Scripture Passage: Matthew 15:21-28/Mark 7:24-30

In the Old Testament, we see that God hated the sin of idolatry the most. God again and again reproved the Israelites for their sin of idolatry; in the end, because of their idolatry, the nation was destroyed. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus didn’t rebuke the Israelites for idolatry because they had already been suffering for several hundreds of years from the destruction of their nation, they already knew that the Lord is the one and only true God. They no longer dared worship idols. But the Lord Jesus often rebuked them for their lack of faith.

In Matthew 17:17 Jesus said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” Jesus had once sighed deeply at Israel’s unbelief. However, while he was on earth, he had commended two persons’ faith.

• One was the Roman centurion. The centurion’s servant was ill and he asked the Lord to heal the man. Jesus said, “I will go and heal him.” but the centurion replied, ““Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith…Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.”
• The second one is this Canaanite woman, the Lord told her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

These two people were both Gentiles. They do not have many religious rituals and activities like the Jews, yet they had great faith. Those with many religious activities turned out to possess little faith. Faith is based on our knowledge of the Lord. Our faith is proportionate to how much we know the Lord. Today, let us learn the reasons why the Canaanite woman’s faith was commended by the Lord.

I. She had a Persevering Faith

When Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon, a Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. Awhile later, his disciples came to him and urged him to send her away. It seems the woman had been crying out for quite some time, for even the disciples were disturbed. They couldn’t stand it anymore and asked Jesus to send her away! In Luke 18 Jesus had once told a parable, the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Every day, the widow went to the judge and pleaded for justice. The judge neither feared anything in heaven or earth, he didn’t fear God. He simply ignored her. But he became weary of her coming.

To depict this in a modern scenario, she comes as he takes his meals, she arrives as he heads for the restroom, she appears as he is watching TV, she comes as he heads for a shower. He couldn’t get rid of her, so he had no choice but to grant the justice she sought. Similarly, no matter how much the Canaanite woman cried out, Jesus ignored her, but she didn’t get discouraged, and when the disciples couldn’t stand it any longer, they asked Jesus to send her away!

Why was the Canaanite woman so persistent, why was she unwilling to give up? I believe there are two reasons:

1. Her Love for Her Daughter: “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” This is the cry from deep within the heart of a mother. This is love’s cry. In this world, only parental love comes close to God’s love. 1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” The love parents have for their children is a sacrificial love. It is an amazing kind of love. Even when our children are disobedient, the love of the parents doesn’t diminish; parents show a special concern especially when the children are in trouble. This is something only those who are parents can understand.

This Canaanite woman’s love for her child made her persistent and it kept her going, because love always believes. She believed there was hope for her child, she hanged on to the belief that she will get well. This year when my daughter had to go through surgery, I met another father whose daughter also went through the same surgery. We didn’t know each other but we became acquainted in the hospital. One day, our daughter was in therapy, and her daughter, who was only 16 and had just gone through surgery, was also there. Because she was in pain, she threw a temper tantrum. Her father on his daughter’s behalf explained to the nurse and the therapist, apologizing, “Her `princess disease’ occurred again.” This is the first time I heard this term “princess disease”. A tantrum is a tantrum, yet the father called it `princess disease’. This is a father’s love for his child.

2. Her Knowledge of the Lord: Her daughter was demon-possessed. I am sure that whoever was said to be able to cure demon-possession, the mother must have surely gone to him, she must have tried different methods and of course to no avail. When Jesus came to Tyre, she immediately went to see Jesus, she cried aloud, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” She used two names to call Jesus, first she called him Lord, then, she called him Son of David. She referred to Jesus as Lord, she acknowledged the lordship of Jesus and this, we all understand. But it is interesting that she called Jesus the Son of David, for Son of David refers to the Messiah. This name is only relevant to the Israelites. It has no relevance to the Gentiles. Just like the Chinese are called “Descendants of the Dragon”. This name is only relevant to the Chinese.

In the four gospels, all who called Jesus the Son of David were Jews. Only one Gentile, this woman, ever called Jesus the Son of David. She must have heard many stories about Jesus, including how he had healed the demon-possessed and other ill people. She acknowledged Jesus is the Messiah, she was willing to accept Jesus as Lord. She believed Jesus can heal her daughter. Her faith came from hearing. We can compare her faith with that of the prostitute Rahab. In Jericho, only Rahab recognized that the Lord is the only true God, because she heard how the Israelites departed from Egypt, how the Red Sea was divided, how manna fell from the heavens, how the rock brought forth water, she heard and she believed. Faith comes from hearing the Word. Now that you have heard, have you believed?

II. She had Faith that Withstood the Test

I often said that every Christian will encounter three T’s in life: Temptation, Trial and Test. Genesis 22:1 “Some time later God tested Abraham.” He asked him to sacrifice Isaac. In our faith journey, the Lord will test us, sometimes through difficulties, problems, or illnesses.

In this scripture passage, the faith of the Canaanite woman was tested at least in two ways:

1. The Lord’s Refusal to Listen to Her: She was crying out loudly behind the Lord, but Jesus did not answer a word. This woman mustn’t only have cried out once, she must have cried out continually, but Jesus simply ignored her. In the end, even the disciples got wearied of her and asked him to send her away! This woman’s cry was a prayer, a prayer uttered to Jesus for her daughter’s need. Yet Jesus refused to answer her.

There are many such cases in the Psalms – Psalm 10:1 “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Psalm 13:1 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”

Our God is not Wong Tai Sin. Wong Tai Sin is Hong Kong’s most famous idol. He is famous because it is said that he grants all requests made to him, you can even ask him for a winning lottery number. But that is deceiving people.

The true God is the Lord of all mankind, not the slave of mankind. He does not grant all requests. Sometimes, he would not answer our requests because he wants to test our faith. In the Cathedral of Lubeck in Germany, there is a poem displayed: “Ye call Me Master and obey me not, Ye call Me Light and see Me not, Ye call me Way and walk not, Ye call Me Life and desire Me not, Ye call Me wise and follow Me not, Ye call Me fair and love Me not, Ye call Me rich and ask Me not, Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not, Ye call Me gracious and trust Me not, Ye call Me noble and serve Me not, Ye call Me mighty and honor Me not, Ye call Me just and fear Me not, if I condemn you, blame me not.” Now, we can understand why the Lord often tests us.

2. The Lord Belittles Her : When the disciples spoke about the woman, Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

What kind of a reply was that? That is insulting another! “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs”, wasn’t the Lord saying the Gentiles were dogs, the Canaanite woman was a dog, her child was a dog! Although Bible interpreters tell us the Lord was not referring to wild dogs but domesticated ones, still they are dogs, whether wild or domesticated! When you call someone a dog, it is insulting him, right? You will not say, “I am not insulting you when I call you a dog, for I am referring to you as a pet dog, not a wild dog.”

If you say Rev. Cheung, you are a domesticated dog, like a pet dog in my home, I still won’t be pleased. The Jews see Gentiles as dogs, that is, they look down on them. They don’t respect them. Pardon me for saying this, when we call the Filipinos “huana” (barbarians), that is a disrespectful term. Yet Jesus said “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

Although at first glance, it seemed he was belittling her, his motive really was to test her. If she became angry and walked away, she would have lost the greatest blessing of her life. Jesus once told the Jews, “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” The Jews immediately replied, “This is a hard teaching.” And many turned back and no longer followed him, because the Jews don’t eat unclean meat (human flesh is unclean), they don’t eat blood. After many left him, Jesus did not tell those who remained, “I am sorry, I was mistaken with what I said.” Jesus instead said, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter immediately answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” If we depart from the Lord, we will lose eternal life. Do you still want to leave? Jesus often tests our faith.

Twice, Jesus tested this woman. He ignored her, he insulted her, but her faith in the Lord Jesus didn’t waver, her faith withstood the tests.

III. She had Faith as a Mustard Seed

Matthew 17:20 “Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”” Luke 17:6 “He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” These two scripture passages speak of the same thing, as long as you have real faith, even though you may start with a faith as small as a mustard seed, since there is life, in the end, it can grow into a big tree. This Canaanite woman had real faith.

When she heard Jesus’ reply, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs”, not only did she not show anger, she replied, “Yes it is, Lord. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

What does this passage in scripture mean? The Lord said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” And this Canaanite woman grabbed hold of what Jesus said and replied, “Yes it is, Lord. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Of course, let the children eat first, no parent would feed the dogs before their own children. But after the children have eaten, the dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from the table. She meant, “I and my daughter are undeserving of God’s grace, for I am a Gentile, not God’s chosen people, and I have no relationship with God. We are truly unworthy of God’s grace, but even a few crumbs would be good enough for us. The Lord Jesus immediately replied, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

In Africa, the Republic of Uganda was ruled by the dictator Amin in 1971. During his regime, at least 300,000 people were massacred. This was a country that worshipped idols and practiced sorcery. This nation also had the highest number AIDS cases. A United Nations report said that in the year 2000, one-third of the country’s population will be suffering from AIDS, one-third will die of AIDS, and a third will be left but cannot afford to support the country’s economy. Therefore, in the year 2000, this nation will disappear from the world.

However, that prediction did not come true. Uganda has now become a more progressive and prosperous country. AIDS cases have dropped from 36 per cent to 6 percent. It has become a nation from which many other countries in Africa would like to learn from. How did this happen? It started from a prayer campaign called “Transformation”. The Church began to look up to God, they prayed for God’s mercy and blessings in faith, they asked God to save this country from destruction and to transform it. Their faith grew day by day, and as a result, they saw the wonderful work of God; it was just like what Jesus said: “Your request is granted. It will be done just as you believed it would.”

