Work is Good (Genesis 2:4-15)

I preached this sermon on April 16th at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on Work. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Genesis 2:4-15 (NIV)

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

⁸Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Opening Prayer

“Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Introduction

For the average person who lives to the age of 80, you would spend close to 26 years sleeping (cumulatively), 13 years working, 4.5 years eating, and just 1 year in primary and secondary school (combined)! Surprised?

13 years of our life working … We spend a lot of our lives at work! And when we look closer to home, we find that we in Singapore are among the hardest workers in the world.

Singapore ranks as one of the top 5 most overworked countries, just behind Japan and Hong Kong. Many work more hours than the Ministry of Manpower’s stipulated 44 hours, and now because of work from home arrangements, and the fact that we’re always connected to technology – it’s even easier to work extra hours too.

Thus, for many of us, work is a big part of our lives and fills up our waking hours. We therefore need to be able to learn to look at work from a Biblical perspective, and for the next few weeks, we will dive into the topic of work and Christianity in the marketplace.

As I begin, I would like to also acknowledge that one helpful book on the topic of work is “Revolutionary Work” written by the Rev William Taylor of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London. His thoughts have guided me even in preparing this sermon.

For today, we consider the topic “Work is Good”. Here’s my outline:

Work is good because …

… God works and gives our work meaning
… God rules over us and our work
… God provides for us through our work

1. Work is good because God works and gives our work meaning

Genesis 1 and 2 tell us about how God created the universe – the heavens and the earth. However, each of the creation accounts are slightly different and we may ask, “Why are there two accounts of creation?”

On closer study, we notice that in Genesis 1, God creates by speaking.

We read, “And God said… let there be… and there was” repeated at least 8 times in chapter 1. God creates by giving a command or decree, and the process of creation happens.

But when we come to Genesis 2, we notice that God creates by getting his hands dirty. He gets actively involved in the process of creation. As we consider Genesis 2:4, 7-9 notice the instances where God works and gets his hands dirty:

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. …

⁷ Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

⁸ Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

⁹The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. …

God works – he makes, he forms, he breathes life, he plants, he puts – He is a worker. Jesus Himself said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” (John 5:17)

Work is good because God works and gives our work meaning.

And because humans are created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26-27), we also work. As we work, we reflect God’s image – he works and we work too. Work is part of who we are. Humans have an innate desire to work – to create, to build, to organize.

Last year, my wife and I bought a resale apartment and we needed to have renovation work done. We spent hours (over many meetings!) with an interior designer to talk about what style we wanted our home to have – minimalist, industrial, luxury, Scandinavian, Japanese (Muji), or a bit of both (Japandi!).

It was a detailed and thorough process, and we worked through what we felt were hundreds of options ranging from flooring, wall paint colors, doors, bathroom and kitchen design, built-in cabinets, blinds,curtains, furniture and so on. It was hard work indeed but worth it.

Earlier this year, we finally settled into our new home after several months of renovation work (view from house!). We were thankful and satisfied by the finished product – the house came together beautifully and was transformed into a cozy and comfortable refuge we can call our own, with our own touches seen throughout the home.

I’m sure all of us have felt a certain joy, satisfaction and sense of achievement for work done well, don’t we? When we cook a nice dish, master a piece of music, write an article, take a beautiful photo, finish up a project, successfully assemble an IKEA furniture (that’s me!), clean up the house, organize the store room, etc … We feel happy about our work.

And this points to the fact that work is good and is given meaning by God.

The Bible teaches that all work is good and meaningful except for work that is illegal or sinful (e.g. being a thief, drug dealer, or prostitute). Nowhere in the Bible does it say that one kind of work is better than another. It’s wrong to think that some kind of work has higher value than others.

But we live in a culture that has elitist and utilitarian tendencies (what do I mean?):

Elitist = Measuring people by how smart, successful, or accomplished they are
Utilitarian = Measuring people by the value they give us (or by what we can get out of them) and not seeing them as people

We sometimes think that a manual laborer has less meaningful work than for example, a doctor, or politician. We sometimes say, “Better study hard, work hard – or else you’ll be a road sweeper, garbage collector, butcher, etc)” … it’s dangerous to let that become our worldview and think of some jobs as better than others.

I admit it’s been difficult for myself too. I am tempted to be elitist or utilitarian too.

With my PHD I could have been a scientist, professor, researcher or consultant. Why go to Bible school, get a meager allowance and become a pastor? What a waste!

But I realized that it’s wrong to consider certain jobs superior to others – that having a higher salary or more academic achievements is better than those with less.

Jesus was a carpenter, most of his disciples were fishermen, David was a shepherd, and Paul was a tentmaker. We shouldn’t judge people by their job, or look down on those that don’t work or can’t work – for example, the unemployed, the retired, the housewife / house-husband, or those with illnesses or disabilities.

We should also not elevate the work of those who work in the church, or pastors and missionaries, as being better than other kinds of jobs. Martin Luther, the 16^th-century reformer wrote,

…the works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks…

Luther also says that we respond to the call to love our neighbor by fulfilling the duties associated with our everyday work.

All work is good and meaningful before God. We work because God works – and we’re made in his image. Thank God for the chance to work! Even on the days when you feel like it’s a grind or you wish you were in another job, thank God for your current job!

So, work is good because God works and gives our work meaning.

2. Work is good because God rules over us and our work

To understand that God rules over us and our work, we need to take a look at Genesis 1:26-27,

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Here we see that God made humans in his own image, and for what reason? It was so that we may rule over creation (v26).

However, we are not the ultimate rulers of the universe. God is. We rule, but only under God’s rule. We are answerable to God in how we rule. We act as God’s stewards, and He has entrusted us with the immense task of ruling under him.

God rules over us and our work.

And what was the work given to Adam and Eve?

Genesis 2:15 tells us that

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

Adam and Eve were entrusted with ruling over creation and were assigned work by God. Their work was to tend, maintain and care for the garden of Eden. They were working under God’s rule and accountable to Him.

Please note that work came before the Fall; work is not something that came as a result of sin! Work is in God’s original plan of creation, and Work is ordained by God for humankind. What sin did was to make work difficult, frustrating and painful…more on that in next week’s sermon – “Work is Tough”!

We are ultimately answerable to God in our work, and we work under his rule. The apostle Paul says we work for the Lord not for human masters. He writes in Colossians 3:23-24,

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Paul is telling us, “Look beyond your earthly bosses to your ultimate heavenly boss – God. You’re to work with all your heart because you’re serving Jesus.”

Ultimately, we are accountable to God for our work and the way we work. And hence, we are to work knowing that we are serving Him, and not just our earthly bosses, managers, clients, customers, patients, or stakeholders.

We must also believe that God, in his sovereignty, has put us in our places of work, and entrusted us with His work.

1 Corinthians 7:17 says, “each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.”

God assigns you to work in a certain place.

God in his sovereignty has placed me to work here in St. George’s Church, and this is the place he wants me to serve him in. So far, by God’s grace, I’ve worked here for about a year and 4 months.

So far, it’s been a wonderful place to work and serve in, with amazing colleagues and caring church leaders and members. Thank you for helping me feel so welcome and loved here! Generally, work is smooth and enjoyable, but I must confess that there are some days when work gets challenging – some days when the work is tiring and dreary – but I remind myself that work is good, my work has meaning, and that I’m working for the Lord.

God the ruler has assigned me this place of work (until he calls me elsewhere). I’m ultimately answerable to him for my work.

This ties in with the first point – about how work is good and that God gives meaning to our work. He has sovereignly placed us in different places of work, and his concern is that we work as to Him, being answerable to Him.

Hence, how we go about our work – our character, our attitude, our morals, our witness – is more important to God than what we work as or where we work. All work has meaning to Him.

Work is good because God rules over us and our work.

And because God rules over us and our work, we are accountable to Him for how we work, and we have a responsibility before God.

But not only do we have a responsibility to God, we have a responsibility to ourselves and others also. And this brings me to the last point.

3. Work is good because God provides for us through our work

We trust that God will provide for our daily needs – but we don’t need to be super spiritual about this, thinking God will miraculously drop food and money from the sky. Often he provides for us through giving us jobs that allow us to earn a salary by which we put food on the table, and pay for the necessities of life.

We need to work in order to provide for ourselves and our families. This is right. No shame in this. We need to earn a salary in order to survive. And to earn a salary, we need to work.

Let’s listen to Apostle Paul’s stern instruction on the importance of working to feed ourselves and others in 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12. He says,

⁷… We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

⁹ We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

¹¹ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹²Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

There were some Christians in Thessalonica who were only concerned with the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ. And they thought, since Jesus is coming again, why bother working? They idled around, becoming busybodies, and a disruption to others.

Paul told them off. He asked them to model and imitate his example and that of his coworkers. Paul and his team worked hard (he says night and day) to pay for their own expenses. And in the same way, they didn’t want the Thessalonian church members to be idle, but to work. He says, “Work to put food on your table…if you don’t work, you don’t eat!” Paul is being realistic, practical, and responsible – we need to work and earn a salary to put food on our table and clothes on our bodies.

It’s not wrong to work for a salary. God in his grace, provides us with work, so that we can care for ourselves and others, especially for our family. In fact, we have a responsibility to work to provide for our family. 1 Timothy 5:8 says,

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

But what about those who can’t work? The Bible clearly says that we who can work, are to care for those who can’t. We can use our resources to care for others. Here are two verses that speak of providing for others with our resources:

At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. (2 Cor 8:14)

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world … ¹⁸ to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (1 Tim 6:17-18)

Importantly, we work to provide for God’s work in the spread of the gospel, as we give to the church, missions and world evangelization. The Philippian church partnered Paul in the gospel, and one way they did this practically was by giving financially to support him and his ministry. We see that in Philippians 4:15-19.

¹⁵Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;

¹⁶for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. … [Your gifts] are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

Work is good because God provides for us through our work. We work to provide for ourselves, for our families, for those in need, and so that we can invest in God’s kingdom work.

Conclusion

Why is work good?

Work is good because God works and gives our work meaning.
- We’re made in His image – and because he works, we work. He gives meaning to all our work.
Work is good because God rules over us and our work.
- What’s more important than what we do for work, is how we do our work.
- We are to recognise that ultimately, we are working for the Lord as our boss. He has entrusted us with the immense task of working under him and in his sovereignty has assigned us to different places of work.
Work is good because God provides for us through our work
- God in his grace provides us with work so that we can put food on the table, care for ourselves and our families, give to people in need and give to God’s kingdom work.

Actions for this week as you head to work, paid or unpaid…

Thank God for your job! Your work has meaning.
Recognise that your ultimate boss is God. Work as to the Lord, with all your heart. Work with the right character, attitude and actions that would please him… he watches your work and knows everything!
Thank God for your job that has a salary to provide for yourself and family and others. There may be others who may be unemployed, can’t work, or struggling to make ends meet. Who is God calling you to be generous to?

Closing prayer

Let’s pray:

Father God,

We thank you for your Word today. You are a worker, and you’ve shown us that work is good. Thank you for giving meaning to our work.

Forgive us for the times we may have looked down on those doing humble work. Help us to be grateful for the privilege of working, and to appreciate the immense privilege there is in working ultimately for you.

Thank you for providing for us through our jobs, and open our eyes and hearts so that we can be generous to share with others who are in need – in practical ways. Also, help us give generously to the work of the Gospel.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Living as Pilgrims (Genesis 47:1-12)

I preached this sermon on February 5th, 2023, at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on the life of Joseph. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Genesis 47:1-12 (NIV)

Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” ²He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”

“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”

⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed^[a] Pharaoh, ⁸Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹²Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

Opening Prayer

“Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Introduction

Have you ever had the experience of living, for a season, in another country?

I think of the time I lived in my own studio flat in Nottingham, while on student exchange. It was just a short time of about 2 months.

I’m sure many of you here have experienced living away from home, in another country for much longer periods of times than me, years, or decades even.

I think of the many here who come to Singapore to work. You have to rent a place to live in (that was true of my wife, Yvonne, who came here from Malaysia to work – she rented a place until we got married and moved into our own place).

And a rental place in a foreign country – it isn’t home. It’s a temporary “home” away from home. This may be true of many of you here.

And I wonder if during your time away from home, did you ever experience feelings of homesickness? Did you ever miss home and desire to be back there – with family, friends, in familiar surroundings? Or do you feel homesick, if you’re currently living away from home right now?

What do you call someone who is living away from home, in another country?

