Thank You Lord

 Thank You Lord

Excerpts from a sermon I preached on Sunday 28/8/11.

Scriptures - 2 Cor 12:7-10, 1 Thess 5:18

His grace is more than enough for us, and His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. Grace is the greek word- Charisma. It means God's unmerited favour for us who do not deserve it. Its a gift. What is grace..Grace is Jesus. 


So often in life, when Jesus begins to work in us, and abundant life is filling us...New job, promotions, progress,..you start to go forward. But many take the changes that comes with progress and blessings as burdens. Why ? The wineskin that is unchanged or don't want to change. The wineskin is us having the capacity to adjust and adapt quickly in moving forward. This can come by, believing and knowing His grace for us. Being thankful and living a thankful life knowing that what God is doing for us far outweighs what we can ever do for ourselves.


Our limitations do not hinder God's amazing power and abilities. He will still work all things out for our good regardless of our capacity. What did Jesus do ? The people that were with Jesus before and during His crucifixion are clear representations of us.


1. He forgave the lost.  -John 3:16, Isaiah 53:6. The people standing and witnessing the brutal torture and crucifixion of Jesus..is who He first gave His life for. The Lost.

2. He had mercy for all that gave Him a hard time, then and now.
How many times we complain this is not enough, that is not enough. We run down Churches, and Pastors that He has placed for our blessing. Sin is not the things we do. Remember Sin is singular. Because Sin is (Rom 1:28), turning away from the creator of life, to idols. In walking in darkness, living this life apart from Jesus (the life that is the light of man), the products of what we say, we do, our lifestyle will surely pale from what it could have been.  

3. He set the guilty free. The crowd shouted to Pilate, "FREE BARABAS"...but "CRUCIFY JESUS". Jesus in going to the cross, He broke the chains of guilt and condemnation.He place it upon Himself and gave everyone a chance to start all over. A chance to do things right. Doing things right is relying on Him.

4. He told the convicted next to Him, that today "you will be with me in paradise". So often we are living the consequences of our past decisions and even errors of generations before. Seems hopeless. At the last breath of life, and your wits end...is there hope ? With Jesus there is. the guilty and condemn crook, found peace even at the last moment. This tells me, there is no defeat, no "this is the end" moments for you, if you turn to Jesus.  

Your beginning to a greater life begins with having the right attitude to take you to greater altitudes.

"Be thankful"  in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus 
(1 Thess 5:18)

What is the definition of love ? It is not 1 Cor 13 where Paul talks about love. 1 Cor 13 is the outcome of love. The definition of  love  is this. 

"THiS IS LOVE", not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son" as an atoning sacrifice for our sins  (1 John 4:10) 

It is in His love, we find grace to go forward. Something that we cannot do on our own. In our weaknesses, it is not pretending to be weak, or pretending to not able to do things. In our weaknesses means, knowing that in this life, without Jesus, we can do nothing.


May God Bless You richly as you begin to do things right. When you do right, you will see His blessings !

Luv, Edwin Koh Boon Leng (29/8/11)