Date: 05-05-24
Preacher: Rev Samuel Sia
Title: Do All Things to the Glory of God
Do All Things to the Glory of God
It is one of those days when I set out to fully grasp the entire message knowing the reputation of the speaker but leaving with a feeling that I seemed to have missed the main point. It is a good thing that I was able to consult 2 persons close to me and who had heard the message like I did and they came to the same conclusion on what they thought was the main point. The fault is entirely mine and it is God telling me why the Church is a community of support. This write-up therefore incorporated Brother Dan's input too
Rev Sia began by asking whether God needs to be glorified in the first place and in the process led the congregation to see another perspective to the annual theme. He concluded that man could not give glory to God who is already full of glory. Instead, it is God who willingly shares His glory with us by letting us bear the fruit that is from Him.
Rev Sia then spent the rest of the sermon fleshing out John Ch 15 which would serve as the main point of his message. The main point is that we must continue to be part of His vine if we want to bear much fruit. So even the bearing of the fruit that glorifies God is only made possible by God Himself. For this reason, it is very important for us to always abide in Christ and with Christ abiding in us too.
Yes, at times we may fall like the fallen vine which would not bear any fruit but we pray that God will help pick us up to fruit once again but not to cut us off.
He then went on to expound Matthew 7:7 on “Ask and it shall be given” to emphasize that this is one of those “qualifying promises” given in the Bible. Many Christians take this verse out of context, thinking that whatever they ask they will be given. He then related Matthew 7:7 to John 15:7 to explain that it is when we abide in Christ and are filled with His truths then can the promises we ask for be fulfilled.
I see only benefit to reiterate this. John 15:7 states “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”. In this verse, the condition is made clear – we need to abide in Christ and have his words fill our hearts. When this happens, our asking will be according to John 15:1-8 which focuses on the desire to have more of Christ and to bear much fruit for Him.
In his message, he focused on telling us that the “asking” and “wishes” in Matthew 7:7, John 14:13 and John 15:7 relate to things pertaining to abiding in Christ and bearing fruit for Him.
Rev Sia concluded with a guarantee to the congregation that if we remain in Him and He in us, God will surely grant us our desires to bear much fruit and as we bear much fruit for Him, the fruit that we bear can then truly glorify Him.