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I will start by analyzing with you the structure of Mark 4:21-25. In verses 21-22, Jesus talked about one subject matter; in verses 24-25, he talked about another matter; between these two verses, V.23, is a warning: “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” What are we to hear? We are to hear the two subject matters Jesus talked about.

Why did Jesus emphatically declare: “If anyone has ears, let them hear!”?
1. This is very important. This is God’s working principle, so he who has ear must listen.

2. This is something men don’t like to listen to. The Chinese say `good words are unpleasant to the ear.’ We like to hear things that are pleasing to our ears: `You love the Lord so much! You’re really a pillar of the church, without you, the church would be nothing.” When we hear such things, our hearts are overjoyed. On the contrary, if a person says to us, “Do not think too highly of yourself, you are not that smart”, we are displeased. We do not like to hear such things. So, Jesus said: “If anyone has ears, let them hear!”

When we study this passage from this point of view, I discovered that there are two principles by which God works:

I. Whatever is Done in Secret, whether Good or Bad, will be Revealed by the Lord 21- 22

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? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” It is strange Jesus said that people would light a lamp and place it under a bushel or under the bed. Placed under a bushel, it will be extinguished because there is no oxygen there. Under a bed, it will catch fire. Naturally, one lights a lamp to place it on a lampstand.

This is a simple truth, didn’t Jesus know that? Of course, our Lord knew this truth, but he wanted to tell us a more important truth, that is, nothing concealed, whether good or bad, will remain hidden. At the right time, God will let these things be revealed. Why? God will reveal the good things we do in the dark so that they may become examples for others; God will reveal the bad things we do in the dark so that they may become a warning for others. Whether good or bad, the goal is the same, and that is, to bring glory to the Father in heaven.

A. God Reveals the Good Deeds Done in Secret – To Serve as Example for Others

Some believers have done a lot of good things quietly for the Church and for the Lord. They do not want people to know but God has his way of making these things known, in order that they may become a good example for other believers.

A young man in the United States by the name of William Borden was the only heir of the Borden Milk Company. When he graduated at 16 from secondary school, his father gave him a present – a trip around the world. As he traveled in the Middle East and Asia, he saw a lot of poor people, he was moved by God and determined to become a missionary to help those poor people. When he told his family and friends the news, his friends and family were very shocked. And some people did not believe that it was possible, but he did not say anything and simply wrote down two words in his Bible “No Reserves”.

Later on, while he was studying in Yale University, he saw his classmates’ lack of spiritual interest, and so he organized a morning prayer meeting. As many as 130 students participated in it. On the year that he graduated, there were one thousand students participating in the prayer meetings. Because of his superior leadership, after he graduated, many international companies wanted to hire him, but he rejected the offers. He wrote a second phrase in his Bible, “No Retreats”. Later, he entered the seminary. After graduation, he had intended to go to China, Gansu Province to preach the gospel to Muslims. When his ship sailed through Egypt, he stayed there to learn the Arabic language; but he contracted meningitis. The disease was incurable during those times, and within a month he passed away. All newspapers in the United States carried the news of his death; everyone felt much regret over his passing away. Later on, they found his Bible and saw a third phrase he had written, “No Regrets”. “No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets” – this became a wonderful example and testimony.

Although he was not able to go to China to preach the gospel, his life still moved tens of millions of people to devote themselves to God towards the work of evangelism. William Borden did not tell anyone about his three mottos; only God knew about it, but God revealed them to the world.

B. God Exposes the Evil Done in Secret- To Serve as a Warning to All Men

God is awesome, God is omniscient, so there is nothing that can be hidden from him. Even the things we do in secret, although no one knows about them, will one day be revealed. Let me share a simple story- We used to have a helper in our home. She was a diligent worker, however, after a while, we often have things missing in our house. We couldn’t say that she was taking them because we had no evidence. Later on, my daughter also lost her cell phone. No one would admit to taking it.

Almost 3 month later, I was holding my phone and I do not know what I had accidentally pressed, but my daughter’s phone number appeared. I felt an urge to call the number (I had tried calling it many times before but I couldn’t get through), and so I did. Someone answered the phone, because the one on the other side spoke in Filipino, I immediately handed the phone over to my wife. My wife asked the man why he had that phone number, and we discovered that our helper had sold the SIM card to him. Thus, it was proven that our helper was the one who stole the phone, and she had no recourse but to leave our employ. The things done in secret will one day be revealed. The Chinese have a saying: “If you do not want people to know, then don’t do it.”

The Bible also records how the most famous David committed adultery with Bathsheba. David was a very intelligent man. It is frightening when a wise man commits a crime. By the hands of another, he killed Uriah and took Bathsheba. In men’s eyes, Uriah was killed in battle and David simply took in the young widow he left behind to care for her. Joab knew a bit of the whole story, but he wouldn’t speak up either for fear of losing his own life.

I have mentioned before that there was about a period of 2 to 3 years between the time David committed this sin to the time he repented of his sin. From the time Bathsheba became pregnant to the birth of the child and until the death of the child, at least two to three years’ time had elapsed. In those years, nobody knew what David had done. He looked the same, he continued to lead the whole nation in worshipping God, he served, he prayed, he gave; no one knew that David had murdered a man and had committed adultery.

It was like the case of TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker. Jimmy Swaggart committed sexual immorality; Jim Bakker failed in matters of financial accountability, he swindled many members of their money. But it took several years before their sins were exposed. All that time, they were still doing their television evangelism; no one knew what they were secretly doing. But our God is awesome, He knows everything, He has his way of revealing everything in time.

Jesus said, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” We must let our light shine before men, but is our light a true or false light? May God’s Word remind us that whatever we do in the dark, good or bad, will one day be disclosed. Let us not deceive others or ourselves.

II. He who Has More will Have More, He who Has Less will Have Less 24-25

He continued “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” These two bible verses teach us two principles – first, men’s principle; and second, God’s principle.

A. Man’s Principle

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – men live by this principle. In other words, people will treat you as you treat them. This is a very basic principle – When you smile at them, people will not curse you. When you curse men, they will not smile at you. If you curse them and they smile at you, then you have to be careful of such men, for such men hide a dagger in their smile. They may be smiling at you, but there might be murderous intent in their heart. Those are scary people. In ordinary situations, people will treat you the way you treat them.

In order to establish a healthy church, we must first establish a spiritually healthy environment. What is a healthy environment? When you wake up to have your exercise regimen, you will see many health-conscious people exercising; although you don’t know each other, but because you are all health enthusiasts, a good rapport can be found among you; you will greet each other with a smile and even say good morning. It is because the atmosphere is healthy. But if at 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and everyone is in the midst of their busyness, you stand in the middle of the road, and say` good afternoon’, no one will reply. People will say you are crazy, because there isn’t a healthy atmosphere then.

The interpersonal relationship among people is interesting. Usually, I bring my daughter to school in the morning. Every day, we would pass by a place where an old man stands begging for alms. One day, my daughter told me, “Dad, please give him a little money.” I did as she said. I don’t know why, but from that morning on, every time I pass by the place, I would automatically give him some money. After a week, he seemed to have recognized my car already, for even before I reach the spot, I would see him smiling at us. When I give him the money, he would give us his best smile and say thank you. I don’t know why, but my heart feels happy doing it; so every day we would hand him some alms. About a month after, we passed by the place and didn’t see the old man. Unable to give him money, my heart felt some sort of a loss. I felt like seeing him so I can give him some money. Human relationships are very interesting! In the church, we must build a healthy atmosphere. Here, we help each other, we love each other, we encourage each other, because this is a home, a spiritual family.

B. God’s Principle

“Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” He who has more will have more, he who has less will have less. Jesus had once used a parable to explain this principle, “The Parable of the Talents”. In this parable, a master gave 5000, 2000 and 1000 talents respectively to his three servants. The servant who got 5000 talents earned 5000 more, and the master was very happy, rewarded the servant with the original 5000 talents and the 5000 he earned. The servant who got 2000 talents earned 2000 talents more. The master was very pleased and gave the servant the original talent of 2000 and the 2000 more he earned. The servant who got 1000 talents did not earn anything, and the master was very displeased; he took back the 1000 talents and gave it to the first servant who already had 10,000 talents by then. The master said, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” He who has will have more, he who does not have, will have less. God follows a principle when he works. You must use wisely the talents God had given you. The more you use them, the more you will have. If you don’t use them, the Lord will take them away and give them to those who do use their God-given gifts to serve others. And so, those who are gifted become more and more gifted.

Actually this isn’t a difficult truth to understand. A group of classmates who graduated 30 years ago had a class reunion. In their reunion, they discovered there were some among them who were very successful bank managers, doctors, department heads, while some remained ordinary. Thirty years ago, when they were still studying, their grades were almost the same, so why was there a big difference in how they turned out? Some people started to complain, “The world is really unfair, heaven didn’t give me good opportunities!”

An old professor was there and said, “Let me ask you a math problem, 10-9=?” What kind of a question was that? Even a grade one student could answer that! But the professor said, “Do you know how to play bowling? The rule is you have to hit ten pins. Your score depends on how many pins you hit. If out of the ten pins, only one pin is left standing, then you get a score of 9. If you hit a strike, that is, all 10 pins fall, you don’t put a score until the next frame is done. If out of ten frames you hit ten strikes, you get 300 points. If you get a score of 9 in all 10 frames, you get a final score of 90.

