St Andrew's Church, Brunei

 [30.05.21] Today's sermon is on Shield of Faith. #sermonseries #equippingthesaints #armorofgod

Though Job never rejected God, he questioned God’s ways (Job 19:5-7), defended his own righteousness (29:14), and demanded God’s action (31:1-40). God answered by telling him to “man up” and defend himself, and by revealing himself as Creator and Judge (chap 38-41). With a mighty storm and a stream of questions, God leveled Job, and he felt his small stature in God’s presence (40:4). Job then humbly acknowledged God’s sovereign power and confessed that he had spoken foolishly (42:1-6). Job’s confession arose from a personal encounter with his living Redeemer. Though he had heard of God, believed in him, and followed his commands, now he saw God. At the point of Job’s confession, his boils had not been removed, his family had not been restored nor was his fortunes returned; yet he submitted to God’s purposes.   Job’s confession resembles Isaiah’s, who cried out when he saw the Lord in glory; “ Woe is me!...For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! ” (Isaiah 6:5). Similarly

 [23.05.2021] Today's sermon is on Sword of The Spirit #sermonseries #equippingthesaints #armourofgod 

I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine who despite having attended a Christian school with Bible classes and chapel's I could see that Christianity did not really interest him. So at some point during our conversation I asked him, “Do you believe in God?”  He took a second and looked at me as that question was just out of the blue and was a much deeper topic compared to our usual conversations. He told me he didn’t, and after a long talk I had come to realize what his issue was. His issue was that he saw many people as so-called “Christians” who behaved a certain way while in our Christian communities, but another way when they were outside of them.  He said that it was as if they were living a double life and only acted “good” because they had to, when in reality, the way they really were was so different and to him it seemed like all the “christianity” they had was fake. As much as this was a surprise to me, I understood what he said, and I understood where his is

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. The word for “devote” here in the Greek is a very big word PROSKARTEREO that I can’t even come close to pronouncing. But it basically means to persevere in. Devote. Now, think for a second. When looking over your everyday life, could it be said that you “Persevere in” or “devote yourself to” prayer? Prayer is a form of humbling ourselves in front of God. It’s a confession that we are dependent on God. What happens when hard times come in our lives? We get on our knees and pray. Why? Because we know that we can’t make it without Him. This is the attitude He wants in our life 24/7. Prayer should be an everyday part of our life. We should never need hard times be what brings us to our knees. Hard times come to everyone at one point or another they should not be what makes us pray. There is a story about D. L. Moody making a visit to Scotland in the 1800's and opening one of his talks at a local grade school with

It is clear that Paul had a great affection for the Colossian church. He writes to them with warmth and fondness, and he regards them as his friends. In chapter 1, he sends them greetings, thanksgiving and prayers. In chapter 2, he tells them about the spiritual foundation of their faith. In chapter 3, he talks about the practicalities of living a Christian life. Let us read about how this applies to our life. Verses 1-4 remind us that was are raised with Christ to a new life. Therefore, we should focus our hearts and minds on Christ and “on things above”. This means we should have an attitude where we choose to focus our intentions, actions and hopes on God. We can look forward to the return of Christ, because our hope is in Him.  We should put to death and therefore deprive of power, whatever belongs to our earthly or carnal nature. These self-centred motivations (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed) should not be given the opportunity to take root in our hearts

 [16.05.2021] Today's sermon is on Sandals of Peace and Gospel. #sermonseries #equippingthesaints #armorofgod

Later in this letter, Paul makes clear he is writing in chains, from prison. (See chapter 4). When he declares in chapter 2 verse 1:  “ How much i am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea” Paul likely means he is struggling in prayer. That is, engaged in a type of spiritual warfare where he specifically names people and situations and claims them for Jesus Christ in the face of evil opposition. He wanted the church encouraged in heart and united in love, in order to have a deeper knowledge of Christ. (See verses 2 & 3). I encourage you to read aloud chapter 2 verses 2 to 3, using these verses to pray substituting the church at Colossae & Laodicea for the church in Brunei. In these God-breathed words Paul anoints the church with a fantastic blessing. Repeat the same with verses 6-7. Read them aloud now as a prayer over the church in Brunei. Afterwards use these verses as a prayer over your own life. Praying over our church is important in the life of Christians. Paul’s

