Better is One Day in your Court

Pastor Bryan Ranjan

Senior Pastor of Putera Aman Assembly

God is a good God. I came many years ago under Pastor Geoffrey's time. I'm from the state of Selangor and raised in Selayang. It's a Chinese area even though I'm an Indian. I knew God led me there and God has been good.

Ps Ronald and Ps Jasmine are my spiritual parents. When I had my girlfriend Pastor Ronald was the first person I showed her photo to. He also dedicated my three kids.

This morning I want to do a little stress test to see if you need a holiday.

I'm going to be showing you a slide. I don't know how exactly this works, but it is amazingly accurate. The picture I will show you are 2 identical dolphins and was used in a recent case study on stress levels at St. Mary Hospital, London.

Look at the two dolphins jumping out of the water and the study shows that although both dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the dolphins. The more differences the person finds, the more stress the person is experiencing.

If you see a difference, you need a holiday.

(Slide of a dolphin and cow jumping out of the water.)

Psalms 84:1-11 (NIV)

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

My forte has always been worship and this passage is on temple worship. We can meet God anywhere and anytime but going into the temple allows us to step inside and worship the living God.

It is a Psalm not written by David and it talks about the significance of stepping into the house of God. There are now online sermons and people may say you don't need to go to church.

There is something about being in God's house. He has made known the reason why we go into the house of God.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Verse one the Psalmist made it known that God dwells in his house. That is the only reason needed for us to be in his house.

The Psalmist is consumed by the intense desire to worship God in the temple.

Even the creatures made their home near to God's altar.

Everybody needs their own home. Everybody had their own activities or their own passion. That is where you'd put your time in. The Psalmist is saying his passion is to be in the house of God. He yearns to be in the presence of God.

The creatures has found the temple their home. What about us? People are a bit restless. Moving from one church to another, especially in KL. But the Psalmist is saying these birds found their home. We need to find a home to belong to. Where we can place ourselves close to God's house. 

It allows the people to come in to encounter God. To worship God in God's house.

My friends in Australia said the Catholics used to have a one hour service while the Pentecostal churches have two hour services. But now it's the other way around. The Catholic Churches are having two hour services while the charismatic and Pentecostal churches has one hour services.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

If you are found in the house of God you are blessed. Period.

Then the next verse it shifted gear. The harsh journey to Jerusalem. Along the way some will give up. Some may even die. But then as they pass through the Valley of Baka, means the valley of tears. Physically this journey was draining. This is where they get refreshed and rejuvenated and revived. Because of this pool of water.

And they will go from strength to strength before they go into Zion. We are on a pilgrimage. We are on a journey. Carrying our cross is about suffering. It is not easy. We go through one challenge after another challenge. Life is not easy at times. We are going through this spiritual walk.

Then God brings you to the valley of Baka. Water revives us. This is what the Psalmist is trying to tell us. When we come to the house of God, this is our Valley of Baka. It is not ritual or tradition. God's presence is here and he sees your challenges and burdens.

These Israelites were on their journey to Zion. Our journey is to the New Jerusalem. Some people are making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem but ours is the New Jerusalem.

The house of God is where you get refreshed week after week.

We have a Myanmar service that meets at midnight to two in the morning. Because most of them work at restaurants and they come after work. After working you normally need their rest. But it is where they get their strength. We sometimes say the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, but here they get their strength.

8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

This is the last part of Psalms 84. He is talking about divine protection, favour and shield. Verses 11 and 12 says those who walk blameless gets divine protection.

I experienced this once. I was sending my son to kindergarten and was on my way to work. As I was driving I saw what was like a landslide. And I stopped and saw a crane crashed down in front of me and when I got out of my car the people told me I was fortunate. So I made a police report. It came out in the papers.

A few days after that I spoke to a Baptist pastor and he asked me if it was me. He asked if I'm okay. And I said I was reading Psalms 91 that morning and was very alert. He said what! Because that morning he was reading Psalms 91 and he wanted to call me. God's divine protection.

I want to end with verse 10.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Spurgeon puts it together for us.

"One Day" - Days in God's courts. Days of hearing, of repenting, of believing, of adoration, of communion, of revival.

