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Saturday, October 28, 2017

The Cost of Following Jesus for 1st Generation Christian

Key Point:
Following Jesus is worth more than anything else that you can ever possess.

It's not what you possess, but it's about understanding that you are the possession of Christ.

Intro:
Hello Student Church. Hope you guys are doing good :)
I'm so excited to share today.

Today I will be sharing an interesting topic that are very close to my heart.

Before I start my sharing, let me share the prelude of my sharing.
Because I want to bring all of us to a same focus, of why we need to hear this sharing.

For the prelude, I want to share the goals of my sharing.

I hope by sharing this topic, we can appreciate and accomplish at least 3 things:
1. The struggles of some of our brothers and sisters are facing, and how we can be more sensitive and understand and support them better. After all, we all belong to each other.
2. We can walk out from this place with a stronger faith, because we are assured that God is faithful and good. That His grace is always sufficient for us.
3. It will better equip you to reach out to those that yet to know Jesus. So that you understand their fear and concerns, and slowly lead them to the path of knowing Jesus, despite of their concerns.

At the end of my sharing, I hope that we can be a stronger church.

The topic that I want to share can be quite deep and have many principles.
So I hope that you can really pay attention and follow through.
I hope that I will make is clear enough to understand, and practical enough to live out and apply in your life.

What I gonna do is that I will be sharing about 25min, and then we will have group discussion for about 15min, and then we will have a time to respond to God as well.


Today I want to talk about :- 

The Cost of Following Jesus as 1st Generation Christian.

I know some of us are 1st generation Christian, and some of us are 2nd generation Christian.
If you are 1st Generation, I want to encourage you to remain strong.
Be assured that you are not alone.
We are all in this journey of faith together.
And for those 2nd Generation Christian, you can get some ideas of how to reach out and care for those 1st Gen Christian, and also how to lead people to Jesus that comes from families that are not Christian.

What is 1st Generation Christian?
Laymen term definition:
You are the first person / generation that come to know Jesus in your immediate family.
2nd Generation Christian - your parents are Christian.
3rd Generation Christian - your grandparents are Christian.

1st generation usually have this few characteristics:

1. Big Change of Culture
When he/she become a Christian, everything is new to them.
They have crossed from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.
If they came from a religious family previously, now they will have many new things happening to them. 
They will now learn that it's not ok to worship idols which the family has been practicing.
They will probably stop going to temple.
They now need to go to church on Sunday morning.
They will now own a Bible, and it's amazing, because you can learn so much new things.
You will discover about about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity.
And you start to discover your potential in God, where God can use you because He has given you gifting.

2. They experience the power of breaking from sin, drastically
Some may be indulging in sin before they become a Christian.
And when Jesus come to their lives, God really change their live 180 degree.

Before I become a Christian, I was a person that was busy in sin.
Doing something bad makes me feel successful.
When I was a non-believer, I speak foul language a lot, especially in school.
When I was still a primary school kid, I already obtained a double PHD degree in foul language.
And I tried to break from that sin many times actually. But somehow I can't.
When I am at home, I will not speak. I want to show my parents that I'm a good boy.
I will wear a mask.
But when I joined back my friends in school, I will start to showoff my skills in foul language.
That happen for more than 10 years.

But when on the day I accepted Jesus in university, immediately I heard a voice spoke to me: Stop cursing.
And I stop immediately.
It shocked me why I able to stop immediately. But I now know I able because God is able.

I also had some issue of bitterness with my parents, but God healed me and help me to overcome it.
It was unbelievable, because I never thought that I can forgive my parents.

I always remember that in one Sunday God spoke to me clearly.
He said I cannot just stop hating. I must also love.
He wants me to go the next level. I cannot go to neutral mode. 
Because the Neutral mode is not going anywhere. It's the free gear. It's doesn't move.
You need to love if I want to be victorious.

Other story, I know some has stop gossiping, lying, smoking, stopping from gang.
Depends on the family background and the friends that they were associated with, the changes can be very big.

At the same time, 1st generation Christian may also have this few challenges / problems:

1. Conflict of Loyalty
Some of the parents or even siblings may object strongly.
Some parents may even want to disown the child.
I know one brother, when he was young, his life has been dedicated to the idols.
So when the parents found out, they were furious.
For some cases, it's because they also believe that those idols or gods have been helping them or their family since young or probably have healed them of diseases, and now, "you betray our gods."
And so, some will face great persecutions.

