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 pm the church will have new believers lesson. We welcome all new believers as well as those who want to pursue and exercise to join.
- On April 18~21 (Friday night to Monday noon) the church plans to have a conference for both young people and adults at Collaroy. We hope many brothers and sisters can separate the time and participate together. The church will cover the cost for the young people if registered by 15/3. For details including the cost, please contact Brother Richard and Sister Lamee.
Intercession:
- Pray for the Collaroy conference that the Lord can have His way on us to enlighten, nourish and lead us to treasure the life growth He has prepared for us.
- Please pray for the gospel friends among us so that our Lord can open their hearts to see God’s salvation and be willing to receive the Lord and become the member in God’s family.
- Pray for the health of each family (especial for the older ones). Pray especially for the mother of Brother Jason Wang and Sister Da-Nan Lu who just came back from China. May the Lord care her spirit, soul, and body.
Serving Next Week: (Mar. 23)
- Sharing: Jack Lee & Yulin Wang
- Breaking the Bread: Jack Lee & Yulin Wang
Serving Bread and Cup: Jack Lee, Jason Wang & Richard Cui
3. Pianist: Yvonne Ingalls
4. Cleaning: Richard & Flora Family, Joyce & Chris, Peter Gao, Olsen & Likun Family, Pauline Zhang, Rebecca Li
Reading of Spiritual Books:
The Faithfulness of God
Hebrews 6:13 says that God swore by Himself. People always swear by one who is greater than they, but God swore by Himself. He is God. Not only do we have to confess that we cannot do anything because we are so weak, we also need to confess that we cannot even grasp God’s strength. God is not limited by our feeble prayers. He works above what we can ask or think. Just as the Lord’s return will come at a time that we do not know, even now He comes and works when we do not know it. He supplies our needs according to His riches, not according to what we ask. …God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He is God. When I think of this, I want to worship. If God withdrew all that He has done for us apart from our prayers, we would have very little left! We should come to Him and say, “Lord, I believe You are God.” When we feel that we cannot even pray and that we have waited in vain, having no hope, let us say, “Lord, it is not my prayer that matters, only You matter. I believe in You, in Your throne, and in Your mercy.” “It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:16). We need to see that God is bigger than our prayer and our thoughts. When we can pray, let us pray, but when we come to the point when we cannot pray, let us look to God and declare that He is God. We are so small; we need to learn to look to God to accomplish things by Himself! If God believes in Himself, then we also should believe in Him.
God cannot suffer His glory to be limited by our apprehension, conception, or thoughts of Him. Let us say to God, “Do for me what will glorify You.” It is better to believe that He is God rather than spending our time crying to Him. Our prayers can come to an end and our seeking can weaken and tire us, but God cannot tire or come to an end. The measure of our conception of God is not the measure of His working. We can say, “Lord, here is a tired person who puts himself into Your hand.” We can be impatient, but it will not hasten matters at all. We just need to look to Him and trust in Him. God says it is not of him who wills or runs but of Him who shows mercy. Let us humble ourselves under His hand. All of our struggles, prayers, and sighs avail nothing. He is a God who cannot deny Himself. He abides faithful. (Watchman Nee)
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