Go the Second Mile

Rev Gideon Lee

We are going to look this morning at the beatitudes. Some of the things in this passage has been misinterpreted. 

Matthew 5:38-42

Go the Second Mile

38 “ You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

The nature of man is that if you poke my eye I will poke your eye. If you break my tooth I will come back and revenge and repay. 

To become a Christian is quite easy. You just have to put your faith in Jesus and say the sinners prayer. But it is more difficult to be a Christian. 

It is not the nature of man to do what we have just read. We are more inclined to repay. God is not talking about revenge but gave us an overall idea of what it means to be a Christian. Someone who is willing to go the second mile. The extra mile. 

What does it mean to go the extra mile? It is actually already outlined in the bible. 

1 . You are willing to get worst than what you deserve. 

I have heard this many times as a pastor. Does it mean when someone slap you on the left cheek you turn the other cheek? Then you have missed what the bible say. You need to understand the Jewish culture or even the Chinese culture. 

A slap actually do not so much injure a person than as to insult a person. For the Jews, to spit on his face or to slap the person is a great insult. This is what they did to our Lord Jesus. That was the beginning to insulting him. To tell him he is a nobody. 

Matthew 26:67

Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands,

This was what they did to Jesus. If you slap the person with the back of your hands, it is the insult of insult. The bible says if the person slapped you on the left, you are to turn the other cheek. 

What Jesus is saying is not about passive action but about revenge. As hard as it may be do not retaliate. This verse must be read hand in hand with Romans 12:19. 

Romans 12:19

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

If we are prone to revenge, there is no room for God to intervene in our situation. I am not saying you become a doormat or don't defend yourself. We have to demonstrate love. That is what is meant to turn the other cheek. Not only do we say we are Christians but we give room for God to work in our situation. 

When we retaliate there is a bad motive and we feel very evil. We do that and think justice but our justice cannot be like God's justice. We just want to hurt the person. When someone insults you, do not retaliate. Going the second mile is to offer love to the other person. You can say it's hard and I agree but this is what God requires of us. 

I remember a story. Remember I said we are not to be a doormat or not defend ourselves. Going the second mile means we are willing to suffer. 

2. We are willing to give more than what we are asked. 

If someone wants to sue you, in those times you can pay your fine with your clothing. Cloth was not easily available hence it was precious. And normally they would give their tunic or inner clothes. But they would never give their cloak which was the most valuable clothing which was used as a blanket to keep warm. 

Exodus 22:26-27

If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

Jesus is saying that we are to do more like giving him even your cloak. If what you pay is not enough, give him your cloak also. You may say this is tough man. We often just want to do what's enough. 

Like my children. When they cannot finish their food, I would say cannot. Finish your food. And they will ask me how much more. And I may ask them to eat the food and half the rice and they would draw a line on their plate. They will try to eat the minimum. 

I am treading on dangerous ground. Sometimes also our tithes. We often pay 10% but what we do is we minus our EPF our Socso and pay the balance 10%. We try to give the minimum. But God gave us the best. His only son. 

We just want to give the minimum. I give another example. A man goes to the emporium and wanted to buy perfume for his wife. The salesgirl took up a perfume worth 50 ringgit. Then he asked whether can find something less. So the salesgirl brought one that is 30 ringgit. Then he think again and ask if there is something cheaper. The girl brought something worth 10 ringgit and he ask again is there is something cheaper? The salesgirl brought him a mirror. 

God gave us his best. But how often we just wants to give the minimum. 

The Roman soldiers who carry their weapon on the road has a right to ask anyone on the road to carry his weapon and they are compelled to carry his load for one mile. So the Jews knows exactly how far is one mile. They will carry one mile and not an inch more. Jesus is saying if someone ask you to walk one mile, go the second mile. Go further than what is required. 

This is a true story. A pastor was filling petrol for his car. A truck pulled alongside the pastor's car and looked lost. He asked the pastor if he knows the address and he knew where the place was. But he also know if he gave the direction, he will not get there as there are many turns. 

How many times have you been asked directions and you sometimes try to give directions. Some people even purposely give the wrong direction. I don't understand some people. 

In this case the son said why don't you show the way. The pastor knows it would take him 20 to 25 minutes to show the way. But the pastor decided to show the way and asked the truck driver to follow him. 