I know a brother last time, he came to study in UM, and we get to know him and led him to Jesus.
After about 1 month, at night he suddenly want to talk something to me.
He said he was lost.
He was a Buddhist before this, and he felt that he was betraying his religion when he believe in Jesus right now. 
It's a conflict of loyalty.

Some parents may think that the child is not being filial by not listening to them, by asking them to not follow Jesus.
Who will be praying to the ancestors or even the parents themselves when they passed away?

And sometimes it's a matter of respect vs obedience dilemma issue.

There were times, where my father will stop me from going to church.
And I will be very sad.
And when my father said something, hey, you better listen.
Because he will really shout and can get really angry.

There were times when the leaders will ask, am I going to Care Group tonight?
They will call and I will not answer. Then I will send a SMS with my Nokia 3310 - I will say, I'm not feeling well. I need to rest. But actually it's not physically I'm not feeling well. It's because I'm emotionally I'm not feeling well.

2. Conflict of Values
Some parents may object about the issues of money and time.
For those that comes from the Chinese family, the parents may disallow you from giving tithes/offering or spend so much time in church.
And you know when you serve in church requires time.
And the reason you serve is sometimes to help other people in church.
But some parents may say, "Hey, you are not even doing so good in your studies, why do you spend so much time in church?!"

I had this funny encounter one time. I was in Hope Ipoh, and after finish the Sunday Service, I went down to the ground floor out from the church to go for lunch, and I met a lady. Apparently she is the mother of one of the leader of the church. And the question that she asked me was: "Why did you all do donation in church? What happen to the donation that you all collected?"
Wow, intense lunch break.

For the first 2 reasons that I mentioned, many 1st gen believers will choose not to inform their parents about their decision of believing in Jesus, because of the fear of offending their parents feeling.

3. Uncertainty due to Comparison with Others
Sometimes you may doubt because you will always compare with others people, especially those non-believers that are so called doing "better than you".
Sometimes you may be thinking, "Will I be losing out?"
Sometimes you will doubt, will the promises of God written in this Bible, is it really for me?

So there will be quite a tension.
Many times, 1st generation Christian are tossed between the world and God.


And this is why we want to talk about the cost of following Jesus.

We need to know that following Jesus is not as easy.
The principles of God is actually simple.
But the journey is not easy and smooth sailing.
There are some battles that you need to fight on.
But the good news is that, Christ has gone before us.
If Christ has overcome the pain and sufferings in order to die on the cross for us, we know that Jesus can also gives us the strength and grace to overcome it as well.

There is a cost that we need to pay in order to follow Jesus.
But understand this, that the price that you pay, will give you the returns that goes far beyond what you deserves to receive.

It's like the cost of following Jesus is 1 million USD.
But the return is way bigger in return. It's infinity!

The journey of following God may probably makes you cry in the night, but you get living water that will never runs dry.


What are the cost of following Jesus?

1. Following Jesus requires reformation.

It's always a choice of Conform vs Reform


Do you conform, or do you reform?

Conform means, due to whatever reasons, when the world present to you a suggestion, you follow.
It may be peer pressure, family pressure, financial pressure, emotional pressure.
You follow the crowd.

Reform means, you decided to follow God's way and let God take charge.
It means you decide to allow God to lead the way and you surrender.
It means that you need to change certain bad habits in your lives.
It means you intentionally decide not following the crowd.
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
It means that you need to give up certain things.
Give Up
- Pleasure
- The World
- Carnal Desire
- Popularity
- Lazyness
- Idleness

It's means that you deny yourself.

The best way to show to your parents and friends is that you show the power of God through your transformed life and good deeds.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
works - action, task, accomplishment, behavior

It means that when you are being entrusted with something, you need to make it done.
Don't be lazy. Don't waste your time.
If your parents ask you to do well in your study, do it well.
If it's cleaning the house, do it well. Do it good.
Let's your behavior speak for itself.



2. Following Jesus requires persistence.

When you follow Jesus, you need to hold on to the faith.
You need to keep the faith. You need to be persistence.
But it's very hard to hold on to something that you are not very sure.
If you do not know what you believe is the truth, the ultimate truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, you can't be truthful to yourself that you believe that Jesus is the truth.
That's why when I accepted Jesus, I spend a lot of time studying about Jesus and His claims in the Bible. I need to be very sure. Otherwise I can't be truthful to myself.

