Stand Firm

Pastor Daniel Loh

This is where we desire to worship him with all our heart and I believe as we leave this place we will be inspired and be glad we attended this service.

This is not a farewell sermon even though Ps Ronald has done much in Malaysia and going down under. But I believe he is not finished in terms of ministry.

You heard I mentioned two words, complete and finish. It's different. Let me give you an example. When you married the right woman, you are complete. And all the women say? Amen.  When you marry the wrong woman, you are finished. See the difference now? When your wife catches you with another woman, you are completely finished. Now all the young guys better listen. But when your wife loves going shopping all the time, you are finished completely. I thank God that my wife and I have been in ministry together and often we conduct workshops. I work she shops.

I want to look at the last chapter of Nehemiah and the key word is stand firm.

Nehemiah 13:4-12 (NIV)

4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

6 But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms.

Nehemiah 13:15 (NIV)

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.

Nehemiah 13:17-18 (NIV)

17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”

Nehemiah 13:23-25 (NIV)

23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves.

Nehemiah 13:29-31 (NIV)

29 Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

30 So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. 31 I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, my God.

Nehemiah himself is a first rank character study. A man of prayer. A man of faith. A man of courage and action. You realise that his heart is always for God and the nation of Israel. He wanted to rebuild the temple of God. The Book of Nehemiah falls into two sections, Reconstruction and Reinstruction. The theme of this Book talks about God's security, protection and strength. When you study this book of 13 chapters, first chapter talks about concern, second to third chapter talks about construction, fourth to six talks about conflict, seventh to twelve talks about consecration and now coming to the end of chapter thirteen, it's about cleansing.

After Nehemiah completed the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he kept his promise to the king and returned to Babylon where he resumed his duty as the king's cup bearer.

Twelve years have passed. He found that in his absence many things have changed. Not for the better but for the worst. Like this country many who may have left the country and came back expecting the country to be better but it was worst.

He came back and saw the people were sinning once again. Once again. It is not just to the people of Israel, but it can also happen to us. If we are not moving forward we are sliding backwards. I call it spiritual decay. Temptations are increasing and everything is more difficult. It's tougher following Jesus Christ everyday.

I tell my children at home that as a disciple of Jesus Christ we must fly high and aim high. Fly high last long. We may start off very well and fly high but how long can you last? All of us are on the same team. We fly high and last long. Then we meet Jesus at the end of the day, he will say well done my faithful servant.

In the midst of internal and external circumstances Nehemiah was a man who stood firm. He dealt with the difficulties. We may be like Nehemiah. Where we want to turn the community and believers back to God.

1. Stand firm when you are in the danger of compromise. V1-9

Compromises was happening within Israel. They have defiled and forsaken the temple of God. They allowed an Ammonite into the temple of God. Tobiah who was an evil man against Nehemiah is now given a room in the temple of God. Imagine how Nehemiah felt when he returned after twelve years. To find his enemy staying in the temple. He acted immediately and threw Tobiah out of the temple and cleansed the temple. Compromise.

Christianity Today magazine has pastors and elders of the church as subscribers. And the statistics were bad and discipline of church members are low. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to keep our purity.

Compromise is a very dangerous evil. If we allow the Tobiahs to stay in our heart.

2. Stand firm when you face the anger of selfishness v10-14

He rebuked the leaders for the lack of faithfulness in giving. They stopped maintaining the temple and teaching the people. They stopped giving to God. A misuse of finance and selfishness and found its way into the people. He acted immediately.

He made sure that the rulers were paid. Imagine the lead pastors and leaders are not paid. Because the people of God are not giving they have no choice but to stop and go out to find work to support their families. This was what happened during those times.

Giving tithes to the church was no longer their responsibility. God has his way to run his organisation. And we have to look into Scripture and stay responsible in terms of the duty that we have. I have been thought during early days of my life about tithing. If you go online there are many articles that do not believe in tithing. I believe tithing is a matter of the heart. It is not about blessing. That is not the idea. If we think God bless us back by monetary wise then we will put all our money into church.

Many wants to be a millionaire by 30 but what is wealth without health? Work so hard that they neglected their health and they put all their money back to the hospital. We have to be responsible and pay our tithes. If we stay to the principles of tithing we do not need to raise funds for building.

Here the people of God has been so called poisoned in their minds that they neglected the house of God. Our finances speak volumes about our relationship with God. When our heart is not there we find it difficult to support the work of God. This morning we have to ask ourselves this question. Are we a giver or are we a receiver? Are we generous or selfish? Just a poem to remind us to not let money be our God.

Money will buy you a bed but not sleep.

Food but not appetite.

