Module 7 Lesson 5 - The Great Tribulation

by Bro Koay Kheng Hin

Lesson 5 - The Great Tribulation

Note: Text in Blue are transcribed from the Bible Study proper. Text in black are the physical notes given.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

​1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Here it talks about the tribulation. When it begins, the world has a time.of peace and safety. The beginning is not marked by war. After a while only you'll realise you're into it.

Daniel 9:27

He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.’”

This one week is the 7 year tribulation. It mentions that at the 3½ year period the antichrist will be in the temple.

2 Thessalonians 2:4

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Here is where there will be a new temple in Jerusalem.

Revelation 16:12-16

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Here is the gathering of earthly armies at Armageddon.

These 2 verses forms the backdrop.

Matthew 24:21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

This is the great tribulation.

John 16:33

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

This is the tribulation.

I was wondering how to start  this lesson. So I'll tell you a story.

Yesterday I just watched a movie called the Maze Runner. I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a teenage movie so I brought my daughter but I enjoyed it.

The Bible tells us that after Jesus died, after the first coming, a time will come:

1. Christians will go through persecution and go through the tribulation. Jesus said that we are in the world but not in the world and we will go through sufferings.  The flip side is that God heals and God provides. This is the tribulation that have been going on throughout the history of the church.
2. A time will come for the great tribulation. That will come with the opening of the first seal. It depicts someone on the white Horse. It depicts a spirit of conquest and this person is the antichrist. Who is he? We spent a whole lesson on him. He will come from Europe and you will realise the war starts with the opening of the second seal. One way to conquer a nation is by war or by deception and persuasion. To conquer without having to go to war. The military behind him will be strong. A military, political and economic power. He will subdue the world. Rev 6:1,2. He will sign a treaty with Israel. In that covenant he will promise security.  Then you will have the new temple on which the antichrist will seat on.

After this the seal will start to be reopened. Look at the seal chart I gave you. These are all of the seven seals and all these will happen after the antichrist sits at the temple.

After that the trumpets happens. You can again looks at the list. It's a terrible time and it occurs somewhere between the 5th and 7th trumpet. This is when he will break the covenant and take over Jerusalem. That is the 3½ year period. That is when the mark comes in for you to buy and sell. It will be chaotic.

After the 7th trumpet, it's specifically mentions the wrath of God. That's the 7 bowls. Refer to the chart. This is the final year of the 7 year period. It is believed it will be less than 9 months. It is where the armies start to March and he is the instigator.

Revelation 16:12

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

The river dries up so the army of the East could cross. We know Russia will be involved. We know Putin is capable of starting a great War. He has reignited his nuclear arsenal. This is the final battle. We of course don't know when what will happen. The army will cross the Euphrates  and meet at Armageddon. This is were the whole situation blurs. This will be the greatest armies ever assembled.

Some people will ask where's China. We don't know where's their alignment but it does look like the U.S. is pushing China to align with Russia.

Here where they meet, the end nears.

Revelation 6:1-2

Chapter 6

First Seal: The Conqueror

​1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The tribulation ends with the white horse. It begins and ends with a white horse. Jesus comes in the true white horse.

The tribulation begins from Rev 6 until Rev 19. The tricky part is we gentiles when we read, what does some of the signs means? I gave you the narrative but now I want to give you the outline.

We have the seals, the trumpets and the bowls. From theology, what are we looking at? The first question is are they different or the same? From Rev 6 to 16, is it just the seals as the background of the trumpets and the bowls. In other words they intensify what was described in the he seals. Or are they in chronological order first the seals, then the trumpets and the bowls.

I find them to be in chronological order because sometimes it's good to read and read about it. Your first reading will tell you it's in chronological order. It's only when you try to read more into it that you have the other view.

The second question is whether they are to be taken literally or symbolically?

In the Bible there is a literal and symbolic frame. The Bible is interspersed with literal and symbolic narrative.  When Jesus said he is the gate, it's symbolic. Where else when Jesus said to forgive, it's literal.

So how do you know which is which? Sometimes experience counts. At other times you are guided by the Holy Spirit. As you read the Bible the Holy Spirit does give revelation but systematic theology makes the process of study with proper understanding.

