An Empowering Life

Pastor Steven Teo

Most birds fly in flocks but the eagle flies alone. And if we are to experience more of God in our lives, then we will have to fly solo as well.

There is nothing wrong in enjoying people. To have good friends and counsel. But many times, our journey in life are necessarily solo.

Acts 7:9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

He was alone often. It was a solo flight for Joseph. His lack of discretion caused him problems but he was never alone. Because in his apparent loneliness, God was with him.

God spent years working in Joseph's life before he achieved greatness. God was never ever willing to leave him alone. In his most difficult period, he was never alone. God was with him orchestrating and empowering him to a position second to none. Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt. He was responsible for one of the most ambitious rescue operation the world has ever seen. He rescued the country from severe drought and food shortages including the savior of his own family that betrayed him.

The picture of his family bowing before him came to pass. But that is not the story I want to share with you but the subtleties behind the story. Why was he such an impact to his land and generation?

I believe there are three subtleties we will be wised to accept.

1. Character

Psalms 105:18-19 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.

We need character to do the work that God puts in our hearts. Our talents and gifts can help us but it is our character that determines our success. Our character is our greatest asset. Character is our moral asset.

An example is carrying conviction in our hearts. It is different from our believe. We all have a believe system. A conviction is the exact opposite. It catches a hold on us. It protects us and will not let us go. With conviction we will not cheat on our wife, or steal. Even when no one is watching.

Or godly obedience. Moses struck the rock twice in disobedience to God's instruction. I wondered what was the big sin? I discovered the severity in this act was when I was there in Jordan. These rock formation were soft limestone rocks. There are water trapped within this rocks. Moses was a desert dweller so he knew about these water sources. They knew how to track these water down. By hitting hard on these rock, so he actually did a natural thing and that was why God told him to speak to the rock. God wanted it to be a supernatural thing. God said he broke faith with me.

As a result he was denied entry to the promise land. At 120 years, he was not weak or his strength gone. God ensured that he had the strength to climb the mountain and eyes not dimmed to see the promise land. What finished his life was his punishment from entering the promise land.

Only after Joseph's character was forged before he achieved greatness. It took a while, after being sold as a young boy. Remember his coat of many colours. So you need to take heart that the picture of your future will come to pass when the time is right. But it's painful. God will not allow it until our heart is right. Hang in there and keep moulding that character.

2. Skills

While your character is being honed God is also working on your skills.

Psalms 105:22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.

We need to go through training. How many of you want to be operated on by a surgeon that had no training. Our situation must not dictate our life. Don't despise skills as God can use it as much as he can do without. These are orchestrated by a purposeful God to give you an empowering life. When God was through with Joseph, he was not only godly but wise.

It is astounding what God prepared him for. For his political, economical and social role and to impact the surrounding nations. And God is preparing you to impact our church, our city, our nation and beyond.

I never had any inclination to do law. All of my friends thought I had a screw loose up there. I went in because God told me to. I was reluctant because it was expensive and difficult. But every other door was closed including this but on a July I got a door open in Monash and I was given 3 says to sign up. I said no. I waited 3 years and now they want me to respond in 3 days! I said no but my wife said you have to. Wives are wonderful. They tell you what to do without understanding it. (laughs). I have a wonderful wife who knows when to open her mouth. She's generally a quiet person but when she speaks, nuggets of gold comes out so when my wife speaks, you listen.

I went in because God has given me the skills to do the work that he has for me. I believe the latter rain will be greater than the former rain for me even though I have a wonderful life in the corporate and itinerant work. Everything was just swell and I liked what I was doing. I have travelled the world speaking and doing workshops so I was happy.

But the bible says the steps of a righteous man is ordered by the Lord.

3. Purpose

All of us wish for success in life. We know success is never easy. But it is a lot easier if we make decisions with a purpose. Joseph understood his purpose. He knew why he was being empowered in the first place.

Psalms 105:37-38 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

What he did impacted the nation until today. If you check the list of Nobel prize winners many were Jews. The nation of Israel impacted the whole world.

Genesis 41:51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”

He went through a lot of suffering yet he never forgot his purpose. How do I know that? First, he forgave his family for their sins. He said they intended for evil but God turned it for good.