We could use the term immigrant, or refer to you as an expatriate. Or generally, a foreigner. The Bible uses the terms pilgrim or sojourner to describe someone who resides temporarily in a place. It carries the idea of someone who journeys from place to place.

And for a pilgrim or sojourner, there’s the common idea that where you are is not your home. This was true of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – they were sojourners/ pilgrims. They lived in a land not their own, always moving, always traveling.

What does that have to do with us?

It’s the big idea that every Christian is a sojourner or pilgrim.

As Christians, we too are sojourners or pilgrims in this world and this world isn’t truly our home. God has promised us a heavenly home, and that is our true home – the home that we eagerly wait for in faith and hope.

Context

Before we look at today’s passage, I’ll provide some context of the story so far.

In Genesis 45, we read of Joseph’s big reveal – he made himself known to his brothers.Joseph sent his brothers home to his father, Jacob, to tell him the good news that he was alive. Joseph requested that Jacob bring their entire family to live in Egypt, for there was food there. The famine was severe in the rest of the nations, and would continue to be severe for the next five years.

At the end of Genesis 45, we read that Joseph’s brothers tell their father the good news that Joseph, the son he thought dead, was alive after more than 20 years! Jacob was stunned and he did not believe them at first. But he was convinced and his spirit was revived. He decided to go down to Egypt to see Joseph before he died.

In chapters 46-48, we will read about Jacob’s journey to Egypt and his reunion with Joseph. We will also learn that Jacob asked that he not be buried in Egypt, but in the land of Canaan – as part of his hope in God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and himself of land.

Jacob saw his life as a pilgrimage and waited expectantly for a heavenly home. He teaches us what it means to live as a pilgrim here on earth.

Sermon

In the Scripture read earlier, Genesis 47:1-12, we read that Joseph brought his brothers and his father Jacob to have an audience with Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. Let’s focus on verses 7-9, where we listen in on Jacob’s conversation with Pharaoh.

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”

Jacob was a very old man at that time – he was 130 years old! But it’s not that old, considering that his grandfather Abraham died at 175 and his father Isaac died at 180! Jacob would live another 17 years.

And how does Jacob describe his life? He calls it “my pilgrimage”. Or in some translations (such as the English Standard Version), “my sojourning”. He viewed his life as being a foreigner residing in countries not his home.

Not only does Jacob view his own life as a pilgrimage, he viewed his forefathers’ lives as pilgrimages also.

In Genesis 12, God had promised Abraham, “To your offspring I will give this land.” – the land of Canaan. God repeated this years later, telling Abraham, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

But Abraham died not receiving the promised land.

Abraham’s son, Isaac, also received the promise of land. In Gen 26:3 God told Isaac, “To you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.”

But Isaac died not receiving the land.

And then, we have Jacob.

Early in Jacob’s life, God appeared to him in a dream at Bethel. (Remember the one with a stairway resting on earth and angels going up and down on it?) God promised him,

“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.” (Gen 28:13)

And many years later, God reaffirmed the promise of land. He told Jacob:

“The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” (Gen 35:12)

And now Jacob was asked by his son Joseph to leave this land that God had promised on oath to give him and his descendants and head to Egypt. Was going to Egypt part of God’s plan?

Yes, it was, and that’s why God spoke to Jacob in a vision at night, saying,

“Jacob! Jacob! I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

(Gen 46:2-4)

God promised to be with him on this pilgrimage, and Jacob thus went to Egypt, trusting that it was in God’s will. God would keep his promise to make him a great nation, and also promised that one day, he would bring him back again.

We too, have the assurance of God’s presence with us always during our pilgrimage here on earth. In the heartaches, hardships, and uncertainty of our pilgrim lives, Jesus is our shepherd guiding us through all seasons.

David understood this, for he declared in faith:

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps 23:4)

This is God’s promise – he will be with us always on our pilgrimage. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Jacob thus went down to Egypt, and lived in the “best part of the land” of Egypt – in Goshen. He was comfortable, satisfied, in a time of famine, and certainly blessed. Yet he never thought of Egypt as his home. He saw himself as a pilgrim in Egypt. Home for him was the land of Canaan promised by God.

We see that in Jacob’s instructions to Joseph at the end of Genesis 47.

²⁹When the time drew near for Israel (Jacob) to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness.

Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he said. (Genesis 47:29-30)

Jacob recognized that he was a pilgrim in Egypt, and wanted to be buried in the land God promised on oath. He would be there, whether dead or alive! Such was his desire to be an heir of God’s promise.

Jacob died, not possessing the promise of land.

Hebrews 11:9-13 sheds light on this fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived as pilgrims – strangers and foreigners on earth. They died not inheriting the promises of God.

⁹ By faith (Abraham) made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. …

¹³All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

Jacob knew he was a pilgrim, and in the same way, we are to realize and remember that we are pilgrims here on earth and this world is not our home.

It can be especially hard to view ourselves as pilgrims here on earth when life is good and we’re blessed abundantly. Jacob lived in the best part of land – yet he knew it was not his home. He had food in abundance in a time of severe famine – yet Jacob knew he was but a pilgrim there.

How does knowing we’re pilgrims on earth impact the way we live?

How does recognizing that “this world is not my home, I’m just a passing through” change the way we live?

Yesterday, I spoke to a Life Group Leader who told me that he had left instructions to his family after his death, to cremate and scatter his remains in the sea. He didn’t want to have his ashes interred in a niche or columbarium, because he wanted to point people to the fact that his home is in heaven. Jacob and Joseph wanted to be buried in the Promised land. And the promised land for all believers is heaven.

Knowing you’re a pilgrim encourages us to face death boldly, knowing that at the end of our lives here, we reach our promised land – heaven.

Knowing you’re a pilgrim encourages us to be generous with our money and possessions, not storing up treasures on earth but in heaven.

Knowing we’re all pilgrims encourages us to have a community (of pilgrims) – Life Group, friends, etc. to journey together as we head for heaven. As Paul tells Timothy, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Tim 2:22)

We must realize we are pilgrims here on earth and this world is not our home, heaven is. We’re on this pilgrimage from this world to the next.

We wait eagerly for our heavenly home, trusting in God’s promises. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died not having received the promises of God, but they had faith that God would keep his promise!

// You may ask the question,

“Did God keep his promise of land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?”

Yes, he did. But it was centuries later. God had warned Abraham that his descendants would suffer greatly before they possessed the land.

¹³Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. … ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here …” (Genesis 15:13-16)

Jacob knew God’s promise to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan (see Gen 28: 13-15, and 35:11-12). He trusted that God would fulfill his Word, and he wanted to be buried in the land of Promise. Jacob trusted that God would be with his descendants and take them back to the land promised to them (to give it to them as a possession). This was eventually fulfilled 400-450 years later (as we read Exodus through Joshua).

Joseph, likewise, shows his faith and hope that God would fulfill his word in giving them the land of Canaan. Genesis 50:24-25

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

And thus, Joseph too, wanted them to bury him in that land when the time God came to their aid. This would be close to 400 years later – Exodus 13:19 (his bones carried out of Egypt) by Moses and the Israelites. Joseph was eventually buried at Shechem in the land of Canaan (Joshua 24:32)

It took time, but God kept his promises to fulfill his covenant. We, like the patriarchs, are to trust in God, knowing in faith that he will keep all his promises.

Do you remember God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3?

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The blessing of Abraham was ultimately fulfilled in his seed, one of his descendants – Jesus. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus brought salvation to everyone on earth throughout history, and brought blessing to all nations.

⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. …

¹⁴(Christ) redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal 3:8-14)

God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were fulfilled fully in Jesus Christ! And not only that, Jesus makes promises to us, 21st-century pilgrims too.

Jesus promises to be with us throughout the entirety of our pilgrimage from earth to heaven, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Not only that, Jesus promises that he will bring us to our promised land – heaven. I pray it will bring you immense comfort and encouragement.

[Jesus said],¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)

Listen again to the words of Hebrews 11:10-16 which says,

[Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were] looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

What city is this that God has prepared? The answer is in Revelation 21.

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’

or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

This city, the New Jerusalem, is our true home. This is the place God has prepared. This is where we will live with all the pilgrims from all of history – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all the saints, and all who have died in the faith.

Closing Prayer

For those who do not know Jesus yet – I pray that you may receive him as your Lord and Savior – otherwise, your destination is eternal damnation – shut out from the presence of God.

You may use this prayer to receive Christ as your savior.

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me.

I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness.

I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead.

I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life.

I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour.

In Your Name. Amen.”

Heavenly Father,

We recognize that we’re all pilgrims here on earth, and thank you that in Christ our destination is heaven.

Thank you that you’ve prepared a place for us, and promised that during our pilgrimage here on earth, that you’re always with us, through dangers, toils and snares.

Help us journey with our fellow pilgrims, spurring one another on to love and good deeds as we see the Day approaching.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen

At Just the Right Time (Galatians 4:4-5)

I preached this sermon on December 25th Christmas Day 2022 at Saint George’s Church. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Galatians 4:4-5(NIV)

⁴But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Opening Prayer

“Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Introduction

I’m going to play a video for all of you here. However, for those joining us on Live Stream, my apologies that we can’t show you the video for copyright reasons. What we can do is to provide you with a link to access it on Youtube. You can pause this Live stream, go watch the video at the link (https://tinyurl.com/endgameXmas) provided up till the 1m13 mark, and then come back to the Live Stream.

(Play Avengers: Endgame snipped Avengers Endgame (2019) – Snip .mp4 extracted from Youtube 1 min 13 secs)

That’s a scene out of the movie, “Avengers: Endgame” – one of the top grossing movies of all time, with close to US$2.8 billion in global ticket sales. And I love that show – watching all 3 hours of it – not once, but twice! For those that know me, I hardly ever watch movies in a cinema, as I prefer just pausing halfway on Netflix, as I don’t like to have to sit so long.

So that says something about Avengers:Endgame. It’s captivating not just because of the incredible CGI graphics or immense battles, but because of the riveting story plot that’s being played out – the last installment in a trilogy of Avenger films (~ lasting about 8 hours), culminating with Avengers: Endgame.

And as the story builds up to a climax, there’s this dramatic scene where Doctor Strange looks at Iron Man and raises one finger.

What does that mean? And what does that have to do with today’s Christmas message? Listen in, and you will see a surprising connection.

We all love good stories, and we need to know that human history is a story. Like any good story, it has a beginning, middle, climax, and ending.

And the Bible is a story of how our human history looks like, as told from God’s eyes. He, the author of this book of history, stands outside of time, and sees beginning to end. And only when we know this complete story, will we be able to see how Christmas fits into this entire timeline.

So let me present to you the story of human history, from the Bible, in 6 parts (Acts). I’ve adapted this slightly from Tony Payne’s Two Ways to Live gospel tract.

Creation – God created the universe and all that’s in it, including planet earth. And he created human beings. It was perfect. Because He made the world, God is the ruler and king, and he meant for humans to rule his good world under Him, giving him honor, praise and thanks.

(But we see that this isn’t the world we know it to be. Our world is messed up, what happened?)

Sin – However, the first humans on earth rebelled against God, rejecting his rule. This rebellion is called sin. Sin is about wanting to run our own lives our own way. And this is true of every human being that’s walked the face of this earth, including you and me.

(And the question is, what’s God gonna do about our rebellion against him?)

Judgment – God is holy and righteous, and therefore, cannot coexist with sin. Sin and rebellion must be punished. And rebellious humans face death and judgment – eternal separation from God’s presence because of our sin.

(That’s terrible news, it means we’re in big trouble. But thankfully that’s not the end of the story.)

Jesus Came – Because of His love for us, God sent his son into the world – the man Jesus Christ. And this is what we celebrate every Christmas, Jesus coming to us, as a human, just like us. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, and then took our punishment by dying in our place on the cross. He paid the price for the judgment that was intended for our sin.

(But that’s not all. Jesus didn’t stay as a dead man in a grave.)

Jesus’ Resurrection – God raised Jesus to life again from the dead! And because of that Jesus is the ruler and judge of the world. He has conquered death, and brings forgiveness and new life.

Jesus’ Return – One day, we don’t know when, Jesus will return to earth as judge. That will be the end of history as we know it. God will restore everything to perfection, wiping out sin. Those who reject Jesus will face eternal separation from God. (God respects your choice, and never overrides your free will. So if you reject him now, he’s gonna let you reject him for eternity!) But for those who believe in Jesus, they receive forgiveness, new life and are forever in the presence of God himself.

