Sacrificial Generosity

Bro Vive looking smart in traditional Chinese suit befitting the Lunar New Year.

Last night I got a call from Pastor Gideon and he asked me if I could take the pulpit today as his throat was bad. I was preparing my youth message at that time. But praise God, it is good to serve God.

A rich man who once asked his priest, "Why does everybody call me stingy when everyone knows that when I die I will leave everything I have to this temple?"

The priest said:

"There once was a pig and a cow. The pig was unpopular and the cow was loved by all in the village. This puzzled the pig.

The pig said to the cow:

'People speak warmly of your good nature and your helpful attitude. They think you are very generous because each day you give them milk, butter and cheese. But how about me? I give them everything I have. I give them the famous sausages, bacon and ham i.e. my entire body.
Yet no one likes me. Why is that?'

The priest continued: "Do you know what the cow answered?

The cow said, 'Perhaps it is because I give while I am still living.'

I felt that at this time during the Chinese New Year it is appropriate to talk about generosity. And I want to title my message sacrificial generosity.

Acts 2:42-47
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

This passage presents to us the beginning of the church life. A very dynamic church. I chose this word because it they were first alive and they were active. They don't just sit, soak and sour. They did not just go through the motion but they were giving their life to ministry.

They bear fruit in the kingdom of God. On the expression of their togetherness they pool their resources together. They sold their possession, though I am not telling you to sell your house. It was not demanded or required by the leaders but it was a free response as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. What a standard they set.

What is generosity? Is it like we look through what we don't need in our garage and pick up all the things we don't need and bring it to the Salvation Army. Some of us may be a little better and wash our old clothes before giving them. Is that generosity? No. That is more like cleaning out your wardrobe.

I want to use an illustration. Eric, can you please come? Eric will be leaving us soon as this is his last Sunday before leaving for his studies in Sarawak.

Eric, imagine him a malnutrition man who has not eaten for two days. And here I have 10 ringgit and I have just taken my meal. And Eric look at me and asked for 10 ringgit. And I look at Eric and tell him I have only 10 ringgit and if I give to you I will have nothing left. Then I said I pray for him and that God will meet all his needs. God is Jehovah Jireh and will provide all his needs including the 10 ringgit he needed. Go brother in faith. Is that generosity? No.

Generosity is a lifestyle of sharing. Whatever we have much or little we look at opportunity to share with others. Remember the widow at the temple court? Jesus said she gave more than all the others even though she had only 2 copper coins. In that we can understand what is generosity.

We are living in a world where selfishness have crept in. And we ask this question: why should we be generous? Let's look at why.

Generosity is rewarding.

Acts 20:35
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘ It is more blessed to give than to receive. ’”

The Greek word for blessed "makarios" means happy. If I can paraphrase: It is more happy to give than to receive. This is the reason why generous people are happy people. Giving makes us feel good. It is one of the most beautiful verse in the bible but also a most disbelieved verse because of our sinful nature.

Proverbs 11:25
The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Proverbs 22:9
A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.

Psalms 112:5
A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.

Generosity builds our faith.

It builds the faith of the giver.

Deuteronomy 15:19
The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 “All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

This is a model that God have given to the Israelites. It is very difficult for them. Because when they give the firstborn, they are not certain there will be a second born. They are putting their trust in God. It is easier for us in giving our tithes.

I was talking to Melissa from YWAM as they were farmers and she told me that their stock always deliver twins. And the daughter's sheep delivers triplets. Praise the Lord. Generosity builds the faith of the believer.

Giving our first-fruits recognize that all we have belongs to God. It is a statement of trust and faith.

Generosity also builds the faith of the receiver.

When I first went to college, my dad could only afford 100 ringgit a month. That was all he could afford back in 1992. I got a study grant and it did not cover my meals and hostel. Back then things was getting expensive. My hostel was RM35. Unlike today when students room with one or two roommates. There was 40 of us in that room. So I have RM65 left for the rest and a good brother taught me to pay my tithes. Then there was a brother who faithfully gave me RM50 a month and he never failed for 3 years. God was so good and I never went hungry throughout my college years except when the church had prayer and fasting.

Sometimes I will long for something and God always met that desire. Generosity builds our faith.

Generosity is God's attribute.

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

God loves a cheerful giver because God himself is a cheerful giver. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. Our God is a great giver. John 3:16 is a great example of that.

If the trademark of God is giving, shouldn't we carry that trademark? We have to wear His trademark.

How we can be generous?

There are many ways but I want to share the three Ts.

We can be generous with our Time.

It is so common for us to say we have no time. Pastor calls and we say we are busy. Time is becoming a commodity that is so precious to us. Unfortunately we use that commodity for our own need failing to see that time is what God gave us.

Psalms 90:12
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

We learn to number our days.

Time is precious but we do not know yet know how precious it is. We only know when we are no longer able to take advantage of it.

God has given us time to serve Him. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is coming. Today is the opportunity to serve the Lord. Never postpone the purpose God has in your life to tomorrow. Don't neglect the time and opportunity to serve Him.

A meteor struck Russia and more than 1,000 people got hurt. Thank God is was a small one. We never know what will happen tomorrow.

We had a Myanmarese member in the church in Klang. He was in church and he suddenly fell flat. Everyone thought that he was slain in the spirit. Only later we realized that he had no pulse. He died in the service. What a glorious way to go but what I am saying is that we don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Ephesians 4:1
Unity in the Body of Christ
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Ephesians 5:15-16
Be very careful, then, how you live –not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Paul taught the Christians to live a life worthy of God. Paul taught them to redeem their time because the days are evil. Time is an important commodity.

In the story of the good Samaritan, one of the first things was that he offered him his time. He offered time to the man who was on the ground. He invested his time. He must have been a busy traveller. He was generous with his time.

I am very critical about coming to church early. It shows how reverend I am with God. I am sorry I am being very direct. If my CEO wants to see me at 10.00 I will make sure I am there by 9.45 not 10.00. I will be early.

If I get a PJK, some call it "Perut Jalan Kehadapan" I will make sure I am early for the ceremony. If the programme says 9.00am, I won't be going at 9.30am right? But why when we come to see our King of Kings, why are we late? I pray you'll search your heart. I was taught well by my youth leader.

Serving God requires time. Don't take your your time to serve God for granted.

We can be generous with our Talent.

1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

There is no such thing as a good for nothing in the house of God. God has given us unique talents to serve God. We can serve with whatever talent he has given us. It could be cooking, or given the talent to be an encouragement to someone, even as simple as a hug. What have you done with your talents?

Some of you may be a retired musician. God has given you a tremendous talent and the business of life have let you put it aside. Give your talents to God.

We can be generous with our Treasure.

There was this pastor who says: We have the money for our building. Unfortunately, the money is in your pocket.

Remember the guy who gave me RM50? He was not a rich guy. He was on a motorcycle working as a construction supervisor. It is not how much you have but how big is your heart.

Remember the Widow of Zarephath?

1 Kings 17:9-16
“Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it–and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land. ’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Imagine if Pastor Gideon visits you Joanna, and you had one last Bak Kua in your house, your last meal. No more pig in town and that's all you have. Imagine, Pastor Gideon asking you to give him that last Bak Kua.

The widow gave and trusted God to provide. The bible talked about her jar was never empty. It never run dry. The woman gave out of her limited resources to the Lord.

Why have God prospered us so much? Not to raise our standard of living but to raise our standard of giving.

2 Corinthians 9:11
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Unfortunately many times we have this notion that whatever we have is ours.

Psalms 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

The bible says the world and all within it is the Lord's. So are we the owner? We should ask what does the owner want us to do with the resources. In Christian terms we use a beautiful term called God's Stewart.

It is time to look at the treasures that God has given us and what we do with that treasure.

