A Fresh Start Once Again: Introduction and Humor

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A very good morning to all of you. Once again, we appreciate all our little ones joining us, and I hope you will be able to listen in attentively and benefit from this time also. Now I'm feeling a little bit corny this morning, so literally corny. I'm going to give you some corny jokes. Children are with us. I think you will be able to kind of participate. The first one is, what is corn’s favorite holiday? What is corn’s favorite holiday? It is New Ear’s Day. Why ear? Because a ear of corn. All right, New Ear's Day. Okay, this is a bit hard. Let's go to the next one. What does a caterpillar do on January 1st? A caterpillar turns over a new leaf. (Laughter from the congregation). Okay, the third one is not quite a joke, just a statement. What's or it's a it's a question. What's a spider's New Year's resolution? To spend less time on the web. (Laughter from the congregation). This is every parent's desire for their kids. But the last one is a statement. ‘I will lose weight for my New Year's resolution, but I hate losing’.(Laughter from the congregation).

Well, we are now at the very last Sunday service of 2024. We are looking forward to 2025, and I think most people round about this time think about what they want to do for the New Year. They think about New Year's resolutions. They think about losing weight, eating healthy, earning more money. There's some goals, some KPIs for the New Year. So I thought it would be quite appropriate for us to think about how we can make a fresh start for the New Year. It's a strategic, psychologically suitable time, because it is a fresh beginning, a reboot, a reset, a renewal for your life.

But I'd like us to consider the new start from the perspective of the Bible, and interestingly, the basis of our thinking is taken from Numbers chapter 15. Now this is quite bizarre. I'm sure you appreciate having gone through the scripture reading just now. It's a strange chapter with lots of rules and regulations and rights and rituals, and you're asking, “What in the world are we going to look at?” Well, I hope we will be able to see that this is a chapter that marks a fresh start. How is it so? I hope in a short course of time you will be able to see what that means.

Now I'm going to share with you five things, five important things to consider in a New Year. I'm not talking about the five C's of Singapore - cash, car, condo, but I'm going to talk about five G's. Alright, so very simply, let's look at five things, five G's in Numbers 15.

The Concept of Grace in Numbers 15
The first is the word about ‘grace’. Now this is seen in verses 1 and 2 where the Bible says,

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, (Numberto15:1-2)

The highlight here is the emphasis God gives about telling Israel, “I am going to give you this land.” Now to you and I, we read this and say, “What's the big deal?” Well, it's a big deal if you understand the context. It's a big deal if you remember what has gone on before this. In chapters 13 and 14, we read about how the people of Israel rebelled against God. They disobeyed God. They fret out, refused to enter the Promised Land, even though God told them to do so. So they were in active rebellion. And this is not the first time. This is the tenth time they have disobeyed God since God saved them out of slavery in Egypt. So God was furious. He was angry. He struck dead these ten spies who brought an evil report about the land and discouraged the people of Israel. And God threatened to disinherit Israel and said to them, “You will be entirely destroyed. I will start a whole new race of people from Moses’ family.” But Moses pleaded with God, and God in His mercy and grace, held back his hand and said that the first generation will perish in the wilderness, but the second, the younger generation will enter the promised land.

So this is a word of grace and mercy. You see, this is a word about a new era, a new generation. So this entire chapter is about a fresh start for Israel. They blew it. They blew it many times, but God is still going to be merciful to them. So this is not quite a New Year's message, but it's even bigger than that. It's about a new era, a new generation. And the first thing God would ask, would want us to remind, or be reminded of is about His grace and mercy. “I will not destroy Israel. I will preserve the next generation, and I will give to them this promised land.” So in the New Year, I'd like us to be reminded about this idea, this theology, this teaching, this doctrine of grace.