The greater the resistance from your parents or peers or from the world, the greater persistence you need to have. 


Persistence Overcomes Resistance

You may face objections and rejections and even isolation, but you need to keep on holding to the truth.
There will be times that you need to make certain decisions that may offend your parents or friends, but it's a decision you need to make nonetheless.

You need to differentiate between the matter of truth vs the matter of felling.

The Challenge: Do not compromise no matter what. The more you compromise, you more difficult it is to overcome, and you will be eventually defeated.

There were times that may father do not want me to go to Service. I actually will keep quiet. Because I know I cant win their words argument.
I actually hope that he can fetch me to church, because I have no transport.
But since he did not like me going to church and will scold me, so every Sunday, even though service starts at 10am, I will get up very early like 7/8am something, and I will sneak out from the house. I will walk about 20 to 30min, and then wait alone at the bus stop, it's scary, cause my neighbourhood is not very safe. Then I will need to spend money to take a bus for 30min to 40min, and then I will drop off from the church for another 20min, because I want to save another 50 cents for my lunch and other days expenses. In those days, money is a major factor for me.

I kept persevering, going to church and Bible class, so that I can grow in the Word of God my faith.

Let's break into groups.
Split into 1st Gen Christian+Pre-Believer and 2nd Gen Christian.

Discussion (15min)
1. Are you a first gen Christian? What lead you to accept Christ?
2. What are some of the challenges or persecutions you've been through and how do you persevere?
3. How do you intend to change the mentality that Christianity is bad?




CLOSING (ALTAR CALL)

If you are the 1st generation Christian, I want to encourage you to keep holding on to the faith.
Understand that God is maturing you through this journey.
Trust God that He can use you to lead your family to Jesus.
But you need to persevere. You need to be persistence.
Do not conform to the pressure. Do not be fearful.
If you are struggling, I invite you to come to the front, and we want to pray for you.

If some of you are having issues of following Jesus, regardless whether you are a 1st/2nd gen, maybe you are battling with the issue of sin, with the issue of values of time and money, or maybe some of you are lost and wanting to give up.
I want to encourage you to respond, you can come in front and we will pray for you.


If anyone of you have not received Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, I want to invite you to have this personal relationship with Jesus.Believing Jesus doesn't means that you are committing to a religion, but it's about starting a new intimate relationship with Jesus.Do not remain on the neutral mode - you need to move to Jesus.
Believing Jesus is not an issue of emotion/feeling, it's a matter of accepting the truth.
If it's the truth, you need to take that step.
Reference:
https://discoveryseries.org/courses/keeping-the-faith/lessons/appendix-2/
http://ymi.today/2016/05/5-challenges-second-generation-christians-face/
https://www.facebook.com/KingdomCommunity.SG/posts/1631902876843809:0
http://biblehub.com/greek/2041.htm
http://www.tracesoffaith.com/blog/2016/02/a-letter-to-the-first-generation-christian.html




Thursday, October 26, 2017

Leadership Lessons from The Habitudes



The Habitudes is one of those book that makes you really remember after you read it.
One of the best leadership books out there.
Read it and be changed forever.

Download the book here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-5VAbUkSgFhcFhmMm5Lb0dSbk0


Reference:
https://growingleaders.com/


Saturday, October 14, 2017

Leadership - The Law of Influence and Process

The Law of Influence:
You have achieved excellence as a leader when people follow you everywhere if only out of curiosity.

Story: Princess Diana.
Married with Prince Charles - 1 billion people watched the wedding.
She is active in many charity works. A truly caring person. She influenced many people.
Even when she divorced - she continue to do charity work.
When she dies - 2 billion people watched the funeral.

Leadership is not about the titleHaving a title doesn’t mean you are a leader.


4 Myths about Leadership.


1. The Management Myth.

CEO vs Leader - it is different.

Management make things go in order.
Manage the current. Remain in status quo.
Just ensure don't do the wrong things and don't do things wrong.
Focusing on making no mistake.
Making things effective.

Leaders, they changes things.
They do things that no one do.


2. The Entrepreneur Myth

Just because you started a business and make big profit, is not defining you as a leader.