"in your courts" - To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Saviour, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Ghost in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which the world cannot understand.

"Door Keeper" - Depicts Humility and the zealousness to serve in the House of the Lord. The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless.

• Charles Spurgeon

Young people what are you doing this morning. The elderly what are you doing today. You are making your memories and make them good.

I remember I went to the Doulos ship and I was all fired up. A white man made a call if anyone would want to join this mission.  And I put up my hands but this man behind me tap me and said brother, you are taking your SPM exam.

I loved going to the house of God. What was I doing? I was making memories. We will declare this morning what the Psalmist declared. Better is one day in the he courts of God and a thousand elsewhere.

Saved to Serve

Sis Melinda Song

INTRODUCTION:

Galatians 5:1, 13-14, NIV

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

1. We Are Called To Freedom

Braveheart, tells the story of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace who led a war against England during the 13th century. One of the most memorable quote from the movie is: “…they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!”

Wallace was captured. Just before he was hung, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians, he indicated to the magistrate that he had something to say. With his last breath he cried, “Freedom!”

Freedom implies that there was a former captivity, oppression or bondage, e.g. Israel in slavery in Egypt or under the Roman rule. Wars have been fought and countless lives lost for freedom’s sake Freedom is the prevailing cry of the world today.

We are called to freedom, yet Christianity has often been perceived as repressive and an enemy of freedom with a lot of dos and don’ts.

As a young Christian, my sister and I always felt guilty and condemned whenever we went to the movies. I gave up dancing while others burn their records. Like the Galatians, we obsessed with rules and regulations. 

But true Christianity is a relationship based on love and grace. Those things we do or don’t do is out of our love and relationship with Jesus, not because we cannot do so.

Biblically, freedom is primarily relational. We were called to freedom when God called us into a relationship with himself through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Luke 4:18, NIV

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

John 8:34-36, NIV

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

You are only as free as you are in right relationship with the living God. The more vibrant and intimate your relationship with the living God, the more freedom you will enjoy.

Now that you are free, what next? Paul offers two ways to manage our freedom – one negatively and the other positively.

2. Negatively - Freedom To NOT Indulge The Flesh

Notice it is God who calls. This is a reminder that God is our Master. Our freedom is won at a great price so it is not a license to sin.

Paul discusses the life of license thoroughly in Romans 6. After we are saved by the grace of God, can we go ahead and live in sin? And Paul’s answer to that question is “absolutely not. God forbid that we do.” You cannot live in sin and be a Christian on your way to heaven.

You may fall into sin, but you will quickly get out of it! You repent and ask God’s forgiveness. It is evident from the Lord's prayer (Matt. 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4) that confession of sin should be a regular part of the Christian life, and 1 John 1:9 advocates repentance that is an ongoing part of our sanctification (not for salvation but for restoration of fellowship).  You do not use God’s grace of deliverance to continue to live in sin. 

Biblical freedom is not, “Now I can do what I want.” Biblical freedom is, “Now I can do what God wants.”

It comes with responsibility and boundaries and we are accountable for the way we use this freedom.

In most of Paul’s writings, “flesh” is not our body, but our sinful nature which is selfish, self-centred and self-serving. Later in the chapter, Paul goes on to give a list of appetites and attitudes that characterises the deeds of the flesh in verses 19-20 of Galatians Chapter 5.

Even though the flesh is crucified with Christ, it is not altogether eliminated. We still live in these sinful, fallen bodies; we still inhabit this sinful, fallen world and we all still live in “this present evil age” (Gal. 1:4).

So what is the solution? Paul says, “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (v. 16). We can resist the inclinations to indulge in the flesh when we are Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-controlled and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Although Jesus said this in the context of money, it is true that no one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). Humans may think they are autonomous beings but the reality is that all of us are slaves. It is a matter of who our master is. Therefore we are to submit and surrender to the Holy Spirit instead of to the flesh.

We should channel our freedom in the service of Jesus Christ, our King, our Lord and our Master.

3. Positively - Freedom To Serve

Luke 4:8, NIV
⁸ Jesus answered [the devil], “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

In response to God’s unfathomable love to us expressed in Jesus Christ, you and I are called to love and serve God. This is only possible because we have been set free from the bondage of sin by Jesus.

