God's Work by God's Power

Pastor Melinda Song

Zechariah 4:1-6 (NIV)

1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep.2 He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

INTRODUCTION

In 538 B.C. the conqueror of Babylon, Cyrus of Persia, issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Led by Zerubbabel (also known as Sheshbazzar in Ezra 1:8), about 50,000 Jews returned home to rebuild the temple but the temple still remained an uncompleted ruin after 16 years.

God then raised up the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to remind His people of His promise and to stir up the people from their slumber so that they would begin again to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem.

Zechariah’s His name means ‘Yahweh Remembers’ and he encouraged the people with the fact that God remembers His covenant.

In the vision Zechariah saw a golden lampstand. This lampstand could not be the seven-branched menorah. It was probably a cylindrical pedestal, made out of gold, with a bowl on top. The bowl, or, in some translations, the flared feature on top of the column, had seven lamps, each with seven pinches, or spouts, to hold seven wicks.

Besides the lampstand, Zechariah also saw “two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left” (v. 3). In verse 12, the prophet asks: “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

The word “branches” could also be “clusters” of fruit on the olive trees. Presumably, “the golden oil” from the crushed olives is channelled to the lamps through these two pipes in order to keep them burning.

The prophet asked the angel for an interpretation of the vision three times (vv. 4, 11, 12) because he had never seen a lampstand with a reservoir, and certainly not one with self-filling lamps that are fed with a constant supply of olive oil from two olive trees.

The angel doesn’t actually answer Zechariah’s first request for an explanation. Instead he gave a word for governor Zerubbabel. It is this: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. (v. 6).

Any work this group of returnees from exile were going to do would only be accomplished by the power of the Spirit of God. They had tried to rebuild the temple by their own strength but failed (Ezra 3:8–13). Relying solely on human resources, human wisdom and human strength, their efforts were worthless.

Only God Can Do God’s Work! The vision and the promise that God gave Zechariah in the sixth century B.C. is applicable for us today.

First we have to recognise that there will be…

A. THE PROBLEM(S)

Zechariah 4:7 (NIV)

“What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” 

Zerubbabel was the people’s leader in Jerusalem. He had the responsibility to finish the work of rebuilding the temple but the work had ground to a halt. Before him lay the mountain of rubble that used to be the once glorious Temple of Solomon. The task seemed impossible.

We cannot pursue God's eternal purpose without encountering a "great mountain.”

- lack of finance or human resources

- obstacles  

- threats

- opposition   

- discouragement

- doubt/unbelief

There will be problems but the mountain will be levelled. Zerubbabel must trust in…

B. THE PROMISE

1. It is NOT BY MIGHT!

The Old Testament uses the word MIGHT more than 100 times to refer to collective strength and resources of a group, such as the armies of Pharoah or of Israel or of Babylon.

In other words, the Temple is not going to be rebuilt by the people pulling their collective strength to get the job done.

a. Not by might of NUMBERS

When Solomon built the temple, he employed 150,000 men. He had 3,000 foremen on the job. Only 50,000 people had returned from Babylon, including the aged, women and children.

There is nothing wrong with the mega-church concept. We want to thank God for the overwhelming number of people at the Christmas service. It is always a joy to worship with a big congregation, to have new people worshipping with us, who will eventually make TOP their home church.

And we have to guard against inverted pride in small numbers - where people think they're wonderful because they're small.

God can and God will do things on a large scale, and we rejoice to see many souls saved for the kingdom of God but it is not in the strength of numbers that blessing comes.

BIBLE ILLUSTRATION: Gideon had 32,000 soldiers which when compared with 135,000 Midianites is not much. Then God comes along and says: 'Get rid of your soldiers down to 10,000 men', and he sends all the ones who are fearful home. Then through another strange exercise - which there are whole lot of different interpretations of - God whittles down his numbers to 300. 300 versus 135,000 but Gideon routs the enemies of the Lord, 'The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!'

What a lesson to us! We are very numbers-orientated but take PPN for example, whether few or many, what does it matter, if God is in the midst?

TOP is not a big church, neither are we a small church but if we put our trust in numbers. Our trust must be in God alone.

Psalm 20:7

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 

b. Not by might of MONEY

Solomon also had an unlimited funds. They had meagre funds. The task seemed impossible.

It is good to belong to a church which is able to pay its bills. Thank God for all of you who gave to the Giving Christmas. The final collection came to RM9,600. Do you know why God sent RM1,600 over our target? God already had in mind 16 secondary school students who had no longer qualifies for our Love Project which is only for primary school students.

Next week is our Harvest Mission. God is on the move in TOP so prepare your hearts to sow into God’s kingdom. If we think that giving generously is enough, we are missing the point. Bro. Jason our Missions Director also has plans for mission trips in 2018. And the Church Board has designated funds for local social and community works

God’s work will not lack God’s provision but if we are putting our trust in money instead of in God, then we will be rebuked.