Or the time that we have, we have to look at how we allocate it.

And what are we doing with the talents that God has given us.

True generosity is giving away something we want and giving it to the other who have need of it.

I was so amazed to see the generosity of the early Christians. In the books of Acts it was stated there were no needy people at that time as they shared their resources. There were no needy person among them. There are people out there that needs our treasure. Are we going to share or keep it all for ourselves?

The Year of the Lord's Favour

Rev Gideon Lee

I welcome all of you to church and I saw on Facebook how so many of you celebrated your reunion dinner. Got chicken got pork got fish. Some had curry, some had steamboat and roasted duck. Why didn't they invite the pastor? (laughs)

My family is back in Klang. They drove back on Friday and the traffic was smooth. But coming up to Penang was really jammed. This is the first trip for Jayden and thank God he slept all the way. My mother cooked the best dishes and her Hong Bak is the best in Malaysia. I'm trying to get my wife to learn to cook like my mother's Hong Bak. Today after service I'm flying back for more. I have not had my Mee Suah and eggs.

Luke 4:14-21
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “ Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:22
So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph's son?”

Note verse 14, Jesus returned to Galilee. And is verse 18, he quotes from the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 61:1-3
Chapter 61
The Good News of Salvation
1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

As we celebrate the lunar new year today, they all say that this year is the year of the snake. More specific it's the water snake. I don't know if it's better last year which is the year of the dragon. This is one of the Chinese Zodiac sign. And it says those that are born in the year of the snake is wise, calm and very understanding people. But they can also be very treacherous and won't hesitate to double cross you. They seems to get along very well with the rabbit but not the dog.

You probably may be asking why is pastor talking about all these things? Does pastor believe in all these? In a word no. And we must understand that no matter what culture is, it must be aligned to the word of God.

My children goes to a Chinese school and they are exposed to all these. So we must know if it is aligned to scripture. So she asked me what year am I born in. And I told them the year but she said no, my friends told me I was born in the year of the Monkey. Then she asked me what year am I born in? That's when I took the opportunity to teach her.

I told her you are not born in the year of the Monkey because I do not expect you to behave like a monkey. I told her you are born in the year of the Lord.

I want to tell each one of you, you are born in the year of the Lord and this is the year of The Lord's favour. We read this in the book of Isaiah and we want to know what it means.

Isaiah was not writing about something new as it was last mentioned in the book of Leviticus. The Lord told Moses to observe the sabbath year every seven years. The Israelites were given a pattern to follow. In the seventh year they are to give the land a rest. Let the land be and whatever the land produce you can take from it but don't work the land.

Seven is a very special number. I am not here to promote any 4-D number so don't go to the Magnum shop after service. Seven is a very significant number in the bible. There was a preacher who wrote about it in a book called Biblical Mathematics. What is more significant than seven? Seven times seven, 49, where the Jews got the concept of the Jubilee on the 50th year.

When Isaiah was writing this portion of the scripture he was referring you to the year of Jubilee. It was a great time of celebration. Why? What happened on the year of Jubilee?

Well, all your debts are forgiven. On the 50th year your debt is supposed to be cancelled. If you sold a property, the property comes back to you. All slaves are to be set free. For the Jews, it's a year of great rejoicing.

Actually, all these was pointing to the coming of the messiah. It talks of God's grace and forgiveness. Isaiah expounded a little bit more about what it means.

It was nothing compared to the year of the Lord's favour. God was giving the Israelites something more to look forward to than just the year of Jubilee.

This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus in the temple said, this day this scripture is fulfilled. Do you know what Jesus is saying? You do not have to wait 50 years to have your debt forgiven or your sins to be forgiven. Jesus is saying today this scripture is accomplished and you can have the Lord's favour every day of the year.

In the words of Isaiah there is freedom for prisoners. You have the ability to break away from all that that hold you in bondage. You can be set free from your sins. Such as alcoholism, lust, greed. And all these is possible because of Jesus.

It also says the oppressed shall be released. The bible says we are once slave to sin. But know the blood of Jesus frees us. We are also promised to be released from our debts. Again, Isaiah is not talking about our worldly debt. The bible says the wages of sin is death.

I am so glad I do not have to wait 50 years to experience God's favour. We can experience it every day every year. That's why I say this is not the year of the snake but the year of the Lord's favour. I am not bound by all these things. Jesus has set me free and I can enjoy the freedom in abundance that God had for us.

How do we experience this?

The first thing that stands out is that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. So may I suggest to you, in order to experience the favour of the Lord you need to be filled in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Is your Christian life boring? If it is there's probably something wrong. Is your Christian life filled with power and every day fresh? If you want to experience the favour of the Lord you need to be a person led by the Holy Spirit.

If you ask me how to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, it is a secret. It is so secret secret that I will only tell you because I am your pastor. Of course after I tell you it's no longer a secret. How? It comes from prayer. It is not the kind of prayer like "Father I thank you for the food". It comes with an earnest prayer to God. It is a prayer that comes from waiting upon God. It is not so that you feel nice but to make you more effective and that you will be bold to preach the word and to pray for the sick.

That is how you preach deliverance and freedom to the captives. That's how you proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. Under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit.

Second is this. The people were listening intently to Jesus. They were giving Jesus full attention. The second secret is this. Have you given God all your attention? Is He number one in your life? I want to challenge you this morning. He must be number one in your life. Not your boyfriend or your girlfriend. Not even your husband or wife or children. If Jesus is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all.

When we go new year visiting, please put Jesus first. What would Jesus do if He is offered a beer? Or what if He is asked to play a game of mahjong. Huat arrrr! What do you do? Never mind la, this is Chinese New Year. Very simple but often overlooked. Make sure Jesus is number one is your life.

I am coming to my third point. Last but not least, you noticed that the people were filled with amazement and they praised God. They said isn't this the son of Joseph? They were not saying this in a cynical way. Joseph was a carpenter. If you are in a high society you may be learned. But here the son of a carpenter not only could read but expounded scripture. They praised Jesus.

Here is the secret. If you want to have the year of the Lord's favour, praise Jesus. Be thankful to God. If you remember to thank God for everything more of His blessings is on the way. I do this with my children. When my children ask things from me what do you look for parents? Whether they are grateful to you.

Youth let me tell you a secret. Learn to be thankful for what your parents have done for you. You know what happens? When they come to me again, I'd love to do it for them because they know how to be thankful. Once you are a thankful person, God is going to do more in your life.

The bible says count your blessings. Name them one by one. How do I know that we are thankful? Whatever God did for you, you give the glory back to God with testimonies. If you have one to share please come and see me. If you write to me I'd want to put it in the bulletin. We are blessed to be a blessing. The more we are thankful, God is going to do things to bless you because you know how to be thankful.

You too can experience the year of the Lord's favour is to have Jesus in your life. Maybe some of you are visitors and you don't have the Holy Spirit in your life. Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No other religious teacher can say that. Jesus says in me you have life, the truth and the truth will set you free.

Turning Water into Wine

Rev Gideon Lee

On behalf of my family I want to say a big thank you for making time to be with us for Jayden's dedication service. I was really blessed to have Rev Marcus from Penang First Assembly of God.

Last week we took our Harvest Mission for both the English and Hokkien congregation. For those of you who missed it last week you can participate this morning.

John 2:1-11
Water Turned to Wine
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “ Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “ Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “ Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

If you noticed I repeated verse 11. John attributed all the miracles as signs. What does signs do? It points you to something and in this case it points them to Him. The miracles that Jesus did was to point to the fact that He is the son of God.

It was a wedding at Cana, just outside of Nazareth. It was not a very big town yet Jesus chose to start His ministry here. Just like His birth in a small common town like Bethlehem, He is interested in common people like you and me. Why? To identify with each one of us. He has concern for every day people like you and me.

