LOVE

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

-John 13:34

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

-1John 3:16

What is love? Have you ever been asked that question? i'm pretty sure you have. When someone talks about love, the boy-girl relationship is really the first thing that crosses our mind. Not that there's anything wrong about that, but when you talk about the genuine TRUE LOVE, the love that Jesus Christ showed upon the cross, it is a much deeper, and more meaningful love to talk about. i'm going to talk about how God gave me a more genuine insight about what love really is.

Last night was a ery special night for the Core. Last night, we had movie night, and the movie was "Fireproof." It was about this man named Caleb who screwed up his marriage with his wife, Catherine, and was now trying to fix it because his dad helped him realize there was still a part of him that wanted to save their marriage because his wife had already prepared the divorce papers. His dad gave him a book entitled "The Love Dare" which was a 40-day journey that Caleb would have to take. It was written in his dad's hand, filled with Biblical teachings and suggestions what to do, like buying her flowers, or do something unexpected.

Catherine rejected every single one of Caleb's gestures. Out of hope and halfway through the 40-day journey, he had a talk with his dad that made him realize that love isn't about showing how much you care for someone, but it's this unexplainable "thing(*)" that leads you to care and do things for someone, regardless of whether or not they deserve it, or will accept it, surpassing all storms, all trials, all rejections, all fires, all hardships. In the same way, his dad made him realize that Jesus is always showing us how much He loves us, especially what He did for us on the cross to save us from all we've ever done against Him, and all we've ever done was reject Him.

Caleb (and the viewers) has now received a much more genuine insight about what love is, and is now doing what the book is leading him to, ultimately because of his love for his wife. In the end, Catherine finally realized the truth of what Caleb's been doing, and has accepted both him, and Jesus.

Caleb then goes to his dad to thank him for the faithfulness he's shown, and for not giving up on mom when he took the Love Dare. However, his dad said that although the book was written in his hand, it was his mom that took the Love Dare when he wanted to leave, and that he wrote it in his hand because he knew that Caleb would take it from him. This broke Caleb because he used to always get annoyed about how his mom acted like, like you know, mom, he realized how strong his mom was, and what her faithfulness led their family to. This part made me cry the most.

As i'm writing this (or in this case, typing), it still makes me cry about how much my mom really loves me, and that how she showed her strength to raise both me and my brother alone really made a great impact in my own life. Though she gets worried much, and tends to get all clingy, like Caleb's mom, i've always tried not to complain about that because here on earth, she's the only one i've ever got apart from my brother, and it shatters me when i make her feel like retiring from motherhood.

Up until this day, she and the rest of the family remain unbelievers, sticking to their religion. In my walk with God, there have been times when i really felt like either giving up, or just be taken away. But looking at how Jesus persevered on His excruciating journey to the cross, i want to persevere with my mission here on earth with His guidance.

Not just for my family, but for everyone, i want to continue spreading truth. i'll continue to step up in faith to show them that God does not want our sacrifices, our works, or our religion. Rather, He just wants our whole selves. i want to show them that there is nothing and no one else but Jesus that they could go to for salvation, or forgiveness, or needs; that prayers are our conversation with God, and not repeated gestures, or something given by a anybody that is to be presented to God, like it's "the right words to say"; that religion is worthless and that they should come to a church that is committed to Jesus, and nobody or nothing else; and that reading the Bible is more important than eating.

That night really gave me a new and better perspective of love. It isn't something that must be shown, rather it's something that should be given. It isn't something that requires you to make gestures to someone, rather it's something that leads you to want to do great things for someone. It isn't something that can only be shared with a "special someone", or a spouse, but even to somebody whom you just met. Most of all, it isn't something reserved to reward someone for something special that they've done, rather, true, genuine love exists unconditionally, whether or not somebody deserves it, whether or not somebody wants it, whether or not somebody asks for it.

Jesus loves you! God bless you all.

Sweetly Broken

"the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. O God, You will not despise."

- Psalm 51:17

This year's first ever CORE camp in CCD is the very first college ministry summer camp, as it is my very first summer camp. The theme for this year is Sweetly Broken, wherein we are taught the true meaning of brokenness as a believer, how it happens, why it has to happen, and where God really is in our brokenness. It was da COOLEST! We couldn't bring (use, rather) our cellphones, or bring anything like games to lessen our distractions, but it was WORTH IT!!! I'm glad i left my phone.

Since it was my first camp ever, i was (naturally) out of my shoes excited. I finished packing my bags two nights before the first day, and i kept on calling Pastor Jerry (or Kuya Jerry or KJ) our youth pastor, for information, precautions, rules, activities, and other stuff that i felt like i was starting to get on his nerves (hahah).

On the very day (March 23) after lunch, i set off to CCD to meet up with those who were going to get a ride to the venue. When we finally left, i already started taking pictures of everything and everyone, especially when we arrived. Everyone registered on time (except for Kor, who had a class and arrived past six). We had a blast with the first game, wherein each of the campers shouted out their own name and course. Later, they split us all up into two groups, separating us (the groups) with a thick blanket. The object of the game was to guess the name and course of the person on the other side of the blanket when it was pulled down. Our team won! WOOHOO!!! After that, we played cops and robbers, guys versus girls. Girls won, but it was real fun!