3. The Knowledge Myth.

Knowledge and intelligent - not really define you as a leader.
Having high IQ is not necessary. the quality of leadership.
You can be a scientist but just work things alone and not involving other people.
In fact, many high IQ people are not a team player.


4. The Pioneer

Being the first doesn’t mean you are the leader.

Leadership is influence.
Leadership without leverage - if company  / military - it has leverage - has rank.
But church - it’s without rank.
This is leadership at its highest form.

Food for thought:
Are you influencing someone positively today? 
Are you influencing someone in the Kingdom of God?

Let be the salt and light for Jesus.

Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.


The Law of Process:

Leadership Develops Daily, not in a day.

Leadership - It is like investing in a stock market.

Story: There was an old lady aged 101 years named Anne Scheiber.
She lives in a small studio apartment. During her working days, she actually did not earn a lot.  
But when she died, she donated 22 million dollar to a university.
People was shocked of how she can have so much money to give to the university.
What happened was that she bought  some stocks when she retired at about 53 years old, and compounded it by dividend.
The investment grows through compounding.

Leadership is like investing - it compounds.

Leaders are not just born in a day.
You need to persevere and be patient.
Do not give up growing because the leadership journey is sometimes like a roller coaster.
Do not give up in the low season. Persevere and continue to trust God, and allow God to mould and build you up.
Know that the journey is long and you need to keep on moving forward. 

The secret of our success is found in our daily agenda.

Leadership is complicated - it has many facets.
You need to collect a lot of skills.
The longer you are in leadership, the better you will understand.
It's a process.


Leaders are Learners.

Growth and Leadership correlates.
It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.
It’s self-discipline and perseverance.
Leaders want to be better each day and be intentional about it.


The 4 Phases of Leadership Growth

Phase 1
I don’t know what I don’t know.

They do not know the value of leadership.
So they passed the opportunity.

Phase 2
I know what I don’t know.

You have position, but no one follow you.
And now you know that you need to start learning what you do not know.
You are conscious of the path of learning.

Phase 3
Grow and Know and It Starts to Show.

You now start your daily discipline.
You are very intentional in observing and learning.
You are hungry for growth. 
You pay the price.

Phase 4
It Simply Go Because of What I Know

Now it’s automatic.

To Lead Tomorrow, Learn Today.

Develop discipline.
Be better each day.
Be a man of action.
Take the time to polish your potential.

Food for thought:
What are the daily habits that helps you to grow in Christ?
What are the daily habits that helps you to grow in leadership?




Reference:
Adapted From The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C Maxwell





Sunday, October 8, 2017

Seven Steps of Faith - Phil Pringle



Seven Steps of Faith


1. Desire.

2. No double-mindedness.

3. Ask.

Going the Extra Mile



Matthew 5:41-48 (NIV)
41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’

44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


When I was about 15 years old, a Christian classmate of mine gave me a Bible. It’s a BM Bible.
It only 1 book, the book of Matthius.
So my first Bible was a BM bible, not an English Bible.
And I read all the pages of the book of Matthew.
And I fell in love with the Bible.
Anything that has to do with the Word of God, I will be interested.

Before I was a Christian, I already like to read, especially self-help book.
I get very motivated every time I read self-help book.
I will always think to myself, these guys, these authors are amazing. 
I always admire them, cause they are so successful, and so wise, because they can come up with so many principles of success.

Then I went to Uni. And thank God, I accepted Christ.
And when I accepted Christ during my first year in Uni, God created in me this spiritual hunger.
Suddenly i realise, I know nothing about the real God.
So I always go to UM library, and I will search every shelf, to check for any book that talks about spirituality.
Whatever books that related to religion, I want to touch and smell and read.
I want to know more about God. Anything that talk about God, I want to read about it.

And now i start to realise, that almost all the good principles of success that I read from the self help books, if i would trace it back, it all comes from the Bible.
Books about communication, you can learn from Jesus, the master communicator.
Books about relationship, you can learn from Jesus, where he influenced so many people during His time.
Books about finance, well, you can also learn from Jesus, where he teach, it is more blessed to give than to receive, the parables of the tenant and many more. Do you know that Jesus talk more about the topic of money than the topic of heaven and hell?

The Bible is amazing.
I can find every answer and solution in the Bible.
Why do I need to depend on worldly wisdom, when I can find God’s wisdom here.

And as I ponder about all the self help books that I have read, I discover this one thing...

