Harvest Missions Sunday

Bro Terence Ooi and Deborah Chan

It's been two years since we last came. We are in a transition and we thought that we'd be back to our jobs but it looks like God has other plans. We were thinking of calling our bosses if they have a place for us back in KL.

But people contacted us and we see missions in East Malaysia, where there are the two horns of Sabah and Sarawak. These two horns form 40% of the poorest of poorest in Malaysia. So we will be based In Sabah for ministry. I want to say thank you to the church for your prayers and support.

One of the struggles we had was our son being just one and how can we provide for him in a third world country? But I want to tell you church that God has never allowed us to lack. In Cambodia they deal in the US currency so we receive in ringgit and it was concerted to USD so you imagine how that affected us. But God has never allowed us to lack.

I'm going to ask my wife to share a little of Cambodia to you. Let's welcome her.

Sis Deborah showed some Powerpoint slides and reveal some real problems in the mission fields in Cambodia and the work they are doing that help make a difference.

I've never been to a church for their first service and it's a service for harvest mission. We'd think you’re here to celebrate.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

How many of you say it's time to settle down? When you have your first house, now it's time to settle down. Or when you have your first kid, or even when they become teenagers, then it's time to settle down. Or after your retirement, then it's time to settle down.

I'm going to talk about something sensitive. I'm going to preach about serving. You now have a new sanctuary so maybe you think it's time to settle down. People labelled us as missionaries and I find it sometimes offensive. I'll tell you why.

I was at a church and I don't know anyone except those on the stage and someone asked me what I'm doing. He asked if I'm a missionary and I said I am. And he said I'm too young to be a missionary. We get that all the time. I find that it's a very romantic notion to be a missionary. You pack your bags and leave your job and go on missions. But I often ask myself what am I doing here. How is Seth going to go to college? What is so romantic to be a missionary?

Many think a missionary should be older and perhaps poor. We had people bring us gifts and they brought us rice as if we don't have rice. Nothing wrong with it but it's just that many think missionaries are poor. What really gets me is that people think we are missionaries and they are not.

Abraham was the first missionary and so was Paul. Joseph was a reluctant missionary. Moses was a hesitant missionary. Joshua was a courageous missionary. What about Peter? When the disciples was looking for a leader, Peter stood up. It took an act of somebody stepping up before God can use and a miracle takes place.

The great commandment is to love God with all your heart, but the great commission is to go into all the world. The great commandment must go hand in hand with the great commission. You cannot love God with all your heart and don't go. Turn to your neighbour and say you are a missionary.

It is not reserved for those with a special calling. If not Jesus would not have given the great commission.

Is missions giving to the poor or to go on mission trip? No. Mission is the heartbeat of God. If mission is God's heartbeat then it has to be our heartbeat. And if it's our heartbeat then we have to go.

What does it look like?

1. Missions is not inward looking

This is obvious right? It's about stepping out but sometimes it's something we ignore. I can be in missions but not have a missional thinking or heartbeat or mind-set.

Some people say you do your own thing and I do mine. Like I want to support a school but has conditions. Like they say the school must have their name on the school. Is that missional thinking? What's the purpose? Or have you heard Pastor's message not relevant to me or that there's no impact. Is that missional thinking? Why is it just about ourselves? Missions is not inward looking. A church or Christian who is not missions minded have missed the point. Look at the cross, it's about missions. So that you and I can be saved. Nothing about us. It's about the unsaved.

A Christian who is not missions minded is missing the point.

2. Missions involve sacrifice

Obvious right? All the feasts in the old testament involves a sacrifice. What do you have today? All of us are educated, have talents or wealth. It's sacrifice.

2 Samuel 24:24

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

A lot of our offerings or stepping out don't cost us anything. I want you to look at the real meaning of sacrifice. Why is it important? Because it caused Jesus, God and heaven everything. Please don't won't walk out ya. I'm not saying we be like Paul who was imprisoned and shipwrecked but think of your sacrifice.