That’s the story of human history as presented by the Bible. And so, in the Bible reading earlier, we heard these words, taken from Galatians 4:4-5,

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

“But when the fullness of time had come.” What does this mean? It means that God sent Jesus, his son, into the world at exactly the right time in human history.

At the first Christmas, God sent his son Jesus to be born as a human baby – it was the right time.

Romans 5:6-8 says,

⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Some of you may ask, “But isn’t there some other way? Did Jesus really have to be born a baby and die 30 plus years later on the cross for our sins? Can’t God just forgive our sins without Jesus having to die on our behalf?”

The answer is simple – that’s the only way for humanity to be saved.

And so, back to the clip from Avenger’s Endgame, do you remember how Dr Strange raised a finger to Iron Man?

In an earlier movie “Avengers: Infinity War”, Dr Strange used the Time Stone to view alternate futures, and told them he’d seen 14,000,605 of them, but with only one where they would win (by defeating the supervillain Thanos).

And in Avengers: Endgame, all the good guys battled Thanos and his bad guys in a final epic battle. But Thanos seemed to be still too powerful to defeat. That was when Dr Strange stared Tony Stark aka Iron Man directly in the eye and raised a finger.

Strange was essentially communicating, “This is it, Tony. This is the one chance in 14 million. And you’re the one to make it happen.”

Tony knew it was the only way to save the universe, and he used the Gauntlet’s power to destroy Thanos and the evil forces. But he heroically died because of the toll the Gauntlet and the use of the Infinity Stones had on his already wounded body.

One way to save the universe. One man’s sacrifice of his life.

And how does this connect with the story of human history?

God created the world, and made choices that ordered the world that we live in. And he can only act within the way he has ordered and ordained the world, according to his character.

Just writing off our sins would be impossible – because it would go against his character – His holiness and justice. Sin must be judged. It must be paid for, whether by us, or by Jesus.

And hence, God, himself, the author of human history, inserted himself into the story. He became one of the characters in the story!

The story had been messed up till that point because of human rebellion and sin, and the only way – the ONE and only way (not 1 in 14 million) – to satisfy God’s plan of salvation for all humans was for God himself to suffer the punishment of sin himself.

Only then would the holy, just and righteous requirements that God ordained be fulfilled and the fate of the human race put right.

It was that ONE way to save us. And God did it out of love.

God in his love, stepped into his own story.

He became like one of us, in the man Jesus, and lived the perfect life we couldn’t. He died on the cross, taking the infinite magnitude of our sins upon himself. Sins from all of human history – past, present and future upon himself.

One way to save the universe. One man’s sacrifice of his life.

And God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

How do we know? Because God raised his son, Jesus from the dead. Meaning his sacrifice was accepted by God. And now God was raising him to ruler and judge of the world!

That’s the story of Christmas. Where God himself stepped into the story of human history in order to save us in the person of Jesus.

That was the One and Only way.

As Galatians 4:4-5 says,

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

One way. One sacrifice at just the right time, so that by believing in Jesus Christ, you may be forgiven of your sins, and become sons and daughters of God.

“The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

Let’s pray together.

Closing Prayer

Jesus came as a human being in order to save us from our sins, and to grant us forgiveness. We become sons and daughters of God.

If you would like to make the decision to believe in Jesus, you can do so right now by repeating this prayer after me (words on screen).

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you love me. I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead.

I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.

In Your Name. Amen.”

(If you said this prayer, please speak to a Christian friend, pastor, LG leader, or use the Connect Card so we can pray for you, help you grow in this new life in Christ.)

Let’s continue in prayer – as I pray for all of us.

“Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love for us. That in your love, you sent your one-and-only Son Jesus into the world, as a human baby. You stepped into this story of human history – knowing that this was the one and only way to save humanity from their sins. And Jesus sacrificed his life, by dying on the cross, taking our sins, punishment and judgment upon himself.

How could we ever thank you enough Oh God? Help us Holy Spirit of God to live as sons and daughters of God, living holy, righteous and lives of love for you and for our fellow man.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

Who’s Really in Charge (James 4:13-5:6)

I preached this sermon on October 16th 2022 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on the Letter of James. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

James 4:13-5:6 (NIV)

¹³Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. ²Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. ⁴Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ⁵You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

Opening Prayer

“Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Introduction

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Plan your work, then work your plan.”

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

I’m sure we’ve heard these quotes before, which say that planning is important.

And like it or not, we plan from a young age and continue planning all our lives.

As a child, we plan how to make a card for our parents.

In school, we plan our courses, classes, extra-curricular activities and so on. We plan where to study, where to intern, how to write our CV, how to ace that interview, and so on.

We plan for our relationships. We plan – our dates – the what, where, when and how! (Plus planning what to wear) And at some point, we may even plan for the proposal, housing, renovations, wedding and marriage (like me now haha).

At work, planning is a must. Setting goals, sales targets, marketing strategies, mergers & acquisitions, staffing – hiring/firing, salaries, conferences, sales pitches, etc.

We plan for our holidays, for our finances, for our retirement, our health needs, for our families, our parents, our spouse, our children…

We plan, and plan, and plan.

And James has a word for all of us who make plans. He also has a word for how we use our money. And he calls us to listen! Pay attention.

In James 4:13-5:6, notice the words “now listen” that James uses twice, in 4:13 and then in 5:1. James is addressing two groups of people.

The first group James addresses in chapter 4 verses 13 to 16, were business people. And the second group in chapter 5 verses 1 to 6, were rich people.

*Note that James isn’t condemning all business people or rich people – but rather, those who were living in a double-minded, sinful manner.

What do I describe them as double-minded?

First, they believed that God is in charge of their lives, yet made plans as if they were in charge (as if they’re God!)

Second, they believed that God was in charge of their money and cared about how they used it, yet acted as if they weren’t accountable to God.

And that’s being double-minded. And we’re just as prone to be double-minded today.

It means we may know the truth, yet live contrary to it. For example, we know that God is in charge and in control of our lives, yet we act as if we’re self-sufficient and independent of him.

Or we know that God cares about how we use our money, that we are to love our neighbors and care for the poor, yet act as if we don’t really care about what God expects of us.

And that’s being double-minded.

Thus, we’re confronted with the challenging, soul searching question:

Who’s really in charge of your life and your money? God or you?

Here’s my outline for today:

Who’s Really In Charge of Your Life? (4:13-17)
Who’s Really In Charge of Your Money? (5:1-6)

1.Who’s Really In Charge of Your Life? (4:13-17)

James calls us to pay attention.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” (James 4:13)

Who is he addressing?

He’s talking to merchants – people who were involved in business, who were making plans for overseas business ventures to create profits.

They were so confident in their plans and eventual success that they boasted about it. Look at verse 16.

As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

The verb “to boast” is generally used in the New Testament in a good sense – to express one’s joy in something, for example, to boast in our hope in God. But here, boasting is evil because it arises from arrogance.

Here the word for arrogant is rather unique. It’s used only one other time in the Bible, in 1 John 2:16, where it’s translated as the “pride of life”.

So James is calling out the sin of certain people who were acting in pride and arrogance. They operated with the assumption that they could control (v13 again)

… when they wanted to go – “today or tomorrow”.

… where they wanted to go – “to this or that city”

… how long they would stay – “spend a year there”

… the results – “carry on business, and make money”.

They were arrogant and proud, boasting and bragging about their ability to make plans, and having control over their lives and destinies.

(And this kind of talk doesn’t sound very out of place in conversations today! I think of entrepreneurs seeking venture capital, or friends at high-school reunions…)

But what’s wrong here? Is God against planning or making profits?

No, he isn’t.

Elsewhere in the Bible, we are told to be good stewards of the resources he’s given us. We’re also instructed to count the costs – do the sums, plan properly – before we embark on something.

But there’s a problem when we make plans without taking God into account. When we act as if we’re God, and in charge of our lives – when it should really, be him in charge.

We need to see the truth and reality of our lives, that we have no control over it! Life is fragile and transient. We simply must depend on God for everything in life!

Look at verse 14.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

We can have our head in the clouds, thinking up short, mid and long term goals, but James grabs us by the ankles and pulls us crashing to the cold hard earth of reality – Truth – you don’t even know what will happen in the next 24 hours.

Or to take it further, what’s going to happen in the next hour? Or the next minute or the next second? Do you really know?

Our lives are like a mist – a vapor – like the condensation you see when you exhale in cold weather. It’s here, and then it’s gone the next instant.

And we’re reminded of James’ warning in chapter 1:10-11

But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

We won’t last even the next moment if not for God sustaining us, keeping our hearts beating, allowing us to take another breath of air, giving us life.

He could decide to end our lives in an instant. And so, our lives, our tomorrows, our abilities, our future – it all depends on God.

The truth is that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We can’t brag about the certainty of our plans as we can’t predict our lives.

And we’re being double-minded when we believe that God is in control of our lives YET living as if we are in control of it.

We shouldn’t make plans as if we were self-sufficient, independent of God, and in control of our lives.

What then should be our response? James 4:15 says,

Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.

We need humility to understand and admit that all our tomorrows, lives, and abilities, are purely a gift of God’s grace.

This is in line with what we’ve seen earlier in James 4:6-10 that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” We’re to “Submit ourselves to God. Humble ourselves before the Lord, and he will lift us up.”

We need to acknowledge our humble dependence on God. As we make plans, we are to commit them to Him. Hear what Proverbs 16:3 and 9 says,

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. … In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

So who’s really in charge of your life? You or God?

We’re double-minded if we believe that God is in charge

… of our lives, yet make plans as if we’re in charge (as if we’re God!)

Instead, we’re called to live single-mindedly by living humbly before God. We’re to

… submit our lives to Him as we make plans, committing our plans to Him (For He’s really in charge)

And besides being in charge of our lives, God is in charge of our money.

In the next section, we’re faced with the question…

2.Who’s Really In Charge of Your Money? (5:1-6)

Again, James begins this section with the words “Now listen”.

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. (James 5:1)

Who is he addressing here? Rich people. But this isn’t a blanket statement to condemn all rich people. We need to see what they were doing –

Firstly, they hoarded wealth (see v3). Note that this isn’t condemning saving up wealth – but rather, about greed and selfishness. Consider Proverbs 11:26.

People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

These rich people were selfishly hoarding wealth – perhaps to control the supply and jack up prices when demand was high. And James says that in their selfish hoarding, “their wealth has rotted, moths have eaten their clothes. Their gold and silver are corroded.” (v2-3)

Secondly, these rich people exploited their workers (see v4) – they failed to pay “the wages of the workers who mowed their fields.” Many workers were daily-wage, and needed to be paid in the evening so they could put food on their tables. The Law commands,

Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy …Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)

Thirdly, the rich people lived in “luxury and self-indulgence” (see v5). Again, God isn’t against enjoyment of life or luxuries – he does provide us pleasures in life. However, we need to beware of our pleasures turning into sinful “self-indulgence”, where we live without self-denial or caring for the needs of others.

And fourthly, the rich had “condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing them” (see v6). This points back to James 4:2, “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.” They were oppressing the innocent to enrich themselves.

These rich people hoarded wealth selfishly, exploited their workers, indulged themselves in sin, and cruelly oppressed the innocent.

They were double-minded. They may believe that their money came from God, that He’s in charge of their lives and money, but yet they lived as though they weren’t accountable to God at all.

But have their evil actions gone unnoticed by God? Not at all!

Look at verse 4. “The cries of the [oppressed] have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” Some versions translate it as “The Lord of Hosts”.

And this phrase “the ears of the Lord of Hosts” comes directly from the Greek text of Isaiah 5, and James’ hearers were certain to pick up on his reference. Then in Isaiah’s day, the rich too were vicious in grabbing land from the poor, depriving them of their family land and income.

And God came to inspect Israel to “look for justice, but saw bloodshed” and to search for “righteousness, but heard cries of distress”. (Isaiah 5:7)

Thus, God, the Lord of Hosts stepped in to judge them. They were exiled by the Babylonians and their houses and wealth were stripped from them.

God’s ears are still attentive to the cries and suffering of the oppressed today – and he will step in to judge anyone who mistreats the poor, just as he judged the rich in Isaiah’s day, and his threat .

And the warning is to us too, for we are prone to be just as double-minded as them. To believe that God’s in charge of our money, and cares how we get money and use money – but live as if we’re not accountable to God at all.