Do you notice that, in the old time, people thought that by conquering other country, by overpowering other people, and ruling, you are considered as successful. That’s why there were so many wars in the past.
The more you conquer, the more you win, and the more possession you have, the more successful you are.
Every time they conquer, they can take their money, they can take more slaves, they can take the children and the woman.

It’s by taking, not giving. That’s the old mindset.

And I realise, there was a shift in the definition of success as I read all this self help book.

The concept of conquering other nation is not there anymore.
I see that almost all the best sellers, in one way or the other, will talk about giving, and sharing economy, about helping others, about win-win and collaboration. 


Do you know that the richest person on earth gives a few billion dollars every year.
Why?
Because you are not consider as successful until you give.

The old mindset is all about winning and subdue your enemy and controlling other people.

But Jesus come to renew our mind.
Only when our mind is renew, we can move to the next level.

The new mindset is not about conquering others, but it’s about loving others.
And it’s not just about loving the people that is lovable, it’s about loving the difficult people in your lives as well.


Matthew 5:41 (NIV)
41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

Matthew 5:41 (NLT)
If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

Let me share the context of this passage.

 — A Roman soldier or official could require by law any Jew to carry a load for 1,000 paces (a Roman mile).

It was unfair, inconvenient, and often backbreaking. 
It’s outrageous.

But since it’s the law, the Jews need to obey.

While they had the right to stop at the Roman mile, Jesus called his disciples to go the second mile.

To the Jews, this is offensive. The Jews was expecting to have a military leader to revolt the Roman empire!
They were under Roman oppression, so they wanted retaliation against the Roman empire, cause they hated this government.

But Jesus suggested a radical response.
Instead of demanding rights, give them up freely.

Jesus always calls us to go above and beyond. 

Jesus encouraged His followers to respond in a new and unexpected way, one that would reflect the generous love of God’s kingdom instead of revenge.

Basically, Jesus is asking us to show outrageous love.

Jesus want you to be different.

If someone offended you, God want you to behave differently.
Do not retaliate.
Respond in love.
Don’t just want to get even. That’s the natural thing to do.
But do the supernatural thing. Love and forgive.



Why go the extra mile?

Why it’s so important to go the 2nd mile?

1. The 2nd mile is not common.

Not many people do that.

Imagine someone forcing you to carry their heavy backpack for one mile.

You reach the mile marker. The person stops, expecting you to stop as well, and relieve yourself of the burden.
But you just smile and say, “Oh, I’ve decided to walk another mile with you.”
There’s a shift of power here.
You had no choice in the first mile, but now you are exercising your power.
And you do it in a way that shocks the oppressor.
A bit of power has shifted from him to you.

And what might happen as you walk that extra mile?
Perhaps a conversation takes place.
Perhaps you see each other, on this second mile, not as adversaries but as fellow human beings.
Perhaps the oppressor says to you, “No one has ever volunteered to go an extra mile before,” and you then have the opportunity to say, “Well, the God I worship is a God of grace and generosity so I try to live that way myself.”
You have now witnessed through your actions and your words. 

Going the extra mile is a way of saying to the world, “I live according to different values.”
Going the extra mile is living according to different rules, God-centered rules.
It means willing to be different, to stand out.

Going the extra mile is a countercultural way of life.
It’s unselfish, it doesn’t help us make money, it doesn’t bring us prestige or power. It doesn’t look like success in terms of the values of this world. But Jesus came to show us how to be faithful, not how to be successful on the world’s terms.

Someone once said, “There’s not a lot of traffic on the extra mile.” Here’s another way to think about this passage. The first mile is the mile you have to walk.
It’s on the second mile where your life begins to take on character. 

This is countercultural. This is not the behavior of the common man.
This is what is called Kingdom Behavior.
Of one thing we can be certain, when we go the extra mile, we will find God’s presence very near. 

The first mile is by law.
The 2nd mile is by grace. You do not deserve it, but you give it anyway.

The first mile is by obligation.
The 2nd mile is by generosity. 

Doing this will open up an opportunity for people to ask you, why do you do this?

If you want to be a salt and light, do something good, unexpectedly. 
Last week, Peter told me, actually I bought you durian mooncake, and I want to share with you.