After reaching the place, the truck driver was so grateful and got down to thank the pastor. The pastor then ask the driver for the time that I spent taking you here can you give me 5 minutes to share Jesus with you. The driver said that he is a Christian but his wife was just murdered and he said he knew God sent the pastor to minister to him. 

Go the second mile. 

3. Give to the one who ask you and do not turn away from the one who ask you. 

What the person asking for come from a genuine need but this verse must be read with another verse. 

Psalms 112:5

A good man deals graciously and lends;

He will guide his affairs with discretion.

Use your discretion to help the person. It is not a blank cheque. Sometimes just giving money or lending a person will not help the person. 

How often we meet people who ask for money and ask for money as they want to go home but need to buy bus ticket. So I may say we go to the bus ticketing counter to buy the ticket but the person may say no I don't want to waste your time as the queue is long. Does he want the ticket? He may just want your money. Going the second mile is like that. Help him by going the extra mile. Not just give money to get rid of the person. 

I often don't like to give money to help a person. We must go the extra mile to really help a person. 

When we do more than what is required, we go the second mile and you can be sure God's there. I say this. You go the first mile, shows that you are a slave. The one that goes the second mile, is a son. A son does more than what is required. 

Anger Management

Rev Gideon Lee

Last week I was not here so if you are wondering if your pastor has backslide, I want to say that I was in Phuket to conduct a wedding. The couple was in my youth group at my previous church. 

Matthew 5:21-26

5:25, 26pp – Lk 12:58, 59

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. ’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca, ’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool! ’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Do not murder was referenced from the Ten Commandments. 

But Jesus said something that was shocking, he was equating anger on the same level as murder. Anger, a feeling that all of us has. How many of us never get angry? Wah, all saints here ar. How many of you got angry this morning? Or you got angry on your way to church? Someone cut in your lane and you got angry. 

But this morning, Jesus is talking about anger as murder. 

All of us get angry. Some time back in the 70's there is this mood ring. It can change colour based on the mood of the person. How it works is that it reacts based on your body temperature. So when angry your body temperature rises. All of us feels this feeling of anger. To a certain extent we do get angry. 

Why did Jesus said this? He said being angry you are in danger of hell fire. Jesus knew that anger is an outward act from the inside. How someone is so angry that he commits murder. Out of his anger the act took place. 

This morning may I suggest to you three guidelines how to keep your anger in check according to the bible. 

1. It's okay to be angry. 

Ephesians 4:26

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

It's okay to get angry but don't sin. Pastors also get angry. More important, don't sin when you get angry. 

Let's look at Jesus. He often got angry with the Pharisees. The famous incident happened at the temple where he overturned the tables. Jesus is not against business but these people were cheating at the temple. This is righteous anger. 

It is okay to be angry but don't sin. We should be angry when we see injustice or people being down trodden. Or when we see sin or unrighteousness. That is holy anger. 

Sometimes we need to express our anger but when we act on our anger, we may sin. How often we say things and wish we can retract. Anger not only hurts us but those around us. 

In our moment of anger we have to be careful. There was a survey done where medical students took this test. Those that score high in hostility also has a higher death rate. When a person gets angry not only his face turns red but his veins pops up. You risk getting a stroke as your blood pressure goes up. Damage done to your heart is like having high blood pressure or smoking. 

But Jesus has come to set us free. 

2. Anger needs to be resolved at the first possible opportunity. 

God says stop and do not offer your offerings until you have resolved with your adversary. This is what God requires. 

When I do marriage counselling, I often ask the couple what is the most important words in a marriage. It is not "I love you" but "I am sorry". There are times when I need some time to cool down but we need to do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait the harder it is to resolve. At the first possible opportunity, solve it. Don't drag. You have to forgive one another. 

The problem is not just anger but what happens after anger. Don't let it fester. Like a wound, it can become gangrene.  

There are these two sisters from a wealthy family. They love one another though they have fights. But something happened and they became angry with one another and stopped talking to one another. How many of you have a relative you no longer talk to. You need to settle the issue. 

These sisters became so bad that they don't want to see one another. But in the same house they cannot avoid one another so they decided to build a wall to divide the house. But the problem was that the toilet was on one side. But the sister got so angry that she prefer to go to the neighbour's toilet. But the other sister also not happy. The kitchen is on the other side. 

This went on for a while. So one of the sister had a stroke and because of her stubbornness refused to call for help and died just a few feet away from help. The other sister was so grieved and blamed herself and also died in grief. 

