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Before Abraham Was, I AM
The Claim That Changed Everything
By Pastor Rodel Paz
John 8:58 NIV
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Introduction
The Gospel of John was written with a singular purpose: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Throughout this Gospel, John presents signs and sayings that progressively unveil the identity of Jesus.
The religious leaders prided themselves on being children of Abraham. Yet standing before them was the eternal Son of God. Their categories were too small. Their hearts were too hard. Their expectations were too narrow.
The same is true today. Our culture may tolerate spirituality, admire morality, or applaud compassion. But it resists absolute truth. It rejects exclusive claims. It resents sovereign authority. When Jesus declares, “Before Abraham was born, I AM,” neutrality dies.
Message: When Jesus reveals His true identity, hearts are exposed — and we must choose surrender or rejection.
1. The MISUNDERSTOOD Messiah
John 8:49-50 NIV
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.
In first-century Jewish culture, to accuse someone of being demon-possessed was not merely insult — it was theological condemnation. They were not just disagreeing; they were discrediting. They could not refute His words, so they attacked His character.
Yet notice Jesus’ composure. He does not retaliate. He does not escalate. He simply clarifies: I honor my Father.
Exhortation
When misunderstood, remain faithful. When dishonored, continue honoring God.
When falsely accused, trust divine vindication.
Do not demand immediate recognition.
Let God defend your integrity.
Reflection
The world misunderstands Jesus because it does not share His priorities. He seeks the Father’s glory, not His own (v. 50). That is divine humility.
As commentator D.A. Carson writes, “Jesus’ self-disclosure is inseparable from His obedience to the Father.”
1 Peter 2:23 NIV
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
Matthew 5:11-12 NIV
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2. The MARVELOUS Promise
John 8:51 NIV
51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
“Very truly” (Amen, amen) signals a solemn declaration. This is not suggestion — it is divine proclamation. To claim authority over death? That is staggering. In Jewish thought, Abraham was dead. The prophets were dead. Yet Jesus claims that obedience to His word conquers death.
Exhortation
Believe that Jesus’ word carries eternal weight.
Obey not casually, but confidently.
Anchor your hope beyond the grave.
Live today in light of eternity.
Refuse to fear death as ultimate defeat.
Reflection
Death is humanity’s greatest fear. Jesus confronts it with divine certainty. The world cannot handle this promise because it exposes its mortality. But believers cling to it because it reveals immortality.
As Augustine of Hippo said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
John 5:24 NIV
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
John 11:25-26 NIV
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
3. The MOCKING Multitude
John 8:52-53 NIV
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death.
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
Their reasoning is purely earthly. Abraham died physically. Therefore, Jesus must be wrong. They interpret His words literally and miss the spiritual dimension. They ask, “Who do you think you are?” That is the central question of John’s Gospel.
Exhortation
- Do not interpret spiritual truth through worldly logic alone.
- Guard your heart against sarcastic dismissal.
- Ask honestly, not mockingly.
- Do not reduce Jesus to our comfort zone.
- Let Scripture interpret reality, not culture.
Reflection
The world mocks what it cannot control. But disciples kneel before what they cannot fully comprehend.
As John Calvin noted, “The human mind is a perpetual factory of idols.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
4. The MAJESTIC Self-Revelation
John 8:54-58 NIV
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Jesus is not merely claiming pre-existence. He is invoking the divine name revealed in Book of Exodus 3:14, where God declares to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” “I am” (ego eimi) is the covenant name of Yahweh. Jesus is not saying, “I was.” He says, “I AM.” Eternal present. Self-existent. Uncreated.
Exhortation
- Worship Jesus as eternal God.
- Trust Him as sovereign Lord.
- Surrender to Him as ultimate authority.
- Refuse to control His divinity.
- Stand in awe of His eternal nature.
Reflection
This is the dividing line of history. Not morality. Not religion.
Identity. As C.S. Lewis famously argued, “Jesus is either Lord, liar, or lunatic. There is no safe middle ground.”
The world cannot handle “I AM” because it means:
Exodus 3:14 NIV
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Revelation 1:8 NIV
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
5. The MURDEROUS Malice
John 8:59 NIV
59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. They understood exactly what He claimed. According to Leviticus 24:16, blasphemy deserved death by stoning. Their reaction proves they recognized His claim to deity.
The irony is staggering: the religious leaders, standing in the temple built for the worship of God, attempt to kill God incarnate. Yet notice the final phrase: “Jesus hid himself, slipping away.” His hour had not yet come (John 7:30). Sovereignty governs even hostility. Malice does not override divine timing.
Exhortation
He outranks every authority.
He defines truth.
He demands allegiance.
Reflection
The world still picks up stones:
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Yet that death leads to true life.
John 15:18 NIV
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
2 Timothy 3:12 NIV
12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Conclusion:
The Question That Defines Eternity
This passage confronts us with five realities:
1. A Misunderstood Messiah who remained faithful.
2. A Marvelous Promise that defeats death.
3. A Mocking Multitude blinded by pride.
4. A Majestic Self-Revelation of eternal deity.
5. The Murderous Malice revealing hardened hearts.
The world cannot handle who Jesus is because He refuses to be reduced. He is the eternal I AM. The only safe place before the great I AM is surrender.
Will you minimize Him — or magnify Him? Will you resist Him — or receive Him? Will you pick up stones — or bow in worship? Eternity stood before them in the temple courts. Eternity stands before us now through His Word. Let us respond not with stones in our hands, but with surrender in our hearts.
Do not be surprised by rejection.
Expect resistance when proclaiming Christ.
Trust God’s timing when doors close abruptly.
Let opposition refine your conviction rather than weaken it.
Remember that rejection is not failure.
Intellectual stones of skepticism.
Cultural stones of ridicule.
Legal stones of restriction.
Personal stones of relational rejection.
When Love Speaks Louder
A Relationship That Reveals Christ to the World
By : Pastor Rodel Paz | February 22, 2026
John 13:34-35 NIV
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Introduction
Spoken in the Upper Room on the night before His crucifixion, these words were not addressed to crowds but to committed disciples. The setting is intimate, sacred, and urgent. Jesus had washed their feet. Judas had left. The cross loomed ahead. And in that solemn moment, Jesus gave what He called a “new command”: love one another as I have loved you.
This was not merely ethical instruction; it was missional identity. Jesus tied the credibility of the gospel to the love displayed among His followers. The world would recognize His disciples not by buildings, not by programs, not by eloquence—but by love.
The Message:
Our relationships within the body of Christ are not private matters; they are public testimonies. The way we treat one another either clarifies or clouds the witness of Christ to the world.
1. The MODEL of Christlike Love
Historical & Literary Insight:
Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you…” (John 13:34). The command to love was not new (Leviticus 19:18), but the measure was new— “as I have loved you.” The context is foot-washing (John 13:1–17), where the Master stooped like a servant. The model is self-giving love.
Exhortation:
1. Love sacrificially, not selectively. Christ did not measure who was worthy of His love before He gave it. He loved Peter who would deny Him and Judas who would betray Him. True Christlike love does not ask, “Do they deserve this?” It asks, “How can I reflect Jesus here?” When we love beyond preference, we reveal grace.
2. Serve humbly, not visibly. Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist. The King of Glory knelt. Some of the most powerful acts of love are unseen. Heaven records what earth overlooks. Serve even when applause is absent, because love seeks obedience, not recognition.
3. Forgive quickly, not conditionally. Delayed forgiveness hardens hearts. When we cling to offense, we obstruct witness. Forgiveness is not weakness—it is Christlikeness. It declares that the cross is greater than the conflict.
4. Give grace generously, not sparingly. If God measured grace the way we often do, none of us would stand. Extend the same mercy you have received. Grace disarms hostility and restores hope. Christlike love is not sentimental affection; it is costly devotion. Reflection: Our standard of love is not culture but Christ. If He is our Savior, He must also be our pattern.
Philippians 2:5-8 NIV
5. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature [b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross!
1 John 3:16 NIV
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
2. The MARK of Authentic Discipleship
Historical & Literary Insight:
Jesus continues: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). In the ancient world, disciples were identified by their teacher. Jesus establishes love as the distinguishing mark.
Exhortation:
1. Refuse gossip and division. Words can build bridges or burn them. Refuse to entertain conversations that fracture unity. Protect the reputation of others the way you would want yours protected. A guarded tongue protects the testimony of the church.
2. Guard unity intentionally. Unity does not happen accidentally; it is cultivated deliberately. It requires humility, patience, and sometimes silence. Unity is worth fighting for because it preserves witness.
3. Celebrate differences within the body. The church was never designed to be uniform but unified. Diversity in personality, background, and gifting magnifies the wisdom of God. Differences are not threats; they are treasures when governed by love.
4. Speak truth with gentleness. Love does not ignore truth, but it delivers truth in a way that heals rather than harms. The tone of truth determines whether it builds or bruises. When believers love each other deeply, the world takes notice. Love authenticates discipleship. Love is not optional for disciples; it is essential. Reflection: Programs may attract attention, but love authenticates identity. The world is watching not just what we preach, but how we relate.
Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Colossians 3:13-14 NIV
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
3. The MINISTRY of Mutual Care
Historical & Literary Insight:
The phrase “one another” appears repeatedly in the New Testament—over 50 times. It reflects communal Christianity. The early church was not individualistic; it was interconnected. Paul writes in Galatians 6:2, “Carry each other’s burdens.” This mutuality reflects covenant community.
Exhortation:
1. Bear burdens patiently. When someone is struggling, do not rush their healing. Sit with them. Pray with them. Walk beside them. Sometimes ministry is simply faithful presence.
2. Encourage consistently. Encouragement is oxygen for weary souls. Speak life. Affirm growth. Recognize faithfulness. A timely word can redirect someone from despair to hope.
3. Pray intentionally for one another. Intercession deepens affection. It is difficult to remain resentful toward someone you are praying for. Prayer aligns hearts with heaven’s perspective.
4. Correct gently when necessary. Love does not ignore sin; it addresses it with compassion. Restoration, not humiliation, should always be the goal. Mutual care transforms a congregation from a gathering into a family. And family love becomes a powerful witness.
Reflection:
Isolation weakens witness; community strengthens it. The church becomes compelling when it becomes caring.
Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Romans 12:10 NIV
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
4. The MISSION of Missional Witness
Historical & Literary Insight:
Jesus ties love directly to evangelism: “By this everyone will know…” Love is a powerful sermon. In John 17:21, Jesus prayed that believers would be one “so that the world may believe.”
Exhortation:
1. Remember that your relationships preach daily. Your kindness, patience, and forgiveness communicate Christ more clearly than polished arguments. The world evaluates the gospel by watching our conduct.
2. Reflect Christ in ordinary spaces. Love must move beyond church walls into homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Everyday interactions become sacred opportunities.
3. Choose kindness over argument. Not every disagreement requires a defense. Sometimes love wins more hearts than logic. Choose peace where pride demands response.
4. Live consistently with your confession. Integrity strengthens witness. Hypocrisy weakens it. Let your behavior confirm what your mouth proclaims. A divided church sends a distorted message. A loving church sends a clear gospel.
Reflection:
Evangelism is not only proclamation but demonstration. When the world sees grace embodied, it listens more carefully to grace proclaimed. Matthew 5:16 NIV 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
1 Peter 2:12 NIV
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
5. The MATURITY of Enduring Love
Historical & Literary Insight:
Biblical love matures through testing. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” The church in Corinth struggled with division, yet Paul called them to a higher path. Enduring love reflects spiritual maturity.
Exhortation:
1. Stay committed when offended. Offense is inevitable; abandonment is optional. Choose reconciliation over retreat. Mature believers work through conflict rather than walking away from it.
2. Extend forgiveness repeatedly. Peter asked Jesus how many times he must forgive. Jesus’ answer removed limits. Repeated forgiveness reflects relentless grace. 3. Choose unity over pride. Pride isolates; humility reconciles. Lay down the need to win and pick up the desire to restore.
4. Grow beyond comparison and competition. Jealousy fractures fellowship. Celebrate others’ gifts and victories. The body flourishes when every part rejoices together. Enduring love proves that Christ is shaping us. The world expects quitting; it does not expect covenant loyalty.
Reflection:
The world expects division; it does not expect endurance. When believers remain faithful through conflict, they display Christ’s long-suffering love.
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Proverbs 10:12 NIV
12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
Conclusion
The world is watching. Families are watching. Our children are watching.
They are watching how we handle disagreement.
They are watching how we speak about one another.
They are watching whether forgiveness is real or theoretical.
When we love sacrificially, serve humbly, forgive freely, and endure faithfully, we preach a sermon without a microphone.
We reveal Christ not only in proclamation but in practice. Imagine a church where:
1. Offense is replaced with reconciliation.
2. Competition is replaced with celebration.
3. Isolation is replaced with intercession.
4. Pride is replaced with humility.
5. Division is replaced with devotion.
That kind of love cannot be manufactured—it must be cultivated in the presence of Christ.
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” As we draw closer to Him, we will draw closer to one another. And as we love one another, the world will see Jesus.
May we become a people whose relationships shine so brightly that the world cannot ignore the Savior we serve.
The Royal Romance
Bound Forever to the King of Kings
By Ptr. Rodel Paz | February 15, 2026
Hosea 2:19-20 NIV
19 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. Introduction
Few passages in Scripture blend divine majesty and tender intimacy so beautifully as Hosea 2:19–20.
Here, God lifts the veil on His heart—a heart that loves even the unfaithful, that restores the broken, and that invites His people into covenant union as His bride. Written during Israel’s spiritual adultery, when the nation chased idols and foreign gods, Hosea’s words resound as both rebuke and romance. Through the prophet’s marriage to Gomer, a woman of unfaithfulness, God provides a living parable of His relentless love toward His people. Hosea’s prophecy emphasizes that restoration begins with God’s initiative.
The phrase “I will betroth you” is repeated three times in verses 19–20, highlighting divine action. Israel had wandered, yet God pursued. The Hebrew concept of covenant here reflects intentional commitment rather than emotional reaction. The King of Kings offers us an eternal, unbreakable covenant relationship that transforms us completely and satisfies us eternally through His perfect love, righteousness, and intimate knowledge.
1. The PURSUING Love of God
When Hosea says, “I will betroth you to Me,” the Hebrew term “’aras” refers to the solemn pledge of marriage—binding, sacred, and permanent. It is God Himself who initiates this covenant; He pursues His wayward bride.
Exhortation
- Recognize that God’s love seeks us even when we wander.
- Stop believing that failure disqualifies you from restoration.
- Respond to God’s pursuit rather than resisting His grace.
- Allow conviction to lead to repentance, not shame.
Reflection
Our relationship with God begins not with our faithfulness but with His. Divine pursuit reveals that salvation is grace from beginning to end. Supporting Verses Romans 5:8 NIV 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Luke 15:20 NIV
20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Quote “Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” — Charles Wesley
2. The PERMANENT Covenant of God
The word “forever” in Hosea 2:19 is striking. Unlike human agreements that can be broken, God declares a lasting covenant. This echoes God’s covenantal faithfulness throughout Scripture—from Abraham to the new covenant fulfilled in Christ.
Exhortation
- Stop treating your relationship with God as temporary or conditional.
- Build spiritual habits that reflect lasting commitment.
- Trust God’s promises even in seasons of silence.
- Choose faithfulness over emotional fluctuation.
Reflection
Security in God’s covenant frees us from fear. We serve not to earn His love but because we already have it.
Supporting Verses
Jeremiah 31:3 NIV
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Isaiah 54:10 NIV
10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Quote “God’s faithfulness is not dependent on our consistency but on His character.” — A.W. Tozer
3. The PURIFYING Righteousness of God
God doesn’t just say “I will betroth you,” but “in righteousness and in justice.” Ancient marriage covenants required a price—here, the price is divine righteousness. Sinful Israel cannot enter union with a holy God unless she’s cleansed and justified.
Exhortation
- Allow God to reshape your character, not just your circumstances.
- Pursue holiness as an expression of love, not obligation.
- Stop trying to earn what God freely gives.
- Abandon self-righteousness and embrace His righteousness.
Reflection
True relationship with God changes us. Grace does not excuse sin; it empowers transformation.
Supporting Verses
Isaiah 61:10 NIV
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin [a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Quote “Righteousness is not what we achieve for God, but what God imparts to us through His Son.” — Martin Luther
4. The PASSIONATE Mercy of God
Next, Hosea hears God declare, “in lovingkindness (ḥesed) and in mercy (raḥamîm).” These two Hebrew words pulse throughout the Old Testament. Ḥesed is God’s steadfast covenant love—loyal, faithful, constant. Raḥamîm comes from the word for “womb,” picturing maternal tenderness and compassion.
Exhortation
- Receive God’s mercy instead of living in condemnation.
- Extend compassion to others as God has shown compassion to you.
- Replace harshness with grace in your relationships.
- Remember that mercy restores what judgment alone cannot.
Reflection:
The reward of relationship with God is not perfection but continual mercy. His compassion sustains us daily.
Supporting Verses
Psalm 103:8 NIV
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Quote “God’s mercy is deeper than the deepest sin, stronger than the strongest shame.” — A.W. Tozer
5. The PERSONAL Knowledge of God
After threefold betrothal, the crescendo arrives: “And you shall know the Lord.” The Hebrew “yada” implies intimacy, not mere intellect—a relational knowing like that of a husband and wife. The covenant leads to communion.
Exhortation
- Move beyond knowing about God to knowing Him personally.
- Cultivate intimacy with God through time and surrender.
- Let relationship replace routine spirituality.
- Seek God’s presence more than His provision.
Reflection
The greatest reward of salvation is not heaven alone but knowing God Himself. Paul expressed this longing in Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ.” Even after years of ministry, relationship remained his deepest desire.
