Pastor Jo shared a great sermon today. It’s all about what God is telling us for 2012 and beyond! If we want to hear from God, we turn to His living Word. In Isaiah 54 verse 2, God said:

Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.

I’ve grown up fully aware of the apparent truth that Philippines is a third world country (underdeveloped). With that fact comes criticism, inferiority and you know what else. But God, who is all-knowing, sees everything that’s going on. And I love God’s favor for the poor. Remember when Jesus said, “blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom”. Not that we should strive to be poor but God has that compassion for those who are the least, last and the lost.

But God, who is our Salvation has already redeemed us, saved us from the hands of the enemy. And what He wants us to do is believe. Here are good points from what God was telling the people before, and what He is telling us now. That we learn to recognize His power living in us and the renewed mind that He has provided us. It’s time to rise up to a new level of thinking and not remain in our small mindedness. Realize what God has done for us.

Good points:

1. Enlarge! Enlarge your thinking and reject smallness. No circumstance is too great for a God like our God. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). David, when about to face Goliath, even said “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37).
2. Stretch. Step out of your comfort zone and spread the love of Jesus like how He did it on earth. Jesus was not just going out with the people He’s comfortable with. He didn’t just heal those He wanted to heal. He didn’t choose for there is neither greek or jew, male or female. He died for all! And the greatest commandment, that covers all wrongs, is love. Stretch out in loving! C.S. Lewis once said “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” But this is the greatest commandment of Jesus. To love.
3. Lengthen your cords. Cords are like relationships. It’s what tie us all together. It’s time to lengthen that cord and rise up to the next level. Lengthen the time we spent daily with God. It lets us have a stronger relationship with God.
4. Strengthen the stakes or pegs. Pegs serve as the foundation when building a tent. To mature in thinking and get a bigger picture of what God has in store for us, we have to strengthen our foundation. Build it on a solid rock. Pray and read your bible for only through this comes faith.
5. Praise. Have an attitude of praise. This is my favorite part. Before God has said all the things mentioned from 1-4, in Isaiah 54:1, it says
   Sing, O barren,
   You who have not borne!
   Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
   You who have not labored with child!
   For more are the children of the desolate
   Than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.
   For everything we do is affected by our attitude and how we perceive things. It was written, Rejoice in the Lord always. Not only when our mind tells us so, not only when things are going our way, but always, we rejoice in the Lord. It’s a command. With an attitude of praise, we will see all things differently. Our minds are open for greater possibilities and ready for God’s great and awesome power.

God inhabits the praises of His people. Now forget that small mindedness and go out to the world and proclaim God’s goodness for He is great! (I think this goes well with the song below) God bless!