“NOT BY MIGHT,” says the Lord Almighty because He is the ALL MIGHTY God.

1. It is NOT BY MIGHT, and

2. It is NOT BY POWER!

The Old Testament uses the word POWER more than 100 times to refer to the strength of individual men and women. The Temple is not going to be rebuilt by Zerubbabel’s master organisation or by the skills and abilities of any one craftsman.

We must not put our trust in our own power or our own efforts.

a. Not by power of HUMAN WISDOM

Our education, our clever ideas, our brilliant schemes, our ingenious slogans won’t achieve anything by themselves. The Bible says that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19).

There is no amount of human intellect or skills sufficient to accomplish the work of God effectively. It is not by our might, power, or abilities, but by the Spirit of God, that we accomplish God’s plans and purposes for us in life.

b. Not by power of HUMAN STRENGTH (HARD WORK)

Don’t get me wrong. There is a place for human wisdom and hard work. And we can’t just sit back and put our feet up and expect God to do the work without us playing our part. But if we put our trust in human wisdom or hard work, instead of in God, nothing will happen either!

1 Corinthians 1:24b-31

…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

On another thought: All of this means that none of us should think for a second that we can leave the work to other people. We cannot say, “Here I am Lord, send somebody else.” The work of building the church is not just the responsibility of a few “special Christians”, but of EVERY Christian.

ILLUSTRATION: Once upon a time there were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.

But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it.

But Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody’s job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody did the job that Anybody could have done in the first place.

Very often in church, Nobody does the job that Anybody could have done in the first place. God wants to use each and every one of us.

There is no task too insignificant or too small. The Lord Almighty asked: "“Who despises the day of small things? " (Zechariah 4:10). God’s number is infinity so "little is much when God is in it!"

All of us CAN do something for God because it’s not by might, not by power…

BUT BY MY SPIRIT says the Lord Almighty.

C. THE POWER

The olive oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 4:18; Acts 10:38; Heb. 1:9; 1 Jn. 2:20). The bowl of oil fed by pipes from the olive trees symbolised God’s inexhaustible and abundant power through the Holy Spirit. Human effort without the supply of the “oil” of the Holy Spirit would burn itself out.

What the golden olive oil was to the seven fluted oil lamps the Spirit of God is to all aspects of any work done in His name; God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s provision and power. Those who resist this principle will learn the hard way that they will be powerless to do God’s work.

ILLUSTRATION: THE POWER MUST BE USED

A young missionary, Herbert Jackson, was given a car to help him in his work. The car was a major asset, but it had one difficulty—it would not start without a push or a jump-start. Jackson devised a system to cope with the car’s inability to start. When he was ready to leave his home, he went to a nearby school and asked permission to bring some of the children out of class to help him push-start his car.

Throughout the day, he was careful to always park on a hill or to leave his engine running when he stopped for short visits.

For two years the young missionary used what he believed was an ingenious method to enable him to use the car.

When poor health forced the Jackson family to leave the field, a new missionary arrived to lead the mission. When Jackson explained to the new missionary his methods for starting the car, the young man opened the hood and began inspecting.

“Why, Dr. Jackson,” he interrupted, “I believe the only trouble is the loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.

For two years, Dr. Jackson had used his own devices and endured needless trouble. The power to start the car was there all the time—it only needed to be connected.

(Source: Living Beyond Your Capacity, Paul Chappell)

Look again at the lampstand.

Lampstands in the Bible signify testimony, or the witness of God on the earth. Here it represents Judah, but it also represents the church in the New Testament. In Revelation chapter 1 through 3, lampstands are mentioned several times, and of course Jesus is walking through seven lampstands representing the seven churches of Asia Minor. 

1)     We have the Fountain Head of Power.   "A lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it" (Zechariah 4:2). God the Father is the Fountain Head of the Spirit's power

Luke 11:13

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

Luke 24:49

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.

2)     We have the Fullness of Power. The "seven pipes" (Zechariah 4:2). Seven is the number of completeness and fullness. Some scholars believe that there were 7 times 7, or 49 pipes! All this and more is promised to us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

3)     We have the Function of Power. The "seven lamps" (Zechariah 4:2). These lamps had one function: to give light.

TOP is a lampstand, a lighthouse to the community. The church exists, and likewise every Christian, to shine in a dark world (Matthew 5:16).

4)     We have the Flow of Power.  "Two olive trees" (Zechariah 4:3). Historically, these trees represent Joshua the Priest and Zerubbabel the King (or ruler) (Zechariah 4). Ultimately, the olive trees symbolize Christ our Lord as Priest and King.

It is only by a personal and perennial relationship to Jesus as Priest (calling for a life of prayer and intercession) and King (calling for a life of dedication) can the endless supply of oil be poured out “so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Phil. 2:15).