Some of you may be angry. Forgive. Why do you think our bibles have been confiscated. Or why a church was being evicted in Kepong? Why do you think they are burning churches? It is to cause you Christians to be angry. But very important, in your anger don't sin. But why are the Christians not retaliating? We have been at conflict with our cousins from Abrahams' time. The crusades. I am not proud of what the Christians did. The bible says love your enemies. 

3. Because anger is a spiritual issue. 

Look at what Jesus says. If you have something not right with your brother go make right before coming to God. Anger will affect your walk with God. Will affect your offerings. Jesus says go resolve this as soon as you can. Don't let the sun go down on your anger. It is a spiritual thing. 

You have to. It is a commandment. Doesn't matter if the person doesn't accept. Doesn't matter, you do it. The bible says you heap coals on the person. It means you have done your part and the responsibility is now on that person. 

Best way to combat anger is love. Forgive. Let go. Often the things we fight about are small issues. I have seen a church split because of where to put the Christmas tree. Right side or left side. Sometimes we even forgot what we were angry about but still angry. 

The bible says in our anger don't sin. Settle the issue as soon as possible. And that anger is a spiritual issue. Your walk with God will be compromised.

I end with this story. 

There was once this famous psychologist. In a taxi going for his appointment a car came and crashed into the taxi that this guy was in. Thank God no one was hurt. The guy came out of his car and shouted obscenity at the taxi driver. The taxi driver just smiled at him and did not get angry but just smiled. He told the guy it's okay. He got back in and the psychologist said "I noticed you did not get angry". The taxi driver said there are many angry people out there because of what is happening in their life but you don't have to let them affect you. 

You cannot stop the birds from flying over you but you can stop them from landing on your head. We don't have to get angry. 

When I read the beatitudes I realise how far I have fallen short. I realised I have not reached this level and have fallen short. I have not yet arrive. Make me more and more like you. I need you. 

The Passover

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

Pastor was telling me to preach something about Chinese New Year and I think it is not really that easy but I will talk along this line. I have titled my message the Passover. It is a religious new year for the Jewish nation, the Israelites. 

Chinese New Year is different to different christians. There are some who even say cannot celebrate Chinese New Year. Some say cannot give Ang Pow. But can take. (Laughs). I asked the person why and he said people give paiseh if don't take. 

I am Hokkien and for us before our family became Christians, on the 8th day is the real celebration to usher in the new year. As a young kid, we would stack tables as high as we can and it is a very important day for the Hokkiens. I always wondered how it's possible to stack up until heaven, so high up. 

As a kid, Ang Pow was very important. That time, we were not very rich so my parents would collect all our Ang Pows at the end of the day and my father was the chief tax collector. We will give all our Ang POWs to my parents and they repackaged and give us. Nowadays kids are more fortunate. 

Another important part of Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner. During Chinese New Year a key word is we want to remember. Once a year we come back from our busy work place to be together as a family. 

I was talking to my mother and she shared how in the past, the Hokkiens were delivered from physical danger by hiding in the sugar cane plantations. That's why we have sugar canes on the 9th day of Chinese New Year. 

There are three key words I want to look at. 

Commemorating

Community

Deliverance

You will find these three words are also key to the Christians. 

Exodus 12:12-14

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn –both men and animals–and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord –a lasting ordinance.

The words I want to pick up is judgment and passover which are atonyms, which means opposite in meaning. To one group it is judgement to the other group it is deliverance. 

Pharaoh has been in a way approached by God through Moses many many times. He was asked to release the Israelites and even after nine plagues have happened he will relent each time only to change his mind. 

The final plague came when God said it is enough. And God told Moses to tell his people to be prepared. 

What happened on that day was a lamb were to be slaughtered and it's blood is painted onto the door frame and God's judgement would pass over them. 

They were to choose a one year old lamb without defect. The key word is without defect. 

On that Passover night, this was what happened. 

Exodus 12:29-32

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

The Exodus

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”

These verses when I read it a long time ago before I was a Christian gave me a troubled heart. God's judgment is so devastating. I spent a few years struggling even as a young Christian as it troubled me. But if you ask me today, the verse no longer trouble me. This is because every part of the bible reveals him to me. So after walking with God for many years I now understand him. 

He is the Lord God almighty and sin against him is so bad that we cannot comprehend how evil and bad it is. And God said the penalty of sin is death and non can escape it. But in his mercy he sent Jesus to redeem us so we can see him as both a righteous and a loving God. 