Some theologians say everything is literal. You look at seal number six. Stars fall from the sky. That theologian is probably not a physic teacher. Our sun is an old star. It's on the red shift. A blue shift star is a young star. Our star the sun is dying. But it's still red hot. If it comes a little nearer we're in trouble. The nearest star the alpha centaury is still light years away, so you can imagine this verse is symbolic.

But when you look at seal number three, the famine is probably real and not symbolic. So we just have to use our sense to determine if it's symbolic or literal.

I have found out that the 7 years is an accelerated 7 years in terms of catastrophes. Events happens very fast. If you look at the chart you'll see the 7 years of worldwide turmoil.

In today's perspective when you hear famine you'll find that it may be natural causes. But the most common is by man especially because of war. Food production is replaced by military needs. You will also have a global economic meltdown. Just imagine if there's a war you can forget about your  shares. It will be upheaval in nature.

Everything that has been mentioned has happened before at one time or another in history.

Matthew 24:3-18

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

This is a summary of the seals. The beginning of the tribulation. It is also an interpretation of false prophets. With the false christ there will be false prophets to lead you into a false perception of Christ.

I believe in the pre-trip so the church would have been raptured. So only the shell of the church remains. So what is this shell? A one world nation will need an organisation system. The Catholic Church is one such organisation and it will need to be reformed or reworked. Please don't say I quoted that the Catholic Church is left behind. The Christians in the Catholic Church would also be raptured.

The shell of the Catholic Church is an organized church that will be subject to the deception of the false christ. They will be open to the antichrist.

He will not come to suppress Christ. He will come to supplant Christ. 

In the pre-trip and post-trip there are two pitfalls. In the post-trip, people will ask you where are you going to find believers to enter the kingdom. In the pre-trip, they will ask if the church is raptured who the antichrist will persecute? The Rapture does not remove the Bible so there will still be new believers after the Rapture.

The great tribulation is a period of unprecedented suffering and catastrophe occurring on earth just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is worldwide in scope and of an intensity that has never been seen before. During this seven-year period of the Great Tribulation, the inhabitants of the earth will have a sense that the world is coming to an end. The great tribulation begins when the Antichrist as the leader of a federated states of Europe signs a peace treaty with lsraeI (Dan 9:27), with the guarantee that it will protect Israel from its enemies and allow Israel a sense of security and the favourable conditions to rebuild the Temple and institute once again the sacrifices, offerings and rites of Judaism in the new temple(2 Thess 2:4). This revealing of the Antichrist is depicted in the opening of the first seal (Rev 6:1-2). At the time that the Antichrist reveals himself, he will come as a man of peace and good will, obtaining the trust of the nations by persuasion and deception. He thereby gains control over nations, 'conquering" them and bringing them under his influence in order to establish a one world system over which he will be the head. However he will be opposed right from the beginning by Christians that have been saved after the Rapture (pre-tribulation view). He persecutes these Christians to the extent of killing them. The series of seven seals(Rev 6:1-17, 8:1-5) that are opened as recorded in the book of Revelationdepicts the first year of the great tribulation. Affairs take a turn for the worst as wars break out, famine occurs and natural disasters increase both in frequency and intensity. The opening of the seventh seal is followed by the sounding of a series of seven trumpets(Rev 8:6-9:21,11:15-19), bringing on a more intense series of catastrophes. Sometime during the sounding of the trumpets (most likely the fifth trumpet), the tribulation enters the three and a half-year point. At this point, the Antichrist reneges on its treaty with Israel and sets himself in the temple(Matt 24:15,2 Thess 2:4), thereby desecrating it, and demands that everyone worship him. The persecution of Christians intensifies. At the same time, the nations began to rebel against the Antichrist. During these last months of the tribulation, the seven bowls of the wrath of God(Rev 15:1 - 16:21) are poured out. The most intense suffering and unimaginable catastrophes in both nature and humankind occur. The nations of the East raise up armies that cross the Euphrates River and meet the armies of the Antichrist at the Plain of Esdraelon, the area around the mountains of Megiddo(Dan 11:44-45, Rev 16:12-16). The seven year great tribulation ends with the Second Coming as Jesus comes down from heaven with his heavenly army to completely defeat the armies of the earth in the battle of Arm aged don (Rev 19:11-16).

