Conquering Fear

“Casting all your cares, for he careth for you.”

(1 Peter 5:7)

Medical science reveals that worries or anxiety never happen at all. Much of our anxiety or worries are “needless anxiety.”

40% of what we worry will never happen.
30% of what we worry about is from the past and can’t be changed.
12% is worry about criticism from others; much of it is untrue.
10% of things we worry about are health issues, which actually worsen when we worry.
Only 8% of what we worry about constitutes real problems we have to face! Therefore to sum it up, 92% of anxieties are NEEDLESS!

Anxiety increases more when you always think of it. Anxiety doesn’t allow you to escape trouble but it does make you unfit to cope up trouble. Anxiety is like a “rocking chair.” It moves you but goes to nowhere. These are the dangers of worrying.

The Lord tells us to uproot our worries! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Here are some tips to eliminate worries:

1. Be honest – liars are big worriers because they fear their lies will be exposed.
2. Simply live- get rid of greed and covetousness. Do not be luxurious. Greedy people worry because they might not get what they want. Travel light and be happy.
3. Be humble – get rid of high social status like pride. You cannot live well by guarding your honor and status symbol.
4. Do not please others – We worry too much in pleasing others just to be accepted by in the public eye. We end up worrying because we will always run short of their expectations.
5. Do not love the world- excessive love to material possessions will make you worry because you have a fear of losing them. Yes we love our family but do not love them more than God.
6. Eliminate your vices – smoking, drinking, practicing sexual immorality are wrong. Because they are wrong you end up worrying.
7. Do not play like a God – Do not act like God. We should not worry beyond what we can't do. Do not play like healer or life giver. Managing our planet is beyond our capability!

The Bible simply tells us this. When we are full of anxiety and upset, we must pray and “cast our worries upon Him for He careth for us.” (1 Peter 5:7). “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” (Psalm 55:22). In Mark 5:36 God said also “be not afraid, only believe.”

(From Rev. Pastor Teofilito A. Rufon's Messages)

I Surrender All (The Story Of Lt. Hiroo Onoda, The Last Japanese Soldier)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

(Romans 12:1-2)

On March 10, 1974, almost 30 years after the end of World War II, Lt. Hiroo Onoda finally handedover his rusty sword and become the last Japanese soldier to surrender.

Onoda had been sent to Lubang Island in Mindoro in 1944, with orders to conduct guerilla warfare and prevent enemy attack in the island. For 29 years, long after all his fellow soldiers had either surrendered or been killed off, Onoda continued defending the island territory for the defeated Japanese army. He hid in the jungle, living off the land, stealing food and supplies from local citizens, evading one search party after another and killing at least 30 nationals in the process.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent trying to locate the lone hold out and convince him that the war is over. Leaflets, newspapers, photographs, and letters from friends were dropped in the jungle, announcements were made over loudspeakers, begging Onoda to surrender.

Still he refused to give up his fight. Some 1,300 men had been deployed in the effort before Onoda finally received a personal command from his former commander and was persuaded to give up the futile, solitary war he had waged for so many years. In his autobiography entitled: “NO SURRENDER: My Thirty Year War” Onoda describes the moment that the reality of what had transpired began to sink in: “I felt like a fool…what had I been doing for all these years? For the first time I really understood…this was the end. I pulled back the bolt of my rifle and unloaded the bullets…I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it. THE WAR WAS FINALLY OVER.”

Lesson:

1. Onoda’s story, is our story as well. We are fighting our own personal war against the sovereign King of the universe. Some express their resistance overtly, perhaps through a lifestyle of unbridled lust and perversion. Others are more subtle – they are active in church work – but beneath the surface, running his own life and unwilling to be mastered by Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

2. In Onoda’s case, he had become accustomed to living as lone guerilla soldier, moving from one jungle hideout to another. By the time he was 52 years old he scarcely knew any other way to live. Resisting, running, and hiding had become the norm – the way of life with which he was most familiar and comfortable.

You may have made a profession of faith; you may have long considered yourself a Christian and others may assume that you are a Christian but you have never waved the white flag of surrender to Christ; you have never relinquished the right to run your own life. In short, YOU HAVE NEVER TRULY BEEN BORN AGAIN.

3. If you claim to be a follower of Christ while living in denial about certain areas of your life that are not pleasing to him, my desire is to help you see the truth – YOU ARE NOT LIVING FULLY SURRENDERED LIFE, no matter how many people may think of you as a “GOOD CHRISTIAN”.

4. It is an IRREFUTABLE TRUTH with which every human being must come to terms, sooner of later. THOSE WHO RESIST his sovereign lordship set themselves up to be TYRANIZED by other lords.

(From Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon’s Sunday Worship Messages)

How To Thank God

“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

(Psalm 100:1-5)

THANKSGIVING, to be TRULY thanksgiving, is FIRST THANKS, then GIVING. How?

I – THANK HIM BY SERVING – “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing”(Psalm 100:2). Serve the Lord with gladness at the peak of your life. Being young is exciting, but the excitement of youth can become a barrier to closeness with God because those things that most young people live for (sports, sex, popularity) become increasingly unimportant with old age.

