GCI Message

1. GREETINGS & A BLESSED DAY
TO ALL FATHERS, GRANDFATHERS, WOULD-BE FATHERS …
AND EVEN TO MOTHERS WHO PLAY THE ROLE OF FATHERS!!!
WELCOME TO GCI PHILIPPINES
ONLINE WORSHIP SERVICE
JUNE 20, 2021
GC MEM - ANTIPOLO

2. OPTIONAL
A PERSONAL TESTIMONY
 I remember my father as someone who was …
- soft spoken, mild manner, gentle, respectful,
- hardworking, less talk – more work type of person
 I do not know why, but when I was a teen – ager, I had
a kind of misperception of my father …
 I thought that his MEEKNESS is WEAKNESS !!

3. TESTIMONY CONTINUATION # 1
ONE DAY, I GOT INTO TROUBLE WITH OUR NEIGHBOR.
My first act was to get away and hide for awhile until the situation
cools down.
 I returned home before sunset, but our neighbor has already
reported my offence to my father.
 As I stood before my father, without any chance to reason out,
he asked me a simple question: “Did you really do it?”
 When I said yes, I felt a strong upper cut on my jaw. I was
down to the cold floor and rolled twice …
 I stood up, faced my father again, and he said to me with such
fatherly authority: “Never do it again.”
…. And I never did.

4. TESTIMONY CONTINUATION #2
MY FATHER’S “ROD” OF DISCIPLINE CHANGED MY OUTLOOK.
 I did not hate my father instead my respect of him
increased in his exercise of parental authority.
 I need to be knocked down to realize that his
meekness is not weakness but strength of character.
 His love and care for me demonstrated the reasons
for his discipline.
 Understanding my father’s authority also positively
impact my view of God as Father - as worthy of
respect and honor!!

5. A DISCLAIMER
MY TESTIMONY TODAY DOES NOT IN ANYWAY IMPLY AN
ENDORSEMENT OF ANY TYPE OF DISCIPLINE FOR CHILDREN
GIVEN OUR SOCIETY’S CULTURAL & LEGAL LIMITATIONS.

6. MY MESSAGE TODAY …
has nothing to do with disciplining our children
by knocking them down!!
My subject is about PERSPECTIVE, that is …
LOOKING AT OUR LIFE EXPERIENCES
THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
MY PRAYER
THAT CHRIST MAY INCREASE, AND I DECREASE

7. PERSPECTIVE MATTERS
IT IS A CONSTRUCT OF OUR BELIEF SYSTEM
People see things and experience events differently:
 Perception molds our perspective or outlook in life.
 Perspective affects our attitude in the way we …
- Prioritize our thoughts and preferences
- Judge and determine our course of actions
 In broader context, perspective, also called
worldview, could shape and affect both national
and international events that could affect us all.

8. PERSPECTIVE INFLUENCES OUR BEHAVIOR
EXAMPLE: WE TEND TO HIDE WHEN WE COMMIT SIN
 When Adam & Eve disobeyed God, their first thought
was to hide from God and from each other.
 Some Observations:
We display the same attitude when we sin. Our first
re - action is to hide by …
- Putting up defenses to justify why we did what we did
- Telling “white lies” to avoid others to know the truth
- Creating false narratives to evade being blamed
- Hiding evidences to cover our guilt conscience

9. God created humanity (Adam & Eve) in a perfect
environment and gifted with a perfect perspective
 God’s perspective is fundamentally relational.
 Demonstrated by Jesus in His love relationship…
- With God as our Father and Sovereign Creator, and
- With other people according to God’s design &
purpose
 This gift of perspective of man was corrupted
by sin when the first Adam disobeyed God.

10. DISOBEDIENCE COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF SPIRITUAL VISION
Isaiah 29:9-10 says disobedience leads to “spiritual
blindness:”
9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves
and be blind!
They are drunk,… they stagger…but not with wine
10 For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit
of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes, …. prophets;
And He has covered your heads, … seers.

11. WILLFUL DISOBEDIENCE LEADS TO REBELLION
AND COULD FULLY CORRUPT HUMAN PERSPECTIVE
 1 Samuel 15:22 God said that He prefers obedience …
as better than “defiant” sacrifice …
23 … rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
 Rebellion is …
- A disregard of God’s word & rejection of His sovereign
rule over our life.
- Liken to three step-up sins of witchcraft, stubbornness
and idolatry that corrupt godly perspective.

