Lahat halos ng mga mahahalagang bagay sa buhay natin may mga obstacles o hadlang

tayong nakakaharap.

Sa paghahanap ng trabaho may hadlang

Sa pagnenegosyo natin may hadlang
Sa pagibig may hadlang
Sa isang malusog na pangangatawan may hadlang
Sa pagaaral may hadlang

And another point is, i think you will all agree with me if i will say na kapag
ndi natin nalagpasan ang mga hadlang or obstacles na to e malaking bagay din ang
maaari nating mamiss at hindi maranasan.

Pag di ka nakahanap ng trabaho, wala kang ipapakain sa family mo. At lalong lalo
nang hindi ka makakaipon para pangarap mong bahay.

Pag hindi mo nabago yung maling lifestyle mo ng pag puyat ka ng puyat, kain ka ng
kain ndi ka mapigilan e baka magkasakit ka at lalong ndi mo din makukuha yung
pangarap mong boracay body.

Pag di mo tinantanan ang kaka ML mo baka mapabayaan mo ang studies mo at lalong ndi
mo makukuha yung pangarap mo na grumaduate ng may honor.

Now, Ang isa sa mahalagang bagay sa buhay mo at sa buhay ko ang bagay na nakita ni
Apostle Paul at naging dahilan kaya siya sumulat sa mga taga Corinto na mababasa
natin sa 1 Corinthians 3:1-7

"1 Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you
as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the
mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ,

2 I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more
advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not
ready to be fed solid food,

3 for you are living your lives dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. Ask
yourselves: Is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do
you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, this proves that you are
living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mind-set of the flesh,
and behaving like unbelievers.

4 For when you divide yourselves up in groups—a “Paul group” and an “Apollos
group”—you’re acting like people without the Spirit’s influence.

5 Who is Apollos, really? Or who is Paul? Aren’t we both just servants through whom
you believed our message? Aren’t each of us doing the ministry the Lord has
assigned to us?

6 I was the one who planted the church and Apollos came and cared for it, but it
was God who caused it to grow.

7 This means the one who plants is not anybody special, nor the one who waters, for
God is the one who brings the supernatural growth"

Now, ayon sa letter na ito ni Apostle Paul, makikita natin ang dalawang main
PROBLEM o main issue ng church sa corinth nung panahon nila.

Ito ay ang pagkakaroon ng FACTIONS or grupo grupo at ang pagka IMMATURE bilang
isang kristyano.
We can see here that the central idea of this part of the letter is

|| If you want to GROW from an infant in christ to the spiritual in christ then you
must first OVERCOME the obstacles ||

He started this chapter to tell them that "Advanced lessons are for advanced
students only "

In verse 1 He said:

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the
flesh, as infants in Christ.

Paul cant address them as spiritual in christ, in fact if you will read it with
verse 2

"I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now
you are not yet ready,"

Which means Infants in Christ has to be treated as people of the flesh and be fed
with baby food

Anong ibig niyang sabihin?

Ofcourse paul is not talking about a literal milk here. He was talking about the
deeper revelation of God. In other words, He was talking about the very wisdom of
God.

Kumbaga gatas pa nga lang ndi mo na maubos ubos e pano kita mapapakain ng karne?

But whats with the wisdom of God? well, wisdom of God could be referring to God's
omniscience. Which means with God there are no Mysteries for He know all things.
Which also means To know a glimpse of his knowledge and wisdom may help us unravel
some if not all the mysteries in life. Yang wisdom na yan ang dahilan kung bakit
nalikha ang buong universe. Yang wisdom na yan ay hindi limited ng oras. Ang talino
niya ay sakop ang hinaharap. Sa wisdom niya nagmula ang planong pagbaba ni Kristo
para maligtas tayo sa ating mga kasalanan. Sa wisdom niya napagsabay niya ang
hustisya at biyaya. At sa wisdom niya wag mong kakalimutan, ikaw at ako na hindi
karapatdapat ay naging karapatdapat.

And sadly, Imbis na ito yung nilalaman ng letter niya para sa mga believers sa
corinth, instead he wrote them to address their childlike attitude.

If you are going to read the previous 2 chapters, Paul talked about the comparison
between God's wisdom from Human's wisdom.

He said there that God's foolishness is wiser than our wisdom. Ofcourse he doesnt
mean that God has foolishness because thats just absurd and incoherent, but that is
just to compare our wisdom from God's wisdom.

In Chapter 2 he talked about that God's wisdom is revealed by the Spirit.

That it can only be known and discerned in the Spirit. Kung makamundo ka magisip
hinding hindi mo madidiscern ang wisdom ni Lord.

