Here's our Care Circle "Continuing the Conversation" guide for Nov 21, 2021.
Kung gusto ninyo ng downloadable version, you can get the file here:
Topic: Sweet Aroma
Series: Aroma of Worship
Date: Nov 21, 2021
Opening [Pambungad]
Napakahalaga to build a genuine relationship with your members. Ang Care Circle ay hindi lang para sa attendance o pang-sesermon kundi pagkakaroon ng relasyon sa isa’t isa at sama-samang pagtahak sa buhay.
Mga bagay na makakatulong:
1. I-welcome ang grupo.
2. Kung kayang magkaroon ng ice breaker, mas mainam!
3. Kamustahin ang kanilang mga naging nakaraang lingo – any highlights or challenges.
4. Kamustahin kung nagawa ba nila ang application last week
5. Kamustahin kung meron bang answered prayers mula sa inyong mga ipinanalangin.
Rewind [Balikan ang Napakinggan]
Note: Hindi po kailangang daanan isa-isa ang items dito. This full sermon outline ay para maging guide ninyo sa pagrerecap ng topic.
The STENCH that God doesn’t want
1. Stench of hypocrisy (Jeremiah 6:20)
- God was speaking to ALL (from the least to the greatest of them) who were covetous/greedy, and speaking falsely/lies. They did what was right in their own eyes, they said lies na gusto lang nilang marinig. They did not deal with what was wrong.
- Outwardly, they were able to follow yung instructions sa pag-offer. Bongga pa nga yung frankincense na galing Sheba (malayo po ito sa Judea).
- Sinabi pa nga ni Lord na “they didn’t even know how to blush” in Tagalog Version, “Hindi na sila tinatablan ng hiya, makapal na ang kanilang mukha.”
- Grabe na lamang ang pag-address ni Lord sa mga Israelites even prophets/leaders/priests. Bakit? Dahil they rejected wisdom from the Lord and just did what was evil.
- Ang sabi ni Lord sa verse 20, Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.
2. Stench of meaningless worship (Isaiah 1:11-16)
- Grabe yung extent ng message ni Lord. Sabi nya, “tama nang pagserve nyo!” “ive had enough bulls, rams,” “your incense is DETESTABLE to me” “stop bringing meaningless offerings” “I cannot bear your worthless assemblies” “ You new moon feasts and your appointed festivals ‘I HATE WITH ALL MY BEING”
- Medyo scanadalous yung claims here ni Isaiah dahil galing mismo sa Torah yung instructions sa offering yet the Lord is saying here na he is disgusted by this kind of worship.
- Bakit kaya? What’s the context? Israel was in chaos. May sarili silang buhay. In the first verses sabi pa nga sa kanila ni Lord, they were dumber than a dumb animal na at least daw yung animal ay alam kung sino ang owner nila pero yung Israelites hindi alam kung sino ang master nila.
- They were sinning, doing things their own way. Kung ano lang ang gusto nila. They still continued doing the religious rituals BUT God was sick of it all. They thought they could just get away with what they are doing wrong by doing the ceremonies and festivals and the offerings. Kumbaga parang dahil habit sya and probably tinuturo sa mga tribes nila kung ano yung mga offerings, they did it so they can cover up their sins or even give them license to sin kesyo nag-ooffer naman sila ng animals when they do wrong so baka pwede nay un
- “Your hands are full of blood” which entails violence against other people, and it seems like they were complicit of these injustices na right before their eyes. Yung parang wala silang pakialam when people take advantage of others.
- God is saying here na hindi Siya mamamanipulate ng outward human “worship” na puro panglabas lang at walang pakialam sa very core ng bakit ng aba may offerings, feasts, convocations, etc. Instead of changing their ways, they just covered up their faults by their religiosity.
3. Stench of self-righteousness (Amos 5: 21-24)
- What was happening here? This was in the time of prosperity in the land. But they followed other gods. Did evil in the sight of the Lord. Though they were rich, there were injustices: the rich took bribes, yung mga innocent sila pa yung nakukulong, yung mga mahihirap lalo pang pinahihirapan.
- At sa gitna ng mga ganito, patuloy pa rin sila sa religious sacrifices, feasts, celebrations. They did what they had to do according to what their forefathers did.
