Kong Hee Podcast

This sermon is an exhortation for mothers, taking reference from Mary, the mother of Jesus. Like many Moms, Mary must have faced all kinds of anxiety and inaccuracies. Yet, despite all the challenges, she had perfect faith, selfless in her love and devotion to Jesus. I'll share four qualities of motherhood that Mary possessed. She was a caring mother, as seen in her risking the odds and fleeing to Egypt just to protect Jesus. She was a supportive mother, a quality evident in the wedding at Cana and all throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry. Mary was a nurturing mother, and this was the key to Jesus’ spiritual development. Finally, Mary was a loving mother, patient and long suffering. Watching Jesus suffer and die on the cross must have been the most painful experience, but she never left His side. Let’s shower our Attention, Affection and Appreciation on our Moms and let them know they are loved!

Bad things happen in life, but Christians must learn to walk through dark seasons and to persevere through pain. I'll share four lessons drawing from the life story of Joseph. One, God is always with us in our dark times, nothing can separate you from His love. Two, God has a purpose for allowing dark times in our lives. Without suffering it is impossible to become more like Jesus. Three, dark times will last as long as necessary for God to accomplish His purpose to change you and make you a person of destiny. Finally, in the darkness, we must walk towards the light. Joseph continually kept his focus on God and on His promises, which kept him going through the dark times. Be encouraged by this message that God never plays games with your life, but what the devil means for evil, God intends it for good.

In this sermon, I'll explain why it is crucial for every believer to have faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). What does it mean to have faith? Faith means focus—to keep one’s focus on God’s love, His word and His promises; to not be distracted from God, despite what one sees or feels. There are three levels of faith: little faith (Matt 8:23) is when you struggle to believe, when you are distracted by what’s going on around you and cannot focus on God. Great faith is strong and unwavering faith in the face of circumstances, such as the faith of the centurion in Matt 8:5-10 and the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:22-28). The highest level of faith is perfect faith, which is trusting obedience regardless of outcome. Perfect faith is when we can obey God whether or not we are healed or blessed, just like Jesus. Be encouraged by this message to grow in your faith in God!

While the four stages of the Christian journey—awakening, purgation, illumination and union—lead us to the great joy of theosis, this is not easily achieved. This sermon teaches the ultimate experience for the rare Christian: having the full measure of Christlikeness will not be possible without the dark night of the senses and of the soul. The dark nights are periods of detachment caused or allowed by God to wean us away from the things of this world. During such times He may even withdraw His blessings and hide His face. God wants to bring us to the point where we need nothing and no-one but Him, the point where even if He withdraws Himself we can still continue to love and long for Him just as Jesus did. Let this message encourage you to be unafraid of suffering and to be willing to let go of anything that stands in the way of Your love for God and His will.

In this sermon, I'm continuing my sermon on the three things that happen in silence and solitude, the first two being meditation and contemplation. The third and most precious of these is union with God. Meditation is applying one’s mind to the word of God. Contemplation is loving God without words or agenda. Union is becoming one with God in love and likeness. This is God’s desire, that we come into a loving union with Him. In fact, it is the end goal of salvation: Jesus went to the cross so that we can experience divine union—theosis—with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is only when we increasingly unite with the Godhead that we are more and perfected in love, and more like Jesus. Let this message draw you into a time of silence and solitude, and into union with God.

In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus never rebuked Martha for being busy. Her problem was, even when Jesus was sitting in front of her, she was anxious and angry, too busy and distracted to focus on Him. This sermon captures the essence of why silence and solitude are essential to a believer’s life. We must be silent enough to listen to God, and we must have enough solitude to connect with the Holy Spirit. The secret ingredient to a balanced and happy life is God Himself: it is in His presence that there is joy and freedom. Three things happen when we are by ourselves in God’s presence, and I'll cover two here: one is meditation, which is applying your mind to the word of God and two is contemplation, which is to come into God’s presence with no agenda, enjoying Him and experiencing His love for you.

