Speaker: Rev Dr David Pao
Judges 7:1-14 Who are you fighting for?
Are you fighting for yourself, or is God fighting for you in your
deepest hour of helplessness?
Gideon fought for God in fear for the first half of his life. In fact, it
was God who fought this battle for him. Gideon fought for himself for the second
half of his life, and named his son "My father is king." After his
death, the Israelites continued to worship Baal.
Has your existence made an impact on anyone?
How will you impact the next generation?
What has been passed down through your existence?
Matthew 6:9-13 First seek His kingdom
Rev Pao interpreted “daily bread” as “our spiritual food for the last
days.”
Rev Pao’s first wife died of cancer, diagnosed in 1993, and passed away
in 1994.
It seems as though we are born into a life of suffering, before we see
the kingdom of heaven.
During a spiritual warfare, let’s think to ourselves, “Is there peace
in my heart?” Peace is a sign of victory.
According to some studies, when the wife passes away, 25% of the
husband will also pass away within two years. However, when the husband passes
away, this doesn’t seem to impact on the life expectancy of the wife.
Rev Pao’s mother-in-law was not willing to believe in God, even though
her daughter wrote a letter pleading for her to believe in the gospel before
her death. Then, after some time, she suddenly said that she was willing to
believe in God.
An alternative reality:
Rev Pao’s wife is now in a better place, and fought a great battle for
God before going there.
God-centred life leads to a God-centred prayer.
Jonah 4:1-11 Righteousness and Mercy
Jonah is a person with a strong sense of justice: He is tough to others
and tough on himself, ie. when he realises he’s not doing the right thing, he
jumps into the sea.
When he thinks others are not right, he is unable to accept how it can
all be forgiven out by a “raise of hands.” How can God's justice allow such a
thing?
His relationship with God is problematic: He cannot accept such a God
like this.
“Do you think that only other people need grace, and you don’t?”
Jonah did not understand grace and this affected his relationship with
God.
Unforgiveness vs a group of people under God’s grace.
One’s relationship with God affects one’s relationship with brothers
and sisters.
Acts 6:1-6 The Choosing of the Seven
Should we divide people into two categories?
One type of people preach, and the other type of people serve meals?
Why did Jesus eat all the time in the Bible? We eat with the people who
we mix with.
Jesus often crosses the boundaries and eats with marginalised people.
The Gospel is to be passed to the marginalised: to the ends of the
earth.
Peter’s vision: it is about eating.
The holy land of God is not limited to Jerusalem. The place where God
called Abraham and Moses was not in Jerusalem. The places where God reveals His
power and miracles are not limited to Jerusalem. The Holy Land is any place where
God can do His work.
Our workplace is also a place where God can do His work. It is easy for
God to do things. Let us not hinder God from doing His work like Peter did.
It is a mandate for Christians to act as full-time ministers in our
workplace, and that as a group, the Body of Christ should not be hindering God's
work.
Personal Devotion on Sunday 7July:
God created all things: natural landscapes such as mountains and sea,
and the man-made structures such as ships... Which piece of the jigsaw do you
want me to be? What I can do by myself is extremely limited. I pray for God to expand
me.
Who am I? What do I want to leave behind for the next generation?
Sometimes, I am as impetuous as the “Sons of Thunder” when I get angry.
Too impatient, wanting to rush out before waiting on God or listening to God.
I pray that God will make my tongue build others up.
I pray that I can completely submit to You, and become a vessel that
can be used by You.
Let me know you, and understand more about Your righteousness and Your
mercy, especially Your mercy. To imitate Jesus’ compassion.
2Timothy 4:1-5 Preach the Word
This passage tells us to preach. What is so special about these verses?
What is a preacher? The noun version of this word is rare in the Bible. In the
English non-Christian setting, it can be derogatory. In Chinese it refers to
the eunuch! Eunuchs make proclamations about the king’s messages. The preacher
acts as “the herald”, “ambassador”, “diplomat.”
For Christians, Jesus is the king, and we are all called to be preach.
Three important questions in reading this passage:
What does the herald do?
What is the content?
Who is the audience?
A professional: needs to be very switched on and have the right
qualifications and experience.
A herald: not your qualifications, but who is backing you? ie. If you
represent a powerful country, people listen. If you represent a poor country,
people ignore you.
The important thing in the church is not how talented we are, but who
are we representing? Be faithful.
The herald doesn’t just teach people to be a goody two-shoes. They send
out messages about how great their empire is.
Our task is to convince people that there is an alternative reality
that is better than the worldly reality.
In suffering, Paul found the alternative reality.
Where is the source of our hope? How is our life different? The
preacher’s role is to live a different life so that people can see the
alternative reality.
A herald is different from a pop singer. A pop singer has an audience
of fans. A herald only needs one person to trust him: the person who’s backing
him.
Whether the listener wants to listen or not, we should still be
preaching. Our job is to please the one and only God. People often succumb to
peer pressure. Move from pleasing people around us to pleasing God.