KJ and Ate M always encouraged us to meet new people. They even grouped us into tables with people we didn't know during dinner. On our table, we had a real fun conversaton, but we had to end it because Session 1 was about to start, and Pastor Jo will be teaching us. The message was awesome! It was taken from Hosea 2:14-23, wherein God was punishing His people for their unfaithfulness, but He reminds us that He hates sin, but loves the sinner (oh, how i love that line!), and wants us to draw to Him and Him alone because the things of this world are worthless and broken. He also reminds us that we have to be broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17b) in order to obtain self-emptiness, because God is all we will ever need, and that after brokenness, we always get a new, better perspective of God. The message not only spoke to me, but to all of us. I spent time alone, talking to God afterwards in one of the covered areas. It was awesome. After a while, Kuya Miggy approached me to find out what's up, after he had a conversation with Kuya Cole. We bonded and encouraged each other for a while and shared our struggles. It was great. Eventually, we all had to go to bed.

The next day, i woke up at 5am (after waking up and sleeping again at 3am), and did my morning devotion next to a praying mantis. Afterwards, i took a few cool pics of everything, especially the colors reflecting the ocean before the sun rose. Kuya Champy then woke up and we both sat on the sand, staring at the horizon. Not too long afterwards, i discovered that he was actually waiting for the sunrise. I took more really cool pics of it. He and i then sang the first lines of the song, Beautiful. We then started our group devotion, then took our physical b-fast, and had Session 2 with Pastor Jo. The message was really awesome as well. It was taken from Genesis 32:22-32 when Jacob was wrestling with God. Pastor Jo reminded us that although Jacob was chosen by God to receive the blessing which was originally intended for Esau, Jacob was self-consumed, and his heart was not right with the Lord. When he struggled with God, he obviously lost, and received a broken hip. Pastor Jo reminded us that the first step to brokenness is admitting our failures, and that God is always right. If we struggle against God, insisting our way of the flesh, we WILL lose! There's no point in standing firm on something which God points out as wrong. After the session, we prayed for each other, and then had lunch, then we had our free time, which i spent on taking an extra long, relaxing, nap.

After i woke up, we were about to start our group activity, Core version of the Amazing Race! We were distributed to three groups. I was on the Orange Team! I tell you, the tasks weren't easy, and all had to be done in teams, like skiing with wood with teammates across the entire yard, filling up a bucket with water using nothing but the clothes on your back, passing two bicycle tires in a group circle, crabwalking across the sand. It was EXHAUSTING! Fun, but exhausting. Our team won because even though we finished second, we were the only team which stuck our flag in the correct place! Out of breath, we were called by KJ so he could tell us the purpose for the game. Not only was it for team building, but it meant a lot more than that. Reading the clues, we scanned through the paper like lightning, afterwards, just remembering the words, we took off to do the task, even though the task wasn't done pretty well. Though this was a game, the same thing shouldn't be done in our time with God, when we read our Bibles, afterwards, saying, "That was great!", and then taking off to face the challenges of the world. It needs time spent to understand what was written. When we were told to do the task again, most if not all of us took the instruction like sport. We shouldn't be like that when we receive rebuke from God, or a bro or sis, even if it means we have to go through the same task again. Some of us weren't exactly a good encouragement to our teammates when we did the race, even. In our walk, our bros and sis are there to encourage us! Last but not the least, not one of us started the game with a group prayer. It was all about winning. In our relationship with the Lord, are we more focused on God, or ourselves? Or rather, do we even have an intimate relationship with God where God is large and in charge, and have we ever considered His supremacy? The message really spoke to me. I was, yet again, SWEETLY BROKEN!

After the activity, we were given free time. While the servant leaders were preparing for the activity later that night, some of us played Si Maria, and Cat and Dog in the water, others (KJ included) played the great Sand Ball Tournament, while others did their usual. We then had dinner, and then Session 3, the last session of the camp. The teaching was taken from Psalm 51. God washed in over us that night. It was (yet again,) AWESOME!!! He revealed a lot to us like the way He breaks us, the way He comforts us, and the way He always restores us willingly. We then had our afterglow wherein we did nothing but worship with songs, and pray for one another. A lot of us (me included) had tears streaming down our eyes. God was there!

After the afterglow, we (the ones who were willing to take part in the last activity) were given index cards. We tasked to write our masks, the things we cover up and pretend about on one half, and on the other, the sins we still hold on to, so we wrote.