And secondly, Joseph saw the future. He knew what the future hold. When he instructed the people to carry his bones, many hundred years later, he knew God will take the nation out of Egypt. It all led to the freedom of the nation of Israel and he wanted to be a part of that even though he would not be around by then.

The bible says if God is for us who can be against us. God can get to be there on time to meet the right person because he is a purposeful God. He wants us to be a powerful people influencing others to accomplish His purpose. We were not called to be the borrower or the tail, but to be the head and lender.

We are to create the peer pressure. We can demonstrate to the whole world what we can be by being godly and righteous. We are the salt and the light of the world. He is working to ensure your life is fulfilled and fulfilling and that others will naturally gravitate towards you. That's what Jesus meant when he says rivers of living water will flow from us. Life must flow out from us and others can see what it is about you that is so different.

When I left my job and all my peers looked at me and thought that I was mad. And they thought I was madder, if there is such a word, when they found out I was going to bible school. And now I still get emails from these who is up there and very successful and I can sense the respect and honour that can only be because of God.

God makes no mistakes. He orchestrate and order events in our life to empower us. The apostle Paul knew his purpose, that all things work together for good to all that's called according to his purpose.

Your character, skills and purpose is what God will use to empower you to impact the world around you. God has a great plan for you.

It Doesn't Have To Be This Way

Rev Gideon Lee

Luke 8:26-39
A Demon- Possessed Man Healed
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “ What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon- possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “ Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

If you read the chapter before this, it was about Jesus calming the storm. So imagine after that experience, they are confronted by a demon possessed man. How many of you know that's not a pleasant experience.

In the book of Mark, it says about 2,000 pigs. So that is a lot of pigs.

From a demon possessed man, he became a disciple of Jesus.

I want to start off by telling you a story.

There was one day a man who found himself alone in a hotel room and he was in depression. So depressed that he did not even want to go down to the restaurant to eat. He was a CEO of a shipping company but the demands of life caused him to lay just in bed totally depressed. He was worried about his work, business and all these things overwhelmed him. He has hit rock bottom. He says that life isn't worth living this way and he wished he was dead. So he looked up to God and told God he thought life is but a joke. When he uttered this he realized this is the first time he has spoken to God for a long time. So he started to pour out all his anger to God and when he finished, he heard a small voice that says, it doesn't have to be this way. He checked out of the hotel and talked to his wife and pastor whether that was God speaking to him. And the pastor says yes, that is what God came to do. That we may be set free so that our life need not be that way. Finally he realized that and he rededicated his life back to God. His problems did not go away but he faced them now with a smile.

That described the life of this demon possessed man. He was almost naked with just stripped of clothes on him. I think it's not hard for you to imagine his state. Dirty and smelly. Much like some of the homeless we sometimes see on the streets. He confronted Jesus and Jesus saw him and even in such a critical position Jesus had the authority to change this man's life.

He didn't leave this man the same way he was in. You have the opportunity to change your life in Jesus.

Three thoughts I want to share with you.

1. You don't have to be angry with yourself.

You don't have to be at war with yourself. Sometimes when we make a stupid mistake we get angry with ourself. Isn't that right? Or we despise the way we look, not tall, not thin enough, not fair and we have low self esteem.

This is one of the things I see when praying for youth that came out for prayer. In life things happen and we get angry with ourselves. This man was not in his right mind. But we don't have to remain like that.

There was once this young lawyer who went to see his pastor. He was in the dumps with everything going wrong. He was bitter and hostile. How his problems are many. He paused and he thinks his real problem is he don't like himself. And he said it taints everything around him.

If you feel lousy with yourself everything you touch becomes terrible. Don't remain in that state. You need to have a right picture of how God sees us. Don't be angry with yourself and have a low esteem of yourself.

Jesus casts the demons out into the pigs. The demon was called legion which means a lot. A lot of demons were in him. The demons went into the pigs which went over a cliff and drowned.

The people probably went to tell everyone, especially the pig owners. When the pigs die like that, you cannot eat the pigs. In the first place why would the pigs be there as they are unclean. But that's a lot of pigs. Many Bak Kut Tehs (laughs).

But this man became a disciple of Jesus. We rejoice but for many it's a lot of money that went down the drain with the pigs. Is this man's life worth more than these 2,000 pigs, the answer is yes. We are valued of God. We are worth more than 2,000 pigs.