A house but not a home.

Medicine but not good health.

Luxury but not culture.

Entertainment but not happiness.

Religion but not salvation.

A Visa to anywhere on planet earth, but not heaven.

Friends, always remember that the only way to be free of the tyranny of money is to give back to God. Obey God's principles of tithing and be generous in offerings. I pray your whole Christmas tree will be overflowing with ribbons. Stay free from the danger of selfishness.

3. Stand firm when you face the danger of conveniences v 15-22

They did not observe the Sabbath. A time of rest and the Israelites focused on God instead of other things. That was the day of the Lord. Many no longer practice the Sabbath but instead compromised by doing all kinds of business wanting to make more money.

They had plenty of excuses like all of us. They were making knowingly and unknowingly wealth their idols. Nehemiah handled this promptly. He stopped working on Sabbath and banned the merchants from bringing their products on Sabbath.

Convenient Christianity. Well if it's convenient I'll come to church. If it's convenient I'll let my children come for special services. If it's convenient I'll come to prayer meeting. If it's not convenient I'll not come to church. It's not convenient for me to come because God has blessed us with a big house by the sea but it's not so convenient because it's now far away.

A parent ask a young girl do you want to go to church? So young girl of 12 say she's tired so don't go to church. We cannot ask a young girl whether to come to church. We cannot give them that choice. Young teenagers are at a time where they want to rebel and when you tell them to come to church they ask why? Church is boring. Convenient Christianity have creeped into the church. I'm glad all my church families and their children come and serve in church.

A lot of Christians today come to church to want to be blessed. When they see they are not blessed they hop to another church because they were not blessed. We should instead ask what can we do to bless the church. This is the church God has placed you here.

I pastor a church where there is so much pressure. I started to pastor a church with only 30 people. I'm not competing with another church because it's his church. I was associate pastor in a big church doing everything. Worship pastor, youth pastor and I grew there. I did everything in that church. I love going and serving in church.

Sad that today there is this convenient Christianity. Spiritual decay of if I feel like coming I'll come. How is your daily and weekly commitment to church? Are you busy making money God is blessing you but you neglect your commitment to church.

4. Stand firm when you face the danger of wrong relationships v 23-31

There were mixed marriages then. I'm not talking of inter-racial marriages. The Israelites compromised by marrying pagan women. It was so bad that many of the children of Israel couldn't even speak Hebrew. If they cannot speak Hebrew the next generation and generation to come will not be able to read Scripture and learn from the teachers and  Levites.

He called for curses to come upon them and beat some of them up and pulled out their hair. Can you imagine the lead pastor do that to us today?

Because of inter-marriages, many gods entered into the lives of the Israelites. That was the reason he was so angry. Paul talked about being unequally yolk with an unbeliever. How many think that when they fall in love with an unbeliever thinking that later they can become a believer. I can say that many of those end up no longer going to church. Or no longer a Christian.

They were so committed in church but the parents ask them whether there are any in church. If not they'll ask why not look for someone outside of church. And they even recommend someone from outside. He look like a Christian, sound like a Christian but is not a Christian. After a while, they stopped coming to church.

This is where many out of desperation decided to venture in that direction. Sad. But that's the reality of the situation nowadays. Getting married is not the best thing in the world. Being single can also be God's will.

There are three things for a good marriage. First is physical attraction. That's true. Even though you see some marriages and you see their physical appearance so far apart yet they love one another. You ask what do you see in the person, but it's only the person knows. Second is emotional compatibility. The third to me is most important and that's spiritual unity. It's so important to have the same faith. Husband and wife cannot pray together. Nehemiah saw this and immediately handled this situation. It affects us and the people around us.

We are most affected by the books we read and the friends we have. Wrong relationships can spiritually damage us. Do they draw you closer to God or do they draw you away from God? This is where Nehemiah say stand firm when you stand in danger of being lured away.

We can learn from this man Nehemiah. He had nothing in his heart but his love for God and his desire to please God.

That's why he ended with this prayer. Remember me with favour, my God. Have you ever prayed that kind of prayer? God will remember us. Why? Because he loves you. But to pray for God's favour, be willing to come back. To remember us with favour. He desires us to draw near to him and to stand firm. He is ever ready to guide and lead you. And you can stand and declare yourself a child of God to fly high and last long.

The Mercy, Grace, Blessing and Favour of The Lord

Bro Kenny Wong

It is wonderful to be in the house of the Lord. My purpose is to give glory to the Lord. What happened actually happened. What you will hear is the truth. Ps Ronald told me to come and share and I say why not. I want to give all the glory to him.