12. THE EFFECTS OF A CORRUPTED PERSPECTIVE
1. Diminishes man’s ability to clearly see God’s beauty,
grace and goodness
- Man, who once walked & talked with God in communion of
love now sees Him as fearful and un-concerned Father.
- Hard times can cause us to doubt our calling & purpose.
2. Man’s ability to judge becomes unreliable:
- We mis-judge God’s intent and blame Him for our tragedy
- We are tempted to diminish God in our eyes and look at
Him as unjust, unfair, oppressive, and distant.
Romans 5:19 “For as by one man’s disobedience many
were made sinners …” BUT THANKS BE TO GOD …

13. … IT IS FOR LOVE THAT THE FATHER SENT JESUS CHRIST
1. CHRIST, THE SECOND ADAM, REVERSED THE CURSE ON MAN
BY HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS, RECONCILED US TO OUR
HEAVENLY FATHER AND BROUGHT MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.
 In Christ, our sins washed away by His blood; our spiritual
blindness taken away; & our perspective restored by truth.
 In Christ, we call God our Father. Now we see Him in any
life situation as compassionate & gracious, slow to anger
and rich in love.
 In Christ, we place our trust in God as Sovereign over us
and experience peace and confidence.

14. ALSO… THANKS BE TO GOD FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT
2. THE SPIRIT’S INDWELLING PRESENCE EMPOWERS US WITH THE
MIND AND PERSPECTIVE OF CHRIST TO DISCERN GOD’S WILL.
 The Spirit keeps us in effective union with God thru Christ
thus, restoring our direct walk and talk with our Father.
 The Spirit keeps us in constant communion with God. By His
sovereign grace, God is re-creating us in Christ’s image.
 The Spirit anoints us with power that enables us to see &
share our pain & suffering in Christ’s suffering with joy.
 The Spirit imbues us with Christ’s mind – the humility
to seek God, to obey and stay dependent on our Father.

15. IN HIS MINISTRY, APOSTLE PAUL DEMONSTRATED
THE CRITICAL ROLE OF CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
CHRIST
BY STUDYING APOSTLE PAUL’S EXPERIENCES IN
MISSION & MINISTRY WE CAN DRAW OUT SOME
INTERESTING INSIGHTS ON HOW HE ADOPTED
CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE TO EMERGE VICTORIOUS
EVEN AMIDST EXTREME TRIALS.

16. A READING OF 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13 ABOUT APOSTLE PAUL’S
MISSIONARY EXPERIENCES IS LIKE REVIEWING PAUL’S RESUME
OF TRIBULATION
 Paul entertained no illusion of comfortable and easy
life. As a Christian missionary, he embraced what
Christ said – “in this world you will have sufferings.”
 Paul never complained to God. He has anticipated
that if the world hated and persecuted Jesus, it also
would hate and persecute him.
 Paul’s life drama finally, ended in a bloody execution.

17. HOW DID APOSTLE PAUL ENDURE
PAIN & SUFFERINGS IN HIS SERVICE TO GOD?
 Threatened, his message ignored, persecuted by friends
from his former religious affiliation
 Suffered distresses, sleepless nights & sorrow
 Financial hardships brought him hunger & poverty
 Dishonored & falsely accused with fake allegations to incite
people to riot against him; stoned and left nearly dead
 Faced troubles that brought him repeated beatings,
imprisonments & hard labor, and many more …
WHAT WAS PAUL’S SECRET?
HE EQUIPPED HIMSELF WITH CHRIST’S
MIND & PERSPECTIVE

18. PASEEING THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
#1. ABOUT GOD, PAUL SEES GOD’S BLESSEDNESS THRU CHRIST
Paul used Jesus Christ as the lens to magnify God’s
blessedness to him and the world based on truth …
 about Jesus Christ (who He is),
 About His salvation work (what He has done)
2 Corinthians 6:
1 “As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive
God’s grace in vain.”
2 For God said, “In the time of my favor I heard
you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

19. SEEING THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
#2. ABOUT FAITH, PAUL SEES REALITIES
IN GOD’S WORK AND ACTIVITIES THRU CHRIST
Not by man’s vain perception and work but the
realities of our faith are determined by …
 what we believe about God (thru Christ by His
word & work)
 how we relate to God (thru Christ by His Spirit)
 2 Corinthians 1:20 says “For all the promises
of God in Him (Christ) are Yes, and in Him Amen,
to the glory of God through us.”

20. SEEING THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
#3. ABOUT GOD’S FAVOR, PAUL HAS RECEIVED IT - HERE & NOW
Paul need not wait for God’s favor and
salvation for he already received them.
 2 Corinthians 6:2 “I tell you, now is the
time of God’s favor, now is the day of
salvation.”
 Romans 11:29 God’s gifts and calling are
irrevocable – to remain as our permanent
possession.

21. SEEING THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
#4. ABOUT HIS SUFFERINGS, PAUL SEES THEM
AS AFFIRMATION OF CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
Affliction is part of life of faith. It is not the reason to distrust God but to
uphold that God’s righteousness is prevailing against the gates of hell.
 Paul understood that “all who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12)
 Having received God’s grace and favor, negative experiences
did not alter Paul’s realities – his belief in God’s character, his
blessedness and truth of what God said and what He will do
thru Christ.
 Faith only enlightened Paul that his suffering does not have
the last word. He said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9:
“We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck
down, but not destroyed.”

