1 Corinthians 14:29-33 

²⁹Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. ³¹For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³²The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. ³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

New Year’s Day Celebration

         Another year is added. Do you like growing older? Like it or not, we grow old. It is great privilege. Not everyone can grow old. Many people don’t like to grow old, and yet, everyone wants to cheerfully celebrate on New Year’s Day.

Did you know that celebration of New Year may have been influenced by ancient Roman practices? According to historians, ancient Romans celebrate New Year festival for their god Janus. The month of January was named after Janus, the Roman god of doorways and beginnings. Janus had two faces, one face looked back into the past, and the other face looks forward to the future.

New Year’s celebration is expenditure. And if you’ve got nothing to spend, how can you celebrate cheerfully? It’s great to celebrate but it’s greater to start the year productively. Certainly, productivity is greater thing to celebrate, right?

Let’s reflect on what God commanded the Israelites in Exodus 12:17-20;

¹⁷Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. ¹⁸In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. ²⁰Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.

Reflect on it: The Lord did not say, “I will bring you out of Egypt.” He told Moses, “It was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.” Why did the Lord declare it in past tense while Israel was still in Egypt at that time? When God instructed Moses to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were still in Egypt. That event is a biblical reality that God is not bound by time. God is always at present. God can simultaneously see what happens in the past, at present and in the future. Can you strongly believe that?

Anyway, God required the Israelites to celebrate festivals. Celebration is significant part of life on earth and in heaven. Celebration of New Year could be a time to renew our commitment and dependence on Christ our Lord. We trust that Christ has control of all events beneficial to our intimate relationship with him.

New year or not, we gather and come together to worship God our Father.

1.  Come

²⁹Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 

         It’s proper that the first speaker stops, when the next speaker comes up.

Does it pertain to preachers of God’s word when it says, if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down? The instruction for 2 or 3 prophets should speak helps us interpret that speakers during worship service are considered prophets of God. When they read or share the Scripture, they are messengers of God.

         Do you consider as prophet of God anyone who reads the Scripture aloud before a gathering of believers? Preacher or not, they speak the word of God, right? Biblically, prophets are messengers of God; they declare the Word of God.

It is special privilege to share the Word of God before his church, but some speakers may not sense it, why? God saved them from arrogance. Some people pretended to be humble, but their swollen pride is exposed when they’re given an opportunity. Always pray for anyone who comes up and share the word of God.

We pray for each other to seriously worship the Lord privately and publicly. Serious believers who genuinely worship God are smart and wise.

Together, let us reflect on what it narrated in Matthew 2:1-2, ¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ²and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

         The wise men called Magi saw the star and followed it until they came to worship the baby Jesus. Other people may have seen the bright star but only the wise men Magi seriously came and worshipped the King of kings. Wise believers celebrate and worship God to reignite our hope that Jesus Christ returns sooner.

         As a church, we gather to worship God as rehearsal for eternal celebration and worship of God when Christ returns. Everything we do must be done to edify and build each other up to grow stronger in faith while we wait for Christ’s return.

 In everything we do as a church, we depend on the Lord. We seek him for ideas and plans for church ministries and activities. Surely, we can pray privately, but it’s very important to pray together as church. Attending Prayer Meeting is essential. King David had testified in Psalm 73:2-3, 16-17, ²My feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. ³For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked… ¹⁶When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply ¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

         When we envy people who’re materially prosperous, anyone can be misled including Christian leaders. There is no shortage of stories of Christian leaders who are accused of corruption or malversation of church finances, why?

Even King David confessed that he was also envious of material prosperity of wicked people. But, he quickly testified that when he entered the sanctuary of God, he understood that materialism cannot secure even the materialistic. David proved that coming to the Sanctuary of God was crucial to his spiritual wellbeing.

         How does gathering together as a church help us refocus our dependence on God? We listen to divine message or prophecy from the Lord. So be prayerful. God may reveal his mission purpose for us through his prophets or messengers.

Do you prefer to hear from God through his word? What God may reveal to you through the Scripture he may confirm it through his prophets or messengers. Do you know your mission purpose? Had you ever heard your calling from God?

 Man of God

When I strongly sensed God called me, I was not very sure how I’ll serve him. So, how did the Lord confirm what I perceived as my calling? It started when I was seriously reading the Scripture. I sensed like God was clearly speaking to me personally when he instructed Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, ¹Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ²I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

         Regularly, I attended all available church activities; I attentively watched for a go signal from God. Few weeks after I resigned from my secular job, our pastor invited me to attend a seminar for pastors and church leaders at the seminary.

On our way, our pastor suddenly asked, “When are you going to enroll in the seminary?” His words were like great news to me because I considered him as man of God. My heartbeat quickened as if I just completed a sprint. Simply, I asked, “How can I enroll?” He told me, “Go to the Registrar Office to inquire.”