God did not deal with Pharaoh once but nine times. Nine times he showed the grace of God on the nation of Egypt. We need to see God as not just a holy God but also a gracious God. 

The Israelites prepared for it but imagine how they must have felt when they heard the wailing and crying around them. They were just like us. The reality of the situation is that the Israelites must have mixed feelings seeing both the grace of God and the judgement of God. 

Many of us experience the grace of God without realizing how we are delivered from the judgment of God. The Passover is a physical deliverance from the judgment of God. They began the new year seeing the judgment of God and also the abundant grace of God for them. 

The other thing is that the Passover meal they had as a family. They were done as a community. The Israelites understood that they are a people of God and that they do not stand alone but as a family of God. They moved as a people. 

Exodus 12:14

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord –a lasting ordinance.

They are to commemorate this occasion and this is one of the three words. 

Exodus 12:37-38

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

And this is the exodus out of Egypt. When they reached the promise land they refused to go in and so their journey in the wilderness began. 

George Morrison said: "It took one night to get Israel out of Egypt but forty years to take Egypt out of the Israel."

Acts 8:30-36

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”

There was a lot of talk at that time as they did not understand what was happening. This eunuch wanted to know who is that lamb and Philip told him it was Jesus. 

John 1:29

Jesus the Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is when we see Jesus in a new light. This Passover lamb who is Jesus is a spiritual deliverance. 

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

The problem of the church at that time was there was sin and this is one of the excommunication passage. Yeast represents hypocrisy, and sin. It is associated with something that's not good. When you read these two passages then you see how it is connected. 

Jesus came to deliver us but he wants to do more than just to deliver you. It is like when you received Jesus, in that moment you are taken out of darkness into his marvellous light. But it takes a whole lifetime to take the effects of sin out of us.

When we accepted Christ, we made peace with God but it is just the beginning of the new life and begins his work to take the bondage of sin out of us.  

But this is something where we need to be willing partners with God to surrender our life and yield to the Holy Spirit. 

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The words remember is mentioned twice. What do we remember? We remember his deliverance for us from sin. We remember our deliverance from his judgment. We remember taking the holy communion as a community. 

I read somewhere about the society we are living in is a society of the 1960s movement in the US. It is the hippies period where self and individualism supersede that of a society. We now have more individuality than that of a society. That has also affected the church. Where you have Christians saying what happens is between me and God. 

God saw the Israelites as one community, the people of God. That is why it is very important in whether they are inside the camp or outside the camp. Inside the camp they are in the community. 

The community aspect of us as a people of God is very very important. So what did we do on the 8th day of Chinese New Year? With the approval of our cell leader, we organised a Chinese New Year dinner. We had a good cell celebration dinner and we had good fellowship. And as I looked at all the cell members I saw that the cell has come a long way. Some has been there many many years some only a few years but all of have come a long way. Christians belong to a community. 

We have to remember our roots. One of the problems we find in the generations we have now is that we live for the present and do not care what the future holds. But as a child of God we have to remember our past, live for the present and anticipate for the future. 

Some ask me if my past is not good do I have to remember it? You can remember your past and deal with it through the cross. It will actually help us with our present and help us anticipate our future. 

This Chinese New Year there was a tinge of sadness as I remembered my father. My father was a trishaw peddler so he has lots of coins so he will distribute the coins for us in the morning. Mine was 10 cents which can buy a lot at that time. I remember a lot about family and the family reunion was very meaningful for me. If it is a long time since you remember on family roots, it is a good time to remember your roots. Even if there are good or bad times. If it is not good, remember it has been covered by the blood of Christ. 

Why do we need to remember our roots? Because that is your blood family which God has meant for you. You must have strong family ties. I am talking to you not about Confucianism but about God. The Israelites were a community of families. 

But you must remember your spiritual roots. I remember that day I received Christ. To some it may be the past but to me it was very real. That night when my brother prayed for me it was a turning point in my life at 36 years old. It was a new beginning, a new life given by the Lord. The more I read the bible the more I see the filthiness of sin. 

The day you receive Christ is the day you are inducted into the family of God. I only really understood that when I attended the cell under Bro Jason. 

I am not trying to promote cell. But for me when I first came to church on my motor bike, I would come late and go back early. I always thought my relationship was between me and God. Not until I joined the cell group did I understood the community of God. 