The difference of the scores between the person who hits a strike for all ten frames and the one who hits 9 pins for all ten frames is 210 points. When you were studying, your grades were almost the same, but after graduation, some of you just graduated and some continued to learn and to progress; thus in ten years’ time, the gap between you grew wider and wider.”

Brothers and sisters, isn’t it similar in the spiritual aspect or in any other aspect in this life? The poor becomes poorer, the rich becomes richer; the educated becomes more educated, the uneducated becomes more uneducated. This is so true. Church, the more we use the talents God gave us, the more we will improve, the more we will bear fruit. Do not be lazy, do not be afraid of hard work, for to the one who has more, more will be given.

We have seen the two great principles by which God works: God will reveal all things, good or bad, so that they may become examples and warning for others. Also, he who has more will be given more, he who has less will have less. So, do not be weary in doing good, for in time you will reap a harvest. Amen!

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Psalm 126 says, “We were like those who dreamed. The LORD has done great things for us.” The Lord had indeed done great things for us, we must give thanks to him from the bottom of our hearts. But true gratitude must be shown through our actions. How shall we thank Him with our deeds?

When it is a parent’s birthday, a thoughtful child would ask his parent, “What would you like me to give you?” Usually, the parent would reply, “The best gift you can give me is to be an obedient and good boy.”

Today is the Church’s 25th anniversary; if we ask the head of the Church, “Lord, what would you like?” I think the Lord will say: “Be my true disciples. That would be the best gift you can give me.” In the Great Commission, the Lord commanded, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The command `make disciples’ is the only verb in the Great Commission; `baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you’ are participles. So, we see that the greatest desire of the Lord is that we be his disciples. But who are true disciples of the Lord?

In the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus tells us thrice who the true disciples of the Lord are:

I. Those who abide by the Lord’s commands are His true disciples John 8:30-32

Jesus told the Jews who believed in him: “If you abide in My word, you are really my disciples.” Those who obey His word are those the Lord acknowledges as his true disciples.

Twenty-five years ago, the founders of our church named the church Christian Bible Church of the Philippines. Hence, we must be a church that knows the truth and abides by the truth. The church is already 25 years old, let me ask you: How much do we know of the truth? How much of the truth have we abided?

Let us take a mini-test today. Who among us has read through the whole Bible, please raise your hands. Who has read through the entire New Testament more than once, please raise your hands. Now, those who have not yet read it through, you must exert more effort. How can we comply with the word of God if we do not know it?

The Lord said, “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” The one who knows the truth and abides by the truth is the one who is truly free. They experience two kinds of freedom:

1. Freedom in Life – Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” A person who abides by the truth will have abundant life. Poverty is the opposite of abundance. Some people live in poverty, they are afraid of everything. They want to grab everything. In the end, they become so poor they only have money.

How can a person be poor if he has money, you ask. Well, they have nothing else apart from money, no joy, no peace, no love, no hope. Isn’t that a picture of abject poverty? The truth gives us freedom in life. We are no longer slaves to sin. Our lives become fully transformed. Before he came to know the Lord, a man used to beat his wife. The pastor called him and asked, “Why do you beat your wife?” He replied, “Pastor, when something is broken, isn’t it only right to fix it?” “Of course,” answered the pastor. “My wife is broken, so I need to fix her.” However, after he came to know the Lord, he became a changed man. At his baptismal, he testified, “Before, I treated my wife like an object, now I see her as my precious treasure.” His life had been transformed, thus, his perspective has changed too.

2. Freedom in Living – The Bible says, “Everything is permissible.” Our life is full of freedom, however, freedom does not mean indulgence. Everything is permissible but only within the bounds of truth. Sometimes people say there are too many prohibitions for Christians, as a result, many do not like to become a follower of Jesus. They say Christians aren’t allowed to play mahjong, drink alcohol, smoke. Some used to say that Christians aren’t allowed to watch movies, perm their hair…but actually, everything is permissible.

You ask, “Is that true, pastor? I can play mahjong, drink alcohol, smoke. That is the greatest news I have heard, thank you pastor.” But wait, I am not finished yet. Yes, Paul did say everything is permissible, however, there are four conditions we must observe, that is, what we choose to do must: a. Glorify God; b. Edify men; c. Be beneficial; and d. We must not be controlled by it.

For example, with regards to drinking alcohol, it is permissible but one must not be controlled by it. We may take alcohol, but we must not harm our body, we must not get into a brawl because of wine. In other words, we are free, we have freedom, because we have been set free from sin.

II. Those who Love One Another are True Disciples of the Lord John 13:34-35

Jesus said, “If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.” Love is a mark of the Lord’s disciples. The Lord said, “You must love one another, just as I have loved you.” John 13:1-17, in washing the disciples’ feet, the Lord showed us how much He loves us.

The Lord showed us:

1. An Example of Humility – When referring to the feet, we often add the word “smelly”. Our feet smell. We use our feet for walking, our feet are filthy. It was a demonstration of ultimate humility when Jesus as a master washed his disciples’ feet. Pride is the greatest enemy which keeps us from loving one another, what is pride? Pride is looking down on others when you find you are better in some areas than they are. Each of us has areas where we are better than others, but humble people do not look down on others just because they are better.

The Church is already 25 years old, thus, we have all known each other for quite a long time now. We know who is weak in some area, and who is strong in certain areas. Whether we are able to love each other or not depends on our exercising humility, on not being proud and refusing to make comparisons. Love one another with a humble heart.

2. An Example of Forgiveness – This scripture passage tells us Jesus knew who would betray him. Will you wash the feet of him whom you know will betray you? And then, was Judas the only one unworthy of Jesus washing his feet, what about the other 11 disciples? Peter denied Jesus three times, the other ten deserted him when he was arrested. None of his 12 disciples faithfully remained by Jesus to the end.

The Bible says: “Jesus loved them to the end.” This wasn’t just any kind of love, it is forgiving love. If you were Jesus and you knew that Judas would betray you, that Peter would deny you thrice, that the other 10 would abandon you, would you still wash their feet? If I were Jesus, I would use very hot water to wash Judas’ feet, then, rub it hard with a towel, so that he may know what he will be up against if he betrays me. But we believe the Lord must have gently washed the feet that would betray him. This is called forgiveness.

There was a middle-aged woman who fell in love with another man and sought for a divorce from her husband. Her husband refused, and so she constantly fought him. In the end, her husband agreed, but with one condition, that is he wanted to meet her new boyfriend. So, the three met. During their meeting, the husband showed a respectful demeanour, shook hands with the other man, then made a request. He wanted his wife to step out for a while because he wanted to speak with the man alone. Although the wife hesitated at first, fearing they might fight, she finally agreed. Before long, the two men emerged, and the husband left.

The woman was curious, and asked the boyfriend, “What did he say to you?” Her boyfriend asked her, “Do you know your husband?” Of course, she replied, “He is stupid, he doesn’t understand a woman and her needs, it’s miserable being married to him.”

In response, the man said, “I realized you don’t know your husband at all, just like I completely don’t know you. Your husband didn’t tell me anything except two things: first, that you tend to be impatient and that your heart is weak. He asked me to be patient with you and to give way to you in all things, lest your blood pressure rises up. Second, he said you have a weak stomach and I must refrain from bringing you to places where they serve spicy food. After that he entrusted you to me. I realized I really don’t know you, I realized your husband knows you best. Go back to your husband.”

This husband showed forgiving love. We are the Lord’s disciples, do we forgive? We must not harbour hatred in our hearts. In these 25 years, it’s either we have hurt others, or others have hurt us; we are true disciples of the Lord when we are able to forgive one another.

III. Those who Bear Fruit are True Disciples of the Lord John 15:5-8

Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The Bible tells us that the Lord’s disciples are fruit-bearers. Every tree bears its own fruit, a grape tree will naturally bear grapes, apple trees will bear apples. If we are the Lord’s disciples, then we will bear fruit for the Lord and glorify our heavenly Father. The Lord showed us three principles:

1. We must truly belong to the Lord: v.1 Jesus said, “I am the true vine.” V.5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.” Jesus is the vine, the true vine; we are the branches, true branches. This is an issue of the presence (existence) of life. We must truly belong to the Lord. There are all kinds of counterfeits in this world, there are fake bank notes (US dollars, HK dollars, Philippine peso), there are false pastors, false believers…etc. We must make sure that our faith is real. We must truly belong to the Lord, for if we do not have His life in us, we cannot bear His fruit no matter how hard we try.

2. We must be cleansed and purified: V.2 “ He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes.” The Lord trims off every branch that doesn’t bear fruit and trims every branch that bears fruit. The difference is that the branch that bears fruit becomes even more fruitful after it is pruned. Filth exists in many areas of our life which causes us to be unfruitful. The Lord prunes or cleans us so that we become even more fruitful.

But how does the Lord prune us?

2a. Difficulties. Job is most well-known for his suffering. In one day, he lost everything – his wealth, his children, and his health. Only his wife was left, but later on his wife told him: “Curse God and die!” With such a wife, it would really be good to die! But Job said after his suffering, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you; when has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Suffering is a medicine that matures us spiritually. When we encounter difficulties, we in fact become more persistent in prayer.

2b. Circumstances. Paul said, “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Becoming Christians does not guarantee us a trouble-free life. We will still encounter various circumstances. These will keep us humble in times of abundance and uncomplaining in times of need. The Church is already 25 years old, we have also gone through various difficulties. The Lord used different circumstances to prune us. An American went to Taiwan to learn the Chinese language. He told his friends, “There is a famous person in Taiwan. His name is everywhere, he is called “Shi Jian Zhong”. His friends laughed so hard because “Shi Jian Zhong” is not a person’s name, it means “under construction”. Church, we are actually `under construction’ right now. The Lord uses circumstances to prune us.