Supporting Verses
Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV
23 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
1 John 4:7-8 NIV
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Quote “The goal of the Christian life is not knowledge about God but communion with God.” — J.I. Packer
Conclusion:
The Power of His Presence
When we understand the full weight of these verses, we realize that God is not offering us mere forgiveness or a ticket to heaven—He's offering us Himself. The King of Kings becomes our Bridegroom, and we become His beloved bride. The power of His presence transforms everything—our identity, our purpose, our destiny.
We are not just servants or even friends—we are the beloved bride of Christ, chosen before the foundation of the world.
Revelation 19:7-9 NIV
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Committed To God First
The Foundation of Faithful Relationships
By Pastor Rodel
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
Introduction:
"Every relationship problem is first a worship problem."
We live in a generation that celebrates love but resists commitment. Vows are replaced with feelings, promises with preferences, and faithfulness with convenience. Yet Scripture insists that the health of our relationships is inseparably connected to the direction of our devotion. When God is first, relationships find order. When God is second, everything else eventually falls apart.
Our primary text comes from Deuteronomy 6, a passage known as the Shema, the foundational confession of Israel’s faith. Spoken by Moses on the plains of Moab, this text was delivered to a people standing at the threshold of promise. Before they entered the land, before they built homes or formed families, God called them to settle one issue: Who would have their heart?
Jesus later affirms this same truth in Matthew 22, calling it the greatest commandment. In other words, before God addresses how we love others, He defines how we must love Him.
Faithful relationships are built on wholehearted commitment to God; when God is first in our hearts, love finds its proper place in our lives.
1. The CALL to Exclusive Commitment
Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Historical & Literary Insight:
In a polytheistic world filled with competing gods, the Shema declared radical exclusivity. Israel’s God was not one among many—He was the only true God. This confession was recited daily, reminding God’s people that covenant begins with allegiance.
Exhortation:
God does not share the throne of the heart. Partial devotion is practical denial. Faithfulness in relationships begins with exclusive loyalty to God.
Reflection:
We cannot love faithfully horizontally if we are divided vertically. Competing loves always dilute covenant faithfulness.
Supporting Scriptures
Exodus 20:3 NIV - “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
Joshua 24:15 NIV - "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Quote: “The essence of idolatry is giving anything the place that belongs to God alone.” — John Calvin
2. The COMMAND to Wholehearted Commitment
Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Historical & Literary Insight
The Hebrew word “all” is repeated for emphasis. Biblical love is not sentimental—it is total. Heart (affections), soul (identity), and strength (resources and energy) are all included.
Exhortation:
God wants more than attendance—He wants affection. Faithfulness grows where devotion is complete. Fragmented hearts produce fragile relationships. Reflection Wholehearted love aligns our desires with God’s design, shaping how we treat others.
Supporting Scriptures
Psalm 86:11 NIV - "Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name."
Proverbs 4:23 NIV - "Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it."
Quote “God does not ask for our ability or our inability, but for our availability.” — Corrie ten Boom
3. The CHRIST- CENTERED Confirmation of Commitment
Matthew 22:37 NIV
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Historical & Literary Insight Jesus speaks these words to religious leaders obsessed with legal technicalities. He reframes obedience not as rule-keeping, but as relational devotion. Exhortation Belief without love becomes cold religion. Loving God shapes how we love people. Right doctrine must lead to right devotion. Reflection Jesus connects loving God with loving neighbor—never separating the two.
Supporting Scriptures
John 14:15 NIV - “If you love me, keep my commands."
1 John 4:19-21 NIV - "We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Quote: “Christianity is not first about what we do for God, but about loving the God who first loved us.” — Tim Keller
4. The CONSEQUENCE of Compromised Commitment
Matthew 15:8 NIV
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Historical & Literary:
Insight Jesus exposes religious hypocrisy—external obedience masking internal distance.
Exhortation:
Divided devotion leads to relational instability. Compromise in worship eventually shows up in marriage, family, and church life. What we tolerate spiritually will damage us relationally.
Reflection:
When God is sidelined, relationships carry weight they were never designed to bear.
Supporting Scriptures
Hosea 10:2 NIV - "Their heart is deceitful,
and now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will demolish their altars
and destroy their sacred stones."
James 4:4 NIV 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Quote: “A divided heart is the breeding ground for spiritual defeat.” — A.W. Tozer
5. The COVENANT Foundation for Faithful Relationships
1 John 4:19 NIV - "We love because he first loved us."
Historical & Literary:
Insight John roots Christian love in divine initiative. God’s love precedes and empowers ours.
Exhortation:
Faithful love flows from being loved by God. Commitment becomes possible when grace is experienced. God-centered love produces enduring relationships.
Reflection:
We don’t commit to earn God’s love—we commit because we have received it.
Supporting Scriptures:
Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV - "Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
John 13:34-35 NIV - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Quote: “Only when God is our ultimate love can we love others rightly.” — Augustine
Conclusion:
“Choose the God You Will Love” At the heart of every faithful relationship is a settled decision. Commitment is not sustained by emotion; it is sustained by choice. Long before Israel entered the Promised Land, God called them to choose who would have their hearts.
When God is first, love is no longer fragile. When God is central, commitment becomes steady. The reason so many relationships struggle is not simply because people are broken—but because God has been pushed to the sidelines.
The faithfulness of God is not just something we admire—it is something we are invited to reflect. As His people, our marriages, families, friendships, and church community are meant to become living testimonies of His covenant love.
When we love God wholeheartedly, our love becomes healthier, our commitments become stronger, and our relationships become sanctuaries of grace. Faithful relationships are not built by trying harder—but by loving God deeper.
Redeemed Experience: How God Uses Everything
By: Pastor Rodel Paz
Galatians 3:4 NLT
4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
INTRODUCTION:
The Galatian believers were drifting away from the gospel of grace back into legalism. Paul reminds them that their Christian experiences—conversion, suffering, growth, persecution—were not random events. They were evidence of God’s work, not human effort.
Throughout Scripture, God consistently reveals Himself as the Redeemer of experience. Nothing in the believer’s life is accidental. From Joseph’s betrayal to David’s failure, from Peter’s denial to Paul’s imprisonment, God uses everything to accomplish His purposes.
Many believers struggle not with unbelief, but with interpretation. They ask:
- Why did this happen to me?
- Was this pain meaningless?
- Did I waste years of my life?
This message addresses a crucial truth: God never wastes an experience that is surrendered to Him. Our pain, preparation, delays, and disappointments all become instruments of grace when placed in God’s hands.
1. EXAMINE – Recognize That Experiences Shape Us
Paul assumes experiences matter. Christianity is not merely intellectual concurrence; it is lived reality. God works through time, process, and events to shape His people.
Exhortation:
“Experiences form convictions.”
Experiences are often the classroom where beliefs move from theory to reality. Many truths we confess intellectually become deeply rooted only after we walk through hardship, delay, or testing. Israel did not merely learn that God was a provider—they experienced it daily through manna. Likewise, believers often discover the faithfulness of God not in comfort, but in crisis.
This exhortation challenges believers to recognize that convictions are often forged, not taught. God uses experiences to move faith from the head to the heart.
“Trials deepen dependence.”
Trials expose the limits of self-reliance. When familiar supports are removed, we learn to lean fully on God. This is not God weakening us, but God weaning us from false securities. Paul’s thorn in the flesh taught him that divine strength is most visible when human strength fails.
The exhortation invites believers to stop resenting trials and instead ask: What dependency is God cultivating in me?
“Seasons refine faith.”
Faith matures in seasons, not moments. Just as gold is refined through sustained heat, faith is purified through prolonged obedience and endurance. Seasons of waiting, silence, or repetition are often God’s refining processes, shaping character and perseverance.
This exhortation reframes slow or difficult seasons as necessary stages of spiritual formation rather than signs of stagnation.
“God uses experience not to replace Scripture, but to apply Scripture.”
Experiences never override God’s Word—but they often illuminate it. Scripture provides truth; experience personalizes it. For example, Psalm 23 may be memorized easily, but it becomes deeply meaningful when one walks through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
The exhortation guards against experience-driven theology while affirming experience as a tool God uses to press Scripture into lived reality.
Psalm 66:10 NLT
10 You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.
James 1:2-4 NLT
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Hebrews 12:11 NLT
11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Scholarly Quote
“Experience is the school of God’s grace.” — John Wesley
Life Application
Instead of asking, “Why did this happen?” ask, “What is God forming in me?”
2. EMBRACE – Trust God with Personal Experiences
Exhortation:
“God uses family backgrounds—healthy or broken.”
No one chooses their family story, yet God sovereignly works through it. Healthy families may model faithfulness; broken families may cultivate resilience, compassion, and dependence on God. Scripture is filled with flawed family lines that God redeems—Jacob, David, and even Jesus’ genealogy.
This exhortation frees believers from shame or resentment toward their upbringing and invites them to see God’s redemptive hand at work even in imperfect beginnings.
“God uses relationships—joyful or disappointing.”
Relationships shape us deeply. God uses affirming relationships to encourage us and painful ones to humble us, mature us, and sharpen discernment. Betrayal taught Joseph wisdom; rejection prepared David for leadership.
