Called to Unity

Pastor Melinda Song

I never imagined a day when I would be glad to see all the seats in the sanctuary empty during a Sunday celebration worship service. That was what happened on 15 October 2017 and I was ecstatic with joy. Everyone was in a care group; no one was left out, not even the visitors. 

Ephesians 4:1-6, NIV 

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

In Paul’s letters the first half are usually doctrinal and the second half are practical. Thus Paul spent the first 3 chapters of the book of Ephesians telling them about the things that the Lord has done for them. In the second half of the book, from Chapter 4 onwards, Paul tells them how they should respond to what the Lord has done for them. 

They are to live a life worthy of their calling as Christians which is seen when there is unity in the body of Christ.  

Unity is powerful

• 3 musketeers

• United we stand, divided we fall.

• In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"

• Tower of Babel

• Psalm 133

Unity is beautiful

• Synchronised diving

• Dancers in a ballet corp

• Football players on the field

• Migrating animals  

The key verse is found in verse 3 – Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. The church must WORK at attaining and maintaining unity. 

• Unity is every leader’s challenge

• Unity is every believer’s choice

THE PROBLEM

People are the problem. We are the problem. 

We are all porcupines.

The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter’s night. He said, ‘The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth’s winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.’” (Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2)

James writes, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1). 

We are all different with individual opinions and preferences.Compounded by our selfish natures, misunderstandings and offences lead to hurt, which later results in bitterness. But discord, dissension, and factions are works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21)

THE SOLUTION

1. Cultivate the attitudes essential for unity. 

Attitude is about your state of mind; your mental and emotional position - and the expression of that in your daily dealings with events, with people and with God.

Ephesians 4:2, NIV

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

John Stott refers to these as the “five foundation stones of Christian unity.” Many of these qualities are inter-related and sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between them 

Humble

In Paul’s day, ‘humility’ was considered a weakness or character flaw by the Greeks and the Romans. They did not have a word for ‘humility’ in their language.

So Paul created a new Greek word ‘tapeinophrosune’ whichliterally means “lowliness of mind”, which is considered one of the supreme virtues in Christianity. 

In Philippians 2, Paul showcases the Jesus as the supremeexample of humility (Phil. 2:5-11) and he calls us to have this same attitude of humility and lowliness that Christ had.

We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Instead, we are to think of others and their needs over ours. We choose not to assert ourselves or lord over other people. 

It’s an attitude and a life choice. 

Warning! Humble yourself before God humbles you!

Gentle 

Gentleness or meekness is usually associated with weakness but it actually implies great strength being withheld. Think of a burly biker holding his newborndaughter. He is a powerful giant who can easily crush the frail little baby. So he holds her gently.

We also tend to think that being gentle means being compliant, mild-mannered and complacent but someone who is gentle can still get quite angry when circumstances call for it. Remember Jesus when he cleared out the temple? 

Gentleness, does not mean never getting angry. It means getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reason. This is what is meant in Ephesians 4:26, which says, “Be angry, and do not sin.”

Patient 

The word here can also be translated long-suffering. This word was used when explosives were invented having a long fuse. Dynamite has the power to destroy and annihilatebut the length of the fuse will determine how fast it explodes. 

Here Paul calls us to have long fuses – the ability to bear insult and injury without bitterness and complaint.

All of us have power to cause a lot of destruction with our words and actions so we need to make sure we have a long fuse on our power. We are to exercise self-restraint, be self-controlled when provoked. We have a spirit which refuses to retaliate.

God’s patience toward us is the perfect example of patience. God, in His incredible patience works with us, and time after time forgives us. We should do so to others as well.

Bearing with one another

To bear with one another means to “put up with one another’s short comings.” It is like when parents put up with their children’s short comings because they love them andknow that they are maturing. 

We are all work in progress. Nobody is perfect, not me, not you. 

Love

This love is the unconditional, no-strings attached, unending, eternal agape love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. It is the kind of love God has for us. 

If we love someone with agape love, it means that nothing he or she can do or does not do will make us seek anything but the highest good for them. It is the ability to love the unlovable, to love those who hate you and to love those who don’t want your love.

