Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

Inside a goodfig

on Psalm 24  

vv. 1-2  Where we are standing upon, is the Lord’s.  Everything is the Lord’s.  We have nothing that we can claim as our own.  Our very breath is of the Lord.  There is no room for the high and mighty among His creatures.  We are to know our rightful place before Him.

Whatever we are (think and feel), whatever we do, belongs to the Lord.  He freely gave all that He has to us, because He delights to receive what we freely give back to Him.

Job 9:24  The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.    Creation was given to Adam, but because he sinned, dominion was given to the enemy.  The enemy tried to offer it to Jesus if only He would worship him, but at the cross, Jesus regained all creation back to the Father.

Praise God that in Christ, we are seated with Him in heavenly places far above principalities and rulers of this world.

These first verses are important for us to understand in order to bring us into right perspective when answering the question of:

verse 3: Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?  

This hill is not of the earth, else we would have climbed it.

Who shall stand before the Most High in His holy place?

Would anyone dare stand before the king uninvited?  Worst, unprepared?

There is a protocol when presenting one’s self before royalty.

God’s S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure) for presenting one’s self before  
   His holy throne:

having clean hands - works acceptable to the Lord

bearing pure heart -  borne out of Godly character

clothed in humility -  ever acknowledging God and giving Him the glory

The Word of Truth in your mouth - confession of Christ

v. 4 CLEAN HANDS

Job 9:30b  “He that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.”

Mk. 7:1-8  physically unwashed hands is not unclean to God, but what we regard as clean, may not be to Him.  He has placed the poor before us to test our hearts whether we honor every man the same way we honor Him.  For whatever we do to the least of the brethren, we do it to Him.

Do we shout at them?  Do we lord it over them?

Do we give them less than what we would give the visitors or pastors?  

Do we feed ourselves better than the sheep?

Do we make them feel that we are the learned, and they are uneducated?

Do we choose the people we minister to?

Pro. 31:30-31  the labors of clean hands shall speak for itself.

Ecc. 2:11  What we have in our hands we shall present before the Holy One.

Jer. 25:14    We shall receive our just wage according to the works of our hands.

Acceptable ministry can only come out of Christlike character borne out of a heart that is fully surrendered to God and covered in a cloak of humility, having professed with your mouth that Christ is your Lord and Savior.  All other works beside these are dead.

Everything is the Lord’s.  Even the works of ministry.  Even the cleansing of our hands.  Humble ourselves therefore before a Mighty God that He may consider us worthy to ascend His holy hill, and allow us to stand in His holy place.  Moreover, even to permit us to get close to His throne of grace!

Inside a goodfig

There  are those who are like bright morning stars whose light shines brighter than most, giving a radius of light in the room that other lights wane in comparison and become unnoticed under this glorious light.

Those of dimmer lights, be of good cheer!  For yours still shine bright in the darkest of nights.  
If you'll let the light of Christ warm you a little bit more each day, pretty soon your light will catch onto His, and you will find, yours is becomes more bright.

The thickest darkness enveloped in the coldest hour of your trying times will have to give way to the warmth of your little light sparked by a love from the passioned heart of God who has loved you from everlasting, and committed Himself to make you stand on that day before His presence, perfected in His glory.  It is a work He meant to finish in you, and I, if you let Him.

YouTube - Freedom Writers

YouTube - Freedom Writers

Inside a goodfig

The whole world shall be filled with the glory of God. Wherever we are in the world, let us do what we can to make sure our space is filled with His glory, that when He comes, He shall find faith in the earth.

A Child's Place

The only thing I can do for you today / is to speak to you words that I hope / will help you realize / how precious your child is / to ensure your family’s greatness in the generations to come. 

(Ecc 12:11)  The words of the wise are as sharp swords

These words are meant to prick your hearts, not tickle your ears with good speech.  A good speech lasts for as long as it can be remembered, but words that get through to the heart / change lives.

I see a generation that is passing away, I see a generation that is currently making an impact today, but more importantly, I see the generation that will be the ones who will live the future / we can only imagine.

(Ecc 12:12)  … of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  For as long as there’s a question, there will be learning.  Is this all we need to prepare our children for? 

We must have a vision / that will give meaning and clarity to what we are aiming for, and why.

STUDENTS:  What is expected of you?

1.   Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2.   1Th 4:11-12  Study to be quiet, and to do your own homework, and to work with your own hands; always be honest, that you may lack nothing.  Never cheat!  Always tell the truth.

·        To those who passed- Have you done your best?  You must be better next school year.

·        To those who failed-tell yourself never again!  Study now, play later!

PARENTS:

1.   Your Responsibility

a)     Psa 127:3  Children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

You do not own your children, but as God’s representative on earth / you must be able to present them back to God / in a way that is honorable to Him. 

The children are His / and you will give an accounting of their lives spent with you.

b)     Pro 29:18  Where there is no vision, people wander aimlessly.  You have to pray and ask God to show you your child’s special place in this world.  His/her unique personality is put there by God so your child will enter in God’s ordained purpose for him/her.  Help them step into it.  Don’t force them to fit into someone else’s dream / for it will just make them fall short of the glory prepared uniquely for them.

c)     Their names declare their calling

1Sa 25:25  For as his name is, so is he. (my name)

d)     Isa 44:2  The LORD who made you, and formed you from the womb; He will help you.  He knows each one by name.

2)   Discipline them as kings are disciplined

Pro 22:15  Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Pro 23:13  Withhold not correction from the child: for if you beat him with the rod, he shall not die.

3)   Prepare and equip them to enter and hit their purpose in life.

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

2Pe 1:10  Be diligent to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall:

TEACHERS:  Be teachers that stand for righteousness

1.   1Co 1:26  Each child is unique.

Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble, but they are called:

2.   Mat 18:6  But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, Jesus said, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

3.   Mat 19:14  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

4.   Act 10:34  God is no respecter of persons: Do not play favorites!

CONCLUSION:

We are to prepare this generation well.  The child cannot do it alone, neither can the parents, nor the teachers on their own.  We must all work together to prepare these children to receive the best from the Spirit of God, gain wisdom and understanding, become good counselors and mighty men and women, rich in knowledge, having a holy fear of God.

If my speaking today would cause even just one heart to respond correctly and will determine to make sure that his family line will belong to the Godly, and have his/her children live right for God, then I have not spoken in vain.  I entrust to you a holy seed that I pray will grow and bear much fruitfulness in the lives of your children.  God bless this day as a day worth much in eternity.  Thank you for your time.

March 26, 2011

Graduation Ceremony

Child’s Place, Binangonan

We Are A Family

We all may have had our diff'rences
And we were not ready to take any chances
It was so hard to show somweone else I cared
But really there was no one who dared

But now I know it was God who brought us together
We have learned to break down our walls and defenses
And started building bridges of love in our hearts

Now I know we are a family

It's time for us to go our sep'rate ways
but the bonds we now have isn't bound by time or space
Wherever we may find ourselves to be
A fam'ly is what we'll always be

Now I know it was God who brought us togetherWe have learned to break down our walls and defenses
And started building bridges of love in our hearts
Truly now I know we are a family
Yes I know, we are God's family

A goodfig Born in Zion

Even if you are the dimmest of lights, you still shine brightest in the darkest of nights.