It was only in the cell that I started in ministry. Bro Jason gave me an opportunity to share and I made a mess of it. But it was an experience and I have come a long way since. Now you see me up here but you must know I went through a process and the cell was the place where my ministry started. 

What I want to say is that if you have been in church for a while, the cell is the place for you to grow, get integrated and find your ministry. 

I want to say that if you do not know your roots you can get very confused. You must know your family roots and your spiritual roots. I want to end with this. 

Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I want to end with this movie called Lincoln, which I saw in Astro. The Americans cherish their freedom because it is bought with blood in the civil war to abolish slavery. 

And I want to say that as children of God, we have the freedom in him from the bondage of sin. There is a true freedom and false freedom. The false freedom is that we can do what we like with no consequence. Biblical freedom is the freedom from the penalty of sin and we are free to do what is right. 

So today when you go back always remember your family root and your spiritual root. And that you are not a lone ranger but that you belong in the family of God. 

Bro Adrian Choo's testimony regarding God's goodness during Jonathan's fall, surgery and recovery.

Praying for Nicholes Ong who will be starting a new chapter in his life in Australia.

Trust not in Horses or Chariots

Rev Gideon Lee

I just came back from Klang by bus last night to be with you all this morning. How is your Chinese New Year? I noticed even in Klang that celebration is a bit subdued. I have not even seen one lion dance yet. Have you seen? You have! Wah, I should be in Penang. 

This is the year of the horse. So this morning I have a very horsy message for you. I am going to be talking about the horse. 

What does the horse represents? Success. We want the horse to run faster. The horse is also strong and elegant. Back in those days if you come from an agricultural background the horse is very important. It is also a means of transport. There is so much Chinese movies this New Year especially the fighting ones. When they go to war they depend on the horse. So the horse is very important as you can see. 

I am also going to look at the horse in the bible. Let's look at Isaiah. 

Isaiah 31

The Folly of Not Trusting God

1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,

And rely on horses,

Who trust in chariots because they are many,

And in horsemen because they are very strong,

But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,

Nor seek the Lord!

2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,

And will not call back His words,

But will arise against the house of evildoers,

And against the help of those who work iniquity.

3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;

And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.

When the Lord stretches out His hand,

Both he who helps will fall,

And he who is helped will fall down;

They all will perish together.

God Will Deliver Jerusalem

4 For thus the Lord has spoken to me:

“As a lion roars,

And a young lion over his prey

(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,

He will not be afraid of their voice

Nor be disturbed by their noise),

So the Lord of hosts will come down

To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.

5 Like birds flying about,

So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.

Defending, He will also deliver it;

Passing over, He will preserve it.”

6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.

8 “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man,

And a sword not of mankind shall devour him.

But he shall flee from the sword,

And his young men shall become forced labor.

A Reign of Righteousness

9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,

And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”

Says the Lord,

Whose fire is in Zion

And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

This morning we just read Isaiah chapter 31. 

This verse one is also reflected in the book of Psalms. You can go back and read Psalms 20:7. 

This morning I want to talk about a very important word called trust. Apart from pride our lack in trust of God comes next. Our trust in God is limited to what we know or experience in God. If God has helped or provided for us then we can trust him. If we have not experienced healing from God it is very difficult to trust him for healing. It is conditional. We trust him when we see him working. But many times God is silent. And we think God is not there. And because he is not there we find it difficult to trust him. 

We must learn to place our trust in God and God alone. 

Proverbs 3:1-6

Guidance for the Young

1 My son, do not forget my law,

But let your heart keep my commands;

2 For length of days and long life

And peace they will add to you.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart,

4 And so find favor and high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

In Proverbs we are told to trust the Lord. 

In Isaiah we see they are considering putting their trust in Egypt. When we talk of Egypt what does it represent to them. It is actually representing their slavery or captivity in Egypt. It is actually a bad place, a place of bondage so how can they go there for help? Their horses and chariots were famous. Egypt's strength lies in the number of horses or chariots they have. So Israel were so desperate going to them for help. 

But Isaiah told them not to put their trust in Egypt. Don't rely on their horses or chariots. But to put their trust in the Lord God. In the Holy One of Israel. I feel this is what the Lord is telling some of us. Don't put our hope in the year of the horse. Or that fire crackers will chase away bad omens. Put your trust in Jesus. 