I grew up in PJ as a very naughty young boy. I hardly listen to my parents. I'm not from a rich family and I'm the youngest of 6. I used to wash plates and clean tables at a coffee shop after school. I was paid 50 cents per night. It's not the 50 cents that I wanted but that I'd pack back unfinished food so that my family can eat.

In 1972, a person in the coffee shop once asked if I want to work at the racecourse when I was 12. He'd pay me RM15 a day, and 2 days a week that's RM120 a month which was a lot of money then. He was an illegal bookie so I'd be asked to run errands  for all the police officers there. This corporal would tell the guard that I am his friend and to let me in, though I was just 12 years old.

Then at 14 someone asked me if I want to run errands for a group of friends. To just buy breakfast, lunch and dinner. And he'd pay me RM10 or RM20 per trip. But slowly from buying breakfast, lunch and dinner, it came to buying heroine. At the age of 14. They don't buy by the tubes but by packets. Later I came to know these group of people were not simple people but very very big time gangsters.

In 1974, at the age of 14 I became addicted to heroine. Guns and money were under their pillow. This went on and my life was all messed up. I did not have to worry about money.

In 1976 on April 5, they robbed Poh Kong, a big goldsmith shop at Paramount Garden. And they went back to their hideout just 200 meters away from the goldsmith shop. House No. 20, 20/7 Paramount Garden. Imagine that. 4 of them were shot dead at that house. The 5th at OUG. In 1980 the last of them was caught  in Penang in 1980 and was hung in 1981. They all come from Jalan Dato Keramat. All has sparrow tattoos on their chest and thighs. They were called the Luku gang. After Botak Chin was caught in February these group of gangsters were shot dead by the police.

My world came apart. No more money or drugs. Don't ask me how I get money to survive from 1976 to July 28 1978. I do not wan to go into the details.

In 1978 I got admitted into a drug rehab centre called Joe's Corner. God has been so merciful to me. I left school at the age of 14. I can't read and I can't write. But God was merciful and I got admitted into Joe's Corner.

I ran away three times and the pastor said if you run away again give your place to someone else. I saw Ps Ronald in a room doing his assignments. He was a Bible school student then. When I was undergoing withdrawal they don't give you medicine. They just pray for you. They just lay hands on you and say Lord, heal him! Heal him! Cold turkey. They bath you in cold water and very fast you come out of withdrawals.

If I had a mobile phone back then I'd probably not be here today. God was merciful because that morning on April 5th, I was so high I couldn't answer the house  phone to go to the house. I was supposed to go and get their passports and foreign currency so they can go over to Penang. These are big time gangsters that have committed murder and robbery. If not I'd have been shot too. By the time I got there, the place was surrounded by police.

I want to thank God for not allowing me to go to that house that morning and for placing me in Joe's Corner. That's the mercy of God.

Now I want to talk about the grace of God. In the programme, they give assignments on Mondays but I couldn't read or write. Ps Ronald would also give assignments but I don't understand what it was all about. I was uneducated. Form 1 and Form 2 I didn't go to school for 108 days.  I messed up my life because I did not listen to my parents. I had to look at the dictionaries for all those words. Obtain, I don't know what it's about. Get I know.

I used to con people during my drug addiction. My father died many times. This mind is a very corrupted mind because I keep telling people my father died to get money. But at Joe's Corner they give you memory verse and it cleanse and renew our mind. It's so powerful. As an 18 year old boy I had so many memory verses.

The government cannot help the drug addicts. It's the word of God that helped so many of us.

We appreciate those pastors because they gave their life for us. Today if you ask for money for old folks home, or children's home or the disabled, they will give but if you said it's for drug rehab, 90% of them will not because they said they deserved it. It's these pastors that gave their life for us. They are paid only RM30. That's why if he invites me I'd immediately say yes, to give glory to God. These are people that gave the most ungrateful people a chance.

I took a part time job because I was uneducated. In 1980, I went for an interview at Hope Computer. Before even the interview, the person asked me if I'm an ex-Joe. And he immediately gave me the job. I was so happy because the biggest challenge I faced was rejection by society and family. And I cannot blame them. It is so difficult to be set free and if society rejects us, so many went back to drugs. I went through a lot of these rejections in my life. Society don't give us a second chance but Christians gave me chance.

I promised the Lord that I will promise to be faithful to God because I got a job. To be honest. I was paid RM250. I managed to save RM10 to save into the bank. But the Lord reminded me to pay back all those that I have cheated. To pay back everyone of them. I never compromised on tithing to the Lord. RM25 I gave to Lord. I never go hungry. I buy boxes of Maggie mee then. They say you'll lose your hair if you eat too much Maggi Mee but look at my head now. Still full of hair.