The exhortation helps believers understand that relational pain is not wasted—it often prepares them to minister with empathy and wisdom.
“God uses personality—strengths and weaknesses.”
God does not save people to erase their personalities, but to sanctify them. Peter’s boldness became preaching courage. Paul’s intellect became a missionary tool. Even weaknesses—timidity, sensitivity, caution—are used by God to balance ministry and protect character.
This exhortation affirms that believers do not need to become someone else to be used by God; they must surrender who they are.
“Your story is not a liability; it is a testimony in progress.”
Many believers see their past as disqualifying. God sees it as redeemable. A testimony is not the absence of struggle, but evidence of grace. What feels embarrassing today may become encouragement for others tomorrow. This exhortation invites believers to stop hiding their story and begin trusting God with it.
Genesis 50:20 NLT
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Pastoral Quote
“God does not waste pain.” — Elisabeth Elliot
Life Application:
Stop resenting your story. Offer it to God for His glory.
3. ENTRUST – Surrender Work and Educational Experiences
Exhortation:
“God uses jobs we enjoyed.”
Skills gained in seasons of fulfillment—leadership, communication, creativity—often become tools for kingdom impact later. God wastes nothing learned in obedience.
This exhortation affirms that joy-filled seasons are also preparation seasons.
“God uses jobs we endured.”
Difficult jobs teach endurance, humility, patience, and faithfulness. David’s years with sheep were unseen but essential. Many believers discover that God used frustrating or monotonous work to shape character more than success ever could.
The exhortation reframes hardship at work as divine training rather than divine neglect.
“God uses skills we didn’t know mattered.”
Abilities that seem secular or insignificant—administration, craftsmanship, problem- solving—often become critical in ministry and service. Paul’s tentmaking sustained his mission.
This exhortation breaks the false divide between “ministry” and “work.”
“Even detours become training grounds in God’s hands.”
What feels like a delay may be divine direction. God often prepares His servants long before revealing their calling.
The exhortation encourages believers to trust God’s timing and process.
Colossians 3:23-24 NLT
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.
Acts 18:3 NLT
3 Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers [a] just as he was.
Scholarly Quote
“There is no sacred-secular divide in God’s economy.” — Abraham Kuyper
Life Application:
Offer your skills, education, and work experience to God as tools for ministry.
4. ENCOUNTER – Grow Through Spiritual Experiences
Exhortation:
“Church involvement forms spiritual maturity.”
Christian growth is communal, not isolated. God uses the church to correct, encourage, and shape believers. Faith stagnates in isolation. This exhortation challenges individualistic Christianity and calls believers into faithful participation.
“Worship renews perspective.”
Worship realigns the heart with truth. It lifts eyes from circumstances to sovereignty. In worship, burdens are reinterpreted through God’s greatness.
“Scripture anchors faith.”
Experiences without Scripture lead to instability. Scripture grounds faith when emotions fluctuate.
“Spiritual experiences deepen faith when anchored in truth.”
Experiences are meant to lead to obedience, not excitement alone. Peter’s transformation did not come from the mountain, but from surrender after failure. This exhortation warns against emotionalism while affirming genuine encounters with God.
Hebrews 10:24-25. NLT
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but
encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Acts 2:42 NLT
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
Pastoral Quote:
“God meets us in the ordinary rhythms of faithful obedience.” — Eugene Peterson
Life Application
Commit to spiritual disciplines that position your heart for growth.
5. EXPECT – God to Use Painful Experiences Redemptively
Exhortation:
“Pain is not punishment for believers—it is preparation.”
In Christ, punishment was absorbed at the cross. Pain now serves a formative purpose. God disciplines, refines, and prepares His children through hardship.
This exhortation protects believers from guilt-based interpretations of suffering.
“Suffering shapes compassion.”
Those who have suffered deeply often love deeply. Pain enlarges the heart for ministry.
“Brokenness births ministry.”
Many callings are born out of wounds—comforting others with the comfort we received from God. This exhortation encourages believers to expect God’s redemptive work even in suffering.
Romans 8:28 NLT
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NLT
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last
very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
1 Peter 5:10 NLT
10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and
strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
Scholarly Quote:
“The theology of the cross teaches us that God works most powerfully where He seems most absent.” — Martin Luther
Life Application
Invite God to redeem your pain by using it to serve others.
CONCLUSION: A CALL TO TRUST GOD WITH YOUR STORY
Summary of Truths
- Experiences shape us.
- Personal history is redeemable.
- Work and education matter to God.
- Spiritual encounters form faith.
- Pain is never wasted.
“God is weaving every chapter into a redemptive masterpiece.”
Final Encouragement:
What feels like loss today become someone else’s lifeline tomorrow. Trust the God who redeems everything.
Covenant, Not Convenience
Faithful Love in a Disposable World.
By;Pastor Rodel Paz | Febrruary 08, 2026
Malachi 2:14-16 NIV
14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Introduction
We live in what many sociologists call a disposable culture. When something no longer works, no longer satisfies, or no longer feels good, we replace it.
Phones are upgraded. Contracts are canceled. Subscriptions are ended. Sadly, this mindset has quietly shaped how many people view relationships—even sacred ones. But Scripture confronts us with a radically different vision: covenant, not convenience.
Our primary Old Testament text comes from Malachi 2, where God rebukes Israel—not for ignorance, but for betrayal. They were religiously active but relationally unfaithful.
In the New Testament, Jesus echoes this covenantal vision in Matthew 19, reaffirming God’s original design for faithful, lifelong commitment. Before we can talk about healing relationships, strong marriages, or faithful communities, we must recover God’s understanding of covenant. God calls His people to covenant faithfulness—relationships grounded in sacred promise, not shifting convenience—because covenant love reflects His own faithful heart.
1. The COVENANT God Who Initiates Relationship
Malachi 2:14 NIV
You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Historical & Literary Insight
Malachi prophesied after Israel’s return from exile. Though worship had resumed, hearts were cold. Men were divorcing their wives to pursue foreign marriages for social and economic gain. God exposes the root issue: they had forgotten that marriage—and all faithful relationships—are covenant acts initiated before God. The Hebrew word for covenant (berith) implies a binding, sacred agreement, not merely emotional attachment.
Exhortation
- God is not only the designer of covenant—He is the witness to it.
- Faithfulness matters because God is personally involved.
- When we treat relationships lightly, we dishonor the God who stands as witness.
Reflection
Relationships rooted in covenant are not self-centered but God-centered. Faithfulness flows from reverence for God.
Supporting Scriptures
Proverbs 2:17 NIV 17 who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.
Hebrews 13:4 NIV 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Quote “A covenant is not sustained by feelings but by faithfulness to a promise made before God.” — Gordon Hugenberger
2. The CONTRAST Between Covenant and Convenience
Malachi 2:15 NIV
Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
Historical & Literary Insight
God contrasts covenant unity with human selfishness. Israel treated marriage as a means to personal advantage rather than spiritual stewardship. Convenience seeks benefit; covenant seeks faithfulness.
Exhortation
- Convenience asks, “What do I get?” Covenant asks, “What have I promised?”
- Convenience exits when it costs too much.
- Covenant remains when obedience is costly.
Reflection
Convenience-driven relationships collapse under pressure. Covenant-driven relationships deepen through adversity.
Supporting Scriptures
John 6:66-68 NIV
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Ruth 1:16-17 NIV
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Quote “Love that lasts is love that stays—especially when leaving would be easier.” — Eugene Peterson
3. The COST of Covenant Breaking
Malachi 2:14-16 NIV 16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Historical & Literary Insight
God’s strong language is not hatred toward people, but toward betrayal. Divorce in Malachi was a symptom of spiritual unfaithfulness. Covenant breaking always wounds more than one person. The Hebrew word translated “unfaithful” conveys betrayal of trust.
Exhortation
- Covenant breaking grieves the heart of God.
- It damages families, faith, and future generations.
- God takes faithfulness seriously because people matter deeply to Him.
Reflection
God’s hatred of divorce reveals His love for covenant, stability, and healing—not condemnation.
Supporting Scriptures
Hosea 4:1-2 NIV 1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Matthew 5:32 NIV
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Quote “God opposes covenant breaking because He is a covenant-keeping God.” — Walter Kaiser
4. The CHRIST-CENTERED Confirmation of Covenant
Matthew 19:6 NIV
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Historical & Literary Insight
Jesus responds to a debate on divorce by returning to Genesis, reaffirming God’s original design. He elevates covenant above cultural compromise. Jesus does not deny human brokenness, but He refuses to redefine covenant to accommodate hardness of heart.
Exhortation
Covenant is God’s work, not merely human agreement.
- Faithfulness honors God’s design.
- Grace does not cancel commitment—it restores it.
Reflection
The cross proves that covenant love pays the ultimate cost.
Supporting Scriptures
Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Hebrews 13:20 NIV
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
Quote “The covenant love of Christ defines the meaning of all Christian commitment.” — N.T. Wright
5. The CALL to Covenant Faithfulness
Hebrews 10:23 NIV 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Historical & Literary Insight
Hebrews was written to believers tempted to abandon faith under pressure. The call is perseverance rooted in God’s faithfulness.