22. SEEING THRU CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
#5. ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, PAUL SEES THE FATHER
SPEAKS FAVORABLY OF THEM IN CHRIST
Paul sees also the importance of what God believes about us
and others.
 God created humanity and called us “good.”
- He sees us worthy of adoption in Christ.
- He sees us as worthy to be saved that God never wavered
to send His Son Jesus Christ
 God’s belief about us makes new, transformed life in
Christ possible.
 Knowing the Father speaks favorably of us in Christ
builds up faith and shapes our perspective (Ephesians 1:3).

23. IMPACT OF CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
IN PAUL’S MINISTERING TO PEOPLE
1. Paul’s ministry encouraged the Corinthians to:
 Receive God’s grace not in vain but with open hearts to
see God who can carry us through our trials.
 See the reality that God is sovereign over our life and
His dealings with us in every situation are meant to
help us discern and determine the …
- extent we will allow Jesus be our Lord,
- depth we will trust God, and
- height we will rely on and soar with the Holy Spirit to
lead and lift us up to Christ’s perspective.

24. LET US BE EQUIPPED WITH THE POWER
OF CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE
2. Like Apostle Paul, let us see reality based on the activities
and works of God thru Christ.
 Will help us just as it helped Paul to overcome trials and
sufferings caused by oppositions when sharing our faith.
 Despite hardships and persecution, let us continue to
participate in Christ’s ministry, to speak boldly about how
God blessed us and delivered us in various trials.

25. COMMUNION SERVICE

26. INSTITUTION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Matt. 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–23
I CORINTHIANS 11:23 - 26
23 …. the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was
betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take,
eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in
remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

27. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE
COMMUNION ELEMENTS – THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
1. The indwelling Holy Spirit equipped us to be in synch
with Christ’s vision - to see and remind us always that
at the Cross ...
 Christ becomes supreme, that whether in good or in bad,
every moment becomes sacred by His Blood.
 God reigns over every hardship on our way and for Christ’s
Blood sanctified as victorious, more than conquerors.
 As we share our sufferings in Christ’s suffering, we shall
also share in Christ’s glory.

28. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE
COMMUNION ELEMENTS – THE BROKEN BREAD
1. Apostle Paul encourages us to remember Christ in these
broken pieces of bread as His Body that opens the Most
Holy Place where grace and mercy are available for us.
2. Paul said to discern Christ’s Body (the Church) from where
we can draw out strength, courage & healing in prayer and
fellowship in Spirit’.
3. The Bread gives added meaning to our identity - anchored on
the truth of …
 who is Jesus (the Bread from Heaven), and
 who we are in Him (the Church) sustained by this Bread.

29. PARTAKING THE BREAD AND THE WINE
Our participation in today’s communion service is an
encouragement to wait and look up for Christ’s return.
LET US PRAY:
TODAY WE REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST AS WE PARTAKE THE
ELEMENTS OF HIS SACRIFICE – THE BREAD AND WINE - AS A
COMMUNION WITH YOU - OUR FATHER, THROUGH CHRIST OUR
LORD & BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
BLESS THESE ELEMENTS AS WE PARTAKE THEM. REVIVE OUR
SPIRIT, SOUL & HEAL OUR BODY BY YOUR HOLY SPIRIT &
IMPART TO US CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE TO LIVE OUT OUR TRUE
IDENTITY IN CHRIST .. FOR WE ARE YOUR PEOPLE…

30. OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
 Loved by You, God our Father (John 3:16), forgiven
(Ephesians 2:4-6; Romans 3:23-24, 8:1), redeemed
(Galatians3:13) and saved by Your grace (Ephesians
2:8-9)
 Buried and raised with Christ (Romans 6:4) as new
creation, as child of God (Romans 8:16; John 1:12;
Galatians 3:26, 4:7) (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24)
and fellow heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
 Set free (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 8:2), the Righteousness
of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), His good work that will be
completed at Christ’s return (Philippians 1:6), and to be
citizen of heaven forever and ever (Philippians 3:20-21)
…. We receive all these by grace in Jesus Christ’s Name

31. BENEDICTION

32. “He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.”
REVELATION 2:11a
IN SITUATION
LIKE …
 THREATS,
ILLNESS
 DEFICIENCY,
HUNGER &
SORROWS
 PERSECUTION
& TRIBULATIONS
… REMEMBER WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAID …
Revelation 2:11b
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the
crown of life…
John 16:
22 I will see you again, your heart will rejoice,
your joy no one will take from you
23-24 “I say to you, whatever you ask the
Father in My name He will give you. … and
you will receive, that your joy may be full.