It was not easy for my wife to marry me. It's not easy for a parent to give their daughter to an ex drug addict. We just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary and we are blessed with four children. My wife educated me to read and write. Reading the Bible helped me improve my English. I have a lot of dictionaries everywhere. My wife was a very smart girl and she educated me. A wonderful wife. In 1983,I went to a sister's house called Audrey to ask her to pray for me because I was going for an interview at Carnation. I only have Form 2 education yet I got the job. Sister Audrey's son-in-law's brother interviewed me. It was the grace of God. I continue to tithe to the Lord. I tithe gross not nett. That's the grace of God upon my life. In 1985, Nestlé bought Carnation. I went through the back door because Nestlé's minimum qualification is Form 5 Grade 2. That's the blessings of God.

I've worked in this company and I've received 8 promotions. I was given a manager position. Minimum a degree. A lot of people didn't want this position I didn't know. I asked Ps Richard to pray for me as it's a high position job. I was offered head of sales for ice cream. When I changed job they gave me a farewell, someone shook my hand and said I've got guts. Because he said many refused the job.

I knew I was in trouble. I'll never forget 1990. I told the Lord I will work hard and trust in you. People think we will collapse as it was very difficult. In 2009 it was still not easy but from 2010, it has been growing every year. The Lord bless us a hundred fold. My wife said what you're getting is mind boggling. Until today I'm still just Form 2. Now when I told them no one believe. If it's not God and his blessings and favour you would not believe.

In 2010 they sent me to Switzerland to study a course. Everyone was told to speak and all of them has qualifications including PhDs. I told them I don't have a master but I have a master up there. That's the favour of God.

I want to wrap up by touching on a few scriptures.

I grew up as a rebellious boy.

Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 5:16 (NIV)

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

You ask your parents so many questions when growing up and they answer all your question. Now when you ask your children questions they don't answer. I grew up with problems because I thought I know better.

Psalms 46:1 (NIV)

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Malachi 3:10 (NIV)

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

You trust the Lord and the Lord will provide for you. We should tithe with a joyful heart. Don't compromise.

We serve a merciful God. God is always gracious to us in times of trouble. His blessings and favour are always upon those that put their trust in him.

The Mercy, Grace, Favour and Blessings of the Lord has been real in my life. 

The Fig tree

Bapak Dr Anthony Leong

As a whole the church is supposed to do missions anyway. I believe it's not about the two hundred thousand you need to raise to do external missions. You should come to Indonesia and see my 639 churches that we have. And no church support. I've got two Bible school, I've got tertiary school running like a missionary school. We're doing that. And all because the Lord continues his blessings upon me and my wife.

Ps Ronald and Ps Jasmine know my family for a long time. We were in Glad Tidings together and like he said, once upon a time I don't believe in speaking in tongues. I told him there's no such thing as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I argued with him and argued and argued. My wife and me we never argue about woman. We never argue about money. We only argue about the Bible.

I think about 30 years ago the Lord touched me and the Lord touched me in the spirit and spoke to me. And now I'm more a pastor than a lawyer. I was quite happy being in the Brethren church until she woked me up in the spirit and I'm doing healing and speaking in tongues.

This morning I'm not even preaching, I'm just sharing with you. What I want to share is from my heart to your heart. There is a work outside that you and I have got to do. And when the Lord comes back and the Lord ask you what have you done to my kingdom you can't say Lord you gave me 15 children to look after. The Lord wants to touch each and every one of you this morning. Let's look at Mark 11. The way I look at the Bible may be different from other pastors because I'm trained as a lawyer so you can't blame me alright?

Mark 11:12 (NKJV)

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.

The Bible clearly says that Jesus was hungry. I would have thought that if Jesus was hungry surely his disciples were also hungry right? Boss don't eat we also don't eat. So Jesus knows and he's setting traps for them. If they're hungry why not just go eat first? So for what purpose it's written? It's written for today.

Mark 11:13 (NKJV)

And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

Let me ask you, when seeing fruit tree from afar, as a lawyer I ask how far is far? It may be far but the journey to the fig tree may be down a ravine. How far and how much longer they have to walk? The journey to there the scriptures didn't tell. We need to read the bible and ask questions. I'm like that.

What is Jesus trying to find? He was hungry so he was looking for fruits.

Jesus already knew whether that tree has fruits or not. He found there was nothing but leaves. Because the time was not the season for fig. There is a reason why Jesus wanted to do that because Jesus already know there is no fruit. Just like you don't look for durians when it's not the season for durians. I know now is the durian season. I mention durians and all your eyes lit up.

Mark 11:14 (NKJV)

In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it.