So, the bottom line is that all our living and shining is not by might nor by power (in the flesh), but by God's Spirit.  This must now be our corporate and personal lifestyle - living and shining by the Spirit in every circumstance and at all cost.

CONCLUSION

When Zechariah preached to the people, Christ had not yet gone to the Cross and ascended to heaven, and yet He could assure the people of a constant supply of His Spirit. Today Christ has completed the work He came to do. He has risen from the dead and He has ascended up to the right hand of God, and He has poured down the Spirit to strengthen His church with His might.

If Zerubbabel must believe the word of Zechariah, so must we. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

How does Christ strengthen us? He strengthens us by His Spirit and by His Word.

Let us not be discouraged by the problems which confront us day by day. Let us not be discouraged by our own inability and weaknesses—for when we are weak, then we are strong. 

Let us, rather, be much in prayer waiting upon the Lord. Let us be dependent upon Him. Let us seek by His grace to be obedient to His Word and calling. 

In Him and through Him we shall attempt great things for God. We can not do God's Work without Him. He has chosen not to do His work without us.

Therefore we need to get together.

It is not by might

It is not by power

But by His Spirit.

Dawning of a New Season

Rev Wong Yin Ming

Sr Pastor of Subang Jaya Assembly

I'd like to share with you on the topic the dawning of a new season.

I believe we have different seasons in life. And in Malaysia we have only one season, the hot season and the hot season. And in life we also have different seasons and in organisations, they have what they call life cycles. And the church also have life cycles. God can lead a church from one season of growth to the next season of growth.

And the transition period is very important. I've gone though two churches where they merge to become one. The transition period is crucial and determines the success. If the transition went well, there's a lot of excitement, a lot of joy and a lot of unity. But if the transition didn't work out so well, there is going to be a lot of challenges. But even so, when we go through transitions, we believe that it will be good.

I want to bring to you a historical passage that talks about a transition of leadership and also thr transition of the people of a nation.

1. God is in control of every season.

Joshua 1:1-2 (NIV)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them —to the Israelites.

God spoke to Joshua, Moses my servant is dead. And when he talked about Moses being dead, he was talking about the passing of an old era. Moses is dead and God now is bringing forth a new leader. The children of Israel was also going through a transition. They have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and they are about to now enter into the promise land.

The children of Israel was going through a new season after they left the wilderness. There is also a new leader that is coming. The new season is a season for the new leader. Moses has served his time. In the last 40 years, he has served his time. It's not that Moses was no good, it's just that his era is over. 

I believe the Israelites wanted Moses.  But in God's wisdom he did not allow them to find the body of Moses. Joseph was embalmed but not Moses in God's wisdom. If not they will always look back on Moses. God wants them to look at the glory of the new leader.

When a new leader comes in, there will be uncertainty. They would probably prefer Moses to lead them into the promise land because they are familiar with him. To let Moses bring them in then only appoint a new leader. Now there are two transition, a new leader and a new place.

In the midst of uncertainty God is in control of every season.

God told them to get ready to cross over. It signifies the beginning of a new era. Joshua will be the one to bring upon them the plan and purposes of God. God's presence will be with them.

And God told them that he is the same God of Moses that led them out of Egypt and is the same God that will lead them into the promise land. The leader may change but the plan of God has not changed. Moses is not the one that planned the future of Israel but God.

I want to share something personal. The senior pastor of Subang Assembly announced his resignation after 16 years. It was a very unique situation. He resigned and took on our outreach so I became the sole senior pastor. I came before God and said I do not know how to lead this church and I felt the weight of responsibility.

I remembered God used this passage where Jesus spoke to Peter that he will built his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. But God spoke to me that I will build my church and the weight just left me. It is he that will build his church, not me and I knew that I will not journey alone and God is in control.

Churches will have good seasons and bad seasons but he is still in control and will lead the church through the seasons of change. Before God can move the church he has to prepare the leader. And equip the leader.

2. God will raise up a new leader for the new season.

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (NIV)

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Just as God was with Moses, God was with Joshua.

Deuteronomy 34:9 (NIV)

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

The people listened to Joshua. God himself personally encouraged Joshua. Three times. Be strong and courageous. Joshua is much younger and they have not seen Joshua done any miracles yet. They were not so sure but the leader himself must show courage. If the leader is not courageous the people will be shaken in fear. Just like any army, the General must be strong. They will follow. God is encouraging your new pastors to be strong and courageous.

When the leader had to go like Moses, God will raise new leaders. When Elijah had to go the mantle fell on Elisha. Elisha split the water just like Elijah and when the people saw that they recognised him because he did the same miracle as Elijah. They accept not because Elisha told them about Elijah but because they saw him doing what he was called to do. He did it himself. Then the people recognised.

Pastors come and pastors go but the church will remain. Because the pastor is not the church. The people is the church. Pastors are there to equip the leaders to do the work of the ministry.

