Encountering God in Faith

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

This message is fresh from the oven. When I said fresh I have to confess that it was all finally done at 10.45 just now. But it is also something that's in my heart.

We can actually summarize our walk with God in one word, encounter. But the problem is we often see encounters as a manifestation or something dynamic. But what I want to say is an encounter where we have a sense of having met God and that He is in you.

Today's message is titled Encountering God in faith. I was wondering how I go about it.

This week we have two views of faith. One was when I read about the write up in The Star, about the image of the Virgin Mary on the window pane. The thing has subsided because it has been removed and is now in a Catholic Church. What I want to say is that a lot of excitement was generated.

Why? It's because of the miraculous. The people that flocked there will be 3 types.

First the curious. Really meh? True or not. They just want to know more.

The second type is the religious. They have been brought up this way. They will hope the glass panel can be in their home to pray to. And they will put their faith on it. If a thief comes in and steal it, there goes their faith out the window.

Then the third type will be those going through a difficult time in their life. Health, finance, relationship or they may have a crisis in their life. They go there so that their needs can be met.

What I want to work on is the third one. They flock to the miraculous because in that supernatural manifestation their needs will be met.

My cell members asked me why this happened? It looks real huh? So as rabbi, that's what some of them call me, I answered him and I think he is happy with my answer.

In the Roman Catholic Church, they will first want to see if it is something natural. To find out if it is a natural phenomena. Or whether it is man made. And finally when all explanations are exhausted, they say it is supernatural. So my friend asked if it is the third one, then how? To me it's simple. Any image, epiphany that does not lead you to God is not real. This is because the bible's supernatural always leads you to God.

Are we like that? When we have faith, what do you think of? Are you thinking of the miraculous that meet your needs or are you thinking of the God of miracles? In short, are you thinking of the promises of God or the promise of God that Christ will bring salvation to the world.

At this point of your walk with God, is how your temporal needs are actualised by God or are you thinking of God himself. The blessings or the blesser?

I pray that the spirit of God can show you that the focus of faith is in the God of promise and not the promises of God. Does that mean I do not believe on the promises of God? No. I am talking about the focus. The focus has to be on the God of promises and not just His promises.

In my home and household, I have seen many miracles and answered prayer and through the years my family and I have also learned that it is all about Him.

Hebrews 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

This is God answering Moses's prayer. Here you see the Lord is indeed mighty. We praise Him.

Hebrews 11:30 By Faith They Overcame
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
Another miracle, an impregnable and thick wall collapsed when they marched round it.

Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

Deliverance and it was one lady that took a risk but was delivered.

Hebrews 11:32-35 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
A message can be preached here and that message will focus on the promises of God and His miraculous work. You read and how do you feel? When you are on a crisis and you read this in the middle of the night and you will feel YES! The Lord will deliver me. Miracles? Yes.

So why am I looking at this? It is because Hebrew does not end here. In verse 35, he said they were tortured. "Better resurrection" means "mati" already. Jeered and chained and put in prison. And stoned and sawed in two. Then put death by the sword and destitute, persecuted and mistreated!

Now, I am very careful. If I preached from 35-38, then you will feel "takut". But if I preach from 29-34, then it is only good news. Bad news no need.

But we must see that all these people who were not delivered, what does the bible say as far as their faith is concerned?

I have heard this kind of preaching. To those who have been blessed, who gain prosperity and is blessed, I commend your faith. To those who is not blessed, who is going through difficulty, the preacher said, it is not God, it is your faith, go back and examine yourself. I want to tell you this is not in scripture. When you have committed to God and walk in holiness, yet you go through persecution and difficulty, verse 39 is the key, how the people responded.

Hebrews 11:39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,
Whether they were delivered or not, they were commended for their faith.

The key is how do they hold on to their faith when they gave up their life? The bible said none of them received what they have been promised.

This is where I want to say the promise of God and the promises of God is different. The promises of God is temporal but the promise of God is deeper.

Verse 13 "Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." is the key to understanding what is promised by God and

verse 16 "Hebrews 11:16
But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." made it clearer. All these heroes of faith as much as they lived on earth and saw Gods work on a daily basis they knew their home is not here. It is the big picture that is most important. That they have a heavenly home.

All miraculous act of God is a point of contact and not the point of focus. It must lead you to Him. That's where you will find rest in the God almighty. But many of us is still locked in at the point of contact. Our point of contact becomes the point of focus.

Why is this important? This is because if we only focus on the point of contact, then we are no different from those that "Pai Ang Kong", those who worship idols. When you enter a Chinese house like mine that pray to idols, you'll see all these different idols with different names for different purposes. All different shape and sizes and placed in different places of the house.

Why I say this? Were they religious? Yes. Why so many? I also don't know but I believe they started with one. And it served them well for some years. Then when an occasion occured when it didn't work, a friend may recommend another God that can work and they got another idol. And so this went on until there are many. Here is where they are interested in the God that serves their needs, the God that meets that need. Do they have faith? Yes. But it is stayed on their need being met.