Note that God does not need our service.

Acts 17:24-25, NIV
²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

But He has chosen to use us in His service.

Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are not saved BY works but we are saved FOR works.

Why? Because serving is an important component of growth. Serving is listed as one of the six most important disciplines for Christian growth and maturity in the book “Six Habits of Highly Effective Christians.”

Ephesians 4:11-16, NIV

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Our church theme is to Grow in the Word, Serve with Love and Transform Lives.

·     Serving offers an opportunity or outlet for us to channel out what we have learnt or received.

·     Freely we have received so freely we ought to give.

·     Maturity is for ministry. We are saved to serve, healed to help, blessed to be a blessing.

·     Compare the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea in Israel. Both have water coming into them but only Galilee gives out water. It is a vibrant living sea. But the Dead Sea is just that. It doesn’t have any outlet; it does not give out. You and I risk dying, risk stagnation in our faith, if we don’t give out.

·     Service leads to transformed lives.

Most of us are well grounded in our faith, have a good grasp of the Gospel, know what God wants of us. We need to serve: to stretch our faith, to develop our spiritual muscles.

"Growth leads to service and serving leads to growth – it's deeply connected," says Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research.

Serving God is expected but here Paul says that our freedom is a…

3.1 Freedom To Serve One Another

Colossians 3:23-24, NIV

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

We grow and the church grows when we cease to look inwards and begin to serve one another. It’s all about body ministry.

At the Damascus Road encounter (Acts 9:4), have you ever wondered why Jesus said Paul was persecuting Him, when he was in fact persecuting the church? That’s because the church is the body of Christ on earth. Therefore, the visible evidence of service to God is seen in our service to one another.

Unfortunately the default setting for humans is to be selfish. We don’t have the time or energy to serve others because we’re preoccupied with our own agendas, dreams, and pleasures. Only a small minority of people use their lives to serve others, but Jesus said, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35, LB)

Very often the church is considered a commodity we consume and not a place where we should give of ourselves. Such self-centered, self-absorbed thinking hinders us from experiencing the fullness of God and the joy found in making a difference in the life of another person.

Too often when we are looking for a church to belong to, we look for a church that meets my needs, where I feel comfortable, which will be a blessing to me. Maturing Christ-followers don’t ask, ‘How will my needs be met?’; don’t say, ‘This church isn’t doing anything for me!’ Maturing disciples of Jesus ask, ‘Where can I serve, who needs my help, how can I be a blessing?’

In the early days of TOP we used to have revival meetings on Saturday evenings where new believers run the service. Everyone did something. Even the millionaire helped to arrange chairs and distributed the song-books.

It became a platform for us to discover our gifts and for the Pastor to identify budding leaders. Now we do it in the cells.

Serving is not natural in our modern, individualistic culture. But if we aren’t serving, we aren’t living life to the full; at least not the Jesus’ Way.

That is why Albert Schweitzer said, "The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve".

3.2 Freedom To Serve One Another Humbly

Paul uses a different form of the word for servant here. In fact in almost every place where the word servant is used in the New Testament it is the Greek word “doulos” which means a “slave, bondman, man of servile condition.” 

Philippians 2:3-8, NIV

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

When we look into the life of Jesus we find Him living a life of servanthood.

·     He said emphatically that He came not “to be served but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). Here, diakonéō is used for the word serve. The basic meaning of diakonéō is a servant who runs errands. It also is the root for the position of “Deacon,” in the local church (diákonos, i.e. Deacon).

·     Jesus says to His followers in Matthew 20:26, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

·     Then, on the night of His arrest, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, leaving them with a final teaching to serve one another: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (see John 13:12–17).

·     A foot washing ceremony can be very meaningful, but far more important than any ceremony is putting into practice the principle of serving others. Let us not forget that our calling is to serve others not to expect others to serve us.

There is no place for pride in service/ministry because:

1.   Everything we have – talent, time, treasure, our very breath – comes from God.

2.   The gifts of the Spirit are special abilities provided by the Holy Spirit to Christians for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. They are simply God enabling believers to do what He has called us to do. The Greek word most frequently used for spiritual gifts is charismata, a word that relates to the grace (charis) of God. 