2c. People. The Lord often uses other people to prune us, such as the person beside us or people we don’t exactly like. I dare not say they are bad people, but the Lord uses them to prune us. Who are they? It could be your parents, your children, your pastor (for me: it could be church members). God uses people to prune us. Joseph is a good example. God used his brothers, his boss (Potiphar), his coworkers (the cupbearer, his jail mate) to prune him, as a result, he became the prime minister of Egypt.

3. We must remain in the Lord. – In 15:1-8, the phrase “If you remain in me” appeared seven times. What does it mean to `remain in me’? It means that we must not depart from the Lord no matter what happens, no matter how much difficulties we encounter. For to leave the Lord is to leave the source of life, and without life, we cannot bear fruit. When we remain in the Lord, we will, according to Psalm 1:2, bear fruit in season.

What does it mean to bear fruit in season? The fruit of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. One cannot bear all nine of them at the same time, we bear fruit in season. When you see the need, you bear the fruit of love. When you see large amount of food that you are not supposed to eat, you bear the fruit of self-control. When you are criticized, you will bear the fruit of peace. When your husband is in a bad mood, you bear the fruit of gentleness. Bear fruit in season, to the Father’s glory, as the Lord said, “… showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

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There is a story that goes like this: After the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, he met the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel asked the Lord Jesus, “Lord, have you accomplished your task?” The Lord said, “Salvation has been completed, but the work of saving souls is not yet completed. I entrusted that task to the twelve disciples.” The archangel, with an attitude of doubt, asked the Lord Jesus, “Can they do it?” The Lord Jesus said, “If they cannot, I have no other way to get it accomplished either.”

Of course, this is just a story. Yet, when we recall the past 2000 years of church history, we are filled with gratitude, for these twelve fishermen who had no education or exceptional status were able to spread the gospel throughout the world. This is not man’s doing, but God’s. We really have to admire the Lord Jesus’ foresight and strategy. He left us a wonderful example of how to choose our coworkers.

Brothers and sisters, no matter how talented or powerful you are, you cannot do all the work alone. Just like Moses. I don’t think we can find a man like him in a hundred years. Moses was truly a genius. Read the Five Books of Moses and you will discover that he was an architect, a writer, a physician, a military strategist, an apologist, a historian, a zoologist, and a political scientist. Did such a man need coworkers?

Moses told the Lord, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” As a result, the Lord chose seventy elders to be his coworkers. If Moses needed coworkers, how much more do we? There is only one person in this world who doesn’t need coworkers, and that is the Lord Jesus. What have we contributed to the entire task of creation? We have contributed nothing! The Book of Romans says: “Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?” The Psalms say, “The Lord God alone does marvelous deeds.” God does not need coworkers.

However, the Lord Jesus selected coworkers on earth, not because he needed coworkers, but because the Lord wants to give us the opportunity to work with him. We must truly be humble for the Lord does not need us, instead, we are the ones who need the Lord! The Lord told the disciples, “… apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) How can we not be humble? Now, what is humility, what is self-abasement and what is arrogance? Sometimes we do not quite understand these terms which results to our speaking carelessly. Low self-esteem is feeling discouraged and useless upon realizing you are more inferior in some areas than other people. Humility is not becoming proud even when you find yourself better in some areas than other people. Pride is despising or looking down at others when you find you are better than others in certain areas. We dare not be proud even when we find we are better than others in certain aspects because we know that everything comes from God. The Lord does not need co-workers yet he set for us an example on how to choose co-workers:

I. Prayer

Verse 13 “Jesus went up on the mountainside.” What did Jesus do on the mountainside? Luke 6:12 says, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” Jesus went up to the mountainside to pray and he spent the whole night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them whom he designated apostles. Jesus left us a very good example – we need to pray and ask the Lord for the coworkers we need. May the Lord forgive us, for we often neglect this important principle. When we need coworkers, we simply go find people. In fact, we sometimes coerce people into helping us in the ministry; we forget that Jesus spent one whole evening to pray about choosing coworkers. V.13 says “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted.” What does this mean? Jesus prayed until his will and God’s will were aligned, and we can even say this – Jesus submitted completely to God’s will in selecting the 12 apostles. Those of us who have particularly quick minds may be asking, “Then how come Jesus selected Judas?” I tell you, if Jesus did not pray, he might not have simply chosen a Judas, he might have selected 11 Judases. Do you know the difference between praying and not praying?

When we pray for anything, we transfer the matter into God’s hands; the Lord will then take responsibility for anything that happens regarding the matter. If we don’t pray, we will have to take full responsibility for our decisions. In the area of marriage, you must pray for your future partner. I am not saying that if you do pray, you will have a perfect husband or a perfect wife; that is impossible, because there are no perfect people in this world. I’ve heard some people say: “There are two kinds of good people in this world: but the first is already dead, the second hasn’t been born yet.” There are no good people in this world anymore – this statement isn’t exactly wrong. Because Jesus said that in this world, apart from God, there is no one good. Don’t ask for a perfect husband, or a perfect wife, or a perfect coworker.

Instead, we must pray, then God will take full responsibility. Parents often worry about their children. But, have you prayed for them? If you say you have indeed prayed much for them; then, be assured God will take responsibility for them. Agustine was a great theologian, but during his youth, he lived a corrupt life. His mother prayed unceasingly for him and shed much tears because of him. One time, she sought the counsel of the bishop. The bishop assured her: “With a mother who prays and shed such tears for her child, the Lord will surely save him.” In the end, the Lord used a verse in the Book of Romans and brought Agustine back. Have we prayed for our children? We need coworkers, have we prayed about the need?

II. Calling

Mark’s Gospel records, “Jesus… called to him those he wanted.” Luke chronicles, “When morning came, he called his disciples to him.” Matthew writes, “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him.” Jesus called them. He issued the call. Our Lord never rejects anyone, neither does he compels people. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” He said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” The Lord Jesus issues the call, whoever is willing to respond to his call may come to him. This applies with the call to ministry, too. The Bible says, “The Lord Jesus called to him those he wanted and they came to him.” Peter said in 1Peter 5:2-3, exhorting those serving the Lord, “ Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

In this passage, there are three important contrasts for the people God calls to serve him: 1. Not under compulsion but willingly 2. Not greedy for money but eager to serve 3. Not lording it over but being examples to the flock. We take special note of the third, “not under compulsion but willingly.” I am the pastor of the church, I have to shepherd more than a thousand sheep, I really cannot do it on my own, but I am especially thankful for the co-workers by my side; they willingly come alongside me to work and do their best whenever I call upon them. Without them, I wouldn’t have the ministry I have today. I would like to especially make mention of our interpreters (Alex, Peter, David, Poshan, Irene). Sometimes, I would call them impromptu, but as long as they can, they will not find excuses, I am really very touched.

Let me tell you two testimonies: Once, Elder Stanley Sy was scheduled to interpret for me. Later on, I found out that because of his work, he had to go to Singapore; yet he arranged to come back on Saturday to interpret for me on Sunday. After interpreting for me, he left that afternoon for Singapore again. With such co-workers, won’t you be touched? Another time, I was to speak at a young professionals’ camp. Sister Poshan was to be my interpreter. I was supposed to speak on the first night of the camp. But I couldn’t find Poshan. I asked the people in-charge if Poshan was already there and they told me that she had work that day so she will fly from Manila after work. After work, she rushed to the airport, hurried to the venue from the airport and dashed into the conference hall at the last minute. Won’t you be touched with such co-workers?

The Lord Jesus needed to pray for his co-workers. After he prayed, he called them; upon hearing his call, they came to him and so the Lord Jesus appointed the 12 apostles. The Lord wants willing workers. Anyone who is willing to serve God may come, there is surely suitable work waiting for you.

III. Training

After the Lord appointed the 12 apostles, he did not immediately send them out. The Bible says, “…that they might be with him….” Before he sent them out to preach, the Lord first wanted them to be with him. What does this mean? It refers to living together. Living together is the best way to train the disciples. The Chinese say it is easy to get together but difficult to live together. We all know that we learn by example. But the real example is not in the church context but in the home, because in the home, we can’t hide anything.

This year I turned fifty. On my birthday, the church deacons held a surprise birthday party for me. I was really touched by the love and support they gave me. However, in the middle of the party, they asked my children to say a few words. My eldest daughter said, “All of you see my dad on the pulpit looking strict as he preaches, but at home he is very funny, sometimes he would sing and dance.” Later on, a co-worker told me, “Pastor, I didn’t realize that you know how to dance!” Actually there are many aspects you don’t know about me because we don’t live together under one roof. When I officiate weddings, I tell the groom, “Tomorrow, you will begin to know the person you married. Is she afraid of cold or hot weather, does she snore… because you will live together from now on.” The Lord Jesus was together with his 12 disciples. The Lord wanted his disciples to learn from him – how he treats others, how he resolves problems. This is true discipleship training.

I praise the Lord for the four years of training I had in the Overseas Theological Seminary. The little that I have accomplished in ministry I owe a lot to the four years of training that I had in the seminary. We lived together with our seminary president Rev. Donald Lau. We ate the same food his family ate, we woke up the same hour they did. Because we have our devotions together, we had to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning. It may not be very early, but during winter, it was so difficult to rise up. But since our teacher led a good example, we cannot but rise up too. I believe I have shared this story before, maybe some of you have not yet heard it or you might already have forgotten it.