Exhortation
- Faithfulness is possible because God is faithful.
- Covenant love is sustained by grace, not grit.
- God empowers what He commands.
Reflection
Covenant faithfulness becomes a witness in a culture of abandonment.
Supporting Scriptures
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV 22 Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, or his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Quote “Faithfulness is not spectacular, but it is powerful.” — Eugene Peterson
Conclusion:
Choose Covenant Again
God is not calling us to perfect relationships—but to faithful ones. Covenant love stays when convenience would leave. It forgives when pride would withdraw. It endures because God endures.
Faithful relationships are not sustained by human strength alone but by divine grace. As God remains faithful to us, He empowers us to remain faithful to one another. When believers live out covenant love, the world sees a visible picture of the gospel.
Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Hope For Tomorrow: When The Future Seems Unclear.
INTRODUCTION
Church, one of the hardest things after pain is learning how to hope again. Many people don’t just fear the past — they fear the future. After disappointment, loss, or failure, we become cautious. We protect our hearts. We stop dreaming. Some of you are not living in yesterday’s pain anymore — but you’re still afraid of tomorrow.
But God did not heal you so you could live in fear. He healed you so you could live in hope.
Have you ever noticed how quickly life can change? One phone call, one doctor’s report, one unexpected loss, or one closed door—and suddenly the future you thought you understood becomes unclear. We make plans, set goals, and dream dreams, but there are moments when the road ahead feels foggy and uncertain. Questions begin to rise: What’s next? Where is God in this? How do I move forward when I can’t see ahead? The truth is, uncertainty is not a sign of weak faith—it’s part of being human. Even God’s people in Scripture faced seasons where the future was unknown, yet those moments became the very places where God revealed His faithfulness most clearly. When we cannot see what’s coming, we are invited to trust the One who already stands in our tomorrow.
Today, we will explore what God’s Word teaches us about living with faith, hope, and courage when the future is uncertain—and how trusting God in the unknown can become the foundation for peace and strength right now.
POINT 1 — GOD STILL HAS A PLAN
When the future feels uncertain, it’s easy to assume that everything is falling apart. [Ang dali nating magworry, ang dali nating magchange of plan] The Scripture reminds us that God is never confused, never surprised, and never unprepared. Just because we cannot see what’s next does not mean God has stopped working. Our uncertainty does not cancel God’s purpose. Throughout the Bible, we see men and women who felt stuck, lost, or unsure of what the future held. Yet behind the scenes, God was still writing their story. What looked like delay was actually direction. What felt like loss was often preparation. Today, we hold on to this truth: even when the future is unclear, God still has a plan.[Let’s say it again] His plan may not unfold the way we expect, but it always unfolds according to His wisdom, His timing, and His love. His plan may not unfold the way we expect, but it always unfolds according to His wisdom, His timing, and His love. His plan may not unfold the way we expect, but it always unfolds according to His wisdom, His timing, and His love.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
This promise was spoken to people in exile — not in victory, not in comfort, but in captivity. This verse was not a promise of immediate relief or easy success. It was reassurance during a long, painful season. God was saying: “Even here… I’m still planning.” Hey ya’ll, I’m still your God, I still have better plans!
Your setback didn’t erase God’s plan. Your pain didn’t erase God’s purpose. God’s plans can withstand and endure the seasons of life. Nothing can stop God, Amen.
Supporting Scriptures:
Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” God guides the future even when our plans change.
Romans 8:28 (ESV) “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…” God is working all things, including uncertainty, into His plan.
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NIV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…” God’s plan is higher than what we can see or understand.
ILLUSTRATION — THE GPS RECALCULATING
Have you ever missed a turn while driving and expected the GPS to give up on you? It doesn’t. It simply says, “Recalculating.” God does the same thing. When life takes unexpected turns — God recalculates, not panics.
Question “Will you trust God or make it your own way?”
POINT 2 — PRESENT PAIN CANNOT COMPARE TO FUTURE GLORY
There are moments in life when pain feels heavy and unrelenting—when prayers seem unanswered and faith is tested by suffering. In those moments, God invites us to lift our eyes beyond what we see and feel now. The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:18” “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”
“Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” This truth anchors our hope: what we face today is temporary, but what God has promised is eternal. Present pain cannot compare to future glory, because God is using every trial to prepare us for a glory far greater than our suffering. Paul wasn’t minimizing pain — he was magnifying hope. Question: What are you carrying now? The weight, The grief, The waiting these are all temporary. But what God is building in you is eternal.
POINT 3 — GOD IS DOING A NEW THING
We are living in a moment of divine movement—a season where the familiar is giving way to the extraordinary. God is not confined to what He has done before, nor limited by our expectations of yesterday. In times of transition, uncertainty, and renewal, one truth stands firm and alive: God is doing a new thing. He is awakening hope, restoring purpose, and opening doors no one imagined possible. What once seemed barren is beginning to bloom, and what was broken is being reshaped for His glory.
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NIV)
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall sprout; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past,” God speaks these words not as a suggestion, but as a summons. Heaven is announcing a shift. What once defined you, confined you, or delayed you no longer has the final say. “See, I am doing a new thing!” declares the Lord. Even now—right now—it is springing forth. In places that felt dry, God is making a way. In seasons that felt stuck, He is releasing rivers of life. This is not a repeat, not a revival of yesterday—this is God doing a new thing. God says:
“Don’t live looking backward when I’m moving forward.” He is opening new doors let go of the old handles
MODERN ILLUSTRATION
There are people who:
- Started over after the divorce
- Found new purpose after job loss
- Discovered calling after failure
What felt like an ending became an assignment. Sometimes God closes chapters not to punish us — but to reposition us, because a new chapter is coming.
Question: Are you afraid to start all over again? Are you worried about the uncertain things?
2 Corinthians 4:16–18
'That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.’
Paul reminds us:
- What we see in our eyes is temporary
- What we can’t see is eternal
- Suffering is real but temporary
- Spiritual renewal is ongoing Eternal glory is certain and incomparable
- Faith means choosing an eternal perspective over present circumstances
POINT 4 — SHIFT YOUR FOCUS
We spend much of our lives reacting to what we can see—problems, pressure, pain, and circumstances that feel overwhelming. But in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul reminds us that what’s visible is not what’s permanent. Though our outer selves may be wasting away, there is an unseen work of God producing eternal glory. When we fix our eyes on what is unseen, we discover the strength to endure what is seen. Today, God is calling us to shift our focus—from the temporary to the eternal, from the seen to the unseen. Shift your focus, shift your focus So often, our attention is captured by what we can see: our struggles, our limitations, our circumstances. But Scripture reminds us that what is visible is only for a moment, while what is unseen—God’s promises, His purposes, and our future glory—will last forever. You know, church, when we focus only on the temporary, we become discouraged. But when we fix our eyes on God, our strength is renewed. Faith enables us to endure present hardships because we trust that God is at work, beyond what our eyes can perceive. This shift in focus does not deny reality; it redefines it.
APPLICATION — THREE WAYS TO WALK IN FUTURE HOPE
- Release the Past: You can’t carry yesterday and expect tomorrow to feel light.
- Renew Your Mind: Stop expecting pain where God promised purpose.
- Step Forward in Faith: Faith always involves movement.
HOPE MOMENT — YOUR STORY IS STILL UNFOLDING
You may be in a season that feels unfinished, unclear, and uncertain. But God specializes in unfinished stories. What you see as delay, God sees as development.
CONCLUSION — THE BEST IS STILL AHEAD
Your past is redeemed—nothing you’ve been through is wasted. Your present is held—God’s hands are steady even when life feels uncertain. Your future is secure—His promises cannot fail. God is not finished with you yet.
The Sound of Hope. Do You Hear What I Hear?
By Pastor Debbie Dillon (1-11-2026)
Sripture Reading:
Matthew 3:13-17
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Introduction:
Have you been listening to the news??? I personally hate watching the news nor listening to them. Headlines: More than 500 killed in Iran unrest. Iran threatens to stike American military bases in the Middle East if the US hits first. The world is full of bad stuff. So many people are just out to get each other. Everyone and everybody blames others with what’s happening to our world. Our own native land goes through pain and suffering, and sometimes we feel guilty to seem like we live in paradise… although we have our share of troubles here even around our neighborhood…
We hear so many voices,, some our good, and some are not so good,,, and some are really really bad…
Our Bible tells us that Jesus came to earth to bring peace, hope, joy and love… the world then has the similar troubles as our world now … that’s why the coming of the Prince of Peace is always relevant,,, we have not progressed any.. if anything we even digress.
Many people mistakenly assume this Christmas classic has been around for years and that it is of European origin. But it was written in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a powerful plea for peace and hope by a man who had experienced the horrors of war. The song’s message of peace and hope is as desperately needed today as it was then.
