by Rev Daniel Yaw

Introduction

A very blessed Christmas to all of you. Each time we come to this part of the year, our usual greeting exchange is, “Wow, time flies, and we are coming to the end of another year.” Indeed, so. So, how has the year passed, and what will it hold for us in the coming year?
Things change and time flies – yes, but something will always remain unchanged, and time will stand still one day.
As I was reading from the book of Hebrews, these verses struck me as Jesus Christ, our Lord, of whom we celebrate Christmas during this time, that he is someone who will remain the same and time will stand still in the world, FOREVER.
Hebrews 7:1-3, “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God… He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

The King We Have

What am I looking for in God? As I served Him, I still look at the God I "pursue" after. In the words of King David who said, "One thing have I asked the Lord and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord and behold his beauty and inquire in His temple.” (Psalms 27:4)

That pursuit is really to take hold of God and know him. What do I know about this God?
These are two pictures presented here. The King speaks of Sovereignty and Rule. I must seek a God who will rule in my life. A reliable king. A king who is adored. In these verses, we see a few things about this King:

• The King of Salem (the king of peace). He brings to us the comfort needed, peace in a world of tribulation. Lately, we have our troubles, the loss of a loved one, the trouble of family woes, and the need for comfort is high. This Christmas, as it brought peace to Israel and the world, this same King brings peace to us. Even the angels announced, “peace on earth….”, and this king is the king of peace.
• The King of Righteousness (v2) as his name suggests. He brings justice and he acts justly. He has done so in the way he deals with sin (he paid the price) and with sinners (he loved and showed mercy). Christmas is the coming of God whose name is Yeshua (Jehovah Saves!)
• The King Forever (with no beginning, no end). His throne is secured and we don't have to worry about changes in rule and character. Every change of government and ruler, there will be changes. Many times, we are disappointed with those changes. It is not so for the King we have in our lives.

This is the King that I pursue after. Melchizedek is but a picture of the Son of God.

The Priest We Need
Then this next picture is that of a priest - the mediator between God and man. Today I live with the peace that I am reconciled to God having a priest who stands in between and paves the way to God's presence.

• He is the priest of the Highest God. He is both God and the mediator between us and God. What more can we ask for a reconciliation we have? I am assured constantly of my peace because of Him, my high priest.
• He is the priest forever. Yes, another element of the priest where time “stands still” – forever. That does not change and my status does not change.

Conclusion

May this Christmas be furnished with this thought “forever”, the king we have and the priest we need. Blessed Christmas to all of you

 by Rev Daniel Yaw

 

Introduction

As we enter into November, I was thinking about preaching from the Psalms.  What caused that decision is that Psalms are songs packed with emotions and exaltations.  Why read the Psalms, why preach from Psalms?

A Freedom to express
I believe one of the many elements we read in the psalms, is the freedom of expression.  I realized that the psalmists make no reservations when it comes to the expression of one’s emotions.  In the Psalms, we feel with the writer, emotions of sorrow, expressions of joy, exhibition of anger sometimes, and even enquiring of things that are confusing and mind-boggling when it comes to life.
It tells me something about the Psalms – that God gives us full permission to express how we feel towards life and people and direct those feelings to God.  There is no embarrassment nor apologies when it comes to expression.
They are very much like songs today that we hear and sing.  Songs express our joy and disappointments in life.  The beauty of it all is that it is expressed so poetically.

A Faith exhibited
Yet through all the emotions and expressions of one’s emotions, we see that the Psalms are finally directed to God who is great and good.  All life’s circumstances, perplexing as they may be, finally end in praise to God.  This is because God is ultimately in control and he brings understanding.
How often, do the psalmists fret over life and then end up giving praise to God as in Psalm 37?  While it begins with disappointment, hurts, and even sins, it ends up in faith through quietly trusting God, confessing our sins, and giving Him all the praises due to Him.
The movement of the psalms is from fear to faith, from disappointment to devotion, from confession to consolation.  We must begin reading the psalm to see this movement and end our questionings to faith.