Many religions do not understand grace, because every other religion is about deserving favor from God. But the Bible teaches about grace, which is undeserved favor from God. Maybe you are here today in church, because you think to yourself, “I've been a naughty person. I've been committing all kinds of wrong things, and if I come to church, maybe I can atone for some of my sins. I can be a good boy, and maybe this God may be favorable to me one day.” Well, according to every other religion, that's perhaps the route they would want you to take.

But according to the Bible, that's a wrong route to take, because God is not good to good people only. If he is good to good people only, he will not be good to anyone, because there is no one who is good. The Bible makes it clear. Compared to God, all of us fall short, all of us are sinners, all of us are unworthy. But thankfully, the Bible tells us about the God of all grace. God is good to those who are no good. That's a wonderful message. That's a great message because the Bible tells us, whilst we were yet sinners, God loved us and gave His Son Jesus Christ to die for us.

In this New Year, if you are a visitor with us, if this is the first time you are hearing the Bible preached, you can't get more central than this central message that God loves sinners, and He gave his Son freely to die and to pay for our sins. You don't come to God because you have cleaned up your act. You can't. You come to God. You receive His mercy. And by His grace, He cleans you up. So I hope, if this is the first time you're with us, this is that one message you can take home. This God of the Bible is a God of mercy and grace and unconditional love to those who would believe upon His Son.

But to all my brothers and sisters in Christ, maybe 2024 has been a difficult year for you. You have messed up. You have messed up in your marriage, you have messed up at home, you have messed up with relationships, you have messed up at work. You have sinned against God and you kind of feel ashamed and you find it hard to come back to Him. I want to remind you that our God is a God of grace and to believers, God says,

Let us, then with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace. (Hebrew 4:16a)

The throne, the dwelling, the sitting place of God, where He rules, is defined by grace. It's the throne of grace. We come to Him not because we deserve it, but because He is gracious. He helps those who don't deserve anything, so that we may receive mercy and find grace.

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I hope you will not languish in depression, in fears, in anxieties, but remember who you serve. Our God is a God of grace. Paul tells us,

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all - how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

We look forward with blessed joy and hope for the New Year, not because we have earned it, not because we have been a good people, but because God is so gracious to give us all things. He works all things together for good to them who love him. And this love of God is unbreakable. Nothing separates us from the love of Christ, a love of God in Christ, Jesus and so this is a positive, beautiful word of hope. Just as Israel must have felt forsaken, they must have felt that it is over for them, but God in chapter 15 would say,“ No, I'm going to give you the land. I'm going to show grace to you as a people”.

The Importance of Giving to God

The second word is the word ‘giving’ in Numbers 15. The second priority for us in a New Year is giving. And when I think about giving here in Numbers, it's not about God giving to us. It's more about us giving to God. Because if you read verses 3 to 21 in Numbers 15, these 18 or 19, verses, it's all about giving, about offerings, about contributions, about bulls and goats and lambs unto God. It's about giving, giving to God. It talks about who to give, what to give, when to give, how to give, a lot of details. And I don't think it is our priority to go through every single detail.

But I just want to highlight two things. That passage in verses 3 to 21, this giving to God is a result of God first giving to Israel. Israel, you are to give these things to God, well after and when you enter the promised land. In other words, all the ability to give to God came from God in the first place. There's no one here who can outgive God. There's no one here who can say, “Oh, I give God something, and he's obligated to me”. No, you can't bribe God. Again every other religion may operate on this concept of buying God's favor, saying it more negatively, bribing him. But not the God of the Bible. Because everything we have and everything we can give to God came from God in the first place. You can never outgive God. Giving to God is a privilege. Giving to God is a result of knowing and appreciating what He has given to us in the first place. And this giving to God is for this reason - not so that I can get more things, but so that He may be pleased. I see that in the repeated emphasis of a pleasing aroma in verses 3:7, 3:10, 3:13 and 3:14. So why do we give? Because it pleases God.