3. Missions begins at home

This is my favourite. I'm no less a missionary than a homemaker or an accountant or a pastor. How can we say we are missional when we are not a missionary at home. Are you serving your parents? Or serving your spouse? Then your mission field is where you are. You have to learn to serve at the core of influence where you are. How can you love others and not your own family? Parents serve your kids. Mission begins at home. 

Don't go to camp and conference and be hyped up but you cannot serve your family.

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

When I was 12 years old my mum said "I'm going to give you the house keys." All I think of is I can go out to "ponteng" and to go to my favourite places because I can go where I like. But my mum said to me that night, do you know why I gave you the house keys? Because I trust you. I was about to break that trust.

And Jesus said he is giving you the keys to the kingdom. It's an honour and a responsibility. Let's not break that trust.

The worship team sang that song, go to the ends of the earth. Do we really mean what we say? Do we mean our worship. The great commission, that we'll got to the ends of the Earth.

There was this man John who went to China and preached the word. Thousands came out and got saved. One of the girls that got saved got kicked out of the house. He asked a teacher there where is the girl. She's outside the gate. He asked if the headmistress can help. And the headmistress said they already have 5 mouths to feed and they don't have enough rice. John gave his last 5 dollar and said he'll come back. That man is Bob of World Vision. World Vision started with one man trying to help one child in one country with just $5.

Our first service at the newly renovated sanctuary.

In-house Evangelism

Rev Gideon Lee

To see our family and children come to know the Lord. It's our responsibility.

Acts 16:31

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.”

We often quote this scripture and claim it for the salvation of our family. This does not happen automatically. We can claim it but I want to say it does not come automatically.

When you are the first in the family to be saved, it'll pave the way for your family members. But it takes work on our side. We need to pray and work actively.

In the corporate world we hear the term outsource. To give it to another company to do certain project in the overall scheme of things. But the salvation of your family cannot be outsourced. It has to start with us.

Many of us here have come to know the Lord though our family members and that's why we're here. It is one of the most effective. We have a mandate and responsibility to see our family members to come to the Lord.

Acts 16:6-10

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

See how it was that the Holy Spirit that led them. How the Holy Spirit orchestrated the whole thing and it is integral to salvation. We cannot do the work of evangelism without the Holy Spirit. He wants to lead you to someone you can share the gospel with. How many of us have lost the edge? When we were first saved we were so excited to share.  That Holy Spirit is the same now and can lead you.

There was once I was in a public bus and the Lord asked me to share with a stranger beside me. It was scary but God can lead you.

Acts 16:11-15

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

It is not a cliché to say that evangelism starts at home. One of them was Andrew who introduced Simon Peter to Jesus. Then Peter led his mother-in-law to Jesus. Paul speaks of Timothy and he could trace that it was his mother and grandmother that grounded his faith.

I believe that it is still possible today. In church your spouse, your children, your grandfather is here. Evangelism starts by bringing a family member. Think of a relative that don't know the Lord or has backslided.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Fathers have a responsibility that our children come to know the Lord. We need to bring them up in the fear of the Lord. We all want our children to be trained when young so that they shall not depart from the Lord. They will remember when they grow up.

The revelation of the gospel.

Acts 16:13

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

It was at the riverside and a group of women were gathered there. Paul was directed by the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to see that there was a woman by the name of Lydia. And Paul shared to them the gospel. But Paul was not the one to save Lydia. Paul was just the vessel to bring the gospel. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to use him.

The revelation of the gospel starts with you being a vessel, a mouthpiece. But sadly some of us keep our mouth shut. Sad that even some of our colleagues don't know we're a Christian. Can we start when we become a vessel and allow the Lord to use us. Obedience is important here.  Lydia's whole household was saved. Paul was a vessel that caused the conviction.

We don't like it when the person we share with says something not nice about Jesus but we need to understand that it's God who does it.

The revelation of the gospel - It is the work of the Holy Spirit.

If we share the gospel without the power of the Holy Spirit, it does not make sense. It takes the Holy Spirit. If you tell a person he is a sinner it will not make sense if he is a pious person. The gospel message will not be believable without the Holy Spirit.