One day, the school’s septic tank broke down. All the filth was floating up. The government service personnel could only come the next day. And we all stood there looking at each other. Suddenly the president changed his clothes and jumped into the drainage, we were all dumbfounded. All of us just stared. But suddenly a senior also jumped in, afterwards, one by one they all jumped in. And I had no recourse but to also jump in. I tell you, if the president didn’t jump in, I wouldn’t have jumped in. This is modelling, this is training. Actually discipleship training isn’t that difficult, there are four steps to pay attention to: 1. I do, you watch. 2. I do, you help 3. You do, I help 4. You do, I watch. As long as you are willing, we will train you, someday, you will be the one to train others. In this way, the church can be ensured of co-workers. Don’t do everything by yourself, train others to work with you.

IV. Authority

When the disciples were sent out, the Lord gave them authority to cast out demons. The Lord gave them authority and power. There is a difference between authority and power. Some people may have authority but they do not have power. A nation’s president has authority, a boss has authority. But some presidents, and some bosses do not necessarily have power. One time I heard some women talking about in-law relationships. A grandma said, “The world has changed. Before, daughters-in-law were afraid of their mother-in-laws, nowadays, it’s the mothers-in-law who are afraid of their daughters-in-law.” Another woman added, “The mother-in-law is afraid of the daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law however is afraid of the yaya (nanny).” I thought it made some sense. How come, since the yaya has the least authority? How come the one who has the most authority is afraid of the yaya? It is because she has power. She may not have any authority but she has power. She has the power to care for the baby. If she refuses to take care of the baby, the daughter-in-law would be frantic.

After Jesus prayed, he called the men that they might be with him. And then, he sent them out, giving them authority. With the authority he gave came the power to cast out demons. The Lord gave them authority and power. Now, we understand more clearly that we must learn to divide up the work. We must not do all the work by ourselves; however, we must know what true division of labour means.

I mentioned two concepts before: 1. Delegation and 2. Empowerment. How are these two different? Delegation is assigning the work but not giving any power. Empowerment is giving the work and also the authority, allowing the subordinate authority to make decisions. If you don’t do so, the person will have to consult with you regarding every little decision he has to make. Allowing the person authority to make decisions within his bounds is empowerment. Co-workers, true division of work is empowerment not delegation. Some leaders only delegate, but they make the decisions on every matter. This is not division of labour.

Of course, there is some danger when you allow a person to make decisions for he may make the wrong decisions. But we mustn’t be too worried, for 1. There isn’t a leader who never makes mistakes. 2. Good leaders grow and learn from their mistakes. As long as we are willing to take the responsibility, learn from our failures, mistakes are good. 3. Let him make decisions within the scope of his authority. In this manner, even if he makes a mistake, the outcome won’t be that serious. Because the church is growing, it needs more and more equipment. The church had already come up with a policy, that is within a certain amount, they allow me to make decisions regarding the purchase of any equipment. This is an example of giving a person power to make decisions within the scope of his authority. Only in this way can the work be more efficient.

The Lord Jesus gave us a good example of how to choose and train up co-workers:
1. Pray first. Through prayer, we ask the Lord to send us co-workers.
2. Make the call. Tell the citizens of the Kingdom of heaven its needs. Do not force them but tell them the needs, because heaven’s citizens have a duty to it.
3. Training. The best training is on the job training – learn while you work.
4. Authority. Give authority, allow co-workers to learn to make decisions.

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When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately, the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

While reading this, I realized there are four comparisons in these passage and these four comparisons help us see four beautiful examples the Lord Jesus left for us:

I. Mountain Top vs. Mountain Base (Preaching on the Mountain, Application down the Mountain) V.1

Matt 8:1 “… Jesus came down from the mountainside…” Chapters five to seven record Jesus teaching on the mountain, which is the famous Sermon on the Mount. Our Lord preaches remarkably well, chapter 7:28-29 records, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” Jesus’ preaching amazed people, it was a kind of preaching they had never heard before and it was full of authority.

After preaching, Jesus went down from the mountain, then, touched and healed a man with leprosy. Church, note how Jesus preached on the mountainside and healed a sick man down the mountain. Jesus gave us a wonderful example: he preached the truth and he practiced the truth. May the Lord have mercy on us who preach God’s word, may we not be like the Pharisees, who placed heavy loads upon others while they themselves refused to lift a finger. Likewise, you who listen must live out the truth as well, and not simply listen!

While I was preparing this message, I suddenly remembered a verse in the Bible, Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” This is a strong reminder for us pastors, people not only listen to our preaching, they are observing the outcome of our lives. It is the same for you, people not only want to hear you share the gospel, they want to see the gospel in your life.

Recently, three servants of the Lord had passed away. First, there is Rev. Johnny Chang, then, Rev. Paul Shen, and Rev. Wesley Shao. All three passed away in their nineties. They had served the Lord for over sixty years. They were gifted preachers, but most precious of all are the wonderful testimonies they had left behind. There is no perfect man in this world, they were not perfect of course, but in the area of finances, in their relationship with the opposite sex and in their service, they had left wonderful examples. They not only preached the truth up on the pulpit, they also practiced what they preached. They not only used their mouth, they used their hands, they had truly followed the example of Jesus – who preached on the mountain and lived out the truth down the mountain.

II. The Crowd vs. One Man (On the Pulpit- Minister to the Crowd; Down the Pulpit -Minister to the Individual) V. 1-2

V.1 ”When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.” V. 2 “A man with leprosy came and knelt before him…” Do you see another comparison – a crowd vs. one man? We do not know how many people were in the crowd, but 5:1 tells us multitudes were following him, so Jesus went up on the mountainside to preach. Obviously, it was a very big crowd.

The leper was pitiful, rejected by men, repulsive to men, because he was leprous. We can just imagine, when the crowd followed Jesus down the mountain, suddenly a man with leprosy arrives, how, do you think, the crowd must have reacted – some may have shunned him and quickly turned away, because leprosy is revolting and ugly. Some may have shooed him away with loud screams. However, Jesus not only did not turn away, he even allowed the man to come before him, kneel down before him. The man did not dare come any nearer because he was unclean. But Jesus touched him with his hand and told him, “I am willing, be clean!”

Jesus’ ministry had two directions: First, he ministered to crowds. Jesus often ministered and preached to crowds of people. Just like the mass evangelistic meetings we know of. We can imagine Jesus speaking to thousands of people, something like the contemporary evangelistic meetings of Billy Graham, Stephen Tong, John Sung. Second, he also ministered to the individual. Jesus never overlooked ministry to the individual. Jesus often ministered to the individual, just like his conversing with Nicodemus about the gospel, sharing the gospel to the Samaritan woman, healing the person who had been sick for 38 years, healing of the man born blind.

The Lord had never rejected any person who came to him for help. Our Lord ministered to thousands and he ministered also to the individual. The Lord left us a wonderful example – he spoke to the crowd on the pulpit, he ministered to the individual off the pulpit. Ministering to the crowd and the individual are both important. These two ministries complement each other. However, ministry to the individual is more effective in helping and encouraging people. Our Lord understood this principle very well, he often ministered to thousands of people, but he specifically chose twelve disciples, and trained them during a three year period and worked with them individually. Among his twelve disciples, the Lord had specially trained three of them, Peter, James and John. Peter later on, became the leader of the church leaders. James became a martyr. John wrote the book of Revelation in the island of Patmos.

I do not know what spiritual gifts the Lord has given you. Some people may preach and teach to hundreds and thousands of people, and the greater the number, the more powerful their ministry is. But some may only be able to minister to two or three, yet the lesser the number, the more powerful their work become. God chose Peter, and God also chose Peter’s brother, Andrew. Peter was most powerful when he spoke to crowds; when he stood up to preach, three thousands, five thousands came to the Lord. Andrew however was more effective in ministering to individuals. He often brought people to the Lord. Do you know that Peter came to know the Lord through Andrew? He was the one who brought Peter to the Lord. You may try and find out who led Billy Graham to the Lord, who led Stephen Tong to the Lord, who led D.L. Moody to the Lord; they were unknown people, yet they had contributed greatly to God’s kingdom. Without their work, how could these great evangelists have come forth? Do not overlook anyone who truly has needs.

III. Actions vs. Words (Act First, Speak Later) v.2-3

When the leper knelt before the Lord and asked, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”, the Lord reached out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing, be clean.” The leper said if you are willing, and the Lord replied I am willing. This word “if” tells us he had complete faith in Jesus’ power, but he did not have faith in himself. He was a leper, he was a man people reject, even his family had rejected him. In his heart, he couldn’t be sure that Jesus would be willing to heal him.

In the Bible, leprosy represents sin, because sin is similar to leprosy in four ways: 1. leprosy originates from inside a man. Sin also originates from man’s nature (sinful nature) 2. leprosy isn’t easy to cure, sin is also difficult to get rid of. 3. leprosy is contagious, and sin is also frighteningly contagious. 4. leprosy causes decay and disfigurement, foul-smell and ultimately, death; the one who sins becomes more and more corrupt, more and more frightening, in the end, dead in his sins and trespasses.

The Gospel of Luke says the man was covered with leprosy. If we say leprosy is as sin, then, we can say that the man was totally sinful. He felt that someone like him does not deserve God’s mercy. So, he didn’t ask Jesus if he can, he asked Jesus if he was willing. He didn’t doubt Jesus’ power, but he wasn’t sure of Jesus’ mercy.