Did the fig tree asked Jesus to come? I don't think the fig tree at that time can talk also. The fig tree probably if can talk would say what wrong have I done? You brought your disciples with you to look for fruit and when you found no fruit you curse me. Why Jesus cursed the fig tree?

Matthew 21:17-19 (NKJV)

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

If you are a fig tree you'd tell Jesus it's not my fault. Not my fault never mind, but now I cannot bear any more fruits. For a tree not to bear fruit is a problem. That means it's generation no more. The fig tree is cursed no more fruits and on that day itself it withered away.

Mark 11:14 (NKJV)

In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”

And His disciples heard it.

The disciples heard it. The key thing for us is what's the story for us? I've read this many times but did not really understand until 1996.

My whole family were blessed with a trip to Israel. When I was there the tour leader who was a Jew name Boaz told me this is a fig tree. Then I saw what the fig tree in the Bible was like. In Israel the fig tree at the moment they have leaves will 100% have fruits. Because the fruit comes before the leaves. So if you see leaves you will have fruits. Now you can Google this information but those days we don't have such things.

The moment you as a fig tree put up your hands of leaves, you are saying you have fruits.

When you apply for anything like University or whatever and you put yourself as Christian, you are telling the whole wide world that you have leaves. That means you all have fruits. But when the fig tree has leaves and no fruits it is why it's cursed. Jesus is saying to the fig tree, you say you have leaves, I brought people here but they won't get a chance to eat. That's why I will curse you.

Translated to this church TOP here in Penang, the moment you call yourself a Christian you must bear fruit, not for you to eat but for others to eat. The moment you say you have leaves, you must have fruits.

My parents have 15 children. Before your mind gets gatal ya, it's one father one mother. I remember my mom is always pregnant. We were born in Malacca that's why I speak Malay. 8 boys and 7 girls. You cannot imagine out of the 8 boys 6 of us are lawyers. Those days we don't have money. But I told God I want blessings to be a channel of his blessings. I will not give if I don't have. I don't believe in faith pledge. I will not borrow to give. God bless and I give. God is going to use you to be a channel of blessing.

I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about caring for people. I'm talking about praying for this country. If we talk about missions, it starts here and not elsewhere. The Sabahans and the Indonesians are coming here. We don't want your money. We want your commitment. That's what God wants us to do.

When the Bible says you are to bear much fruit, what does it mean? How many of you have rambutan trees? When you go to a fruit orchard to buy a fruit tree you will go during fruiting season right? And what do you look for? You look for rambutans. If you see 10 rambutans per tree you buy or not? Surely not. You must see more red than green. The Bible says we have to bear much fruits.

John 15:1-2 (NKJV)

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

When God was good to you what did you do for God? Every branch that had no fruit he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes away. That's painful. The pruning will make you bear more fruits. Even when you go through pruning don't worry. When the pruning comes you will bear forth more fruit.

John 15:3-5 (NKJV)

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

If you do not bear much fruits, two things can happen according to the Bible. I can say you are not abiding in Jesus and Jesus is not abiding in you. It's in the word of God. This is a question you have to ask yourself.

Why did Jesus said to some I do not know you? You may say but I cast out demons and perform miracles but Jesus says get out of my face because I do not know you. Why? Because Jesus is not abiding in you. I'm very sorry. I don't want you to be calling yourself sheep but you are a goat.

Everything God has ordained. The worst thing for you to do or the biggest lie the devil can tell you is that he makes you believe that you are a Christian because you are only attending church at the 4th floor of 222D. But you do not bear fruit. Come in and just go out. Like the Bible say, are you a sheep or a goat?

You may say Bapak you are different because you have money. Don't forget when we started all 15 of us no money. But if you give your life to God he will bless you. I'm not preaching prosperity gospel. I always tell God I will never borrow money.

Forget about the church wanting to collect 200 thousand. That's not the problem. I want God to touch your heart. Where is your treasure this morning?

Here is a true story. Every time I go to the Orang Asli village to preach I am very encouraged by an old lady. She sits right in front of the church. Every time when I preach she would say amen. The rest don't say but I don't mind because she always says amen. But one day when I was preaching she never said amen but kept looking behind. She kept looking looking looking back. So after the service I went to ask her why you always look behind. She said she just bought a pair of new shoes. It dawned upon me for where your treasure is…she was afraid someone stole her shoes.

The Bible says for where your treasure is there lies your heart also. Where and what is your treasure? Your grandchildren? Your business? It has to be God's business. God business first. Some put the church before God first. Then you will have lots of trouble. We need to put God first.