Don't get dejected if they say no to you especially your family members. But I encourage you to be a vessel. If I tell you, you and your household will be saved do you believe it? Let's decide to be a vessel and that we will not do it in our own strength.

Our job is to share. Be a mouthpiece. The revelation came to Lydia and her whole family came to the Lord.

Sometimes we are so excited when we share and the person come to the Lord. My first person I shared to said no. Research says it may take as much as 7 times before a person may decide.

Jesus is coming back soon so we need to get ourselves and others ready. So we have to be obedient and let the Holy Spirit do the work through you.

Acts 16:14

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

She was probably dyeing cloth by the river. Purple is a colour for royalty so she is probably very rich. It is very difficult to get that colour. It seems it's from a sea snail, to get the colour purple. This passage helps us deduce that Lydia was a rich person, yet here she is with an emptiness in her. The Bible also says she worship God yet is not saved. She's probably good in doing her religious duties and pious yet she was not saved. There was something missing in her life. When the good news came to her she responded and was saved.

The revelation of the gospel can fall on both fertile ground or hard ground.

Lydia was ready. What we need to understand is that everybody needs Jesus. There is a hole that only Jesus can fill.

Sometimes we think a person who has everything does not need Jesus. We need to get it right from the start, everybody needs Jesus. If not we become judge and jury and decide who needs Jesus. Even Lydia needed Jesus. When the gospel was preached to her she opened her heart and she became the way for the rest of her family to come to the Lord.

The revelation of the gospel is the reach of the gospel.

Acts 16:15

When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

The gospel can reach your family members. Not only Lydia and her family but who else? Look at your Bible, who else got saved? The Philipian jailer was not only saved but his whole family. Once one in the family is saved, God will bring his blessings to those around them and even to the city. If we are faithful to the call. Will we be faithful to the call?

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Teach them to your children. Many of us here can be spiritual parents.

We have to make not converts but disciples. We bring a person to the Lord but then we need to disciple them. That we will do the work of discipleship. The work of evangelism cannot be outsourced. We have to reach our family. Discipleship takes time and we have to get our hands dirty to do discipling. Sometimes I feel we do not want to share the gospel because we do not want the work of discipleship.

In 1978, a person sued his parents for malpractice of parenting. USD350,000.00. He said his parents have blotched up his upbringing that he had to have psychiatric help.

I pray that when we stand before God we will not be guilty of the malpractice of parenting. The work of evangelism starts with us. We cannot outsource it to the pastor or to a programme.

The church grows the fastest when members bring their relatives. Because when you bring your auntie you can bring your uncle. It's a wonderful opportunity for us. When we bring our lost relatives to come to the Lord. Evangelism must go on and it must go with discipleship.

Pastor Gideon and the board praying for Sis Cheng who will be relocating to Malacca.

Restoration

Rev Gideon Lee

I like those shows that restores old things. Like junks that are ready to be thrown away but was restored to look brand new. In Penang someone defaced the wall paintings and they had to get the original artist to come and restore the painting. This morning I want to talk about how God is still on the mission of restoration.

Remember the day you got saved you were brand new, a new creation. There was a bounce in your steps. But along the way we lost it. What the enemy has stolen from you God wants to restore to you. This is the heritage of the children of God. The problem is whether we want to cooperate with God in the process. Restoration will mean a painful process like putting us through the fire.

There are three things I want to look at this morning.

Isaiah 54

The Future Glory of Zion

1 “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.

2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back;

lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

4 “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband–the Lord Almighty is his name–the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

6 The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit– a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God.

7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”

says the Lord your Redeemer.

9 “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.

So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires.

12 I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace.

14 In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work.

And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. God is in the business of restoration. These scriptures shows that God wants to restore our life.

1. He wants to restore the Joy of the Lord.

This is what the Lord first wants to restore. We remember how joyful we were when we first came to the Lord. If the church does not have the joy who else then have the joy? We have as children of God so much to be joyful about.

Joy is important and God wants to restore our joy.

Isaiah 54:1 “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.