God chose Moses to lead the people out of Egypt but God chose Joshua to lead the people into the promise land. Not that Moses is no good. And God did not intended the people to compare. It is God who decides.

I had high respect for the founding pastor of my church. I never speak ill of our founding pastor because he laid the foundation. But all pastors will be different. You cannot please everyone. When I first took over the church we had two pastors. They must be wondering whether these two jokers can do it. He was so relational while I'm tasked oriented. But together we build the church and the church grew. Together we embarked on our first building we called our own.

One of the debate in church is the gender of the leader. The spiritual gift God has given is never based on gender. There were lady judges and pastors. The spiritual gifts are given to the leaders to his pleasure. It has never been gender biased. The gifting and calling has always been there.

How I became a senior pastor was orchestrated by God. I seldom share this story. I've shared only once in Romania because it was a man-led church.

I had no idea that the founding pastor was leaving. We were both BCM lecturers so we helped teach. We were there with the church before we took over the church. We did not get involved with the church ministry and administration. One day when I went to the church, the Sunday morning a clear voice spoke to me, I want you to take over the church. I could not believe what I heard. I was thinking maybe it's the devil. I brushed it aside and buried it at the back of my mind. I thought it's just a crazy thought.

It was months before the pastor announced his resignation. When he announced that thought came back to me. I told God it was not possible. We are in an urban setting and many are professionals. Well educated professionals. This is a man's world. For them to accept a lady senior pastor is something that will not happen. But there was this stirring within me. The search committee started searching and invited some pastors but none was accepted.

They then called Pastor Lim and he approached me and asked why don't you come in and we do it together. There was a lot of uncertainty and praying. The church was searching for one pastor and how to say we have two? The church called an EGM and we were both voted in. Pastor Lim's wife is also a credentialed minister but Pastor Lim called me and not the wife so it has to be God.

We enjoyed our ministry together to build the church. Of course there are differences but it does not split the church. Because we are different but in the end we worked together.

After Pastor Lim left to lead an outreach, we embarked on the second building. Pastor Lim handled the first building because as a man he knew more. I knew nothing about building a building but when it was decided I went ahead. I didn't know what I was getting into but we successfully completed the building and is enjoying it. No one left the church after the new building was completed.

When God affirms you he will also open doors for you. I moved into the EXCO and also the Council.  During our time a lot of Bible students married each other. But it's rare for a pastor to marry a layman. We had to go for counselling but after us now many lady pastors also marry laymen.

We have a Love Pastor Fellowship just like Penang. When the Chairman wanted to leave they were looking for someone and everyone was looking at me. All of them are men pastors except for another lady also from AOG yet they accepted me as chairman. YB Hannah Yeah of Subang Jaya looked at me and said you lah.

The calling and the gifting of God is not gender biased. Bil Hybels who runs one of the top churches in America recently appointed a lead lady pastor and a pastor/teacher for Willow Creek.

I just shared with you my journey and it is over 20 years and I'm still doing it. Whenever people talk about Subang Assembly, people just say it's a church with a lady pastor. The church has to affirm the new leader.

3. God will bring you over to the new season.

The people had to know that this is the new season. The people must not dwell in the past because Moses is dead. To cross over to Jordan the people has to be prepared.

Be prepared.

Be committed.

Be supportive.

Joshua 1:16-18 (NIV)

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous! ”

Now they support and affirm Joshua. And they say what God said to Joshua. Only be strong and courageous. I pray that you all will be likewise. And Joshua led them into the promise land. Do not be like the people of Moses. They complain and murmur. Joshua generation was different. They supported their leader and crossed the Jordan as a united force.

Affirmation and encouragement motivates our leaders. Give them your ultimate support. Not just verbal but practical. Walk alongside. Not support from behind.

New season bring new changes. New pastors will have new approach. We must engage the younger generation and raise them to be part of the team. The church have to change with the times. A new leader can bring about new change. But not just new leaders, but the churches now must engage the younger generation.

My encouragement to you is to engage the younger generation to be in the team. To be a part of the team. The church at large must change and we must change with the times. Help the young generation to embrace the new season by involving them and empowering them. You must trust them and have confidence in them. Allow young leaders to have a say. We have a team of young pastors and assistant pastors. Age 29, 30, 36 and 37. All very young. Our church is in a season where we want to empower younger people.

Our young pastors take turns to preach and conduct communion. They do everything we do. But we also wants to embrace the younger members. Because our pastors are young, they see from the millennial point of view. And we baby boomers are trying hard to understand the millennials. We learn from the younger generation. We learn from them how to reach the young.

I took them to a Hillsong event at Subang Jaya and there they talked about how you prepare the people for the service. From the beginning, the moment the visitor enters into the church, right until the service starts and everything has a checklist. And we went back and walked around our church and I asked what do you all think about our church and they say, it's not warm enough. Because our church is a factory building even though it was renovated. The wall is beige colour and after about 7 years you can see patches, more of a very formal environment.