On the sand, we lit up the bonfire and burned the first half of our index cards in it. Near the campfire was a cross that was put up earlier, and we nailed the second half (the one with the sins) on it. Now, the activity didn't mean anything significant in a life-changing way, but it was just a symbol of our willingness to let go of our dishonesties and insecurities, and nailing in our sins with Jesus as a sign of lifting it all up to Him. We continued to sing praises around the campfire, until i accidentally slept on the sand. Ate Mich had to wake me up for midnight snacks, where we roased marshmallows and hotdogs over the open campfire. It was fun and delicious, but the only problem was that the sticks were too short, and the fire was too hot, so it took some trouble to get the food cooked, but i know none of us wanted it any other way. We then got ready for bed. Ate M had to scold us (the guys) a few times before we actually decided to go to sleep. We eventually did.

The next morning, i, again, woke up at 5, and did my devotion. I also got a few shots of the sunrise, and the other guys sleeping. We later did our group devotion, then b-fast, then the last encouragement in Deuteronomy 8:2. After that, we were given free time. For a video that Hillsong needed, those of us who were interested got a good clip of what broke us. I then went to the sea by myself to just goof around in the water. Then the most awesome thing happened. God later told me to sit where the sand and the water touched, and just look around and meditate on what i saw. I tell you, it was really cool.

What God showed me during those moments at the water's edge was that we are as powerless and insignificant as the sand that stood under the mercy of the waters. Our time here on earth is as limited as the time each grain of sand spent on staying put at where the waves crashed. It was the sea that decided for the stilness and the demise of the sand. God was the sea. As vast, and as powerful as the ocean was, compared to the sand, so is He compared to us, times an eternity.

After that, i spent time reflecting, then played cards, packed my bags, and then we went back home. The brokenness i discovered during the stay there at camp was life-changing. God has revealed Himself more beautiful than ever!!!

Great Way to End the Schoolyear

Whoa.. it's been a while since i've posted. Now, i'm a fresh graduate from Silliman high, and i'm just having some mixed emotions. God's really been great throughout the year. He always has, always is, and always will be!

High school really was the best four years of my life. Ups and downs filled up the days, but that's what makes the experience worthwile.

I will forever remember my four years within the classroom walls. I mean, high school's when i accepted God into my life (well, near the end of my junior year, i mean). He's been gracious and compassionate throughout my walk. I was a bit nervous about not being able to march because my Filipino grades have been (regrettably) near-failing. But hey, that's the power of prayer and perseverance. Graciously, my grades escalated, and i'm in awe.

Okay, so i'll spare you of my highlights, my heartaches (hahah.. no, nothing about relationships), and all other experiences. Ending this schoolyear was really memorable, and that's what i intend to discuss about.

After the final exams, i had to train and pray pretty hard for the upcoming graduation and 2009 Regional meet. Turns out, both events were happening on the same week, although not at the same time (whew!). It's just that i had to both compete, and practice for graduation at the same time, so me and the other fourth year delegates were working extra hard!

Finally, the meet came. I was able to meet up with archers from other delegations and catch up. By God's grace, i was able to meet up with a friend from Mandaue whom i reached out to the previous year. He's doing better. He's already reading his Bible! Major praises to Jesus!!! However, he needs praying over due to much family problems, but moreover, his walk is the major priority.

I'm so blessed this year because i was able to reach out to a girl from Bohol i met last year. She's convicted, but i can't say anything major went on. However, God will prove Himself faithful, so i'm praying over more light to be shown to her.

I also got a chance to catch up with two fellow believers, a guy and a girl from Cebu Province. I'm also blessed to know they're dowing better in their walks (RIGHT ON GUYS!!!).

Hard work also pays off. Five of us from Dumaguete (Roxy, Gelene, Crissa, Ken and me) are going to compete in nationals!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

After the last day of competition was our graduation day. I was also blessed because my dad came to attend my graduation. I mean, i really didn't expect him to come visit us!

But during graduation day, since i missed out big time on the practices, that i had to be real observant of my seatmates to be able to know what to do! But the experience and the occasion was so cool. Many of my batchmates were starting to cry (especially during the graduation song), some were already saying their goodbyes in the middle of the ceremony, and others were just a bundle of nerves. The most (let's say,) dramatic moment of the occasion was when we transferred our tassels from the left of our caps to the right, as a sign that we've graduated. After transferring the tassels, everyone wanted time to rewind itself and start back to our freshman year! It just goes to show that no matter how bad or good our time in high school was, we would always wish we had more of it on the last day. But we had to move on.

After the graduation, i took as many pictures as i can with my batchmates, even if their mascara was already running with their tears, or if they already took off their toga, or if their faces are covered by the graduation gifts they received. God is awesome!

Before the night was over (and yes, we reached nighttime), me and the family ate at Shakeys. I love the food there.