If we look at Jesus in the same manner then Jesus is not your Lord. He is probably just your "Ang Kong".

When you ask a Christian do you want to go to heaven or hell, you will find that all will tell you they want to go to heaven. When you ask why, it's a little more difficult to answer. They may answer, that's because I don't want to go to hell. Is he wrong? No. We cannot fault him.

Another may answer I am not so negative, I want to go to heaven because it is a beautiful place, no more pain or sorrow. No more tears. Can I fault him? No.

But let us look at Paul. Why did he want to go to heaven?

Philippians 1:21-23 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard- pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Paul here will tell you because my Christ is there. As disciples of Christ, the bride is meeting the bridegroom. You will get 100 marks, A+ if you answer this, that you want to go to heaven because Christ is there.

Beyond the temporal promise is an eternal promise, that of a heavenly country. In Hebrews 12, the focus of that heavenly country is who?

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heaven is tied to Jesus. That is why we want to go to heaven. That is how we move from focus on the promises of God to the promise of God, who is Jesus. First you will find that focus, looking, fixing your eyes on Jesus is important. Are you focused on his work or on Him?

I remember the most embarrassing moment in my life. I was at the school sports and running as the first contestant in a relay race. As I take to the starting line, I was focused on the second runner waiting for me to pass him the baton.

Then I heard the shot being fired. I sprinted on and ran as fast as I could, all the while focusing on the runner ahead waiting for my baton. I can hear the crowd cheering. Imagine hundreds of spectators watching the race. I kept running.

Then I realized when I looked back, I was the ONLY ONE running. What happened was I didn't hear the second shot as there was a false start. You can imagine my embarrassment as I walked back to the starting line. Everyone was laughing.

The next day in class, I was so upset, I scolded my students why they didn't stop me. They said "Cikgu, we shouted stop stop but you kept running". After that, I think for two weeks I didn't go to town (laughs).

That is what happen when you are focused. Like the song "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full on His wonderful face, and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace"

If today we can begin by just looking at Jesus, the things of the world will slowly fade. You will be a different Christian. It is the cross that symbolizes everything.

First you have to understand that when the writer wrote, Jesus endured the cross and its shame, do you know when Jesus was up there he was still the Lord of the universe. He is the King of glory yet he was hung by mere men. And the shame of sinful men was on Him, a perfect and sinless man.

Matt 26:53, when he was arrested, Jesus says that He can call mire than 12 legions of angels to come down. 12 legions is 72,000 angels. What damage they can do. In Hezekiah's circumstances you can see how one angel can destroy 185,000 Syrians.

Jesus was not helpless at the cross. He could have summoned the angels. Yet he suffered everything while holding back His power. What held Him there? It was love. And surprisingly, it was love for the very people that put Him on the cross.

Second, we are very familiar with the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the one that perfect our faith but He is also our leader. We have to understand that Jesus was man on the cross. If you think that it is easy for Jesus because He is God then you miss the point. An old theologian says this "He remain what He is but He became what we are." That is the humanity of Jesus. When He was on the cross, the focus was on His humanity and His suffering is real.

When Jesus said "It is finished" to the world, it is a cry of defeat. Like my classmate said as an unbeliever, the bible say "It is finished" means gone case. But this cry is a cry of victory. In the bible it actually means He is the blessed one. At that point He was not resurrected yet, but He saw the victory. It is finished was something He cried out in triumph in His most difficult circumstances but Jesus has seen the triumph, He was certain and sure of the victory. Our faith in Jesus must be so grounded based on the faith like Jesus, a faith that sees beyond, not received but the reality exists.

We do not need the image of Jesus on a window pane. I know and I know that Jesus and heaven is real.

I want to end by quoting Martin Luther. His code of arms is the Luther's Rose. Designed by him himself. He said this rose is a symbol of his theology. His rose has a cross inside the centre and it is black. It symbolizes the death of Jesus on the cross. But set around the black cross is a red heart, and he says even though the black cross hurts, he says the cross in the end offers life. And then surrounded by the picture is a white rose, showing that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. And finally the background is blue which is the joy of heavenly glory. (For the official interpretation, please see excerpts at the end of this transcript). Would Luther's Rose become your rose?

Acts 7:56-59 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

While they were stoning him, he saw Jesus.

The question is where I started. Are you believing Jesus or do you believe in Jesus?

If you believe in Jesus, then He becomes the focus of your faith. On the person of Christ and with Him all His promises.

Official Luther's interpretation of his seal

In a July 8, 1530 letter to Lazarus Spengler, Luther interprets his seal:

Grace and peace from the Lord. As you desire to know whether my painted seal, which you sent to me, has hit the mark, I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. "For one who believes from the heart will be justified" (Romans 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (cf. Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal.This is my compendium theologiae [summary of theology]. I have wanted to show it to you in good friendship, hoping for your appreciation. May Christ, our beloved Lord, be with your spirit until the life hereafter. Amen.[1][2]

Ordinary Heroes

Sis Melinda Song

NOTE: This is the full text of the sermon which was cut short because of the cell huddle.