So papaano nilang mauunawaan yun kung worldly pa sila kung magisip?

Kumbaga kung nahirapan ka sa addition edi lalong mahihirapan ka sa multiplication

at division. Edi lalo na algebra at trigonometry.

Now what does God wants us to do?

First, Ibig sabihin kung magseshare ka ng word ni Lord katulad ni Apostle Paul make
sure na alamin mong maigi kung sino yung makikinig sayo.

Kung bago lang na christian yan wag mong turuan ng mga malalalim na like tunay na
pagsamba or paglilingkod.

Ikaw naman bilang disciple, iassess mo yung sarili mo kung paano ka magisip. Are
you still worldly? Yung bang mga basic ba nagagawa mo? Dahil kung sa basics pa lang
like christian discipline na pagbabasa ng bible, pagattend ng church, pag attend ng
lifegroups, or pananalangin e di mo magawa, e paano ka maglelevel up?

Which means If you want to grow from an infant in christ to the spiritual in christ
then you must first overcome the minor obstacles.

Now in the next verse makikita natin kung bakit nasabi ni paul or ano ang naging
batayan ni Apostle Paul kung bakit niya nasabi na ang mga taga corinth ay infant in
christ. Bakit nga ba?

Verse 3 and 4 reads:

3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you,
are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not
being merely human?

Which means nakita ni Paul ang dahilan kung bakit niya nasabing infants in christ
pa itong mga taga corinth.

At ang dahilan is they behave in a worldy way and they are in rivalry with other
christians.

Which means If you want to grow from an infant in christ to a spiritual in Christ
then you must overcome the worldy behaviors.

Bakit? Ano bang nangyayari dito? Kasi ang mga christians dito e nagkakaroon ng
competition na mas better ang grupo at sinusundan nilang leader. Si Apollos ang
isa, yung isa naman si Paul.

Sino ba si Apollos?

Sa acts 18 dito ko actually nakilala kung sino si Apollos.

Verse 24 it says:

24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures
well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the
way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and
with accuracy.

Samantalang si Apostle Paul naman eto ang sinabi niya sa chapter 2 ng 1 Corinthians

He said:

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come
with ELOQUENCE or HUMAN WISDOM as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message
and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration
of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on
God’s power.

So makikita natin na meron silang distinct characteristics dalawa at makikita din

natin na sa simula pa lang inaaddress na ni Paul ang issue na to. Hindi nga siya
magaling sa salita pero hindi naman kasi sa pagandahan ito ng pananalita o sa lalim
ng pagpapaliwanag.

Otherwise, we will miss the point. This is not about our skills, This is not about
your wisdom. This is about God's wisdom and power. And because its God's wisdom and
power then you must put your faith in him and not in humans like us.

So ang mga tao dito, kinukumpara yung dalawang discipleship leader na ito at
tagapagturo at parang nagiging sabong tuloy. Nagkakaroon sila ng division. This is
clearly not how a spiritual in christ should think nor behave. Ang paglilingkod
natin sa Panginoon ay hindi isang competition.

And Believe it or not, dito mo actually makikita ang wisdom ni Lord for teaching us
to stick faithfully with what the scriptures are saying. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
4:6,

"Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for
your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go
beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one
of us over against the other."

So whats the wisdom behind this? Kung ang mga aral na tinuro kay Paul at Apollos ay
parehas lang at ganun lang din ang ipinapasa nilang aral sa iba, So whats the
difference? Wala namang kakaibang aral kay Paul. Wala din namang kakaibang aral kay
Apollos. So theres no point of comparing the two and most especially create
factions and divisions.

In fact, eto rin ang binanggit niya sa letter niya sa mga Galatians.

Dahil meron din sa kanila ang namumuhay sa laman kesa mamuhay sa Spiritu

In Galatians 5:19-24 He said:

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I
warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And
those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.

So we can see it here na consistent si Apostle Paul sa pagidentify ng mga behaviors

na hindi senyales ng isang matured or ng isang Spiritual in Christ.

He was trying to let the church in corinth know na teka, hindi tama yan. Kung
totoong naligtas kayo at tagasunod kayo ni Kristo dapat hindi na kayo ganyan
magisip. Dapat hindi na kayo ganyan mamuhay. Otherwise, whats the difference? Ano
ang kinaibahan nung dating ang Panginoon mo ay ang emosyon mo at gustong gawin ng
laman mo SA ngayon na kung saan si Kristo na ang Panginoon mo? Kung si Kristo na
ang Panginoon mo and the Spirit lives within you, dapat pinapako niyo yang mga
ganyang makamundong asal hanggang sa mamatay na yan.