Rev 6:1-2

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the living creatures saying with a voice like thunder/'Come and see." 2And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Questions

1. Who are the 144,000 sealed servants of God mentioned in Rev 7:1-8 ?

2. Are we really living in the "end times"?

The question is how do we know. You may say there's more earthquake more than any other time. That's circumstantial. You may say there are more wars or diseases than ever before but are you sure? Europe had the black death and one third of the population died. Do we have that sort of disease now? False prophets, last time also have. So it's something to think about.

 If you tell your friend there is war and false prophets, it has happened throughout history. If you also me I believe we are living in the end times. There are two things that have not happened in history as mentioned in the Bible.

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The ethnic groups to be reached is still going on. When the last ethnic group is reached, Jesus will come. We are right now in an unprecedented period where every nation have been touched and most ethnic group have been reached. Only God will know when all is reached. It's unprecedented because now there are translations for almost all ethnic groups.

Matthew 24:15

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),

That is about the new temple. 1.1 million Jews died during Roman times. The Jews were then scattered. There is no time in history where you can envision a new temple. The Jews were scattered. But in 1948, Israel became and nation and it looks possible. The Jews are now looking at building the new temple. And all these is unprecedented.

These are two clear indication so if you ask me the answer will be yes.

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem

Rev Gideon Lee

Luke 19:41-44

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Before these verses was  Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It was Jesus' last week on earth. It is the culmination of his 3½ years of ministry. You must imagine it was a time when Jesus knew he had little time left here.

The last time Jesus wept was when he heard news of his best friend's death, Lazarus. So it is not often Jesus wept. That was the shortest verse in the Bible.

Happiness was of  prime importance for people in the nineties. There was this song "Don't worry be happy". By the way the composer committed suicide. Today we know happiness is not all good for us. Sometimes, challenges and setbacks are good for us.

Jesus was not someone who swings from happiness to sadness.

1. Jesus wept for unrepentant sinners
2. Jesus warns unrepentant sinners

First I want to look at why Jesus wept for unrepentant sinners.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they rejected him. What would bring us peace? Jesus came to bring us peace with God, to bring us salvation so that we can now be at peace with God. God has no wish that any should perish. But there will be those that are unrepentant. When they reject him there is no other choice for them.

Today I want to rekindle our concerns for the lost and the sinners. How many of us are concern for them? In the seventies there was a wave of evangelism for the lost. We will just go out and share the gospel. I'm not saying we don't share. It's just not the same and I pray the church have not lost that. Not just TOP but many other churches too.

I pray that we will not be so comfortable in church. Do you weep for the lost and those that do not know the Lord? Have we done our part.

I have a childhood friend name Daniel. At a young age, he was a sickly boy. His sickness causes him to have jaundice. I don't exactly know what was the cause. He was exceptionally yellow. He was not accepted and people made fun of him. He was frail. He was my best friend even until adulthood.

There were many times when I tried to share with him but he held on strongly to his believe. Because of his parents.He just felt obligated. They pray to the Japanese god. And he got healed when young so he continued to pray to that Japanese god.

I shared with him and he saw the light in me. He knows how bad I was and how I turned my life to God. Every time I shared to him he'd say no. I tried my best. There was one time when he was sick I visited him at hospital. I asked God for one last time to share with him.

I shared my best and gave it my best shot. But at the end of the day he said I can't.  Sad to say my friend Daniel passed away without the Lord and it grieved me until today. He passed away at a very young age.

This morning Jesus wept. He came to give peace yet they rejected him. Do we view people as walking trees? That it's their choice, just another human being. Do we weep for unrepentant sinners? So much so that we'll go out of the way to invite them to church.

My friend Daniel death took me by surprise. The mother said he just came back one day from work and laid on the sofa and never woke up. I pray that we will sob for unrepentant sinners. To sob is to wail aloud, that's to sob. Jesus wailed.