Having children is very important those days. Yet the Lord says to burst into songs and shout for joy. Sarah had no children yet when God fulfilled his promise and Sarah bore a son and his name means "laughter". God can fill us with joy once again. This morning the worship team did an excellent job even though there were so many issues. We are called Tabernacle of Praise so if you have lost your joy, seek the Lord as he is in the business of restoration. Sing and shout for joy. Has something caused you to loose your joy? God can restore it.

How many of you have heard of Frances Crosby? She lost her sight at a young age due to a medical issue. One of the songs she wrote is Blessed Assurance. She could have been bitter. In the lyrics is vision of rapture…This is my story…

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
   Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
   Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
   Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
   Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
   Angels, descending, bring from above
   Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
   I in my Savior am happy and blest,
   Watching and waiting, looking above,
   Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

She was blind but she did not to let it rob her of her joy. Her songs have ministered to thousands if not millions of people.

2. He wants to restore our dignity

Isaiah 54:4 “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

There are some things I did in my past I am shameful about. I'm not talking about being embarrassed but it's some things I did I am not proud of. Some of you may have this too.

Remember the woman with the issue of blood? It was not just a physical problem but also a spiritual problem. When she is menstruating, she's considered unclean and is ostracised.  The Jews have this understanding that if you are unclean they cannot touch you. But Jesus was not bothered about this. Jesus was the other way around. He has the power to make her clean.

One day she heard Jesus was coming around. She said if she could just touch the hem of his garment then she will be healed. And the Bible said as soon as she touched his garment Jesus felt a power left him and he said who touched me? The woman said it is I that touched you. And Jesus said you are healed. Everyone knew she had an issue of blood but now she's healed. Jesus restored her dignity.

This morning he wants to restore your dignity. Come back to him because he can do it.

Jesus restores your joy and he is also able to restore you dignity. He took your greatest shame when he went to the cross for you.

3. God wants to restore his favour back upon your life.

Isaiah 54:17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.

There's also a verse in Joel.

Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten–the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm–my great army that I sent among you.

I like this. God says he will repay the great and young locusts, the big and the small and the others. He didn't leave any out.

Some of you may feel that you are so cornered you don't know where to turn to. Some of you may feel you have been pressed from every side. Sometimes locusts do come but God says he is going to restore it all. Nothing is too impossible with God.

When I was working in the Edge newspaper, I was headhunted to go to Reader's Digest. One of the things I said to God was that I want to leave with my testimony intact. So when I put in my resignation letter there was a change in my boss. I was his favourite employee probably because of the favour of the Lord. He was the best boss I had. He would sit with me to craft my proposal. He will teach me the art of writing. At that time I was not able to draft a good letter. He would help me.

But when I put in my resignation letter he became very angry with me. He would check through all my work. I was already assistant GM and for one month he was on my back. It was a totally different person from what I know. Two weeks before I left he began to treat me like how he treated me before.

Before I left, he asked his secretary to collect money from the Marketing Department to make me a full suit. Including shoes and socks and belt. Only thing didn't buy is an underwear. He has never done this for any staff.

He told me that I'll leave with his blessing and gave me a farewell dinner. I was there 5 years and he told me he promised me I'll leave better. He just WhatsApp me that after 20 years he is retiring. He took the trouble to inform me. God wants to restore your relationship. God got's your back.

He is a God of restoration. He loves to do the Impossible. All things means all. Whatever you are going through I encourage you he is able. Today I'm going to open the altar because I want to minister to you. I don't want to talk about the theme but to minister to you.

One reason why I want to shift the time to 10.30 am is so that you can come earlier to pray for the service. We have the floor to our own so you can come earlier and we finish earlier so you have time to fellowship and have lunch. Come to the sanctuary to pray. 31st January we will be up there. Let's give God a hand.

Discipleship

Rev Dr. Tan Soo In of Graceworks, a Publishing and Training Consultancy

Even though I'm in Singapore, I'm actually from Penang so I'm back almost every month. My mother is here. It's a privilege to be here so thank you for inviting.

This morning I want to talk about discipleship. Some of you, you will remember evangelism of the past. It's like at the end of the sermon, the preacher will ask "if you die today what happens to you?" You get scared. Evangelism talks about what happens when you die and not about how you live for the Lord.