- God was offended by their religiosity and ceremonialism! Dahil ginagamit lang nila to for the sake of just doing it. Para magmukhang okay naman. Kasi they were offering sacrifices the right way, celebrating feasts according to the law. Pero hanggang dun lang.They forget how they treat others! As long as they’re okay, tapos nay un. Okay nay un. Okay na ako kay Lord. Pero yung pakikitungo ko sa ibang tao, whatever. I don’t care.
- Their worship was self-serving. AND GOD HATED IT!
Common Denominator
Matthew 15:7-9
God hated their hypocritical worship, their empty worship. Worship is the experience of the heart. And in these examples we have shown, outwardly, yes, they do it well, but inside was garbage.
God did not hate their worship dahil mali sila ng order or mali yung animal or hindi nasunod yung instructions. They might be doing their offerings, sacrifices, feasts perfectly well out of routine but their hearts were rebelling against God. They were their own god and so they did evil things. And despite the perfection of their rituals, despite their perfect knowledge of the law, God hated their worship/offering; God did not accept their offering; God considered their worship a STENCH!
Kahit anong panlabas na ganda o na pagpapaganda ng amoy, pag trash ang loob, it’s still STENCH! Di macocover ng religiosity o ng pag-attend ng church o ng pagkanta o ng pagiging “holier than thou” ang baho ng rebellion at sin sa ating mga puso. Ito po yung mabahong worship na ayaw ng Lord. Yung bulok sa loob.
The Worship God wants
In the old testament, there are two major requirements in the offering: FIRST and BEST. Yun ang pamantayan ng tamang animal na isasacrifice. Why? Because God wanted to teach the Israelites that God is almighty and the only God and He deserves only the best as He is holy.
1. The widow in Mark 21: 41-44
- Jesus was with His disciples by the temple and saw HOW the people put money into the treasury
- Take note of the word used: HOW (not how much, not what)
- He was observing their attitude and motive in giving
- There were many rich men who gave many or large amounts but one person was above the rest – the widow who only had 2 mites (equivalent ay barya lang around 50 pesos)
- Notice in the passage that Jesus said she put in more than ALL of the others
- Why? Because they gave our of their wealth; but the woman gave her all to God.
- She acknowledged who God is and put her faith in Him despite her poverty.
- God does not need our money!!!! He wants our heart na nagtitiwala sa kanya. And this passage showed us kung ano yung pleasing before Him.
- It’s not the amount the the value behind it.
2. Mary in John 12:3
- After some time when Lazarus was raised from the dead, Jesus was with the disciples in a room
- Mary entered with a very costly oil (spikenard) – Around 30,000 USD or 1,515,232 PESOS!!!!
- What did she do? She broke the jar and anointed Jesus by washing His feet and drying it with her hair. Literally, there was aroma in the whole room.
- Compared to the woman above who just gave barya, Mary here gave a very very expensive one.
- Si Judas, nagreact na saying yung pera na pwede sana ipamigay sa mahirap (sound okay naman, right?) but Mary was doing something for Jesus to prepare him for his burial
- It was her act of worship. It was her act of service.
- Mary was not self-conscious about her hair about what she did; she offered the best she had because she acknowledges Jesus’ worth!
- It was an extravagant gift from a humble heart, honoring the Savior of the world
3. David in Psalm 51: 16-17
- David in this passage, was rebuked by Nathan when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Why was David’s worship remarkable eh di ba para lang syang yung example kanina sa Israelites? David was different because he repented, he humbled himself before the Lord, and asked for forgiveness.
- He acknowledged that if he would only offer sacrifices, God would not like it as a cover up. He knew that what God wanted was a renewed heart.
- And in most of David’s life, we were able to see how his attitude towards the Lord was pleasing to the Lord; he was even tagged a man after God’s own heart.
- David did not depend on his circumstances sa kanyang pagworship sa Lord; pinapaghanap sya para patayin ng hari!!!! But he still chose to worship the Lord early in the morning.