         Formerly, my life had no purpose, but after I decided to serve God fulltime, my life is filled with gratitude to God. God may have been revealing his purposes for you. Keep attending all available church ministries that may fascinate you so that you may get clearer confirmation of what God has been revealing you lately.

         Seriously, let us reflect on what it admonishes us in Hebrews 10:24-25,

²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵not 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.

         Can you agree that God designed the most pleasant life we can explore in this world and in the next life? God may reveal practical steps we take to follow his will. Evaluate your priorities, and don’t be caught by surprise. Christ is coming sooner than expected. We don’t control our destiny but we can choose to follow a path of gratified life in Christ. Prayerfully seek his help. God controls our destiny.

2.  Control

³¹For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³²The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 

         Prophets or messengers may preach on what controls their mind. Do you know the difference between motivational speech and prophecy of divine truth?

Prayerfully ask the Lord to grant you the spiritual gift of prophecy. It is also favorable to pray for preachers. Preachers are modern day prophets. There are prophets of God, and there are false prophets. Can you expect a revelation from God when motivational speakers preach sermons that may scratch itching ears?

         Many influential church leaders choose their speakers. They dictate what could be preached at the pulpit and what could not be preached. And when their favorite sin is mentioned, they may influence other attendees to help them kick their preacher out. Beware of people who speak negatively against preachers.

False Prophet Hananiah

         It happened in the time of Prophet Jeremiah. The Babylonians were about to capture Jerusalem. Prophet Jeremiah preached that it was for the good of the Israelites to surrender to the Babylonians. But false prophet Hananiah opposed him and preached differently. It narrated in Jeremiah 28:14-17, ¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.” ¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. ¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’” ¹⁷In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.

         These days, many churchgoers are misled when they follow their preferred sweet-talking preachers. Motivational speeches are useful during seminars but we need discernment for God to clearly understand his will, and to be attentive and heed his rebuke. Do you attend church only when you feel good about it?

If so, most likely you can be easily victimized by sweet-talking preachers.

How can you avoid being misled by false prophets? Seriously study your Bible to check if their messages are motivational speeches or biblically based.  The Holy Spirit could use your good knowledge of the Scripture for you to easily detect if sermons come from God or not. We also pray for each other and for the peace of God to prevail among us whenever we gather and congregate.

3.  Congregate

³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—

as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

When we congregate and gather as a church, and expect the peace of God to prevail, we should be prayerful always. Keep remembering that peace is fruit of the Holy Spirit. Wherever we go, people expect peaceful Christians. If we cannot personally sense peace, we cannot promote peace. We expect to sense peace in our life, if we seriously rely upon the Holy Spirit in everything we do.

The experience of peace comes together with Christian behavior. Surely, we struggle with problem at home, in school, at work, in the community, around the world. No matter what may happen around us, we should be more dependent on the Lord for his peace through his Holy Spirit. Faith in God is transpired also when we rely upon him for our family welfare and individual peaceful wellbeing.

         Seriously, let us reflect on what Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:2.

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Scholars suggest that Apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to the Philippians. Prison is harsh, and yet, Paul greeted them with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn’t pretend to sense peace, did he? Paul had peace even inside prison because of the grace of God.

Prison could be the worse place in the time of Paul. No air condition. No heater. Prison food was not nutritious. And most prisoners are not friendly. When Apostle Paul declared grace and peace from God, he implied that no matter how difficult our struggle could be, we should rely upon gracious God for his peace.

Theologians agree that the Philippians had financial scarcity, but they sensed grace and peace from God, and they regularly sent financial support to Paul and his mission ministry. Apostle Paul concluded in Philippians 4:17-20,

¹⁷Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. ¹⁸I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

         It’s for the glory of God to financially support missions and missionaries. God’s faithfulness in our church finances is obvious. Indeed, the Lord supplies our needs for church ministries according the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Many members of this church can testify of their personal experience. The Lord supplied all their needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus, how?

They faithfully give the tithes of God to this church, but they also regularly send support to their preferred mission ministries abroad. Offerings we send to missions are outside the tithes of God. If you desire to support missionaries, pray that the Lord will give peace to return his right portion, first and foremost.

         We celebrate the Lord’s Supper regularly to remember the love of God through the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and his coming again. How can we show our gratitude to God? We pray to make sure we sense peace from God.

         Peace from God was with him when Christ obeyed God the Father even unto his death. We need peace from God to obey him. May God abundantly and prosperously bless us this year and beyond as we obey his prescriptions while waiting for the return of Christ Jesus our Lord to take us into his heaven, Amen!

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