JUMANNE TAREHE 17 AGOSTI 2021, ASUBUHI
Ufunuo wa Yohana 3:1-6
1 Na kwa malaika wa kanisa lililoko Sardi andika; Haya ndiyo anenayo yeye aliye na hizo Roho saba za Mungu, na zile nyota saba. Nayajua matendo yako, ya kuwa una jina la kuwa hai, nawe umekufa.
2 Uwe mwenye kukesha, ukayaimarishe mambo yaliyosalia, yanayotaka kufa. Maana sikuona matendo yako kuwa yametimilika mbele za Mungu wangu.
3 Basi kumbuka jinsi ulivyopokea, na jinsi ulivyosikia; yashike hayo na kutubu. Walakini usipokesha, nitakuja kama mwivi, wala hutaijua saa nitakayokuja kwako.
4 Lakini unayo majina machache katika Sardi, watu wasioyatia mavazi yao uchafu. Nao watakwenda pamoja nami hali wamevaa mavazi meupe, kwa kuwa wamestahili.
5 Yeye ashindaye atavikwa hivyo mavazi meupe, wala sitalifuta kamwe jina lake katika kitabu cha uzima, nami nitalikiri jina lake mbele za Baba yangu, na mbele ya malaika zake.
6 Yeye aliye na sikio, na alisikie neno hili ambalo Roho ayaambia makanisa.
Mungu huwapinga wenye kiburi, lakini huwapa wanyenyekevu neema;
Neno Ufunuo ni tafsiri ya Kigiriki "apokalupsis" na maana yake ni "Ufunuo" au "ufichuo"
Kitabu hiki huitwa Ufunuo kwa sababu kinatoa ujumbe kwa njia ya maono, yaliyofunuliwa na Mungu mwenyewe ili kueleza mapenzi yake na siri za mbinguni.
Hayo yote, ni pamoja na somo letu la Leo asubuhi, kama tulivyolisoma hapo juu.
Tunakumbushwa kutafakari juu ya unyenyekevu, kwamba tukiwa wanyenyekevu Mungu atatuinua.
Asubuhi hii tunaona nini?
Kanisa linaweza kuonekana lipo, lakini likawa limekufa. Hii ndiyo ilikuwa hali ya Kanisa la Sardi, lililokuwa karibu maili 50 mashariki mwa Efeso. Baada ya karne 20, tatizo hili yawezekana likawepo.;
Sasa basi;
1. Tunashuhudia ukweli?
Kama lilivyo Kanisa la Sardi, Yesu hatutafakarishi nje ya hapa. Kanisa lilikuwa na nguvu, na lilionekana kukua kiroho. Lakini Kristo aliliona Kanisa hili lililokufa kiroho. Walikiwepo wachache waliokuwa wenye haki, lakini Yesu hakuwa na muono wa Kanisa kwa ujumla wake.
Wakati mwingine, kifo cha kiroho kinaweza kuwepo kanisani bila kuonekana kwa macho ya kawaida. Mahudhurio yanaweza kuwa mazuri, matoleo yaweza kuwa makubwa sana, shughuli za diakonia nyingi sana, na watu kuonekana hai. Yote haya yakiwepo, kujikweza kiroho kunaweza kuanza kutawala. Maisha ya toba ya kweli na msamaha yanaanza kupotea. Wengi wetu tunaweza kuwa tunasoma na kulifahamu neno, lakini kumbe ndo hatujui.
Kanisa linaweza kuwa hai kiroho, mahudhurio yakiwa mazuri, na shughuli nyingine zote zikiendelea. Hoja hapa sio kinachoendelea kwa nje, lakini mioyo ikoje?
Tuko wanyenyekevu katika utume huu?
2. Tuamke, tuimarike.
Yesu aliliona Kanisa la Sardi limekufa. Analiambia kuamka na kuimarika. Pamoja na kwamba Kanisa lilikuwa katika hali mbaya kiasi cha kuonekana limekufa, Yesu bado alijua kuwa kanisa lipo.
Kanisa linatakiwa kuangalia nafasi yake kiroho, kila mmoja akichukua hatua ya toba, kwa unyenyekevu mkubwa.
Mamilioni ya wakristo wanatumia muda mwingi kuwafuatilia wahubiri wakubwa sehemu tofauti tofauti mf kwenye Televisheni. na kusikiliza shuhuda tofauti tofauti ambazo zimekuwa kama tamaduni. Ni muhimu kujua dunia na tamaduni zake, lakini kuepuka falsafa zinazohatarisha nafasi yetu kiroho.