Anyway, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He knows what's best for us, and will prove Himself faithful. Now, i'm not saying this just because of the way He's recently moved in my life, but also because when He wills for me to be broken and contrite, He always shows Himself to be stronger, wiser, more knowledgeable, and much greater than i am, or anything i can ever come up with. He's always there, and He's always waiting for us to rely fully on Him.

http://tiew2.multiply.com/photos/album/37/2009_CViRAA#

http://tiew2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Bacalauriat_and_Graduation_Day

Little Soldier Boy

Every morning when I wake up, I can't help but wonder about a few things. About why I'm still alive, about why God chooses to keep me in this wretched, empty world; about why He can't just choose to take me to safety in heaven now, since I'm already going there, anyway. Truth is, I just want to leave this all behind. These thoughts might sound selfish, but they're honest. I refuse to deny and lie about these thoughts in front of anyone, especially God. In fact, I don't believe that being honest and respectful with Him is a sin, because it simply is not. Jesus even brought His deepest sorrows to the Father in Gethsemane.

In the Bible, it says, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)." Such words are so overpowering and edifying that they break me to pieces. The apostle Paul stated here that while he was still alive, his purpose was to serve the Lord, and if he died, that would mean entering heaven's gates. Either way, Paul was joyous. Though he was tried at many, many, different points, he pursued in faith. He "considered his present sufferings were not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in him (Romans 8:18)." "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2ndTimothy 3:12)."

Therefore, I'm not anymore surprised with how those who refuse to believe will treat me. "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19)." I just hate this world and the evil it brings! I'm sure that every believer has had their times wishing God would just take them at this very moment, whether it be because of worship, because of emptiness, because of despair, because of brokenness. I personally wish at times to enter heaven and be with my Creator than to spend any more time in this vile place, knowing I'll keep falling or even diving into sin, disappointing Him, or to have to face the stubborness of my persecutors. However, every true believer would just put his/her full trust in God, for He knows best. Besides, "the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21b)." Though at times I wish so much for paradise, I just can't help but smile at the fact that God's still going to use me to glorify His holy name! His will always be done.

Every believer is a warrior fighting for the cause of God's name. Within every believer is a raging battle that is decided with how much faith one puts in God. Believing in Christ, I tell you, will not render total victory over all present or future battles. These battles will be even more real and difficult once one starts believing. Choosing to believe in Christ's salvation, rather reduces the number of battles lost. God never said it was easy, only that we won't be lonely when we step up for His name. We must "put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11)." These battles are against the devil himself, so it will be difficult. Putting on this spiritual armor and pcking up "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)" also means knowing that God's already overcome it all, that all that's left is to trust Him with whatever outcome a battle may be, knowing that in the end, the war will be over, where we are on the winning side, and "the old order of things will pass away (Revelation 21:4b)."

Yes, I am encouraged to face the fight, but my hatred toward the things the world offers, and the fact that most of the people on earth are abiding with these things is still present. However, God's so good, He's constantly reminding me He's overcome it all, that nothing is because of anything I've ever done, but because I choose to be on God's side, and that my trust and faith in Him means I'm going to be part of something colossal which will bring further glory to His name!

My battles are far from over. God's light will keep on shining in me. I'm a little soldier boy, standing with my Father, learning from Him the way of the sword before, during, and after a struggle. I'm loved by the Lord, and I will fight until the end. Then when the end of my stay here on earth finally comes for me, I will be one of the little warriors marching home after our last battle's been won, running into Daddy's arms unharmed, and hearing Him say as He cradles me in His hands, "You fought well, brave one."

Christians in Danger of God

this entry was written by a good friend of mine. now i won't promise that your reading this will be easy, but hopefully, i pray that God will reveal something to you.. i also pray for your sensitivity to His truth, the only truth.. God bless

link to the original blog: http://micahdagaerag.multiply.com/journal/item/14/Christians_in_Danger_of_God

Christians in Danger of God

Matthew 7:13-27 

It is a great privilege to be here before all of you this morning. I am deeply humbled and honored for this sacred opportunity to preach the Word of God to this church. But this morning I’m going to share with you a warning from Scripture.

 

Now let me say this before I begin. There are issues lying deep under our church’s spirituality that must be addressed and brought to the light. There is so much at stake this morning that many of you don’t understand. So let me tell you where I’m coming from as I preach to you. I will preach as a dying man, to a dying people. I will preach as though I will never preach again. I will tell you things that have been misunderstood. I will tell you things that have caused so much anger against me. I will tell you things that have been denied. And I will tell you things that you say I don’t have a right to tell you about.

 

You see, preaching is a very dangerous thing. It’s dangerous for me, because Scripture says that false teachers will undergo a much greater condemnation. And so if what I’m teaching you is not true, I am in a great deal of trouble and have every right to do this with fear and trembling. But if what I tell you is true, then you’re the one with cause for fear and trembling. Because if I interpret this Scripture correctly, it will be as though God was truly speaking through a man, and your problem will not be with me. It will be with God and His Word.

 

Now, it may be true that you can accuse me of arrogance, or that you will not like my delivery. I have many times been arrogant, and I have many times delivered God’s Word in a wrong way. But don’t use that as an excuse for you. The question is: what I am saying, is it true? And if you don’t like what I am saying, is it because I am offending God’s thoughts, or your personal thoughts? Because if I do this right, my friends, I will not be preaching my own thoughts, but God’s. So that if you find yourself offended by my preaching, I will be the least of your problems. Because it will show that you are in rebellion to God’s Word, and are answerable, not to me, but to Him.