Walang pinagiba yan dun sa mga taong naquarantine dahil sa Covid. Bago ka makalabas
ng quarantine facility or probably your home kung self quarantine ka, You need to
exhibit signs of healing. Wala na dapat yung mga sintomas. Pero kelangan pa din na
makasiguro so ipapaswab test ka pa for confirmation na completely healed ka na.
Which means para masabi na completely na magaling ka na, kelangan mong malagpasan
yang mga test na yan para makalabas ka na din ng bahay mo ng malaya.

Similarly, Paul is trying tell the people in corinth na lagpasan niyo yang test na
yan. Ipakita niyo muna ang signs na totoo ngang naligtas na kayo. Ipakita niyo na
wala na yung mga sintomas ng pagiging makamundo. At kung makita sa kanila yun, dun
lang maguumpisa ang next level ng wisdom ni Lord sa buhay nila.

Now ano naman ang gustong ituro satin dito ni lord?

First, lets apply this inside the church muna. Meron bang kampi kampi? Meron bang
grupo grupo dahil feeling ng isang grupo mas tama ang sinusundan nila kumpara sa
kabilang grupo? Meron bang competition? Yung tipong healthy competition sa
paramihan ng disciples? You may call it healthy all you want pero malinaw naman na
ito ang gustong ituwid sa atin ng Panginoon. Kinukumpara mo ba ang leaders kung
sino ang mas magaling sa hindi? Kinukumpara mo ba ang mga pastor dahil sa kanilang
pinagaralan or experience sa ministry?

Sa opisina ba nakikisabay ka sa politika at kampi kampihan? Na kung kaaway ng

kadepartment mo ang nasa kabilang department ibig sabihin kasama ka na din sa
awayan?

Ito ang mga bagay na dapat mong baguhin mula ngayon at ihingi ng tawad mula kay
Lord.

Because, If you want to grow from an infant in christ to a spiritual in Christ then
you must overcome the worldy behaviors

You must overcome the worldy obstacles.

Now, meron pang napansin si Apostle Paul sa mga christians na nasa corinth kung
bakit niya nasabing mga infants pa sila in Christ at gusto kong tignan mo tong
mabuti,

Bakit? Kasi ito yung isa sa bagay na pumigil sa kanila para lumago at makatanggap
ng wisdom na galing kay Lord. At baka ganito ka rin ndi mo namamalayan. ANo ba to?

Paul said in V5-V7

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the
Lord assigned to each.

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives
the growth.

So anong nakita ni Paul dito?

I believe he saw that the Infants in Christ focuses on People and their
performances instead of focusing on God.
In other words, Parang sinasabi ni Paul na mali kayo ng focus niyo. Hindi kayo
dapat nakatutok sa tao kundi sa Diyos. Maxado kayong nakafocus sa nagtanim at
nagdidilig pero hindi niyo narealize na baliwala lang lahat ng husay nila at sipag
nila sa pagtatanim at pagdidilig kung hindi yun iaallow ni Lord palaguin. Which
means ang Diyos ultimately ang magbibigay saysay sa lahat ng ginagawa natin. It is
God who gives the growth. Actually ang Diyos din naman ang dahilan kung bakit tayo
naglilingkod lahat. It is also God who gave us the task. It is God who gave you
the grace. It is God who gave you your gifts and skills. It is God who loved you
unconditionally. Everything is about God and points to God so why focus on people
and on what people could do? It is all about God.

So in short, Having the right focus means knowing the point of christianity.

In other words, its realligning your focus to the purpose.

Back in my college years, i studied in Ama Computer University. So malamang marami

sobrang computers dun. So much so na kahit paglabas mo ng school e sobrang daming
mga computer shop. So everytime na tapos ng ang class ko pupunta ko sa computer
shop at maglalaro ako. Hanggang sa habang tumatagal e nakapagbuild ako ng mga
kaibigan sa computer shop na pinaglalaruan ko. Actually, it was one of the best
thing that happened in my life. Na feel ko dun ang belongingness and yung saya.
Pero kasabay nun yung mga time na unti unti ko nang napapabayaan yung mga klase ko.
Nagsimula sa pagabsent sa isang subject. Naging dalawa. Naging tatlo. Hanggang sa
dumating yung time na the whole day ndi na ko pumapasok. And it went bad along the
way hanggang sa dumami ang mga dropped subjects ko and it went on and on for years
hanggang sa tumagal ako sa school at hindi ako makagraduate graduate. Hanggang sa
nakahalata na yung kuya ko kaya pumunta siya mismo sa school at hiningi dun ang
transcript of records ko. At to his surprise, nasasayang lang ang tuition fee ko,
ang oras ko dahil nalaman niya na hindi naman ako pumapasok. And cut the story
short, he talked to me and asked me why am i going to school? Whats my purpose?