INTRODUCTION:

There’s a story about a city dweller who was visiting relatives on a farm and the farmer gave a whistle and his dog herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that’s some dog. What’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

My husband and I are getting to the stage where we it is possible for us to meet with people, have a meaningful conversation with them and yet not remember their names.

Names are important. We all like to be remembered and it makes us feel important when someone can call us by name. It has been quite an experience choosing a name for our grandson. So many names were considered and rejected because we want the best name for him.

Names also represent people whom God loves. In Isaiah 43:1, NKJV tells us that God calls us by name. There are a lot of names in our text today which is from Nehemiah chapter 3:1-16.

In Nehemiah 3 we find a whole long list of names. Many people skip over this chapter as they read through the book of Nehemiah because it reads like a Hebrew phone book and Nehemiah Chapter 3 is not often the subject of sermons.

There are many lists such as these in the Bible because God cares about individuals, caring enough to include individual names within His Holy Word.

Nehemiah 3 is a marvelous account of ordinary people who come together in order to accomplish an extraordinary work--the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. They are ordinary people from all walks of life who worked together for one purpose—the glory of God—and they became heroes of faith in the eyes of God.

The 12 disciples of Christ were just ordinary men--most of the 12 were not highly educated, nor were they extraordinary in their careers.

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.

Most of us are just ordinary people. Yet God calls ordinary people to Himself.

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NIV) 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.

When ordinary people step out and follow God by faith--they become a transformed people who God takes and uses for His extraordinary purposes, they become heroes of faith. That is why I have entitled this message: “ORDINARY HEROES.”

Let me set the context for the listing of these names.
Nehemiah was the trusted cupbearer of King Artaxerxes. He received word of the terrible situation in Jerusalem and took up the cause to rebuild the walls of the city.

After arriving in Jerusalem he successfully inspired the people with a vision to complete the walls. He was able to do so because he established a link between what God was doing through him and what God was up to in history.

Nehemiah 2:17 (NIV) Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

Nehemiah demonstrated that God had been working behind the and that the people could be a part of something God has His hand on.

As we look into the chapter there are two things we have to keep in focus. First it is…

• The Purpose of the Work

Nehemiah pointed the people to the purpose of the work, which is for the glory of God. They weren’t just working on walls, they were worshipping their worthy God.

The purpose of all ministry, and really of life itself is the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Everything we do in life should be towards the relentless pursuit of God’s splendor.

In verse 1: "Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep gate.” Nehemiah’s list starts and ends at the Sheep Gate. It is another way of saying, "Put God first."

The Sheep gate provided easy access to the Temple, and was given this name because of all the sheep to be sacrificed entered through it. By beginning here, Nehemiah is establishing that their relationship with God was central. This was the most important place to start.

We must never make the mistake of focusing so much on the work or the ministry that we forget God Himself. God is not impressed with your labor. He wants your heart. That’s why worship must always precede work.

Besides the purpose of the work we should also consider…

• The People of the Work

Nehemiah was tracing the work in a counter-clockwise around the city of Jerusalem, and recording who did what work.

Notice how often the phrase “next to him” is repeated. Next to him so and so worked here and did this and next to him another person did that and next to him… “Next to him” is a key phrase in this passage

The Hebrew for “next” comes from the word “hand” so the words literally read “to the hand of him (or them)”. It is a picture of them joining hands next to each other in the work. It is a great picture of unity. Everybody was all in it together with a lot of mutual commitment and trust.

Unity is absolutely indispensable in the church. Our unity must be centered around a shared focus: the Kingdom of God. We join our hands in working for God’s glory.

Underline in your Bible every time you see the following phrases: "next to him," "next to them," “next section” "beyond him," and "beyond them," These expressions are recorded 28 times in this chapter! The biblical principle is this: every person is to be involved in ministry because everyone has a job to do.

This is a saying that I came across many years ago that has stuck in my mind: Without vision the people perish, but without people the vision perish! People working together can accomplish more than if just one person tried to do all the work.

Let me tell you a story. I have to read it out because it is so confusing.

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. (Source: Charles, Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip)

Another simple illustration on unity is snow. A single snowflake is among the most delicate, frail things we can see. But if enough of them stick together they can paralyze a city! There is tremendous power in cooperation. Someone once said that “snow is a beautiful demonstration of what God can do with a bunch of flakes!”

In Nehemiah Chapter 3, we find 6 principles that can help us work together, that will turn ordinary people to heroes.

1. ​Leaders must set the example.

It is fitting that the Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests (v. 1) should set the example, for God’s reputation was at stake.

There were also a number of references to rulers in this list (vv. 9, 12, 14-19). The leaders were taking the lead and setting an example for the rest.