Excel in the Grace of Giving

Rev Ronald Ooi

It's good to bounce back after Chinese New Year. After all that eating and visiting. We are still in the midst of shifting. We have been in that house for the last 10 years, and when you first moved in to an empty house and after 10 years you wonder where all the things comes from. We try to give it away, clear it as we can't bring too many things with us to Penang.

I must thank the intercessors for praying because my grandson came with my daughter and son-in-law just for two days and when they landed in Penang airport my grandson got really sick. He has never been so sick before. He is normally a cheerful young boy but he was so sick they had to carry him out of the plane. His temperature was rising and we brought him to see our family doctor Dr. Sybil, our doctor for the last 30 over years. She used to see my children when they were 2 to 3 years old and now I'm bringing my grandson who is about 4 years old.

She checked and she thought there is something wrong with his stomach and suspected appendicitis and she said we better take him straight to the specialist. We took him straight to Island Hospital and we had to wait again because there were so many tourists from other countries lining up to see the doctor. My little grandson was so exhausted and was just sleeping. In the meantime I just WhatsApp Sis Felicia for the intercessors to pray for little Isaac.

And when the doctors checked him, the doctor said I can't find anything wrong with him. No appendicitis, no firmness and so no medicine. He said no need any medicine. And we took him out for lunch and after lunch, he said I'm ready to go for a swim. That was really quick. And you know what, I really thank God, ,that's why I believe so much in prayer. I really do. God has shown us again and again and again that prayer work.

Now I thank God for all the doctors in this world. Including my son who is a researcher. I thank God for all the doctors but there is a great physician. Amen?

A very happy Chinese New Year to all those who celebrates Chinese New Year. In Penang everyone celebrates Chinese New Year. And the island gets congested. I live to celebrate Chinese New Year because that's when our families come together. We are made to be a community so families are very important. We miss our families when we don't see them after a while.

Why do we miss them?  Is there a scientific explanation? It is because we are created to be a community. God created man and woman so that we become a community. Before governments came into being. Before politics came into being. Before the economy came into being, the family is the first Institution God has brought it into being so that we are connected with one another.

We receive Ang Pow at Chinese New Year when we are young. I am very young because I received an Ang Pow from the youth. We had a wonderful time with the youth and we are going to have the young adults come to our place. We are going to have a fun time with the young adults. Make me feel so young. When we are young we are dependent on others. More so when we grow up to become teenagers. My teenage son at one time became very nice to mom and dad. I know something is up with him. Very nice to us. So we ask him what he wants. He wants money because he is not working so he is dependent on us, the older ones, the mature ones, for his finances.

It is the same in the Christina world, in the church. We look to the elders and leaders when we first come to know the Lord for help and soon we too become independent and when we become independent, we begin to give. But it does not stop there. We think we can do what we want to after we become independent but it's not the end. We learn to be interdependent. We complement each other and find our strength in each other.

We miss the fullness of life when we live with only ourselves. As we do life together, I know it will be an exciting year. I'm bringing a preaching and teaching team to plan for the year. I'm forming a team to lead you so that we can grow, serve and be transformed together.

His plans and purposes is better than ours. His will is better than our will. I enjoyed sister Melinda and Bro Koay's sermon. I may not be here but I'm here.

God has a better way to live. Not only his plans but his purposes. A more meaningful way. Your life and my life will never be the same. One of the ways I want to talk about is the way of giving. A few weeks ago I talked about the YES key. Today I want to talk about the GRACE key. It will unlock the many blessings God has for us.

It is called "Excel in the Grace of Giving". It's to prepare us for the Harvest Mission we are collecting next week. I know we are a little late, supposed to be January but I am inviting Bro Terence who is a young man together with Debra and you will love them. They sat under our pre-marital counselling. And they have been to Cambodia to do missionary work there, then in Sabah, a brilliant young man willing to just let go everything together with their two children now to do mission work. I could have invited somebody older but I love to give the opportunity to the young missionaries to tell us what they're doing these days. You'll enjoy them and you'll enjoy the church camp. I've invited Pastor Eric Lau who is a bi-vocational pastor who will be here to minister together with his wife for the children's church. I consider him one of my sons in the faith. I'm looking forward to a new season, a new outpouring of God's spirit upon TOP.

Let's look at the passage of 2 Corinthians 8:1-6 as I want to set the tone for this month as we are collecting for Harvest Missions. And it is very close to my heart when it comes to missions.

2 Corinthians 8:1-2

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

Take note of the superlatives used here. Paul is trying to form a picture with his words. This was a church who was rich in their heart even though they were poor materially.