I remembered last time, they was a case in our church, about this couple that had a baby.
I think it’s their first baby if not mistaken.
And it’s quite common that in the city, that you hire a babysitter to take care the baby while you go to work in the day time.
And one day, due to some mistake by the babysitter, the baby was choked to death if not mistaken.
It shocked the entire church.
Wonderful people of God, leader of the church, serving God passionately, why did this happen to them?
As I visit the family at the night time after 2 or 3 days after the incident, I was weeping, but I will never forget what this couple said, that they have forgiven the babysitter.
I was blown away. Then I cry more.
This is grace. This is strength, This is power.
Power is not the ability to control and take advantage.
But the power to do something that is so outrageous, that only God can help us.
Because of this incident, and though I was a growing Christian, I know God is real.
Only God can do this.
That night, I know God’s love is real.


2. Going the extra mile is about doing more than what is expected of you.  
  • It unlocks fresh anointing in your life.

If you want to go to the next level, you need to keep on moving.
The Kingdom of God is the one that is keep on advancing.

If you want to unlock anointing in your life, you need to stop measuring and start expanding.

Don’t just serve the bare minimum.
Don’t be a calculative Christian.

Apostle Paul is a second miler Christian.
He serve God with all his heart.
No matter how tough it is, Apostle Paul endured and keep on moving to advance the Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 4:12  (NIV)
12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

Do you see how Apostle Paul follow the command of Jesus?

He give all in.

It’s either all in, or nothing at all.

Do not be a Christian that live by routine - just do the bare minimum.
Just serve the bare minimum.
Give all in.

Do you know that 68% of Christian do not go to church every week. 2 out of 3 Christian do not have a regular commitment to God.

When I was a new believer, I did not go to church regularly.
So i never serve, I never do anything for God.
I have this consumer mindset, not a contributor mindset.
And I thought that was OK.
Today I can tell you, it’s not OK.

God is calling us to be a catalyst of change. Not just an analyst of change.

Analyst - is someone that conduct analysis.
Analyst - well, they just analyse and comment and if not careful, may even complain.
But Catalyst get involved. They are active. They will join in to the team that serve God together and move together with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Are you an analyst? Or a catalyst for Jesus.

When Jesus come and die for us, He gave his entire life to us.

When Jesus came, he serve us with humility.
He is a King of King, but he come and become man.
He not just become man, he become a servant.
From a God that suppose to just siting on the throne, he humble himself and wash the disciples feet.
He become not just the servant, but he become a sacrifice.
He need to go through the suffering if sin, being mocked and flogged and humiliated.
But not just being punished, he went all the way to the cross, though it mean tremendous pain for Jesus to be hung on the cross.
The journey is not short.

Jesus carried the cross am estimated total distance of 650 yards or 594.36 meters. The crossbar weighed between 36kg to 49kg. But bear in mind, he was in pain.

But Jesus kept on going, all the way to the cross.

We are called to love God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength.
and to Love your neighbour as yourself.

If you want to be different, you need to love God will all that you have.

You need to go all out for the people in your church/campus/office/family.

We cannot have the comfort zone mentality.

The 2nd miler is not for the people that loves comfort zone.

It’’s for the people that believe that God can gives us strength - that He can used us to do amazing things for Him.

Do the extra for the people that is in your church and for the people that do not know Jesus in your life.

The Pizza Hut Story
This story speaks for itself. A Pizza Hut customer who ordered on a regular basis had suddenly gone MIA. The Pizza Hut branch was concerned about its loyal client and called him, asking if he was okay, as he had not ordered from them for over two weeks. To his surprise, they also offered him a complimentary “welcome back” pizza. He did not hesitate to share the story on Facebook.

I remember when I was a student last time and struggling in my exam, someone visited me.


But Bro and Sister - I want to share also some word of wisdom over here:

Going The Extra Mile is not being Extreme.
The Catalyst and the Extremist - it’s different.

Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy yourself?

So don't be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?

There is a time for everything.
Timing is very important.
You need to know when go the extra mile, and when not to do.
The Holy Spirit need to give the direction and we need to follow.

Jesus is asking us to go the 2nd mile, He did not say 20 mile.
Jesus only fast and pray 40 days, not 4000 days!

Learn to be wise, not overly wise.
Don’t talk too much what you suppose to talk.
Too much of a good thing is never good.
I love durian, but I will never marry a durian. It will be crazy.