Our leaders have been, and will continue to set the pace at TOP, whether it is for Harvest Mission, the Big Party or Christmas with the Community.

Unfortunately, Eliashib did not remain true to his calling and later partnered with the enemy to create some serious problems for Nehemiah in 13:4-9. This serves as a good reminder to us that it’s not as important how we begin a project, it’s how we finish that counts.

I would like to highlight Malkijah in verse 4: The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem.

The “Dung Gate” was the gate through which all the garbage and filth was taken. He was a member of the nobility yet he willingly worked in a terrible place suffering the stench from the valley of Hinnom below, where the garbage was dumped. What an example of humility!

2. ​God uses all kinds of people.

The Lord didn’t summon professional builders to rebuild the wall. Instead He used people from many professions and from many levels of social status carry out His work: priests (1, 22, 28); goldsmiths (8, 31, 32); perfume makers (8), Levites (17); temple servants (26); guard at the East Gate (29); merchants (32); rulers of half-districts or districts (9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19).

The people were from many places, too. Some were very local, and some had to travel a bit. The wall-builders were from Jericho, Gibeon, Jerusalem, Zanoah, Beth Zur, Keilah, Mizpah, and Tekoa.

God wants to use me and you. He just needed ordinary people who were willing to work.

Viggo Olsen, who helped rebuild ten thousand houses in war-raved Bangladesh in 1972, derived unexpected inspiration from reading a chapter ordinarily considered one of the least interesting in the Bible: ‘I was struck . . . that no expert builders were listed in the “Holy Land brigade.” There were priests, priests’ helpers, goldsmiths, perfume makers, and women, but no expert builders or carpenters were named.’” (Yamauchi)

The people were not trained for this kind of work. They had an easy excuse to not do anything, but they did not. They rebuilt the walls even though many would not think them qualified or able.The most important ability in the work of the Lord is availability.

There is also the beauty of a gift-based ministry where there was a place for everyone, and a job for everyone to do. As we use our gifts, we will be fruitful, we will be fulfilled, and the church will be fortified.

A word of caution on gift-based ministry: We are not to be involved in aimless activity in the church, with everyone doing his own thing. All are to work together for a common cause and vision as put together by the leaders of the Church.

3. ​Some people will not work.

Verse 5: "The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors."

Literally, the phrase, "would not put their shoulders to the work," is an agricultural imagery that describes a "stiff-necked" ox who refuses to be yoked. The real issue was pride and lack of submission.

Jeremiah 48:10 is a stinging rebuke to those of us who just sit back, and refuse to serve: "A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord’s work." Those who are lax in the Lord’s work are not only subject to a curse, they are also missing out on one of the greatest privileges of all time, being involved in kingdom work.

Some of the happiest Christians are those who are serving in their area of giftedness. On the other hand, some of the grumpiest Christians are those who are not willing to put their shoulder to the work.

There are a lot of different reasons why people don't work. Sometimes people don’t know what to do. Or maybe they think that their work wouldn't matter much anyway. Maybe they don't know their gifts. See Pastor or the leaders and they will find you something to do.

4. ​Some do more work.

Just as there will always be some who are slack in their serving, at the same time, there will always be those who do more work than others.

In verse 5, the men of Tekoa finished their section of the wall, even though their nobles didn’t help out at all. In verse 27: "Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section…" The men of Binnui did the same thing in verses 18 and 24. Meshullam completed one part (verse 4) and then repaired an additional section (verse 30). After Meremoth had finished his assignment (verse 4), he worked on the wall in front of his neighbor’s house (verse 21).

There’s a tendency within most of us to finish the work we volunteered for and then stop but kingdom work is never finished. As long as there is work to be done in God’s kingdom, there’s work for you to do.

In Matthew 5:47, Jesus addresses each one of us when He asks a very good question, "…What are you doing more than others?" Brothers and sisters, what are you doing more than others?

It was not just Jerusalem’s citizen’s who rebuilt the wall. People came from at least eight different places to help from up to a 15 mile to 20 mile radius to work on the wall. Volunteers came from Jericho (v2), Tekoa (v5), Gibeon (v 7), Mizpah (vv. 7, 15, 19), Zanoah (13), Beth Hakkerem (14), Beth Zur (16), and Keilah (17, 18).
 
It was of little direct benefit to them if Jerusalem’s walls were repaired yet they sacrificed their time and left their homes and families in order to for the service of the city and in the service of God. Through the centuries, the church has been built on those that have sacrificed and were even willing to work behind the scenes and beyond the call of duty.

For example, Bro Hooi did not just turn up to help at the Big Party. He made the effort to get to know the people and visited them regularly.

5. ​Some work with passion.

Nehemiah mentioned one guy who worked zealously. Look at verse 20: "Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section…"

The Hebrew word “zealously” means "to burn or glow" and suggests that Baruch was not just serving; he was on "fire."