Have you seen people at a funeral? For someone dear to them that passed away? Maybe we don't wail because we don't care.  My prayer is that I want you to be a people that is good in soul winning. This is something that the church have lost.

Verses 43 and 44

43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus warns the unrepentant sinners. What Jesus spoke was fulfilled when general Titus laid a siege on Jerusalem. Only three pillars were left to show what's left of Jerusalem.

If we want to see TOP move to the next level it needs some sacrifice from us. Let's come early to church. For those that is early, let's come earlier. And as we come early let's prepare ourselves. No point we come early and check our phones and WhatsApp. Let's come early and prepare ourselves to worship God. Let's come early. And bring your Bible. So that we are not distracted and use other apps.

I have seen in a church a person bringing up the Sunday paper to read in church. I really had to control myself. We come to church because of him. Let's not do that. In another case I saw no band in church. The band was at the side. The keyboard the drums, they were all at the side of the church. The worship leader and back up singers were at the front but they faced the front and the stage was empty. There was no performance. Just worship. People was not looking at the worship leader or the stage which was empty. That was awesome. First time I saw in my life. Maybe we should do that in TOP.

Sometimes we are so conditioned. Is our heart conditioned for the Lord?

I pray that God has put someone in your heart that you will not eat or sleep until you reach that someone. I pray that we will not be too complacent.

I want to end with this. This was how Jesus must have felt.

A bomber killed 168 people by driving a truck outside the Federal building in Oklahoma City to bomb it. A church opposite built a great Wall with 168 gaps to represent the voids left by each life lost. And they sculptured a weeping Jesus in front of the wall facing away from the devastation, covering his face with his hand. Jesus wept for those of them who have not come to know him. I pray we will not see Jesus like that. He has taken all those suffering for you and me. I will be the last person to let him weep for me again.

As we celebrate the Christmas musical, let us invite a non Christian friend. I don't want to do this for us. Those who want to come invite a non Christian friend. It's by ticket. It is evangelistic and for Christmas if we don't share Christ I think we have lost the plot. Invite your non Christian friend. Go and hear Amy Yeoh on YouTube. She's as good as Juwita Suwito except not so well publicised. She's a Christian and she's a Penangite. And how many of you remember Rev Ronald? He was our camp speaker at Kampar. Let's bring someone and let them know who Jesus is. Can we do that? Amen.

The Spiritual Man

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

I actually prepared this some time back wondering what the Lord had for us. And as usual you do one and then decide on another along the way. And I have changed my sermon several times and this is my third message which I think is the message for this season.

I title the message "The Spiritual Man" and this includes the ladies.

When I work on the spiritual man I want to say that in times like ours religion is getting a bad name. Some say it is the religious people that commit the worst atrocities. A friend of mine say I have a Christian in my office and he is a hypocritic. Sometimes we just brush it off but if you think of it, there is some truth.

In the Middle East now we have the ISIS and the atrocities committed by them is in the name of religion. You may say that's not us. But the church at one time has a special department called the Inquisition. It has evolved and today it is known as the Department of Doctrinal Truth. Referring to the Roman Catholic Church. At that time in the name of God they are arrested and charged and subjected all sorts of torture. Just to get a confession. If you see their instruments of torture, you'll see how terrible they were.

And the worst part is that it is committed in the name of God.

The other end of the extreme are people who confess to be the children of God but the life they lead are worst than the atheist. Sometimes those who confess a certain faith live a life worst than an atheist. What had this got to do with today's message?

I'm looking at the stumbling blocks of spiritual maturity. You may see spiritual extremes. Those who may say you break the Ten Commandments for most things you do in life. Or the other extreme where a Christian does what he does because he believes once saved always saved. Already going to heaven so why worry and they do terrible things as a Christian.

Today I'm going to address this issue. Let's see who the apostle Paul is like.

Acts 7:57-58

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.

Saul is the Roman name of Paul.

Acts 7:59-60

59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen died a terrible death being stoned. It's horrible, as each stone hits you until you finally die. But look at Stephen. He sort of couldn't care less. He looked to heaven and asked the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit and do not charge them with this sin. What a spiritual man.

Who was looking on? Saul!

Acts 8:1

Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout othe regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Acts 8:2-3

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Compare what these godly men did compared to Saul. Saul was terrible.

