The Reward In Pursuing Christ

Dr Rolland Baker preached about Pursuing Jesus. He shared from Philippians 3:7-11 and covered the following points.

He shared that we must become like children to enter the Kingdom. The ability to enjoy God is a gift of God. When we are in the presence of God, our lives, motivations and priorities are changed. We have been saved from eternal fire and we do not live very long on this earth. It is only appropriate to have childlike joy and faith! He shared examples of pastors being passionate about preaching the gospel, and how it is completely normal for God to do miracles. Miracles happen because it is a gift of God – it is not whether the preachers have taken classes, or because of their training and equipping. The purpose of Christianity is about a relationship with God.

Dr Rolland also shared the following verses: Matthew 10:34-38 and emphasised the importance of taking up the Cross to follow Jesus. Jesus is our great and exceeding reward, and it is important to set our hearts on Him and make Him our first priority. He shared about how Mozambique, a nation which is the poorest of the poor and where he serves, is a place with active spiritual oppression. When we see human suffering, we know that only Jesus is the answer.

Christianity is in a Person, and that Person is Jesus.  We have power in Jesus’ name! The heaviest burden we can carry is our own self will. He exhorted the congregation to look at what matters for eternity, to live as those made alive in Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). God is with us and for us (Romans 8:31-32). We have everything in Him and we do not need to strive. We are not in love with prayer, worship or discipline but we are in love with the Person whom we pray to and worship, and whom we find worthy to discipline ourselves for. We are to be humble before God and be empty-handed. God is everything we need!

Discussion Questions

1. Dr Rolland Baker asked at 1st service: “What is the Christian life all about?”  What would you say? [10 min]

Leader’s Notes: A recap question. Leaders could invite members to share on what they resonated with from the sermon. Invite members to be spontaneous. Most people want something. Why should anybody become a Christian? What should we be doing after becoming a Christian? Dr Rolland said that the Christian life is about a Person. His name is Jesus. It is about having a relationship with the true living God. We often get caught up living the Christian life in mannerisms and behaviours, or get lost in the doing (or serving) and put aside the importance of abiding. We forget to place spending time to know & relate with Jesus as the topmost priority! Are you after Christ or after gains?

See Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has made you an heir.” God made clear that we grow out of who we are – our identity – see James 2:26, Luke 6:43. Doin g the riught things grows out of being who you should be.

2. Read Hebrews 12:2. What is your relationship with Jesus like today? Share briefly an experience, a lesson or any characteristic you learnt about Jesus in your faith journey. [10 min]

Leader’s Notes: Hebrews 12:2 calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus who endured suffering in order to do God’s will (refer to Hebrews 10:5-7). A relate question for members to share a personal experience they learnt or has with Jesus. Members can also share from the Gospels about Jesus’ life, His suffering on the Cross and the ascension to the right hand of the throne of God. This question aims to let members focus and talk about being passionate for Jesus. What is their relationship with Him like: indicate if it is distant > connected > intimate. How has their experience grown their faith? Did they tell about Him with others? What was it like for them when they share their faith experience with others?

3. What to you, is childlike Joy? What are things that steal or crowd out your joy? How do we remain joyful in God? [10 min]

Leader’s Notes: A reflect question. Leaders can also ask members to talk about having a childlike faith. The question aims to let members identify what are the things that crowd and steal our joy in God, and to reflect on what steps we could take to remain joyful in God. Leaders can get members to meditate over Philippians 4:4 & v6. Pastor Rick Warren has the acrostic “JOYFUL” to make the following steps easy to remember:

J – Jettison (which means discard) all regrets about your past (Philippians 3:13)

O – Omit all worries about the future (Philippians 4:6)

Y – Yield yourself to God’s purpose (Philippians 1:21)

F – Focus on what’s good (Philippians 4:8)

U – Use your life to help others (Philippians 4:1)

L – Learn to be content (Philippians 4:11).

4. What will you trade your life for? What would be the priorities of a life that is pursuing Jesus and living for eternity? How can we as a cell encourage each other to live that out? Choose one / two steps you want to take in response to this. [10 min]

Leader’s Notes: This is a response question. The aim of the question is for members to state priorities and to recalibrate back to a life that pursues Jesus and as a cell, to review their purpose of doing life together. Leaders can also get members to pray for each other and keep each other accountable.