In 4:6 we read that "the people worked with all their heart." Everyone was working hard, but Baruch stood out from the rest. We need people like him who will say, "I don’t really care what others are doing, I’m going to do my very best."

Just because you work willingly, does not mean you work with a glow. Right? Baruch represents those who smile while they work. They are like the seven dwarves who advocate that you “whistle while you work.” These people are a pleasure to serve with and around.

I remember Bro. Leow visiting my father when he was in hospital. Despite all the difficulties in finding a parking space at the GH, he would cheerfully turn up every day with a big smile to comfort and pray for my dad.

6. ​Some work as families.

The final principle from this great passage is that some people worked as families, either on a section in front of their home, or on another section away from their neighborhood.

In verse 3, the Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenah and in verse 12, the daughters of Shallum worked on the wall. As families, we have the opportunity to be used in our neighborhoods and in our community. Instead of just looking at what we can do as an individual, let us be creative in thinking of ways to include our entire family in the joyful task of kingdom building.

I am encouraged by Bro. KB Lai doing visitation with his whole family after the Christmas with the community.

Christmas offers a great opportunity for parents to open their home for their children to hold Christmas parties for their friends instead of them holding parties elsewhere.

As a church we are committed to make an impact in our city, in our state, in our country, and to the nations. But, it’s got to first begin at home.

Summary

If God’s work is going to get done, we’re called to cooperate with one another. We must keep the main thing the main thing by never forgetting that God’s glory is at stake.

In order to work well with others on a job that is much bigger than we are, at a task that demands everything we have, we need to recognize that:

Leaders must set the pace
God uses all kinds of people
Some will not work
Some will do more work
Some will work with passion
Some will work as families

To me, the most interesting part of Nehemiah chapter three’s wall-builder hall of fame is that Nehemiah does not mention himself. There was a Nehemiah mentioned, but it was someone else.

Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

God will not forget what you do. The world probably will not notice. Wealth and acclaim are probably not the result when you do God’s work. It is doing the difficult and inglorious work that must be done which will likely not benefit us, nor be rewarded with earthly acclaim or financial benefit.

It is Jim Elliot leading a team of five missionary men into a jungle in Ecuador to reach a head-hunting tribe of primitive Indians, and in return winding up corpses on a sandbar with spears sticking out of their backs. But it is that same Jim Elliot proclaiming that “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

We need to remind ourselves that the greatest reward is to hear “well done, good and faithful servant¨ from our Lord. He calls us not to fame or comfort or self-promotion, but rather to join in the greatest work, His work.

And be sure of this: God knows. You might think, “Oh, what I’m doing isn’t particularly significant. I just do this little thing. Nobody notices or cares.” God cares and knows! Others may not see what you do to serve God; God does!

Conclusion

Nehemiah 4:6 (NIV) So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

These people in chapter 3 of Nehemiah were ordinary people who worked with all of their heart. They were totally committed to the Lord and His work.

Nehemiah 6:15-16 (NIV) So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

Working together for God’s glory, they finished in 52 days what could not be done in almost 150 years. And in so doing ordinary people became ordinary heroes - Heroes of Faith!

You and I can do the same as well. Make yourselves available to God for His Glory. Do the work in unity and in love - and do it with all of your heart. And God will take and use your life that you will be a Hero of Faith in God’s eyes and an inspiration in the lives of others.

Verse 5, says the nobles of the Tekoites would not stoop down to serve. And yet our Lord Jesus, the noblest king of all, Creator of the universe…left His throne and His glory above to stoop down to earth to serve us.

Mark 10:45 says, “The son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”

He gave his life for you so that you might be redeemed and brought into the family of God and experience the goodness of being a part of his church.

Here’s how Peter described that experience and I can’t help but think he may have had Nehemiah chapter 3 in mind when he wrote this. I close with his words, “you yourselves (are) like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Let’s pray.

Giving

Rev Gideon Lee

Today I am going to talk to you about a controversial topic, a difficult topic for pastors to preach to their congregation, a topic that can cause us to loose members.

Mark 12:41-44
The Widow’s Offering
12: 41- 44pp – Lk 21: 1- 4
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on.”

She put in everything. Today, your Pastor wants you to give everything.

As I said earlier on, when we talk about money, it is controversial topic and at best sensitive. It is not because money is difficult to talk about but because Pastors are paid by the church, so there is vested interest.

But just because it is difficult does not mean it should not be talked about. That would be sad because it is in the bible and for Jesus, one in every three sermon is about money.

So today I am going to talk about money.

Notice here, Jesus sat himself in front where people were bringing in money. At that time, people do not mind being seeing how much is being given.

There is this pastor who followed the offering bag when it was being collected. And he would know how much each member gave. And he told them, as much as I know how much you gave, I want you to know God knows how much you have.

At that time, they dropped their money into the treasury box placed at the front. And at that time there were no notes, it was coins and how much you dropped in can be heard.