It is not an emotional love but a love bound to the will. It is the kind of love that keeps marriages going when the honeymoon is over. It is the kind of love that allows Christians to walk in unity.

We should do a heart-check once in a while using these fiveattitudes to find out whether we are living a life worthy of the calling we have received. 

2. Celebrate our diversity 

Unity is not uniformity – we are not robots or clones. 

Biblical unity comes from within and is a spiritual grace, while uniformity is the result of pressure from without.

We come from different backgrounds with a multitude of gifts and abilities. Our differences are not removed but are blended by God and moulded into one. We complement one another and together we make the body of Christ whole and complete.

Ephesians 4:3, NIV 

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Verse 3a - Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit

Unity is not easy so we must be willing to work extra hard to maintain it. It is a word that a trainer of gladiators in Rome might have used when he sent one of his men to fight to the death in the coliseum: “Make every effort to stay alive today!”

Notice that Paul is not calling us to create or produce unity. He is telling us to keep what we already have in Christ! Unity is given to us by God when we become Christians, and it is simply our task to maintain it in the Spirit.

The phrase unity of the Spirit is just a way of saying that we are all one in the Spirit through the Holy Spirit who indwells us when we become Christians. When we partake of Holy Communion we are reminded that we all make up the loaf of bread. 

Verse 3b - In the bond of peace 

“Bond” refers to a ligament or a tendon. Tendons attach muscle to bone and ligaments attach bone to bone. From a physiotherapist’s point of view, if you had a choice between breaking a bone or tearing a ligament/tendon; choose to break bone even though it seems like a more painful and dramatic option to choose from. Why? Because they are much harder to heal than bone when damaged. [https://www.coreconcepts.com.sg/article/better-to-break-a-bone/]

The Holy Spirit has bonded all believers together, making us one in the family of God. As the Spirit of the Lord works in our lives we begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, PEACE. 

Peace with others begins with peace with God. If you are not at peace with God, there is no way you can be at peace with others. It is only when the peace of God rules in our hearts that we can build unity with one another (Col. 3:15; Jas. 3:13-4:10).

3. Concentrate on what unites us. 

The church is Ephesus was a diverse church made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. They struggled with being unified because they were so different. 

In Ephesians 2, Paul called them to be at peace with each other. Now he tells them how. Instead of focusing on the differences that are between them, they should focus on what they have in common which will help them live in unity and love with one another.

We may have disagreements about what kind of music should be played or sung in church. We might have disagreements about how best to run the church. We might have disagreements about what to wear, what people can or cannot drink, what people can or cannot eat and what sort of activities we can or cannot do. Such things will always divide us. Let is focus instead on what we have in common.

Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Our unity in the body of Christ rests upon the common bondthat we share as members of His body. All of the elements Paul mentions – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Father – are the fruit of our relationship with God, freely given to us by His grace. 

Unity in the church would be an absolute impossibility if it were solely up to us but a careful look will reveal that the Trinitarian God is the unifying factor. Unity in the biblical sense only comes when both parties or all individuals submit to the authority of God and confess the same thing that God says. 

If we focus only on your differences, there will never be peace. A humorous story sums this up.

Some years ago, the elders of a Dutch church decided to send some people over to America to check up on the moral condition of the churches here. The observers were horrified. They reported to the Dutch elders that American women wore makeup and wore expensive clothes. The Americans also drove big cars, had carpets in the sanctuaries, and had both a piano and an organ! As the Dutch elders heard this report, some of them burst into tears, and the tears ran down their cigars and into their beer.

Let’s not focus on what divides us. Let’s focus on the unity we have in Christ.

But note that there is one thing we cannot and must not sacrifice for the sake of unity. TRUTH is a non-negotiable. 

The rule is, “In essentials, unity; in doubtful questions, liberty; in all things, charity.”

CONCLUSION

‘Unity’ in the body of Christ is critical if the body is to be healthy.  The body of Christ is like our physical bodies.  If all of the organs in a person’s body are not working together for the good of the whole then the body is going to be ill and hampered from optimal and full functionality as a result. Without ‘unity’ the body of Christ is ineffective for the Lord.