Everyone who is saved and assured of heaven is a convert. The rest who is serious about God are disciples. These two tiers have weakened the church. One have the insurance of heaven and the other are the crazy ones who memorises 500 verses. This has weakened the church.

Recent times, the church have revisited the meaning of discipleship.

Matthew 28:16

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

Every time a revelation is revealed at the mountains it seems to be significant. Like Moses at Mount Sinai. God can reveal anywhere but at the mountains it seems to be a more significant revelation.

The disciples are a bunch of 11 Jews who were worshiping a man of 33 years old. Only one God they have worshiped but why are they worshiping Jesus. Because he died and rose again. It was a unique proof and claim. Tell me of another who have died and rose again. It is not blind believe. God gave evidence of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Following Christ is not the most easy or convenient religion. I follow Christ because it's the truth. My parents were Christians and I'm the only son. Following Christ at that time did not cost me anything. I've never suffered from following Christ but to give up my dentistry to follow Christ suddenly, was finally going to cost me something.

Matthew 28:17

When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

We may go to church because our parents are Christians but there will come a point of time where you have to ask yourself, is it true? And will I follow? The 11 disciples believed and followed him.

The truth is that some doubted and that's the truth. In the big picture they believed but still have doubts. There was no unbelievers, but they still had doubts. We should give room for questions even regarding Christianity.  Questions should be welcomed and not jumped on.

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

All the men deserted him except the ladies who stood by him. But after he resurrected they believed again. If I was Jesus, I'd say wah, why you deserted me? But the grace of God showed how Jesus approached them.

But we have to come back to the Lord. Peter did but Judas didn't. Jesus came back and gave them fresh instructions on what to do. Things God has wanted you to do but you didn't. Jesus is here with open arms for fresh instructions.

All authority in heaven and earth. Who can that be? Only God for the Jews. It's everything. No area not under his lordship. Continue to trust in God. Satan promised Jesus all authority on earth but Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth. All.

Do you really believe that Jesus is God and has all authority? I know now when you obey him. When you acknowledge his lordship. Instructions are coming.

Matthew 28:19

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

Make disciples not convert. We may not know what a disciple actually means. At that time a disciple is an apprentice. If you want to be a carpenter, you'll go to a master carpenter and ask him to be a sifu. You'll probably move in and observe him. Then he'll give you simple tasks and after a time has passed you'll qualify. A disciple is a student or apprentice. We learn from Jesus.

A disciple involves all of us. You cannot say you don't want to be baptise because you are not mature yet. That's wrong. Baptism is the beginning. It's the beginning of a journey. It shows that you've taken the plunge to follow Jesus. Baptism is not a mark of maturity but a mark of beginning.

It's like learning to drive, you get an "L" plate, a learner. At Form 5 I did that. My instructor was a man called lau Lim. With his broken English. The first time we were out, when he gave me instructions it was hard to understand. But over time I understood him. Then I passed without paying bribe. I was lau Lim's disciple and learnt to drive.

We don't loose when we obey God's Commandments.

Matthew 28:19

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

If I was an English teacher I'd say it's bad English. The verse said the name yet there are three being addressed. God is only one yet three persons. The true God has a community among himself. Cannot explain. I'll just kneel down and worship.

It says all nations. I think the last sin to die is racism. God's love is for all people. There's no second class in God's Kingdom. All are equally loved. That's why we are to make disciples of all nations. It's reaching everyone.

Matthew 28:20

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Not just to teach them but to teach them to obey. Not just teach them to pass exams like our education system. We learn things without responsibility. We are trained to learn and invite education with no responsibility. That's not what the Bible says. It's to learn and obey. The test of the word is what kind of life you live. That is the authority of God over you.

If you read this, it's a very high calling. It's a tough calling. To make disciples. But God will give you the power to do it. He is there to back you up to do it. Like when God called Moses. He said I will be with you. He called Moses to free the Israelites from the most powerful army in the world. God was with Moses. We don't go with our own strength. He gave us the calling and power.