They say young people don't like these kind of colours. They say we don't have a hospitality lounge and our library is under utilised. So I said okay, I give you all a project, you come up with something new. And do a facelift. So I empowered them. Together with a team of youngsters, they came out with a concept that blew my mind.

Their proposal was that the library was under utilised so get rid of the library. They said move the library elsewhere and they said your books will not attract people but your setting and environment will attract people. So the hospitality lounge will take centre stage and the library and visitor's room which nobody want to go is moved to the side.

So I told the young assistant pastor, I said you come and share the concept with the board and I told the board I empowered the young to do this so don't give them any ideas, because our ideas are old ideas. I said let them tell us what they want. I said I empower them but I am not involved because they have a chat group. All the 3 young pastors are in but I am out.

And these are what they came out with. (PowerPoint slides). This is to show you what young people are capable of doing.

I let the young people make changes to attract the young. Like our library and hospitality lounge. We empower them and they come out with ideas. They come out with ideas and we have to foot the bill. And now our young people are excited. And now they are discussing about a mural wall. Another team of young people are on that. I don't even know. And many of them are only college students. They want to make the place vibrant. If not they said looks like factory. All plain colours, white colours. We empower them but we just have to control their spending.

I am encouraging you that even as your church enters a new season with a new pastor, think of embracing the younger generation. You'll be surprised that with a little bit of guidance, young people can do a better job than us. May the Lord bless you.

Stand Firm

Pastor Daniel Loh

This is where we desire to worship him with all our heart and I believe as we leave this place we will be inspired and be glad we attended this service.

This is not a farewell sermon even though Ps Ronald has done much in Malaysia and going down under. But I believe he is not finished in terms of ministry.

You heard I mentioned two words, complete and finish. It's different. Let me give you an example. When you married the right woman, you are complete. And all the women say? Amen.  When you marry the wrong woman, you are finished. See the difference now? When your wife catches you with another woman, you are completely finished. Now all the young guys better listen. But when your wife loves going shopping all the time, you are finished completely. I thank God that my wife and I have been in ministry together and often we conduct workshops. I work she shops.

I want to look at the last chapter of Nehemiah and the key word is stand firm.

Nehemiah 13:4-12 (NIV)

4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

6 But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms.

Nehemiah 13:15 (NIV)

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.

Nehemiah 13:17-18 (NIV)

17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”

Nehemiah 13:23-25 (NIV)

23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.

Nehemiah 13:29-31 (NIV)

29 Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

30 So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. 31 I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, my God.

Nehemiah himself is a first rank character study. A man of prayer. A man of faith. A man of courage and action. You realise that his heart is always for God and the nation of Israel. He wanted to rebuild the temple of God. The Book of Nehemiah falls into two sections, Reconstruction and Reinstruction. The theme of this Book talks about God's security, protection and strength. When you study this book of 13 chapters, first chapter talks about concern, second to third chapter talks about construction, fourth to six talks about conflict, seventh to twelve talks about consecration and now coming to the end of chapter thirteen, it's about cleansing.

After Nehemiah completed the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he kept his promise to the king and returned to Babylon where he resumed his duty as the king's cup bearer.

Twelve years have passed. He found that in his absence many things have changed. Not for the better but for the worst. Like this country many who may have left the country and came back expecting the country to be better but it was worst.

He came back and saw the people were sinning once again. Once again. It is not just to the people of Israel, but it can also happen to us. If we are not moving forward we are sliding backwards. I call it spiritual decay. Temptations are increasing and everything is more difficult. It's tougher following Jesus Christ everyday.

I tell my children at home that as a disciple of Jesus Christ we must fly high and aim high. Fly high last long. We may start off very well and fly high but how long can you last? All of us are on the same team. We fly high and last long. Then we meet Jesus at the end of the day, he will say well done my faithful servant.

In the midst of internal and external circumstances Nehemiah was a man who stood firm. He dealt with the difficulties. We may be like Nehemiah. Where we want to turn the community and believers back to God.

1. Stand firm when you are in the danger of compromise. V1-9

Compromises was happening within Israel. They have defiled and forsaken the temple of God. They allowed an Ammonite into the temple of God. Tobiah who was an evil man against Nehemiah is now given a room in the temple of God. Imagine how Nehemiah felt when he returned after twelve years. To find his enemy staying in the temple. He acted immediately and threw Tobiah out of the temple and cleansed the temple. Compromise.

Christianity Today magazine has pastors and elders of the church as subscribers. And the statistics were bad and discipline of church members are low. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to keep our purity.

Compromise is a very dangerous evil. If we allow the Tobiahs to stay in our heart.

2. Stand firm when you face the anger of selfishness v10-14

He rebuked the leaders for the lack of faithfulness in giving. They stopped maintaining the temple and teaching the people. They stopped giving to God. A misuse of finance and selfishness and found its way into the people. He acted immediately.