The harvest is here.
Don’t wait for the season to go away.
The season is now.
It’s not very far.

The distance do not stop us from serving God.
The real deal is not really the distance.
The extra mile is all about your attitude.
It’s your passion.
It’s your faith!

You and me need to be intentional.

First Corinthians 15:58 says, “. . .always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 

The word abound means “more than enough.” 

So here the Bible is teaching the second-mile philosophy—always doing more than enough in the work of the Lord, going the extra mile, doing the unexpected.

Don’t think that when you give so much, there is no return.
It is not in vain.
Believe me, it is not.
When you preach the word, it will not come back void.

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the
inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

You must be relentless.
Don’t give the second best to God.
But give the best to God.
YOLO.

Majority of the people do not love the Word, pray and worship, do not serve, do not give, but if you decide now that I will let the Holy Spirit to lead me, you will be uncommon.

The 1st mile is required by law, and that’s the natural thing.
But it takes a supernatural attitude and faith to go the 2nd mile.

Demonstrate outrageous practical love.

Jesus is asking us to love the unlovable. 

Let's go all the way for Jesus. He deserves it from us.


Note:
This sermon was preached in Hope Klang on 8 Oct 2017.


Reference:





Thursday, October 5, 2017

Timeline of Apostle Paul

Timeline of the Apostle Paul

Note: The chronology and dating of the events in Paul's life are still disputed among scholars.
YearThe Life of Paul Books WrittenHistorical Events
AD 4              Augustus adopts Tiberius and recognizes him as the successor
c. 5Born—an Israelite—in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 22:3Phil 3:5)   
A Roman citizen by birthright (Acts 22:28)   
7   Judea becomes a Roman Imperial province
14   Census of Caesar and Tiberius
   Lyvia poisons Augustus; Tiberius comes into power
c.15-20At the school of Gamaliel, Jerusalem (Acts 22:3)   
26   Pilate begins serving as procurator of Judea
28   John the Baptist executed by Herod Antipas
30   Crucifixion of Christ
31(?)A Pharisee (Phil 3:5)   
c. 32Present at Stephen's stoning (Acts 7:588:1)   
c.33-34Persecutor of the church (Acts 8:1-3Phil 3:6)   
34Conversion on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9)   
Goes to Damascus (Acts 9:10-19)   
Travels to Arabia and remains there (Gal 1:17)   
35   
36  Imprisonment of Herod Agrippa
37   
Returns to Damascus then exits the city for safety (Gal 1:17Acts 9:20-252 Cor 11:32-33)   
Goes up to Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-29Gal 1:18)  Caligula becomes emperor at the death of Tiberius
Goes back to Tarsus for safety (Acts 9:30)   
38   
39  Herod Antipas deposed by Caligula and exiled to Gaul
40   
41  Caligula murdered
  Cladius declared emperor
42  Famine in Rome
43  Roman campaigns against Britain
44  Death of Herod Agrippa I
45   
46   
Barnabas travels to Tarsus in order to seek Saul (Acts 11:25)   
47Goes to Antioch with Barnabas teaching and many people (Acts 11:26)   
Agabus prophesies a famine (Acts 11:27, 28)   
Aid sent to Jerusalem through Barnabas and Saul (Acts 11:29, 30)   
Barnabas and Saul return with John Mark (Acts 12:25)   
Barnabas and Saul "separated" and sent out (Acts 13:2, 3)   
They travel from Antioch to Seleucia, then to Cyprus (Acts 13:4)  
48  
While on Cyprus they go to Salamis and Paphos (Acts 13:5-12)  
From Paphos they go to Perga of Pamphylia where John Mark departs for home (Acts 13:13)  
Ministry in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14-50)  
At Iconium (Acts 13:51 - 14:6)  
Flees to Lystra and Derbe, preaching the gospel (Acts 14:6-7)  
In Lystra Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for gods (Acts 14:8-18)  
Stoned at Lystra, supposed to be dead, but re-enters the city (Acts 14:19-20)  
Departs with Barnabas to Derbe, preaching the gospel (Acts 14:20-21)  
They return to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch to strengthen disciples and appoint elders (Acts 14:21-24)  