Mtafute Mungu lakini kwa msingi wa kuwa mnyenyekevu.
3. Tukumbuke tulivyopokea na kutubu.
Yesu hakuliacha Kanisa bila mbadala wa njia sahihi ya kuishi. Suluhisho la kifo cha kiroho ni kukumbuka tulivyopokea, na kutubu. Yesu anatukumbusha kutubu, akisema tusipotubu hukumu inatujia. Tutubu wakati wote, maana hukumu ikija tutakuwa tumechelewa.
Ni wakati sasa wa kutubu na kuokolewa.
Tunayo ya kukumbuka.
Tunaweza kukumbuka yote tuliyofundishwa na uzoefu wetu katika maisha ya ukristo hai. Twaweza kukumbuka yote ambayo Yesu alifanya kwa ajili yetu.
Tukitubu;
-Tunabadili maisha yetu
-Tunaondoa mawazo, maneno na matendo yanayotudumaza kiroho.
-Tunapata nguvu ya kudumu katika sala na neno la Mungu.
-Tunakua kiroho.
Tunapofanya toba, twende mbele za Mungu kwa unyenyekevu.
4. Tukimrudia Mungu atatupa thawabu.
Kanisa la Sardi lilikuwa na waamini waliokuwa wamemuacha Kristo. Walikwenda kanisani na kuishi kwa mazoea. Hawakujua kinachoendelea maana rohoni wamekufa.
Tunahitaji kujitambua kama tumekufa au tu wazima, na kumwendea Bwana kwa unyenyekevu na toba ya kweli.
Tutubu na kunyenyekea ili tuurithi uzima wa milele.
Siku njema
TUESDAY 17TH AUGUST 2021, MORNING
REVELATIONS 3:1-6
To the Church in Sardis
1 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes
-
Revelation 3:1 Or messenger; also in verses 7 and 14
-
Revelation 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble;
The word Revelation is the Greek translation "apokalupsis" and means "Revelation" or "revelation"
This book is called Revelation because it conveys a message through visions, revealed by God himself to explain his will and the mysteries of heaven.
All of that, including our lesson this morning, as we read above.
We are reminded to meditate on humility,that if we are humble God will exalt us.
What do we see this morning?
The church may appear to exist, but it may be dead. This was the case with the church at Sardis, about 80 kilometers east of Ephesus. After 20 centuries, this problem is still likely to exist.
Now then;
1. Are we witnessing the truth?
Like the Church in Sardis, Jesus will not think outside of here. The church was strong, and it seemed to grow spiritually. But Christ saw this spiritually dead Church. There were a few who were righteous, but Jesus had no vision of the Church as a whole.
Sometimes, spiritual death can be present in the church without being seen by ordinary eyes. Attendance can be good, the offerings can be very large, the activities of diaconal very high, and people appear alive. In the midst of all of this, spiritual exaltation can begin to dominate. A life of true repentance and forgiveness begins to be lost. Most of us can read and understand the word, but we do not know it.
The church can be spiritually alive, well attended, and all the other activities going on. The argument here is not what goes on outwardly, but what about hearts?
Are we humble in this mission?
2. Let us wake up, let us be strong.
Jesus saw the Church of Sardis as dead. He tells her to get up and get better. Although the Church was in such a state of disrepair, Jesus still knew that the church existed.
The church should look at its spiritual position, each taking the step of repentance, with great humility.
Millions of Christians spend a lot of time following the great preachers in various places, such as on television, and listening to different testimonies that have become like cultures. It is important to know the world and its cultures, but to avoid philosophies that endanger our spiritual position.
Seek God but on the basis of humility.
3. Let us remember what we have received and repent.
Jesus did not leave the Church without a substitute for the right way to live. The solution to spiritual death is to remember what we have sinned, and to repent. Jesus reminds us to repent, saying that if we do not repent, judgment will come upon us. Let us always repent, for when the judgment comes we will be too late.
It is time now to repent and be saved.
We have something to remember.
We can remember all that we have been taught and our experiences in living Christian life. We can remember all that Jesus did for us.
If we repent;
-We are changing our lives
-We remove thoughts, words and actions that undermine our spirituality.
-We find lasting strength in prayer and the word of God.
-We grow spiritually.
When we repent, let us humbly walk before God.
4. If we return to Him, God will reward us.
The church in Sardis had believers who had left Christ. They went to church and lived by the practices. They did not know what was going on because they were spiritually dead.
We need to recognize ourselves as dead or just alive, and to approach the Lord with true humility and repentance.
Repent and humble ourselves so that we can inherit eternal life.
Good day