He made sure that the rulers were paid. Imagine the lead pastors and leaders are not paid. Because the people of God are not giving they have no choice but to stop and go out to find work to support their families. This was what happened during those times.

Giving tithes to the church was no longer their responsibility. God has his way to run his organisation. And we have to look into Scripture and stay responsible in terms of the duty that we have. I have been thought during early days of my life about tithing. If you go online there are many articles that do not believe in tithing. I believe tithing is a matter of the heart. It is not about blessing. That is not the idea. If we think God bless us back by monetary wise then we will put all our money into church.

Many wants to be a millionaire by 30 but what is wealth without health? Work so hard that they neglected their health and they put all their money back to the hospital. We have to be responsible and pay our tithes. If we stay to the principles of tithing we do not need to raise funds for building.

Here the people of God has been so called poisoned in their minds that they neglected the house of God. Our finances speak volumes about our relationship with God. When our heart is not there we find it difficult to support the work of God. This morning we have to ask ourselves this question. Are we a giver or are we a receiver? Are we generous or selfish? Just a poem to remind us to not let money be our God.

Money will buy you a bed but not sleep.

Food but not appetite.

A house but not a home.

Medicine but not good health.

Luxury but not culture.

Entertainment but not happiness.

Religion but not salvation.

A Visa to anywhere on planet earth, but not heaven.

Friends, always remember that the only way to be free of the tyranny of money is to give back to God. Obey God's principles of tithing and be generous in offerings. I pray your whole Christmas tree will be overflowing with ribbons. Stay free from the danger of selfishness.

3. Stand firm when you face the danger of conveniences v 15-22

They did not observe the Sabbath. A time of rest and the Israelites focused on God instead of other things. That was the day of the Lord. Many no longer practice the Sabbath but instead compromised by doing all kinds of business wanting to make more money.

They had plenty of excuses like all of us. They were making knowingly and unknowingly wealth their idols. Nehemiah handled this promptly. He stopped working on Sabbath and banned the merchants from bringing their products on Sabbath.

Convenient Christianity. Well if it's convenient I'll come to church. If it's convenient I'll let my children come for special services. If it's convenient I'll come to prayer meeting. If it's not convenient I'll not come to church. It's not convenient for me to come because God has blessed us with a big house by the sea but it's not so convenient because it's now far away.

A parent ask a young girl do you want to go to church? So young girl of 12 say she's tired so don't go to church. We cannot ask a young girl whether to come to church. We cannot give them that choice. Young teenagers are at a time where they want to rebel and when you tell them to come to church they ask why? Church is boring. Convenient Christianity have creeped into the church. I'm glad all my church families and their children come and serve in church.

A lot of Christians today come to church to want to be blessed. When they see they are not blessed they hop to another church because they were not blessed. We should instead ask what can we do to bless the church. This is the church God has placed you here.

I pastor a church where there is so much pressure. I started to pastor a church with only 30 people. I'm not competing with another church because it's his church. I was associate pastor in a big church doing everything. Worship pastor, youth pastor and I grew there. I did everything in that church. I love going and serving in church.

Sad that today there is this convenient Christianity. Spiritual decay of if I feel like coming I'll come. How is your daily and weekly commitment to church? Are you busy making money God is blessing you but you neglect your commitment to church.

4. Stand firm when you face the danger of wrong relationships v 23-31

There were mixed marriages then. I'm not talking of inter-racial marriages. The Israelites compromised by marrying pagan women. It was so bad that many of the children of Israel couldn't even speak Hebrew. If they cannot speak Hebrew the next generation and generation to come will not be able to read Scripture and learn from the teachers and  Levites.

He called for curses to come upon them and beat some of them up and pulled out their hair. Can you imagine the lead pastor do that to us today?

Because of inter-marriages, many gods entered into the lives of the Israelites. That was the reason he was so angry. Paul talked about being unequally yolk with an unbeliever. How many think that when they fall in love with an unbeliever thinking that later they can become a believer. I can say that many of those end up no longer going to church. Or no longer a Christian.

They were so committed in church but the parents ask them whether there are any in church. If not they'll ask why not look for someone outside of church. And they even recommend someone from outside. He look like a Christian, sound like a Christian but is not a Christian. After a while, they stopped coming to church.

This is where many out of desperation decided to venture in that direction. Sad. But that's the reality of the situation nowadays. Getting married is not the best thing in the world. Being single can also be God's will.

There are three things for a good marriage. First is physical attraction. That's true. Even though you see some marriages and you see their physical appearance so far apart yet they love one another. You ask what do you see in the person, but it's only the person knows. Second is emotional compatibility. The third to me is most important and that's spiritual unity. It's so important to have the same faith. Husband and wife cannot pray together. Nehemiah saw this and immediately handled this situation. It affects us and the people around us.