The Psalmist started this chapter by saying “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” Is it very easy to give thanks? It is certainly easy to give thanks when everything is well and things are good. But it is not easy for those going through difficult times such as failed business, unemployment, sickness, or broken relationships, to give thanks and rejoice! Furthermore, with the continuous increase in new covid-19 cases infecting millions of people worldwide and those who lost their family members to this virus, how are they able to give thanks in such situation? It is definitely not easy when faced with those situations. Nevertheless, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, it is stated that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” As believers, because of what God has done, we should always be thankful to the Lord, and giving thanks has little to do with the circumstances of life. In this particular Psalm, we read

Four actions for today! Read Philippians 4:1-9 STAND FIRM. Paul begins this fourth chapter with, "Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord." The "therefore" refers back to what he has written about in chapter 3. There he is talking about running a race, seeing life as an obstacle course. Paul writes how he runs this race by pressing on to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He is urging others to run with him. But in the opening verse of chapter four he now says, "STAND FIRM". It sounds confusing as to which he means for us, whether to run the race or to stand firm. One is a picture of extreme effort, the other of immobility, inaction. How can we then follow this call to standing firm and yet running? Here is a marvelous setting forth of the paradox of the Christian faith. For life is indeed a swiftly moving obstacle race. But the secret of running the race successfully,

[9.05.2021] Today's sermon is on Breastplate of Righteousness. #sermonseries #equippingthesaints #armorofgod

Paul begins this passage by commanding us to rejoice in the Lord. To rejoice means to feel or show great happiness about something. This command is even more incredible when you know where Paul was penning this letter from, a Roman prison. How can Paul feel or show great happiness in the Lord when he was in the midst of suffering? True joy comes from God alone. Psalm 16:11 tells us: “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It is because rejoicing in the Lord does not depend on where you are in your lives right now. You may be in the midst of difficulty but we still called to experience and show joy. Our joy as Christians comes from knowing who God is and what he has done for us. We can rejoice because we know God is in our midst even in difficulties. On a number of occasions, I have heard people say this to me, I am curious about Christianity because Christians exhibit joy and peace in your lives

Our lives are made up of days and hours and moments. They all have these bookends, these beginnings and endings. Psalm 106 opens up in praise and closes in praise. This is called an inclusio; a Hebrew poetic pattern that repeats a phrase at both the beginning and end of a psalm and is meant to give a sense of completion. The beginning phrase not only sets the entire tone of the psalm, but with the repeating ending phrase, creating a sense of unity. Psalms 106 is essentially God’s commanded bookends for every moment, every breath. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Ps 106:1;48). This right here is God’s given pattern for our lives, how we ‘bookend’ our moments and lead complete lives. When we give thanks to the Lord, our days are given a sense of unity and keeps us aligned with Christ. If our lives are not characterised as giving thanks to God, our lives are then characterising God as not good. We must give thanks to God, because God is good. The psalm continues to remind us of when Go

How is your relationship with fellow believers? Paul begun his epistles to the church in Philippi with thankfulness and prayer. He remembered them with gladness and gratitude.  He remembered them personally, the experiences they had, the fellowship, the ministry together, the laughter, the blessing, the encouragement,  their faithfulness, and especially how they love Jesus.  It is good to remember brothers and sisters we have, those with us in the past, those with us now. Take time to remember. Take time to give thanks to God for them in details, so that you heart be filled with gratitude and joy.  Fellow believers are miracles from God to us. They bless our lives. We are where we are because of them. I remember the words of Sam to Frodo (Lord of the Ring- Return of the King), "I cannot carry the ring for you but I can carry you." Next, as you remember, significant people will come to your mind.  Take time to pray for these brothers and sisters. Pray they finish the race well

 [2.05.2021] Today's sermon is on The Belt of Truth. #sermonseries #equippingthesaints #armorofgod

As believers, as Christians, as followers of Christ, what are we called to do? We are called to make disciples; we are called to be a salt and light amongst the people here. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to go out and preach the word of God to everyone we see. It doesn’t mean we need to leave our country to reach out to those who are unreached. Don’t get me wrong there is a time and place for that, and if you do feel called to do so by all means go ahead. However, for the majority of people, it wouldn’t make sense to uproot your life and leave your community to reach out to the lost. There is a way that we can share our faith without having to speak about God all the time, share about God all the time to the people around us. And that is through our actions. Through the way that the world sees us, the way that we carry ourselves in our day to day lives, from even the most insignificant things, the way we act reflects our core beliefs and the characteristics we possess.