What then are we to do in response?

We’re to “weep and wail” (v1) Compare the similarity to James 4:9 “grieve, mourn and wail”! To weep and wail means to lament and repent over our sins. We are to repent of our sinful dealings with others in the area of money.

How should we use our money?

Let me point you to a wonderful passage in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. (You can write this verse reference in your margins next to James 5:1-6!)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19

Don’t be arrogant or put our hope in uncertain wealth, but put our hope in God. Use our money for doing good, be generous and willing to share. In this way, we lay up treasure in heaven.

Conclusion

Who’s really in charge of your life and your money?

We’re double-minded if we believe that God is in charge of our lives, yet make plans as if we’re in charge (as if we’re God!)

Or if we believe that God is in charge of our money, yet act as if we’re not accountable to God.

What’s the CALL then?

We’re called to live single-minded and humbly before God by submitting our lives to Him as we make plans (for He’s really in control)

And we’re to repent of the wrong ways we have been using money (or using people to enrich ourselves!). Instead we’re to use our money for good as His accountable stewards. It’s His money!

What changes do we need to make in the areas of how we make plans and how we use money?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly father,

Your word in Matthew 6 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Forgive us for our double-mindedness. Saying you’re in charge of our lives and our money, but living as if we’re in charge. Putting ourselves in your place as God.

Help us to walk humbly before you – knowing that it’s you that graciously gives us life, sustains us and gives us everything we need.

Help us commit our plans to you and to be good stewards of the wealth and resources you’ve granted us. We want to care for others and be generous. In this way, we store up treasure in heaven.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80)

I preached this sermon on March 26th 2023 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on Luke. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Luke 1:57-80 (NIV)

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷²to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³    the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵    in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
    through the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Opening Prayer

“Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Sermon

What are some peculiar names you’ve heard parents give their children?

Peculiar means “different to what is normal or expected”.

I came across an article that analyzes some of the main naming trends of 2023.

The first trend is “Maximalist” names – names that seem to come out of a Fantasy novel – Astrophel, Myfanwy (my-fern-wee) and Persephone (per·seh·fuh·nee).

Yet another trend has names dealing with “Light / Sun”- names like

And then you have X-tra special names, where you have names with the letter X inserted inside. For example, Jaxson, or Xannah or Xion!

But I think Elon Musk and his wife take the crown for peculiar names. Their two children are named X Æ (æ is used in Slavic languages) A-Xii (pronounced as X ash A-12) and Exa Dark Sideræl (sigh-deer-ee-el). VERY VERY peculiar indeed.

A deeper question we ask would be,

“Why do parents give their children peculiar names?”

Experts think it reflects our modern society’s celebration of individuality and a focus on personal branding. In the past, you may have been named after a grandparent or a religious figure, but now it’s about distinguishing your child from the crowd – and having a peculiar name would be a step in that direction.

You want your child to stand out and be special.

And not only do you want your child’s name to be peculiar, most parents desire for their children to live their lives to the fullest and to the very best of their abilities. They want their futures to be extraordinary and special.

Peculiar choice of name, and peculiar (meaning extra-ordinary, special, unique) futures for your children.

We see this being played out in today’s passage from Luke 1, where we see first the peculiar choice of John’s name, and then the peculiar futures of Jesus and John.

So here’s my outline for today:

The Peculiar Choice of John’s Name (v57-66)
The Peculiar Futures of Jesus and John (v67-79)

Context

Before we look at today’s passage, let me quickly summarize the story so far.

From Luke 1:5-25, we read that Zechariah (the priest) and his wife Elizabeth were righteous and blameless before God. However, they were childless because Elizabeth was unable to conceive. And they were both very old.

One day, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah when he was scheduled to burn incense in the temple of the Lord. Gabriel told a fearful Zechariah that his prayer had been heard. His wife would bear him a son, and they were to give him the name John.

A name chosen by God himself, for John would have a peculiar future – he would be great in the sight of the Lord. John would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. And John would go on before the Lord, preparing the people for the Lord’s coming.

Wow. Zechariah however, doubted the angel and said, “How can I be sure of this? I’m an old man, and so is my wife!” The angel told him that God’s word would surely come true, and because Zechariah did not believe his words, Zechariah would be mute until the day these events come to pass.

We then read that according to God’s word, Elizabeth became pregnant. It was humanly impossible – but certainly possible for God. “For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37)

Finally, it was time for Elizabeth to give birth to her son, and we will now consider the first point …

1. The Peculiar Choice of John’s Name (V 57-66)

Reading from verses 57-63,

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹They (i.e. her neighbors and relatives) said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”

Elizabeth and Zechariah followed the Old Testament law (Leviticus 12:3) which prescribed that a male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day. Also, a child would be given his name then.

Tradition and culture dictated that they would name him Zechariah, and their neighbors and relatives were going to do just that. But here, Elizabeth says firmly, “NO, he’s to be named John.”

The crowd was sure there had been a mistake, so they appealed to the child’s father.

Zechariah was both dumb and deaf – notice that the crowd had to make signs – he couldn’t hear.

In fact, we may wonder why he was still mute, even after John had been born. It was now day 8 of John’s life, and yet Zechariah was still unable to speak.

Why?

Earlier in Luke 1:20, the angel had told Zechariah, “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

And even earlier, in Luke 1:13, the angel had told him,

“Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”

He would be silent until everything comes to pass and he names his son John, to fulfill all that had been told him by the angel!

And going against the crowd, Zechariah confirmed that his son’s name was to be John. The Greek word order is “John is the name of him”, with the emphasis on JOHN (the first word).

Zechariah, who was mute had found a way to communicate John’s name to Elizabeth – probably through writing. They knew it was God’s will that this special boy with a peculiar future be given a peculiar name. Both Elizabeth and Zechariah were resolved to obey God in this matter, and chose to go against the grain of the crowd and the culture.

And we see Elizabeth and Zechariah doing just that – ignoring the voices of the crowd, culture and tradition, and listening and obeying the only voice that matters – God.

Continuing, by reading Luke 1:64-66,

⁶⁴Immediately [Zechariah’s] mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.

⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.

⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

There were a lot of surprises surrounding John’s birth.

Elizabeth was past childbearing age
Zechariah was visited by an angel and then was struck mute after that encounter
Zechariah and Elizabeth named their son John – a peculiar name
Zechariah was able to speak again once he wrote down John’s name

Hence with the miraculous events surrounding John’s birth, we can understand the people’s surprise, curiosity and anticipation regarding John.

They wondered, “What then is this child going to be?” These were the Jews who had been eagerly waiting and praying for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. Could John be the long awaited Messiah?

We too also ask the same question, “What then is this child going to be?”

As we read on to the second section for today, Zechariah’s song, we discover that this child with a peculiar name had a peculiar future. Also, we are blessed – for we also discover the peculiar future of the Messiah, Jesus.

Thus we consider…

2. The Peculiar Futures of Jesus and John (V 67-79)

In this section from verses 67-79, we learn about the peculiar futures – the ministries of two very important people.

The first person is Jesus, the Messiah, from verses 68-75. And the second person is John, the Forerunner to the Messiah, the one who prepares the Way for the Lord, from verses 76-79.

Let’s consider first, the peculiar future of Jesus the Messiah.

Reading from verse 68,

⁶⁸ “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

Zechariah begins by praising God, for he has come to his people and redeemed them (v. 68). The idea of redemption speaks of rescue, such as the payment to set a slave free. It points to the salvation the Messiah would bring through his life, death and resurrection to save us from the slavery of sin and death.

Verse 69-70 says,

⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

Horn is a picture of strength, and of a king who saves. The phrase “In the house of his servant David” is a reference to the Messiah’s Davidic descent.

That the Messiah would be a descendant of David can be found in God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament. He is the Promised King who saves his people.

We continue to read about the peculiar future of Jesus the Messiah in verses 71-75,

⁷¹ salvation from our enemies

    and from the hand of all who hate us—

⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors

    and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³ the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

    and to enable us to serve him without fear

⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Jesus brings salvation. And in his mercy, God was fulfilling his promises to Abraham, the ancestor of Jesus, who lived 2000 years before Him.

God had told Abraham in Gen 12:3,

“… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

This promise (or covenant) sworn by God to Abraham was fulfilled by Jesus. Through Jesus, the seed of Abraham, the blessings of salvation come to everyone on earth, including you and me.

That’s the peculiar future of Jesus the Messiah – savior, King, the one who redeems and saves us. Through him we have forgiveness of sins, and therefore are holy and righteous in God’s eyes (v.75).

|| And in the next few verses, Zechariah’s song switches focus to the baby he was cradling in his arms.

He speaks about the peculiar future of his son, John – the forerunner to the Messiah. The one who prepared the way for the Lord.

Verses 76 and 77,

⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

John would prepare the way for the Lord, as the angel Gabriel had declared in Luke 1:16-17,

“(John) will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

How did John prepare people for Jesus? He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3) He told people to turn away from sins and turn to God who saves.

John himself was the fulfillment of OT prophecy, particularly those found in Isaiah 40:3-5 and Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6. John wasn’t the savior, but he pointed people to the Savior, Jesus. He made the people spiritually hungry and ready to receive the Messiah.

Going on to verses 78-79,

⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Here’s a vivid picture of a world shrouded in darkness and death, desperate for someone to lead it into light and life.

The mission of the Messiah was to bring Light into the World. Jesus himself said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

He brings the light of Salvation which is the forgiveness of sins.

Salvation is the forgiveness of sins. As verse 77 had said,

“The knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.”

To be saved, is to know that our sins have been forgiven by God.

Later at the close of the gospel of Luke, in chapter 24, we read in verses 46-47,

[Jesus] told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

We are invited to repent of our sins, and turn to God in faith, so that we will receive salvation, which is the forgiveness of sin.

// let me conclude, and talk about how we can apply all these to our lives.

Conclusion

Today, we learnt about the peculiar name given to John, and the peculiar futures of Jesus the Messiah, and John his forerunner. We saw how John’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth chose to ignore the voices, noises, and influence of the crowd, culture and tradition, and instead boldly and courageously listened to God’s voice by naming John, John. They chose to go against the grain of their culture and tradition.

I wonder how many of us are simply products of our culture and tradition, or just go with the flow, following the crowd. We take on the names the world, society, our families have for us, not considering the peculiar name and peculiar future that God has prepared specially for us His children.

If you’ve put your trust in God, we take on the peculiar name and peculiar future that God gives us. John 1:12 says,

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—”

As sons and daughters of Almighty God, we must proclaim who we truly are in Christ. Satan, the world, and our unhelpful self talk, always wants to tell you that you’re rotten, unworthy, sinful, rejected, unloved, trash.

We need to undo that by constantly reminding ourselves of Who we are in Christ.

I’ve found a resource that has been very useful for me and for many others. I credit Neil Anderson and Freedom in Christ Ministries for compiling this list of “I am” statements from the Bible.

It tells us (or declares) who we truly are in Jesus, and begins with the words “I am” just as Jesus declared who He truly is, through the “I am” statements found in John’s gospel.

Here are some of these extremely powerful “I am” Statements + affirmations:

I am God’s child.
I am Jesus’ friend.
I am justified.
I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
I am a member of Christ’s body.
I am chosen by God and adopted as His child.
I am redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
I am complete in Christ.
I am free from condemnation.
I am hidden with Christ in God.
I am a citizen of heaven.
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
I am God’s temple.
I am God’s workmanship.

How precious and wonderful! And do you see that that’s exactly the peculiar name and peculiar future that we have as the children of God !

We need to know Our True identity in Christ.

Print it out, keep it on your mirror, put on your phone, screensaver, read it again and again daily to remind yourself of who you truly are in Jesus.

(Search “Who I Am in Christ” by Neil Anderson.)

It will be life-changing as these truths sink into your consciousness and you allow it to define who you are.

You need to renew your mind, through God’s word – what he truly says about you, and the peculiar name and peculiar future he has given you. Only then can you walk in God’s will, and live a life that God wants you to live.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray.

If anyone here doesn’t know God’s salvation – if you’re unsure whether your sins have been forgiven, would you join me in praying this prayer to receive salvation in Jesus Christ?

You can use these words, repeating after me:

Dear God,

I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness.

I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died

for my sin and that you raised Him to life.

I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord,

from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will.

I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

(If you’ve just prayed this prayer – we rejoice that you’re now a child of God. And encourage you to speak to a pastor, or Christian friend so we can help you grow in Christ.)

