IT'S TIME TO CHANGE OUR CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE

 

Preaching Manuscript 01:  January 1, 2023

TEXT:     Matthew 7:21-23

Happy New Year!

“Bagong taon ay magbagong buhay, nang lumigaya ang ating bayan. Tayo’y magsikap upang makamtan natin ang kasaganaan…”

Madalas itong kinakanta sa pasko pero alam ba natin o nauunawaan ba natin ang ibig sabihin ng bawat talata ng kantang ito?

Napakagandang challenge sa bawat isa sa atin bilang mga Kristiyano na itong taong 2023 ay mabago ang ating mindset O LIFESTYLE sa pagiging Kristiyano. Marami sa atin ang Nominal Christian. They are Christians by name only. Marami rin ang Seasonal Christian. They are the Christians na lulubog lilitaw. Marami ring Busy Christians. They are very active in the ministry o hataw sa ministry. Pero nakakatakot na sa pagdating ng ating Panginoon ay sasabihin Niya sa kanila, “Hindi ka puwedeng makapasok sa aking Kaharian o SINO KA? HINDI KITA KILALA.”

Mababasa natin ito sa Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 

Anong sinasabi sa atin ng passage na ito? Hindi lahat ng Kristiyano ay makakapasok sa kaharian ng Diyos. At hindi lahat ng lingkod ng Diyos ay kilala ng Diyos. Ang saklap naman na sobrang hataw natin sa ministry tapos sasabihin ng Diyos, “Sino ka? Hindi kita kilala.”

Sino lang daw ang makakapasok sa kaharian ng Diyos?

Sabi sa passage, and makakapasok lang sa kaharian  ng Diyos ay ang mga gumagawa sa kanyang kalooban. Those who does the will of the Father.

Ang tanong,  tayo ba ay sumusunod sa kanyang kalooban?

Ano ba ang kalooban ng Diyos?

Some men came to Jesus once with a question about what God required of them: “They asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent’” (John 6:28–29).

God wants them to have faith in His Son, which is also what God wants for us now.

If we are to read the Bible, to believe in Jesus is a command.

“This is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23).

So, the will of God is for us to have faith in Christ. Pero hindi lang ito papetiks petiks na pananampalataya na katulad ng ginagawa ng marami. Hindi ito nominal faith o seasonal faith. True faith is a total surrendering of yourself to Jesus or transferring your TRUST to Jesus and true faith will produce good works. Kaya nga pag sinabi nating, "I am a Christian," may transformation o magandang bunga na nakikita sa buhay natin.

In Ephesians 2:8-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are not saved by good works, BUT rather we are saved FOR GOOD WORKS.

Ano ba itong good works na tinutukoy dito? This is to reflect Christ’s character and goodness to the world. Those who are born again by faith in Christ will produce good works to the glory of God (Ephesians 2:10).

God is pleased to see us become more like His Son (Romans 8:29). We were made in God's image, but that image was tainted by sin. God bought us back for Himself in order to restore His image in us and free us to become all that we were designed to be. When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, He inspires us to do things that bring glory to God (John 14:26).

In short, the will of God is for us to become like His Son. God is omniscient. Wala tayong puwedeng itago sa Diyos. Alam niya kung tunay ang ating pananampalataya o katulad tayo ng mga Pharisees. Kaya we have to examine ourselves. Kumusta ang buhay Kristiyano natin? Sinusunod ba natin ang kalooban ng Diyos na maging katulad ng Kanyang anak na si Jesus?

 It’s time to change our Christian lifestyle.   

The next question is how do we know if we are becoming like Jesus?

Makikita ito sa ating bunga or lifestyle. Sabi nga sa Matthew 7:20, “You will recognize them by their fruit.” Ang mabuting kahoy hindi magbubunga ng masama.

Kumusta ang bunga ng Espiritu sa ating buhay?

Let us rate ourselves from 1-10. 10 as the highest and 1 as the lowest

Galatians 5:22-23- The Fruit of the Spirit

Love. Kumusta ang pag-ibig natin sa ating Diyos? Sa ating pamilya? Sa ibang tao? Nabubuhay pa rin ba tayo sa hatred? Mahirap pa rin ba tayong magpatawad sa ating kapwa? Do we pray for our enemies?

Joy. Ang joy ay imposible sa mga taong walang Kristo. Pero ito ay possible sa mga may Kristo sa buhay. Ito yung kahit na nakakaranas ka ng matinding pagsubok may kagalakan pa rin sa iyong puso. Do you still rejoice amidst your suffering?

Peace. Again, peace comes from the Lord. Do you have peace? Ito yung nagagawa mong matulog ng mahimbing kahit na may malakas na bagyo. Ito yung hindi ka nangangamba dahil may peace of mind ka at may tiwala ka sa Diyos na hindi ka niya pababayaan. Ito yung kahit hindi mo nauunawaan ang mga bagay bagay pero you have trusted everything to God and bahala na Siya sa’yo?

Patience. Kumusta ang patience mo? Handa ka bang mag-antay sa timing ni Lord o gusto mong madaliin ang lahat ng bagay? Kung minsan sa pagmamadali sa buhay, dito tayo mas napapahamak.

Kindness. Kumusta ang pagtrato mo sa ibang tao? Do you have a generous heart for the needy? O ikaw yung tipong “pag mayaman na ako o kung may trabaho na, dun ako tutulong.” Kindness can be shown in different ways. Yung alam mong walang bigas yung kapitbahay mo, hindi naman kailangan isang cavan ang ibibigay mo. Simple kindness ay malaking bagay na yan sa ibang tao.

Faithfulness. Kumusta ang loyalty mo kay Lord o kumusta ang commitment mo kay Lord? Ikaw ba yung tipo na pag may bagyo ay nabagyo na rin sa iyong pananampalataya? O nandun pa rin ang tiwala mo sa Diyos anuman ang sitwasyon mo sa buhay?

Gentleness. Kumusta ang paghandle mo situation na dumadating sa buhay mo? Sa maliit ba na bagay ay nagagalit ka agad?

Self-control. Kumusta ang iyong self-control? This applies to all temptations. Kumusta ang self-control mo sa food? Sa social media? Sa work? Sa anger? Etc.

These are the indicators that we are progressing toward being like Christ. Kung walang progress ang 9 fruit na nabanggit dito, we have to start it right this year. Nakakatakot na pag dumating ang ating Panginoon ay sasabihin sa atin, “Hindi ka makakapasok sa aking langit…Sino ka? Hindi kita kilala.”

It’s time to change our Christian lifestyle.

Paano tayo magiging katulad ni Jesus?

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Dito papasok ang Holistic Discipleship o ang pag-aaral ng kanyang Salita.

Wisdom: We need to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)

Stature: We need to live a holy or healthy lifestyle because our body is our instrument in worshiping Him and it is our living sacrifice (Romans 12:1)

God: We need to grow in our relationship with Him through our intentional devotions.

People: We need to grow in our relationships with other people by being role models in our community.

For 2023, mga kapatid. It’s time to change our Christian lifestyle. From nominal Christian to Christlikeness. The fruit of the Spirit should manifest in our life. Para pag tayo ay haharap sa Panginoon sa kanyang pagdating ay makikilala Niya tayo dahil kawangis natin Siya. Hindi kilala ng Diyos ang hindi niya kawangis.

For the whole month, our theme is trusting the Word of God and our theme verse is Luke 2:52. I'm strongly encouraging everyone to attend our Sunday services and all ministry activities in the church if we want to grow and become like Christ.

For guidance and counseling: you are free to message me in my messenger account: Crisanta Santos or send your email to my email address: crisantamagata@gmail.com