 

But there are some of you who will listen to this, and you will say Amen, and think “Yeah, these people need this kind of bashing from the pulpit.” I advise you to be careful about your heart, my friend. Though you may have certain grievances against this church, you have to realize that all of us bear a measure of blame and guilt for the current spiritual condition of our church. And it is not good at all. So if you have attained to some spiritual maturity, what do you have that you didn’t receive from God, and if you have received it, why do you boast? That’s what the apostle Paul advises us.

 

Post-Intro

 

This past year God has carried me through the hardest struggles I have ever had to go through, in my heart and in my mind. And now I realize that all of them have been in preparation for the great burden that He has given me to preach today, which is this: in the Philippines, the great majority of the so-called Christian population is in danger of God. Many, if not all of us who are members of a church, believe ourselves to be in a right relationship with God, and we actually believe we will go to Heaven with the Lord when we die.

 

But herein lies the burden and the heaviness of what I am about to preach: the alarming reality that we need to face as Christians is that when we study the Scriptures, it will show that there is an overwhelmingly great number of us whom the Lord will say to in the Day of Judgment, “'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Do you see what Jesus is saying? We owe it to ourselves to check whether or not we are part of those the Lord will dismiss on the last day. Our eternal security depends on this.

 

Now, at this point, some of you will think, “What right does this guy have to question salvation and bring doubt into the faith of his church mates?” “You shouldn’t judge anyone’s salvation. It’s between them and the Lord.” My friend, I would like to submit to you that the Bible actually demands this very act of checking personal salvation. In 2 Corinthians 13: 5 the Apostle Paul commands the church in Corinth, saying, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” Why does Paul write this? Because of Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7!

 

Verses 13-14

 

Let’s start in verses 13 and 14. Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

 

First observation: Jesus says that for each and every person alive in the world today, that person can walk in only one of two gates: one narrow, and one wide. He says that the majority of people go through the wide gate, and it has an easy way, or path. If you take a good look around you, this means that most people in this church, most people in your office, most people in your school, are all on the wide gate leading to destruction, probably including yourself. It would seem that our general direction in life is through that wide gate. Every single person is born by default heading into that wide gate of destruction.

 

Now, you need to understand, and see that the wide gate, is what is easy. The wide gate is what is natural. The wide gate is what is worldly popular. The wide gate doesn’t want you to suffer, if in your suffering you end up drawing closer to God. The wide gate wants to give you your best life now, if that’s what it takes to get your mind off of God and on your material success and prosperity. The wide gate is what is theologically liberal, meaning it accepts that you can believe in any god or gods, but as long you are sincere and religious enough you can still make it to Heaven. I just recently discovered that Oprah herself believes in a unified idea of religion, the belief that Jesus is just a way, but not the way, and that Christ didn’t come to bring salvation, but a higher state of Christ-consciousness, which is based more on Indian mysticism than the Bible. And millions of people subscribe to her brand of religion all over the world, which doesn’t believe that Jesus is God and that salvation in the next life is possible only in Him.

 

The wide gate doesn’t want to offend anyone, but seeks to equate all religions as the same, and it means denying Christ as He claimed to be. It is often politically correct. The wide gate dismisses true spirituality as burdensome and unnecessary. It doesn’t like the idea of being serious enough in our spiritual life, because it thinks it’s too corny. The wide gate can also be false religiosity, trying to earn points for Heaven, and hypocritical and dishonest ways of being a Christian. And because it is wide and many enter through it, it is seductive. The wide gate doesn’t want you to leave it. It knows that it leads into destruction and it wants to trap and ensnare and devour as many souls as it can. If anyone tries to leave the wide gate, that wide gate will try to ensnare him back. It will fight to keep you. And it uses many ways of deception, just to keep you in what is popular, keep you in what is easy, and you don’t have to worry about how God thinks about your life and the true status of your eternal destiny.

 

But Jesus says it is a gate and it is a way that leads to destruction. People who live lives like these are going to Hell, whether they believe it or not. And this is not my word, this is Jesus’. We would do well to believe Jesus because He alone is called Faithful and True in Revelation. He is the perfect witness of the Father, and if He says so, then it is so. What keeps true preachers on their knees in prayer is the fact that in a hundred years, the great majority of the people in their church will most probably end up in Hell, unless he challenges them to make their calling and election sure, as the apostle Peter warned us.

 

Now, about the narrow way. Jesus says we ought to enter by the narrow gate. Now, by experience we know that a narrow gate is harder to spot, than a wide gate. A wide gate can just sit idly at the side and still be noticed by anyone passing by. But a narrow gate necessitates a search. A careful search. Anyone who is not looking for the narrow gate will never find it, nor even see it. So the question is, when was the last time you seriously, earnestly sought Christ? Because if you have no memory of ever wanting to seek Christ to believe in Him, you have never strived to get out of the wide gate looking for the narrow one, and therefore still are on the wide gate and are in danger of Hell. If there is no desire within you to seek and thirst after God, my friend, you better start mourning over yourself and seek God’s mercy. That He give it to you.