And this woman dropped in two copper coins. And Jesus said she gave more than all the others. When we read this we do not see the emotion. This widow when she dropped in the two coins, Jesus must have sounded out to his discipled with excitement.

Jesus commend this woman for her two cents. Because first and foremost she gave out of her poverty. I am going to talk about why we do what we do. It's the motivation. What motivated this woman to give?

Why we give? Why we do what we do? This is important. Right motive is important.

First motivation is we have to first give of ourselves.

First we give ourself then we put in our resources. But often we do it the other way around. We put the cart before the horse. We put in our resources before we give of ourselves.

I have nothing against the rich. But here is a story where there was this rich man that gave little to the church. 

There was a very wealthy man who had never been known for his generosity to the church. The church was involved in a big financial program and they resolved to pay him a visit. When the committee met with the man one afternoon, they said that in view of his considerable resources they were sure that he would like to make a substantial contribution to this program.

"I see," he said, "so you have it all figured out have you.? In the course of your investigation did you discover that I have a widowed mother who has no other means of support but me." No, they responded, they did not know that. "Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband with five children and no means to provide for them" No, they said, we did not know that either. "Well, sir, did you know also that I have a brother who is cripple due to an automobile accident and can never work another day to support his wife and family." Embarrassingly, they responded, no sir, we did not know that either. Well, he thundered triumphantly, I've never given any of them a cent so why should I give anything to you."

He had never given of himself therefore he never gave of his resources. Giving is an outgrowth. It is the inevitable result of the warmed heart. As we surrender ourselves to God and to loving our neighbor then we will want to give not only ourselves but our goods to him and to his church. We have put the cart before the horse. We say in the church: I give, therefore I am a Christian. Friends, it's just the reverse. It is because I am a follower of Christ that I give.

See this man did not give of himself. Our firstly motivation is we must give of ourselves. Is your life your own or God's?

Second, the bible says where your treasure is there is your heart. If God has your heart no problem with him having your money.

You know during baptism, we get into the pool and get baptised but we take our wallet out before going in. So looks like we come out a new creation but not our wallet. Maybe we should be baptised together with our wallets.

Third, when we talk about giving, it is not only about money. I am also talking about your time. Stewardship includes your time. You know when Wednesday comes so difficult to come for prayer meeting. How strange it is if the thing is important enough to you, you will make the schedule to go. It's just about priority.

When a baby comes out, you will likely forget everything. When you first hold the baby, all the labour pains and suffering just vanishes. And the baby, everyone will say so cute. And even when he poop in his pants, it's still cute. But can you imagine when he is all grown up and still do that it's no longer cute.

We cannot be spiritual babies all the time. We have to mature. And as you begin to serve, you have to draw from God and that's when you mature. From receiving, you begin to give.

I want to tell you the big party is a big opportunity to serve. We are there to serve the community. We are not there to eat or to spend our time but to serve because these people are closest to the heart of Jesus. And don't say you are too old. There is no retirement in God's kingdom. Only promotion, no demotion.

What is your motivation about giving? Even about tithing. Some people come and tell me, "do we have to give 10%?" If you ask me I say 100%. If you are earning 500.00 you may think it's easy to give your tithes. Only 50.00. But when you earn 10,000 or 20,000 you will be tithing 2,000.00. That's a lot of money and you think it is hard to give.

What is your motivation? In every service when the offering bag is being passed around I make it a point to give. How often, we look into our wallet and see we have no small change or we take the smallest note to give?

What is your motivation? God don't need your money. There was a time when I had only 50.00 in my wallet and the offering bag was coming. I asked God whether I can "hutang" and give next week. But God convicted me. I hear God said, am I not worth 50.00? I was so convicted and repented. The good thing is, after church someone provided for my lunch. God is good.

I want to give because it makes God happy. God loves a cheerful giver. We should give because we want to. Too often we give because of a need. Let's just give because God deserves it, not just because of a need. We give beyond the need because we are so grateful to God. It is the outflow of who we are.

The widow when she gave, Jesus said she gave more than all the rest put together.

Another thing is we often give because God will bless you with more. If that is the case then our giving is like an investment. Yes, God will bless but there must be a right motive.

I want to tell you a real story. I went to visit a widow and spent time talking and praying with her. Just as I was leaving, she said wait and went to the kitchen to look for an Ang Pow packet. Then she took out 50.00 to put into the Ang Pow. I told myself I will not take from her as she is a widow.

I am very careful when receiving love offering. I mean sometimes when I speak in a church and receive offering, I sometimes give it back because the church is so poor.

When the widow gave me I said no. No drama. Then God spoke to me and said Gideon, the money is not for you but for her. I ask God "what? but she is giving to me." And God said it is for her. If you do not take from her I cannot bless her.

Let's give from our heart. I am very proud of TOP because I can see how you give. What about your time? Come to me and I'll find you a place to serve. Or you may say you are too old. Come and see me, I'll find a place for you to serve. If God can use Caleb, you are never too old. Or too young. I like this. Come to me, I'll wait for your to grow up.