But that does not mean we don’t appreciate or encourage those who are serving.

A word of warning here. It is very easy for us to only serve God in one area of ministry. Do not limit God. Let Him stretch you. We should not miss out on other opportunities to serve God.

Do you see a need in your church? Do what you can to meet it. Is there a position in a ministry that is vacant? Pray as to whether God would have you fill it. If we seek God's will and obey His leading, He will always equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need.

"Growth leads to service and serving leads to growth – it's deeply connected," says Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research.

To that I add, “Humility leads to service and serving leads to humility – it’s deeply connected.”

3.3 Freedom To Serve One Another Humbly In Love

We are a T.E.A.M. All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit working together are needed to produce the full potential of the church. Since they are gifts of grace, their use must be controlled by the rule of love - the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13).

1 Corinthians 13:1-3, NIV

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Ephesians 4:11-16, NIV

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The emphasis on love is all-important because it is not law on the outside but love on the inside that makes the difference. Christianity works because it changes people from the inside out.

It was love that motivated God to send his Son to the earth. True love sees the need and then moves to meet the need even at great personal cost. Love of Christ and love for Christ will change our heart and bring obedience.

If duty, obligation or necessity is our attitude toward God and toward serving we will never have the heart for serving. We serve out of an overflow of love. Very often it starts as a duty, that grows into desire and finally becomes a delight.

Without love, you’ll end up serving for the wrong reasons: trying to earn the approval of others, trying to run away from your pain, trying to remedy your guilt, trying to impress God. Service motivated by these illegitimate reasons is bound to leave you burned out and ­bitter in the end.

A church that is not full of love and service will turn inwards like a cancer to destroy and consume itself – biting, devouring and destroying each other (Gal. 5:15). If we are serving one another because we love Jesus, then there will not be any cause for divisions and fighting.

"Growth leads to service and serving leads to growth – it's deeply connected," says Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research.

To that I have added, “Humility leads to service and serving leads to humility – it's deeply connected.”

And now I add on, “Love leads to service and serving leads to love – it's deeply connected.”

CONCLUSION

8 Blessings We Experience By Serving Others (Source: https://newspring.cc/articles/8-blessings-we-get-from-serving)

1. Serving allows us to discover and develop our spiritual gifts.

2. Serving allows us to experience miracles.

3. Serving allows us to experience the joy and peace that comes from obedience.

4. Serving helps us to be more like Jesus.

5. Serving surrounds us with other Christians who can help us follow Jesus.

6. Serving increases our faith.

7. Serving allows us to experience God’s presence in new ways.

8. Serving is good for your soul.

We make all sorts of rational explanations for not serving but the reality is the Lord doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called.

God wants to use you to make a difference in His kingdom.

May each and every one of us aspire to and encourage each other to Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered and Spirit-led service.

Hebrews 10:24, NIV

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

Serving one another is not the main goal, serving Jesus is. Jesus said in John 12:26, “My Father will honour the one who serves me.” Someday I want to stand before Jesus Christ and I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” and it will be worth it all.

Will you dedicate yourselves to God’s service in this local assembly, taking practical opportunities to carry out your calling?

For some of us God's Spirit is showing you or reminding you that you are not free. You know you are in bondage this morning. You can feel the chains weighing you down.

Well, I am overjoyed to tell you this morning that God wants to, and God can, set you free. And He can do that when you believe in what Jesus already did on the cross.

Don't you want to be free this morning? If you do, reach out in faith. Put your trust in Christ. 

The Assurance of Providence - the Battle of Wills

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

I'm born in the year of the rooster. I'm going to retire in the year of the rooster. I'm also saved in the year of the rooster, so the year of the rooster is very special to me.

I want to begin with a little bit about the Ang Pow. It's a Chinese New Year tradition. It was started in the Sung dynasty and it was meant to be about the red color of the packet. That was more important than what's in the packet. Today, the symbolism of the red of the packet is less important than what's in the packet. The red symbolises many good things.

For many of us Chinese when we look into the coming year there is that anticipation of prosperity. We have this feeling that it will be more prosperous than the previous year.