Illustration:
A French-born Noel Regney had studied at Strasbourg Conservatory and at the Conservatoire National de Paris. Although the Second World War, took Regney against his will, when he was drafted into the German army. He hated the Nazis who occupied the land where he was born. So, while still in the German army, Regney became a member of the French underground. His assignments required him to remain in a German uniform. He collected information and, when possible, warned French resistance fighters of attacks the Germans were planning against them. After the war, he worked for a few years as the musical director of the Indochinese Service of Radio France and as music director at Lido, a popular nightclub in Paris. In 1952, Noel Regney moved to Manhattan.
He composed music for many early TV shows and commercial jingles, in addition to writing serious musical compositions. In the late ’50s, Noel Regney married pianist Gloria Shayne. In October 1962, the Soviet Union and the United States were involved in a crisis centered on missiles the Russians had installed in Cuba.
The United States threatened military action if the missiles were not removed. The world trembled and prayed as these two nuclear powers stood eyeball-to-eyeball. That October, as Noel Regney walked through the streets of New York, a sense of despair was in the air. No one smiled. Regney had endured the horrors of war. He knew the fear and terror of being close to death. The safe and secure life he had built for himself in the United States was on the verge of ending.
Christmas, which was supposed to be a time of peace and goodwill, was approaching. Noel Regney had been asked by a record producer to write a holiday song. “I had thought I’d never write a Christmas song,” he recalled. “Christmas had become so commercial. But this was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated. “En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers.
The little angels were looking at each other and smiling. And the moment filled with mood changed and a glimpse of these babies filled Noel Regney’s heart with poetry. The little ones reminded him of newborn lambs.
Thus, the song begins, “Said the night wind to the little lamb….” As soon as Noel arrived home, he jotted down the lyrics. Then he asked Gloria to write the music to accompany his words. “Noel wrote a beautiful song,” Gloria said later, “and I wrote the music. We couldn’t sing it, through; it broke us up. We cried. Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war at that time.” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” carried a beautiful message close to people in all walks of life. It became a popular Christmas carol, “a song high above the tree, with a voice as big as the sea.” But the message of peace and hope was lost on many people. Of all their works, that simple Christmas song is the one that will continue to be treasured:
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” Said the night wind to the little lamb,
“Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky little lamb, Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, Dancing in the night, with a tail as big as a kite, with a tail as big as a kite.”
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, “Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing thru the sky, shepherd boy, Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song high above the tree, with a voice as big as the sea, With a voice as big as the sea.”
Said the shepherd boy to the might king, “Do you know what I know? In your palace warm, Mighty king, Do you know what I know?
A child, a child shivers in the cold, Let us bring him silver and gold, Let us bring him silver and gold.”
Said the king to the people everywhere, “Listen to what I say:
Pray for peace, people everywhere! Listen to what I say: the child, the child sleeping in the night,
He will bring us goodness and light, He will bring us goodness and light.”
“I am amazed that people can think they know the song and not know it is a prayer for peace and hope. Listen to the song: “The Child, The Child sleeping in the night he will bring us goodness and light; he will bring us goodness and light.”
Hope requires: Living as if it was the last day of our life.
What does that mean? A classic Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown says to Lucy, "Someone has said that we should live each day as if it were the last day of our life." "Aaugh!" cries Lucy. "This is the last day! This is it!” She dashes away screaming, "I only have 24 hours left! Help me! Help me! This is the last day! Aaugh!" "Some philosophies," says Charlie Brown, "aren't for all people."
Living each day as if it is the last day of our life is not a bad philosophy. Living each day as if it was the first day of our life might be a better one. This is a new year with exciting new possibilities. The old year is gone. The mistakes we made, the obstacles we have overcome are now in the past. A new year has arrived. “Do you hear what I hear?”
Hope requires: Living your faith.
Believing and living.
Motivational speaker Danny Cox shared about a Broom Hilda cartoon, in which her troll-like, naive, innocent little friend Irwin puts on a long-tailed formal tuxedo jacket, picks up a conductor's baton and walks into the woods alone. Irwin steps up on a fallen tree trunk and begins to wave his arms as if to conduct. There are no musicians, only rocks, trees, and flowers. Soon, musical notes pour from the rocks, trees and flowers and fill the panel. Finally, Irwin turns and confidently says to the reader, "It's all in there; you just have to work at getting it out." As we look at this New Year that has just arrived, we know it is filled with all kinds of possibilities: "They're all in there; we just have to work at getting them out." “Do you hear what I hear?”
Hope requires: Letting go of the past and reaching out to the possibilities of tomorrow.
A few years ago, a large group of Vietnam veterans met in New York to commemorate the Vietnam War and its effects on their lives. Many were still suffering emotional wounds from that devastating conflict.
A Vietnamese Buddhist monk came to the gathering and told a moving story. During the war, a young Vietnamese woman was killed. She left behind her husband and her young son. The husband, needing to provide for himself and the boy, traveled far and wide looking for odd jobs and often left the child with neighbors.
This was going on for a while, when after one long trip looking for work, the man returned to find his village demolished and his neighbors gone. Searching through the rubble, he found scattered about some small bones. He was sure that these were the remains of his beloved son. He wrapped the bones in a cloth and carried them with him everywhere he went.
Many years passed, and one night the old man heard knocking on his door. He called out, "Who's there?" "It is your son!" the voice outside replied. "My kidnappers set me free, and I have spent many years trying to find you!" The old man yelled, "You are a fake and a cruel man. My son is dead. Leave me alone!"
And he would not open the door. The pounding continued for a while, and then it stopped. The young man gave up and left. The old man never found happiness. And he lost his son who was still living. Why? Because he was determined to hold on to the bones of the past . . .
“Do you hear what I hear?”
Our world are full of voices.
- There are voices that speak to me continually.
- There are the voices of my parents that still ring even now in my adult ears.
- They were voices that told me I was loved and that I was to be the responsible person they raised me to be.
- Then also there is the voice of my family that shows their love and their expectations of me.
- There are voices of my children that demonstrate everything from love and compassion to frustration and rebellion.
- Then, of course, there are the voices that we hear in the rest of the world. There is the voice of our consumer-based world that demands that we produce more so we can spend more.
- There are the voices of our peers that entice us to act on values that we know are contrary to our faith and our upbringing.
- There is the voice of advertising that tells us that it is all about feeling good and having more. Wherever we go, we are surrounded by voices.
- Then there was that voice that was heard at Jesus’ baptism.
It was a voice that sounded foreign amid the other voices that the people were accustomed to hearing. It was a voice that affirmed something few had yet to affirm. It was the voice of a holy parent affirming and revealing to the world the real identity of this holy child.
“This is my beloved Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased.”
Stop and think for a moment about this voice.
- This is the voice that spoke creation into being.
- This is the voice that called Moses and delivered the children of Israel.
- This is the voice that called and then spoke through the prophets.
- This is the voice of which the Psalmist spoke: “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the lord is full of majesty”
Psalm 29:3-5
"The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon."
If ever there was a voice to be heeded, this would be that voice.
I have sought to remind my children from the time they were small of something important. When I drop them off at school or when they leave the house. I leave them with the admonition to remember who they are and who loves them. I know that during the day they will hear many voices.
They will hear voices that will invite them to do what the popular kids are doing. They will hear voices that invite them to forget their moral underpinnings. They will hear voices that invite them to use drugs or alcohol. Amid these voices, I want them to hear my voice each day reminding them who they really are.
If we listen, the voice of God is sounding yet again.
This is Jesus, the Beloved, and Jesus is here to remind us to listen for that same voice.
We, who are the Body of Christ, are also beloved, and when we function as that body, certainly we must know that God is pleased. Amid all the voices we hear in our world, this is the best voice to hear.
The sound of hope, healing, and love!!! It is after all, the voice of our salvation! Today is the 11th day of the New Year… we already used up 15,840 minutes. Were they minutes that count? Remember, from today on… listen to the voice of Him who continues to call and affirms…
Conclusion:
The sound of Hope and Healing…..
A voice from heaven that said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”
Hope for all … and remember who you are, no matter what the voices out there says… God’s voice is louder. . . You are God’s he claimed you on your baptism, gave you hope, healing, and LOVE!!!
Step Into The New
Theme: Hope for the Future & Healing for Your Past
Scripture Text:
Philippians 3:13–14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Isaiah 61:1–3, Hebrews 12:1–2, Revelation 21:5
Introduction
We’re entering a new season and there is a moment in every believer’s life, in your life, when you must decide:
“Will I stay in what was, or will I step into what God is making new?”
God didn’t save you simply to “get you out of something” He saved you to “lead you into something”.
Hebrews 12:1–2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Throw off - Greek word is “apotithémi” [ah-po-TEE-thay-mee] to cast away
Many people want change, but they’re still holding onto:
- old patterns
- old bad habits/sins
- old pains
- old relationships
- old identities
You cannot walk into a new season while dragging the weight of the old one. I know going into a new season is not easy, but I tell you it is worth it.
God rarely starts a new season by making you comfortable. He starts by making you uneasy. Before elevation, there is disruption.