In the islands like Fiji, when you want to marry a wife you need to pay a dowry. By the number of pigs. A good wife may cost 5 pigs. Not so pretty maybe 3 pigs. Illustration only ya. There was this father who has a daughter where the people thought not so beautiful. Maybe 1 pig.

So when someone came and ask for the daughter, the father says 20 pigs. But the man said she's only worth 1 pig. But when the daughter heard what the father said she walked around town like she's worth 20 pigs (laughs).

2. You don't have to be angry with people.

This man was violent and they had to chain him. He could break the chains. When he met Jesus he did not come in peace. He was angry with everyone. This morning you don't have to be angry with everyone.

How many of you has seen the show Avengers? In the last scene they were waiting for Dr Banner to turn up. And when he came, Captain America was telling him now is a good time to get angry. He becomes the Hulk when he gets angry. And he said the secret is he is angry all the time. So he turned green and bash up the enemy.

Some of us are angry all the time. It damage our system and health. Our blood pressure goes up. You've heard the phrase angry until our blood vessels pop. You can change and don't have to be the Incredible Hulk.

3. You don't have to be angry with God.

Sometimes when bad things happen we can get angry with God. You don't have to be angry with God.

There was once a father who was playing with his son and it got rough. The father accidentally elbowed the son on the face. The son when he was elbowed got angry and thought how can the father do that to me. He felt the pain and was about to cry when he looked up to the father and saw in the father's eyes the pain, the hurt and the regret and instead of crying the son laughed.

That's what Jesus is to us. He look at us with compassion. We can see the eyes of a father in Him. In His eyes is love and compassion for each one of us.

One way not to get angry with ourselves is to see how God sees us in his eyes. We are worth so much more. We are worth more than 20 pigs. Maybe not so good illustration ya. We are worth more than 10 iPhone 5. Or more than 100 Mercedes SLK. Tell your wife, your husband, you are worth more than the Mercedes SLKs.

Don't get angry with others. The beatitudes says blessed are the peacemakers. Christ has given us a ministry of reconciliation. That is to reconcile.

Don't be angry with God. There was a time I was angry with God. I didn't like the name Gideon. People would tease me in school. If they are not from church some people would call me what, Indian? (Laughs). But I thank God today I am called Gideon. I asked my father and he said he prayed and God told him to name me Gideon. The proper image of myself, a name given by God. I had thought of the name Michael and wanted to change my name when I am 21. Mike sounds nice. But I am glad I am not Pastor Mike. I am glad I kept my name Gideon.

We don't have to be angry with God. Amen?

I have decided to follow Jesus... congratulations to our baptismal candidates.

Father's Day

Rev Gideon Lee

One little boy has an interesting description of Father's Day. He said it's like Mother's Day except we don't spend as much on Father's Day. So today please make sure you take your father to lunch and don't make your father pay.

Bill Cosby wrote on his book the difference between Father's Day and Mother's Day.

For Father's Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a present--a total of $100. They go to the store and buy two packages of underwear, each of which costs $5 and contains three shorts. They tear them open and each kid wraps up one pair, the sixth going to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Father's Day I am walking around with new underwear and my kid's are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets. (laughs).

He insists that Mother’s Day is a much bigger deal because Mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mothers Day. You do that for me.

Matthew 14:22-23
Jesus Walks on the Sea
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Today's message is not just for fathers but for all of us.

Four very important words that we need to learn.

While He dismissed the crowd.

Jesus dismissed the crowd because He wanted to go to the mountain top to pray. Before that Jesus was feeding the 5,000. So the crowd He was talking about was the 5,000 but with family and children, it could be 10,000 or more. He sent them home.

If I was Jesus with 10,000 listening to me and wants to make me king I would not have dismissed them.

But the reason He dismissed them was that He wanted to go to the mountain to pray.

So Jesus said no to a good opportunity on that day in order to say yes to a better one.

It was His time with the father. His first responsibility was not to the crowd but to His father. His relationship with God the Father was more important.

The key word here is focus. His focus was His walk with the Heavenly Father. What is your focus today?

In one firecracker I was told has the same amount of gunpowder as a bullet. So what's the difference between a firecracker and a bullet? The firecracker just makes a lot of noise but the bullet hits a target. The difference is focus and direction. So are you a firecracker father or Christian or are you a bullet?