Most of us wear our busyness like a badge of honour—the busier we are, the more we feel like an achiever. But being too busy causes anxiety and burnout; we have no time for our family and worse, we have no time for God. If we are seeking balance in our life, the answer is to slow down. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells believers He will give us rest, which is to slow down; He invites us to learn from Him. Adapting from John Mark Comer’s teaching on “Slowing”, I'll be sharing five things we must learn from Jesus: to adopt slow-down spirituality, to faithfully observe the Sabbath rest, to practice silence and solitude, to make devotional prayers (not just intercession and petition) and to develop detachment, which is to be content in any situation. If we can slow down and follow Jesus’ unhurried pace of life, we will be changed, we will find His yoke easy and His burden light.

One of the greatest challenges to our faith is when we go through suffering, yet our most urgent search for God happens when we are in pain. This sermon will unpack the purpose of suffering, which is to transform us to be more like Jesus. Very few people in history suffered like Job: until the day he died, he never knew the reason he had to suffer, yet he loved God for who He was and not for His blessings. God’s purpose for us cannot be stopped (Job 42:1), and He has a purpose when we face hardship—He is working out something glorious in us. No matter how deep our pain is, God’s love for us goes even deeper. Jesus is with us daily in our suffering; nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. If you are going through a hard time in life, let this sermon encourage and empower you to hold on to your faith and trust in the Lord, having eternity in your heart.

The twelfth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the life everlasting. Amen. Eternal life or "zoe" in Greek is a promise from God to His people who believe and have faith in Him. While the apostle John says that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life now (John 3:16; 1 John 5:11, 13), the Bible also clearly teaches that eternal life is a gift in the future. Those who believe in Jesus experience a little measure today but the fullness of it is reserved for the future, at the return of Christ. This is the whole purpose of our Christian faith – not merely to be forgiven of our sins and becoming successful in the this lifetime. The end purpose of our salvation is to come into a loving communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sharing in the fullness of the divine life. This "zoe" is an ever-deepening intimacy with the LORD and the experiencing of ever-growing love, joy, and peace from now till all eternity. Hallelujah!

The eleventh statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the resurrection of the body. The Bible teaches that our hope is not fixed on the fact that we go to heaven when we die, but that God will raise us from the dead to be with Christ forever in our resurrected bodies (Rom. 8:23). It is a bodily resurrection where we will be given new spiritual bodies which are immortal, just like Jesus’ own body on Easter Sunday! With our new resurrected bodies in the new heaven and new earth, we will be able to fully express ourselves and completely obey and fulfil God’s will and purpose for all eternity. Being swallowed up by the life of the Holy Spirit, we are at last fully baptised in the Spirit and have Him without measure (2 Cor. 5:4). Wow! Until then, may we regularly confess this statement in the Apostle's Creed with our eyes fixed on that glorious day!

The tenth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the forgiveness of sins. The word “forgiveness” in the Greek is 𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙢𝙞 which means to let go of a debt, to release it, and send the wrong or sin far, far away. Forgiveness is an expression of love. Because of His great love for us, in Christ we can find forgiveness (Col. 1:14). In fact, this is what Easter is all about. By dying on the cross, Jesus cancels out sin’s penalty. All the evils we have done, the right things we have failed to do, and the horrible attitudes we have expressed to God and to others have been erased and wiped off the record! Likewise, we must learn to keep no record of wrongs (1 Cor. 13:5). Jesus says we forgive as many times as necessary (Matt. 18:22). Because love and forgiveness are synonymous, to be a loving person is to live in a constant atmosphere and attitude of forgiveness. Every time we recite this statement in the Apostles’ Creed, let us renew our commitment to walk in a constant atmosphere of forgiveness!

The ninth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints. The word “catholic” comes from the Greek word katholikos, which means “universal”. The Christian church is universal because it doesn’t belong to any one nation but to all nations of the world. The church is not a building of brick and mortar, or a religious organisation, it comprises us – the believers of Jesus Christ. We share in the “communion of the saints”, a sacred bond of love and fellowship by the Holy Spirit, uniting all true believers in Christ in His body.