Abraham had to leave the familiar. Moses had to be driven out before he was called back. David lived on the run. Discomfort is not rejection, it is preparation. When God says, “Get out,” it is not because He is done with you, it is because He is getting you ready for what you cannot reach by staying where you are. Every new season begins with something being removed. People, patterns, comforts, even good things that no longer fit where He is taking you. Not as punishment, but as alignment. God will not drag what cannot survive the next level. Separation feels like loss, but it is actually precision. He is clearing the view so you can see what is coming. God has something new for you —but you must MOVE.
Point 1 — New Life Requires New Direction
Paul says in Philippians 3
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Illustration: A track and field athlete cannot win the race if they run forward and look backward. It is also not good if you are in a NASCAR race, not looking whatsoever ahead of you, “You’re going to crash.”
Forgetting in this verse "It’s not amnesia" — but choosing not to live stuck in the past.
You cannot:
- chase destiny while holding hands with history.
- step forward while staring backward.
Did you know that the windshield is bigger than the rear-view mirror because where you’re going matters more than where you’ve been.
If God has forgiven you, stop revisiting the graveyard. He already raised you, He already called you out, and why go back to the old cemetery? (
Point 2 — You Are Not Who You Used To Be
2 Corinthians 5:17:
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
On this passage God didn’t:
- polish your old identity
- repair your old nature
- upgrade your old life
He made you new, he made us new.
But there is this thing, the enemy wants to remind you:
- of who you were
- of what you did
- of the shame you carried
I don’t know who you were, I don’t know what you did in the past, and I don’t know what you carried. What I know is you are now a new person God has raised up.
Ephesians 2:5
“made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
The moment you hear these voices telling you of your past, they are not from the Holy Spirit.
Conviction points to Jesus — condemnation points to your past.
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
You are:
- Forgiven
- Redeemed
- Renewed
- Called
- Set free
Walk like it.
Illustration — The Butterfly
The caterpillar doesn’t return to crawling once it becomes a butterfly. It doesn’t say: “I miss the ground. Flying is scary.” That would be abnormal!…
Yet many believers are set free but still live bound.
You were created to:
- fly in freedom**, not crawl in your past.
Point 3 — A New Season Requires New Steps
Hebrews 12:1–2:
“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…Let us run with perseverance…”
To step into what God has for you, you may need to let go of:
- habits that drain you
- relationships that pull you away from God
- bitterness that poisons your heart
- comforts that keep you complacent
- excuses that delay obedience
Faith is not passive — it’s a movement, it’s an action.
Faith compels you to take steps, even when uncertain, like stepping out of a boat (Matthew 14) or preparing for what you're praying for.
Remember Peter…
Every step of obedience is a victory over your past. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Abraham became the father of all nations after he became obedient to what God had called him.
Point 4 — Jesus Makes All Things New
Revelation 21:5 — “Behold, I am making all things new.”*
- Out of the dust God breathed air on it, and he made the first man…
- Out of a creator’s hand, a new creation is being made.
Are you praying for a:
- Healing? He makes new.
- Hope? He makes new.
- Identity? He makes new.
- Future? He makes new.
Jesus doesn’t give you a better version of the old you — He gives you a “supernatural new beginning”.
Your next chapter is not a sequel to your pain —it’s a story written by grace. Paul says, "I am what I am because of God's grace."
Give the pen to Jesus, and he will rewrite the story of your life. He is our hope for tomorrow.
One of the best stories in the Bible is the life of Joseph.
Conclusion — Hope for Tomorrow
Hear this in your spirit today: Your current chapter is not your final story.
- God is making new things in your life.
- God is not done with you.
- Hope is not lost.
- Healing is coming.
Just like Joseph, someday you’ll look back and say: “What the enemy intended for evil… God used it for good.”
- God is already working…
- Already restoring…
- Already writing redemption into your story.
So hold on to hope. Stand firm in faith. Your purpose is greater than your pain.
Scripture Reading:
Philippians 3:13–14:
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Isaiah 61:1–3
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord ’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
Hebrews 12:1–2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Revelation 21:5
“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Wise Men Still Seek Him
Revelation, Rejoicing, and Reverent Worship
Matthew 2:9-12 NIV
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Introduction
Matthew 2:9–12 is part of Matthew’s infancy narrative, written primarily to a Jewish audience to present Jesus as the promised Messiah, the true King of Israel. The “wise men” (Greek: magoi) were likely astrologers or scholars from the East—Gentiles, outsiders to the covenant promises—who studied the heavens and were attentive to signs of divine activity.
This passage comes after God has already guided the magi through a star and protected them from Herod’s deception. Now, Matthew slows the story down, focusing not on distance traveled but on hearts revealed when they finally come face to face with the Christ.
In a world filled with religious noise, political power struggles, and spiritual confusion, Matthew 2:9–12 reminds us that true wisdom is not found in status, proximity to religion, or earthly power—but in humbly seeking and worshiping Jesus. The wise men model a faith that pursues Christ persistently, recognizes Him rightly, and responds wholeheartedly.
“Wise men—and women—are still those who earnestly seek Christ, joyfully surrender to Him, and worship Him as King.”
1. The SIGN that Still Leads Seekers (v. 9)
The star reappears after the magi leave Herod. God does not abandon sincere seekers to human manipulation; He renews His guidance. The star “went ahead of them” and “stopped” over the place where the child was—language emphasizing divine initiative and precision.
Exhortation:
- God still guides those who genuinely seek Him.
- Divine direction often becomes clearer after we step away from worldly voices.
- Obedience positions us to see God’s next move.
Illustration: Like a GPS recalculating after a wrong turn, God redirects those whose hearts are fixed on the right destination—even when they pass through confusion.
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Psalm 25:9 NIV
9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
Quote: “God reveals Himself to those who truly desire to know Him.” — D.A. Carson
2. The SATISFACTION that Overflows in Joy (v. 10)
Matthew describes their joy as “exceedingly great joy”—a doubled expression in Greek emphasizing intensity. Their joy erupts before they see the child, simply because they know they are close.
Exhortation:
- Joy is the fruit of assurance, not possession.
- Spiritual joy grows as we draw nearer to Christ.
- True joy is independent of circumstances.
Illustration: Think of a traveler who sees the lights of home after a long journey—the joy comes before stepping inside.
Psalm 16:11 NIV
11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
John 15:11 NIV
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Quote: “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” — C.S. Lewis
3. The SURRENDER that Falls at His Feet (v. 11a)
The magi enter the house, see the child with Mary, and fall down to worship Him. No throne. No palace. Just a child—yet they recognize His worth.
Exhortation:
- Worship begins with humility.
- True faith bows before it understands.
- Encountering Christ demands surrender, not evaluation.
Illustration: When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his immediate response was humility and repentance (Isaiah 6).
Philippians 2:10-11 NIV
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Psalm 95:6 NIV
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
Quote: “The essence of worship is valuing Christ above all.” — John Piper
4. The SACRIFICE that Honors the King (v. 11b)
The gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—were costly and symbolic:
- Gold for royalty
- Frankincense for deity
- Myrrh for suffering and burial
Exhortation:
- Worship always involves giving.
- We honor Christ not with leftovers, but with what is costly.
- Our gifts reflect what we believe Christ is worth.
Illustration: Like David refusing to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24), the magi gave generously.
Romans 12:1 NIV
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Proverbs 3:9 NIV
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Quote: “Where Christ is truly honored, self is gladly surrendered.” — Matthew Henry
5. The SEPARATION that Marks True Wisdom (v. 12)
After worshiping Jesus, the magi are warned in a dream and return home by another route. An encounter with Christ always changes our direction.
Exhortation:
- Worship leads to transformation.
- Obedience often requires a new path.
- True wisdom listens to God above human authority.
Illustration: Meeting Christ is like reaching a crossroads—you never leave the same way you came.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Quote: “To worship Christ and then ignore His voice is a contradiction.” — N.T. Wright
Conclusion:
The wise men teach us that wisdom is not about intellect, culture, or status—it is about response. They sought diligently, rejoiced deeply, surrendered humbly, sacrificed generously, and separated obediently. Wise Men still seek Him. Wise Hearts still bow before Him. Wise Lives are still changed by Him.
Heaven’s Headline of Joy
Good News of Great Joy for All People
The angel’s words to trembling shepherds summarize the heart of Christmas Gospel:
Luke 2:10 NIV
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
This message is the heartbeat of Christianity — that God Himself has come, not to condemn, but to redeem.
The “Good News” announced by the angels brings great joy to all people and reveals the heart of God’s redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.
I. The Good News that is Divine in Origin
A. The Angel’s Announcement
Luke 2:8-9 NIV
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. The birth of Christ signals the end of spiritual terror and the dawn of peace. The gospel always begins with grace that drives out fear. The Greek word used for “good news” (euangelizomai) is where we derive “gospel.” It is the divine declaration that salvation has arrived, not the human achievement that we have earned.