But truth is amazing. Theologians call this the paradox of truth – “You are worthy when you feel unworthy, you are unworthy when you feel worthy.” When you tell a man, “You are so humble and he replies, “No, I am not”, you’d feel he is really humble. The more he says no, the more you feel his humility. However, if he replies, “Yes I am”, you will find him arrogant then. That is why you find rich people denying they are rich, while the poor brag that they are rich. The leper told Jesus, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” Jesus touched him saying, “I am willing (in the original text, it was `I am very much willing’). Be clean!”

We must take note of two actions Jesus did: 1. Jesus touched him. 2. Jesus told him, “Be clean!” Jesus showed us a good example: act first, speak later. This is the comparison between doing and speaking.

1. Jesus Touched Him First. Touch is an action, an action of love. This man was covered with leprosy, wherever you touch him, there is leprosy. Without love, one would not be able to reach out and touch him. I remember Dr. Paul Shen’s testimony. He shared that when he was younger, he had once preached at a leprosarium. After he spoke, a leper reached out his hand to shake his. He said the thought occurred to him at that moment that if he didn’t reach out to shake the man’s hand, or showed any bit of reservation, then he is no longer a servant of the Lord. Some churches hold their communion using a big cup, then everyone drinks from it; you will discover that everyone wants to sit in front during communion day, because no one wants to drink from the area where others had sipped from. Without love, you cannot drink from the same cup with others. Jesus touched the leper and with that he not only showed him he can heal him, he demonstrated to the man, “I love you.”

2. Jesus Spoke to Him. The Bible says the leprosy left the man immediately, he became clean. Jesus shows us how we should work: act first, speak later. We often say actions speak louder than words. We must learn to act more and speak less. In the many years of serving in the church, I have discovered that there are three kinds of co-workers in the church: the first type of coworkers only talk but are not willing to work; they want to be boss and simply give instructions. The second type of co-worker talks a lot but with little action; in fact, they speak and criticize a lot. These are not good co-workers. The third type of co-workers talks less but does a lot of work, these are good co-workers. Every church has these three types of co-workers. Which one are you?

IV. Clean vs. Unclean (The Power of Holiness to Influence) v.3-4

Do you still remember what I shared before regarding “The Law of Polluted Water and Wine”? When a spoon of fine wine is dropped into a jar of dirty water, it remains a jar of dirty water. On the contrary, a spoon of dirty water dropped into a jar of good wine turns it into a jar of dirty wine. Obviously, what is unclean always affect what is clean. So it is easy to do what is wrong than to learn what is good.

But Jesus broke this principle. When the man covered with leprosy came before him asking, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched the man, saying, “I am willing, be clean!” The Bible says, the man was immediately cleansed of his leprosy. Mark and Luke say that `immediately the leprosy left him.’ We can see that at that moment, when the unclean meets the clean, according to the standard of this world, the unclean should have won; for the clean cannot overcome the unclean.

In the Old Testament, the unclean is not allowed to go near the clean, because any one who comes into contact with the unclean will become unclean. According to the Law, Jesus should not touch the leper, because this will make him unclean. However, amazingly, when Jesus touched him, not only did Jesus not become unclean, the leper became clean. The leprosy left the man because the power of holiness in Jesus was greater than the leper’s uncleanness. While he was on earth, the Lord Jesus had had a woman with a bleeding issue for 12 years touch him. The result was, not only did Jesus not become unclean, the woman was healed of her bleeding. The synagogue leader, Jairus’ twelve year-old daughter died, Jesus raised her back to life. Jesus was not supposed to touch a dead body for they are unclean, but not only was Jesus unaffected, the little child came back to life.

The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, He is the Holy One, He is totally holy. Nothing can stand before him that is unclean, his holiness is beyond our comprehension. Any filth that comes before him will be made clean, because Jesus possesses the power of holiness. This power overcomes all uncleanness. We are not God, we do not possess this complete power of holiness, but we can increase the power of holiness in our lives and our power to influence the people around us. Jesus called us salt and light.

Where does Jesus’ power of holiness come from? It came from his total obedience to God. The Lord Jesus came to earth to be born as a human and he left us a wonderful example, he was completely obedient to the Father in Heaven. The Bible records that twice a voice from heaven declared: “This my beloved son.” The first time was when Jesus was baptized, there was a voice from heaven which said, “This is my beloved son, of whom I am well-pleased.” The second time, Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved son, listen to him.” The Father in Heaven affirmed Jesus is his beloved son because Jesus submitted to him totally. Hebrews 10:7 ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, my God.’

Sisters, imagine, when your husband comes home and says to you, “I am home, I have come to do your will”, then you reply, “Good, go wash the dishes and do the laundry.” And he says okay. Won’t you just love him? Fathers, imagine your children coming home and saying, “Father, I have come to do your will”, and you tell them not to play on the computer, immediately they went to do homework, won’t you be pleased with them?

Jesus told the Father in Heaven, “I have come to do your will.” The Father says, “You are my beloved son, with you I am well-pleased.” Church! How much we obey God will determine the degree of holiness we experience in our life. When our lives become more holy, we will experience more power to overcome unclean-ness.

Jesus gave us four wonderful examples:
1. He preached the Truth and applied the Truth
2. He ministered to the crowd and He ministered to the individual
3. He acted before he spoke
4. He obeyed completely and He was completely holy

The post In Step with Christ (3): Four Comparisons and Four Examples appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

Mark 1:16-20 contain a very simple message. Jesus saw two pairs of brothers; one pair was casting nets while the other was mending their nets. Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me!” At once, they left their nets, their father, their boats, and followed him.

What I do not understand is: how can such a thing happen? Just imagine this: after the worship service, if you see someone peddling some goods outside and you say to him “come, follow me”, will he leave everything to follow you? Impossible, right? It would be a kindness if he doesn’t drive you away.

At that time, Peter and Andrew were out fishing, James and John were mending their nets with their father beside them; how could they have immediately left their father, abandoned the boat to follow Jesus? Theologians call this “effective calling”, meaning God calls us with a voice full of love and authority, such that we are moved and we accept his call. We do not quite understand this because we rarely have such experiences, but we have a lot of experiences to the contrary.

When calling their children for dinner, to go to bed, to stop playing on the computer, parents usually use the “ineffective call”. The parents may call however long they want, but the children simply ignore them. However, Jesus’ call is an effective call, why is it so?

As I was reading this passage, I realized something – when Jesus called them, there must have been other fishermen there by the Sea of Galilee, but it was as if Jesus saw only these two pairs of brothers, it was as if he saw no one else but them. Verse 16 “…he (Jesus) saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake…” Verse 19 “…he (Jesus) saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat…” and Jesus spoke to them.

Obviously, Jesus’ seeing them and speaking to them was not as simple as it seems. It was like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Bible says “his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him”. What did the father see? If the father saw him as a failure of a son coming back home, if he had seen him as a beggar coming home, not only would he not be moved with compassion, he would be very angry and in fact, this is what the older brother saw in the prodigal son returning home. But the father saw a wounded son, a son who had already learned his lesson, that is why he was filled with compassion.

Jesus saw the two pairs of brothers, he called them, they heard him and left everything to follow him. What did Jesus see? What did Jesus say to them?

I. Jesus Saw

1. Jesus Saw Their Diligent Hearts – When we open our Bibles, we discover a very important principle – Jesus calls the diligent ones, because God is a diligent working God.

John 5:17 Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” Our God is a working God, our Lord is working Lord, the people God uses are diligently working ones. When God called Moses, he was tending sheep in the desert. When God called Gideon, he was working on the threshing floor; when God called Samuel, three times he stood up from his bed; when Jesus called Matthew, he was collecting taxes. When the angels announced the good news to the shepherds, they were out tending their flocks in the field. God never calls a lazy person, he always calls the diligent worker.

By the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Peter and Andrew, James and John, they were working diligently on the boat, and he called them. This teaches us an important principle: God calls the diligent because the more diligent a person is, the more competent he is, the more competent he is the more diligent he will be. Jesus called them because he saw their diligent hearts. You, who are willing to serve the Lord, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for God’s call? If you refuse to work hard now, you will never hear God’s call.

Rev. Stephen Tong shared a testimony once. He said he began serving as a pastor when he was only about 16 or 17 years old; however, no one invited him to preach. So he bought some gospel tracts, and he gave out the gospel tracts while preaching on the side. Do you think handing out gospel tracts is easy? It is not possible if one is not diligent.

When I was serving in Grace Christian Church, a sister who serves as an interpreter shared her story. She said when she returned home from abroad, she thought of taking on interpreting as a ministry, but no one knew her and she didn’t feel comfortable offering to do so on her own. She said she simply practiced interpreting as she sat listening to the messages preached. She never thought that after a few months the church would ask her to serve as interpreter. She is very good interpreter. Many of you know her because she had been your school principal.

I hope you will understand what I am trying to say, do not just wait for the Lord’s call, you must diligently serve him even now. When the time is right, the Lord will make his calling. Before the Lord called me to be a full-time worker, I was already preaching. At that time I was the chairman of the school’s fellowship. Once, the speaker failed to arrive and I had no choice but to preach. I still remember that I preached from chapter one of the Book of Ruth on the topic “God’s Time”. After two years, God’s call came for me. I entered the seminary for my training to prepare for a lifetime of service to the Lord. May the Lord find you with diligent hearts.

2. Jesus Saw Their Determination – When Jesus called these two pairs of brothers, it wasn’t that they had nothing to do. They were busy doing their work, they were fishing, they were mending their nets, but why did they follow him when he told them I want to make you fishers of men? Why did they immediately leave everything (including their boats, their nets, their father) and follow Jesus?