The Jews also on the Passover night had the blood of the lamb painted on the doorposts. I want to look at the colour red. The title I want to speak today is on the Assurance of Providence. I want to say we have this assurance not because we are smart or capable but because we are the children of the almighty God.

I have two friends who has GAD (general anxiety disorder). We live in stressful times and in times like these the stress can get to us. The main cause of anxiety is the word uncertainty. It's that uncertainty that bugs each and everyone of us.

What is anxiety? You go to the office and you hear of VSS and you wonder if you still have a job soon. Your children's grades come down suddenly and you wonder what's happening with them. Or you have a pain in your back and you went for a medical check-up but the doctors are still not sure what's wrong. All these are uncertainties that causes anxiety.

Psalms 31:14-15

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

This was at a time when David was being hunted. It speaks of a time when he was hunted by Saul and his friends all abandoned him. It was then he penned this Psalm. The word trust is always connected to trusting God. Verse 15 is where David mentions the Providence. God is in control of human affairs.

For example, I can give you every single incident of your daily lives. Today you are here because of Providence. It is the exact opposite of coincidence. Where it is the permissive will of God, even if the person is not here today, God is still with them. Good or bad, we fall under the sovereign will of God. God is in control but God also permits evil. God has that foreknowledge and control over it.

Today I stand here at the pulpit because he has permitted it or he had prescribed it. God is in total control.

The key is whether  the providence is good or bad for you. By the end at 12.15pm you will know.

In these two verses, King David was asking God to deliver him from his enemies. He was praying for the  providence of deliverance. The certainty come from the believe that God will deliver you from your adverse circumstances.

Matthew 6:30-33

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew struck a chord during those times. Many who listened to Jesus are people who are struggling to put food on the table. These are basic provisions. Matthew quotes the words of Jesus and he said don’t worry about food, clothing or shelter. That is the promise of provision.

As children of God most of us have more than enough. Amen? God's promise is that he will fulfill all our needs. That his children will not beg for bread. But God has not promised to satisfy our greed. Most of the times we are so anxious and we worry because of greed.

God bless us but we have to be wise and be good stewards and we will be alright. Two things come out very strongly.

You of little faith. Sometimes we have this uncertainty that things will not turn out well, it is an issue of faith.

When David said I trust in you, he also said you are my God. It's the same here, it says seek first his kingdom. Providence is working in our favour because we are the children of God. But to have that certainty need two things. To be able to believe that God is acting in your favour. But there is another by product of that faith. When you believe in God, it is that faith that draws you to him.

You will find the issue of faith is about where God is and who God is.

Luke 17:17-19

17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

The compassion of Jesus  was on them and all 10 were cleansed. Only one came back to thank him. What is verse 18 teaching us? God is not an answering or vending machine. Someone you go to, to get whatever you need and then you go away and only coming back when you need him again. He wants to fellowship with you.

The nine who were cleansed but cabut (went away) broke the heart of our Lord. God wants to fellowship with us. The circumstances of life are points where you see his provisions but also points where he wants to meet with you.

When you want to have that assurance of providential favour in your life, the rest in your soul, you must have faith that God is working all the time that all things will work for good but he desires that you come to him not just for his blessings but for who he is.

I've a Christian friend who asked me if he can do Buddhist meditation or yoga to calm himself. The fact that he had to ask this shows he has not found rest in God. Outside the church there are so many who has not the peace of God and today as children of God we are in a position to tell them "let your heart not be troubled" because Jesus can give them a peace that surpasses all understanding.

You can only impart what you have. If you come to me for big bucks sorry I cannot help you. Not that I have no money, but if you're talking about money for business I cannot help you. But if you say you worry or cannot sleep, you can give me a call. Hopefully don't everyone call me.

The peace of God is our heritage. It is something we can only have if we have the experience of that assurance working in our life. I'm a science person so there's the theory and the experience.

Many times in our desperate situation we cry to God but when God deliver us the house become quiet. If you look at faith in Hebrews 12:2, Jesus  is the source of our faith.

Hebrews 12:2

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He is the perfecter of our faith. It is both an event and a process. The day we accept Jesus  is an event. We are changed from being an orphan to become the children of God. Someone who was helpless to becoming children of God.