 

Let me ask you another question. We are all here as church members, and we identify ourselves as Christian in almost everywhere we go: birth certificates, application letters, résumés, clubs, and so on. You confess Christ, most likely because you were born into a Christian background, and born into a church background, and you confess Christ as of now. The question is, if you had been born a muslim, or a hindu, or a Buddhist, would you have made any effort at all to see and check for yourself whether the god you believe in is the real true living God, so that you will end up where you are right now, a Christian? And if you are here as a “Christian” and yet have made no real and serious inquiry as to whether or not the God you believe in is the one true God, you are in danger of being in the wide gate yourself.

 

Are you seeking Him? Before coming here to church, were you seeking Him? Yesterday, were you seeking Him? The day before that, were you seeking Him? Today, did you already have it set that you will be seeking after Him? Tomorrow, do you know that you are going to be seeking Him? Seek Him, find the narrow gate, for the narrow gate is Christ Himself. In John 10:7-9 it says, “Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.’” When we truly seek to know and obey and live for Christ, by faith in Him and repentance of our sins, we escape the wide gate, and enter through the narrow gate, which is Christ. And few, Jesus said, will find it. Few will want to seek Him in truth. Few will want to truly obey Him. Only a few will leave the wide gate of destruction, to seek after the narrow one. And few will be saved.

 

And Jesus doesn’t just say that the gate is narrow, He also says that the way is hard. Acts 14:22 says, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Let me ask you something, do you have difficulties and hardships as a direct result of your faith in Christ? Do people ridicule and mock you behind your back because you are someone who sincerely wants to obey the Lord and live your life for Him? Have people slandered and maligned you because you couldn’t compromise the truth? Have you ever been made fun of, or lost opportunities or wealth or respect because you wanted to be a faithful witness to God? Or do people speak ill of you rather because you actually blatantly sin and do wrong?

 

Suffering and hardship are validations of a legitimate and true relationship with God through Christ. Obedience to God will always be hard because we live in a world that hates the God we want to obey. Just look at all those TV programs, those popular music bands, liberal teachers in your schools that make a mockery out of God. Jesus said if the world persecuted and killed Him, how much more will the world hate and persecute us, who are His servants? So that if you are not suffering or persecuted in some way by the world, something is wrong, and you need to check whether you are still a true believer or already a compromising one. If there is nothing wrong with your life because of your faith, something is wrong with your faith.

 

Hebrews 12: 3-8 says, “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” If you’re suffering as a Christian, rejoice. Don’t be surprised by it. But if your Christianity right now doesn’t achieve the slightest opposition from people who don’t know God, you’re probably still in the wide gate, and you need to repent, turn back and seek Christ and His mercy. Get to the right gate. Before it’s too late.

 

Verses 15-23

 

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

 

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

 

In this next set of verses, Jesus addresses two kinds of people, both of them false, and it is implied that these people will find the biggest shock of all eternity: that of being found to being not a true Christian, and told by Jesus Himself to depart from Him. The two groups of people Christ rejects are these: false prophets, and false professors.

 

Let’s discuss these false prophets first, and I would like to use this as an opportunity to bring into light all the various ways our denomination as the UCCP should be afraid of this warning. Jesus says they come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. And the apostle Peter in his second letter clearly lays down what these false teachers, preachers and prophets do, and how they will be destroyed. I don’t have time to do another study of the whole chapter but here’s what I want you to see: wolves can come in many different forms, but all of them have this one thing in common: they care nothing for the sheep. And because they care nothing for the sheep, the sheep are never fed, or if ever they are it is so that those wolves can have a bigger feast on them. A pastor who doesn’t exercise church discipline, and doesn’t obey Scripture when it says in 1 Timothy 4:6 to point out the sins of the people, that pastor is going against the work of the Holy Spirit, and is among the wolves, whether they know it or not. Some pastors brag about not mentioning sin in their sermons, not realizing that Jesus said in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit’s work is to convict the world of sin. So that a pastor who neglects church discipline actually goes against the work of the Holy Spirit, when he forfeits his flock from being convicted by the Holy Spirit so that they could mourn over their sinfulness and come before the cross weeping in humility and brokenness.