Acts 9:1-2

​1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Then came verse 3, the most important for us Christians.

Acts 9:3-4

3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Here I am going to do some forensic studies, like CSI. You know that TV Series? They will be at a crime scene and they'll look for clues and evidence. They'll look at the tyre tracks and determine the make of the car. I remember there was also a local version of CSI. The police examine tyre tracks and told the inspector this is the track for the murderer. "Itu tair saya la bodoh!". (laughs)

If you look at Saul, most commentators believe as they run through the narrative that he was the Pharisee of Pharisees. He was trained and is someone following the mosaic law to the letter. Then he see Stephen and it's something that confused him. Stephen had the face like that of an angel and finally when he says do not hold this sin against them, it probably struck a chord in him. Saul is not a coconut. There must have been a spiritual struggle. His Pharisitic walk compared to that of Stephen, he could probably see something he does not have. That was most likely his spiritual struggle. This is of course my view and many other commentators.

He was primed for Jesus to reveal to himself to him and Jesus did. Sometimes when you share to someone and he didn't seem to be open and one day you just felt it's right to talk to him and he is ready to accept the Lord. That person have probably gone though a struggle that prepared him. God does a work where he is ready to open up to you at that point of time.

This man who puts people in prison and subjected them to torture wrote this.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

What a change. A changed man after his conversion. A man full or love and grace. A man who believes love never fails. No wonder after many years when the Judais tried to bring the Christians back to the old ways. Paul said this to the galatians.

Galatians 5:1

​Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

They were saying they have to circumcise in order to be saved. They must be a Jew before becoming a Christian. It would mean you cannot be saved by faith alone but that a certain work is needed.

Paul is saying don't feel guilt. Don't feel the penalty of sin. And that you are free from the power of sin. And that was the freedom that Paul was talking about. Don't go back to the law because he experienced it, the bondage of the law. Going back to legalism. To do the works of the law in order to be saved. Paul says don't go back.

Galatians 5:2-4

2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

This legalistic spirit relating in works manifest in a different way in the church. We all do ministry. Some of the signs of works coming in is this.

You run a ministry with 5 persons under you. You run it well and the church compliment them for a job well done. But the 5 says in future they don't want to work under you. This is work. You are relating to duty rather than to God.

The other would be you are in a specific ministry. You may have critics that say you didn't do the ministry well. It doesn't feel good. I can say this because I have been in ministry. And you get upset and you say you think you can do better? That is a hint of works in the ministry.

If Sis Grace cannot worship and Jacob is also not around and so I am called to do worship. Majesty! Worship his majesty…I think half the congregation will faint. After that you tell me my worship leading is terrible. I will not feel offended. I'm not in my element.

But I'm a teacher by nature and preaching is probably on the side and when I do Bible Study and you come and tell me that my Bible study is boring and I feel offended then it's a better test of my spirituality. It's my Achilles heel. This I may say "if you think you can do better you teach lo!". It's a test of me in relation to my ministry and it'll show it is works rather than as unto the Lord. That is religiosity.

Jesus does not accept you based on your works. Jesus accepts you by basis of grace. The law of Moses has its bedrock on the Ten Commandments. So you may say if you are saved by grace you are free from the Ten Commandments? Free from the law. These are asked by the church. You are free but is it a licensed to sin?

When Paul writes that you are free it's not a 007 licence. That is a licence to kill. I am saying you are not free to sin.

Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Paul is saying don't take this freedom to sin and become a worldly man.

Galatians 5:19-21

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul warned them. And the like…because there are just too many to list. You are not free to sin. The warning is you will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I always say this; An act of sin does not disqualify us from heaven but a life of sin qualify us for hell.

Life of sin can be described as how people look at you. They see you a "puak keow kui" (gambling devil), "chiu kui" (alcohol devil), or "584" (pervert) then gone already.

These are extremes that hinder us from our walk with God. You will not grow as a Christian. At best you'd be a baby in Christ and at worst you may not even be a Christian. If you practice religiosity.

Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

The first part is legalism and the second part is a faith that expresses in love. This love is not found in any other faith because it's agape love. Unconditional love. A love that does not look at the person. 

