Worship: Offended Worshiper

Asaph KNEW what it was to worship God – his entire life was focused on worship; he was a worshiper, but a stumbled or offended worshiper in Psalm 73.

ASAPH WAS A TROUBLED WORSHIPER (vv.1-16)
A Troubled Worshiper is plagued by 3 things:

Finitude of Dogma (vv.1-3)
We need to realize FINITUDE of ANY truth we encounter – NOT because God is finite, but because our understanding of God is finite. Asaph's Problem was that his “personal dogma” about God did NOT match up with what he saw with his eyes.

Frustration of Doubt (vv.4-12)
Asaph sees all around him CONTRADICTIONS of God’s justice & ways because he is seeing with HIS EYES – observing from worldly perspective. (e.g. Old Man & his White Horse)

Futility of Discipline (vv.13-16)
Question: what does the injustice Asaph is seeing have anything to with his pursuit of godliness? His confession of how his pursuit of godliness was in vain revealed his "Silent Rebellion" against God.

ASAPH BECAME A TRUE WORSHIPER (vv.17-28)
A True Worshiper is NOT one who has never had troubles & trials of the heart; but one who encounters God through his trials.

Revelation through Encounter(vv.17-20)
“When I entered the sanctuary of God…” Asaph is referring not to just a specific building, but the very presence of God - a place where God dwells (Ex 25:8). NOTHING changed by Asaph’s revelation EXCEPT Asaph himself.

Repentance (vv.21-23)
Revelation of God always leads us to REPENTANCE.

Restoration(vv.24-28)
Restoration of trust & confidence in God: Restoration always leads to Revelation for OTHERS – “I will tell of all your deeds” (v.28)

~ from March 1, 2009 Nakwon EM Sunday Worship Sermon

*No audio is available for this message.

Greatest Victories - The Lord Will Fight for You

What does it mean and how does God fight for us? Exodus 14:1-14 chronicles the story of Moses of how the Lord delivered his people from the Egyptians. In these verses the Lord shares with Moses that He will fight for them.

1. God Who Engineers
   The Lord engineers every facet of our circumstances. Through this, not only does He your faith in Him, but also His faithfulness. In the Exodus 14, the Israelites was shown the strength of their faith when their circumstances found them facing a seemingly impossible situation. Often when we are faced with our storms and trials we fail to honor God. We fail because of our unfaithfulness and our forgetfulness. We forget how true and faithful the Lord is to us because we compartmentalize. We read His words but are quick to judge them as irrelevant in our predicaments. Do not forget what God has brought you out of. When we look back at our previous storms, our memory falters us. The suffering of our current circumstances causes us to distort our perspective and fool ourselves into believing we were better off without Him. How important is God's faithfulness in your life?
2. God Who Fights
   God is always after more than your victory. He is after your complete surrender which will ultimately lead you to your complete deliverance. Through out the bible the Lord constantly reminds us "Do not be afraid." The Lord always has our best interest at heart, even if we fail to perceive it. Do you see God working in your life? When God delivers, He deliver thoroughly.

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today."

--from Nakwon EM Janurary 5th 2009 Sunday Worship Service

Complete healing = ragged clothes?

A Living Testimony

A living testimony exalts God, not man. A true testimony is about confessing that God is the engineer of all our circumstances. Psalm 34:1-5 serves as a great example of this.

Characteristics of True Testimony

1. It is evident in storms - A living testimony is always born out of trial sans storms.. It is often birth out of storms and sometimes in seemingly defeat.
2. It endures in effect - A true testimony not only changes you but its effect must endure.
3. It edifies the suffering - It edifies by encouragement and by empowerment. The strength of a testimony comes from the healing others receive by hearing it. When you hesitate to share you testimony, you lose a chance for God to use you as His tool to help further His kingdom.
4. Embraces God's ways - Does your life prove God is? Can others see what God has done in you life? Your testimony must embrace the Lord by personal declaration of Hi faithfulness and by principal of faithfulness. Your salvation is complete when you stop asking why He did it and be thankful that He did it.

--from Nakwon EM December 28th 2008 Sunday Worship Service

I should have watched Finding Nemo...

Evidences: True Fellowship

Romans 12:9-13 is often quoted to talk about love. However, the lessons in this passage can be applied to the fellowship. True Christian fellowship is deeper than just getting along with people.

1. Source (Genuine Lordship and Genuine Love)
   Does your definition of fellowship stem from the God's lordship over you or is it a mere by product of you trying to achieve uniformity of thoughts and preferences with your peers? True fellowship first starts with the Lord, because the first duty of every soul is to find its master. Only when we find fellowship with Jesus can we have fellowship with others. When Jesus becomes lord over you life, it will reflect to others. Furthermore, how sincere is your love? The very nature of love demands that it be sincere.
2. Means (Familiar Devotion and Humble Devotion) - Do not be quick to judge what God is doing in other people's lives. Be hesitant of judging others.
3. Purpose - we are here to lift up God,

How far do you go to help others? When the means are readily available, do you take the opportunity to help others? When Christ is Lord over your life, others come first and you become last.

--from Nakwon EM October 12th 2008 Sunday Worship Service

Evidences: True Walk with God

Genesis 5:21-24 chronicles the amazing life of Enoch. Enoch is one of the two people who never tasted death. Enoch represents the perfect picture of someone who's been raptured away. What kind of life did Enoch live, that God would just take him away?

1. Commenced by Revelation - The revelation Enoch received was during the birth of his son. It was revealed to Enoch that God's judgement was coming the moment his son dies. This realization completely changed him. True transformation first starts with yourself. Enoch wasn't focused on changing the world, he knew he had to be broken first before he could help change others.
2. Characterized by Faith - Enoch believed God exists and that God rewards. For most of us, it is not that hard to believe God exists. One only has to examine the world around us to realize everything proclaims "He is." However, most of stumble in believing that He rewards. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Believing the Lord exists does not set you apart. After all even the demons know this and shudder in fear.
3. He continued with judgement in view (World Eschatology vs Personal Eschatology) -
   Knowing the world will come to and end will not change you. It might scare you but even that is only a passing emotion. Even during Noah's time, everyone heard Noah's warnings but not a single person listened to him. Do you have a real, practical sense that you will have to face God's judgement one day? Are you being transformed?

What kind of attitude do you display to others? Do you reflect Christ's image in your life? During his days on earth, Enoch never lived to see God's judgement carried out. Yet despite his faith never faltered. Enoch did not conform to this world. That is why eh was not controlled by the world and that is why he was not condemned like the rest of the world. Does the Lord yearn to take you away like He did with Enoch?

--from Nakwon EM September 28th 2008 Sunday Worship Service