City Harvest Church Weekend Sermons

Continuing his series on Katharsis, Theoria and Theosis, Pastor Kong Hee touches on the second key to having spiritual union with God—Theoria. Theoria means “to see; to have a vision of God; to have an encounter with Him; to tangibly experience Him.” Encounters with God show us He is real and that, in turn, transforms our lives. How can one experience encounters with the Lord? By having the right spiritual temperature of walking in God’s light (righteousness), in God’s love, and in His power. The evidence of God’s saving grace in us is a life of righteousness, in that sin no longer reigns in us. Holiness comes with we walk in the love of Christ and take on His Spirit and nature. Finally, as believers, our ministry must operate with the demonstration of God’s power. So let us walk in God’s light, love and power, that may we encounter God and experience spiritual union with Him!

As believers, how we live our lives on this earth will determine our capacity for joy and happiness in the new heaven and earth. The more we come into union with God, the larger a vessel we will become. In this message, Pastor Kong shares three keys to having union with God: Kartharsis (purification), Theoria (revelation), and Theosis (union). Kartharsis, or purification, is the process of flushing out sin and temptations that bombard us daily. We overcome by not letting them have a hold over us. When faced with temptation, choose to do what is right unto God. When offenses come, be swift to forgive and move on. As we learn how to remove the impurities in our life, may we receive a personal revelation of Jesus and come into a deeper union with Him.

At his lowest point in Genesis chapter 37, Joseph was sold as a slave; at his highest point in chapter 39, he was the prime minister of Egypt. Right smack in the middle of these two chapters is chapter 38, which seems to be an interruption to the account of Joseph’s life.No one likes interruptions that are uncomfortable and inconvenient. Yet, interruptions can often be divine. In this message, Pastor Wu Yuzhuang shares how God uses interruptions to develop us and bring us into our purpose and destiny. Joseph did not buckle under his crisis. Instead, he did four things to work his way to overcoming his circumstances. He stayed close to God; he studied his environment; he served with excellence; and he kept looking forward to his destiny. As we go through challenging interruptions in life, may we be like Joseph, and learn to turn our life’s interruptions into God’s divine purposes.

No matter how forgetful man is, the Lord always remembers. Preaching out of Luke 1, Edmund Tay shows in this sermon that God never forgets His people. Because we can trust God, we must believe in Him and his goodness. Pastor Edmund teaches that believers must do these three things: one, they must believe without bitterness, because bitterness kills faith. Two, they must believe despite the doubt, unlike Zacharias who chose disbelief when he was told his wife would be pregnant with a child in their old age. Faith is the ability to believe despite doubts. Three, they must believe for deliverance in God’s time. God may be silent for a long time, or things may not progress according to your expectation, but He has heard your prayer. Listen to this sermon and be encouraged to believe God.

Continuing on the theme of Theosis in this sermon, Kong Hee expands on what this spiritual union with God entails. Drawing from 2 Cor 5:4 which reads: “what is mortal may be swallowed up by life”, Pastor Kong teaches that what we have right now is merely a measure of eternal life and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Therefore let us not be complacent, but grow in God by coming into deeper union with Him daily; everything we do should draw us closer to our Lord. Let this sermon inspire you to hunger and thirst for more of Him.

For many, the goal of the Christian life is to be converted, to have our condemnation removed. But Kong Hee teaches in this sermon that the goal of Christianity truly is spiritual union, that is, a life-transforming, personal, intimate relationship with God. In this powerful sermon, Pastor Kong teaches that God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit form a social trinity, and the love of God comes from all three of them. The Trinity moves in absolute unity in a dance—"perichoresis". But God loves us so much that He wants to include man in this dance, despite knowing that there will be pain and suffering. The process of God transforming us to come into this spiritual union with Him is “theosis”, our ability to join in the dance with the Trinity. This sermon will bring you into understanding of your goal as a Christian.

Jesus performed many miracles, signs and wonders during His time on Earth. But His chief ministry was to reveal the Father to the world. In this touching sermon, Lin Junxian teaches two key points about Jesus’ ministry: one, that Jesus came to reveal God as a loyal, caring, loving, forgiving, protective Father; and two, that Jesus sends us to reveal the Father. God wants us to represent Him as His sons and daughters, to let the world know that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness. Listen to this sermon and understand the Father’s heart.

The Sabbath belongs to Jesus. He was resurrected from the dead on the Sabbath. The Day of Pentecost fell on the Sabbath. The disciples continued to gather on the Sabbath despite persecution. In Genesis, God had established the Sabbath and declared it holy. What do you do on the Sabbath? In this message, Bobby Chaw helps us to realign our priorities: the Sabbath is a day to give God time and honour Him. Pastor Bobby gives three ways to do this: first, to stop, reflect and remember the Word of the living God, because they are spirit and life. Two, delight yourself in the Lord, because Jesus is our joy. Three, serve people in mercy and love—the Sabbath is for healing and for helping. Through this message, experience the presence of Jesus every Sabbath day.

In Matthew 11, Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God was already here, and blessed was the one who could accept the Already and Not Yet. In this rousing message, Kong Hee teaches that the Kingdom of God is powerful and that “the violent take it by storm”—those who are passionate and determined will experience it. The Kingdom of God requires radical obedience and willing surrender, and believers must be radical in four ways: in living a righteous life, in loving and forgiving, in bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and in seeing the power of God. Listen and be moved to make a radical decision for the Kingdom today!

One thing that is as important than knowing God is to be known by Him (1 Cor 13:12). In this thought-provoking message, Aries Zulkarnain unpacks the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16, to show us what it looks like to be known by God. First, it’s someone who has his identity in Christ—Lazarus was named and the rich man was not, because Lazarus depended on God his whole life. Second, it’s someone who chooses to submit and obey God’s will: no matter what happens to us, what counts is how we choose to respond to God? Finally, someone who is known by God is a person who cares for the poor and the marginalized—how you treat them reveals how much of God is in you. Listen to and reflect on this message, and be a person known by God.