Overcome Sin

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if there be any praise...think about these things.”  (Philippians 4:8)

There  is a great chance to commit sin if we are ignorant in the word of God. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.  There is a saying “an ounce of prevention is better than  a pound of cure.” What are the effective ways to fight sin:

I – Know and Depend Completely On God’s Word – By knowing and depending completely on God’s Word, we avoid the sin of ignorance and self-reliance.   “Study diligently the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.” ( John 5:39).  By  reading the Bible, we learn the truths and gain eternal life. To break God’s Word and to pronounce independence from God completely or partly is a sin.

II – Believe In God’s Goodness and His Generosity – “Taste and See that the Lord is Good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8).  God is not slack concerning His promise.  God’s goodness has been proven. Do not disobey God and you will see the pouring of His abundant blessings. We must bring the full tithe in God’s house. If we do that God will pay us in direct proportion...even bigger proportion!

III – Trust God’s Commands As Expressions Of Utmost Love – “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18). By trusting God’s commands, we avoid the sin of considering ourself wiser than God.   “ “Your statues are wonderful, therefore, I obey them.” (Psalm 119:129).  God is always right to forbid us to do unlawful deeds.

IV -  Do not Experiment With Sin – Don’t ever dare to experiment sin. Before

we know, the damage has been done.  We must not jump from the building down to the ground to prove the Law of Gravity. Avoid the sin of commission.

V – Follow God’s Warnings – The Bible is a book of warnings. “We should not test the Lord, as some of them were killed by snakes..these things happened to them as examples and were written as warnings...”  (1 Corinthians 10:9-11).  It’s just like following the warning in the medicine bottle like “warning:toxic or poisonous when taken in over dosage”. God warned Lot.  God warned Adam and Eve.

VI – Reject Every Temptation to be Independent From God – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls like a roaring lion ready to devour someone.” ( 1 Peter 5:8).  Sin’s mission is to take us out of God’s favor.  Do not use the formula of the devil in earning a living.  Sin is better prevented and easier to prevent than to cure.

(From Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon’s Sunday Worship Messages and  from Ed Lapiz’s Book Pitu-Pito)

In Times Like These

“Many shall run to and fro.”  “Nations shall rise against nations.”  (Daniel 12:4) (Matthew 24:6-7)

Our  age now needs Church revival and a need to have spiritual awakening. The days are really evil.

I – It Is An Age Of War – “Nation shall rise against nation.” (Matthew 24:6-7).   There shall be famines, pestilences, earthquakes.  For 3,521 years, only 286 years have been warless.

II – It Is An Immoral Age – “Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers .” By the year 2000, Divorce outnumbered marriage.

III – It Is An Age Of Crime – “Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers.” (2 Timothy 3:3). We will have a lot of “hoodlums in uniform.” A white collar crime and widespread scam and syndicates.

IV – It Is  A Stressed-Out Age – “Many shall run to and fro” (Daniel 12:4).  We live in a continuous rush and always say busy, busy! Time is running out.  We live in an age when people depend on pain killers to cope.  Half of our hospitals are victims of stress.  Drugs and alcohol are rampant and younger generations are learning drugs.  What will happen to us if our country is run by drug addicts,  criminals?

V – It Is An Insipid Christianity – “The salt shall lost its savour.” (Matthew 5:13).  When salt lost its savor, the church is tasteless, unpalatable,because of gambling and drugs.  The sad part is, Philippines is a Christian nation in Far East.  Churches in US are being sold due to less numbers of churchgoers.

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

How To Handle Stress

“They shall run and not be weary...they shall mount up with wings like an eagle.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Stress may come from shocking moments,  traumatic events,  repetitious pressures, errors that we make,  sales related to money and financial pressures. Here are God’s  tips to reduce stress:

I – Face The Problem and Grow! – “Be strong and of  a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” ( Deuteronomy 31:6).

II – Don’t Limit God – “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm  37:5).  Do not reduce your stress by alcohol, overeating, drugs and cigarettes but turn it all in God’s hands.