Mary was invited to the wedding. To the Jews, wedding protocol is very important. And you'd see that Mary the mother of Jesus was invited to the wedding of an ordinary couple. It sometimes lasts a week. Much like the Chinese custom. And they will end up in the groom's house. The groom's family pays for everything.

Jesus chose to be there and it was there that He performed His first miracle. And they ran out of wine and when Mary asked Jesus, it was done in a very discreet manner. It would have been embarrassing to run out of wine. It shows that Mary was quite close to the family as it would not have been something you share to strangers as it was embarrassing.

And here is what I find so interesting. Mary went to Jesus. Jesus is not a wine merchant. She should have gone to where wine is sold. By the way, this passage of scripture is not the license for you to go out and drink wine. Scripture must interpret scripture, not you. Where in scripture are you told to drink wine.

We have many many scriptures that says we are not to get drunk. But be filled by the Holy Spirit. When we get drunk we lose control. How many of you who has seen a timid man when he gets drunk he can sing! He becomes bold. Do not let your drunkenness take control of you but let the Holy Spirit do that. What fills you controls you. Nowhere does it says Jesus drank the wine. He turned the water into wine but it does not say He drank it. It's okay to enjoy yourself this coming New Year but take care of your body as it's the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus called Mary woman. Don't do that and call your mother woman. Mary did not tell Jesus what to do. That is how mothers will tell the son. Go do that, go do this. But Mary was approaching Jesus as her Lord and savior. She told the servants what He ask you to do, do it. She followed it up with faith.

The first thing I want you to understand is this. The wine can run out.

Wine in the bible is often equated with joy. And this tells us that sometimes joy runs out. This can happen to any of us, even leaders. But the thing is this, since we know this we need to keep our tank full.

How many of you when your car tank shows empty, you say it is still enough? The red light have not come out yet. We say "E" means enough and "F" means full. And when the red light comes out we still say can go some more. You then look for your favourite station. I know many of you do that. Look for Petronas. What happens when we get caught and our petrol runs out?

We need to fill up before we reach "E". As leaders we have been giving and giving and giving and we forgot to ask God to fill us up. And one day we burn out and don't want to serve God anymore. That is our responsibility to fill up. How? Very simple, just like filling up at the station. Come to the Lord in prayer. Read your bible and worship God. That's how you fill up. If not you will come to a point when you run out. As mature Christians I hope you will not wait till you reach "E" before you fill up.

Regular devotion, prayer time and regular worship. Simple things but we don't do it.

Coming back to our story. Jesus said why you ask me, not my time yet. Jesus said outside there are six jars. These are ceremonial jars. These are used to wash the guests hands and feet to get them ceremonially clean before entering the house. Isn't it interesting Jesus used the ceremonial jars to make the wine? Only Jesus could do that. Jesus told them to take a scoop and give it to the MC and the MC said how come you save the best for the last?

Jesus saved the best for last. Just as we know the joy can run out, Jesus is not only the giver of joy but the source of joy. He can turn things around for you. He is the source of joy.

When I began to come back to God, remember I told you how I love to drink? One of the things God had to deal with me was where to place my trust. I only trusted in me, I and myself. I love to gamble especially during Chinese New Year. I was good and I cannot remember ever losing money during then. This was one of the things God had to deal with me.

You know how God tested me? I went to see a client in a very tall building and at the door of the lift was this Singh who spoke to me in fluent Cantonese. He said, you look very nice on the outside but I know you have no money. Easy come easy go at that time for me. It was true. He even told me how much money I had in my pocket. He said your luck is coming. He said let me show you how to get it.

I told him don't talk in the lift, let's go to my car and talk. He followed me and sat next to me and in his briefcase were all the idols in there. At that time I thank God for the Holy Spirit who spoke to me. I told him I don't want to listen already. He got angry. I gave him some money RM20 (I had only RM30 so RM10 for lunch) and still he don't want to leave the car.

He said he can prove it to me if I listened. He put a piece of paper in my hand after writing it in there. He asked me some questions and he says what I answered is in that piece if paper. And lo and behold all three answers were correct. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked me what am I doing there? I told the man I am not going to listen because I am a Christian and he took out a photo of Jesus from his bag. I became bold and I told him whether my future is good or bad I told him my God is able to take me through.

We drove out of the car park and he told me to drop him off and he told me I was told to meet you. He said he will want to see me again and asked me for my card. I told him my God will meet all my needs.

When he left I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit filled my car and I just wept and from that day I walked the walk of faith. I am sharing with you because God had been good in spite of my unfaithfulness.

Last but not least. The bible says each jar is 20 to 30 gallons. I want to say that when God blessed you it is always more than enough.

Malachi 3:10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

When God blessed you it is always more than enough. That is why we are blessed to be a blessing. Give your tithes and offering. The principle is that you have to give first. They have to bring the jar of water before Jesus turn them into wine.

As I close, remember this.

Don't ever come to a situation where we run on empty. Every day you need to top up.

He is not just the giver of joy but the source of joy.

And lastly, he always gives more than enough.

TOP's Mission

Luke 4:14-21
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

By now you would have known where this scripture came from. This is our church's mission. Right? The same mission that Jesus had. The same mission that Isaiah had.

I want to start by telling you a story.

There was once a monk was asked to see to the needs of mother Teresa during her visit. He was so excited because he knew that he was going to learn something. The day came and sad to say he was so busy that he had no time to speak to mother Teresa. So he thought this was what he will do. He knew that mother Teresa was flying to Papua New Guinea. So he bought a ticket to be on the same flight so that he could speak to her.

So he told mother Teresa that he will be on the same flight and he hoped to talk to her. Mother Teresa looked at him and said, you have enough money for the flight? He said yes. And mother Teresa said to him, give that money to the poor and you will learn much more than talking to me. Mother Teresa knew what Jesus had done and by doing that itself will teach us much more.

The reason the church is here is to continue what Jesus has done here on earth. But we are not just meeting their physical needs, the good works, we are not just another NGO. There is the gospel call which was shared by Bro Koay last week which is to meet the people's spiritual needs.

Here in this passage, Jesus unrolled a scroll from Isaiah. He began reading from the book of Isaiah. They sat at the place called Moses seat and Jesus began to teach the people. He just read from a great book from a great prophet. And they were waiting to hear what Jesus was going to talk about. Jesus never talked about the prophet or anything else but he said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your midst. What did he talked about? He was talking about himself.

Jesus was trying to tell the people that the best Isaiah could say was to prophesy about him but that today he is here to fulfill that prophesy. This is God's word to our church. In the new year, I talked about hope that God has never left us or forsake us. There is potential and that is what Jesus is saying here. I am here to fulfill all these things and to give them hope. In Jesus there is hope.

What was Isaiah's main job? Was he a carpenter? No. He was a prophet. Was it a glamorous job? Back in those days a prophet was there to pronounce judgement. They were not loved and when the judgement was pronounced the people actually deserved it. How would you like that? But Isaiah did not stop there. He said in what we have just read, there would be a day of God's redemption and favour.

And Jesus said today in your hearing, the scripture is fulfilled. The year of the Lord's favour. It is a good thing. I am going to do all those things.

Back home TOP is here to continue what Jesus did till he comes. Yes, we want to help the poor but it must go hand in hand with the gospel, with the sharing of God's word because it is the answer to all their needs. They need hope and can only be found in Jesus.

We want to continue our community work this year but we want to do it better. Do our big party better. Do our Christmas with the community better. This is what TOP is called to do. The good news must include that Jesus died for their sin, went to the cross, buried and rose from the dead.