And if you’re a believer, and child of God, perhaps you need to remind yourself of the peculiar name and future that God has for you.

Let me read these “I am” affirmations and together we pray for the Holy Spirit to let them sink into your consciousness and renew your mind. You may want to repeat them after me.

I am God’s child.
I am Jesus’ friend.
I am justified.
I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
I am a member of Christ’s body.
I am chosen by God and adopted as His child.
I am redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
I am complete in Christ.
I am free from condemnation.
I am hidden with Christ in God.
I am a citizen of heaven.
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
I am God’s temple.
I am God’s workmanship.

Amen.

Watch the Talk (James 3:1-18)

I preached this sermon on October 2nd 2022 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on the Letter of James. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

James 3:1-18 (NIV)

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Opening Prayer

Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction

In last week’s sermon on James 2, we learnt the importance of having a faith that works.

Authentic Christians are to “walk the talk”. This means that it isn’t enough to believe, or profess our faith in the creeds, but we need to live out our faith in good works.

Otherwise, we only have a head-knowledge faith, no different from demons, and that kind of faith can’t save us.

Also, “to walk the talk” means that we can’t just say to someone without clothes or daily food, “Go, I wish you well, stay warm and well fed” but do nothing about their physical needs.

We need to express our faith practically, in actions, just as Abraham and Rahab did, and were considered righteous.

So, we’re to “walk the talk” and our walk (our actions) show us and others if we have a living, true, saving faith.

But not only do we need to “walk the talk”, we also need to “watch the talk”! We need to care about how we use our tongues.

This means our words, both spoken or written. Plus in this era of digital communication, this includes our words conveyed online through electronic mediums.

We need to watch all of our talk!

James says that this is serious business for in chapter 1:26 he writes,

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James addresses double-minded Christians who think that they are good and faithful Christians, yet in their words are behaving like a non-Christian, just like the sinful world.

James calls out such double-mindedness by saying if you think it’s okay for Christians to not watch their talk, you’re deceived! Such “Christianity” is worthless!

James doesn’t mince his words. And if we don’t want to have a worthless religion, let’s stop fooling ourselves (thinking that our words have nothing to do with our faith) and instead work on how we can “keep a tight rein on our tongues”.

Today as we look at chapter 3, James goes into detail in addressing the need for Christians to watch their talk. Here’s my sermon outline:

Watch the Talk !

Why control our tongue? (V1-6)
How can we control our tongue? (v7-12)
Wisdom to control our tongues (v13-18)

1.Why control the tongue? (V1-6)

James in chapter 3 verse 1 starts off with a stern warning. He says,

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Here, James is referring to teachers of God’s Word, that they will be judged more strictly. Why?

Because teachers are in a position of authority and influence, and thus have bigger impacts. Of course, this can be both for good and for bad.

But you may think, I’m not a teacher, so that means I’m off the hook?

Not so! Read James carefully – everyone will be judged, but teachers judged more strictly.

And if you still don’t believe that we’ll all be judged for our words, hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew,

“But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty (careless) word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:36-37)

Jesus warns us that we will be judged for our words – and teachers judged even more strictly! We need to take this call to watch our talk very seriously.

But watching our talk is hard, for in verse 2, James says,

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”

By perfect James means someone who is complete and mature (as in James 1:4). However, for many of us, myself included, we still stumble through sins of speech.

Be it an angry word, a lie, slander, gossip, insult, curse, impure remarks and crude jokes. And this includes our texts, emails, social media “words”. We all fall short of God’s call to control our tongues.

James, in verses 3 to 5, goes on to describe the terrible dangers presented by the tongue.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

⁵Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

James uses the various illustrations to bring home a point.

His point is that small, seemingly insignificant things can have a large impact. These small things (bit, rudder) direct the much larger thing (horse, ship).

And likewise the tongue is small, yet it has a giant-sized impact on our lives! It can set the direction of our lives – Look at verse 6

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

What’s frightening is that the tongue is destructive and can set the whole course of our lives on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. The word translated hell is “Gehenna”.

At that time, Gehenna was a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. It came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment.

What that means is that the tongue, left unchecked and not put under control, is as destructive as a wildfire. It becomes an instrument of Satan himself for his evil purposes, setting the course of your life on fire of hell – flames of divine punishment and judgement!

And so, we’ve seen why we need to control the tongue. We will be judged for our words (teachers more so), and we can’t ignore the lethal potential of the tongue. It can take control of our lives and set us on a course for hell.

As Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Controlling our tongue is a life or death issue.

I’m sure none of us wants to go down this path that leads to death and punishment. This leads naturally to the next point, where we ask, so …

2.How can we control our tongue? (v7-12)

James answers us in verses 7 and 8,

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue.

Wait a minute James, hang on. You’ve told us that we need to control our tongue, and now you tell us that it can’t be tamed? Is there some impossible demand here?

On the surface, it does appear to be. Rather, it means we can’t control our tongues through our human nature or strength.

We need God’s help to control our tongue, and James will point us beyond our tongues, to our hearts. More on that later.

For now, let’s read verses 9 to 12,

⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.

¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Here, James points out the double-mindedness and inconsistency of someone who both praises God and curses people.

Being double-minded means being of two minds – living as a Christian AND a non-Christian! Saying one thing and doing another. Trying to serve two masters. It’s inconsistent, incongruent and no way to live as a Christian.

James says in verse 10, “this (double-mindedness) – praising God one one hand and cursing people on the other – should not be”. Why?

It’s because it’s against our nature for Christians. If your source is pure, it should result in praise of God. If your words are full of cursing, it shows that your source is evil and sinful.

In verses 11 and 12, James says fresh and salt water can’t come from the same source. He says that a fig, olive or grapevine will produce only figs, olives and grapes.

Nature demonstrates that ‘like produces like’ – that the fruit reflects the nature or source it comes from. And so, our speech reveals the purity or filthiness of our source.

And what’s that source?

You’ve guessed it – the source for our words is our heart.

As James was writing his letter, surely he had in mind Jesus’s words in Matthew 12:33-35. Listen to it attentively, for it will shed much light on what James has been teaching us:

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

³⁴You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart the mouth speaks.

³⁵The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” (ESV)

Out of the abundance, or overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Our words come out of our hearts, and reflect the condition of our hearts. If our heart is pure, clean and holy – it will result in good words. But if we speak evil, it shows that our hearts are sinful and evil.

The output depends on what is at the source. As Computer Programmers would say, “Garbage in, Garbage out!”

Our talk reveals our heart.

We can’t control our tongues directly. Instead, we need to go deeper, much deeper … to the source, our hearts. We control our tongues by dealing with our hearts.

If you’ve not yet believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it means you’re stuck with a sinful, evil heart.

And good words can’t flow out of a heart that’s evil. You need a new heart, and you can receive one by admitting you’re a sinner and that you need Jesus.

And God promises in Ezekiel 36:26,

“I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

If you’d like to receive Jesus, pray these words:

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you love me. I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead.

I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”

(If you said this prayer, please speak to a friend, pastor, LG leader so we can pray for you and help you grow in this new life in Christ. Sign up for the Just for Starters course to learn more about our faith)

For those of us who are Christians already, yet struggle to control our tongues, we need to repent of our sin and double-mindedness and make the choice (with God’s help) to use our words for good and not evil.

We need to recognize our own brokenness and sinfulness, and our need for the transforming power of God’s grace found in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We need our hearts transformed by God in order to love him and love others as ourselves.

And part of our heart surgery involves rooting out the wrong kind of wisdom – one that’s driven by bitter envy and selfish ambition, and having the right kind of wisdom – God’s.

3.Wisdom to control our tongues (v13-18)

In verses 13 to 18, James contrasts 2 kinds of wisdom.

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

¹⁵Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

How do we know what kind of wisdom we possess?

We need to look at its characteristics and results (fruit).

Are we motivated by bitter envy, jealousy and selfish ambition?

Do the results of our words and actions lead to discord, disorder and evil practices? If so, then the wisdom we possess isn’t from God, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.

On the other hand, true wisdom will always be revealed by humility, gentleness, mercy, and peacemaking. Proverbs tell us that “The fear of the Lord is wisdom.”

Let us pray and ask God for this wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (1:5)

Conclusion

James is concerned about double-minded Christians who claim to be religious Christians but don’t watch their talk. Such religion is worthless.

James warns us against being double-minded in our words, and in the type of wisdom we possess.

We must watch our talk, because the tongue, left to its own devices, can become an instrument of Satan, and set our lives on the fires of hell and divine punishment. We will be judged for our words.

We can’t control our tongues directly – it’s untameable – but we can do something about the source – our hearts.

We need to deal with the source, for Jesus says, “Out of the abundance / overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”.

If we’re having trouble with our tongues, we need to go back and look at the spring from which the water flows. We need to repent, to draw near to God and ask him to transform us from the inside out. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer

Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Father, thank you for your word to us today.

Reveal to us where we have sinned against you in thought, words, or deeds.

We repent of the sinful and evil ways we’ve used our words.

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Forgive us Lord.

Make our hearts pure, clean and holy – that will result in streams of living water.

Words that bring life and praise you. Words that build others up in peaceful and loving ways.

We ask in Jesus’ name,

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom (Mark 4:21-34)

I preached this sermon on August 21st 2022 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark (Who is Jesus?) You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Mark 4:21-34 (NIV)

²¹He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? ²²For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

²⁴“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. ²⁵Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

²⁶He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³²Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

³³With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. ³⁴He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Illumination Prayer

Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction

Have you ever had the unexpected experience in gardening where you had a healthy looking plant (one you expected to grow well) shrivel up and die, and another weak looking plant (that you expected not to survive) thrive and grow well?

It’s sometimes unexpected what survives and thrives, and what withers and dies.

Unexpected growth. I’m sure we all have had experiences like that.

It could be the athlete who entered a competition unseeded who ended up champion.

Or a video that unexpectedly gets viral on social media, getting millions of hits and new subscribers overnight.

Or at work, where what you thought was a small side project ended up your biggest money maker and your main business.

Or in school, where you end up doing badly in your favorite subject, and well in one you didn’t prepare so much for.

Or a person you didn’t like at first who became your lifelong friend. And one you were close to as inseparable Best Friends Forever (BFF), end up drifting apart.

Unexpected growth.

Life can get rather unexpected, where we often don’t expect what succeeds and what fails. What looks weak may end up prevailing, and what looks strong may fail.

Jesus’ ministry also had unexpected growth.

As we’ve seen in Mark’s gospel so far, growth came from unexpected sources. Society’s outsiders – tax collectors and sinners were the ones who embraced Jesus and his message and came inside God’s kingdom.

And who was left outside God’s kingdom? it was the religious leaders (those insiders- who knew God’s Law), who rejected Jesus and wanted to kill Him! In fact, as we saw last Sunday, even his family rejected him and called him “out of his mind”.

In the Parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20), Jesus compared himself to a farmer who goes out to sow seed and there’s different kinds of growth depending on where the seed lands.

When Jesus preaches the message of the Kingdom, there are different responses to the Gospel.

Some flat out reject it.
Some accept it for a while, but then give up once trouble or persecution comes.
Some accept his message, but are completely fruitless as they’re choked by the desire for wealth, riches and dealing with Earthly worries.
Some will hear his message, accept it and bear fruit.

We should expect the same responses whenever the Gospel is preached today. But we can’t tell who will respond wrongly or rightly to the gospel. We aren’t called to analyse and categorise people that way.

Rather, each of us must choose to respond to Christ’s call. He invites all “who have ears to hear” to hear his call to come inside His Kingdom by coming to Him through repentance and faith in Him. Only then, will we receive the secret of the Kingdom.

And today, we ask the question, “So what’s next after we have come inside God’s kingdom, having received Jesus’ Words? What are we to do, and what will God do?”

Outline

Our Responsibility to God’s Received Word (V21-25)

Share it (V21-23)
Live it (V24-25)

God’s Responsibility to Grow His Kingdom (V26-32)

His kingdom grows by his mysterious power (V26-29)
His kingdom grows to magnificent proportions (V30-32)

// (To explain the above, say…)

Our responsibility, as people who have received God’s word, is to share and use it.

We can do this with hope, because we know that God’s responsibility is to grow his kingdom.

It grows by His mysterious power and to magnificent proportions.

I pray that today’s message may encourage us, who have received God’s Word, to keep on sharing it and living it, while trusting that God is responsible for the growth of His kingdom.