Dun ko narealize na oo nga, hindi nga pala ko nageenroll para sumaya. Nagenroll ako
para matuto and eventually makagraduate. Thats the goal. And that should have been
my focus.

In the same way, Paul talked to believers in corinth like a Kuya. Tinulungan niyang
makita nila na mali sila ng focus at kelangan nilang maremind sa purpose kung bakit
sila naging kristyano at kung bakit sila naglilingkod sa Panginoon. That their
focus should not be on men but should be on God.

Now, ano naman ang tinuturo satin dito ni Lord?

Well, dito swak na swak ang Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do work at it as working for the lord and not for men, since you know
that you will receive an inheritance from the lord. It is the lord christ you are
serving

Which means sa lahat ng gagawin mo, make sure na ginagawa mo ito para kay Lord. Ang
buhay mo nakasentro sa Kanya. Ang motivation mo ang pagibig niya. Kung nagtatrabaho
ka, ibigay mo ang best mo para sa kanya. Maging trustworthy ka. Ipakita mo sa mga
nasa paligid mo na mabuti kang kristyano. Wag kang makigaya sa mga kaopisina mo na
makamundo pa rin magisip. Kung dati kang mahilig sa chismis, ipako mo yan sa krus
mo araw araw. Manalangin ka na tulungan ka ng Banal na Spiritu na maovercome mo
yan.

Kung naglilingkod ka sa Panginoon wag kang magantay ng papuri ng iba para mainspire
ka at para sumaya ka. Pag nagseserve ka ang motivation mo ang pagibig niya. Ang
grace niya.
Sa church wag kang tumingin sa tao. At lalong lalo na wag kang maglilingkod ng
dahil lang sa tao. Serve others because of God.

Remember, If you want to grow from an infant in christ to the spiritual in christ
then you must first overcome the worldly obstacles

You must overcome your worldly focus

Ang paglago mo at paglago ko bilang Kristyano ay isa sa pinakamahalagang bagay na

gustong mangyari sa atin ng ating Amang nasa langit.

Habang lumalago tayo, lalo natin siyang nakikilala. Habang lumalago ka mas lalo
mong nauunawaan ang misteryo ng buhay. Habang lumalago ka, mas nagiging kagamit
gamit ka. Habang lumalago ka mas tumitibay ka.

Pero hindi automatic ang paglago. At lalong hindi smooth na byahe ang paglagong
kristyano. May mga obstacles kang haharapin na kailangan mong malagpasan para
maranasan mo ang benepisyo ng isang anak ng Diyos na lumalago sa kanyang
pananampalataya.

If you want to grow from an infant in christ to the spiritual in christ then you
must first overcome the obstacles

Overcome the basics.

Overcome your worldly behaviors.

Overcome your worldly focus.

Imagine yourself wherein you mastered the
nakakapanalangin ka. Araw araw nakakausap
may kapayapaan ka. Araw araw may panibago
kabila ng mga pagsubok mo ay may ngiti ka
sayo ang mga pangako niya para sayo.
basics already. Yung tipong araw araw
mo si Lord sa kanyang salita. Araw araw
kang lakas mula sa kanya. Araw araw sa
pa din sa iyong mga labi dahil malinaw

Imagine yourself overcoming your worldly behaviors. Yung isa isa mo nang
napapagtagumpayan ang mga maling asal at mga kasalanang dating nakagawian mo nang
gawin bago ka pa naging anak ng Diyos.

Imagine yourself overcoming your worldly focus. Yung tipong araw araw ng buhay mo
nakatutok ka sa pagibig ng Diyos sayo. Araw araw biyaya niya ang nakikita mo. Araw
araw ang kabutihan niya ang nadarama mo. Araw araw iniisip mo kung paano mo siya
mapaglilingkuran ng buo mong puso at kaluluwa.

Lastly, i want you imagine that day when God is teaching you and revealing you the
deeper things about Him. Yung araw na kung saan unti unti niyang pinapakita sayo
ang dakila niyang plano para sayo at sa kangkatauhan. Isang araw kung saan mas
nauunawaan mo na ang sagot sa mga tanong ng buhay.

Remember this:

"Growth in Christ Happens, When you commit to Overcome Worldliness"