So what is the Holy Spirit saying to some of us? Maybe it's to rededicate our life as a disciple. Not a convert but a disciple since we are all disciples. It is a year that we grow up. At 60 I'm still growing. I used to read large letter edition but now my bible is giant print! So paiseh (shy). There's a programme that can calculate how much time you have left based on you answering some questions. People like me are nearing the end but as a disciple, we need to be dedicated to him.

It's not just about being a convert or disciple but being a mature or less mature disciples. It's a time to rededicate ourselves, young or old.

Some days, you may find following Christ to be difficult. God says I'll be with you. He'll anoint you to be like Jesus, that's what the Holy Spirit does.

Or you are struggling with the feeling of failure. God say come to me and I'll give you a fresh start. It is harder to renovate the heart than the church.

When the Bible says I stand at the heart and knock, it's not evangelism. It's God wanting to give you a spiritual revelation. Time passes in supersonic speed. What does God wants of you now? To shine as light in a very dark world.

Vision Casting Sunday

Rev Gideon Lee

This morning is vision casting Sunday. I will be talking about our theme for the next two years. We have a new theme for 2016 and 2017.

Ephesians 4:14-16

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

I want to talk about change. The portion of scripture we read talked about change. Change is inevitable. We go through change in life. Sometimes we are comfortable with it but in general we don't like changes. We are creatures of habit. I have had the same hair style for the last 20 years and my wife asked me to try something new. I told her I'm like Jesus.  I'm the same yesterday, today and forevermore. We are creatures of habit.

How many of you were a little upset your seat is taken this morning? This is a combine service so the Hokkien will probably be seating where they normally seat. Change is important. We all go through changes. Whether we like it or not.

We are talking about change in the early church in Ephesus. They were looking at the coming Messiah Jesus. They are saved and come from a system of priests. With their religious sacrifices. They believe in circumcision. But now they believe in Jesus and all these are done away with. They are now in a new church.

The don't know the system of the new church. They don't know what is expected. And now Paul gives instructions of what to do. He told them what is expected of them as new believers. What they were used to they no longer follow. Talk about change, that is a big change.

How many of you remember when you first became a Christian? You were used to do the things you did before. Some of you were Buddhists before. Like going to the temple. But now you are no longer practicing what you were used to. And many things became new to you. And that's what Paul told them to do as a new believer.

You may ask why change is necessary. Well it is because it is necessary in the Christian life.

Ephesians 4:14

that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

Paul is telling them change involve growth. They need to grow and cannot be babies anymore. But why is Paul saying this? As children we are vulnerable to the scheming and deceitfulness around us. Children easily believe. And they get wrong information. And believe in the wrong things. But Paul is saying don't remain as a baby. You'll be vulnerable.

The Bible says we must be childlike. I'm not talking about being childlike. There's a difference being childlike and childish. You need to grow and mature.

When we were young we played with toy cars. Like those Matchbox  cars. We used matchboxes to make cars. Then came those made out of cast iron. Then came the plastic ones where the doors can open. It's okay when we were children. But now that you have grown up, can you be playing with all these things? We move on to bigger things. Now we want to drive a car, not play with toy cars. Don't remain the same. Don't be a baby. You got to mature. To want the things God has for you.

You started with milk but as you grow you need more meat. Babies are cute. You saw Gabby. She hasn't a care in the world. So nice to kiss. So cute. But can you imagine at 20 years she remained the same? She has grown bigger but she still behave the same. I hope we won't be like that. We need to change.

Paul says they are new believers and they have to continue to grow.

Change is a lifelong process for a Christian.

Our goal is to be like what? To be like Jesus. Tell your neighbour you are work in progress. WIP.  Tell your neighbour I think you need more work. We are not perfect. We go through changes. The Bible calls this transformation. Came from the word metamorphosis.

All of us are growing. Some grow taller. Some grow sideways. Some grow forward but in everything all of us grow and there must be changes. This morning tell your neighbour get use to change. Get use to it.

