Sunday Service

Hey! Wasn't today's worship beautiful? It touched my heart so much; I was reminded to thank Jesus for all His love and grace. Thank You Lord!

Today Jack reminded us again that the Holy Spirit is still writing the book of Acts even now: how Sarah prayed for the sick at Rite Aid, how Stephanie heard God telling her about the science building, how Eric encountered the Lord in his morning jog, how Jasmine and Monay testified for God at UCLA...will all be eagerly recorded down by the Holy Spirit. We need to put our antenna up and constantly listen to what God has to say to us.

Joke of the Week: Paul was teaching on the third floor of a building, and a young man sitting by the window dozed off (perhaps he partied too hard last night). The sleepyhead fell out of the window and plunged to his death. Paul immediately ran down and God raised the man from death (cool! they didn't even need to dial 911!)--Acts 20: 7~12

Moral of the Story: Don't fall asleep when your pastor is preaching, you never what will happen to you.

This hilarious but true story also shows us what our generation is like: sleeping and being killed off one by one by the enemy. We will see more and more signs and wonders toward the end of times. The devil will do everything in his power to corrupt this generation; he is raising up an army. What are we going to do about it? We are either on God's side or on Satan's side, there is no middle ground. Either we have oil in our lamp or we don't. It's a yes or no. We must develop a close relationship with God!

But Jack saved the best for last, his topic for today is actually about criticism.

How To Overcome Criticism

1. Know that our God is Jehovah Tsidkenu, God is our righteousness. When others criticize or misunderstand us, we need to turn to God, who will take our cases and carry out justice for us.

2. Know that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). When people stab us in the back with cruel remarks, we can forgive instead of take revenge by stabbing back. We can demonstrate God's love by blessing those who mistreat us. Rather than punching the light out of your friend when she laughs at your bad haircut, forgive and compliment her haircut; rather than shouting at your dad when he criticizes your "inappropriate" outfit for the hundredth time, think about how he made that remark out of love and thank him for his concern; rather than ambushing the king Saul in your life, put everything in God's hands.

3. Rejoice in our Heavenly Father's love for us. God doesn't tell us to shut up when we cry. He grieves with us when we are hurt by other people's criticisms. Jesus comforts and tries to cheer us up when we cry. Remember this image: a father trying to ease his child's pain by tickling him, that is our loving God.

Overcoming criticism also requires humility. Paul has been persecuted and criticized everywhere he went, yet he never gave up. How did he do it? Here's Paul's secret: "I serve the Lord with great humility and with tears..." (Acts 20:19). Great humility doesn't mean great sense of worthlessness. It comes from knowing who God is and who you are to Him. To be humble is to glorify God in everything you do; humility is the attitude you have when you respond to God's love and greatness. Paul knew that God is faithful and that he is a beloved child to Him, so people's criticisms couldn't bring him down. Moreover, when Paul said that he served the Lord with tears, he didn't mean tears of self-pity. Paul didn't cry for the trials and persecutions, he cried for the lost; he knew God's heart's desires. Our tears shouldn't be wasted on people's criticisms, we should lend our tears for God's heart to save the lost.

God is so good! I learned a lot today.

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." (Romans5:5)