Sermon on Sunday 29 December 2019 by Pastor Justin
When I approach the new year, I like to revisit to this verse:
Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
This verse is more than counting the days or your mortality, it is more of counting how many more days before we return back to the glory of God. It is more about the value of time that we want to spend every moment to glorify God, to do His will and to please Him. Only by doing this can we obtain this heart of wisdom.
Isaiah 30:21
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
The Holy Spirit will always nudge you when you are doing something. When we hear the Holy Spirit, we must do when we are led so that we can walk by faith not by sight. We cannot walk in fear because we are the new creation and only by faith can we please God. The bible says the Holy Spirit will give you an impression to lead you so that you may walk in it. However, many Christians turn away from the instructions of the bible and any nudging of the Holy Spirit talking to you. They will walk according to their own plans and this is happening many times in the church and in the ministry. When the Holy Spirit nudge you and if you obey without any doubt, you will walk in a way that is much more effective and you will feel the power of God. To hear from the word of God, you must read the word of God. You have to renew your mind because only then can you put on a new self and put on Christ.
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
Matthew 11:15
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
Rule 1: Drink and Drive is a Deadly Mix
This is a common sign put up by the traffic police especially during the festive seasons. This campaign is an outreach to get motorist to be responsible.
Ephesians 4:20
But you have not so learned Christ,
Jesus taught us that you cannot serve 2 masters, that you must be humble and lowly and that we cannot mix 2 things together, like how we cannot mix holiness and unholiness. You are all preserved by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk righteously and Jesus gave his life to redeem us so that we may have the righteousness of God. We no longer live in our old sinful nature when we were baptised with Christ so we have a new body. In 2020, let us be sure of our calling that we are the Holy one and we walk righteously and that we will do our best to live in harmony with others. Do not mix your old sinful nature that is corruption and evil and to mix it with our own Christian walk. This is a deadly mix because some Christians can be very holy in church but outside of church, they mix it with all kinds of vices and sin and this will not do good to your soul. This will cause division and you cannot prosper as what God has planned for you. We want to reflect as we walk towards 2020 and to realign and recalibrate because we are no longer a sinner who walk habitually in sin but we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:14
Therefore He says:“Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
If we walk in the way that is not pleasing to God, this is a life in the broad way that will lead to destruction. We need to awake so that the light of Christ can shine forth in us and we can walk to the place God has destined for us.
Rule 2 – Slow down at Amber Light, stop at Red light.
At the amber light, you should slow down and get ready to stop the car. In our Christian walk, there is often no amber light and we always think its green light. We run the ministry without rest, with no family time, no devotion time and no prayer. Sometimes, we need to slow down so that we can recollect and that we can hear clearer what Holy Spirit is directing us to do. However, some Christians never recognise this amber light and will only see it as a green light and do whatever they want to do and only call to God when things do not move according to what they want.
At the red light, we need to stop. In our lives, we will face many cross-junctions like difficulties, we need to slow down so that we can see clearly and if we still need time, we need to stop. If you are not too sure, you must remember A.S.A.P (Always stop and pray).
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
When there are challenges in your ministry and you are trying to make a decision but you hear nothing, that is the answer that you should slow down and recollect your thoughts so that you may see clearly. We want to understand this very well and make sure you make this a habit. In Genesis, the first 3 words in the beginning means God must be in the beginning of our thoughts and decisions because this will give us effectiveness as a servant of God. If you have God in Genesis 1:1 and Jesus in John 1:1, that is a wonderful mix in having both God and Jesus when you acknowledge both of them in all situations so that They may direct your path.
Rule 3 – Green light go, Red light stop
This is a simple biblical truth. Green light is when you God wants you to do something like to forgive someone or to bless someone, do not hesitate but go and do good. When you see someone with a problem and you have a burden to pray, that is a green light to go. If you stop at a green light, it’s because of your pride that you do not go. If you have a temptation to be angry or to sin, that is a red light so you have to stop. If you see a green light but you do not go, that is a hindrance to your own Christian life. The same applies for red lights, do not let yourself fall into sin and temptation and always recognise these red lights and stop and make sure you do no sin further. These lights will be a way that God will use to direct and guide you to maneuver through life and the challenges you face.
Isaiah 30:1
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;
You will keep seeking counsel of your own and continue sinning if you do not obey the simple principle of green light go and red light stop.
Rule 4 – Don’t be distracted when you drive
Do not be distracted in the church so do not be affected by what others say of you as long as you please God.
Galatians 1:10
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
On this earth, we only need to make peace with people but we only need to please God. We do not need to please men. Instead of aiming to please others, we should learn to bless them. If someone criticises you strongly, offer a prayer and love him rather than returning anger with anger or trying to please the men by lowering your standard that you no longer please God. With all humility, we must learn to live in unity with others but if someone quotes a wrong doctrine from the bible, you must learn to not please men and accept the teaching but correct him or her so that you may please God and be a bondservant of Christ.
Rule 5 – Stay in your lane when you drive. Keep your eye to the front
We have the Holy Spirit in everything we do and it will nudge us if we are doing something wrong. It is guiding us in every moment of our life but you too must do your part by continuing to persevere and walk in the narrow road. Fix your eyes on Jesus so that you may walk in a way that is pleasing to God. It is a grace upon us that we can walk on the narrow road. When a flower blooms, it will always look up to the sun and when birds chirp, they will always do so by looking up. We must learn to be like them, we need to look to God.
Proverbs 3:7
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
The keyword is that if you fear the Lord, you will always obey Him and it will be difficult to be prideful because this is the beginning of wisdom. Doing this will help you fix your eyes on God.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
We need to walk properly by minding our own business. If you are a busybody, that is not pleasing to God because this mean we are walking in a disorderly manner as the scriptures have shown.
Let us not drive slowly and drag our way along this journey. Always remember the simple rules, to stop and pray if you need and to go when you see a green light. Do not get distracted by what you see and hear but you are only moved by the word of God. Whatever you pay attention to will change your mind so make sure you focus only on what is important, not on the opinions and criticisms of other people. This is a battleground and our Christian life is about battling and racing.
Romans 12:11
not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
When you see a green light, you must move forward quickly but make sure you must follow the will of God and continue doing what God wants you to do without any fear. When Moses was leading the congregation at the red sea, there was no through road. The rest of the congregation were panicking including Moses even though God already told Moses to not worry. In the bible, when Moses was desperate and anxious, God told Moses “move forward” and this word has impacted me a lot. In life, even though we do not see the end product, every step we take God will be leading us and telling us to move forward as he directs our path just as how he directed Moses and opened a way for him. In 2020, this is the same attitude we need to have to always run the race and move forward without any fear but having complete trust in the Lord.
We are called to pray unceasingly and this is in the form of thanksgiving or praising. These are all prayers that we acknowledge God that He is in the beginning with us and that we will always be driving in the narrow road that leads to life.
Proverbs 18:9
He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
Do not tear anyone down or discourage others. Everyone has a different function in the body of Christ so we cannot come up to someone and to always criticise. We need to come in and do things together as a body of Christ. If we just criticise, we are busybodies. With these rules in mind, we can now drive at full speed in this race of life so that we may win the heavenly prize.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
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