The eighth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: I believe in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. When Jesus took on human flesh and lived on earth, the Spirit was absolutely central in Jesus’ life. Jesus lived completely dependent on the Holy Spirit from His conception to His ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus has set the “gold standard” (of a Spirit-filled life) for us to follow and imitate! We need the Holy Spirit so much more each day. The next time you utter “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” let it be a genuine cry from your heart for more of His person, presence, and power in your life.

The seventh statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. Jesus will someday return to end world history, raise the dead, judge the living and the dead, and usher in a new heaven and a new earth. When that time comes, our salvation will finally be complete! In this video, learn about the two resurrections, two judgments, and the time of rewards. Understanding the second coming of Jesus Christ will help us to live life circumspectly and wisely (Eph. 5:15-20). We should plan our lives as if we will live a full span of years, but we should be ready to leave at any time, to meet with the Lord in his actual presence (Matt. 24:44).

The sixth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus ascended into heaven, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Forty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He ascended into heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as Man, departed physically and visibly from the earth and was immediately received into heaven, a place with no sickness, no sorrow, no pain, no depression — a place which we will one day dwell in with real spiritual bodies! Here are seven reasons why the ascension of Jesus to heaven is so important, and what it means for us. May you long for that day when you, too, will stand before Jesus face to face. What a glorious day that will be!

The fifth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: [Jesus] descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. Between His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday, Jesus’ soul was made alive by the Holy Spirit and brought to the realm of the departed dead (1 Pet. 3:18-20). In this video recording, I will share with you about what many church fathers believe concerning why Jesus descended to the dead. More importantly, because the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus form the central truth of the Christian faith, its importance can never be overemphasised – as such, we will also be looking at what the resurrection of Jesus proves and implies. If Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). But praise God, we worship a resurrected Saviour, and because He lives, we can face tomorrow!

The fourth statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea during the first century AD, was the one who presided over Jesus’ trial and gave the order for His crucifixion. Why must He die on the cross? Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Isaiah 53 says that the Saviour will have to suffer physically, psychologically, morally, and spiritually for the sins of all humankind. By being crucified, Jesus really died and was really buried. His work of salvation was completely finished on the cross once and for all. Everything that happened at Calvary authenticated all the claims of Christ. The next time you utter this statement in the Apostles’ Creed, you can do so with the utmost gratitude knowing that if everything Jesus claimed actually happened at Calvary, then you can also be certain that one day, He will return again in power and glory to receive you into His everlasting kingdom, just as He has promised!

The third statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. Jesus was conceived by the direct action of God. There was no physical consummation between Joseph and Mary. His was a supernatural conception! In order for Jesus to be our Saviour, three conditions must be fulfilled, and the supernatural virgin birth guaranteed that Jesus fulfilled all three conditions, which I will share with you in this video. Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is fully God. Because Jesus was born of Mary, He is fully human. Without the incarnation, Jesus Christ could not die for us, and the cross would become meaningless. The incarnation shows how much God loves us and has made a way for us to be redeemed through His Son. The next time we recite this statement in the Apostles' Creed, may we be immensely grateful for the great love that the Father has bestowed on us!

The second statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord." Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the second person of the Trinity. He is not a created being. On the contrary, He is the eternal, unchanging, all-powerful God. But if God did not create Jesus, why then is he called the “Son”, and specifically, the "only" Son? In this video, I will break down this second statement in the Apostles' Creed and explain it to you as succinctly as possible. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is crucial for your salvation, and I hope that the next time you profess "I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord," you will be awestruck by the Saviour and Lord whom we love and believe in!

The first statement of the Apostles’ Creed is this: "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth." When we say “I believe,” it speaks of something that is deeply personal. Christianity is a personal faith between you and God. No one can believe in God on your behalf – you must personally believe in him! But who is this “God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth” that Christians believe in? I hope that after watching this short video snippet, every single time you recite this first line of the Apostles’ Creed, you will find yourself being strengthened in your faith as you reaffirm your belief in this one true God.