There was this pastor who approached a young man to serve God. But he said "oh Pastor, let me focus on my studies first, then I will serve God." After he finished his studies, the pastor approached him again, but he said, "oh, I have to go out to work to earn a living so maybe later." Then when he has a steady career and income, the pastor again approached him to serve. "Oh, now is not a good time pastor, I am getting married and raising a family, maybe later after my children grow up, I will have more time."

Before long, all his children have grown up and he is now free of his responsibilities in raising his children. The pastor thought this is a good time to ask him again. But he said, "no pastor, this is the time in my life when I want to enjoy my life and reap the rewards of my labour. Maybe after I have traveled and see the world, then I will serve God." But at the end of the day, the man is now too old and too feeble to serve God. It is has become too late.

Note: I did not get to finish the actual transcription of the story above but you get the idea.
So friends, the moral of the story is this. I think it is okay to do all those things, but as you are doing that, are you serving God where God has placed you? Will you serve him?

Water Baptism

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

There is a water baptism in December and pastor has asked me to share on water baptism.

I am taking this message from the books of Acts and decided to look at it in a narrative way.

There will be real stories and some of you may not realize the issues and difficulties in water baptism until you hear them in real life.

I have four stories.

The first encounter was in 1994. My father accepted the Lord and at that time he said this: "I want to get baptized but I need to settle some things first." He was a religious man.

I told him no issue. So what's the issue? Does a man who accepted the Lord have to be baptised immediately?

The second incident, I have a cell member who came to me. The wife just accepted the Lord and growing. The husband said he has been a Christian for a long time. After half a year, I asked if he wanted to be baptised. And he said it was not important at that time. Later, over the phone I asked him would he like to be baptised this time around. He said it was not necessary for salvation, so he is not interested.

So the second issue, if baptism is not necessary for salvation, why baptised?

The third was in church where I was fellowshiping with one of the cell leaders and he said until they are baptized, we are not sure if they are saved.

Then this year, someone asked me about something to do with the big party. He asked how do we do baptism? He said some of them were baptised years ago but when he died he wanted his children to do the "Tong Tong Chiang". He don't want Chee Keong to sing. Haha...I already got permission from Bro Chee Keong about this (laughs).

I have raised four issues concerning baptism. And the question is who is to be baptised, when to be baptised and why do people get baptised? I won't talk about how to be baptised. The bible says full immersion so we won't talk about that.

I have this four real life stories. How I learn have always been like that, when people ask me questions. I go buy books and find answers to them. That's how I learn.

Acts 8:34-38 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

The passage before verse 34, verse 32-33 was taken from Isaiah. Who is this eunuch? The technical word is someone who has emasculate himself. The word eunuch is a common term used for a high official. This person talks to Phillip. He was ministering up North and he was called by God to move down south. Here we know he was most likely a god fearing gentile that subscribe to Judaism.

Those people at that time can be very committed. And they had the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 53:7-8 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

This passage made sense to the eunuch and he believed. This is when Phillip talked to him about Jesus and he believed. Verse 37 tells us very clearly that he became a believer. And he asked to be baptised.

1. Who are candidates for baptism?

The candidate must first and foremost be a believer.

2. When should the believer be baptised?

It was just a short time after he believed. Phillip didn't ask him, he asked Phillip. So when? As soon as possible. But you must understand that is a loaded question. He understood Judaism. He knew he should be baptised. And it is him who wants to be baptised. We are to teach what baptism is all about but the person is the one who must say he wants to be baptised, unless it is a logistic problem. Like if the person come midnight and ask for baptism, you may only have a small bathtub and may need more time to find a suitable place.

The passage tells us that it is a full immersion baptism. Why do we in church teach about baptism?

Romans 6:3-5 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Here we have the full teaching of water baptism. Roman 6 is the beginning of Paul's teaching on sanctification. And here appropriately, he begins with baptism, which is not by accident.

Baptism is a symbolism of us being united with Christ in His death. We go down as in we die to our old self. I checked with a commentary as I have to be very careful here. Jesus' death becomes our death. One key word in our Christian word is "in Christ". It is in Christ that we become a new man, it is in Christ that we become a saint. There is some form of union. And it begins when we become a believer in Christ. And the agent is when our spirit is regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

If you are saved and have accepted Christ and if you do not get baptised, you are saved but the baptism makes your identification with Christ vivid. It's a public profession of your faith in Christ.

You identify with Christ in his death when the pastor immersed you and you coming out of the water, you identify with his resurrection. This is a symbolism. An identification. Is such an identification important? This is a key question.

We have two ordinances. The Roman Catholic Church uses sacrament. We don't use that. Because they use the sacrament as tied to your salvation. Where else we use ordinances as an expression of you being already saved.

Why ordinances like that? No matter how close you are to God, you are finite, he is infinite. We need a symbol to make a connection because we are dealing with a transcendence God.