I want to share with you 3 truths or secret.

1. As a parent we must understand that our role model to our children is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

They watch you all the time so you cannot take a day off for a holiday. No off days. Because of this our children see what we say or do.

I give you an example. I was driving and suddenly a car swerve into my path and I had to suddenly slam my brake. We were shock when my daughter shouted "stupid driver, how can drive like that". I was shocked and then I realized that is what I had said before. Our children hear and learn from us.

Sometimes we label people and discriminate. Especially us Chinese. We call other races kui "ghost" but we call the Chinese "lang" human. So our children pick this up too. We are guilty. We are a father 24 hours a day and sometimes in our worst scenario our children pick it up and learn from us.

2. Fathers, nothing can substitute for your presence.

Many fathers qualify it this way. I don't spend much time with my children but I spend quality time. That's an excuse. They need both quality and quantity. We men sometimes overwork. I am sometimes also guilty of this. I bring work home and sometimes I sacrifice family time for ministry.

There is this boy who misses his father so much because the father was always so busy. So one day he waited for his father to come home and he asked his father, how much do you make in an hour? The father feeling proud as a provider said he makes about 80 ringgit an hour. So the boy pulled out from his pocket 80 ringgit and asked to pay for an hour of his father's time. I hope our children never have to make an appointment to see us.

I tell you another story. This one is for real. The one just now I read from somewhere.

My children had their kindergarten concert on a Sunday and I cannot attend as I am serving in church so I sent my wife. So I missed my first and second daughter's kindergarten concert.

My son's concert was on a Saturday so I could go. So my two daughters ask me why I attended Josiah's concert but not theirs. How to answer them? I am guilty.

Often we don't take our time to tell them they are clever, or beautiful. It is important when it comes from the father and it will make them confident growing up. Don't leave the parenting to just the mum. Don't leave the parenting to our grandparents. You bring the child into the world the responsibilities is yours.

It will be a sad day if our children learn everything from the grandparents or the kakak. Nowadays got kakak taking care of our children.

3. No one can lead your child to God as well as you can fathers.

Children are clever. If they don't see you read the bible they will think the bible is not important. If you go elsewhere instead of church on Sunday they will think church is not important. Or if you don't pray, they will not see the value of praying.

If our children learn things from the TV or Internet, it will be a sad day. As we try to be a bullet father or mother, God is in the picture to help us get the right message to our children.

In cell, we asked the question who is the biggest influence in your life? So who is the biggest influence in your life? You know who is the biggest influence in my life? It's my father. I learn all things of God from my father. When my father died I was not in full time ministry but I already knew God called me. During the funeral many came and gave their eulogy. One of these was Jeremiah. He was an ex-drug addict and he was serving with my father in the drug ministry. He said my father, Bro Hudson was very careful with his money, even 5 cents. So he said he did not understand why a Chinese man would come and help us drug addicts. So he ended by saying there is no other reason except the love of God. I saw how much my father love God. At the memorial service God spoke to me that in 6 month's time I will be serving God.

Fathers, your influence is the most important to them. And the most important decision will be them giving their life to God. We have a huge responsibility. We can only do it with God.

I want to end with a story. There was these two boats that needs coal for steam to run the boat. So there was a challenge to see who will reach the destination first. So to move faster they had to burn more coal. So one of the sailors had a bright idea. Why don't we burn our cargo. So they won the race but reached their destination without the cargo. Let's not be like that. It is not the race that's important. It's the cargo.

So are you a firecracker Christian or a bullet Christian? It's all in the focus. I pray all of us will be bullet christians.

Rev Gideon praying for the fathers before they received a DIY Kit from the youth and young adults.

How to Rise Above Discouragement

Rev Gideon Lee

Luke 7:11-17
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out–the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

We've just read a passage that to say the least, the scene that is depicted is quite disturbing. The deceased was carried on the same day of his death as there was no embalming then. As Jesus approached the town, He stopped this funeral possession. Can you imagine today someone stop the hearse in the middle of the procession? Jesus told this widow not to cry. She just lost her one and only son and the bible says Jesus had compassion.

If you are wondering in your time of sadness, understand that He cares. Jesus spoke to the young man, arise and this man arose. Only one other time Jesus did it, raising someone from the dead. I am not saying Jesus raised the dead on all occasions but I want to say that Jesus can raise you from your discouragement.