I want to tell you our fourth floor is ready. We just put in the sound system. The hall is awesome. I do not know how to tell you. I'll talk to Bro Wilbur next week we may have a tour of the place. I want you to see that change is good. It may not feel comfortable but it can bring forth good fruits. Remember the stained glass? It's still there but now backlighted. It's beautiful.

We need to grow. We need to serve and we need to transform.

Change is also a lifelong process for the church.

The church needs to change. It is a lifelong process for the church. If we don't change we become irrelevant to the community. I hope we don't become a museum for believers. But that it will be a hospital for the needy. Not just a place for good people but a place where all can see Jesus.

Ephesians 4:14-16

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

What the scriptures say is that the church is linked to the head and it will grow or work properly, or it will impede the growth of the church. We need to work together. All these are tied up to the word love. We want to grow. There must be changes and we want to serve one another. When we do that the church becomes a very powerful force to be reckon with. What the world need is the love of Christ.

We must be transformed.

The board went for a planning retreat. And we brainstormed for a theme for the church. We listed down the things that are considered the strength of the church. The list was not exhaustive.

One of the strength is that we are a caring church especially for the community. We are also strong in the word. Very word based. People in this church likes to study the Bible. They go for the Bible study class and also ICI. Bro Vive just graduated from ICI. There is a hunger for the word of God. Some say we are a giving church and a family church. And our worship team is excellent. People have commented on our worship. It's not just the skills but also the presence of God.

We also used to raised a lot of Pastors in the past. Also a publication that was the talk of the town. What's the name? Lighthouse. Praise Update. A lot of Assemblies of God churches looked forward to the publication. And this church is also supportive of our leaders.

Our weaknesses. We need to grow our Christians. In terms of their walk with God. We looked at evangelism and discipleship. Prayer, missions particularly in going. We have no problems giving. Also we felt the church is complacent. We want more people serving in church and also our online presence.

We.wanted to celebrate our strength and work on our weaknesses. So we came out with a theme to do that.

Our theme is to Grow, Serve and Transform. GST. This is to help you to remember. To GROW, SERVE and TRANSFORM.

When we talk GROW, is to grow in the word and the keyword is discipleship. We know if we grow in the word, all else will follow.

When we talk about SERVE, it's serving one another in love. The keyword is love.

When we talk TRANSFORM, it's to transform the community, the keyword is evangelism.

And this is how it looks like. We want to grow our prayer meeting. Also the Bible study class. And the cell group. And to increase the cell attendance by 20%.

Remember I preached about the cell and why it's important. When we say grow this is what we are talking about. We want something to aim at. We must try to get there. We have talked to all the ministries in the church to work towards this vision.

We want to serve one another. A 10% increase participation in all ministries. One person at least one ministry. You can also serve in special projects. Like Easter or Christmas. We want to serve one another in love. To achieve this we must all be serving. In some part of ministry.  50% of congregation to at least serve in one ministry. 6 mission trips, even short term overnight or day trip ministry. I like what some cells are doing. Where they went on day trip to minister to the orang asli.

Lastly, we want to transform the community. We want to look at our salvation and baptism. On average our whole year is about 10 to 12 gets saved. We want to increase that. We also wants to strengthen our cell model. To get one assistant cell leader and to groom up another potential leader. If we do that we can transform the community.  I'll put this up on our Facebook page. To remind ourselves.

I ask that you'll come alongside to work with the church. That all of us play our part. Can we do that church? Let's play our part so that the church can grow and we'll need one another.

Let's not say let the pastor do this. We need one another. How many of you agree this is your church? You are all part of it. It's not the building. It's you and me. Let's play our part.

What's out theme? GROW, SERVE, TRANSFORM. Grow and the keyword is discipleship. Serve, the keyword is love. And transform, the keyword is evangelism. Work with me and the leadership. 

We will do a survey. And ask you in what ministry will you like to serve in if you are not serving. And we will try to help you to serve. I want you to be serving in at least one ministry. Everybody to be in a cell. Everybody to go for Bible study and the prayer meeting. And also we want to change the format of the prayer meeting. To make it more vibrant.

Amen? Work with me. Are you ready to grow church? Are you ready to serve. Are.you ready to transform the community? Let's all do our part.