They saw a bigger mission. In their hearts, they had determination to serve God and Jesus saw that.

We all have two lives, the first is the life we have now and the second is the life we long to have. There is a movie entitled “Falling Down”. The main character William was very disillusioned with life, because he had a different life from the one he longed to have. One time, when he was feeling particularly upset, he entered a restaurant and ordered breakfast. However, the waiter said, “We are no longer serving breakfast.” William said, “But I want breakfast.” And so they called out the manager. The manager told him, “We no longer serve breakfast.” William insisted, “I want breakfast.” In the end, he brought out a gun and demanded, “I just want some breakfast.” Everyone became very frightened. William kept repeating, “I just want some breakfast.”

Maybe it is not breakfast you want, maybe what you are saying is, “I just want to be happy, I just want a better job or I just want…” Jesus saw the two pairs of brothers. These fishermen from Galilee had a determination in their hearts, they had a desire, they were not willing to be fishermen all their lives, they wanted to do something for the kingdom of God, although they did not know what they were supposed to do, neither had there been anyone who had helped them fulfil their longing. Jesus was saying to them, “I can help you, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” This was their heart’s desire, so they left everything and followed Jesus.

When Philip told Nathanael, “We have seen the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael commented, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” When Nathanael met Jesus, Jesus told him, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael immediately declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Why the sudden change? Personally, I believe Nathanael was praying under the fig tree, seeking the Lord’s will, he had a heart that longed to serve God. Jesus saw that and thus, Jesus called him out to be one of his twelve disciples. Brothers and sisters, are you fulfilled with your present life? Are you fulfilled with your spiritual life? If you say I am not fulfilled, then you are blessed. The Lord is looking for such people, he is calling out such people, are you one of them?

II. Jesus Spoke

Jesus saw these pairs of brothers, and spoke two sentences. First, he said “follow me”; second, “I will make you fishers of men.” When they heard these, they left everything and followed Jesus:

1. Follow Me – These are very simple words, but they are full of meaning. They point us to two important matters – the object followed and the direction followed.

a. The Object Followed – Jesus is the only object we are to follow. We must not follow any man apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. However, neither should we spiritualize everything. Some people in the church refuse to look at any man, respect any man or follow any man, they say: “I only follow the Lord.” They are wrong.

The apostle John said, “How can you love God whom you cannot see if you do not love the brother whom you can see?” We can change it a little and say `How can you disrespect the authorities you can see and yet claim to respect the Lord you do not see?’

In the church, we follow the Lord’s servants, there is nothing wrong with that. But we must understand that in our hearts, it is the Lord we follow, albeit through his servants. Just like what Paul said, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”

The president of the bible seminary I attended, Rev. Donald Lau, once shared a story. When he was serving as pastor of the United Evangelical Church of Pasay, then president of the bible seminary, Rev. Zeng Lin Fang, asked him to return to Hong Kong to assume the presidency of the seminary. However, he declined and reasoned that no one knows him, while everyone knows Rev. Zeng. He said that people come and money comes because they know Rev. Zeng; if Rev. Zeng leaves the post, the people will not come and money will not come too.

Rev. Zeng replied, “The seminary is the Lord’s, if I am not here and people really cease to come and money also cease to come, then you can close down the seminary.” Later on, Rev. Lau went back to Hong Kong and took on the presidency of the seminary. These two seminary presidents (Rev. Zeng and Rev. Lau) were both right. A good leader can really draw people and of course, when people come, the money will also come. Money does not fall from the sky. The money comes from your pockets. But we must always remember, everything is the Lord’s. We must always remember we are to bring people to the Lord.

There is a Parkway Love Fellowship in our church. I like what they always say. They say, “We are like a bridge, we bring people to the church.” They are right in saying so, but I’d like to add one more sentence to that, the church is also like a bridge, we bring people the Christ, because only the Lord Jesus is the object we are supposed to follow.

b. The Direction Followed – Jesus told them, “Follow me.” The word ‘me’ not only refers to the object to be followed, more than that, it refers to the direction to be followed. Where the Lord goes, we go. Let us use Peter to explain this point.

The Lord had told Peter three times, “Follow me.” Why did he have to say it three times? Because Peter was nowhere to be found when Jesus was crucified. Jesus reminded him again and again – follow me. 1. Mark1: 16 -18 records the first time Jesus called Peter. Peter immediately followed Jesus. 2. Luke 5:1-11 is the second time Jesus called Peter. Jesus had told Peter to put out the boat into deep water and then to let down his net for a catch. They ended up catching two boats full of fish. Then, Peter knelt down before Jesus. Twice, Jesus extended his call and he left everything to follow Jesus. 3. John 21:15-22 is the third call.

When Jesus rose back to life, he asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter replied three times, “Lord, I love you.” But when Peter saw John following, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered him, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” This is the last time Jesus told Peter, “Follow me.”

Actually, we are all like Peter, when we encounter difficulties or persecutions, we want to turn back from following the Lord. But praise the Lord, the Lord calls us again and again to follow him. Brothers and sisters, where are you? Are you still following the Lord? If not, today the Lord is calling you: Come, follow me.

2. Become Fishers of Men – What is the difference between fishermen and fishers of men? Fishermen turn what is alive into dead creatures. In the sea, the fish are alive, but fishermen catch them and turn them into food for men, they turn the live fish into dead ones. Fishers of men, on the contrary, turn the dead into living creatures. The Book of Ephesians tells us we were once dead in our sins, but the Lord made us alive, that is called becoming born again.

Jesus gave these fishermen a choice, that is, ‘are you willing to continue being fishermen, or to become fishers of men?’ None of us are willing to make abrupt changes in life unless we see that it will bring us a more significant purpose, a more meaningful life. When the Lord calls, he gives us a more significant purpose, a greater purpose.

When the Lord called Abraham, he was only a 75 year old man living in Ur, the Lord said, “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.” God gave him a greater purpose, as a result, Abraham became the father of nations, everyone in the whole world knows him.

When God called Moses, Moses was only an 80 year old shepherd in the desert. God told him though, “You will bring the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and you will lead them into the land flowing with milk and honey.” The Lord gave him a greater mission.

When the Lord called Peter and company, they were but fishermen in Galilee, but they became world renown saints. We only have one life, some people are not willing to live ordinary lives, they are willing to do great things for God, so they accept God’s calling.

Peter, Andrew, James and John were not willing to spend their lives as mere fishermen in Galilee, they left their boats, their nets, their family and in the end, they became fishers of men.

In economics, there is a term called opportunity cost. Opportunity cost refers to the price we pay for choosing one thing over another. We really must count the cost, what are we giving up? What are we gaining?

To be fishermen or fishers of men, which one would be more meaningful, which one would be a more significant choice? I was 22 years old when I gave myself to serving the Lord full-time, because I was not willing to live an ordinary life. It has been 28 years now since the time I first entered the seminary, graduated and served in the ministry. I have never regretted the choice I made, how about you?

God may not be calling you to be a pastor, but God is definitely calling you to follow him, to fulfill his plan in your life. Are you willing?

The post In Step with Christ (2): The Example of Jesus’ Calling appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

This year is our church’s Year of Worship; it is also our church’s 25th anniversary. I chose “In Step with Christ” as the church’s theme for this year. I want us to focus on the Lord Jesus and learn from his example. We all learn by example, whether good or bad.

There was a president of a theological seminary who was a very gifted speaker, all his students learned to preach well under his guidance. This seminary president makes a peculiar gesture with his mouth when he preaches and all his students acquired this same mannerism. Someone asked the seminary president, “Why do you and your students have the same mannerism? What is special about that gesture?” He replied, “It doesn’t mean anything in particular. I wear dentures and when I preach, they tend to become loose, so I push them back in with my tongue. I never thought my students would imitate that mannerism of mine.”

We see from this story how significant role models are. Obviously, there are good role models and there are bad role models. Of course, we must learn from the good ones; so, this year, let us walk in step with Christ and follow his good example! Today, let us learn from Jesus’ example on how to overcome temptation. Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Matthew 4:1-11 is an account of Satan’s temptation of Jesus. Today, let us observe how Jesus overcame temptation:

I. The First Temptation v. 3-4

After going without food and water for forty days, Jesus was now very hungry. Praise the Lord for Jesus was truly a man – he felt hunger, he cried, he felt tired, he wept. Jesus went without food for forty days, he was very hungry. I believe that more than 80% of us here do not understand what true hunger means. Our generation’s problem is not the lack of food, but a fear of food – because we have high cholesterol, high uric acid count, high blood pressure …etc. Thus, it is difficult for us to understand what hunger means.

But Jesus knew what hunger feels like. He was willing to take on the pain of hunger for us. When Jesus was hungry, the tempter came and said, ““If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

We must understand the meaning of this temptation, we must know what Satan was tempting Jesus with. Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, he was hungry. There is no one in the desert, there are no food shops in the desert, Satan was telling Jesus, `You want food to eat? There is only one way you can have them – turn the stones into bread.” We must understand that Jesus really had the power to turn the stones into bread. If Satan tells me to turn a piece of paper into gold, I will tell him, “I don’t think that is possible because I don’t have such powers.” For me, this would not have been a temptation.

Satan’s temptations were doable for Jesus. Jesus can turn stones into bread. Jesus can jump from the temple roof and command the angels to catch him. Jesus could worship Satan and receive all the glory and riches of the world. That is true temptation. Temptation is something you are capable of doing, yet may refuse to do. Besides, turning stones into bread isn’t exactly a sin. Jesus had once performed a miracle feeding five thousand men (not including women and children) with five loaves and two fish. He turned one fish into ten thousand pieces. Thus, we see turning stones into bread is not the issue.