I went to Thailand to see my father's work. My physical father. At Na Si Thong. It is amongst
rubber plantations. My father worked in a lot of drug rehab centers, three I think. And the government realized that the Christian drug rehab centers has a high success rate. And God has used many of these who were transformed through these centers to become pastors etc. but my father was sad that it was only open to the non Muslims.

Drug addiction is not just physical but also a spiritual issue. But the government cannot allow Muslims to come by law. And my father wanted to start a drug rehab centre opened for all. My father believed the deliverance of God is for ALL. Regardless of race or religion. 

WIN "World In Need" at Na Si Thong, Thailand

So he found this ministry call WIN "World In Need". He raised enough money to buy a 4 acre piece of land, close to the border so that anyone from Malaysia who needs it can go there. My father is good with his hands, and he started to build and supervise with he himself doing the work. My father saved every penny to go to the ministry. He didn't have much support except from some friends.

My father used to drive a very old car and never travel the highway to save money. So he use the coastal roads. And my father hand painted his car. And it often broke down. We told him to change his car but he would not. He built a two storey building.

He raised the money to build a hall for 100-200 people. I went there and I saw my father on the roof banging away. My father was darker than a Thai as he was always in the sun doing all this.

But sad to say, he had a stroke halfway through and I flew there to bring him back with my mother. There was a pastor who helped him with the land and this pastor peeked through the parsonage room and saw my father on the ground having a stoke. He came back and after two years went to Korea but could not continue that work. My father passed away in Korea without seeing his dream fulfilled. The work was passed to another person who had a different vision and worked on children's ministry and it didn't do well so the place was wasted.

But I believe in God's time and that He makes all things beautiful in His time. This lady who ran the ministry wanted to give it up to go back. And God is so good that there was this couple from the US who speaks perfect Thai, came back last November and they felt God called them back to do the work. He arranged three things that will sustain them there. First to teach English and there were two school that offered him that. And he also needed to go to Na Si Thong to do the work.

But when he came, both schools turned him down but Na Si Thong became the work that was right for him. And we want to see the work to
be revived. My father wanted to see this work done and I believe that is one reason why God brought me here to Penang.

The Lord is wanting us to do the work that He started. As we do our mission pledge, let's remember we are all called to do this work that Jesus did when He walked this earth.

YWAMers Melissa, Patricia and Sarah sharing their testimonies and how blessed they were at the Youth overnight camp at TOP.

Good works in the context of the gospel call

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

We want each of us to do a little thinking in today's word and see what God can teach us.

Matthew 9:35-38
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I want to start with verse 35.

Here you find Matthew records that Jesus went around to preach the good news. NKJV calls it gospel which I think is the preferred term. A lot of miracles happened and then Matthew records he went everywhere.

He was preaching and at the same time healing every disease and the sick. And these were supernatural healing, like the blind gaining sight, the mute spoke and the dead raised. What can we gather from here?

It's the 3Gs.

First is the Gospel.
Then Great acts of God
The healing were all supernatural. The gospel call is connected to the great acts of God. But the bible also says the healing is driven by compassion and that is where we have the third G, the Good works.

I have no time to cover all three, so I will not cover the great acts. That if I get another opportunity I will talk about it. Today I want to attend to the issue of the relationship between the gospel call and good works.

What exactly is the business of the church and where do the two connects?

We will look at the gospel first, translated meaning good works. When we evangelize we actually proclaim the gospel.

What exactly is the heart of the gospel? There is a political gospel, where it sees the Kingdom of God established here without the millennial kingdom. This is a wrong view.

There is a social gospel, meeting the needs of the poor and the sick, without the millennial kingdom. We are to do this, bringing justice to the needy but we will not achieve it all in this dispensation. If you are saying all can be brought to life, then we are wrong.

Then there is the prosperity gospel, mainly health and wealth. I have to say we will be walking in the wrong direction. All these are valid, but I want to say all those are not the heart of the gospel.

So if you want to evangelize we have to be very clear what is important.

There was once when my brother ask me to go on a holiday to the East coast. He told me to meet him there but I have no idea at all how to get there. Here, my brother was excellent. He had mapped out the journey and know exactly where to go.

So when I was lost, he guided me to the place by giving me exact directions and landmarks. I left KL in the morning and finally reached at 8.00pm. But I reached the destination. It was my brothers clarity of direction that led me as I was literally traveling blind.

Look into the gospel and have that clarity. You can only lead people where you have gone. We want to be clear about what is the heart of the gospel.

I have zeroed in to one very important factor.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Paul was attending to this because there were people who was saying that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Some were saying you can believe in Jesus but you do not need to believe in His resurrection to be saved. And here He said this is important.

The heart of the gospel is the salvation through Christ and that his death, burial and resurrection is essential. That is why when we evangelize, we must have the clarity of the cross before us. We have to lead that person to the cross.

Once we bring the person to the cross, what exactly are we trying to do.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Jesus is calling men and women to Him. That is the gospel call.

We cannot assume people know our Christian language. I used to use this verse in school and people mistook that I said come to me. So my friend said who do he think he is. God ah? So now I am careful and say, Jesus said.

In the context in which this is being preached, the main thrust is because they were weary and burdened by the yolk of the Pharisees where there had to be legalistic. And Jesus said their righteousness were like filthy rags. Paul says in Christ, is a restored relationship.

So when we show the person the cross, it is pointing the person to Christ. Of course heaven is your inheritance, and restoration of all your other needs may be met but the key is you coming to God for a restored relationship.

2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf:Be reconciled to God.

Reconciliation is needed when there is a broken relationship and we know we have a broken relationship from the time of Adam. The key is to have a restored relationship to Christ.

When he sees the cross, the person has to come to this point.

John 20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
We have to tell our friend to look at Jesus hanging on the cross and be conscious of the love of God at Calvary and he finally cries in faith just like Thomas. "My Lord and my God."

The things that accompany the cross, you will of course enjoy, like peace, love, healing, but the essence is the relationship of God.

You may ask me is a catholic saved? Some may say "Oh, if he prays to the virgin Mary or other saints he is not saved but if he prays to Jesus he is. Or a person may say he believes and prays to Jesus but when you go to his house you see a big "Kuan Kong" (God of War) and a small cross. So you may say if he had a cross bigger than the "Kuan Kong" he is saved, if smaller he is not (laughs).

I say, those that has a restored relationship with Jesus is saved. One who calls Jesus his Lord and God. That is the heart of the gospel.

It is not an accident that when you go down the commandments that God is a jealous God and that you cannot have other god.

When we evangelise, we must know what is the gospel call with clarity. We have to draw them to Christ.

Where is the place of good works then? When we share the gospel we look up to the power.

Romans 1:16-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:“The righteous will live by faith.”
I want you to focus on the word, it is the power of God. What? The gospel is the power of God. The word is dunamis. The gospel has God with an intrinsic dunamis, that divine power of God to save. We must believe that the power of God can come upon that person.

Some of us don't even believe when we share, then how can the listener believe? This is where I come to the next part.

Let's say one person come to you with a problem, and you tell him you just want to share the gospel and disregard his problem. Actually when Jesus ministered he was moved by compassion. Jesus saw and had a tender heartedness and mercy when he ministers. That is the good works. It is an intrinsic power that saves but it is objective. It cannot be experienced until the person receive it. It is an impartation. The person can feel it and sense it. Spiritual matters are often an impartation. Do you believe in the gospel cry, where you have the conviction in your heart when you share?

We are not ministering to spiritual beings, these people are real with real problems. When you say God loves you and when you help him, he'll say "I know your God is a loving God" because he will see the love of God through you.

The relationship between the gospel call and good works is that the intrinsic can only become real in the person's life if accompanied by good works. But the good works is not the gospel call. Why?

Category One
The business of the church is the gospel call. Good works, leave it to the NGOs. I was thinking people like that is a disciple or not. I thought for one day. He did preached the gospel, so probably saved.

Category Two
People are touched by love. You just show them good works and they will come. Tell them Jesus and they'll run away. Is this person a disciple? I doubt it.

Category Three
I am a pragmatic person. I will share the gospel and do good works. But after three months if they cannot accept, leave them be and I go away. Disciple? Don't think so too.

Category Four
The more I share the gospel the more I see the needs. I will try my best to help but his or her biggest need is a restored relationship with Christ. This is the best kind of disciple.

I came out with a submarine analogy.

You share the gospel but no good works, you are just below the surface.

You share the gospel but set a time frame. You are deeper and sometimes sink.

You share good works but no gospel, you are a submarine that cannot sink.

You do good works but ultimately wants a restored relationship for your friend, you are a submarine that is under but you have a telescope that sees for miles.

With good works, you impart, why?

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Why you do what you do is more important than what you do.

I want to encourage you that as you do good works, look into your motivation. Duty or compassion? Is it because that is what Christians do or are you motivated by your feelings for the people in their needs, their hurts, in their problems. That is kindness. That is mercy. That is compassion.

Matthew 9:36-37 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

The harvest is indeed plentiful as we look at the Jelutong community. This is where I want to wrap up my message. When God says look for labourers, don't look to your left or right. Look at yourself. This word sent, in Latin for mission is very powerful. In Moses' case, when God sent Moses, he asked who am I? And God said "I Am who I Am sent you." You will be an exceptional worker in the Lord when you are sent by the Lord Almighty.

The first is in the gospel message. That Christ died on the cross to restore our relationship to God.

The second, why the good works? Because you are motivated by compassion.

The third is the mandate. Who sent you? The devil knows you are entering his kingdom and if he ask you "who sent you" it is the Lord Almighty. You are an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

This is the gospel call. I want to end with the word ambassador.

Christ Ambassadors! Sounds great. You may think you want to be an ambassador. What happens to an ambassador? Let me tell you.

In the past, the ambassador's job is the most risky job in the army. I'll use the Mongols as an example as they are closer to us and almost reached Europe.

The Mongols conquered the whole continent, and almost to Italy in Europe with an army of two to three hundred thousand. The year was 1260, with the Egyptians facing the Mongol army, the ambassador wrote, you have seen what we do to our enemies, we'll exterminate you from the face of the earth. If you surrender, you'll live. Four ambassadors went and they were beheaded and put on the city's gate.

In the bible, the ambassadors were often prophets and not many of them end well.

But knowing all these, generations after generations God raises ambassadors.

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Let us come together and not murmur or complain. Saying you could have done a better job. You do that when you are not focused on the right things. God is asking each and everyone seated here, who shall I sent? If you are like Isaiah and said "Sent me", you will not be complaining again as you will be watching out for your own skin.

If the Lord says who shall I sent, say here am I sent me.

Mission

Rev Jameson Yeo

Thanks to the Lord, that we are still able to be used by Him here and there, everywhere, sharing His word.

We were here in 1968 in Penang, and we stayed in Penang for awhile. And after leaving Penang we went back to Singapore and then the Lord opened different doors for us and since then we are called everywhere, but not every corner of the world.

One day, my son-in-law asked me to teach my grandson geography. So, I started to count with him the places that we have been to, and to my surprise, it was 5 to 6 years ago, and we have been to 35 countries and up to today, we add a few more, so we are close to about 40 countries and more than 50 cities. The only one place we have not been yet, I have one policy if there is no preaching, I will not go. So, there is no preaching in South America yet, so I have not been there.

The rest of the continents, I have left my shadow there. We just came back from China, we've been to China many times, seven provinces already and just came back recently and it was an experience that was preparing us for much colder countries. When we went to China last month, the temperature was -25ºC and when we see the sun up there, it is still -17ºC to -18ºC.

Sometime ago I was invited to go to Alaska to teach in a Bible school. I say no because of the weather. Now that we've gone through -25ºC, maybe the Lord say no more excuse, you have been to that kind of a place, prepare to go if an invitation comes again, Amen.

The Lord saved me and my wife when we were in our late teens. I went to Bible school at 17 years old and that was in 198_ (can’t tell you).

No more about myself, now about Mission. Look around you, you and I are saved not to reserve a place in Heaven, that is not the main purpose. You and I are saved by the grace of God to do one thing, and that is to do mission. What is Christian mission? Christian mission is simply doing what Jesus Christ has done here on earth. The Lord God saved you and me for this one purpose only, this purpose is to continue the work that Jesus Christ has done here on this earth. That is mission.

The mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, He came; He died, so that you and I can be saved to continue His mission here on earth. And if you say that you are a Christian, and not continuing to do His work, then what kind of Christian are you? If you say that you’re a Christian, I believe that you’re a Christian, if you are not doing the works that Jesus Christ say that you and I should do and must do as a Christian, then what kind of a Christian are you? You fill in the blank, give an adjective there. You have no adjective, I give you one. You are a lousy Christian, worthless Christian, no use for the Kingdom of God. The church today is weak, not because the power of the Lord Jesus Christ has deteriorated until now. He is still as powerful as before. The church today is weak and we are not growing is because you and I who claim to be Christian, claim to be Christian but are not doing what you should be doing as a Christian.

You said, mission is just reserve for the pastor, who said so, I am not a pastor, I have no church to pastor, I just volunteer, Lord here am I, use me and He used me and my wife, to do what? He say he want to do through us. My wife and I, we came to know the Lord Jesus Christ when we were in our late teens, and until today He is still opening new doors for us so that we can become a Christian worthy of that name. The name Christian simply mean follower of Jesus Christ and if you are the follower of Jesus Christ, He expected you to do the same thing that He has done here on this earth. Who said so, you may say, of course not me, Jesus Christ said so, and some of you may say proof it. Where can I find the proof that Jesus Christ say that what He has done on this earth you can do also.

This morning to challenge you, and you can do the works and continue to do the works of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth. I said you, not the pastor only, you want proof? The word mission means projected goal and what is the projected goal of our Lord Jesus Christ for you and for me?

Let’s turn to John 14:12-15.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

The word truly truly translated from the original word, Amen. Amen is one of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is simply means true and faithful, or so be it. So whatsoever the Lord Jesus Christ has said here is true and faithful. And just as He is eternal and alive, this word that the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken here is still valid for you and for me.

The meaning of truly truly or Amen, if you read the Greek version, the punch is there, it mean whatever you are thinking now, stop thinking about that. Jesus before He teach anything that is important, He will say Amen Amen, and all His disciples will know what He mean, stop doing what they are doing and listen carefully.

So what are you thinking now? Lunch? Stop thinking about your lunch, your curry fish head may smell good, but your curry fish will not listen to His will. Here the Lord Jesus Christ is calling you for your attention. And then the meaning goes beyond, pay attention to me, He said. How you respond to what He is going to teach you determines life and death, victory or defeat in your life. So whenever you read the gospel and when you read, Amen Amen or truly truly stop doing what you are doing and pay attention to what Jesus Christ because life or death depend to your respond to His word. What did He say here? He said, I say unto you, listen carefully, I am saying this to you and to whom, some of you may say He is saying to His disciples, but he is talking to you today, who says so? Read carefully, truly truly I say unto you, and you referring to whom? The “you” are referring to him who believes in me. This includes everybody, so whosoever believes in me. Let’s take a survey, how many of us here believe in Jesus Christ this morning? So, is He talking to you?

The work that I do, he will do also. Is this in your Bible? Is this sentence in your Bible? Yes, so what did He say to you? He say the works that I do, you and I who believe in Him can do also. But some of you who are lazy, giving excuse he is talking about pastor.

But just now you told me that you believe in Him, He is talking to you, so no excuse, it is you. What did He say to you? He say to you and to me, the works He has done you can do also. Now, your pastor is new in this church, not too old, so never mind, I will excuse him if you give the wrong answer. What did Jesus Christ done here on earth? It is very important, he say the works that I do you can do also. So what has He done here on earth while He was here?

He went preaching. Are you going around preaching the word of God? What else did he do? Are you going around praying for the sick, when the Lord Jesus Christ gives you that opportunity? It is pastor's job, not my job. Who says it is pastor's job? Jesus Christ says you who believe in me, He gives you that opportunity but you wasted that opportunity and therefore no more chance.

Besides that, what else did He do? Preach, teach, heal the sick, what else? So many things and you so quiet, why is it so? Nobody taught you about this thing? Or have you not read the Scriptures yourselves? No wonder you are not that kind of a Christian that God expected you to be. And the church is weak today is not because the power of our Lord Jesus Christ has diluted, no no no, the church is weak today because we dare not believe in Him. You may say, yes I believe, but believe is one thing, doing what you believe is another thing. The Lord Jesus Christ emphasise here the one who believe in me, can do His work. Why Jesus Christ emphasises the word, I say unto you? And why is He emphasising you believe in me, very important, I say unto you, He say to us, I am still alive, I am not dead, therefore whatsoever I done here on earth I can continue doing through you because I am alive. Do you know that He is alive? We are not serving and worshipping a dead person. We are serving and worshipping a living God. And, this living God is all powerful God and He want to work with you and through you so that you can bring glory and honour to His name.

The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is not honoured in every place because Christian dare not exercise what they believe. Read carefully again, truly truly I say unto you, he who believe in me, the work I do he will do also. What does this word also mean? You can do the same. Can His word be trusted? Yes. Good. Then are we doing His work? If you say His word can be trusted then dare you do what He say, can do, must do and should do?

The praise and worship was good, but how come the respond on His word are so quiet? The works I do you should do also and he went on to emphasise and greater works than this he will do. What does He mean when he say greater? When Jesus Christ was here on earth, He can be in one place at one time, when He ascended up to Heaven, He blessed His people and then He command His people to go, to share the gospel, for instance we have 200 peoples here, if all of us will go to one place so we will be in 200 places and if all of you dare to do what Jesus Christ say you must do and should do, then at the same time this church has performed 200 miracles at one time.

But Jesus when He was here on earth, can only do one miracle at one time at one place. But here, is what He mean, when we all get to represent Him, then at the same time, at different places, we can do greater works. Greater works is the number. If you want to see miracles in the church and outside the church, you and I must take up the responsibility and the privilege to represent His name here on earth. This is what He says we can do, so mission is simply taking up our privilege and our responsibility to continue to do the works of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some may say when? My wife and I, we went into mission to do God’s works when we were in our late teens, and we are still doing now. By training I am a shipbuilder, I worked in a shipyard, and I am a marine engineer by training. The works that I have done to earn my rice bowl, most of you may have not heard about it. When I was working in the shipyard, I have to sign a piece of paper with the company that I cannot and must not tell anyone what my job is all about.

Now that is many years ago, so I can tell you. We develop in a team of seven; I am one of the seven to develop one of the faster vessel in the world at that time. We build it, we test it, and we sank it. Back to the drawing board and that was the time where God say enough is enough. I have given you plenty of time to learn about your trade, and you are now here, I want you to change and go back to spreading the gospel. Oh God, the project failed, we want to go 50 knots 90MPH, none in the world at that time, let me finish it and put my signature there together with all our friends. In Singapore, there are only two representing this company, one and another one, left.

Back to spreading the gospel, back to school when I was 52 years old, studying the Bible. So, when exactly God calls you, I do not know when. Young people, don’t waste your time. Now the mission, full time job in God’s works is not easy. You look at your pastor, you think it is easy? No, never easy. I went through, never easy. It is the most difficult job in the world and nobody appreciate you. Until and unless you are willing to say, God here am I, use me, make me a living sacrifice, don’t go to and become a pastor. Don’t.

But if you are willing to say, God here am I, use me and make me a living sacrifice and then you stick on to that commitment, then I encourage you, enter into the ministry because when you enter into the ministry and continue the mission that Jesus Christ has set for you, you are not facing man but you are also facing the devil. So, you are fighting two enemies, the devil and man. So pastor you are fighting two enemies if you do not know, the devil and man. And the worse thing is man claim to be Christian but listen to the devil. You have somebody coming to say, I am a sheep but look carefully, how come this sheep smell like a wolf. Don’t laugh brother, don’t laugh sister, it happens. You may be the one, if I know you are the one, I slaughter you first, because I know how. I slaughtered many of them. Unless you know definitely that God calls you. Then come and see your pastor, let him guide you into the ministry.

But the ministry is not for money making, it never makes money. It is always giving out money, somebody give it to you, you give out. For pastor's never a rich man, oh I heard so many, well they will not last long. I challenge you today, the very moment God calls you, is the very time he wants you to be involved. There is no fix age to be in the mission. God has asked me to many places so that we are able to see the mission of our projected goals in many different countries. We were in Uganda, thank God for many years there. We have started, we means not I alone, but many of us contributed to the country where Uganda and the town Soroti where we were there as missionaries. Today, not only we have a church building, we have also six church plus a primary school. Thanks to the Lord.

God can use you if you dare to trust Him. Then, the Lord has also used us to start a first Chinese speaking church in West Africa. Today, the church is very powerful. Send out missionaries, then Africa is a one culture, send you to another culture, so we have a pastor and a church in Paris. The weather chase me away. Everyday I convey to God, God I don’t want to stay in Paris, too cold, winter too cold, summer too short, don’t want, so ask a friend want to come to Paris. During that time he still in Ghana, okay I can come, but wait till I got married, so I say okay, quickly get married, then the guy got married, then wait for honeymoon, and finally he is there. Now he is 8 or 9 years there. And then from Paris, to Germany, back to South Pacific, so if you dare to trust God He will open doors for you. So that you can represent Him in a place where He say you can best suited for the situation. So, mission is not just giving money, mission is getting yourselves involved.

Mission, you send people out and when the people are out there, you continue your mission by praying for them and also helping them to continue in the work. I am from Elim Church Singapore, every month we send out Singapore Dollars Eighty Thousand to the mission field. Not one year, every month. How we collect this money? Pastor you have to set the example, we talk to the pastor, my senior pastor say; we want to raise this amount, but how? So, he set the example, besides his tithe which we know is 10%, he put up another 20% for mission. We know his salary and then beside that he put another 10% for offering. My senior pastor put up all we know is 40% besides other than love offering. We do not know how much. We know our senior pastor put up from his pay check 40% back to the church.

And we who are members we follow the same. And we do not have a big church, so pastor if you want to raise funds for mission, you tell the people how much you give, don’t be ashamed. Let them follow you. This is a Bible principle. You follow me as I follow Christ. So church leaders and pastor you do that.

And then send your people. Elim church has sent six families into different fields and we maintain them there. These fields are producing now missionaries to other fields. This is mission. Mission is not giving money; mission is continuing to do the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am not a pastor or in a pastoral staff, I am only a church member of Elim church and we have many people like me doing the same thing in Elim, church members only. Listen carefully I am not one of the pastoral staff, my wife and I, we are only a member of the church and we do go out, when we call to our senior pastor, here have invited me and I want to go, he will say God bless you and we will pray for you and you go. And often time, when before he send us out with a blessing, they gave us a very good air fare. So my travel is provided by Elim church. Any place we want to go, they pay for us, but it must be officially invited by the church or a Bible school, not for holidays. So pastor we don’t go for holiday, we only go the places where we have work to do. So this is the reason pastor. So mission, it is as and when the Lord calls you.

Continue the next verse, John 14:13, whatsoever you ask in my name that will I do, so that the Father's name is glorified in the Son.

The word whatsoever is very important here, now remember when you and I go out to witness for Jesus Christ, we are facing two enemies; one the devil and his agent. The devil's a spiritual being, his agent human being, so you and I are facing two characters, so in the mission field there is no such thing as walking over; you have to fight every step of the way to win the ground for Jesus Christ. And so here the Lord Jesus Christ gives us the authority over whatsoever. And, the word whatsoever means no matter what, it can be physical and spiritual. Therefore, you and I can have the power and the authority to command the spiritual being. Jesus Chris went about casting out demons; you and I can do the same. Have you experienced that? One of the church in Africa was born out of a spiritual fight with the devil, spiritual warfare, cast out demon from the village and then the villagers said, your Christianity is so powerful and we want a church here, so the church was there. And I heard somebody borrowed our experience and claim to be theirs. I was in Tonga preaching and telling them exactly what happened, and the pastor wife said same story but the person who said it said is their experience, ask them if they have been to Uganda? So be careful about people coming here and telling you about experience which are not theirs and claim to be theirs. That is not a good testimony, be careful of this kind of thing. Now, whatsoever means spiritual or physical, whatsoever you ask in my name that I will do.

The word that is very specific, if you dare to ask God, God in your name give me the power to cast out demons, and God say if you dare to ask me for that, and I will do that for you. The word “That” means very specific, if you want this church to be strong and powerful, Pentecostal Church just like in the Book of Acts, then you pray for that. Now one more thing, if you want your pastor to be strong, powerful and authoritative, you pray for him.

This is the New Testament church, if you want your church to grow and powerful in manifestation of what God has promised you, you must pray. What did Jesus Christ say? If you ask, now the word “ASK” is claiming the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and this name is all powerful. If you dare ask, then you say that I will do. So that the Father may glorify in His son, why are there sometime the church pray and nothing happen? This is because the motive is wrong. The motive is not to glorify the Lord but glorify the church itself. Whatsoever you do, as a church for an object of mission, which you say objective, the basic idea must glorify God not glorifying the church. If you give money for mission, your giving must with the intention, I want to glorify God. And then, that money can be multiplied and be used for mission. If you give just because you want somebody to know you have pledge, then God is not glorified in that.

So, mission involve first thing is that you pray, for the projected goal that you want to do. The word mission is projected goal. So, what is the goal of your mission? Is it just to collect money and give away money? That will be a wrong goal. I pray to God that this church will send out missionaries. We were privileged to live in Philippines and nurse out the church where it was abandoned by somebody, pitiful. Pastor you have never heard of this, that is what happened. The worship team are all hired musician and then there are only two congregations, the whole church seventeen people, the pastor, pastor's wife, worship team and then member. Here am I going there sent by somebody to look after the church for me. Never knew what happened, went there and then know the worship team are hired musician. When I went there, the pastor doesn’t like me, you reveal all our secret, all mission fund don’t come anymore. I resigned from my work and go there to become temporarily missionary, and temporary missionary become three and a half years. The church today has send out missionaries to Africa and the church is helping to pay missionaries staying in Africa. I am praying to God that not only you send money but send the people. This is mission.

Now, continue to read, then Jesus Christ says, “if you ask me anything in my name I will do it”.

The word whatsoever and anything, are they the same? No, they are not the same. Jesus Christ use two different words, therefore they are not the same. Whatsoever have to do spiritual and physical work, the word anything means no matter what it is related to these two work you can pray in my name. Another word is say; there is no limitation for you to pray in my name. No matter what the situation may be, the word anything in another word means no limitation because our God is a living, all powerful God, all knowing God, and whatsoever you pray in His name He know how to answer you. These I say because I also experienced them.

I told the Hokkien congregation this morning about one experience that make me lose face in a church. I was very angry and rejected one time. I was invited to Vietnam, as soon as Vietnamese government allowed the Assembly of God to operate above ground in October they gave the license, in November I was there teaching the Bible. Went to Haiphong, in the North, the first day I met the pastor, the pastor say thank God you are here, take care of the church for me. I look at him, I don’t even know your name how to take care of your church? He said never mind I know you so you take care of my church and I am ready to go, and he left. The church is Vietnamese, always small because it is underground, and it is a small congregation. It is worst than China, the whole wall was sound proof and I have to go through the kitchen, the bedroom, and then the meeting place, but no more. So you trust me, I will take care of your church for you, I will preach for you for two Sundays. The second night I was there, called to pray for the sick brother, I went there, you know the Chinese call “tua chu tua ee”, means you don’t ask permission, you just do it, so I “tua chu tua ee” in Jesus name be healed, not knowing what is all about. And then one of the church member who is a doctor, a physician came, and then visit him, so I came down from the bedroom, he was at his bedroom, the wife is there, and sat at the main hall, and suddenly a loud crying sound heard, the doctor pronounce the man I prayed to be healed died. I said what happen, you say you pray, I pray, he died. Now how am I going to preach next week? I asked why God you do this? Know what God say, you “tua chu tua ee”, you have not ask me permission how to pray, my mistake, he is dead. The ambulance came took him to the hospital, they pronounce him dead. So, one medical doctor said he died, the hospital doctor say he died. So he must be dead, dead, dead. Next week, the next Sunday, I suppose to preach, but I went they rejected, do not know exactly what to preach. The news already spread, he prays and he died. Then in the meeting, the wife came to church with make-up, hair-do, lipstick, just like going to wedding. Your husband died last week, today you should be mourning, but how come you are so happy? (Inside my heart when she first came in, I am thinking is this how Vietnamese mourn?) So when testimony came, this is what I heard, and that made me very very happy.

She said, that man came to pray for my husband, he died, everybody knows already, when to the hospital together with him, he died they say, pushing him to the mortuary, before he got in the mortuary, he stood up, and we have to send him to another hospital for second treatment. He is not dead. I have to learn one important lesson, never “tua chu tua ee”. Don’t take thing for granted. So ask God permission first before you do anything. So, I have learnt my lesson. I dare not “tua chu tua ee” go and say be healed in Jesus name. I will ask, God what you want me to do so that the Father may be glorify, I always pray Father give me courage, this person is sick and if you allow me to pray for him and he get well, I am encouraged and can preach better. Is alright is I always can preach better. So, this is how I talk to my Father.

If you dare to talk to Him and express your heart to Him, in the way you know how, He will talk to you. I thank God for what he says here, so that the Father may be glorified. Then Jesus Christ says, all these things are possible because I go to the Father. Jesus Christ died, buried, resurrected and ascended to Heaven for this one thing only that is for His mission. He came to die, and death is only part of His mission, resurrection is a proof that your salvation and my salvation is accepted by God, and then He ascended to Heaven, to do this one thing that he has promised, 800 years before spoken by Joel that God will baptise all of us who dare to believe in Him in the Holy Spirit. So, He went up to Heaven because I go to my Father so that He can bring to us and give to us the baptism in the Holy Spirit which is to empower us to do what He say we must do and should do and can do.

So, His mission is to die for you and to die for me and also empower you. So, dying is only part of His mission and empowering you is another part. So He died, yes, resurrected, no doubt, up to Heaven so that He can bring to you and to me the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. And the purpose in baptism in the Holy Spirit is so that you can be empowered, so that this power in you will help you and enable you to do the things He said you and I should do and can do. So, when you and I are baptised in the Holy Spirit, you are totally covered by God’s power. In other words, you are totally protected by God’s power.

How you are totally covered? I gave this illustration this morning. How many of you have seen hard boiled chicken egg? In Uganda and in Philippines, usually at the bus stop they sell hard boiled chicken egg. Now, the hard boiled chicken egg you get the shell outside, the shell totally covered the membrane, the membrane totally covered the white, the egg white totally covered the yolk. So you are the yolk, totally covered by and protected by the power of God. At the same time, this power that protects you is for you to use, so that you can fulfil what Jesus Christ say here.

So, my brother and my sister, should the Lord Jesus Christ arrange for you a situation whereby He want you to exercise His power through you, do it, this is your mission. You may be visiting a friend, whom may be sick and inside you, you feel that God say pray, he will heal. Am I getting the right thing, the husband did you hear, what He say to me? What did He say to you? You did not hear it, then you get an excuse, I might be hearing wrong. So you don’t dare to do it. When you get the urge, the impression prompting inside you to do something for the Lord Jesus Christ, at that moment, do it. And that is your mission.

You may not know when you start, but you face the situation, that is your mission and the Lord Jesus Christ wants you to do the things that you should do and must do to glorify His name. If you dare not do what He has arranged for you to do then you are shaming His name. In another word, you do not trust Him. That is how the church has been weaken by our reaction. Therefore Jesus Christ always started with verily verily I say unto you, which mean I am the faithful and truthful one, what I say to you must come to pass. How you respond to my teaching determines life and death, victory or defeat. It is your decision. That is the mission the Lord Jesus Christ has given to us.

Many thanks to Esther Tham who took the initiative to record and transcribe this sermon in my absence. She did a brilliant job.

Realise your potential in God

The New Year is one of the most observed holidays in the world. And as we enter the new year very often, people look back and see regrets and the new year is a time to make resolutions so that we don't make the same mistakes again. It is the perfect time for change as we enter a new year.

Ask someone close to you or your spouse if you need to change and you can expect a long list. There is nothing wrong with making resolutions to make a change for the better. And we can only know if we can do it at the end of the year.

That is basically the essence of my message today.

John 1:1 is a very familiar passage and I will not be going into it in detail but we want to see what we can draw from here as we enter the new year.

John 1:1-13
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Verse 13 that ALL who believed in His name he gave right to be CHILDREN OF GOD.

John 1:14-18
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. ’” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Verse 16 says RECEIVED ONE BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER.

This portion of scripture tells me that I have a future. It does not talk about my past or present but my future. The future I have in the Lord.

There is this person who told his people to write all their regrets down on a piece of paper. Some will be longer than others. Then he tells them to burn that piece of paper. If that works then we don't need all the asylums.

But here I want to look at our future. We want to walk towards the future that God has in store for us.

The bible says we are heirs, as children of God. That is the potential that we have. Many of us has unrealized potential. One day I was following a Kancil, and it says on the bumper sticker, "When I grow up I want to be a Mercedes."
(laughs)

How many of you when you were born, you speak English? Or Tamil or Hokkien? We have to learn the language right? All babies have the potential and capacity to learn any language. So if you are a Chinese and is put in an Indian home you'll grow up speaking Tamil. We have the potential.

When God looks at you He don't look at your failures or your past. He said He gave you the right to be children of God. He looks at you at what you can be, the potential of who you can be.

Two weeks ago, I said we often have to go through the worst before we get to the better. Before God's promise come to past. Like Joseph, who had to go to prison before he became a king. I also looked at Job, who lost all before he received his blessing. I pray that even as we go through testings we will continue to be faithful like Job.

There are two things that hit us real bad, our possessions and worst our health. And Job had sores, covered from his head to the sole of his feet. I like this, God said to Satan, you can touch him but do not take his life. Even in the bad, God is there. He will make something good in all situations, even in life and death. The devil has no control over it but God and the devil will have to obey.

I shared that when my father was the first to become a Christian and when he told his parents, he got kicked out. How many of you have seen an exciting young Christian go home to tell their parents that they are now a Christian. They will probably get a tight slap. Some is afraid to tell because of this.

God said those who believed, he said they will be children of God. That's our potential to be free from sin.

At Bro Wilbur's father's funeral, we heard how one by one every family member became saved. And Bro Wilbur said that his father was a chain smoker and even though he tried to give up he could not. But when he was saved, the last in the family to receive Christ, he gave up smoking. When he could not then, as a child of God he could. To be free from sin.

The same with Bro Rodney, who was able to give up smoking right after his water baptism. I know Bro Rodney won't mind me sharing this. The power to be free from sin.

I remembered there was time when I was far from God and one of the things I struggled with was drinking. I could drink like a fish, that's why I love fish. But when I got serious with God, I had the power to give it up. As we draw near to God, he will help us to do what we can't do. When we draw close to God that is what He does.

You cannot draw close to God and not have him deal with you. That's because He loves you. I am just glad that He deals with us one thing at a time. If He deals with all of it at one time, we sure die.

Do you know what's the difference between the Holy Spirit and your conscience? That's another topic. When God looks at us, He sees our potential. It doesn't mean that when you are 80 or 90 years old, God cannot deal with you. He can.

As we look at Tabernacle of Praise, got potential or not? I hope you say yes. When I first came, when I saw the church, I saw a church with potential. I did not look with my own eyes but through God's eyes and I see potential. I look at all of you and I see potential pastors. That is why we have opportunities for our members to preach, like Sis Melinda and Bro Koay. This church has potential. And at the end of my life, each one of you will be better than me. Preach better than me or be more handsome than me. (laughs)

I am not like the old Chinese Kung Fu master. Where he teaches his disciples all except one skill where in case he revolt, he has one more Kung Fu step to kill him off. I am not like that. That's why I sent Lin Ken to bible school. So that he can come back and be better than me. Go for your Masters, I don't have a Masters, but I have a Master. I am not threatened.

During the funeral, I had all the cells conducted the service. One day I may not even have to be there. (But of course you know what I mean. I was at the wake every night.) Except for the last day where you have to have the license to marry and to bury. You have the potential.

The third floor. We want to build people as we build the church. So listen, when I ask you do do something, don't say cannot. Say pastor, with your help I will try. How many of you going for mission trip? Sarawak is just the tip. Sign up for missions, Cambodia which last year we missed out. We have the potential.

Not only physical potential but also spiritual potential. What it means is all of you can pray for people and they will get healed. The job of praying does not rest just on the pastor. Don't be afraid. Some is afraid to pray because they are afraid the person is not healed but die. Hey, not every one I pray for is healed. Remember, God is sovereign, our job is to pray.

God has no grandchildren. I have access to God, you have access to God. It's you and I. If anyone fall sick in your cell, don't call me but rise up and pray for the person. From now onwards if you want your house dedicated go see the cell leader. We will do it though the cell. Funeral, call your cell leader. Then call me. The wake service, the cell will do it. You need to rise up. Physically it is impossible for me to do it all. I want you to partner with me in ministry. There is a synergy when the cell takes the lead. That's how we will do it.

Pastor, what if I don't have a cell? That's why you need to be in a cell. Which cell to go to? Look at the bulletin. There is eight. We are going to streamline everything through the cell. You have the potential to do it all. That's why we are children of God not his grandchildren.

I will not be the kind of pastor that tell you 2013 will be all fine. But I will tell you that when the storm comes, the rain comes and problems come your way, he will be there with you. 2013 is a year of potential. As we prosper financially we will also prosper spiritually. In fact when you prosper spiritually, all things will work for you. The Bible says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.

I pray that as we enter 2013, you will not be distracted, that causes confusion. You need to be careful and be ready. We need to watch our lips and words as it can tear down. Let's be a people that is blessed to be a blessing.

This morning I pray that you will know who you are in Christ and every day when you wake up you will know you are an heir in Christ.