People were cutting back on their spending. I hope you don't cut back on your coming to church. Thinking that you need to pump petrol to come to church. Instead of coming every week, you come only on alternate weeks. Save petrol. I think this year you should come to church more often. You cannot put your trust in all these things. If you are going to put your trust in your Ang Pows this year you will be disappointed. 

Our trust must be in the Holy One of Israel. This is what you must remember this morning. 

There are some reasons why sometimes people don't put their trust in God. These are three main reasons though there are more. 

1. They are impatient. 

We want to quickly see results but if you have been a Christian for many years you know God don't answer immediately. But often we want a. solution like yesterday. We don't want to spend the time waiting on the Lord. The bible says he makes all things beautiful in his time. We may prefer to go to Egypt because it is quick but it may not be the best for you. Like going to the loan shark to get a loan. They make it so easy for you to get your money. Easy solution to your needs. But it may not be the best solution for you as you will enter a deep deep hole. 

When God helps you it is for your best. When blessings comes from the Lord there is no sorrow that comes with it. Learn to wait upon the Lord. If you want something fast and quick, it may not be the best for you. 

2. They are ignorant. 

They are ignorant of what the Lord can do for them or the promises of God in the bible. And so because they are ignorant they go elsewhere for help. If your children have problems who do they come to first? I hope it's not their friends. I have been a youth pastor and often I tell them if they have a problems they should go to see their parents. Unfortunately many comes to see me. But they should be able to go to their parents as they are the ones that can help you. 

Parents, do you reveal very things to your children? Do you tell them exactly how much you have in your bank account? You don't tell but you have the resources to help your children. Why? Because they are your children. There is a relationship. What if it's other children? Once in a while you may help out of the goodness of your heart. But can you help them all the time? They are not your children. 

But your children are different. But we are ignorant of what the word of God says so we don't go to him. 

3. Unwillingness to pay the price of obedience and holiness. 

We know he can help but we are not willing to live a life without sin. God not only deal with your problems but he deals with you. Because often you are the problem. And we are often not willing to let God deal with us. If you have a financial problem, you may think God want to deal with your circumstances but God wants to deal with you first. Your problem may not be your finance but how God wants to deal with you to be a good stewart of your finance. 

We are ignorant of the help that is available from God. Unwilling to live a life of obedience. Friends, like I mentioned, these are three reasons only but there are many more. 

Like in Isaiah, do not put your trust in Egypt. Only God can deliver them from their problems. He will save and defend their people. Later in that passage it shows what God can do for them. Whatever comes your way in 2014, put your trust in Jesus and Jesus alone. 

Put your trust not only on your material need but also your spiritual needs. During Chinese New Year we often give Ang Pows. Do you know God gave us the biggest Ang Pow? It is Jesus. It is bigger than all the money you will receive. All the Ang Pows you get will finish. Jesus never fails. He is the greatest Ang Pow that I have received in my life. Peace beyond understanding. Money cannot buy wan. More important is that you receive eternal life. The biggest blessing that comes from Jesus. It can only happen when you put your trust in him. This is my message for this new year. Put your trust in God. He can meet all your needs including your spiritual needs. 

You may say you are not so bad. You don't kill, steal or rape. But the bible says we sin in our thoughts or our words. Mankind have been dealing with this problem a long time but no solution. Thank God he gave the solution in Jesus, his Son. He paid the penalty for our sin. We can understand this because in our country there are laws. You drive pass 110 and you get a ticket. For your wrong doing there is a penalty. And the word of God says the penalty of sin is death. But God loves us so much that he paid for your sins through his Son. 

What qualifies Jesus to pay for your sin? Because he is the son of God and he knew no sin. And death paid your penalty of death. All you need to do is put your trust in him. Put your trust in him completely. Put your faith in him completely. You are saying God come and take over. All this while I am driving my own life but now I want you to come in and take over. Don't put your trust in any other thing. 

I end by this story. How many of you know Indiana Jones. It is quite an old movie. There was one in the series that talked about the holy grail. If you remember one scene when they came into a chamber and there was an old knight guarding the holy grail. All the bad guys were also there and the knight asked them to chose the holy grail for themselves. The bad guy picked the one with jewellery and looked so nice so he picked that and drank from the cup which was supposed to give him eternal life but he died. The knight said he chose poorly. 

But Indiana Jones picked an old wooden cup which was the right one. 

This morning who will you pick? I pray the Lord won't say to us you chose poorly. But that we all make the right decision.