- When he was king, he worshiped God undignified!!! Na halos mahubaran na sya. (was this not disrespectful? Kasi syempre di ba dapat best para sa Lord. Notice Michal’s reaction of contempt. What did God do? God did not bless Michal!!!) For David, nothing mattered more than God and His presence. His heart was full of joy when they were able to bring the ark of the covenant back from Obed Edom to Jerusalem. He acknowledged that God is the best thing that’s why hindi na niya inintindi what others would think. He worshiped with all his heart and out of it was pure joy and celebration.
Common Denominator
As with the stench, the heart. THEIR HEARTS GAVE GOD THEIR BEST! They were genuine from the inside out. They gave their all because they know who their God is. Extravagant and yung offering, yung worship not just because kailangan at yun yung natutunang gawin kundi, it was from the inside out. It wasn’t just an emotional thing. It was based on their knowledge of the greatness and goodness of God.
In John 4, Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman by the well to whom He said, “23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
NOTICE the word used here, “MUST” ibig sabihin, like in the Old Testament, there is still a pattern to be followed to be able to truly worship the Lord. Hindi pwedeng basta-basta lang. God is still God and He still deserves reverence.
But how? In spirit and in truth. What does this mean?
In SPIRIT – meaning, from the inside (the very core of our new nature kung saan po tayo nakakaconnect with the Lord) (not just outward rituals tulad po ng mga example natin kanina)
Pero also in TRUTH – based on who God is, His essence, and His attributes; meaning, according to His Word, He is still holy, almighty, majestic, so kung ano yung nasasabi sa Bible, that’s how we should revere Him; hindi yung basta-basta lang na narinig natin or according to our own experience only; we should base our worship on the truth, as well.
What does it mean for us?
If you know who God is, your heart will emanate a sweet aroma of worship! The deeper you know Him, the sweeter the fragrance is. Kasi mag-ooverflow sya from the inside out. You will be able to give and worship extravagantly because you acknowledge who He is! You understand that He is the Holy One, the Living Word, the Son of God, the Solid Rock, the Lover of our Soul, among many other attributes of the Lord.
Hindi magiging too much trouble yung pagtaas ng kamay, pag-volunteer sa ministry, pagbibigay ng tithes, pagpray para sa ibang mga tao, because you understand that the Lord is worthy, He is faithful, He is good to you.
The more you know God and love Him, you will learn to obey and love others, too. You will learn to care for the people whom He cares for. You will learn to serve others and not just yourself.
When you worship in spirit and in truth, hindi ka nalang mafoforce to go to church o kaya mag family prayer cell.
Baka kaya di ka pa maka-worship with all your heart is hindi mo pa Siya ganun kakilala o kinikilala. Are you hopeless? Absolutely not! Read the Word, pray, and be discipled, so that you will be able to worship in spirit and in truth.
So now, smell yourself again. What’s there on the inside? Do you emanate sweet aroma of worship from the inside out?
Reflection [Magnilay-nilay]
1. Mayroon bang stench of hypocrisy sa iyong buhay? Kung meron, bakit? Ikwento.
2. Mayroon bang stench of meaningless worship sa iyong buhay? Kung meron, bakit? Ikwento.
3. Mayroon bang stench of self-righteousness sa iyong buhay? Kung meron, bakit? Ikwento.
4. Sa iyong pagkakaintindi, bakit pleasing sa Lord ang naging ‘worship’ ng widow?
5. Sa iyong pagkakaintindi, bakit pleasing sa Lord ang naging ‘worship’ ni Mary?
6. Sa iyong pagkakaintindi, bakit pleasing sa Lord ang naging ‘worship’ ni David?
7. Ano ang nakakapigil sa iyo na maging mabango ang aroma ng iyong worship life?
Practice [I-apply ang Natutunan]
1. Anong pwede mong gawin para tuluyan maging SWEET AROMA ang iyong worship sa Diyos?
Prayer [Panalangin]
Closing [Pangwakas]
I-remind ang grupo tungkol sa mg ito:
- Kanilang daily Bible reading and devotion
- Pagdalo sa church
- Pagbibigay (tithes and offering)
- Pananalangin (kasama ang Prayer Cell)
- Pag-care sa iba
- Pag-seserve sa ministry – baka wala pa silang ministry, marami pong available!
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