A unified church is also an incredible testimony to non-believers of God’s working in and through our lives. The unity and diversity of God's people is to reflect the perfect harmony of love and diversity of working in Persons of the Trinity. The Church thus reveals the glory of God. 

‘Unity’ in the body of Christ is so important that in Jesus’ high priestly prayer for His disciples just before going to the cross was that His disciples then and on into the future might be “one.” He prayed: 

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:20-23) 

Unity pleases God and it is there that He commands His blessing (Psalm 133). 

So is unity possible? Absolutely because it is of God. Unity is already ours. We only have to be diligent in preserving the bond of peace that the Holy Spirit has produced within us. It is our CHOICE to either keep (preserve) the unity or destroy it. 

Preparing TOP for the Future

Rev Jasmine Ooi

As I was preparing this message I was asking the Lord if this is the right word to share or it is what the Lord wants me to share to TOP. This morning as I was reading the Daily Bread even though I only read it once in a while and guess what? It's on Small Groups! It just jumped out at me. This is what I wanted to share.

It's about this couple who wanted to open their home for care groups and they were saying that they felt inadequate because their home was too small. And their budget was too tight but when they did it God gave them so there's more than enough.

and the story was about Elijah in 2 Kings 4:44 how there were a hundred people to feed. And somebody brought 20 loaves of bread. And the servant said not enough to feed them. And Elijah said just go ahead. And there was more than enough and even left overs. We have the miracle of the feeding of the hundred in the Old Testament and not just the New Testament.

So I want to encourage the care group host and hostess, for opening up your homes. Pastor Ronald was telling me now dint have to attend already, should take a step back. But I said I want to go. I really enjoy myself. So young people, thank you.  You brought so much joy.

My message today is Preparing TOP for the Future.

Yesterday's Youth Conference was called Glow so I'm still glowing in this bright yellow. You see me so bright and glowing. I'm glad no one said I look like "poh kong" but I've no gold to give you but I've got gold nuggets from the word of God to you.

We are coming to the close of the year. Ps Teh last week said we are moving but not advancing. We do not want to be like that. That's how I want to prepare TOP for the Future.

I want to thank all of you for feeding us so much and for loving us so much. You all have been taking so much care of us and now I have a bit of a problem in making my ends meet. My jacket now cannot button because the left side cannot meet the right side. Thank you. You've really made us feel so welcomed in TOP. And the church board has been so supportive and for sponsoring the Youth to go for the youth conference, to believe in them. I'm so proud of the church, the board members and the pastoral team as well.

So how do you prepare TOP for the Future?

Exodus 13:18 (NKJV)

So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

It's about the children of Israel leaving Egypt and proceeding into the promise land. But I like what the word said. That they were armed for battle. Or prepared for battle.

So when you go into the new year, we want you to be equipped and it will be a year of celebration.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

What is God calling you to be and to do? Before we go into the future, let's take a step back. Where are you now?

When you go to the washroom there is this sign. Does it look familiar to you? Our Objective.

Tabernacle of Praise will know who we are in Christ and be released to do God's will and purpose in Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia and the nations!

Great objective. But do you know who you are? What is God calling TOP to be?there was this church with a big slogan in front of the church. We are a hospital for sinners, not a museum for Saints. That was catchy. The church is not called to collect saints but to transform them. This is supposed to be a life changing place. We get better, we get restored, we get fixed and reach out.

Some may say the church is an army of soldiers like the Israelites.

The Bible says the church is a loaf of bread.

1 Corinthians 10:17 (NKJV)

For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

For we being many are one bread. And one body. That's a symbol of unity. Bread is made from flour which came from wheat. All the wheat seeds come together to make bread. The seeds has to be  harvested and put into the furnace to make bread.

Furnace has friction and gets hot a bit. That's how it's like in the care groups because you rub and gel together and become bread. And it's meant to be eaten. It's to be shared with many.

The church is also stones in God's building "You also, like living stones, are being build into a spiritual house".