Let’s first look at…

1.Our Responsibility to God’s Received Word (V21-25)

Verses 21 to 25 talks about our responsibility having received Jesus’ words. We’re to share it (v21-23) and live it (v24-25).

1.1 Share it (V21-23)

Mark 4:21-23

²¹[Jesus] said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? ²²For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Here Jesus uses the idea of light. Light shouldn’t be hidden. As you read the Gospels, who is described as light?

Firstly, Jesus is described as THE light – the light of the world. Whoever follows him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Whoever believes in him becomes a child of the light. He calls us out of Satan’s kingdom of sin and darkness and into his glorious kingdom of light.

We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4,

“The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Satan comes to “take away the word that was sown in people” (Mark 4:15) and keeps them blind and in darkness. Jesus comes to make “his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6)

Secondly, not only is Jesus described as light, we who believe in Jesus are described as light. Hear what Matt 5:14-16 says,

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We are the light of the world just as Jesus is, and He calls us who have received God’s word to share it openly. The truth of God’s word must be shared openly and not be hidden.

We’re not just to share the gospel (in words) but also share it through the way we live, doing good deeds and in this way, pointing people to God our Father.

// Our responsibility to receiving God’s word is to share it. But not only share it but live it.

1.2 Live it (V24-25)

Mark 4:24a

²⁴“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued.

Here is a renewed call to consider carefully what you hear. Jesus has been teaching on the gospel of the kingdom and calling people to repent and believe. He has faced both opposition and acceptance (Mark 1-3).

The question is, “How will you respond to his call? Will you come to Him? Or will you walk away?”

These words find a parallel in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) which teaches us that we have a responsibility while waiting for Christ’s coming again.

We are to not just to hear His Word, but to live fruitful and productive lives by sharing it and putting God’s word into practice by living it. And the more we use it and live it, the more light and revelation that God gives to us from his word.

Mark 4:24b-25

“With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. ²⁵Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Live out God’s word and you’ll gain even more of God’s word (insight, truth, understanding). But if you don’t live it (by rejecting/ignoring God’s word), you will lose whatever understanding you have of God’s word.

We’ve seen that our responsibility to God’s received word is to share it and use it.

The next section from Mark 4:26-34 are two parables regarding the kingdom of God.

What’s important for us to realize is that God’s kingdom has come with the coming of Christ, yet it has not yet come fully, in greatness and power.

Until Christ comes again, we live in the age of “the already but not yet”. We live in the age between Christ’s first and second comings.

God’s kingdom has come already with Jesus’ first coming, but has not yet fully come. That will happen only when Christ comes again, when He shall destroy his enemies and reign over all creation as King.

Knowing that the kingdom is “already-but-not-yet” will help us understand the parables about the Kingdom of God.

So let’s look at Mark 4:26-34, and consider God’s responsibility to grow His Kingdom. We shall see that His kingdom grows by his mysterious power and grows to magnificent proportions.

I pray that this will give us hope as we share and live the gospel.

2.God’s Responsibility to Grow His Kingdom (V26-32)

2.1 His kingdom grows by his mysterious power (V26-29)

Reading Mark 4:26-29,

²⁶[Jesus] also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

We see that God’s kingdom grows mysteriously, it says, “the one who sows does not know how” it grows. Our responsibility is to share God’s word, to keep sowing the seed – and often we can’t expect who will respond to the gospel.

Some seed will get eaten by Satan. Some seed takes root only for a while, or gets its growth choked. Similarly, we can get discouraged when we share the gospel with others for months, years and decades, but don’t see any results.

But here God’s word tells us that when His seed falls on good soil, it will grow. Not by our power – but by God’s power.

Apostle Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

It is God who makes the seed grow. That’s his responsibility. Our responsibility is to sow the seed by sharing and living God’s Word. We need to recognize that this is a tremendous privilege that God has bestowed upon us. Paul says we are “co-workers in God’s service”! (1 Corinthians 6:9)

Dear friends, God’s seed when it lands on good soil will grow steadily, even mysteriously, under God’s power. We may not understand why, and can be amazed at the fruits produced.

God’s responsibility is to grow his kingdom, while ours is to keep on sharing the word and living according to His word.

And so, God is responsible for the growth of His Kingdom. It grows mysteriously, by His power. Not only that, we see that …

2.2 His kingdom grows to magnificent proportions (V30-32)

Reading Mark 4:30-32,

³⁰Again [Jesus] said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.

³²Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

God’s kingdom started off small and insignificant, like a mustard seed. Christianity started with just the 12 disciples, and at Jesus’ crucifixion, all of them (save John) ran off into hiding. Not promising at all!

After Jesus’ resurrection, there were just 120 followers of Christ. (Acts 1:15) But then we see Christianity growing rapidly. 3000 were added on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41) and soon the number grew to 5000 (Acts 4:4).

The global church kept growing in size through the New Testament, as missionaries were sent throughout the world, preaching the gospel and planting new churches.

And look at Christianity today – it’s the largest global religion, with billions of followers of Jesus Christ. Got this statistic from Operation World (beginning of 2022):

7.9 billion people in the world, 32.3% Christian

… that’s 2.5 billion !

Jesus’ words prove true: “The mustard seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Yet it’s not the end. Many billions are still yet to be evangelized as we wait for Christ’s 2nd coming. We don’t need to look far to see people who need the gospel.

We can look at our unsaved family members, friends, colleagues, neighbor, classmates, etc. There are people who need the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ today.

Our responsibility to having received God’s Word is to share it and live it. We can do so with hope, because we know that as we share the gospel, some will land on good soil and produce a harvest.

God is responsible for the growth of His kingdom and it will grow by his mysterious power, and to magnificent proportions.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Closing Prayer

Jesus calls all to repent and believe in the good news about him. He is the Son of God, who saves people from their sins. He is the light of the world and wants to bring you out from darkness and into light and freedom.

If you’d like to receive Jesus as your savior, you can pray this prayer.

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you love me. I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”

(If you said this prayer, please speak to a friend, pastor, LG leader so we can pray for you, help you grow in this new life in Christ.)

“Father God, thank you for your word to us today.

Help us to be faithful in hearing, receiving and believing your Word. Give us strength and courage to not just hear it, but to share it with others, and to put your words into practice in our lives.

Father, we thank you also that you have grown, and will continue to grow your kingdom! We praise you and are joyful in hope as we see the unexpected growth of your kingdom in our world.

We look forward to that day when your Kingdom will come in its fullness and you reign over all as King.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Who is King Jesus (Mark 1:21-45)

I preached this sermon on July 24th 2022 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark (Who is Jesus?) You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Mark 1:21-45 (NIV)

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”

26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Introduction

Who is she? (picture on right)

She is Queen Elizabeth the second.

On 6th of February, this year, She became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of her reign.

The Queen remains the head of state, but she does not hold political power. Real decision making power lies with the British government, led by the Prime Minister and Parliament.

Although the monarchy doesn’t hold much power today, things were very different in the past, when Kings and Queens held lots of power.

When a new King or Queen comes into power, you’d want to know what kind of king or Queen he or she was.

That was true especially in Jesus’ day.

Mark’s Gospel opens with the words, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,the Son of God.” (1:1)

If you lived then, you would be shocked to hear that. The terms, “good news”, “Son of God” were reserved for Caesar Augustus – the King of the Roman empire alone.

You’d think, “Jesus who? A new King?” You would feel a little worried – the Roman Empire isn’t too keen to have someone challenge Caesar’s kingship. Or you would feel hope – you’ve been longing for a King to overthrow Rome!

Your mind begins to wonder, “The good news of Jesus? Who is this King? The Messiah? The Son of God? Who is he?”

Who is this King?

That’s the question we will ask as we move through Mark’s gospel. And I pray that today, we will see Jesus for the King He truly is.

Illumination Prayer

Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Outline

In Mark 1, we’ve seen Jesus calling four fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James and John) to give up their careers and follow him. He shows that as King, he has authority over people’s lives and calls people to follow him.

And in verses 21-45, we learn more about Jesus’ authority and his priority and purpose. Here’s an outline for today:

Jesus’ Authority as
1. Teacher (v21-28)
2. Exorcist (v21-28, 34)
3. Healer (v29-34, 40-45)
Jesus’s Priority and Purpose
1. Prayer (v 35-36)
2. Preach Good News (v38-39)

1. Jesus’ Authority

First, we see Jesus’ authority as a Teacher.

Jesus came to Capernaum. On the Sabbath, he visited the synagogue there.

A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer, worship and study. When visiting teachers came, the local synagogue leaders would invite them to lecture, especially on the Sabbath.

Jesus was from Nazareth (v9) and a visitor to these parts. The leaders invited him to teach, and when he did,

The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. (v22)

It was common for teachers then to cite or quote, but apparently Jesus taught based on his own understanding (as if He had written it himself – which is true!)

Jesus displayed such a deep understanding of God’s Word as He taught it, that the people were amazed at Jesus’ authority as a teacher, and wondered, “Who is this Jesus?”

Next, Jesus displayed his authority as an exorcist (authority over evil spirits).

Right there in the synagogue, during a worship service – imagine that happening in the middle of my sermon as I preach! – a man possessed by an evil spirit challenged Jesus. The demon knew who Jesus was – “The Holy One of God” (v25)

At this point, you may be wondering, “Wait, demons? Evil spirits? What are they? Aren’t they just primitive ways to describe physical and mental illness?”

Demons and evil spirits are real. They exist. The Bible says that there is an unseen spiritual world, which includes angels and evil spirits. Satan, or the devil, is a fallen angel who is in rebellion against God and hostile to God’s people.

Demons are part of that fallen spiritual world, and serve Satan. They are the enemies of God’s Kingdom and seek to destroy all who would desire to follow Jesus Christ.

We must remember that

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:12

Although Satan and his demons are powerful, Jesus has overcome Satan by the power of his death on the cross! (Col 2:15) Jesus is infinitely more powerful than Satan and his demons.

Here in Mark, Jesus silences the demon – “Be Quiet! Come out of Him!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek (v26).

The people were amazed, because exorcists then would use long incantations. But here, Jesus keeps it short, simple and the exorcism is immediate.

His authority as King is seen in the way he gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him. Later in verse 34, we see Jesus again driving out demons “But he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.”

You may wonder, “Why does Jesus silence these demons?” I can think of at least 2 reasons:

Jesus wanted to keep his identity hidden for the time being so that he could accomplish his mission (not time yet to reveal identity)
Jesus didn’t want to have his identity revealed by an unreliable witness (would you listen to a demon to tell you the truth)? In Mark 3:22, we see that the teachers of law accused Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons, so having his identity proclaimed by demons would be detrimental to Him.

So we’ve seen Jesus displaying His Kingly authority, first as Teacher, and then Exorcist – but that’s not all, we see…

Jesus’ Authority as Healer (his authority over sickness and disease).

In verses 29-31, Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in law who was in bed with a fever. “He went to her, took her hand and helped her up. And the fever left her, and she began to wait on them.” The healing was immediate!

I’m reminded of my recent bout of Covid-19, where I had a fever for the first few days of catching the virus. Even after the fever had broken, I still felt so tired and fatigued, I wouldn’t have had the energy to cook, do chores, or serve others. But that’s what happened then, Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law fully and completely.

In verses 32-33, on that evening after sunset, the people of the town of Capernaum brought all who were sick, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.

In verses 40-45, we see the account of Jesus healing a man with leprosy. Lepers were outcasts. They were quarantined – and kept away from the rest of society. In the Mosaic law we read,

Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
Leviticus 13:45-46

Lepers were ceremonially unclean – they could not participate in Israel’s social and religious life. They were kept out of families, towns, parties, homes, synagogues and the Temple. They lived lonely solitary existences outside the city.

If a person were to touch, or come into contact with a leper, he or she would become unclean. But look what happens in Mark 1:40-42.

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Mark 1:40-42

The leper asked Jesus if He was willing to heal him. He had faith, yet was unsure if Jesus would be willing to come near him, an unclean person. Jesus risked becoming ceremonially unclean or catching the disease by touching the leper!

Unlike us, Jesus doesn’t become unclean when he comes into contact with someone unclean. Rather, Jesus makes the unclean, clean.

Jesus healed the leper and sent him away with a stern warning to not tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and offer the sacrifices as prescribed by the law for one healed of skin disease (Leviticus 14).

By fulfilling the requirements of the law, the man could be restored to his proper place in the social and religious life in Israel.