III – Learn To Wait  – “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” ( Isaiah 40:31).

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

When God Corrects His Children

“My son despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) 

We are called sons of God when we believe, accept and receive Christ as our Saviour (John 1:12). Since we are children of God, the question is: Why does God discipline His children?

God disciplines His children because He wants everything in order. Because God is a god of order. “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40). His family must be under His discipline. He doesn’t punish us because He enjoys inflicting pain but because He is deeply concerned about our development. He knows that in order to become morally strong and good, we must learn the difference between right and wrong. 

When God disciplines us, he loves us. “For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6-8). We must learn from His correction. Love and corporal punishment are inseparable and are not inconsistent but rather complementary with each other. If we rebel against God and refuse to repent, He may use guilt, crisis and bad experience to bring us back to Him.

If we would not be first moved by persuasion, He will send us pain.  he beats us to become better persons. God is delighted with our obedient response to His love. One example is the principle of tithing. It has been proven that what you sow ye shall reap. If you give what is due for God, He will abundantly give you what is due for you with overflowing "cup that runneth over". On the other hand, tremendous shortage will occur if you do not give what is due for God.

(From Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon’s Mid-week Worship messages)

Where Are You Going To Spend Your Eternity?

“Neither there is salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”                                                              (Acts 4:12)

Time passes quickly. The clock of time is wound only once, and no man has the power to tell when it will stop. Even as you read these words, the ageing process is going in our bodies and everything around us. We read in God’s Word, the Bible….

“For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14).

You might think that you have plenty of time and many years ahead of you. Well…..tell me, can a doctor guarantee that any part of your body will not fail any time? Or, can you guard yourself against the hundreds of unseen dangers and incidents in our everyday life? Of course, NOT! Yet death and judgment are sure. God’s Word says,

“……..it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”        (Hebrews 9:27)

Eternity is endless, forever and ever, and God has left this eternal choice up to each of us; to choose heaven or hell, eternal joy or eternal agony. Yet there is so little concern about this eternal matter, like the rich man we read about in the gospel according to Luke……

“And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee…” (Luke 12:19-20).

What must you do?

1. Admit that you are a sinner…”For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
2. Repent….for…… “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish..” (Luke 13:3).
3. Believe….”that Christ died for our sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
4. Ask….Jesus Christ to come into your life as Saviuor and Lord. You must decide where will you spend eternity. Jesus said, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

(From the tract of Odiongan Baptist Church)

Pig or Lamb (A Concept of Repentance)

"Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

The Bible says that if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away and all things are become new. This means if we believe in God, we must change our lives. This is metamorphosis. Like a change from larva to butterfly. This changing of  physical appearance means becoming new. A totally new person. If all professing Christians in the world says that they believe and accept God, then a change should be manifested in their daily lives otherwise what they professed was nothing. Nothing but a mere belief and mere acceptance of God.

 

The Bible says that there should be fruits. There should be output. If there is no output or fruit, there is no change. Changing one’s self is impossible without repentance. Repentance is crucial. The meaning of repentance in the Bible is "to change or to turn." It was mentioned seventy times in the New  Testament. It is a command. It is imperative. Jesus said “except ye repent, ye shall likewise all perish.” To be sorry is not enough in repentance. One may admit a guilt or mistake without repentance. Judas hanged himself but he did not repent.

 

Take the case of a Pig and a Lamb. Though how much effort you do to change the appearance of a pig: bath him, polish his hoofs, put some perfume, tie a ribbon around his neck, still the pig will look for a mud puddles. The pig had been changed outwardly but not inwardly. He was still a pig at heart. Take a lamb on the other hand. Put a lamb in the living room then turn him into the yard, and he will try his best to avoid some mud puddles. Why? Because his nature is that of a lamb. Question. Are we pigs or lambs?

(Taken from the book Peace with God by Billy Graham pp 140-143).

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)