The stones come in all shaped and sizes and they are in different positions, some higher some lower but all is important. All of them has a place in God's kingdom. Some may say I'm not important and wants to drop out, and if you drop out you become a stumbling stone. So stay intact he place and role God has given you.

You are many members but one body.

It's speaks of vitality because we are connected to the head. We have diversity, unity and the purpose is that you will grow up, maturity.

Where are you now and where do you want to go?

Grow in the word, Serve with Love, Transform Lives!

Our theme. Have you grown? Are you transformed? And are you serving? We are 39 years now. Where are we, looking at this beautiful slogan. We have all grown and not just laterally.

Many of you have grown and is serving. Let's look at where we can be?

We come in as little lambs. And we eventually have to grow and produce wool. We are producing for the good Shepherd. We want to move you and train you to become a Shepherd. Spiritually the sheep can become a Shepherd. That's what we need in this church. It's the model that God is using.

How do you plan to get there?

Empowerment of leaders and development of people.

How did Jesus do it? Relational Discipleship. Best kind of discipleship to fulfil the great commission and the great commandment. I know that's what all.you you desire to be.

One day, God is going to separate the sheep front he goat. Remember the parable? What's the difference between a sheep and goat. Remember they came to God and God said I don't know you. Only all who obey and follow God are sheep. You are assured. Some of you still have doubts if you'd make it to heaven or not. But if you faithfully wants to obey him, you are his disciples, you are his sheep. You're not a goat.

So what's the difference between a sheep and a goat? A goat has horns to butt each other. So the goat always say but but but. Can you do this  but but but comes in. Every time ask you to do something you say o want to pastor but but but. That's a goat.  We want more sheep.

What's a meta church model. You have talked about mega churches but we want to talk about meta church. TOP can be a meta church. The word meta means change. It's about change. It's the way the church accomplishes the expansion of the kingdom of God. And instead of organising around programmes, a meta church is about relationship and discipleship and intentional shepherding. Through the the care groups. And today is the care group day. Where sheep can be mentored in the faith, identify and use their spiritual gifts in a safe and secure environment and provide care for one another. Each person will feel more cared for. Care giving is shared by many rather than just by the pastor.

Intentional Shepherding.

Best leadership model in the Bible to equip disciples.

Jesus modelled it. Jesus practised it. He did it. He spent much of his time with no fewer than 3 of his 12 disciples. In the New Testament, you find there are those.who day they belong to Peter or they belong to Apollos or they belong to Paul. It's not so much about who you belong to but about group discipleship so that you do not become a clone of any one member.

Like in the case of Paul and Timothy, it's about mentoring leadership and not about base discipleship. The New Testament model about group life discipleship has many advantages.

The New Testament model is one to one relationship for leadership discipleship. 

New Testament models of Leadership

1 Peter 5:1-4 (NKJV)

1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Be Shepherd of God's flick under your care watching over them not because you must but because you are willing. Eager to serve. Be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. How many of you want the crown of glory. Wonderful.

Intentional Shepherds. We are preparing the Care Group leaders to do shepherding. They are consciously discipling members to become the following.

Roles to play. They have compelling vision. Their character. And they are also managing team building because they are not doing it alone. To developed and mentor leaders to also become a Shepherd. That's how we will multiply and we will broaden the base. So that the leaders are not so tired.

What are benefits of having a Shepherd?

Sheep needs to be fed and led to green pastures. In the care groups there is the word and fellowship and that's how we grow.

Sheep may get sick or injured. They are cared for and healed. The Shepherd anoint oil on the sheep to care for them.

Sheep tend to stray and get lost. So they get rescued and restored. Sometimes in our spiritual life we go astray and that's when the good Shepherd looks out for you.

Sheep tends to get frightened easily and they are cared for and encouraged. This is very much the care provided by the care groups. I've seen how the Sungai Nibong Care Group did a marvellous job of handling funeral services in our absence. So that the pastors don't have to be the one having to run around. All these are spread out among the care group members.

Sheep may venture into danger. In care groups you are warned and guided according to God's word.

Sheep are vulnerable to attacks. Here you are guarded and protected.