Jesus responded to the man’s total need, and brought not just physical restoration, but social and spiritual restoration. Jesus is our Healer – “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.” (Isaiah 53:4)

Thus, King Jesus displayed his authority as Teacher, his authority as Exorcist (his power over evil spirits), and his authority as Healer (his power over sickness and disease).

// Now we look at verses 35-39 which we skipped over earlier to learn about…

2.Jesus’ Priority and Purpose

As we’ve seen, Jesus had an extremely busy day that stretched from morning till evening. He was teaching, driving out demons and healing people.

Nevertheless, Jesus got up very early in the morning, while it was still dark, left the house and went off to a solitary place to pray. (V35) He had every reason, or excuse to sleep in but he didn’t.

That shows us his Priority was time with His Father in prayer. Communing with the Father was essential. And why was prayer important? It is through prayer that He knew the will of God. Jesus only did what the Father wanted him to do.

Jesus spent time with God in prayer, seeking His Father’s will and purposes. And what was that purpose? We see that in Mark 1:38,

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Jesus’ Purpose was to preach the good news to people who had not heard it yet. That’s why He came. His mission wasn’t so much about healing sickness and disease or driving out demons. His primary purpose was preaching.

What was he preaching? It was the good news of God as described earlier in Mark 1:15, “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Jesus was announcing that through Him, the Kingdom of God had come near. Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom, the Messiah, the Son of God and he calls everyone to repent of their sins and believe in him for salvation.

Elsewhere in Mark, Jesus will go on to describe his purpose,

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45

Jesus came to call sinners to repent of their sins, believe in Him and be saved. He gave his very life as a ransom to save sinners like us from our sins. He calls us to repent and believe the Good News about Him.

Thus in looking at this section, we see that Jesus was busy ministering to people’s needs. Yet that is not as important as the number one priority – our relationship with God, cultivated through Bible reading and prayer.

It’s easy to be caught in the busyness of serving God in our work, families, even in church, and yet lose sight of the priority of prayer.

Also, in terms of purpose – do we make the preaching of the Good News take centre stage in our church?

It’s easy to crowd it out with “good” programs, ministries, fellowship events etc. But we simply must keep the preaching and study of God’s Word front and centre – in our church services, programs, plans, Life Groups, Sunday schools, youth fellowships, families, and so on.

Prayer and the preaching of God’s Word.

What steps do we need to take to bring our priorities and purposes more closely aligned with God’s?

Conclusion

Let me close with a story.

In 1977, Pastor Jack Hayford visited the UK with his wife, and at that time, it was the celebration for the 25th year of Queen Elizabeth the 2nd’s reign – her Silver Jubilee.

As Hayford visited the many castles of the land, he reflected on the idea of royalty. And a growing sense of Jesus’s royalty, dignity, and majesty filled his heart.

In response, Hayford wrote the song “Majesty”

Majesty, worship His Majesty!

Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise.

Majesty, Kingdom authority,

Flows from His throne, unto His own,

His anthem raise.

So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.

Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.

Majesty, worship His Majesty,

Jesus who died, now glorified,

King of all kings.

About “Majesty”, Hayford writes that it,

“describes the kingly, lordly, gloriously regal nature of our Saviour. He is fully worthy of our worship. Jesus has birthed us into His eternal Kingdom. We are rescued from death, restored to the inheritance of sons and daughters, qualified for victory in battle against the Adversary, and destined for the Throne forever in His presence!” (Hallelujah!)

Closing Prayer

Will you respond to King Jesus today?

Jesus calls everyone to repent and believe in the Good News about Him. If you’ve yet to do so and want to do that, you can do so right now with this prayer:

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you love me. I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”

(If you said this prayer, please speak to a friend, pastor, LG leader so we can pray for you, help you grow in this new life in Christ.)

Let’s continue to pray.

“Father, we thank you that Jesus – you are King. Help us align our priorities and purposes to yours. Keeping prayer and the preaching of your Word front and centre in our lives, families, church, and service. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

God’s Purpose in Suffering (Job 1 & 42)

I was down with Covid-19 and recorded this sermon using Zoom. on July 3rd 2022 at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on Suffering. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Job 1:1-12, 42:1-6 (NIV)

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

4 His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.

10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

—————————————-

42 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Hello, friends and visitors to St George’s Church. My name is Sean, and in case you’re wondering why I’m recording this at home and not physically present with you, it’s because I came down with Covid late last week.

I’ve spent the last seven days in isolation, having fever, sore throat, fatigue, cough, and so on. And though I’m technically past day 7, I’m still testing positive for the virus, and not at a 100% yet – And to keep everyone safe, I’ve decided to record this sermon from home, and not have to remove my mask for preaching at services.

Do keep me in your prayers for a full recovery. And I hope to see you all real soon. Thank you

Opening Prayer

Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction

When we come to the topic of suffering, it’s natural to ask the question why. Why is there so much suffering in the world?

We read news of wars, invasions, mass shootings, earthquakes, terrorism, death of innocents, pollution, hunger, poverty, sickness, and death.

And suffering isn’t just out there, it hits us. We see suffering from terminal disease, illness or injury in us or in our loved ones. Suffering comes from being fired, loss of a loved one, divorce, abuse, adultery, or betrayal. We suffer emotionally and mentally too- we feel grief, anger, frustration, heart break, shame, anxiety, and loneliness.

There’s so much suffering in our world and in our lives, and we ask God why. Why God? Why? Why? Why? And underlying our “Why God” lies a deeper, why – What right do you have to treat me like this?

God, if you’re loving, powerful and in control, why do you allow these sufferings to happen? Why is my life so hard, so challenging, and full of pain? Why do my plans always seem frustrated? Why is it that I always seem to get disappointed in life?

In today’s sermon we look at the purpose – the why – of suffering. I present 3 whys of suffering, because of :

Disobedience
Discipline
Discovery

1. Disobedience

In the beginning, God created a world that was good. It was perfect, without sin or suffering. However, Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Suffering came as a result of human’s sinful disobedience. And as we continue to read the Old Testament, we see disobedience as the main why of suffering:

Suffering is God’s judgement on people for their disobedience to His commands.

We see the link between sinful disobedience and suffering throughout the Old Testament. Suffering comes as the “curses” of the covenant for disobedience. Suffering is the just punishment for offences against the Holy God

King David illustrates well suffering from disobedience. He sinned against God through his adultery and murder (see 2 Sam 11-12). David suffered God’s judgement for his sin: his son died. The sword of his enemies would never leave him. Also his own son rebelled against him and took his wives for himself.

When we suffer because of our sinful disobedience, our only plea is to confess our sins to God and ask Him for mercy and forgiveness. We see that in Psalm 51, which David wrote after he was confronted with his sin.

“¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. ²Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
Psalm 51:1-2

And in Christ, we can go to God to cry out for mercy. Let us be like the Tax collector of Luke 18, who stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ And Jesus said, “I tell you that this man went home justified before God.” (Luke 18:13-14)

2. Discipline

Another way to look at suffering is not through the lens of disobedience but discipline. We suffer because of God’s discipline. Through suffering, God disciplines and teaches us, so that as rebellious children we may mature.

Consider these verses in Hebrews 12 that speak of suffering as God’s discipline:

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. … God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:7, 10-11

Suffering as discipline is evidence we are God’s children. It produces holiness, righteousness and peace. Suffering is discipline, training. Just like how a professional athlete suffers the painful and unpleasant rigour of physical, mental and emotional training in order to be stronger and tougher.

And yes, suffering produces perseverance and strength of character in us:

³Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

Suffering produces perseverance, character and hope. Through the testing of our faith, we will become mature and complete. Thus, some suffering comes as a result of God’s discipline.

// Now we’ve considered suffering because of disobedience and God’s discipline.

Those are easy to accept, for we can figure out why we are suffering. When we disobey God through our sin, and suffer, we see it as just and fair. Or when we suffer as part of God’s discipline, to train us in character, we understand.

But there’s a more difficult question of why we may suffer undeservedly – not out of sin, not because of God’s discipline. It seems unreasonable, unjust, unfair, uncalled for. And that kind of suffering is because God wants us to discover more about Him – to see Him for who He truly is. For that we will turn our attention to Job.

3. Discovery

How can God who is good, all-powerful, just, allow the righteous, godly, and faithful to suffer even when they’ve been obedient to him? Why is the suffering so harsh, way more than the person should deserve?

Job teaches us a lot about this kind of “innocent”, “undeserved” suffering; when the righteous suffer – not because of sinful disobedience or God’s discipline. The suffering then seems to be unfair, undeserved, and unjust.

We’re told that Job “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) Satan however, believed Job was faithful to God only because God blessed and protected him. Satan predicted if God took away all that Job had, he would then curse God. God believed Job to stay faithful and accepted the challenge. God allowed Satan to take away all that Job had. Job knew nothing of this.

Job lost his oxen, donkeys, camels to enemy forces, his servants were killed, and a mighty wind caused the building his 10 children were in to collapse, killing them all. In spite of this tragic loss, Job did not curse God. He held on to his faith and “did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing”. (Job 1:20-22)

God then allowed Satan to afflict Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Job scraped himself with a piece of pottery as he sat among the ashes (Job 2:7-8) – he was in physical, emotional, mental, spiritual anguish.

Job was then visited by three friends who all believed that Job’s sufferings were deserved because of his Sinful Disobedience/ God’s Discipline! His friends operated on the general concept, “You reap what you sow”. And for Job to reap such horrible judgement from God, he must have sown a terrible amount of sin! They condemned Job as wicked and sinful. They pleaded with him to confess and repent of his sins to God.

Job, however, maintained his innocence. He knew he had no sins to confess or repent of! Thus, he could not understand why he, a righteous man, was being punished by God so harshly. It seemed unjust and unfair to him.

Many times in the book, Job wanted an audience with God, in order to find out why he was suffering. In the end, God answered Job’s request for an audience spectacularly.

God spoke out of an awesome whirlwind! Job’s questions were ignored however – he was only reminded that God, not Job, asks the questions. God said,

²“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? ³Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”
Job 38:2-3

God said that Job’s complaining and raging against him was unjustified and proceeded from limited understanding. God then asked a series of rhetorical questions, to which Job had to admit ignorance.

As Job stood before the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth, he realized that there’s a great chasm between our human wisdom and God’s wisdom. God doesn’t think as we think, or act as we do. Job immediately repented for his presumption in trying to judge God by human standards.

God said nothing about Job’s suffering, nothing about the wager with Satan, nothing about divine justice. Then what was the point of Job’s innocent suffering? It’s about Discovery of God – Job saw God with new eyes, as He never had had. Job said to God, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5)

And for us too, when we endure innocent, undeserved suffering, we Discover God – the purpose of such suffering is that we come to see God as He truly is.

Abraham Kuyper writes,

“The school of suffering must make us increase in the knowledge of God.”

He goes on to say,

“[Through innocent, undeserved suffering] we attain to another, a better knowledge of God, which explains his dealings with us. But at first what our heart feels is that we cannot square this with our God as we imagined him, as we had dreamed him to be.

The God we had, we lose, and then it costs so much bitter conflict of soul, before refined and purified in our knowledge of God, we grasp another, and now the only true God in the place thereof.”

In the past, we may have had the idea that we’re the centre of things -our happiness, our honour, our future- and that God is meant to make us happy and serve our interests! Kuyper writes,

“This is an idea of God which is false through and through, which turns the order around and, taken in its real sense, makes self God, and God our servant!

“[Through innocent suffering], you become suddenly aware that this great God does not measure or direct the course of things according to your desire; that in his plan there are other motives that operate entirely outside of your preferences.

Then you must submit, you must bend. …This is the discovery of God’s reality, of His Majesty which utterly overwhelms you. … And for the first time you feel what it is to confront the living God. Now you know him!”

And thus, innocent, undeserved, righteous suffering gives us a greater, better and truer knowledge of God.

Wilson Benton writes,

“You are one person living at one place, at one point in time and even if God chose to explain to you how all the pieces of his giant puzzle are fitting together in a manner consistent with his own righteous and holy and gracious nature, so that he may faithfully fulfill his promise in your life and work everything that happens for your good, you couldn’t understand it.

But you can believe God understands it. And you can believe that God is loving enough and powerful enough, and wise enough, and gracious enough, and faithful enough to you to do what he says when he promises to work everything for your good.”

Innocent and undeserved suffering help us to Discover God. That’s what it did for Job. But unlike Job, we live on this side of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Jesus

Think about it, what’s the worst innocent, undeserved suffering in the history of mankind? Isn’t it the suffering of Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, Son Of God?

Jesus wasn’t exempt from suffering. “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

Also, God made Jesus, the pioneer of our salvation, perfect through what he suffered. (Hebrews 2:10)

Jesus predicted his suffering, and all of Scripture pointed to the fact that He had to suffer before entering his glory. (Luke 24:25-26) Yet suffering was not an easy cup to swallow, even for Jesus.

He, the Son of God, wrestled with God in Gethsemane, where he prayed, ““Father, if you’re willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

So great was his distress that he was “in anguish. He prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground”.

Finally, Jesus accepted God’s will that he suffer death on the cross as the Way for our salvation. He suffered righteously for us the unrighteous.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
1 Peter 3:18

Jesus, is the Suffering servant of Isaiah 53.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5

And just as Jesus submitted to God’s will, we too must seek His will, and participate in it, be it through joy or through suffering.

As Kuyper writes, may we have “heroic courage to drink the cup (of suffering) willingly, and not let it be forced upon us. To will to drink, as Jesus willed to die on Golgotha- with a broken heart to cooperate in God’s work, and in this suffering cooperation with God, who slays us, to find eternal life.”

Closing prayer

Father,

Many of us here are weighed down under the burden of trials and sufferings. We come to Your feet, and ask that You may renew our strength and our courage, while we rest here in Your Presence.

May we say in faith, “Father, if you’re willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” I

In Jesus name,

Amen.

Cleaning Up the Church (Titus 1)

I preached this sermon on June 5th at Saint George’s Church as part of our sermon series on Mental Health. You can watch the video of the sermon here:

But if you’re more of a reader, you can also find the transcript for my sermon below. God bless!

Titus 1 (New International Version)

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
⁴To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹²One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” ¹³This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Opening Prayer

Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction

Leadership guru, John Maxwell, famously said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Leadership determines the growth potential of a company or organisation. We see the importance of leadership at work, school, politics, sports, family, and also in the church.

We need good leaders in the church. But how are we to look for them? Based on their education, charisma, list of achievements, etc?

Thankfully, Paul’s letter to Titus tells us what to look for in a church leader, and why it is important. In case you’re wondering, “I’m not a church leader, so how is this relevant to me?”

Yes it is relevant because it will guide you in your decisions on the sort of leader to appoint, support and follow.

And if you’re new to church and looking for a church to settle in, looking at the church leadership is crucial in your decision whether to stay or go.

// Let’s first consider the background of the letter.

Background

Paul’s letter to Titus was probably written not long after the events of Acts 28 – where Paul was under house arrest in Rome. After his release, Paul most likely began his 4th missionary journey.

Paul visited Crete with Titus, preached the gospel there and had converts. Yet Paul didn’t stay on to organise the church or appoint elders, rather he left Titus there to carry on the work. We see that in Titus 1:5,

The reason I (Paul) left you (Titus) in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished…

Titus was called to straighten things out in Crete! Hence our sermon series is entitled “Operation Cleanup”. Titus had the challenging task of cleaning up 3 areas:

Cleaning Up the Church (Titus 1)
Cleaning Up the City (Titus 2)
Cleaning Up the Culture (Titus 3)

//Today we look at

Titus 1 – Cleaning up the church

Follow along with me in your Bibles as we look at Titus 1.

Titus 1:1-4

In Titus 1:1-4, Paul greets Titus, whom he calls “my true son in our common faith” (v4).

In verse 1, Paul describes himself as “a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ”, and then his mission of “furthering the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.”

Note the phrase, “knowledge of the truth that leads to (or produces) godliness”. Knowing the true gospel leads to godliness. Godliness means living in a way that reflects God’s character. When we know the true gospel, it transforms us to live godly, God-pleasing lives.

In verses 2 and 3, it’s interesting that Paul describes God as the One who “does not lie” and keeps his promises from the beginning of time. Why does he say that?

To answer that, we need to understand the culture in Crete. What kind of reputation did the Cretans have? Look at Titus 1:12,

One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”

This quote comes from the Cretan poet Epimenides who was held in high regard. Cretans had a bad reputation in Paul’s time – they were considered dishonest, evil, lazy and gluttonous. In Greek literature, “to Cretanize” meant “to lie”! Lying was a part of Cretan culture.

And so, Paul writes to them – Our God is different. He does not lie. He keeps his promises. This is important, because when we speak of godliness, it means that we reflect God’s character.

Though our culture may be dishonest, evil and immoral – we are to live godly lives, displaying Christian character which runs counter to our culture.

Thus, Paul calls Titus to select church leaders who show godliness, living in a way counter to their culture. Every Christian is called to godliness – we will see that in Titus 2 where it says, the Gospel, God’s grace, teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and “Yes” to godliness.

Remember, knowing the true gospel leads to godliness. And godly living is the fruit – the evidence – that we’ve received the gospel, and have been transformed by its truths.

// We now consider the next section in verses 5-9, where we read Paul’s task for Titus in Crete.

Titus 1:5-9

In verse 5, Paul tells Titus, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”

Titus was to put things in order by appointing elders in every town in Crete. Note that Titus wasn’t meant to operate as a one-man-show there, but leadership was to be shared.

Also, Paul didn’t want Titus to stay on in Crete – look at 3:12, where Paul says, “As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis.” Titus was to get things in order by appointing elders in each town, and then Titus would leave. This was the apostles’ strategy – plant churches, appoint elders and move on to new places.

And so, what was Titus to look for in an elder, or “overseer” (v7)? Elder/overseer are interchangeable terms.

2 things: godly character and firm grasp of gospel truth.

First, look for godly character.

Verse 6, “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.”

Blameless doesn’t mean perfect – for nobody is perfect. Another translation for “blameless” is “above reproach”. That means having a reputation for living a good, godly life, ‘under control’, in contrast to a wild, destructive and dishonest life.

Also, a leader was to be faithful to his spouse. This doesn’t bar singles or women from leadership. Wives are to be faithful to their husbands. Singles are to be sexually pure – not flirtatious, having unclear relationships with opposite sex, or addicted to pornography, etc.

Furthermore, a leader was expected to bring up his or her children in the Christian faith. I don’t think this applies to adult children of leaders, for as adults, they would have the freedom to choose for themselves what they believe. However, children living with their parents were expected to follow their parents’ faith.

Paul talks about this too in his letter to Timothy (1 Tim 3:4-5),

⁴He (elder/overseer) must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.
⁵(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)

In verses 7-8, Paul then contrasts five negative character qualities that disqualify a church leader with the six positive character qualities that qualify a church leader.

⁷ Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

We see the contrast between the 2 lists, e.g. instead of being drunk/violent; an elder is to be self-controlled, upright, holy, disciplined. A church leader was to have godly character.

Because knowing the true gospel produces godliness, leaders with godly character actually show evidence that they know the true gospel and that the gospel has sunk deep into their hearts and transformed them – producing godliness.

There are all kinds of “truth” speakers out in the world – how will you know who to listen to?

Look for godly character, for if truth leads to godliness, a Christian who is living a godly life is identifiable as someone who has been gripped, redeemed and transformed by the truth.

And this connects well with the 2nd thing to look for in an elder – besides godly character, they are to have a firm grasp of the gospel. See verse 9.

⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

What was this “trustworthy message”? Paul uses that interesting phrase again in chapter 3:8 where he says “this is a trustworthy saying” – and in the verses just before that (v4-7), Paul describes the trustworthy message – the gospel:

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

In these verses, Paul describes the Gospel – our salvation by God the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.

We were undeserving sinners, yet God showed his kindness and love for us by sending his Son Jesus to die for sins and save us. Through repentance and faith in Jesus, our sins are mercifully pardoned.

We are born again, justified, and renewed through the power of the Holy Spirit – and brought into relationship with God, becoming heirs of eternal life.

This is the trustworthy message of the gospel. And church leaders are to have a firm grasp of this gospel. And for what purpose?

“…so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (v9)

Leaders have a 2 fold task: To build others up with the gospel and refute those who oppose the gospel. Refute means to prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false. Leaders are meant to uncover false gospels and show them to be wrong.

We need church leaders with godly character and who have a firm grasp of the gospel.

We’ve seen that Paul tells Titus to appoint elders, and in verses 10-16, Paul explains why he had to do this.

// Titus 1:10-16

The section in v10-16 begins with the word “For”, so it links to the previous section. Verses 5-9 provides the solution of appointing godly leaders while verses 10-16 describe the problem,

So what was the problem in Crete? Look at verse 10.

¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.

Paul says there are many rebellious people – meaning they were found all over the nation of Crete, spreading like wildfire or a contagious virus. That’s why Titus had to appoint godly leaders in every town (v5) to combat the growing threat.

Paul calls them rebels because they resisted the authority of Paul and Titus. They were teaching things contrary to the gospel. “The circumcision group” may have taught that it was necessary to be circumcised in order to be saved.

Also, in verses 13-14, these rebels were paying “attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.”

And what were the effects of these rebels?

Look at verse 11, they were “disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”

Households are families, because the early church primarily met in homes. Families were being ruined by the influence of the false gospel.

Thus, these rebellious people were preaching some kind of gospel, but it wasn’t the true gospel. How could you tell?

Because they had ungodly characters – and we know that knowledge of the gospel truth produces godliness. Clearly, they didn’t have a grasp on the gospel at all.

Paul in verse 16 says about them: “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

And what was Titus to do?

Paul seems to have in mind 2 different groups of people.

Those rebellious ones who were teaching false gospel
Those who were influenced by these teachers

First, for those who were teaching the false gospel – “They must be silenced” (v11). This is especially so, if these false teachers are in the church today.

However, in our day and age, many of them are outside of the church. They exist on the Internet, Youtube, books, etc. and we cannot silence them. So what can we do?

What we can do is to help the 2nd group – those who have been influenced by these false teachers. How?

Paul pulls no punches here – we are to “rebuke them sharply” (v13)! Why did Paul call for sharp rebuke, such a drastic action? It’s because knowing the false gospel produces ungodliness. When we don’t know the true gospel, the fruit of our lives is increasing sin and ungodly living.

We see that in Romans 1 where sinful people who “suppress the truth by their wickedness” spiral downwards into greater sin and immorality.

Thus, Paul would not allow them to remain under the influence of the false gospel. Not knowing the true gospel leads to increasingly ungodly lives. It is knowledge of the truth that produces godliness.

Hence Paul’s call to rebuke them sharply. However, in the midst of all this silencing, refuting and rebuking, we mustn’t miss the reason to do this. We do it out of love and care for them.

Note what it’s said in verse 13 again:

Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith…

We are to prayerfully expect that some will be brought to, or back to, sound or healthy faith. We need to be confident in the power of the true gospel that leads to godliness.

Conclusion

Knowing the true Gospel leads to godliness. And as we grow in our knowledge of the Gospel, and allow it to take root in our lives, it transforms us from the inside out and bears the fruit of godliness. We reflect God’s character more and more.

In a church, we need leaders with godly characters – evidence that they have been gripped, redeemed and transformed by the true gospel in them.

We need Christian leaders who have a firm grasp of the gospel, who faithfully preach and teach the gospel week in and week out, who encourage others with the Gospel, as well as refute those who teach or preach a false gospel, so that they may be brought back to a sound faith. We know that only the true gospel produces godliness.

By doing so, we begin the work of cleaning up our church, our city, and our culture.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your word to us today.
Thank you that knowing the true gospel leads to godliness. May your word sink deep into our hearts and transform us into godly people. May we be doers, and not just hearers of your Word.
Thank you for the leaders of our church. Help them to live godly lives through their growth in the Gospel. May they have a firm grasp of your word, so that they may encourage others with sound doctrine and restore those who have gone astray.
In Jesus name,
Amen

God is where love is.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God. 1 John 4:16

Work is Good (Genesis 2:4-15)

Living as Pilgrims (Genesis 47:1-12)

At Just the Right Time (Galatians 4:4-5)

Who’s Really in Charge (James 4:13-5:6)

Birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80)

Watch the Talk (James 3:1-18)

Parables of the Kingdom (Mark 4:21-34)

Who is King Jesus (Mark 1:21-45)

God’s Purpose in Suffering (Job 1 & 42)

Cleaning Up the Church (Titus 1)

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God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God. 1 John 4:16

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