A Life integrated
Another element of the Psalms is that it is an integration of mind, body, soul, and spirit.  Our journey of faith is about being ministered to the whole being.  Our challenges and struggles have to do with our minds, our bodies, our soul, and our spirit.  We come to life’s bumps in all these areas and the psalms integrate all of these.  It addresses the confused mind, the weak body, the troubled soul, and the lethargy of our spirits.   The Psalms with all the freedom expressed, points to these elements at different times which we can all identify.
Jesus in the gospel says that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.  Loving God in that manner is to bring our whole being before God and acknowledge that He owns them all.  The psalms teach us how to worship God with our whole being.

Conclusion
Not meditating on the psalms is to miss a great part of our life of worship to God.  May I encourage you all FCCians to read, meditate, teach, pray, sing the Psalms, and make them the psalms of your lives too.  Stay blessed always.
 

By Rev Daniel Yaw

Introduction
 
To the family of FCC, this month we celebrate our 16th anniversary.  We look back with gratitude to God for his guiding hands upon us from day one will what it is today.  We attribute all glory to God and the faithfulness of His servants through her leadership.
After all these years, how have we grown?  How have become more mature?  I was meditating on this verse from the book of Hebrews that speaks about the maturity of God’s beloved through his word. 
 
Hebrews 5:11-13
"But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by the constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (verse 13)

Maturity is something we all strive for.  Children want to mature, Christians want to mature and churches want to mature!  We all need that.  How is maturity seen and how does it develop?  I believe all of these is a continual process but that process must be ongoing.  We will only be perfect when we meet the Lord. 
However, here are some gleanings from the passage of Hebrews.


Maturity by the Word

The very foundation is the Word of God.  The meditation of God's word that brings about understanding is what we all need.  We can never stop reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God.  The trouble is that after many years, there is a possibility of growing dull hearing.  We begin to slack in our study of the word of God.  We became less excited about hearing the Word of God.  As a preacher, I realized that the temptation to not meditate upon His Word is great because the passage is somewhat familiar.  As a preacher, I also see that it is the new believers or visitors who are more excited about the Word of God being preached.  Never become dull of hearing!
Let us remember that we must never get too familiar with the Word of God until we do not hear his voice anymore. 
Do we still appreciate the word of God when we read it?  Or do we get excited with God’s word when we hear it preached after all these years?

 
Maturity by the Discernment

The maturity founded in the Word enables us to be discerning.  While many think that discernment is a gift - yes, it is.  Yet that gift is fuelled by the fact that one is absorbed in the Word of God.  It gives them the "powers of discernment".  

Discernment is the ability to divide what is right and what is wrong. 
Discernment is the ability to know what to do and what to avoid. 
Discernment is the ability to know what is from God and what is not.

The apostle Paul constantly wrote to the churches that we all need the spirit of discernment.

 
Maturity by Obedience

Then lastly, I realized in my Christian journey, that maturity comes with obedience.  "The Word of God transforms lives!" - sounded so true yet it is not true.  I think as Rev Edmund Chan puts it, it is not the Word of God that transforms, it is the APPLIED Word of God that transforms lives. 
Notice that the writer says, " the power of discernment TRAINED by the constant PRACTICE to distinguish good from evil.
Obedience to righteousness enables us to discern what is good and what is not evil.
Many Christians stop short of knowing but not applying.  Most of us know quite a bit what the Word of God says.  The struggle and the battle are obeying what God tells us.  The prophet of old says that God prefers obedience rather than sacrifice.
Obedience begins in our heart and when that happens, we walk in the ways of God and fulfill His purposes.

 
Conclusion

One of the pillars or core values of FCC is the Word – that we would all be rooted in the Word.  That speaks of how the Word of God would govern our lives.  It is more than head knowledge; it is heart and feet knowledge.  Let us then move towards this maturity process as we celebrate our anniversary