2 Corinthians 8:3-6

3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

Giving is an act of grace. Grace and giving is connected. Mission is the heartbeat of God. Giving is a character of God. We know this in John 3:16. That God so loved. But that word love is not that love in the air, the love that makes the world go round, you know we all hear songs about love. And the world is trying to figure out this word love in a sentimental soft manner. Nothing wrong with that. But the bible is so clear in bringing to us the understanding of what this love is all about. Because the bible says for God so loved the world, he gave. He gave. It is accompanied by giving.

I once invited a preacher to talk about faith promise and he said to the congregation, brothers and sisters, I will not be talking about giving and smiles came upon the faces of the people. Then he said, I'm not going to talk about giving, I'm going to talk about sacrifice. And when you look at what God did in John 3:16, that love is accompanied with a sacrifice.

He gave his only son. That we would not perish but have everlasting life. A sacrifice. When we say I love you, there's always a because. But when God gave his son, it was unconditional, he gave sacrificially. We are made like him, so we are to speak like him and we are to love like him and we are to give like him. He is our model.

Bob Pierce who founded World Vision, a big organisation saw for himself in South Korea war torn children. And he wrote these words in his Bible. Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God. After that the rest is history as World Vision impacted the world.

We can't make a law to make people love you. It is impossible to carry out a love relationship based on the law. It is a divine revelation that he loves us so much that he gave his son. That is his amazing love for us that can only be experienced. It comes and overwhelms you. And you will do for God because you want to and not because you have to.

It comes out from a heart that is responding to the grace of God.

When I went to Thailand I saw for myself first time in Thailand a refugee camp at the border of Laos. Several thousand refugees that had crossed over Mekong river and ran away from the communist troops. Their parents have been killed. And for the first time I saw what Bob Pierce had seen. War torn children with just pants and no shirts running about. I saw it. Mission is something you can't talk about. You got to go out there and see it for yourself. Go out there and see what the Orang Asli is like. The tribal villages of Sabah and Sarawak. You just have to go out there and see for yourselves.

I want to encourage you, every one of us, sometime in your Christian life, can you tithes 10% of your year to go out for missions. You need to go out there and see what God sees and feel what God feels and you will be changed. You will be able to align your life with the will of God. 10% of your year, that’s 36.5 days. If 10% is a bit hard then 5% la. In Malaysia we can negotiate. There's no negotiation between you and me. It's between you and God.

We get to apply the principles of love in mission giving. The Bible teaches us to give in love. We do not give out of pity. It is different from philanthropy. Not out of charity but because it is a biblical mandate. Go back to the scripture. We align with God's heart for humanity. It is God that is concerned for the poor and those in need.

It will make your life different. You will not only become rich in wealth but you will become rich in heart.

1.  Giving is an Act of Grace.

2 Corinthians 8:2-4

2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

As much as they are spiritually gifted, Paul is telling them to excel in the act of giving. Grace was mentioned 4 times. Jerusalem was like a mother church. There was a famine at that time and Paul is telling them it is their turn now to help their mother church and the churches in Jerusalem. Like we must not forget our parents and older folks and the young adults say?

Let's look at what the Macedonian church did. They became a biblical model. Poor as it may seem, they became a model for physical giving. Wow. God was not looking at the rich to be a model. God was looking at the poor as a model for giving.

The generous act of favour given to the church of Macedonia. I love this phrase, grace be upon you. When we learn to give lovingly, or when we give even when our needs are more than those that are in need, God's grace will be extended to you the giver. God's grace will be extended to you. Because you are giving wisely based on what the Holy Spirit tells you.

That's why it's called Faith Promise. It's not like going to the bank where you give a 10 dollars you expect God to give you 1000. Though there is a principle here in giving, I have moved away from that kind of thinking. It is God's grace that you will receive. Grace is unmerited favour. It is a very powerful principle.

They gave out of their most severe trials. I love the use of superlatives by Paul.  They were going through a difficult time. Not just severe drought but most severe drought. Extreme poverty. Not just poverty but extreme poverty. But when they gave they gave with overflowing joy. And they gave from a heart that is wanting to give. At the end of the day, it was not how much they gave but it was about their heart wanting to give. It's the heart. It demonstrated their sincerity and willingness to sacrifice.

Remember the story of the boy and the crowd following Jesus that was hungry. I can imagine when this boy told the mother he was going to see Jesus, the mother probably said to him to make sure he don't go hungry. Make sure you have enough food. And the mother gave him 5 loaves of bread. Ah, not five loaves of bread but five small loves of bread and 2 small fishes. We sometimes miss the word small.