From Pisidia they returned to Antioch of Syria and reported their journey to the church (Acts 14:24-28)  
49Goes up to the Jerusalem Council with Barnabas (Acts 15:1-29Galatians 2:1)  Claudius expels Jews from Rome and blames it on Chrestus (a possible reference to Christ)
Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch of Syria, teaching and preaching (Acts 15:30-35Galatians 2:11-14)   
Contention over John Mark; Barnabas and John Mark sail to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-39)   
Paul and Silas depart, going through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches (Acts 15:40-41)Galatians (?) 
50Goes to Derbe and Lystra and picks up Timothy, strengthening the churches (Acts 16:1-5) The rise of the Zealots
They go to Troas and Paul sees a vision of a Macedonian man (Acts 16:6-10)  
51They sail from Troas to Neapolis (Acts 16:11)  
To Philippi where Paul meets Lydia (Acts 16:12-15)  
Paul and Silas imprisoned after casting out a demon from a slave girl (Acts 16:16-25)  
Prison doors opened miraculously and the jailer saved (Acts 16:25-34)  
Departs from Philippi (Acts 16:35-40)  
They passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts 17:1)  
At Thessalonica and preached Christ, but had to flee (Acts 17:1-10)  
At Berea where he leaves Silas and Timothy (Acts 17:10-14)  
At Corinth and rejoined with Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:1-17)Galatians (?) 
1 Thessalonians 
522 Thessalonians 
53Paul returns to Antioch after stopping at Ephesus, Caeserea, and Jerusalem (Acts 18:18-22)  
Travels through Galatia and Phrygia strengthening the disciples (Acts 18:23)  
Passes through the upper regions on his way to Ephesus (Acts 19:1)  
Ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-41)  
54 Claudius poisoned by his wife
1 CorinthiansNero becomes Emperor
55  
56Goes to Macedonia (Acts 20:1)2 Corinthians 
Travels to Greece (Acts 20:2)Romans 
Goes back to Macedonia (Acts 20:3)  
At Troas (Acts 20:4-12)  
Assos. Mitylene. Chios. Samos. Togyllium. (Acts 20:13-15)  
Paul exhorts the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 20:15-38)  
Cos. Rhodes. Patara. Phoenicia. (Acts 21:1, 2)  
At Tyre (Acts 21:3-6)  
At Ptolemais (Acts 21:7)  
At Caesarea (Acts 21:8-14)  
57At Jerusalem (Acts 21:15-25)  
Paul gets arrested in the temple and causes a mob (Acts 21:26-36)   
Addresses the mob (Acts 21:37 - 22:21)   
Paul's citizenship saves him from scourging (Acts 22:22-29)   
Before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30 - 23:10)   
Jesus tells Paul that he will bear witness of him in Rome (Acts 23:11)   
The plot against Paul's life (Acts 23:12-22)   
Sent safely to Felix the governor (Acts 23:23-35)   
Paul before Felix (Acts 24:1-27)   
59Paul before Festus (Acts 25:1-12)   
Paul's appeal honored - turning point towards Rome (Acts 25:12) Assassination of Agrippina, the mother of Nero
Paul before Agrippa (Acts 25:13 - 26:32)  
Paul departs for Rome and sails to Myra (Acts 27:1-5)  
They sail to Fair Havens on Crete (Acts 27:6-8)  
In spite of Paul's warning, they set sail again (Acts 27:9-12)  
In the midst of a terrible storm they get shipwrecked on the island of Malta (Acts 27:13 - 28:1)  
At Malta (Acts 28:2-10)  
Sails to Syracuse (Acts 28:11, 12)  
Sails to Rhegium then Puteoli (Acts 28:13)  
60Arrives in Rome (Acts 28:14-16)  
Meets with the Jews (Acts 28:17-28)  
Preaches the gospel without hindrance for two whole years in his rented house (Acts 28:30-31).Philemon 
61Colossians 
Ephesians 
62Philippians 
Released from Roman imprisonment 1 Timothy (c. 62-64)
Titus (c. 62-64)
 
63Further missionary work  
64 The Great Fire in Rome; Major persecution of Christianity begins
 Josephus pleads the interests of the Jews before Rome
 2 Timothy (c. 64-66)Nero constructs the Domus Aurea
65  
66Second imprisonment and martyrdom under NeroThe beginning of the Jewish Revolt against Rome
67   Josephus surrenders to the Romans
68   Nero commits suicide
69   Vespian prevails as the Emperor amidst civil war
70   Destruction of the temple under Titus


https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/paul/timeline.cfm