Discouragement comes in all forms and sometimes it can be very discouraging for want of a better word. We need to know how to rise above our discouragement.

1. Accept the reality of what happened.

We do not deny the suffering nor the pain that we are going through. Jesus did not tell the disciples the storm is not real when they were in the boat. He instead told the storm "peace be still". The discouragement that you go through is real.

I am reminded of a story where a man who lived in a tornado region heard the alert. This man had a son who was worried about the tornado. To comfort the son, he told him that the houses there are very well built. Just as he said that the tornado came and the houses all fell flat.

Jesus came and understood the pain that we go through. He did not belittle our situation. He understood how we felt. He never insult our pain. As we accept this is real, we need to come to Him as He is the only one that can turn the bad to good. And He wants to do it as He has compassion for us. Don't deny reality, what we are going through, but Jesus alone has the ability to tell the storms in our lives to be still. Are you going through a tough time, a serious illness, a financial crisis, lost your job? Accept it is real, but bring it to Him.

2. Consider the alternative that Jesus presents to us in the midst of our discouragement.

There was once a man who knows that he may be laid off by his company. He had commitments but the company tried to help him, so gave him a placement elsewhere. But he refused and that could have led him to bankruptcy.

Maybe for some of us, we may have to consider the alternatives that we have. Most of the time we don't want to because it will require us to change. But friends, there are times when we must choose to move on and not just stay or wallow in our sorrows.

There is this story where there is a hut where mothers who lost their infant at birth go to and mourn for their lost. She can go there to mourn for a month and after that the people will go to burn the hut. The mother can choose whether to come out of the hut or stay. If she comes out, then it means she is ready to move on. That was the custom then. I am not saying it is right but that was what their custom did.

How many of you know Eric Clapton? On a warm day in March, he got news that his son fell out of a window and died. Eric Clapton rushed home to find the paramedics there and realized it is true. When it sunk in he said he felt blank and turned to stone. He had to go through the suffering and out of it he came to a point where he has to move on. He did it by writing a song "Tears in heaven".

"Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in heaven?

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way through night and day

'Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven"

Friends, this morning we need to rise above our discouragement. It is okay to grief but we need to move on to live.

3. We need to let God touch us.

No words can take us out of our discouragement and we have to come before the Lord and let Him touch us. God is not against us, we need to come to Him and let Him touch us as only He can give us His peace.

We need to rise above our discouragement and with the help of our brothers and sisters, we can do it.

Last week even when we were attending to the wake of Bro David, I heard news of a bible school classmate that they were hit from the back of their car on their way back from camp. As a result of the impact, her 12 year old daughter died and the wife's skull was split in two. The trauma was great for the husband who was also admitted.

You may ask me why do bad things happen to good people? I have no answer for you but that we have to move on. We have to rise above the discouragement.

Today I am reminded of the eagle. Unlike most birds in times of storms where they find shelter, the eagle flies above the storm and the rain clouds. We all have the ability to soar like the eagle and rise above our discouragement.

Jesus is in the House

Rev Gideon Lee

Mark 2:1-12
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “ Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “ Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘ Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”— He said to the paralytic, 11 “ I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

As we just read this portion of scripture, it says Jesus has just entered the city. He has entered this city before. He is coming again so he is no stranger to this place.

He entered this house which is unusual. He usually moved around doing ministry. Usually He go to the places where the people are gathered, the synagogues or the marketplace. So it's unusual He went to a home instead.

But news of Him arriving went out and people came from every corner. There was just no room and the place was filled. Jesus did one very important thing. He preached the word of God.

There was this bedridden man brought by his friends to see Jesus. He could not get in and so often many would just give up. But they went the extra mile and was creative about it. They went to the roof, which was flat at those times and they made a hole wide enough to lower the man.

Lo and behold a man was lowered down right in front of Jesus. Jesus saw this man and was amazed at the faith of his friends. And the bible says Jesus forgave the sins of this man.

There is a trend that is happening today in church. During my father's time, the church had no aircon and the pews were hard. Yet, Sunday after Sunday, the church was packed. Today many people may not come to church if there is no technology comforts. Good sound system. Comfortable chairs.

That would be a real tragedy. I am not against technology, in fact we are renovating our church soon.

My question today is what do we do when Jesus shows up?