Make your strength available to God when it is still yours – during your youthful years. Don’t waste it on evil or meaningless activities that become bad habits and make you callous. Serve God NOW!

Many people work hard to prolong life and improve their physical condition (better diet, proper exercise, excellent health care). Yet people don’t spend nearly as much time or effort on their SPIRITUAL HEALTH. How short-sighted it is to work hard to extend this life and not work equally hard to secure ETERNAL LIFE. Serve the Lord with gladness NOW!

II – THANK HIM BY SINGING – “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing”(Psalm 100:2). Singing is expressing back to God our appreciation and understanding of his worth. It is saying “THANK YOU” for each aspect of His divine nature. Our INWARD ATTITUDE becomes OUTWARD EXPRESSION. Develop the practice of singing to God, and you will experience greater joy and strength to face any task. We sing because WE SEE HIS GOODNESS.

“For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5) “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”(Romans 8:28). “All things work together for GOOD.”

God can bring good out of any situation. No problem in your life is too complicated for God if you are willing to allow Him to help you.

It is very simple to speak “all things work together for good” when things are going well. If my health is excellent. My income is flourishing. My friends are fond of me. It is not hard to say “all things work together for good” when everything is doing good; but what about when one’s body breaks down?

When I stand by helpless? When my partner is under pain? Despite all of our doubts, misgivings and mismanagement of our affairs, HE PICKED US UP and BORNE US back again in great tenderness.

Sometimes things happen to you that you may seem, horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart. “EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.” Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.

(From Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon’s Sunday Messages)

Losing And Finding

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.”

(Matthew 16:25-26)

A true Christian is one that does follow Jesus Christ. He denies himself. He follows the saying “no cross, no crown.”

I – Saving is Losing and Losing Is Finding– “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25). It is hard for us to follow God if we will not leave our old sinful ways, if we love our vices, money and possessions more than God. We lose our soul if we save on temporal things. We find our soul if we let go and sell our possessions and seek for eternal things. Temporary things in the world deceives us. These things blind us with eternal benefits of God.

In Mark 10:17, 21 and 22, a rich young ruler lost his soul when he asked God, “Master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Jesus said: “go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and come take up the cross, and follow me.” But the rich young ruler upon hearing this was sad and went away grieved for he had great possessions (Mark 10:22).

Jesus said it twice clearly in the Bible that it is hard for a man to enter the kingdom of heaven if he stays in sinful ways. Matthew 19:24 tells us that “it is better for a camel to go through the eye of the needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25 also tells us the same way.

II – Profit Is Loss - For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul”(Matthew 16:26). The world is so alluring. The world looks so inviting that Christians wish they could trade places. Earthly goals keep us away from Christ. “We always see the world but cannot see the soul.” The nails, the thorns, the pain, the blood...these were all for our souls.

The rich and the poor has one in common when they die. They leave all they own on earth. Reality speaks that our days are dangerous because earthquakes strike at unexpected time. The heavens shall pass away with great noise, the elements will melt with fervent heat. The earth will be burned up. Earthquakes will dissolve us. The question is..how shall we live then?

(From Rev. Pastor Teofilito A. Rufon’s Sunday Messages)

Pillars Of Support In Times Of Crisis

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, maketh intercessions for us.”

(Romans 8:26)

I – The Importance Of PRAYER -“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, maketh intercessions for us.”(Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit translates our groans and sighs and wordless prayers. In times of pain, the attacks of Satan are real. The enemy could cause us to doubt God’s love and power. Such attacks maybe battled with spiritual weapons which is Prayer.

II – Encouragement from GOD’S WORD – Use the book of Psalms as your Prayer like Psalm 23. When sleep is not possible, sing Hymns like “What A Friend We have In Jesus,” “His Eye On The Sparrow,”

“Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “It Is Well With My Soul,” and “The Haven Of Rest.”

III - Support of FAMILY - Our parents, brothers, and sisters should be supported in all stages and crisis of life. When parents are getting old and diseases sets in, we must take good care of them until death because when we were still young, they took good care of us all. Remember, when we were still learning to walk, learning to take a bath, and to take solid foods, mommy and daddy patienly helped us learn to walk and take foods. Now when they are old, it is but proper to help them walk , and return to them what is due for them in the same way they did for us. Remember there is a saying that “we only miss someone when he is already gone.”

IV – The Warmth of Christian FELLOWSHIP – Through fellowship, we become instruments of strength and hope to our brothers. Our fellowship will result to an inspiration for others to fight trials in life. Our experiences may be the same with them to be advised and to continue go on with life. “ Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all , that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” (Acts 11:23).

Here are some Secret Weapons to overcome crisis:

1. Trust God For Financial Needs - “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines...Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

(Habakkuk 3:17-18).

2. Taking Things One Concern At A Time – “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34).

3. Try To Live as Normally as Possible.

4. Temporarily Lowering Our Personal Standards – By cleaning the house, doing the laundry, being a care giver.

5. Accepting the Crisis As Part Of God’s Sovereign Plan For Your Life.

6. Take Care Of Yourself – Eat properly. Have enough sleep. Take vitamins.

(From Rev. Pastor Teofilito A. Rufon’s Messages)