B. Freedom from Fear
Luke 2:10 NIV
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
The birth of Christ signals the end of spiritual terror and the dawn of peace. The gospel always begins with grace that drives out fear. The Greek word used for “good news” (euangelizomai) is where we derive “gospel.” It is the divine declaration that salvation has arrived, not the human achievement that we have earned.
C. The Nature of the News
Luke 2:11 NIV 11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Three titles summarize salvation’s essence:
- Savior: He rescues humanity from sin and its consequences.
- Christ: The promised Messiah, anointed for redemptive mission.
- Lord: The divine ruler, God in flesh, sovereign over all.
“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator; if it had been technology, He would have sent a scientist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.” – Max Lucado
II. The Good News that Produces Great Joy.
A. Joy Promise
Luke 2:10 NIV
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Joy is the distinguishing mark of those who meet the Savior. True joy is not circumstantial but Christ-centered, rooted in reconciliation with God.
B. Joy Experienced
The Christmas Gospel transforms hearts from dread to delight.
True Christmas Joy:
1. Grounds us in God’s presence:
Psalm 16:11 NIV
11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
2. Strengthens amidst suffering
Nehemiah 8:10 NIV
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
3. Persists in trials
Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!
C. Joy Shared
Luke 2:17 NIV
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, When the shepherds found the Christ Child, they spread the word. Their joy overflowed into proclamation. Likewise, when we encounter Jesus, silence becomes impossible.
III. The Good News that Reaches All People
A. Universal Scope
The Christmas Gospel is for “all people.” There is no ethnic, social, or moral boundary that the love of Christ cannot cross.
Galatians 3:28 NIV
28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
B. Personal Invitation
Still, the angel said, “A Savior has been born to you.” The invitation is universal, but salvation is personal. You must respond.
John 1:12 NIV
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
C. Inclusive yet Transforming
Grace welcomes us as we are but doesn’t leave us unchanged. Like the Shepherds become heralds. Sinners become saints. Outcasts become ambassadors.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
IV. The Good News that Glorifies God
A. Heavenly Worship
Luke 2:13-14 NIV
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
This Heavenly response shows that salvation’s purpose is not only our joy but God’s glory. Joy and worship are inseparable—the more we experience His grace, the more we exalt His name.
B. Human Response of Worship
Luke 2:20 NIV
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
The message began in heaven, came to earth, and returned in praise back to heaven. Redemption completes its cycle when human hearts glorify God again.
Psalm 95:6 NIV 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
C. Worship Rooted in Revelation
Luke 2:20 NIV
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Their worship was based on what they “had heard and seen.” Authentic worship flows from revealed truth. Emotion follows revelation; the deeper we understand who Christ is, the higher our praise ascends.
True worshipers are those whose understanding of the gospel fuels their passion for God’s glory. “Worship is the natural response of a heart that has seen the greatness of God.” – Charles Spurgeon
V. The Good News that Transforms Lives
A. Obedience of Faith
Luke 2:15 NIV 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Faith moves toward obedience. The shepherds hurried, demonstrating the right response to divine revelation.
B. The Encounter with Jesus
Luke 2:16 NIV
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Their revelation turned into relationship. Every true believer must experience Christ personally.
C. The Witness of Transformation
Luke 2:17-18 NIV
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
They become the first gospel preachers of the new covenant era! Their testimony caused wonder among listeners. The transformation from simple shepherds to joyful witnesses demonstrates the power of the message.
D. The Meditation of the Heart
Luke 2:19 NIV
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. True discipleship blends action with meditation. The Gospel produces both outward witness and inward wonder.
Conclusion – A Call to Joyful Faith
Luke 2:10 NIV
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
The Good News announced that night outside Bethlehem remains the most joyful message the world has ever heard. Caesar may have ruled the world politically, but in a manger lay the One who would rule eternally. The decree of Rome affected a census; the decree of God accomplished salvation.
This Good News remains Good because Christ still saves, Great because it brings eternal joy, and For All People because His love knows no bounds.
The Rescuing Love of Christmas
Hope For a World That Needs a Savior (Matthew 1:18–25)
By: Pastor Rodel Paz
INTRODUCTION
Christmas is often wrapped in soft lights, warm emotions, and sentimental memories. Our culture has turned it into a season of coziness, comfort, and pleasant traditions. Yet when we return to Scripture—back behind the carols, the colors, and the cultural expectations—we discover a very different picture. The first Christmas was not a feel-good moment. It was a divine intervention into a world drowning in darkness, rebellion, and spiritual ruin.
Mary is found pregnant before marriage. Joseph is heartbroken, unsure of what to do. A righteous man faces a moral dilemma. The world is drowning under sin and oppression. Into this messy, morally broken scene—God enters.
This passage shows us the real meaning of Christmas, not the sentimental one our culture sells. Christmas is not primarily a feel-good holiday; it is a divine rescue mission. It is God breaking into our sin-darkened world because we could not save ourselves. “Christmas CONFRONTS us with the truth of our sin, COMFORTS us with God’s faithfulness, and CALLS us to embrace Jesus as the only Savior who came to redeem us.”
I. The PROBLEM That CHRISTMAS Reveals (Matthew 1:18–19)
Matthew 1:18-19 NIV
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew begins Christmas with a crisis. Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows the child isn’t his. According to Jewish law, Mary could have faced public shame or worse. Joseph wrestles not only with emotional pain but with deep moral conflict. But Scripture frames this crisis as a window into humanity’s deeper crisis: the problem of sin.
- Christmas reveals our brokenness: sin is real, painful, and costly.
- We often want to celebrate the Savior without confronting our spiritual condition.
- God is truthful about sin because He desires to be merciful toward sinners.
- Christmas is not merely about joy; it is about judgment being interrupted by mercy.
Romans 3:23 NIV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
John Stott writes, “We cannot see the beauty of the cross until we first see the ugliness of sin.”
II. The PROMISE That CHRISTMAS Declares (Matthew 1:20–21)
Matthew 1:20-21 NIV
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Joseph’s life plan was interrupted — but God’s interruption was an invitation to salvation’s story. The promise is not comfort, but Christ.
- Don’t fear God’s calling, even when it disrupts your plans.
- God’s promises often come wrapped in uncomfortable assignments.
- Jesus is not one of many options — He is the promised Savior.
- Embrace God’s promises even when they require courage, obedience, and surrender.
Isaiah 7:14 NIV
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Charles Spurgeon: “The birth of Jesus is God’s pledge that every promise will be kept.”
III. The PRESENCE That CHRISTMAS Provides (Matthew 1:22–23)
Matthew 1:22-23 NIV
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew connects Jesus’ birth to Isaiah’s prophecy — God Himself enters humanity. Not a distant deity, but dwelling among sinners.
- God is not far from your pain, confusion, or failure.
- Christmas means God steps into your reality, not waiting for you to fix yourself.
- Jesus did not come to make us nicer; He came to make us new.
- If Jesus is not your Savior, then Christmas is merely tradition.
Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
“God with us — not against us, not far from us, but with us.” — Charles Spurgeon
IV. The PURPOSE For Which CHRISTMAS Happened (Matthew 1:21)
Matthew 1:21 NIV
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
The angel does not say Jesus came to:
– Improve your mood
– Create a holiday
– Make life comfortable
He came because humanity was perishing under sin.
- Christmas is not merely about joy, but justification.
- Jesus came to deal with sin’s penalty, power, and presence.
- Don’t reduce Christmas to decorations when its core is deliverance.
- Receive Christ’s salvation personally, not culturally.
- Move from admiring Jesus to following Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:15 NIV
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
J.I. Packer: “The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace—because God has taken the initiative.”
V. The PEACE That CHRISTMAS Offers (Matthew 1:24–25)
Matthew 1:24-25 NIV
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph obeys immediately and completely — costly obedience brings divine peace. Naming the child “Jesus” was Joseph’s act of submission to God’s plan.
- Peace comes not from control, but from surrender.
- Obedience may feel costly, but disobedience is always costlier.
- God’s peace flows where God’s will is embraced.
- True Christmas peace is not circumstantial but Christ-centered.
Philippians 4:7 NIV
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“Obedience is the Christian’s pathway to peace.” — Warren Wiersbe
CONCLUSION: Christ Came For The Lost
As the Message unfolds, we stand before a staggering truth: Christmas is not the celebration of human goodness but the declaration of divine rescue. It is not the story of people finding God, but of God coming down to seek and save those who had wandered far from Him.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). That is the mission. That is the miracle. That is the message of Christmas. Christmas confronts us with the uncomfortable but glorious truth: we needed a Savior, not a Seasonal escape; we needed Deliverance, not Decorations; we needed Forgiveness, not Festivities.
No matter how far you’ve wandered, no matter what sin has marked your past, no matter what shame whispers in your ear — Jesus came for you. He came to seek you. He came to save you. Christmas announces that you are not too lost to be found and not too broken to be restored.
So today, let Christmas call you back to the Savior who came for the lost. Let His Grace soften what sin has hardened. Let His Presence enter what fear has closed. Let His Salvation redeem what shame has stained. Let His Love rewrite your story from the inside out.
REJOICE CHURCH
3578 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94565
925.325.1902
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