Disciple process through Care Groups

• Grace - to experience grace in your life and to extend grace to others.
• Growth - to grow spiritually to be like Christ
• Group - to Shepherd one another in loving authentic community
• Gifts - to discover, develop and deploy our gifts to serve
• Good Stewardship - to steward our time and treasures for God's redemptive plan for the world. 

The Church needs a Network of Shepherds

Can the pastoral staff alone provide personal and consistent care? For every member of the church? We want to come together and share the work load.

God calls for a network of Shepherds to do the work of equipping.

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Equipping Ministry, is not just teaching ministry but a means of shepherding people.

Equip (Katartizo)

• Doctors - Adjusting a limb/setting a broken bone
• Sailors - preparing a ship for voyage
• Soldiers - equipping army for battle
• Fisherman - mending/repairing of nets (Matt 4:21)

Personal Benefits to the Shepherd

• Personal growth and expansion
• Leaving a legacy - you mentored and multiplied
• He who refresh others will himself be refreshed (Prov 11:25)
• Rewarded with the Crown of Glory

These are the words of declaration given to me by an intercessor whom we've asked to pray along with us. When we told them what we're doing with TOP. And we told then we never done this before.

You now have two bi-vocational pastors. This is new. When we first came in, many of you said can this be done? We've never done that before.

I want to share this with you as it's also the word of you at this season for your life.

You are being tasked with pioneering and launching into the unknown. As you release the sound that is being born deep inside the spirit, the right people will come. God will send the right people as you release the sound. They will be drawn to the sound. They will hear the faith, the power, decree and the hunger God is giving you people. Resources and room to grow. I hear you say it, build it and they will come. It's time to arise and build. History belongs to the brave. Hallelujah.

Conclusion: Declaration

Together we will arise and build TOP to disciple and shepherd people relationally in care groups for the purpose of growing in Christlikeness, loving God and one another contributing to the work of the church and expansion of God's kingdom.

In the World, but Not of the World

At Youth Impact Service

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus prays to his Father in John 17:14–19,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Let me illustrate what this means.

Let's say you put water and oil into a bottle. Do the water and oil mix? They are both in the bottle and yet, they are separated. Now when we shake the bottle vigorously, you will find the water and the oil seems to mix. But once you let the bottle stand for a while, the two liquid separates again.

That is what it's like for us. The bottle is like the world we live in. Both oil and water, is in the bottle just like both believers and unbelievers are in the world. Yet, the bible says we are not of the world even though we are in it.

How are we NOT of the world?

1. The Wisdom of the World
2. The Values of the World

I want to briefly touch on the Wisdom of the World and turn my focus to the Values of the World which I think is something most of you will find challenging.

The Wisdom of the World

1 Corinthians 1:25

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

There is nothing wrong with acquiring knowledge. That's why you go to school, then to college and finally a university. But knowledge and wisdom are different. The wisdom of the world is based on the knowledge they acquired and it is temporal in nature. But the wisdom that comes from God has eternal significance.

The building of the Tower of Babel seemed like a good idea.

Gen 11:4 “Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

Where does such wisdom come from? It's an earthly wisdom driven by the ambition of man to make a name for themselves. You know why the Petronas Twin Tower was built? So Malaysia can boast to have the tallest building in the world…once. I wonder why it looks like an "M"? Maybe it symbolises Malaysia. ;)

So any knowledge that contradicts the Word of God is of this world. Like the Theory of Evolution. It's a theory but the world will have you believe that you came from a monkey as truth. So as children of God, we need to know and discern that the wisdom of this world cannot lead us to life eternal because it's of temporal value.

The scientists can tell you exactly what a blade of grass is made of. But they'll never be able to explain to you how it's living and it grow. The wisdom of this world is still discovering the wonders of creation which we term as intelligent design. Things didn't just fall into place over millions of years to exists in an order that we see around us today.

The Values of the World

The world system is committed to at least four major objectives, which I can summarize in four words: fortune, fame, power, pleasure.

First is Fortune, money. The world system is driven by money; it feeds on materialism.

Second: Fame. That is another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody in someone else's eyes.

Third: Power. This is having influence, maintaining control over individuals or groups or companies or whatever. It is the desire to manipulate and manoeuvre others to do something for one's own benefit.