We are most affected by the books we read and the friends we have. Wrong relationships can spiritually damage us. Do they draw you closer to God or do they draw you away from God? This is where Nehemiah say stand firm when you stand in danger of being lured away.

We can learn from this man Nehemiah. He had nothing in his heart but his love for God and his desire to please God.

That's why he ended with this prayer. Remember me with favour, my God. Have you ever prayed that kind of prayer? God will remember us. Why? Because he loves you. But to pray for God's favour, be willing to come back. To remember us with favour. He desires us to draw near to him and to stand firm. He is ever ready to guide and lead you. And you can stand and declare yourself a child of God to fly high and last long.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

Ps Koay Kheng Hin

If you remember, the years in TOP I have not preached on the power of the Holy Spirit. Today I am led to teach on this. It will not be something that covers everything on the Holy Spirit but have taken snippets out on what I think the Lord wants us to be aware of.

As the church prepares for 2018, there is this consciousness or awareness of the reality of the person of the Holy Spirit. I know there is the Holy Spirit but I want to go a step further. That he is working in you and the church on a daily basis. He is there all the time even if you cannot see it. Even as I sat there and asked the Lord to anoint me, he is there in our midst.

We serve one God but in the Bible, we know that God is three persons. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. How do we square all this? I've been working at this for a long time. I rest on the fact that there is one being of God but there are three persons of God.

My mum asked me and I tried to explain to her in Hokkien. After one hour she looked at me and said she's more confused.

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

All of you will know this verse as a cardinal verse for the Assemblies of God.

Acts 2:4 (NIV)

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The Holy Spirit is a person and not a force. The Jehovah Witnesses will tell you the Holy Spirit is a force and not a person. I want you to think. The Bible describes to us that the attributes of God is present in all three persons. There is no lack of holiness in all three persons. But having said that, we have to understand that in each of these person there is a focus on their attributes.

When we think of God the Father, what do we see? What comes out is what we call the transcendence glorious majesty of God. The almighty comes to the fore. Transcendence means there's an otherness to it.  He is the infinity of God and beyond comprehension.

What about Jesus? When we look at God the Son, what comes into focus is the imminent agape love of God. In him he exhibits and expressed in Romans 5:8. He is incarnate to be a man and we can relate to him. We sense and become aware of the imminent agape love of God. What about the Holy Spirit? When you read and look at the Holy Spirit what do we see?

It's in Acts 8:1. It says you will receive power. It did not say you will see love or the perfect glory of God. He is meant to manifest to us the dunamis power of God. When we say anoint us we are looking at the power of the Holy Spirit.

What power is in the Holy Spirit? It's not a natural but a supernatural power of God. It is spiritual power of God. And this is what TOP needs for 2018.

I want to look at this supernatural power. In the Old Testament it's been expressed in so many ways.

Judges 14:6 (NIV)

The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.

The Bible describes the lion as a matured lion. A strong lion. But the Bible wants to give us this impression that this lion was being torn apart with his bare hands as if it was a goat. In those times, the lion was seen as a powerful beast.

Today when you pray to the Holy Spirit, I don't think you'll pray to be like Samson as you can just use a gun. So how do we get empowered through the Holy Spirit?

This scripture talked about Peter and John.

Acts 4:8 (NIV)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!

Acts 4:13 (NIV)

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

In verse 8, Peter talked to these religious leaders who are daunting during those times. These leaders saw the courage of Peter and John. He saw them as unschooled ordinary men yet they saw him talk with boldness and that they had been with Jesus.

I had been asked by this nephew of mine. I had a good time with him. I told him that in my years in working with the word of God and have been asked so many questions there is nothing new under the sun. The one question I've been asked on and off is how to have the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Verse 13 is the answer. That this man has been with Jesus. This is the first insight I want to impart to all of us. If you have really spent time with Jesus that power of the Holy Spirit will grow in your life. Jesus works in tandem with the Holy Spirit. As a man spend time with the Lord, and we all do it differently. If you ask Alvin, I think he'll say he play the guitar and spend time with God. Some like me will be in the word. And for others it will be in prayer.

If you spend time with the Lord the power of the Holy Spirit will be in you.

Acts 4:31 (NIV)

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

It is manifested in boldness. If you look at me up here you think I'm confident. But I want to tell you I'm not a bold or confident person. Every time I come out, I always tell myself Jesus must become greater and I must become less.

The other is Moses. The Lord has sent me up here. It gives you a sense of boldness. To all the cell leaders, do not think you don't know the Bible enough or you are not good enough. On Friday, just say the Lord has sent you. The power of the Holy Spirit will rest upon you with boldness.

Now let's talk about this little monk called Martin Luther. He was speaking against the Roman Catholic Church. Going against the church means he was also going against the Roman emperor. He was summoned and all they wanted him to do was to say he was wrong. The Pope and the Roman emperor agreed to this. History tells us that Martin Luther was a great man of God. His answer was barely audible. All those who went against the church was burnt at the stake or killed. He asked to be given more time and the emperor gave him 24 hours.

