Rev Gideon Lee
I just came back from Klang by bus last night to be with you all this morning. How is your Chinese New Year? I noticed even in Klang that celebration is a bit subdued. I have not even seen one lion dance yet. Have you seen? You have! Wah, I should be in Penang.
This is the year of the horse. So this morning I have a very horsy message for you. I am going to be talking about the horse.
What does the horse represents? Success. We want the horse to run faster. The horse is also strong and elegant. Back in those days if you come from an agricultural background the horse is very important. It is also a means of transport. There is so much Chinese movies this New Year especially the fighting ones. When they go to war they depend on the horse. So the horse is very important as you can see.
I am also going to look at the horse in the bible. Let's look at Isaiah.
Isaiah 31
The Folly of Not Trusting God
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
And rely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
Nor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And will not call back His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out His hand,
Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;
They all will perish together.
God Will Deliver Jerusalem
4 For thus the Lord has spoken to me:
“As a lion roars,
And a young lion over his prey
(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,
He will not be afraid of their voice
Nor be disturbed by their noise),
So the Lord of hosts will come down
To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 Like birds flying about,
So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.
Defending, He will also deliver it;
Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of mankind shall devour him.
But he shall flee from the sword,
And his young men shall become forced labor.
A Reign of Righteousness
9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,
And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”
Says the Lord,
Whose fire is in Zion
And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
This morning we just read Isaiah chapter 31.
This verse one is also reflected in the book of Psalms. You can go back and read Psalms 20:7.
This morning I want to talk about a very important word called trust. Apart from pride our lack in trust of God comes next. Our trust in God is limited to what we know or experience in God. If God has helped or provided for us then we can trust him. If we have not experienced healing from God it is very difficult to trust him for healing. It is conditional. We trust him when we see him working. But many times God is silent. And we think God is not there. And because he is not there we find it difficult to trust him.
We must learn to place our trust in God and God alone.
Proverbs 3:1-6
Guidance for the Young
1 My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
In Proverbs we are told to trust the Lord.
In Isaiah we see they are considering putting their trust in Egypt. When we talk of Egypt what does it represent to them. It is actually representing their slavery or captivity in Egypt. It is actually a bad place, a place of bondage so how can they go there for help? Their horses and chariots were famous. Egypt's strength lies in the number of horses or chariots they have. So Israel were so desperate going to them for help.
But Isaiah told them not to put their trust in Egypt. Don't rely on their horses or chariots. But to put their trust in the Lord God. In the Holy One of Israel. I feel this is what the Lord is telling some of us. Don't put our hope in the year of the horse. Or that fire crackers will chase away bad omens. Put your trust in Jesus.
People were cutting back on their spending. I hope you don't cut back on your coming to church. Thinking that you need to pump petrol to come to church. Instead of coming every week, you come only on alternate weeks. Save petrol. I think this year you should come to church more often. You cannot put your trust in all these things. If you are going to put your trust in your Ang Pows this year you will be disappointed.
Our trust must be in the Holy One of Israel. This is what you must remember this morning.
There are some reasons why sometimes people don't put their trust in God. These are three main reasons though there are more.
1. They are impatient.
We want to quickly see results but if you have been a Christian for many years you know God don't answer immediately. But often we want a. solution like yesterday. We don't want to spend the time waiting on the Lord. The bible says he makes all things beautiful in his time. We may prefer to go to Egypt because it is quick but it may not be the best for you. Like going to the loan shark to get a loan. They make it so easy for you to get your money. Easy solution to your needs. But it may not be the best solution for you as you will enter a deep deep hole.
When God helps you it is for your best. When blessings comes from the Lord there is no sorrow that comes with it. Learn to wait upon the Lord. If you want something fast and quick, it may not be the best for you.
2. They are ignorant.
They are ignorant of what the Lord can do for them or the promises of God in the bible. And so because they are ignorant they go elsewhere for help. If your children have problems who do they come to first? I hope it's not their friends. I have been a youth pastor and often I tell them if they have a problems they should go to see their parents. Unfortunately many comes to see me. But they should be able to go to their parents as they are the ones that can help you.
Parents, do you reveal very things to your children? Do you tell them exactly how much you have in your bank account? You don't tell but you have the resources to help your children. Why? Because they are your children. There is a relationship. What if it's other children? Once in a while you may help out of the goodness of your heart. But can you help them all the time? They are not your children.
But your children are different. But we are ignorant of what the word of God says so we don't go to him.
3. Unwillingness to pay the price of obedience and holiness.
We know he can help but we are not willing to live a life without sin. God not only deal with your problems but he deals with you. Because often you are the problem. And we are often not willing to let God deal with us. If you have a financial problem, you may think God want to deal with your circumstances but God wants to deal with you first. Your problem may not be your finance but how God wants to deal with you to be a good stewart of your finance.
We are ignorant of the help that is available from God. Unwilling to live a life of obedience. Friends, like I mentioned, these are three reasons only but there are many more.
Like in Isaiah, do not put your trust in Egypt. Only God can deliver them from their problems. He will save and defend their people. Later in that passage it shows what God can do for them. Whatever comes your way in 2014, put your trust in Jesus and Jesus alone.
Put your trust not only on your material need but also your spiritual needs. During Chinese New Year we often give Ang Pows. Do you know God gave us the biggest Ang Pow? It is Jesus. It is bigger than all the money you will receive. All the Ang Pows you get will finish. Jesus never fails. He is the greatest Ang Pow that I have received in my life. Peace beyond understanding. Money cannot buy wan. More important is that you receive eternal life. The biggest blessing that comes from Jesus. It can only happen when you put your trust in him. This is my message for this new year. Put your trust in God. He can meet all your needs including your spiritual needs.
You may say you are not so bad. You don't kill, steal or rape. But the bible says we sin in our thoughts or our words. Mankind have been dealing with this problem a long time but no solution. Thank God he gave the solution in Jesus, his Son. He paid the penalty for our sin. We can understand this because in our country there are laws. You drive pass 110 and you get a ticket. For your wrong doing there is a penalty. And the word of God says the penalty of sin is death. But God loves us so much that he paid for your sins through his Son.
What qualifies Jesus to pay for your sin? Because he is the son of God and he knew no sin. And death paid your penalty of death. All you need to do is put your trust in him. Put your trust in him completely. Put your faith in him completely. You are saying God come and take over. All this while I am driving my own life but now I want you to come in and take over. Don't put your trust in any other thing.
I end by this story. How many of you know Indiana Jones. It is quite an old movie. There was one in the series that talked about the holy grail. If you remember one scene when they came into a chamber and there was an old knight guarding the holy grail. All the bad guys were also there and the knight asked them to chose the holy grail for themselves. The bad guy picked the one with jewellery and looked so nice so he picked that and drank from the cup which was supposed to give him eternal life but he died. The knight said he chose poorly.
But Indiana Jones picked an old wooden cup which was the right one.
This morning who will you pick? I pray the Lord won't say to us you chose poorly. But that we all make the right decision.
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