The disciples said there is not enough food to feed the 5,000. And the disciple said there is this boy with 5 small loaves of bread and 2 small fishes. And Jesus probably said give me your small loaves and small fishes. And maybe we would have said but so small how to feed the people. Maybe only feed 3 or 4 persons. But Jesus  took them, prayed and multiplied it. Not only did Jesus multiplied them, when he went home, he went home with 12 basketful so I can imagine the mother asking him where did all that food, did he steal it from somebody? And the young man probably said, no mommy, Jesus did it. I gave him so much he gave me much more.

This is called the grace key and I've experienced it again and again and again.

When we got married, it was Saturday and the next day we must go to church. I think in the 70's, you have to go to church. No honeymoon yet. Before our wedding we didn't have much but after our wedding dinner, we suddenly became rich. Wow! Not bad huh. We can get rich just by getting married. We were smiling and we were so happy. My mind was thinking how I can make our home comfortable for my wife.

And that Sunday morning there was a call to give in church and we looked at each other and we just gave. We didn't even said a word. We gave almost all but we had enough to honeymoon at Gentings. No gambling though. And we forgot about it. And we came to Penang as a young couple. I was still driving a motorcycle and she was pregnant with our first child. But we carried on serving God.

And before we knew it, a missionary was leaving the country and he sold everything but his car he couldn't sell. And the day came he passed me the key. He said it was worth more than 22,000 but he couldn't sell it and the Lord told him to pass it to me. You can never out give God. There is that key of grace. I can share with you more, but the story didn't end there. After giving me the key to our first car, the Volvo 122, it's like a tank, he came and drove in another better Volvo, the Volvo 747 and he got it for 1US dollar. He gave us his Volvo, he got a better Volvo.

Your heart, even when you are in need don't just think about self. If Jesus  thought about self. He would have stayed in heaven and not shed a single drop of blood. If we live for self we will not find the real joy of living.

I love to give Ang Pows but now my wife does it and it gives me joy to see their smiling faces. And Jesus is God's biggest Ang Pow to us. If you didn't get any Ang Pows this year, never mind, Jesus is your biggest Ang Pow.

2. Giving is an Outflow of our Intimate Relationship with God.

2 Corinthians 8:5-9

5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

The Macedonians was giving because they first gave themselves first to the Lord.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". - Duane Hulse

So you have to make a choice. Do you want to make a living or do you wan tot make a life with the life that you have. Giving is not a one time thing but a lifestyle.

"It is now how many years we live, but what we do with them". - Evangeline Booth

What do you do with the years God gives you? You can choose a life of keeping or a life of giving. What do you chose? I'm giving away my books this morning. I wrote and printed 10,000 copies which cost me 10,000 ringgit. And when the bill came, it was FOC. And I said God, I'm not selling this book, I'm giving it away. I've given away 17,000 copies. I don't sell them and with my heart, though it's a small book, but with appreciation for what God has done for my son. For God's favour upon his life.

And I've given it to churches and there's no obligation to pay but the money that we got I gave it away to orphanages and children's homes. On my record, I've given away 19,000 ringgit for this one little book. And I've learnt that the more I give back the more I receive.

When it comes to giving to the kingdom of God, it will always come back to you more so let's give our best.

3. Giving is an Act of Excellence.

2 Corinthians 8:7

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

When we grow up, we are told to do well in your studies. Do well in your sports. In everything do well, do well, do well. When it comes to church, do we excel? When we do something for God we do it well. It's not a law, no pressure but when we are serving God, we do it well for his namesake. Let's excel for Jesus. No more just que sera sera, no we do well. We prepare well, we teach well, we preach well. We do well for God with a good heart.

"Missionaries are never beggars. They are ambassadors who give us an opportunity to become partners by giving our dollars while they give their lives". - Harry Ironside.

You have been supporting missions and we are going to support a lot of people in these next six months. And the next six months. Some of these I know them personally. Theresa Chye is one of them. You have been supporting her. When I came here I didn't realise her name is there. Guess what, I knew her when she was in Sunday School. And she went to Bangladesh. 8 years as a missionary. 8 years as a single lady. Some of us can't even survive one week there. I'll invite her to come sometime in October.

I want to encourage you that where your money go it will go a long way in the kingdom of God.

"Many of us cannot reach the mission fields on our feet but we can reach them on our knees". - TJ Bach.

We are partners and participate with them and we will go a long way. Your life will be different. Pray for those that are in the mission fields.

Prayer:

• Dear Lord, thank you for loving me.
• I love you too and I give myself first to you today.
• Thank you for your grace that is sufficient at all times as I learn to give to others.
• With the help of your Holy Spirit, I will excel and complete the act of giving for the work of your kingdom.
• I trust you will open the windows of heaven and flood my life with your blessings.
• In Jesus Name.