 

We in the UCCP have become too thin-skinned to be able to rebuke anyone of anything. Sometimes it’s because we leaders fear men more than we fear God. Sometimes it’s because pastors themselves are in sin, and their sins remain unconfessed and unrepented of, that they cannot possibly pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to fall on the congregation. And so you have this culture of “don’t ask, don’t tell” going on in the congregation with regard to what the Scriptures say about sin, and people get used to their sin. Sin becomes acceptable, immorality becomes acceptable, lying becomes acceptable, gossip in the church becomes acceptable, prayerlessness becomes acceptable, pride becomes tolerable in the church, because no one has the moral highground and the spiritual anointing to speak against all of the sins that the people are entangled in, when you see in the New Testament that this was the first ministry of the apostles and elders in the church: to point people and themselves to Scripture and bring each other to continued repentance and growing holiness. Look at Paul’s letters. Peter’s epistles. We need to know how God thinks of us. Hebrews 4:12-13 says,“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

 

There are also pastors in the UCCP who use God for their own popular and material gain. They are relatively worse than those are just afraid of pointing out sin. These are those pastors (not real pastors, by the way) who twist Scripture to play a guilt trip on the sheep and manipulate the people so that the offering will increase. They mangle God’s Word so that it fits their own ideas, distorting the real meaning of Scripture, for more money. You see many of these kinds of pastors (though may of them aren’t from the UCCP) on television. They make promises of prosperity and healing, if you give this much to their ministry. And yet these are people who have lawsuits filed against them because of unaccountable assets and questionable sources of wealth. They have the biggest mansions, and they never fly below first class. You see them on TV, but just because they appear on Christian TV, my friends, doesn’t mean they are from God. They take advantage of the sick, the elderly, the young, the newly saved, to intimidate them into sending money or whatever, making empty, boastful promises, that never do anything except lead people astray into hell. Many are turned atheists this way.

 

There are also those pastors whose thirst for more of the praises of men outweighs their thirst for more of God. They strive so much to look and sound good before people that they get in the way of God. The people see the preacher, but not Christ. The people hear the preacher and are in awe of the preacher, but not Christ. These wolves use psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and the latest Wall Street self-help church gurus more than God’s Word. These pastors don’t believe that the Word of God is sufficient to know how to run a church. They use surveys and the latest tools and trends to make the Gospel more “relevant” to this generation. They want to be more “seeker-sensitive”. But my friends, we have to realize that Scripture says in John 4 and 1 Chronicles 16 that there’s only one Seeker, His name is God, and if you want to be sensitive and friendly to anyone, be sensitive and friendly to Him. It takes God to run His church. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

There are many pastors in the UCCP who fail this way. And I can say that because I am in the UCCP and have no intention of leaving it unless the General Secretary himself kicks me out. But I love this church, and would love to see it experience a revival and a reformation from within, according to God’s Word.

 

Now let me say just one more thing. Many, if not the great majority of UCCP pastors don’t like to be rebuked. And I say that with no ounce of pleasure at all. I say that with much bitterness and sorrow of heart. While many UCCP pastors squabble and quarrel over who gets the bigger church, who gets to preach to the bigger crowd, who gets to have the bigger position, who gets to be paid more, the sheep are neglected and left without a shepherd and they are dying. And pastors will be judged for this. They are hurting sheep whose owner is God and God will by no means leave that sin unpunished. These sheep are God’s beloved, this is His bride, and I’d be really careful how I treat His bride and His beloved if I were you.

 

But we have a lot of wolves hiding under the pastor’s cloak. Wolves who turn a blind eye to sin, wolves who steal from the sheep, wolves that want to popularize themselves and make a whole ministry empire with their names on it. But my dear brothers and sisters, we are not called to build empires. We are called to obey God, and be faithful to Him. We are called to glorify God. We must decrease, that He may increase. As spiritual leaders, we are called to be nameless and faceless before Him, so that if the people at the end the service remember you more than they remember God, you have stood in the way of God, and need to repent before Him.

 

Next set of verses. After talking the false prophets, Jesus then turns His discussion into something about false professors. Jesus Himself, knowing the events of the future, says that not everyone who names Him Lord will actually make it on the last day. It is not that these people were Satanists or atheists, these people were “Christians”, church people, and yet Jesus never knew them at all.

 

At this point, some of you will object and demand what right have I to judge anyone? You will even tell me that Jesus Himself said not to judge anyone. But my friend, when Jesus said that, He didn’t say don’t judge at all. Read that entire chapter where He says that and you will find that in context He said in Matthew 7:1-5, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” He was actually talking more about hypocrisy, because He says later, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” We are commanded to call each other accountable God’s Word.

 

Again, Paul even commands us in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

 

My friend, when was the last time you actually went and sought to check whether or not you are a real Christian, according to how the Bible says. Scripture says one of the signs of a true believer is that he will actually seek to make his calling and election sure. If you are not caring about the real status of your salvation, you are one among those on the wide gate!

 

Let’s go ahead and try and do some checking right now. If I were to ask you how you can know that you are truly saved, what would you tell me? Some people say, “Oh, I’m saved because I believe in Jesus Christ.” That’s good, and that’s what Scripture says, but it doesn’t end there. The question is, my friend, how do you know that you believe? How do you know that you truly believe, and are a true believer? Because if all you have is mere intellectual or verbal confession of Christ, you will be rejected by Him on the last day. Jonathan Edwards wrote about the culture in his day that the people were all baptized, they were all churchgoers, they were confirmed, but they lived like devils.

 

Now, the verses we just read provide this clue: by their fruit you will know them.

 

By their fruit! Let me ask you something, and here I would like to focus a little bit on the youth. Young man, young woman, you may be part of a youth group in church. But what kind of fruit are you producing? What makes you so different from unbelieving youth? I’ll say this with much love, that the great majority of youth in our Christian Youth Fellowship are not real believers. You know why? Let’s take a look at the kinds of fruit they are producing: Many of them are there “just to have some fun.” And we can’t totally blame them for that because that’s what their leaders tell them, that they’re there “just for fun.” Many people question me on this asking what’s so bad about fun, and I say nothing is wrong with that. But if fun is all you’re after, you can go get fun anywhere else. In fact, you can honestly find so much more fun outside of the church youth activity. Youths come into our youth camps, they go through all of the creative and fun stuff we prepare for them but they are no closer to God at the end of it than they were before going there.

 

In fact, they usually end up getting closer to someone else. They develop relationships with someone they meet at camp, and their relationship with God is completely forgotten and sidetracked. Their reward is not a more intimate relationship with God, and they have used God as an excuse. And what fruit do they produce? Nothing. Except worldliness and deceit. And yet they would describe themselves as Christians. Why? Not because they bear the fruits of being a Christian, but because they simply believe themselves to be Christian.

 

My fellow youth, when people look at you, can they honestly see Christ? I’ll make this simple for you: if your life bears more of the fruits of an unbeliever’s, rather than the life of a believer’s, you are a so-called Christian in danger of God. Look around you. Do you do the same things as the world does? Do you dress like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Do you talk and use words like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Do you entertain yourself and live your life like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Galatians gives a clearer list of clues as to how to know a bad tree that will be thrown into the fire. Paul says that the fruit of an unbeliever are these. Galatians 5:19, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”

 

Now, 1 John says that real Christians still sin. 1 John 1: 8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But does it say that Christians still habitually practice sin? No. Chapter 3: 6-10 says, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

 

If there are any sins in your life that you are deliberately allowing or just letting happen, not confronting it and not getting spiritually mature people to help you against it, John says you’re not a child of God. You’re a child of the devil. Christians make mistakes, and sometimes some really big ones. But they by no means let it remain unconfronted, unconfessed, unrepented of. The child of the devil either just doesn’t care about sin, or knows the sin and yet does nothing because he or she is just having too much fun in it. Are you one of them, brother and sister in the Lord? What sin are you cherishing in your heart? Forsake it, repent from it and turn to God for mercy, and He will give it. There is no hope except to turn to Him in repentance and faith.

 

Some people say the Cross is proof of how much we are worth. No, my friend, the Cross is proof how wretched we are, that it took the violent butchering death of the Son of God Himself to remove it. There is Grace offered now unto anyone who truly repents from his sin, and surrender himself to Christ. Surrender his total self, no holding back. God brings relief to the guilty, and is close to the brokenhearted. God's conviction is bitter and painful, and yet His comfort is sweet and beautiful. There is precious hope, amazing grace. There is forgiveness available to those whose hearts and souls are troubled by their sin. 1 John also says in chapter 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confess before Him, repent, and seek His forgiveness. And He WILL forgive you. God is not greedy about forgiveness. 1 Timothy 2: 4-6 says that He is a God “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

 

The fruits we ought to produce are in Luke 3:8-9, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Your life should reflect Christ, bearing fruits of righteousness, purity, holiness, obedience and discipleship. When people look at you, they shouldn’t see you anymore, but Christ’s power changing who you are, more and more into who He is. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” How often do you end up talking about God with people around you? What abounds in your heart? Is it Christ, or something or someone else? But we are called to bear fruit in repentance, reflecting Him, pointing people to Him. How is your life in regard to that? How much of your life is dedicated to reflecting Him? Your answer will determine the kind of fruit you produce, and what kind of tree you are, and whether you will be thrown into the fire or not.

 

Conclusion

 

If you find yourself to be a false believer, it ought to be a most bitter revelation. But here is His promise: Final set of verses, Matthew 7:24-27, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

 

Sadly, after preaching all of the things I’ve preached there will still be those whose hearts are hardened and will turn even further away from Christ. On these people is the Scripture fulfilled in 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 that “we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

 

Preaching, for me, is the most important vocation in the world. For upon the words of a faithful preacher, the eternal destinies of men are determined. That Scripture says that to those who are repenting from their sin after this message, they will be given life. But those who hear the message and the call to repent, and yet reject the Gospel and keep rejecting it all their lives, they are already dead. I pray, don’t be among those who are dead. Examine yourselves, if it be well with your soul. Which gate are you in? Are you a bad tree? What kind of fruit are you producing? Examine yourselves.

 

Don’t be like the foolish who hears His Word and completely disregards it, ignores it, does not nothing about it, forgets all about it. But if you obey His Word, that is when you truly make a foundation for yourself, so that at the end of your life, you will have had set yourself on the Rock, and are therefore saved from the great crash on Judgment Day.