Fourth: Pleasure. At its basic level, pleasure has to do with fulfilling one's desires. It's the same mindset that's behind the slogan: "If it feels good, do it." 

I want to focus on only two because Fame and Power usually only sets in when you get older, like me :)

Let's talk MONEY. The Big M.

There is nothing wrong with money on its own. It's the love of money that is the problem. We allow money to influence our decisions, often compromising our integrity for gain.

But I want to look at just one particular area about money for you guys. When you go for an interview. Salary becomes a criteria but I want to stress that salary should never be the main reason for making a decision.

After you graduate, do not delay getting into employment because you are looking for that perfect job that pays well. Interviewers get uncomfortable if the candidate have not found a job too long after graduating. Either you are not good enough or you are choosy. Either way it works against you.

More important is the culture of the company, the opportunities for growth and the job description that fits your ambition. The money should never be your main concern. If you are good, you will be promoted and rewarded.

There are too many who hop between jobs to get increased salary. They don't stay long enough to learn what's needed. Give at least 2 to 3 years wherever you are before considering a move. It is better for your resume and for your learning.

The second thing I want to look at is PLEASURE.

We live in a world where self gratification is paramount. We do what feels nice, looks good and seems popular. The bible says we are children of the light and what has light to do with darkness.

Please let me qualify what I mean. I am not saying we are good people and the non Christians are bad people. We are just a redeemed people, forgiven and is being sanctified because God's spirit works within us to change us from inside out. I know a lot of non Christians who good people, but we know our good is never enough before a holy God.

It does not mean we shy away from non Christians. We can have friendship but not fellowship. When we walk our life pleasing to God, we will be seen differently because we abstain from some things that your friends may engage in.

It does not mean it is right because everyone is doing it. That is how we are different. But that does not mean we judge what they do. They are just blind to truths that you and I see.

It was not easy to be a Christian and be in business. Especially the advertising industry. When I started, I had a lot of jeans client. Do you know all the best jeans are made in Penang? Levi's, Wrangler, Lois, Lee Cooper, Texan etc

Nowadays you have UNIQLO and H&M. So I used to spend a lot of time with the jeans maker bosses. These people in apparels are streetwise people. I'm surprised how I survived back then. God is merciful.

In meetings, there would be like 6 to 8 people in the room and I'm the only non smoker, but I get smoked. And when they meet after work to discuss business always must have alcohol.

Once, they had a big Company Dinner at Shangri-La and me and auntie Melinda was seated at the VIP table. Then they had some games on stage and there were three tables with cloth covering something that looked like a small pyramid.

My name together with two other guests were called to participate and when they removed the cloth, I almost fainted. It was stacks of canned beer and we were supposed to drink all of it as fast as possible. The boss quickly asked one of the staff who knows I don't drink to step up and volunteer to take my place and he won! When you make your stand, God grants you favour. I became good friends with them but I did not fellowship with them. And they know why.

I also made sales trip with them outstation so that I could understand their business. And one time 5 of them in a car and went to a pub and each of them were accompanied by pretty hostess there. I was left in the hotel lobby with a cold drink. But each of them took turns to accompany me at the hotel lobby because they know I won't go in. I shared Christ with them while I chat with them because they wanted to know why I wouldn’t join them. Because of business and fear that I'll offend my clients, I could have joined them but I chose not to. We always have a choice so when you are caught in a situation like this, remember what I said today. Choose wisely.

In the world but not of the world. When we grow up, leave home and go into the world, we need to know what we're up against. Different values. Different ideologies. Different activities.

We need to be their friends but set apart. We build bridges yet there are boundaries. You'll be surprised how God can use you out there in the marketplace when we are not ashamed to call ourselves Christians and walk the talk.

Live your life in such a way that those who don't believe can see that there is something you have that is good and wonderful—something different, something they'll be curious about, something they'll want for themselves, too.

When your friends go through a bad patch or crisis, often they turn to you because you have something they don't. Be the salt and light of the world, in it, but apart from it because we know our destination is not this earth, we are just passing by, so make your time here count for God.