When Jesus show up please don't keep that a secret. 

We need to tell people that in TOP God is present. We see so many empty seats when we are wanting to enlarge our sanctuary. We need to tell people Jesus is present and has power in this church.

When in cell and the leader ask if there are any testimonies, all goes quiet. Why? We need to tell people what Jesus has done. And how do we know Jesus is present in this place? The bible says where two or three is gathered in this place, He will be there. Then why others don't know Jesus is here? We need to tell people.

How many of you have a favourite Char Koay Teow stall? We can be very kiam siap. We don't want to tell others so that we don't have to wait and the price won't go up. How many of you have a favourite stall and not tell me. Sometimes that's what we do with the gospel.

You may say pastor, I am not good at sharing the gospel. But you can share your testimonies. Don't keep Him a secret. Make sure our church is packed. How I wish the car park is packed, the lift lobby packed and when I enter the sanctuary it's fully packed. I want us to remember our theme. The called out ones. Remember how I said to bring one person to church?

You want our church to grow, then don't keep Jesus a secret. The paralytic man would not have met Jesus if his friends had not brought him.

His friends, four of them took this man to Jesus and they went the extra mile. They could have said the house is full and can't go in. But they dug a hole at the expense of the house owner. They went the extra mile. These are real friends.

Have you been a friend to others? If someone never took the time to invite us to church we would never have known Jesus. I pray we will not keep Jesus a secret. He is not just for us but for everyone. We were all hungry and only Jesus can satisfy us. Our job is to tell another person where to find bread. So will you bring someone next week?

Oh, but that is the pastor's job. Is it? If like that I will be in multi-level marketing. The pastor's job is to equip the saints for the work of the kingdom. Tell that to your neighbour.

Sometimes you may say it's a lot of trouble to being someone. Have to provide transport. Have to maybe buy them lunch after service. But we need to challenge ourselves. Nurture and disciple the person. Lets be spiritual parents.

When God is in the house He speaks.

Jesus did not do a performance. He preached. He preached the word of God. God speaks through His words. The problem is are we listening. Some of us God is speaking to us and it changes our lives.

Look at Moses. God spoke to him though the burning bush. And it changed him. Saul was like that. On the way to Damascus, God spoke to him. Was he the same after that?

God speaks to us when He is present. What is He saying to you today? He is calling sinners, He is asking us to give more, or serve more. Or that we need to be at prayer meeting. Or that we need to give up on a wrong relationship. We don't like to change even if it actually makes us better. He speaks to you and I. What is he saying? Our problem is on hearing. We are so busy with something. Have you heard from God lately. I want to be within the range of God's voice. If we don't hear God, we are in a very dangerous place.

How many of you remember at the CWC, I lost my son. We were all having lunch and suddenly he disappeared. We were frantically looking for Josiah and could not find him. Finally I found him and we told them they cannot leave our presence without telling us. Even if its just to the toilet. And I told them if they leave they still have to be within hearing range.

Many of us like to be outside of God's range. What is God saying to you this morning? You personally.

Last but not least.

When Jesus is present He saves.

Coming back to the story. These four guys lowered his friends but the bible says Your sins are forgiven. Strange. He didn't say he is healed. This man came needing physical healing but Jesus is more interested in his spiritual healing. The Pharisees were all grumbling and says nobody can forgive sin unless God. Jesus perceived what they were saying and Jesus says the son of man has the power to forgive sin. There is salvation where Jesus is. Bring your friends to church, Jesus saves.

People's life are changed. Once their soul is saved, all his other needs can be met. That's why when we do big party we want their sins forgiven. How many of us are willing to do that. When Jesus is in the house, don't keep it a secret.

How many of us has a stall where the seller knows exactly what we want? We should be like that to others where they know we have Jesus. Don't keep Jesus a secret.

Second, what is God saying to you? I'm pretty sure he is speaking to us but are you listening? He is too much of a friend to let you stay where you are.

When Jesus is present He saves. When salvation comes, the healing, the providence, the blessings will all fall in line.

So I ask you how many of you will bring someone to church? You may say I have no friends. You have 2,000 friends on Facebook but none of them are real. (laughs)

May we not keep Jesus a secret from our friends.

Last but not least, when Jesus is in the house, the people leave satisfied. The man came in paralysed but he left praising God.