That faith should keep on growing. Until the time when you meet with every problem your faith has surpassed it and you remain cool and calm, where the peace of God will rest in you. A peace that surpasses all understanding.

Every time we talk about prayer, there is a place for petitional prayer but have you practiced conversational prayer or have stopped contemplative prayer? That is what Jesus uses to perfect our faith. How do we experience this faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

The assurance of providence provides a certainty that will remove any anxiety.

This is only half the story. For non Christians they cannot understand providence. For those who do not believe in God providence does not gel but faith does. They do what they can and then it fails. They say what can be done. It's fate.

But for someone who believes in God, you talk to the person if things don't work out, they will say what to do, it's God's will.

But as a Christian when you talk about the will of God, we may think it's not the best. If the person cannot accept that the will of God is not the best for him, how do you tell the person to rest in the providence of God. I call it the battle of wills.

When a person becomes a child of God, he will have on one side, God's will and on the other side his will or dreams. When a person accepts Christ on Sunday morning don't expect him to be like Paul on Monday morning. He will start with a mix of God's will and his will. But as he grows, God's will grow while his will lessens. Maturity comes with how much God's will is actualized in your life.

Providence will finally overcome and shine above everything else.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Paul says you are struggling but if you still think as the world thinks, you will battle with God's will. Then only you can says God's will is perfect.

Then you will not say "what to do? God's will" and instead say, praise the Lord, God's ways are better than my ways and his thoughts higher than my thoughts.

I want to tell you a little story.

When we talk about the life of faith, we say we have a problem and we pray. No answer. We then ask our cell leader to pray with us. Then another week goes by, we persevere. Then God answers. Your faith is now even more than your cell leader's faith.

When Daniel went into the lion's den you can tell Daniel was praising God. Who has more faith, the man in the lion's mouth or the man who has been delivered from the lion's mouth. Many of us our faith gets a booster when God answers our prayer but not when God has yet to answer. Don't Praise God for the suffering but praise God in our suffering because we believe God has his purposes beyond what we can comprehend.

What we talk about faith the Chinese calls heaven's will. The best illustration is from the Chinese novel, the romance of the three Kingdoms. One of the wisest in the novel at 80 years old, he cornered his enemies and burned the army. The general of the enemy was going to commit suicide and that wise man was smiling with victory in sight. That time was the driest of a 7 year drought and while he was basking in his victory, a heavy downpour came and the fire was snuffed out and the enemy escaped. He looked up to heaven and said heaven's will cannot be opposed. And in the movie he vomited blood, never recovered and he died.

Compare him to our great man Joseph of Genesis. Seventeen years old and was sold as a slave. Met Potiphar wife's and was thrown into prison. By the time he came out of prison he was 30 years old. It was a long long time. And at the end this was how he saw God's providence.

Genesis 50:19-20

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Joseph was someone who had a strong grasp of the providence of God. What came out of Joseph all the time was God. It is the basis for Romans 8:28. God at times permit it but God did not stop there. He will use the circumstances to turn it around for his propose. The perfecter of your faith. From that incident came David and from David, Jesus.

I want to encourage you that no matter what happens in your life, his providence is not only for your good but because he has a greater purpose.

I'm a chess player and you must have a game plan. God has a game plan. His provisions always have a part in his kingdom. God has his jigsaw pieces all laid up. We cannot see it.

God is not a slave driver. He does not use us and not care about us. He is a king with Kingdom purposes and he cares about his citizens. But more than a king be is also our Father and he cares and his work in our lives is part of that jigsaw that has a far greater purpose than those who don't know God.

The passage about the battle of will is best represented in Matthew 26. Jesus is both a perfect God and a perfect man. The Bible says Jesus was hungry and thirsty. He was 100% man. His humanity at this time shows his suffering was real. He was on the cross as the perfect man. In that perfect humanity Jesus approached God the Father and prayed.

Matthew 26:39

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

But what is most beautiful is that he said not my will but your will. Your will be done. In KJV, thy will be done shows the graciousness of God's providence in our life. The will be done has brought us to where we are, saved, to be sanctified and glorified. God is always good. You may not understand it but if you can just cry, thy will be done and you will be most blessed.

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