What then was the real point of Satan’s temptation? Satan meant for Jesus to doubt and to be physically tempted.

1. The Temptation to Doubt – Satan told Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” What Satan really meant was: “If you can’t turn the stones into bread, then you are not the Son of God.” Does Satan know that Jesus is the Son of God? If you read the Bible carefully, you will see that the Devil was the first to publicly acknowledge that Jesus is the Holy One. More than anyone else, the Devil knew that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. When he said `if you are the Son of God’, it was not because he didn’t know Jesus’ identity. What he wanted was for Jesus to doubt his own identity. Doubt is Satan’s tool. In the Garden of Eden, he told Eve `did God really say…’; he wanted Eve to doubt God’s Word, to doubt God’s goodness. He told Eve, “God doesn’t want you to eat of it because He is afraid you will become like God.” Satan wants us to doubt God’s goodness, our salvation, our identity as God’s children; he wants us to doubt the church, the leaders, our friends, God’s Word. When we begin to doubt, we give Satan an opportunity to attack us.

2. Temptation of the Flesh – Our physical bodies have different desires and needs. We need food, we need sleep, we have sexual needs and all these are natural desires. But if we use illegitimate means to fulfil them, it becomes sin. For example, sex within the bounds of marriage is good, it is pleasing to God, but sex outside of marriage is sin, it is detestable in God’s sight. The human body is a physical one, so it is natural that it has physical needs, God made this physical world for the express purpose of meeting our physical needs. There is nothing wrong with enjoying this world, but if we use illegitimate means to fulfil our desires, then it would no longer be glorifying to God. Satan wanted Jesus to use an illegitimate method to fulfil his physical need.

How wise our Lord Jesus is! He replied, “‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus didn’t fall into Satan’s enticement to doubt his own identity, he didn’t react by saying, “I am a hundred per cent the Son of God, don’t you believe that? Let me prove it to you.” If he had done that, then he would have fallen into the devil’s trap.

The best way to deal with doubt is to ignore it, because when you panic and seek to address it, these doubts will become real. Have you heard of the story, “Zeng Qi Murders a Man”. Zeng Qi was one of the best students of Confucius. One day, when Zeng Qi’s mother was going about her weaving, someone came in and told her, “Bad news! Zeng Qi killed a man!” Zeng Qi’s mother didn’t even look up from her weaving but simply said, “Impossible, my son cannot kill a man.”

Before long, another man came in, and told her, “Bad news, Zeng Qi killed a man!” This time, Zeng Qi’s mother sternly replied, I believe my son, he isn’t capable of killing his fellowman. Do not believe the rumours.” Just then, another man came and loudly said, “Zeng Qi killed a man! You must go hide!” This time, his mother became afraid and immediately fled. Doubts and rumours are vicious, the best way to handle them is to ignore them, because you can never make the true, false and neither can you turn the false into truth.

With regards to physical temptation, Jesus used God’s Word to rebuke Satan, saying, “‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Satan wanted Jesus to fulfil his own physical needs, but Jesus replied that man is not simply a physical being, more than that, he is a spiritual being. The physical life is only temporary but the spiritual is eternal. Food can only meet the needs of the physical body, but only God’s Word can meet the needs of the spiritual being. To be truly alive, a man must not only have a physical life, even more important, he must have spiritual life. However, sin can bring death to the spirit.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and ate the fruit from the tree of good and evil, they became separated from God, their spirits died. Jesus tells us man possesses two kinds of life, a physical life, which is sustained by food and a second one which is the spiritual one, and is sustained by the Word of God. The spiritual is more important than the physical life, so, obeying God’s Word is more important than anything else.

II. The Second Temptation 5-7

It is obvious that this is not a physical temptation, but a spiritual one. The more you pursue spiritual excellence, the more formidable the temptations you will have to face. That is so because excelling is a natural way to get criticism, people love to kick others when they fail; but they really, really enjoy knocking others when they succeed. Just look around and ask, have you heard of a president who had never received criticisms, or a beautiful woman who had never been envied? If you are ugly, not only will you not be criticized, people will sympathize with you, they will tell you, “Don’t worry, what is important is the inner beauty, the external beauty is a passing thing.”

In this instance, Satan was not attacking Jesus’ perfection. I call this temptation, `The Temptation of Spiritual Pride.’ This term is actually a contradiction, because if a person is truly spiritual, he can’t be proud and if he is proud, he can’t be spiritual. True spirituality and arrogance cannot exist side by side. The more powerful and more talented a man is, the more prone he is to become proud. Satan understands this very well, for Satan became Satan because of pride.

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Five times, Satan stated `I will’ and because of that he fell. Satan took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Every day, many enter the temple, if they see Jesus jump down from the temple’s roof, fall slowly downwards, and he doesn’t hit himself on any stone, we can just imagine how the crowd would have reacted. They would have worshipped Jesus, because they will presume he came from heaven; how glorious that would be. More than that, Satan quoted Scripture to tempt Jesus. He used scripture to say that it is alright to do so. This is a great temptation for those who belong to the Lord. Sometimes, we would like to do something but are afraid the Lord might be displeased. But if someone encourages you by quoting scripture, saying, “That is alright because the Bible says so”, will you reject his attempt to affirm you? But the problem was that Satan intentionally misquotes the Word of God, he misuses God’s word.

When faced with this spiritual temptation, Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Satan told Jesus, “for it is written…” But, Jesus replied, “It is also written…” The word `also’ is very important. Jesus didn’t deny that what Satan quoted was God’s Word, what he did was point out Satan’s misuse of God’s Word. This is called interpreting the Bible out of context.

Let me share to you an important principle regarding bible interpretation. You don’t need to know the Hebrew or Greek languages, but you have to know how to interpret according to the context, if not, you will be in error. Let us make a comparison, what is the difference between the scripture passage Satan quoted and what is truly in the scriptures? Satan said, “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

This is found in Psalm 91:11-12, “For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Notice that Satan left out a portion, the phrase, `to guard you in all your ways’. This Bible passage is saying we must trust in God, and he will guard us in all our ways.

Let me ask you, is jumping from the 12th floor of a building God’s will? Not stepping on the brakes while driving because you expect the Lord will turn all the traffic lights green as you drive by, is that God’s will? Refusing to take medicine when you get sick, insisting that prayer is enough, is that God’s way? No, you are testing God!

Jesus told Satan, “I will not jump from the temple top to gain glory, because that is false glory; it is not from God.” Such glory comes from Satan and is vain. I have been in the Lord’s ministry for 24 years already, I have heard all kinds of praises from men (you are so handsome, you are so good in preaching, you are nice to people, you are full of love, you have such a good sense of humour); but I have also heard a lot of criticisms (you are insincere, you are so arrogant, you are so selfish, you don’t have a loving heart, you can’t preach well). Sometimes, criticisms would come from the very person who praised me before. Men’s praise is like perfume, you may smell it and enjoy it, but you can’t swallow it, because perfume is for smelling, not drinking. Let us seek only the praise that comes from God.

III. The Third Temptation 8-10

This is the `Temptation of Fulfilling a Mission’. The ultimate purpose Jesus came into this world is to become the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Someday, all the nations of the world will become the Lord’s kingdom. Satan told Jesus, “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.” This is a great temptation, Satan meant `you don’t have to be crucified on the cross, I can just give you everything.’

We must not think that Jesus wanted to be crucified on the cross, Jesus didn’t want to be crucified. He prayed thrice in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking the Heavenly Father, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus didn’t want to be crucified on the cross, but in order for the Father’s will to be fulfilled, he had to be crucified, because without the cross, there would be no crown. Satan tempted Jesus to take the `no-cross’ path to glory, that without paying the price, he can enjoy the glory. This is a great temptation.

Our human nature loves pleasure, we don’t like suffering. We don’t like fasting, we want to eat. We want to play, not work. We love success without having to pay the cost, we love the beautiful physique without the exercise; we want the education but not the studying; we want spiritual maturity without having to pray and read the Word. But that is not God’s way, that is Satan’s way. The Chinese have two sayings, “Sweet before Bitter” and “Bitter before Sweet”. “Sweet before Bitter” is Satan’s temptation. He always lets us taste a little pleasure, find enjoyment and feel delight, but then in the end, he lets us die suffering. “Bitter before Sweet” is God’s way. He will not deceive us, he tells us to take the cross and follow him, take the narrow path, the difficult path, but in the end, it becomes the wide door, the wide path.

Jesus was clear about his mission, his goal, and he knew even more clearly how to achieve his mission and goal. The goal is important, but the method is even more important. When we do business, we want to earn a lot of money; that is the goal of going into business. An athlete hopes to win the gold medal; the gold medal is their goal. But if the method is through deception, through lying, even if you get the money, can there be peace in our hearts? A few years ago, a scandal broke out regarding China’s tainted milk products. Unscrupulous businessmen, in their desire to earn money, damaged many babies’ health. They really fell into the devil’s trap. Also, many gold medallists had to return their medals and were banned for life from competing because they were found taking drugs. They, also, had fallen into the devil’s trap. But Jesus did not do so, he was clear about his mission, he was clear that he had to serve in order to gain the crown of glory. He told Satan: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

O Church! May we seek God’s reward through the path of service. Let us not seek glory that is vain. May we step on solid ground and step by step live out God’s will. Let us follow Jesus’s example, for in the end, He became the King of kings and Lord of lords! (Phil 2:7-11)

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