You will find that early on in the church, a profession of faith is easy to say. Not easy to do. Walk your talk. NATO (No Action Talk Only). Right from Judaism to Christianity, there is a place to make a public declaration of your faith. Here is where the baptism comes in. Jesus is the head of the body and when you have baptism you come into the fellowship of the body.

What is in your mind when you are baptized? Some people tell you when you are sick you pray for healing, you go in and come out healed. If you read Romans it has nothing to do with that.

It is the gospel call preached, accepted and actualised. And you are identifying with that. This is what your focus should be. Can God heal during the baptism? Yes. In God's presence it can happen but that is not the purpose and focus of baptism.

If you go into baptism without knowing that identification with Jesus, then you have missed out. In this you become incorporated into the body.

The next part I want to ask this question.

Is baptism necessary for salvation? The answer is NO. But salvation is necessary for baptism. Here I have to be very careful. I walk a tight rope. Baptism is not necessary for salvation but is necessary. That is a safe statement.

I give you one instance in the bible. The criminal on the cross. Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

I like this, it answers a lot of theological questions. Today you will be with me in paradise. Saved? Yes. Baptized? No. He believed. Not baptized. He is in heaven.

This story was 7-8 years back. He was telling me he is doing bible study. I said very good. Which church I asked. What have they been teaching you? Oh, he said he has to be baptized in that church to be saved. I told him to come see me. My friend was being taught: baptism is necessary for salvation. Which is quite okay. But only if he is baptized in this church. That's not. I asked how many members in his church? He said about 60. I said only 60 will go to heaven in Penang? He said ya, don't make sense right?

Look at the following;

Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Is there a mention of water baptism in these two verses?

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Acts 20:21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 24:46-47 Then He said to them, “ Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

There are no mention on water baptism in all these verses. Check the sinner's prayer. It is believing in Jesus and repentance of sin. No baptism mentioned. That is salvation.

Back to the four stories.

My father. He told me he wants to be baptized but give him some time. My father is saved. Very important. He has the desire to be baptized. My aunties were not happy my father accepted the Lord. The contention is my father is not baptized so how can he have a Christian funeral. They are saying he is not saved. But praised the Lord, some time back my father told this influential auntie that he is a believer. He told her that he believe Jesus is the one true God.

This auntie came to me and told me it is good that you young people believe but let the old believe what they believe. Usually, me being me, I would be very polite and just avoid the issue. But this time, I don't know why but I was very firm.

I told her my father wants to believe is because he himself wants to believe because he do not want to go to hell. I told her if he dies a Christian I will bear witness that his soul going to heaven. I told her if you do not believe and deny him a Christian funeral, then you bear witness that his soul will be in heaven. She quickly said cannot cannot. Probably she's afraid my father's spirit will come back to visit her (laughs).

The second story, this person do not have the desire to be baptized. A person who is regenerated, he will have a lot of desire for that which is godly. That is why we say a tree is known by its fruit. So if a person do not desire to be baptized, is he regenerated or saved? There is a question mark. I am not saying baptism is necessary for salvation. But I must say baptism is the fruit of your salvation. If a person is not baptised after many years, the issue is that, at best he is a baby in Christ and at worst he is not saved.

In case number 3, baptism is not necessary for salvation, it is already answered.

And the one about "tong tong chiang" funeral at the Hokkien service, we must be careful not to coerced a person into baptism. It must come from the person.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Here is the first thing a young believer must do. It is a first commandment given. Make disciple and then baptism. It is an obedience to a commandment.

And here is a perfect example.

Matthew 3:13-16
John Baptizes Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “ Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

Jesus himself was baptized. How much more us.

And to end with my own example. In my heart I wanted to be baptized but in my early Christian understanding is that, if I baptized no one will take my father's "Tong Huan". I told my father, my two brothers were already baptized and I told my father they "bo akai", don't think. I told my father I will do the right thing. And my father was so proud of his youngest son, who seemed wiser.

But the conviction came and in Dec 1993 as I was marking papers there was a still small voice, go get baptized. Until I put down all my papers and I said Lord, I cannot get baptized because of my father. Settled. The Lord left me alone.

Then I went to church and when I saw Sis Sandy, I wanted to say good morning but the words that came out was "I want to be baptized". "Tong Huan" went down the "Tong Sampah", rubbish bin. I asked whether I can be baptized now. But she said now cannot. But after a while she said wait, she try check with pastor. But after a while she said why not in two weeks as the church has a baptism session. I was baptized at Swimwell. I had that strong desire.

I want to end on a good note. When I was baptized I told the Lord, if I take that step of faith, I don't want my cousin to carry the "Tong Huan" for my father. But praise the Lord, my father accepted the Lord. The commandment of the Lord is not burdensome.

Acts 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

Baptism is a joy. If you cannot catch that, you have missed it. After Swimwell I was full of the Spirit. I want to impart this to you, if you are a believer, make a public acknowledgment of your faith by taking baptism and it will be a joy.