Something happened that night. The next day he came and there was a supernatural power. He confronted the emperor and the whole assembly. Finally he said, my conscience is kept intact and I cannot recant and unless you can show me in the word of God that I am wrong. Here I stand I can do no more. God help me.

There is a supernatural boldness that will come upon you. You need to spend time with Jesus. No short cut.

Number two, you may think you are not good enough, or afraid. Look at Peter, he also denied Christ. But he was a changed Peter and by tradition, he asked to be crucified upside down because he said he was not worthy to be crucified like Christ. Something must have changed for someone who denied Christ.

Let's look at Paul. His is a little different. Paul talked about the power of the Holy Spirit as in what he does in you.

Galatians 5:16 (NIV)

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Paul says you will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit by being empowered and transformed by the Holy Spirit. It's not about changing their character.

I'm a man who from young has not been very ambitious. A man of small dreams. I just want to be able to work and not see my parents work hard or my father have to ride the trishaw or my mother iron clothes till late at night. A man with small dreams.

Years pass and they are in heaven in the Lord. My youngest brother is the father of two children. I sometimes ask how's he doing. One fine day I realised they have all grown up and learnt to let go of my brothers.

If you ask me now that I'm retiring at 60 years old what's on your mind? My siblings are doing quite well. Financially better than me. So what's the next task? I believe maybe you all think I'm taking the church to the next level.

I wake up and I ask the Lord to be a better person. I was very blessed on Friday. I was blessed at cell. There have been instances when words that came out of my mouth has not been wise words, not perfect. I told myself this area I have a lot of work to do. You may be wondering why I feel that, thinking that I'm actually okay and not a troublesome person.

I think it's because when you read Galatians 5:22, the natural man will refer to the person next to you. You will think you have more patience or more loving than the person next to you. That's because you compare yourself with man. People will always compare with people worst themselves.

But if you spent time with God and no man to compare then you realised that there is so much that the Lord can empower us. The pursue of your character into more like Jesus, there is blessing. When you ask the Holy Spirit to work in you it doesn't take very long. Give yourself three months and you will realise many things.

There is a certain rest in you as God change you. And you don't realise the change and is happier today. You see things differently around you. How can you be happy if you only look into what's not right but don't want to change.

The second blessing is in that we try to bring the good news to our friends. When you manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit, your evangelistic effort begins to bear fruit. When you asked them to come to church but they refused but now as a change man, your message is only as effective as the messenger.

One of the gifts that I have is that I can relate to a lot of people. One day this young man told me, he said my advice cannot pakai wan. But when I come and talk to you, I go back, I feel very nice, relaxed and joyful. I thought about it and it's impartation. We impart the peace. The person feels good because you are imparting the peace of God. The joy in your heart will affect those around you.

If you are papaya face but you tell them about the joy of the Lord it won't work. The message is as good as the messenger.

You will receive power. You can see it individually and you can see it corporately. As a believer the Holy Spirit will empower you with boldness and empower you to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit and you will be blessed.

When you ask a person if he wants to be holy, often they'll said not for me, maybe you leaders only. But if you ask them if they want to have more peace. Be more loving, be more patient, they'll say yes. That's being holy.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

That gift is given to the church as a steward. It does not belong to you. When a person say I have the gift of prophecy, they see it as their gift. Like me, I've the gift of teaching but this gift used to be for myself. It's a gift to edify and build the church. And it's important. So Important that a whole chapter is given to it. It's gifts from the same spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV)

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

There is no one person with all gifts except for the perfect man Jesus. The fundamental truth is that we have only three perspective.

The church that do not manifest the power of the Holy Spirit because they have not spent time with the Lord.

The second one is they spent time with the Lord but they are not surrendered and no unity. The church has their own area of dominion. That church will not be edified and build up.

The last is that the gift has been poured out. We just need to exercise it as the church, one body.  But it must be with love or it's nothing.

How did Samson turned out? Very very sad. Someone that had the anointing in his life.

Judges 16:19-20 (NIV)

19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

What was wrong with Samson? Did he exercise his gift? Yes. Did he had the power? Yes. So what happened. Samson forgot God. Previously the Bible showed Samson mentioned I love you to God but later it was to Delilah.

John 16:14 (NIV)

He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

The Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus.

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

That's why this verse says we will be witnesses. Witnesses of who? Jesus.

The problem is that when we receive the power and we focus on the power and not Jesus, it will not last. We may have the power but we need the love of Jesus in our hearts. We need to be very Christ-centred people.

I want to encourage the church that in 2018, we want to ask of the Holy Spirit for that anointing of power upon the church. Upon you and me individually. And as the church we will have a supernatural working of the church and the church will never be the same again.

Whatever ministry you are in, it's the gift of the Holy Spirit and it's given to you to build the church and not just to empower.

Not by might and not by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord.