PLUC - Pursuing Liberty Under Christ

Rev Tryphena Law

Director of PLUC

I want to thank the church for hosting this event. So I will share a little about PLUC. I will also share with you about my journey and relate it to the word of God so I will be preaching even if it's a little different.

My name is from the bible. I got this name during my baptism. I asked the Pastor, what name should I get, and he suggested Tryphrena. Very easy to remember, just think of Ribena (laughs). I knew Pastor Gideon for a while and when he called me if I would like to come and share, I want you to know that I have been praying for a church bold enough to have this event. Penang is one of the main gay hub. There are more happenings here than in KL or JB.

When your pastor called me I told him I needed a church bold enough to hold this event. Pastor said he will check with the board and praise the Lord you have a very bold board.

It is all about sexuality not just gay and lesbian issues. The speaker will also talk about sexual abuse. Many have gone through this and it is very hard for them to grow if they are not delivered from it.

I have so many cases in Penang that I cannot handle any more.

PLUC stand for Pursuing Liberty Under Christ.

This is our 10th year. I came in during the 2nd year. For 10 years I was living a life as a lesbian so I will be sharing my story. It will be evangelistic. We want to share that truly many people have been set free by Christ.

Bring your friends and family members. It does not mean you have issues but you will be trained.

Why PLUC? Parents you have to know about the computer. Gay people call themselves PLU - people like us. When you google PLU you'll find all the gay websites. We are affiliated with Exodus East Asia so we are international.

This is the scripture that gives me every reason to stand here. Any testimony that is related to sexual sin is very difficult to share because it is too shameful. But I am not here to talk all about my shame but what Jesus has done in my life.

1 Corinthians 6 : 9-11
9 Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with men

10 nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you: but ye were washed but ye were sanctified but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

We need to be open in church and not just play church. How many of you have copied during exams? Or borrowed a friend's work as reference but actually to copy. How many of you also borrowed the office photostat to copy your stuff without permission from your boss? It's called stealing. Or you desire a neighbour's new car it's called covetousness. These are in the same category as sexual sins. No difference.

How do the church sees people that are sexually different? Or a drunkard that walk into church? Our behaviour shows our attitude towards these people. We are all sinners and if it was not because of Jesus we will keep falling. How do you see this group of people?

I was excited about your big party. But what is your motive for serving? If it is just a programme then shut it down. What are your motives? Some of these people you may think are undeserving then all of us are also undeserving.

Who are we?
We are a Christian ministry that administer sexual wholeness to the sexually and relationally broken people especially the homosexuals.

The strange thing is that 90% of the people we minister to are Christians. A big thing that is coming is bisexual. And even worst is a gender-less society. It is already happening in Sweden.

We are not to be just head Christian. We need to have a relationship with Jesus and if we have a relationship we are not just a Christian but a disciple. He will abide in you as you abide in Him. We blame God when we fall but God did not put a gun to our head to watch pornography. If we do not abide in Him who are we to blame?

What we believe.
Restoration of the homosexuals under the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We as parents are very good at telling our children what to do or what not to do. Have you asked your children how they are doing? Or children ask your parents how they are doing? We have lost that intimacy in the family.

I grew up where children are to be seen not heard. This is the typical Chinese family I grew up in. We grow up so structured that we bring up our family based on these mindset. Like the eldest must take up the responsibility and to do well. Other mindset is that you must have a car or a house to be successful. Or a beautiful girl must be slim with long hair.

I grew up thinking that as the eldest daughter I have I be an excellent child. I grew up thinking that only if I do good my parents will love me. If God is like that with us we gone case already.

This is what is meant in Romans 12 : 2
2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our mind needs to be renewed. One of the mindset that was instilled in me when I was young was that I am fat and ugly. I was quite a chubby baby and my parents always tell me "Don't eat so much".

We judge people. Every time we call someone a tomboy or sissy we are labelling. Who are we to have the right to call them that? Our role is to love them unconditionally. It is up to God to convict them. Our role is just to love them.

Pastor Mike and Diane Constantine are my spiritual parents. I give them permission to ask me very hard questions. And I can be honest with them as they walked with me through my struggles.

God's desire for us is for us to be more like Jesus. I have a friend who left her profession and serve God and she said to the Lord when my life no longer bear fruit take me home. I was so touched.

When I went to Pastor Mike and said I need help I am a lesbian all he said to me was Tryphena Jesus loves you. That was all I need to hear. They didn't preach to me or show me scripture why I was wrong. They walked with me. Every time I was struggling and emailed them they would call me all the way from the U.S. They walked with me during the transformation.

All of us here go through different stages. Our issues are imprinted in the stream of our life. We have a stage called childhood. Then adolescence. Here we have rocks which affect us. Some became alcoholic or other traps. I became a lesbian. The church is the biggest hospital and with only one doctor doctor JC. And we are all the missy.

The foundation years are childhood. From ages 0-5. These are critical period. The Sunday school plays a vital role. The toddlers group is the time when they receive unconditional love and care. And for parental bonding. Men have an important call and that is to love your wife like how Jesus love the church. Jesus died for the church provide and protect the church. Imagine a husband that love the wife so much the wife has no complain. Women talks a lot so when the husband comes home he sits down and do his stuff. Men cannot multitask. He can do one thing at a time. Praise the Lord that is why they are so focused. Women needs undivided time so men give your wife half an hour of listening. So if the house has three women mother and two daughters you need to set aside one and a half hour.

Parents if you argue with your spouse do not complain it to your children. I became the tong sampah when my parents argued. I grew up with a very bad image of my father. But today we know from the bible how we are to behave.

Fathers often we leave the parenting to just the mother. Fathers you have a responsibility because the masculinity of the sons come from the fathers. Infeminate men are so because of the way they were brought up. Sunday schools have too many women. We need men there. You may not even need to teach but your presence has an impact. They need to see male figures in their life. I want to challenge guys. You need to be a teacher or if not a pastor.

When I was in primary school my friends always ask me to go with them to the toilet because I was big. I became a protector the role of a male. Many men don't want to get married because they don't want the role of a protector.

In secondary school something happened when my parents argued and it was bad. My father in the midst of his anger chased us out of the home. I had a broken image of my father. I couldn't forgive him until much later. Before he passed away I was able to lead him to Christ and even reconciled with him. This is the age when I had group identity peer group bonding. This is also the stage when labelling can be damaging. Because of my size I couldn't find nice clothes So I gave up. I started wearing t-shirts and jeans. From fatty bom bom to tomboy. And this labelling affected me a lot.

If you know of someone who is having difficulty with sexual addiction go see your leaders and form a support group.

Healthy Heterosexuality - Acceptance.

We love the gay and lesbian but do not condone their behaviour. Jesus loved the thief but not the stealing. We need affirmation. Is this church affirming? Do parents affirm the youth and the youth affirming the parents? Do you appreciate the food your mom cooked for you for years or do you complain it's the same food again. Show your appreciation.

Can we have accountability? It is sad when we have a cell group where the relationship is superficial. We need to have more in our relationship with men and God.

You can find out more about PLUC here.

Wrestlemania

Rev Gideon Lee

Genesis 32 : 1-32
1 And Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him.

2 And Jacob said when he saw them This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir the field of Edom.

4 And he commanded them saying Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now:

5 and I have oxen and asses `and' flocks and men-servants and maid-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord that I may find favor in thy sight.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob saying We came to thy brother Esau and moreover he cometh to meet thee and four hundred men with him.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that were with him and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two companies

8 and he said If Esau come to the one company and smite it then the company which is left shall escape.

9 And Jacob said O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac O Jehovah who saidst unto me Return unto thy country and to thy kindred and I will do thee good:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the lovingkindnesses and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant for with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two companies.

11 Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my brother from the hand of Esau: for I fear him lest he come and smite me the mother with the children.

12 And thou saidst I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 And he lodged there that night and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother:

14 two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats two hundred ewes and twenty rams

15 thirty milch camels and their colts forty cows and ten bulls twenty she-asses and ten foals.

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants every drove by itself and said unto his servants Pass over before me and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

17 And he commanded the foremost saying When Esau my brother meeteth thee and asketh thee saying Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

18 then thou shalt say `They are' thy servant Jacob's it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and behold he also is behind us.

19 And he commanded also the second and the third and all that followed the droves saying On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau when ye find him

20 and ye shall say Moreover behold thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said I will appease him with the present that goeth before me and afterward I will see his face peradventure he will accept me.

21 So the present passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company.

22 And he rose up that night and took his two wives and his two handmaids and his eleven children and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.

23 And he took them and sent them over the stream and sent over that which he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him he touched the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said Let me go for the day breaketh. And he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him What is thy name? And he said Jacob.

28 And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him and said Tell me I pray thee thy name. And he said Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for `said he' I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved.

31 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel and he limped upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.

I want to start off by saying this. When I share this message please do not think I am making reference to anyone here name Jacob. I am talking about Jacob of the bible.

In scripture, you cannot find a more colourful person than Jacob. Jacob and Esau's mother's name is Rebecca. It starts way off in her womb. The bible says she had two nations in her womb. It was a most difficult birth and Esau was born first, then Jacob. Jacob was holding onto his brother's leg at birth.

He was named Jacob because even as he was born like that, he was called a deceiver and conniver. Names are very important in its meaning. And he lived up to his name. He was competitive even at birth. He grew up cheating his brother of his birthright.

You all know the story right? He appealed to Esau's hunger. How many of you are fasting? You know what's it's like when you're hungry. He made him a soup of beans in exchange for his birthright and Esau agreed. And to seal the deal he went to the father disguised in a skin of a goat. The father's eyes were failing and he touched and said it felt like Esau even though he sounded like Jacob. And the father blessed him with a covenantal blessing.

Once Isaac blessed his children, God kept the promise. After cheating his brother he ran away as the brother after coming to his senses threatened to kill him. He ran with only the clothes on his back. He left in a real hurry.

He used a smooth rock as a pillow and he dreamt of a ladder, a staircase coming down from heaven. He perceived that this was a very good place and he anointed that rock with oil and called that place Bethel. He remembered God blessing him.


Genesis 28 : 16-22
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep and he said Surely Jehovah is in this place. And I knew it not.

17 And he was afraid and said How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el. But the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 And Jacob vowed a vow saying If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on

21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace and Jehovah will be my God

22 then this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God's house. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

At that time God was not yet his God. Not yet the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He went to his uncle'a home Laban. He was as good as his nephew in trickery and Jacob met his match. He fell in love with his daughter Rachel and the condition Laban set was he has to work for him without wages for seven years. After seven years he married the daughter and was shocked on the wedding night it was a different daughter, Leah the elder daughter. And Laban said since the marriage was done he had to work another seven years before he can marry Rachel. When you cheat your way through life, remember there are always bigger sharks.

He later tricked his uncle and ran for a second time for his life. He took everything and ran. The uncle pursued him and finally caught up with him.


Genesis 31 : 48-50
48 And Laban said This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

49 and Mizpah for he said Jehovah watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.

50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters and if thou shalt take wives besides my daughters no man is with us see God is witness betwixt me and thee.

He now comes back to his brother Esau and to test the waters he sent a messenger. The messenger said to Jacob that Esau is coming to meet you with 400 men. So Jacob being Jacob was thinking how to handle this. He divided his family into two groups. So that if one group was killed the other would survive. And he sent gifts in batches so that hopefully Esau's heart would be softened by the time Esau arrive.

Traditionally the bible says he wrestled with God or an angel of God or in the bible a man as a metaphor. But later you see that Jacob actually wrestled with God. To put it bluntly he struggled with God. He had come to a situation where if God was not for him he would be dead. He wrestled with God until he receive his blessing.

Are you in a situation where you are in a place where if God don't bless you, you have no way out? He has used up all his craftiness and the wisdom of men and there was no way out unless God bless him. Are you that desperate that until God bless you, you have no way out? Jacob was in that situation.

Are you desperate enough for God to be the only one to bless you?

We struggle everyday in small things. Waking up was a struggle. Going through the traffic jam was a struggle. But there are also big things we struggle with like sickness or bankruptcy. Things where if God do not come, you will be finished.

Jacob was at a point of desperation. He wrestled with God to win. He was that desperate. Maybe it's a failed relationship. Or disobedient children moving away from God. My prayer for you is that you will be desperate enough to wrestle with God.

The bulldog is famous not for his looks but his bite. He bite and will not let go. He is tenacious. It is persistence. Don't let go.

Jacob wrestled till daybreak. That is the hardest time to stay awake. How would you like to come for an all day and night prayer and fasting where you wrestle with God through the night? He persisted till daybreak. So much so the angel of the Lord told him to let go. He said no until God blesses him.

The angel had to touch his hip until it dislocated his hip socket. But he hung on in pain. You need to have total dependence on God. The angel touched his hip to remind Jacob he was to depend on God. After that, he walked with a limp on crutches and every time he walked with the crutches he is reminded he needed to depend on God.

This morning, are you dependent on God? In a situation where our money will fail us, our health will fail us and even our friends will fail us, we need to hang on to God. It is only God who blesses us.

And while Jacob was in pain with his dislocated joint, God asked him what is your name?

He had to come face to face with the real him, the deceiver. Now he is given a new name, Israel, the prince of God. A transformation must happen to us before we can have the blessings of God. The old must pass away before we become who we are in the Lord. When we understand how God sees us. That is why he sent his only begotten son to die for us. So that a transformation can happen in our life.

What are you struggling with this morning? What are you wrestling with? Don't give up until daybreak.

How many of you know about the caterpillar? He goes through different stages. Starts with being in a cocoon during the larvae stage and a transformation takes place before it breaks free and change into a beautiful butterfly. You will see how hard it was for it to struggle and to get out of the cocoon.

Sometimes you would want to help the butterfly out of the cacoon when you see it struggle. When it emerge the wings would be shriveled up before it dries up and it can fly. If you helped it out of the cocoon the wings will not dry up and open up. It is designed for it to struggle out of the cocoon which causes its heart to pump blood into the wings and cause it to open up. That struggle is meant to make you stronger too.

Whatever your struggle is, be persistent before the Lord. Use every way to wrestle with God. With total dependence on Him. And have that transformation from being a Jacob to Israel.

By the way, the story of Jacob and Esau ended on a good note. Instead of killing him he kissed him. Instead of hating him he gave Jacob a hug. That is what happens when we depend on God.

What's so Abundant about Abundant Life

Rev Gideon Lee

John 10:1-10
The Shepherd and His Flock
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

I want to give you some background regarding this passage of scripture. Jesus said "I tell you the truth". Jesus wanted to emphasised something important that he wanted to say.

Jesus said the one that came in though the gate is the real owner. The one that climbed over the fence is a thief. In those days the pen are stacked stones and is not very high. The pen only has one entrance and in the evening when the sheep comes back the shepherd will stand at the door as the sheep passes by. He will examine and count his sheep to make sure they are not hurt or injured.

The sheep pen are often shared and sheep from other shepherds are there too. But Jesus said His sheep will know His voice. The sheep will recognise it's shepherd's voice and not that of another shepherd.

The shepherd loves his sheep so much he will sleep by the gate because there is an entrance but no gates. After verse 10 Jesus said He love His sheep so much He is willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

The sheep is not designed to protect itself, they have no horns unlike goats. They cannot protect themselves so they need the shepherd. By nature they are docile and helpless, not very flattering considering that we are like sheep.

Jesus decides who gets in and gets out. He guards His sheep. He says those that do not enter by the gate is a thief. The enemy's agenda is to steal, to kill and to destroy. But Jesus says He comes to give life and life abundantly.

We sometimes misunderstand this verse. We think abundant life is a life of abundance. This cannot be taken to support materialism. I think it's okay to have nice things but if your life is spent pursuing these stuff, then we've got it all wrong.

In America, there is so many shopping mall and it's the same here. It's been said that our house is no longer just a roof over our heads but is to store all our stuff. When we run out of space, we buy a bigger house.

So how do we have this abundant life? Let me give you some examples from scripture what it means to have abundant life.

1. Listening to the voice of the shepherd.
The prerequisite to having abundant life is to have Jesus as your saviour. You have to first be a child of God.

2. My sheep hears my voice.
All of us have the capacity to hear from God. We all as a child of God can hear from our heavenly father. How many of you remember the transistor radio? To listen, we have to put up the antenna. Our spiritual antenna is the same. How? When we spend time alone with God. Do we have our quiet time. Is our quiet time too quiet. We are so busy we do not set apart a time. I need to put up my antenna. Many things fight for your attention so you need to set apart time. Next, we need to tune in. Nowadays you don't need that as we can just press search. Or some come pre-programmed. Are we tuned in to God? Are we searching for God. How? Fasting. I want to talk about prayer. We need to tune in to communicate with God. Are we tuned in to the correct station? We need to hear what is He saying to us? Are you listening? It is very important to listen. Here is a joke that illustrates this.

A school principal told his assistant principal the following:
Next Thursday at 10.30 a.m. Halley’s Comet will appear over this area. This is an event which occurs only once every 76 years. Call the school principals and have them assemble their teachers and classes on their athletic fields and explain this phenomenon to them. If it rains, then cancel the day’s observation and have the classes meet in the auditorium to see a film about the comet.

Assistant principal to school principals:
By order of the principal of Schools, next Thursday at 10.30, Halley’s Comet will appear over your athletic field. If it rains, then cancel the day’s classes and report to the auditorium with your teachers and students where you will be shown films, a phenomenal event which occurs only once every 76 years.

Principals to teachers:
By order of the phenomenal principal of Schools, at 10.30 next Thursday, Halley’s Comet will appear in the auditorium. In case of rain over the athletic field the principal will give another order, something which occurs once every 76 years.

Teachers to students:
Next Thursday at 10.30, the principal of Schools will appear in our school audiotorium with Halley’s Comet, something which occurs every 76 years. If it rains the principal will cancel the Comet and order us all out to our phenomenal athletic field.

Students to parents:
When it rains next Thursday at 10.30 over the school athletic field, the phenomenal 76-year-old principal of Schools will cancel all classes and appear before the whole school in the auditorium accompanied by Bill Haley and the Comets.

We played this game before where we pass a message from one to another and at the end the message changes. We have the capacity to hear direct from God.

3. We need to not just hear but to follow him.
When the shepherd call out to his sheep, they follow him. As the good shepherd He calls out to His sheep and they response by following Him. Are we following what God says to us? Often God doesn't ask us to do easy stuff. Often He ask us to do things for our benefit. Let me give you an illustration from my own life.

At one point of time, I backslided and as I was coming back to God and started to serve and attend church, God called me to do something unusual. I was working at The Edge and God asked me to talk to my boss's secretary. I asked God, what for? I mean we often talk about business but why talk to her about God? So in obedience I just went up to her and I just said "God wants me to talk to you" and she just started to cry. It is odd and took me by surprise, as it is in the office, so I said "can we go to the conference room" where she started to sob. And she just said that she had been so far from God has been so disappointed with God and didn't want to have anything to God anymore. I just told her God is asking me to tell her God loves her. After that day, she started to go back to church.

You may say pastor, what if you are wrong? I would rather be a fool for Christ than to disobey God. He has put me often in these circumstances.

Last but not least is this.

4. We need to live our life for others.
Here is the paradox. The more we live our life selfishly the more dissatisfied you'll become. This was what Jesus did. He came for us and that is why we can call God, Abba our Father.

Are you living your life for your own? If yes, then we don't need this tagline, blessed to be a blessing. Let's be a church that is blessed to be a blessing. That others may know about the Lord.

Let's have this abundant life that He promised us. Our good shepherd lay down His life for us that we may have this abundant life He promised. That's why He is the GOOD shepherd.

Bro Terrence leading at the worship service for the first time.
Praise God for talented young lives being used by God.

Who are you, really?

Kenny at Sungai Nibong Cell

R12 Series on True Spirituality - Coming to grips with the real you.

How often in the heat of the moment when we lose our temper we show our true colour. Often in testing circumstances the "real you" is revealed. How often in an argument you hear people defend themselves by saying "You don't know me!" The sad truth is that some of the most distorted view of ourselves is how we see ourselves.

All of us are conscious about how others see us. We live in a world where the outward is more important simply because it is visible. Who we are is not as important as how we are perceived. We may not realize it but we are actually advertising ourselves. How many advertisements have you seen where they advertise a brands weakness or shortcomings? If I do that for my clients, I will end up with none. So who are you really behind all the outward? Only the ones closest to you get a glimpse of the real you and even so, it's not complete.

Interactive Session:

1. First share about yourself, how you have changed over the years from when you were still an unbeliever or maybe even after you have become a Christian to who you are today.

2. In this cell, we know more about each other than members from other cell groups whom we may bump into on Sundays. So here's an opportunity I am giving you to say something about each other. Share something about someone in our cell that you really appreciate and why.

If you were asked to identify yourself, how will you do it? With the authorities, we produce our IC. In another country, we show our passport. In business, we give our call cards. Online, we go by our usernames or create an avatar. Often, in life's circumstances, who you really is is not important. How you are officially identified however is.

So in the world we live in, is the REAL YOU important? It is important if we want any REAL RELATIONSHIP.

Identity theft is big business. How many of you use online banking? On the internet some thief will get your personal information and create a new identity in order to steal what you have. They can cause a lot of damage to your reputation if they post false accusations in your name. But, they cannot affect who you are.

When you meet somebody new the questions arise: What is your name? What do you do? Where are you from? We all have our generic responses, but the answers to these questions really do not identify who we are. Some will identify themselves by the amount of money in their bank account; some will boast of their career accomplishments; others will give you their family history, and some will prefer to remain a mystery.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15 NIV)

There is no one person on earth that knows you completely. Your parents don’t know you the way your siblings know you; your spouse doesn’t know you the way your children know you; your friends don’t know you the way your coworkers know you. Your church brothers and sisters don't know you the way your non-christian friends know you. Every relationship in your life is unique. So, everyone you know has a different view of the real you.

The only One who knows you completely is God! He knows things about you that you don’t know about yourself.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

So, the things you have done, the places you have been, the relationships you’ve had, the successes, the failures, the joy and the tragedies in your life are all a part of who you are, but do they really define who you are?

You know Char Koay Teow needs flat noodles, bak eiu, prawns, soya sauce, taugeh, chilli etc. Each ingredient is useful in its own right, but in order to become Penang Char Koay Teow, they must be added in the right sequence, worked over the wok skillfully over the right fire. It is the same with us.

To identify yourself as a Christian you must recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. There are many ingredients in the recipe of you, but the most important is Jesus.

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me.” (John 17:22-23a)

As a Christian, the real you is being in Jesus Christ! That is why we often say, that they may see Christ in us. We don’t always meet the standards of our true identity, do we? Are we a splitting image of our Father in heaven? That is why He works in us, constantly perfecting us, so we will be able to be more like Him.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. (1 John 3:1)

As Christians, we do not have an identity crisis. Our identity actually defines our purpose in life. As a new creation, as children of light, as the salt of the earth, as children of the most high God, we are given power to be sons of God through the Holy Spirit. The only way for the world to know Him is for us to introduce Him in ourselves. That is our true identity and no one can steal it.

Are we perfect then? No, we are not by any measure, but we are certainly getting there. We are putting off the old because we have put on the new. We are fully justified but sanctification is a process that is changing us from glory to glory as we have studied at Bro Koay's bible class.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Prayer and Fasting

Rev Gideon Lee

We are entering NECF's 40 days of prayer and fasting. This will be what I'm talking about this morning.

Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed? ’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun- scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well- watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age- old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Matthew 6:16-18
Fasting
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting today is not taken seriously. Let me ask you this question, you don't have to put up your hands. How many of you have fasted this year? It is going out of practice. Even in the AOG churches, we rarely talk about fasting.

In the bible, fasting is assumed. Jesus fasted. The disciples fasted. John the baptist fasted. John Wesley fasted. Jesus said "when you fast" not "if you fast". It was assumed. Fasting is a dying art. A dying practice.

Today I want to talk about prayer and fasting. Mainly fasting. The question is "should we fast"?

If you say no, then basically you are saying fasting is not beneficial. The world says fasting is not beneficial. The world talks about satisfying yourself.

Have you seen how people eat at a buffet in a hotel. I once saw someone who piled up food like she can feed an army. People pack their plates and indulge. And when they don't finish all goes to waste. That's why some outlets charge you for the leftovers.

Have you seen the advertisements of beauty products etc. the key word is "you are worth it". To the world fasting is foolishness. Indulge in yourself because you are worth it. This is what the world says.

Sad to say, sometimes we give them enough reason to say that. Sometimes we say we fast but as a token to God. You may tell me, "Pastor, I fasted you know. I fasted from 9.00pm to 8.00am." It is to your convenience and cost you nothing. We do it because pastor calls us to or the church sets it. Fasting is more than just abstaining from food. We do it with no meaning at all if it's just as a token, we trivialize it.

And when we break fast we put everything back and even eat double what we fasted. And the world looks at us and say "why fast?". What's the point of fasting.

In Isaiah, there is God's way of fasting. What is God's criteria to fasting.

1. Call to Repentance.

God says they seem to please me but they continue to sin. Fasting has benefits for us as Christians and the first benefit is the call to repentance. In some churches, they have a tradition called the Period of Lent, 40 days before Good Friday. They would come together to fast and pray. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. and here as the people come, the priest will take ash and mark everyone. To tell the people that one day we will be dust and are we ready to meet God? It is a period to reflect. I hope we do this always. Fasting must first start with repentance.

2. Right fasting helps us to prioritize.

Some of us have little gods. Some is materialism. Some of them are hobbies. Our career. Badminton (laughs). Fasting is the time when we deny ourselves these pleasures. Of what is important to us. It is not just about food. Is Jesus your priority? Jesus says if anyone wants to follow me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. The deny yourself is the difficult part.

3. As you deny yourself comes self mastery.

You are actually saying to the flesh "NO". I am talking about overindulgence. Things that are wrong. People sin because sin does not cause immediate consequences. We can get away from it's punishment. If there is no law, many will overindulge and do what they like.

I shared this before about a student that committed suicide by jumping off at a mall. The father later said he regretted he never spend enough time with him. He never prioritized and was always busy. The son committed suicide over a failed relationship and the father never knew. He had everything, driving a BMW. Fathers needs to say no to children. I grew up at a time when fathers often says no to their children. So we grow up saying we will not be that kind of father. So we say yes to our children all the time.

What is the right kind of fasting? In our fasting are we seating at home waiting for time to pass. No. It is an active fasting as stated in Isaiah. This is the fasting that please God.

That is the right kind of fasting. Fasting must always go with prayer, or it is just dieting. I pray you will say yes to fasting as it brings many benefits.

4. In fasting, we do not develop self righteousness.

Like if we compare how long we fasted. Be careful we do not have this attitude. We fast as unto the Lord. Also do not think fasting brings us salvation, like we are better and gain more points with God. Be careful that we do not take fasting as a means to salvation. Salvation comes only through one name. Don't have self righteousness thinking that we have more merit with God.

5. Suffering helps us identify with the suffering of Christ.

Remember, Jesus says take up your cross and follow Him. We cannot do what He did but it will help us understand what He did for us. And how do you know at the end of the day you have done this for Christ? When you fast, you save money, from your food and entertainment. When you saved, you say wonderful, I have more money, then you have fasted for yourself. In fasting, the money that you have saved must bless others. Give it to the church and not keep it for yourself.

Collect your booklet from NECF. We want to collect all the savings and give it to NECF. Please do not send money individually but do it as a church. We will give it to NECF as a church where they can continue the good work for the poor and needy.

Then what will happen when we do the right kind of fasting? God says you will call on me and I will answer. Look at all the blessings that follow.

So the question is still this. To fast or not or fast? I will not call on your house to check on you. It is between you and God. I pray at the end of our prayer and fasting period that our church will grow stronger.

Justice and Mercy

Melinda Song at Calvary Assembly

Compared with Pastor Roland, I am very bad at networking. I have lost contact with all of my school friends but once, after many years, I attended a school reunion. As usual people have changed. Where I was concern most of my ex-school mates were amazed at my weight gain.

Believe it or not, I used to weigh only 45kg in school. If a wife is worth her weight in gold my husband’s investment in me has really appreciated over the years!

The other thing that surprised my old friends was my conversion because I used to be “anti-Christian” in school. I actually had an issue with God then. I looked around with my idealistic teenage eyes and was very upset to see all the bad things happening to good people. I became even more indignant when I looked at Christians because God was allowing those hypocrites into heaven.

One day I attended an evangelistic meeting prepared to resist Christ but God dealt with my wrong perception of His injustice when the evangelist mentioned Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” I realized that God was fair after all.

Looking back I am shocked at my audacity in accusing God of injustice. In my foolishness I didn’t realize that I needed mercy from God, not His justice.

Today I would like to share on with you my journey of faith and understanding of God’s justice and mercy.

As any parent would know, “Not fair!” is a common complaint from children, especially when they feel that someone else has gotten a better deal than they did. It is almost as if a sense of justice as fairness is woven right into our DNA.

As we look at what is happening around us, it would seem as if God is not "fair," as we measure fairness. But what we fail to realize is that God is just as He defines justice.

Justice is receiving exactly what you deserve, no more and no less. If a traffic police flags you down justice demands that you pay a fine for exceeding the speed limit, unless you ask for mercy, which the traffic police may or may not extend to you.

How often have we rejoiced when justice is served, such as when a bully gets bullied, or when a cheater gets cheated, because it is pay back time!

We believe in “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” which is a popular theme for all the sword-fighting and mafia movies. We fail to realize that this is actually God being merciful in setting limits to our vengeance because the tendency is for the avenger to end up slaughtering the whole family instead of just the perpetrator.

Similarly, we expect to receive the consequence for our actions when we do right. We want to enjoy remuneration that commensurate with our responsibilities and work done.

Justice compares our performance only against God's absolute standards of perfection, without any regard to what other people say, do, or receive. Fairness, on the other hand, measures what we receive as compared to what other people receive.

Fairness is having every person treated equally under the law, regardless of the differences in age, character, race, economic status, attitude, accomplishments, prior behavior or personal charm.

Communism is the theoretical epitome of fairness; everybody gets the same income regardless of what he or she actually contributes to the community. Fairness allows no favorites and rewards no excellence. It breeds mediocrity.

The reality is that the real world that we live in is a very unfair place. Things happen everyday to people that don't deserve it and other people get away with stuff that they shouldn't have.

So how do we reconcile the injustice we see around us with a just God?

I. ​GOD IS GOD

Isaiah 45:18 (NKJV) For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other. 19. ... I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. 21. ... there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.

Today we have lost the transcendence of God. This is a fact many of us overlook in our “I am a friend of God” culture. God as Creator of the heavens and the earth have a claim of ownership over the earth. He is sovereign and He exercises supreme power and authority over it.

The earth was created with a particular purpose. He “formed it to be inhabited”. We were part of a creation that is meant to fulfill the purpose of God.

In verse 19, God claims to speak righteousness, and to declare things that are right. As God He determines what is right and wrong. In the original polytheistic context, this passage was claiming that the true God was the only God and that…

II. ​GOD IS JUST

Justice flows from the very being of God.

Deu 32:4 (NKJV) He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.

Psalm 89:14 (NKJV) Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.

Abraham in Gen. 18:25 successfully appeals to God’s own character of righteousness when he says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham was bold enough to make this appeal because he knows that …

1. God loves justice

Justice is God’s passion.

Isaiah 61:8 (NKJV) “For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.

Justice is also God’s yardstick.

Isaiah 28:16-17 (NKJV) Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.

God hates injustice and throughout Scripture God’s heart is bent toward those who are weak, oppressed, and in danger.

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)“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 broken-hearted,
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.”

We cannot comprehend God’s justice because…

2. God's justice is not like man’s justice​

There are two problems with man’s justice.

a. We apply the principle of justice to everyone but ourselves.

We desire justice for others who do evil, but we never apply that same principle to ourselves. Rarely do we say to others, “If I hurt you, hurt me back the same way.” When people hurt us we cry out, "How could they - I want justice!" When we wound we plead, "Have mercy on me - I am only human!"

I have yet to hear a Christian pray, “Lord, when I sin against you, give me what I deserve for that sin.” No, we naturally ask for mercy.

b. Two people, regardless of how sincere, may not always agree on justice due to selfishness and the deceitfulness of the human heart.

For example, during the American Civil War the Southern states did not see anything wrong with slavery whereas the Northern states felt strongly that slavery was an injustice that must be rectified.

Unlike man, God dispenses perfect justice. God’s justice is really magnanimity, being more than fair to everybody because he is being true to himself. God makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).

This shows that besides being just…

III. ​GOD IS MERCIFUL

Mercy was and is key in his redemptive acts

Isaiah 63:9 (NKJV) In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

The wages of sin is death. Mercy is deliverance from the justice we deserve. We deserve His justice and His wrath against us in the eternal lake of fire because we have sinned against an infinitely holy God but the Bible says that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and saves us not because of anything we have done, but because of His mercy alone (Titus 3:5).

In Hebrews the throne of God is the place where mercy can be received.

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

From our perspective, it appears that God's justice and God's mercy are conflicting attributes, and that He must choose which He will ignore and which He will follow. In actual fact God does not show mercy at the expense of His justice. God has made a way that satisfies both His justice and His mercy.

Romans 3:21-26 (NKJV) But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Justice is either served through the shed blood of Christ, or justice is served through the punishment of unrepentant sinners in hell for eternity. Christ paid a debt He did not owe because we had a debt we could not pay. Because God’s wrath was satisfied and justice served, His mercy abounds for those He saves. That is justice and mercy working together.

As I look back, I realize how naïve I was when I accused God of injustice. It was so foolish of me to insist on justice when what I needed was God’s mercy.

SO WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US?

First of all, God want us to act justly and show mercy.

Micah 6:8 (NKJV) He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Isaiah 56:1 ((NIV) This is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is close at hand
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

Justice does not happen naturally. Without attention, “injustice” fills the void and God has called his people to be agents of justice and grace as we serve those in need.

God wants us to seek justice but it is something that we should seek for others more than for ourselves. We are to deny ourselves, treat each other fairly and help out everybody that you can, while we let our heavenly father be the just judge that he is and let him deal with the wrongs that are made against us.

Yes, we live in a world of injustice and oppression. Maybe you have been a victim of some form of abuse or injustice but some of greatest movements have come from those who were victims of injustice.

I have a friend who was unjustly dismissed by his boss who was a fellow Christian. He released his anger and the resentment to God and eventually forgave the brother. In hindsight he saw the as part of God’s plan to push him out of his comfort zone so that he could answer the call of God to full-time ministry.

Likewise, Joni Tada Eareckson, who became a paraplegic at 17 after a diving accident, was able to rise above the injustice of her being robbed of the active lifestyle she had and spearhead a ministry ministering to many others who are in the same circumstances.

You can make a difference in at least one personʼs life. You can have a testimony, a ministry, an influence, and an impact. Will you allow the injustices of this world to move you to action?

Recently we have a modern day depiction of the Good Samaritan. On 10 July 2012, at least five people walked past an elderly snatch theft victim who fell unconsciousness in the attack, without lifting a finger to help There was plenty of outrage over the internet. There was also lot of talk in my office but the question we ought to ask ourselves is “WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE?”

I have known such mercy and I am personally indebted to an unknown Indian man who came to my aid more than 40 years when I fainted by the roadside on the way to my friend’s house.

Secondly, God want us to receive his mercy and the free gift of salvation.

In the movie The Last Emperor, the young child anointed as the last emperor of China lives a life of luxury with 1,000 servants at his command. “What happens when you do wrong?” his brother asks. “When I do wrong, someone else is punished,” the boy emperor replies.

To demonstrate, he breaks a jar, and one of the servants is beaten. In Christianity, Jesus reversed that ancient pattern: when the servants erred, the King was punished.

The most oppressed and unjustly persecuted person that has ever lived is Jesus Christ. Yet, through His death, He has provided for us eternal life. It is a free gift and it is yours for the taking.

Believe in Christ today as your only way to heaven. He was oppressed for you; He suffered unjustly for you. Do not let His death be in vain for you.

Worship

Pastor Gideon

When I mention the word worship, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? What do you think worship is all about? Is it the one hour or 45 minutes that we take time to sing before we hear the word. Or is worship something that when I am in church that I am able to worship God or I come to church to worship God? Well, if those are your answers, I am not saying that the answers are wrong, but I would like this morning to realign some of our thinking with regards to worship. When I talk to Christians, some mature Christians, they have a different idea what worship is all about. This morning I want to make sure that we in Tabernacle of Praise have the right footing or is on the right track when we talk about worship. How many of you know the song “The Heart of Worship”?

You know the guy who wrote this song is Matt Redman. And you know this song came out of the time when the pastor of his church is trying to teach his congregation what it means to worship God. And the pastor was so radical that he wanted to make sure that the people had a right idea of worship. That you know on Sunday they would come and they would sing to God without the instruments, without songs even at a point. And that is what the pastor was doing. He wanted to teach the people the real meaning of worship. And in that course of teaching the people, Matt Redman wrote this song as he finally understood that at the end of the day after everything is said and done, everything is all about Jesus. 

It is not about the music, it is not about the songs that we sing, yes it is important. It is not about the worship leader, it is not about the selection of the songs on that morning, it is not how nice the place looks, the auditorium looks, again I want to remind you that all these are important. I want you to know that when you come to Tabernacle of Praise, I want you to experience a wonder atmosphere of worship and all these things, good instruments, good sound system, good ambience contributes to worship but that is not worship. 

Our worship to God cannot be dependent on these things. That is what Matt Redman at the end of the whole exercise that his pastor was trying to do, understood it is not about the songs, and they learn to worship God even without singing. I mean you can sing but you worship God without instruments.

This morning I want to talk to you about worship because I feel this is important for our church and the next few weeks I hope that you will never miss Sunday service because I’m going to talk to you about the very basic but fundamental truth for our church. We are going to talk about prayer and fasting coming up very soon, we going to talk about giving, talk about tithing, where does it stand with God. We are going to talk about evangelism, that God had put in my heart. I hope that you won’t miss church because I want you to hear this.

John 4:1-26
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Revelation 22:9
But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”


Now it’s kind of ironic in a sense that in the last chapter of the Bible it is to worship God, the last positive command that was given to us is to worship God. Worship is important, it is an integral part of a church, of the Christian life. You can’t be a Christian without understanding worship; you can’t be a Christian without worshiping one true God.

Background
Jesus is going from Judea to Galilee and He has to pass by this town called Samaria. And so it is a place where He takes a break, so He stop at this place, sit at the well, and the disciples had gone into town to buy food. And so, Jesus is alone. 

While He is seating by the well, came a Samaritan women. The Bible said she came at about the sixth hour, which is about 12 noon. If you are the person who wants to come to draw water, you will normally do it in the morning, not do it in the middle of the day, or probably you can do it at the end of the day but most of the people will come when it is cool, in the morning. They will come to the well to draw water because of the use for the whole day. 

But this lady, she came at about 12 noon, there is a reason that she is coming at 12 noon. She came at 12 noon because she wanted to avoid the crowd, and later on we understood why she wanted to avoid the crowd. She was not a person with a good reputation. She doesn’t want people to look at her, she was probably an outcast in the society. When she came at about 12 noon, she saw Jesus and Jesus saw her, and Jesus ask her this, "can you give me some water to drink". She replied, I am a Samaritan and you are a Jew, according to our custom and normal practice we don’t mix, we don’t talk to one another. And it is not common for a man to talk to another lady in those days directly, especially as Jesus was alone. In fact Jesus is breaking every custom or tradition in that sense back in those days.

Jesus replied, don’t worry about that and the lady said the well is deep and you have nothing to draw from the well. It is true, Jesus have nothing to draw from the well. Whenever Jesus do something, He has a purpose, therefore there is no such thing as a coincidence with Jesus. Jesus planned an appointment with this lady at the well.

Jesus began to tell her in regards to living water, telling her the water that she see in this well will only satisfy you physically for a short time. And Jesus revealing Himself to her that "if you know who you are talking to, you would ask of me, the living water that gives eternal life".

She asked Jesus a very important question, “You Jews say we must worship in Jerusalem, but Jews did not allow them. Jews said we cannot worship in their temple, and the Samaritans built their own temple in Mount Gerizim. There is a debate going on, where should you worship. Should you worship in Jerusalem, or should you worship on this mountain?

 So she asked Jesus, where should we worship? Then Jesus gave her a very radical idea, Jesus replied in verse 21, there would come a time no matter where you worship, worship is not about the place, it is not about coming to church (church is a place for corporate worship). Your worship to God cannot be limited to a place. Jesus is actually in fact telling her, worship must be a lifestyle. It must not be only just an one hour or 45 minutes when we come to church to worship God. Everything that we do, everything that we say in our workplace, at home and at college, God considers that as worship. In your giving you are also worshipping God. When you do a good deed, or kindly to someone, you stop by to help someone, it is worship to God. 

Worship must be who you are as a person. It is not limited to a place, when you are out of the church, when you driving on the road are you worshipping God? It is not putting a CD or tape, it is every conduct, every work that I receive in my workplace, in my business dealing, am I worshipping God. Back in the old days, God has the temple for the people to worship, but now God has His people for a temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is not important where we worship now; God has His people as His temple. Worship must be a lifestyle, in everything we do and in everything we say. As people see us and we are worshipping God in everything that we do and God is pleased with everything that we do. Worship is a lifestyle that continues in a person. Worship is not localized in a place. Worship must happen as a lifestyle. If we understand that worship is a lifestyle, and we come to church it won’t be a problem for us to worship.

Verse 23
Worship is when we really connect with God. Jesus is looking for a people who worship in spirit and in truth. He is looking for true worshippers. Worshipping in a way He want to be worshipped. When we come to church, Jesus should be the focus. It is all about Jesus. Whether we came in a good or bad mood, doesn’t matter who the song leader is, what songs we are singing, whether the band is playing well, the focus is on Jesus. The focus is not about what we can get out of the service, the focus is what we can bring to Him. If we worship God based on what we feel, it won’t go far. Because the focus on worship is never on us, it is about what we can bring to Him. If we know the right worship, all blessings will come and will flow, it is how it works. We come to worship for who He is. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He deserves to be worship. So the focus is not on what we can receive, the focus is on God.

We are here to be a blessing. Blessed to be a Blessing, we are bringing our worship to Him.

The Bible said, He is looking for true worshippers. Only people that can truly worship God are Christians. Because the Father is looking for true worshippers that will worship Him in spirit and in truth, in order for you to have true worship, we want to know who the Father is. Because of the relationship with Him, we are able to call Him Abba Father and because of this, we His sons and daughters are able to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

As we worship Him, blessings will follow, because this is how God works. God is looking for true worshippers who worship Him in spirit and in truth, it is beyond how we feel, what we think, it is to connect with God at spiritual level with the help of the Holy Spirit. We must worship a God of Revelation. That means, as the Bible say who He is, worshipping Him in truth. We are not worshipping a God of speculation, we are worshipping a God that reveals in the Bible. In spite of what we are going through this morning, what happens in our life, He is still sitting on the throne. We have the capability or the ability to worship Him because we are the sons and daughters of God, we can worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It must not be dependent on how we feel or how our surroundings look, it must be dependent on the fact that He is God and He deserves our praise and worship this morning.

In summary, worship is about Jesus and the focus is on Jesus. The worship team helps us to facilitate in our worship but it is not worship. Worship happens when we come before the Lord and we connect with Him at a Spiritual level and when we worship Him in spirit and in truth. One day we will try to worship God without any instruments, let’s worship God when we walk out from this church. Let's see Jesus in you.

Many thanks to Sis Esther for transcribing today's message in my absence 

and to Darren for taking the photo. They did an excellent job.