Today’s sermon was delivered by Pastor Massoud Sadeghi after a photo journal of Nejat Church was presented by Sheeva. The photo journal showed the church activities throughout 2009. It showed the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit, through the baptism of new converts from Islam to Christianity, the church camp, the Sizdeh Bedar event, the Christmas party where some 500 Iranians took part; the New year party and short films of the Iranian youth who expressed their love for the Lord.
Pastor Massoud took the podium and welcomed members and guests to Nejat Church. This is a summary of his sermon translated from Farsi to English:
Welcome to Nejat Church and welcome to 2010. Every year, this is the time when people make new year resolutions. They work hard to keep their resolutions through out the year. I hope you will want to show God’s face to people in 2010. You know, God wants people to see Him. Throughout history, people have sought religions and philosophy to find God, but they have only brought hunger, war and disasters to mankind. God wants to show his true self to us. He has done that through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Read Romans 8:14 – This year our resolution should be to show God’s face and His love for people. I want to see Jesus in you this year. This is the year of victory for those who believe in Christ, who have found a new creation. This new creation is a fundamental change, as all the bad habits and bad actions are replaced with God’s presence, God’s Light and Love, in you.
Read Galatians 4:19 and John 3:16 – You must show God’s love to others this year. This is the year of happiness, joy, healing and salvation for people who are seeking God and His Love. You only need to show the true face of God to other people, so they can see the true love. People are thirsty for love. The world does not need any more religions and laws. What the world needs is love. So, God sent His perfect love, His only Son to us. He sent peace, joy and love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
So in this new year, we must become the agents of God’s love, His peace and Joy. A clear sign of the new creation is love, what we call Mohabat in Persian. Love, Mohabat is only seen in action. What the Lord did for us was a perfect example of His Love for us, the sinner of this world. The kind of love that world is seeking is the love that does not expect anything in return. The love that Jesus offered is the perfect love for anyone, without bias or prejudice, for people of any race, of any nation to receive it. Likewise, we must show love to everyone, not just to our friends and family, but to all, even to our enemies, to those who have done us wrong. Love should not be out of petty or out of feeling sorry for someone; it should be based on Mohabat – love.
Let me use the analogy of a perfume bottle. When you spray the perfume, you are only giving a small sample. But, when you break the entire bottle, then you truly pour out the perfume. Love works the same way. We must break the bottle of our hearts to pour all of our love for others. The key step in giving love is forgiveness. God forgave our sins by giving His only begotten Son … Likewise, when Jesus went on the cross, He forgave them, saying: “God forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
Similarly, when Steephan (Stephen) who was stoned to death, said: God forgive them. Today, people are tired of religous tricks and religious talk. They hunger for true love. When Poulos and Silas (Paul & Silas) were captured and beaten, deep in the darkness of night in jail, they raised their voice in worship and praise of God (they did not curse their captors because they had forgiven their captors). Today, I say to you to do the same. Forgive those who have done you wrong. Break the jar of your heart and pour all the love to other people. People must see the true face of God in us, this is possible when we act in God’s love towards others. Let’s show the true face of God in our love for others. Let this be our new year resolution for 2010. Amen
For more information or to visit Nejat Church, you can contact us at:
Telephone: (425) 988-3578Email us: iran@nejatchurch.comNejat Church Address:
16300 112th Ave. NE
Bothell, WA 98011-1535
Nejat Church