There is this difference of like and love. I like you but I may not love you. If I were to go on a tour, I'd like to go with people I like. Or in a boy girl relationship. You need to like the person first. But a time may come when that like turn to love. If the person says I like you got chance. If the girl say I don't like you, habis! We start with like and then love. That is not agape.

Agape work like that. I don't like you but I love you. I don't like you but I agapao you. I love you with the love of the Lord. You may not like the person but you still love the person.

That's why the Bible says love your enemies. Not like them. If you love them you do wish well for them and pray for them.

We have three "L"

1. Legalism
2. Licentiousness
3. Loving Spirit

Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

That's why it says serve one another in love.

Galatians 5:14

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

These were where the Pharisees argued concerning which is the greatest law in Matthew.

Matthew 22:37-40

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Agape love cannot be forced. It only comes when first and foremost you love the Lord.

I was a young Christian. I have changed much as a person. Maybe I'm older too. I am not a very expressive person. I don't even often hug my children. Even my parents know I love them but I don't often express it. One day my mom was cooking and I was praying in another room and I was so drenched with the love of God that I came out and gave her a hug. My mom nearly fainted. My mom must be wondering what's wrong. You cannot churn out agape love. The agape love comes from God.

It is a love that is not found in man. It is a love of God. The word love is the most relational word for man. And this is what Paul is telling us. Walk the way of love and be a spiritual man. The way of having Christ close to you. Jesus is crying in his heart "come to me". That is when his love is poured out in us and that is when a person who is unlikeable or unlovable can be loved.

It took a miracle for Stephen to say what he said because the agape love of God came upon him and he could say forgive them.

Sometimes when we cannot love someone to heaven we can scare someone to heaven. Of course better if we can love someone to heaven.

Some tell me that with grace the Ten Commandments is no longer valid. Where stand then the Ten Commandments if we have this freedom. It is actually all compressed into this.

Galatians 5:14

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Without going into doctrinal arguments you can answer it this way. Start all the Ten Commandments with "If you love God…".

If you love God, will you worship other gods? If you love God will you take his name in vain? If you love God will you commit murder or steal? etc.

Galatians 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:21

To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

Grace does not change the moral law of God. They are unchanged. God is holy then he is holy now. What grace does is remove legalism where salvation is by works.

That is the spiritual man. The religious man is defined by his judgemental spirit, the spiritual man is defined by his grace. 

An example is the woman caught in adultery. They wanted to catch Jesus. If he lets her go then he is licentious but if he stone her then where is love? No one can trap Jesus because he is the perfect man and God. He ask the person who has not sin stone the woman.  Slowly one by one they moved away. Here is spirituality vs religiosity. When Jesus didn't condemn her he also addressed licentiousness by asking her to go and sin no more. A spiritual man is not a worldly man.

Here is when we look at what we said about religious people making the worst atrocities. I want to restate that it is religious fanatics that make the worst atrocities. It is the religiosity that plant the seed for fanaticity.

I want to encourage all of us as we walk with Christ, let us not detour to religiosity or licentiousness. Let us walk in his love. 

The Art of Encouragement

Rev Gideon Lee

Hebrews 3:13

but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24-25

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

This morning I want to talk to you about the art of encouragement. To encourage all who are around us. I am glad bro Vive spoke about appreciating those who is serving when making the announcements. I didn't talk to him about my message.

Man is not made to be alone. Even God said that it is not good that man be alone. Everything else God made he said it was good. But God said that it is not good for Adam to be alone.

We are wired not to be alone. We have a desire to have fellowship. If you look at technology like Facebook we are all wanting to be connected. But sometimes I see how these technology failed to make us connected because I have seen families eating but everyone is on their own device. Some even WhatsApp another at the same table instead of talking to one another.

It is impossible for us to stay alone. It is good to sometimes get away but it is not for a long time. Often in life we get disappointed. That's why we need fellowship. The Bible says "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Especially the KJV version.

Fellowship is important in the context of the church because it brings encouragement.

There was this man name Wilbur Wilberforce. He tried to abolish slavery. Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament, was active at the time in an unsuccessful attempt to pass abolition. Debate continued for several years and in 1807 the abolition of slavery was effected thoughout the British Empire. He received a letter from John Wesley. John Wesley wrote this letter just before he passed away.

Dear Sir:

Unless the divine power has raised you up to be as “Athanasius against the world,” I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? O be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by the circumstance, that a man who has a black skin being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a LAW in all of our Colonies that the OATH of a black man against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this!

That He who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things is the prayer of, dear sir,

Your affectionate servant,

John Wesley

It encouraged him to go on without giving up. We all need enforcement and what better place to find it than in the church.

Why do we need encouragement?

John 13:35

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We should love or encourage one another. That others will know we are his disciples. This is the characteristics of a Christian or the church. When we encourage and love one another.

What happens when we get discouraged? We complain. What happens once we start complaining? We start to feel sorry for ourselves. Pity party. Then it leads us to a place where we isolate ourselves.

How many of you have seen those Korean drama where a boy and girl breaks up. The boy will drive like crazy and go drown his sorrow in a pub. The girl will cry alone on the road. And then they isolate themselves and don't want to see their friends.

But for us when we are discouraged, we need fellowship with the right kind of people. Sadly the church is sometimes not the most encouraging place. It can be the most critical place. The characteristics of the church is we are supposed to encourage one another. He first loved us so we need to do it to others.

Hebrews 10:25

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The church is more than just about the sermon and worship. It's a family. It is when we come together something happens. When you are sick who's the person you call? Cell leader. When you need prayer who do you call? When we come together something happens. When we pray for one another we are encouraged.

What you're going through becomes lighter. It's a fellowship you cannot get when you stay alone at home. At your most discouraged you should be in church. We should have a good word for one another.

There was this church choir that was really lousy. Day in day out they’ll be singing and cannot really carry a tune. And there was this old lady who is determined in her heart to encourage them. She was trying really hard because this choir was really bad. So she shook the choir leader's hand and said you guys came in early to practice and that they put in the time and made the effort. She was trying to find ways to encourage the choir. We can all do that but sadly all of us are PhD holders in finding fault.

I'm not saying we deny what is happening but we can release encouragement. We need to up our game in this area. Be an encourager.

You may say I don't have the gift of encouragement. As a child of God we should all encourage. As we see the day approaching. God is coming back soon. It is the most critical time.

When we see Jesus coming what do we do? We encourage one another to be in church.

How do we encourage one another effectively. The word encourage in the Greek root word means irritate or to incite. So it means let us irritate or incite one another. I know it sounds negative but when you apply this it becomes positive. Like irritate the person until he comes to church. Have we irritated one another until we do more? Or a person who is not going to cell we irritate or incite the person until he comes. How many of you were irritated by someone until you come to church?

How many of you like to receive a card? A handwritten card by mail. Not the e-card that you have to go to a website to view. It can be an encouragement. It will feel good to receive an encouraging card. I received a handwritten card some time back by someone who just wanted me to know he is praying for me. It's a huge encouragement and made me feel like I can do anything. Or sometimes to get an sms that someone is praying for you.

Coming to an end. Everyone say amen.

We should encourage people daily, all the time.

Hebrews 3:13

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Be sincere in your encouragement, build up the person but not puff up. How many of you gets my daily devotional? It's because I want to encourage you. The word of God will not return to him void so I want to encourage you.

My first sermon, I prepared myself like crazy. It could last me 45 minutes but I finished it in 15 minutes. I rushed through the sermon. Was that it? My leader was looking at me. Then I gave my first altar call. Guess what happened? Nobody came out. These are my youth. Didn't even gave me face. At least if one person came out, it would have been something. I was standing there like a stupid fella. I was so discouraged. I told God I think he made a mistake. He should have called someone else. I was complaining and in self pity. In the midst of all these, God spoke to me. You want to know what God spoke to me about? Come next week (laughs).

God spoke to me "Gideon, it's not about you. It's about me." At that moment I had to say yes, it's not about me but it's about him.

Our words can build up or kill. But if we learn to encourage one another there's nothing that can stop us for moving on for God. You encourage me every time you come to church. Amen.