One of the precious gifts my wife and I have received, I will say together, would be a slice of cake bought from a cafe beside the tuition center by my son. It's for my wife's birthday. And that brightened up our day, because it's just a, you may say it's just a slice of cake. It doesn't cost that much, but it was very precious because it came from the heart of love. Does my wife need that slice of cake? No. Can she buy that slice of cake herself? Yes, but because it came from the son, it was particularly precious. When we give unto God, it's not because He needs it, not because by giving it we can bribe Him, but because we know how much He has given to us, how much He has sacrificed His son for that we would gratefully and gladly give unto Him.

So in the New Year, I'd like you to think about your giving. And I'm not talking only about finances. It's easy to think about, “Oh, giving to God is about our tithing.” And by the way, in this church, we don't practice tithing. We don't enforce people giving 10%. We believe giving must be from a cheerful and willing heart that has understood how God first gave to us. But giving is about the whole tone and posture of life. Didn't the Bible say,

In light of the mercies of God, present yourselves a living sacrifice.(Romans 12:1a)

In other words, give yourselves on the altar. It's not just about your money. It's your whole life. It should be given to God. It is really sad. I think modern Christianity doesn't quite understand sacrifice. Modern Christianity doesn't quite understand giving, because most of us think about Christianity as a faith by which we can get. I get more. I want to get this so I come to God. I want to get that so I pray to God. It's all about me. But really, in the New Year, it's in this fresh start for Israel, they have to understand God is going to be gracious to them, and they have to understand what it means to please God by giving of themselves.

So how are you going to give to God in your new life, in a New Year. For some of us, it might be a simple thing but important thing, like leaving our homes on Sunday mornings to get ourselves in a congregation of God's people, so that we may sing unto Him together, so that we may sing unto one another so that we can encourage one another. It may be as simple as that. Because for a long time I'm speaking, not so much to the crowd here, but to you on the camera. You have been quite satisfied to stay at home. You say, “It's convenient.” I say, “I agree with you. It's convenient.” But does it bring glory to God that way? Is this the best way for you to show forth your worship as a church, as a people? Maybe giving to God may look something very simple, like gathering on church to understand we are not here as spectators, but we are here as worshippers, as participants, so we're going to give of our best. We're going to come early, we're going to be a good testimony to one and all, and we're going to sing with all our hearts. I know Gospel Light is not very well known for our singing. Part of the reason maybe the acoustics here are not great for your voices to be projected, to echo all around. It kind of absorbs it all into the surroundings. But I think singing is not just about the volume. It's about that engagement of our minds, our hearts, and not fearing that I sing out of tune, not fearing that I don't sing so well, but I sing unto the Lord. So many of you are so coy, “pai seh” (shy) la, don't want to sing so loud la. Well, sing unto the Lord. Sing because the Scripture encourages us to do so.

Think about the way you are going to serve Him in the New Year. Don't just make plans for your Tokyo trip, your Hawaii trip, your whatever trip. Well, I'm not saying you can't, but I'm saying, “Have you thought about how you're going to spend this year serving Him?” The people you're going to be engaged with, the ministries you can be a part of. This is a good time to think about your giving unto God. Well, I need to rush on and let's see the third thing in a new year. So in a New Year, let's think about God's grace. In a New Year, let's think about how we can worship Him with our lives.

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Addressing the Guilt of Sin

And the third thing I'd like us to see is in verses 22 to 36, some 15 verses, and it speaks about sin. It speaks about the ‘guilt’ of sin. So in these verses, there are teachings about what happens when the whole of Israel sins against God unintentionally, and when an individual sins against God unintentionally, and when a certain individual sins against God with a high hand. What do you mean with a high hand? Probably a kind of a raised fist, a kind of defiance, a kind of blatant disregard haughty sin against God. So these 15 verses speak about the sacrifices, the atonements that need to be made and the punishment that should be rendered. It ends off with this narrative of this Sabbath breaker. This man who would go out to collect sticks on the Sabbath day. The Jews understand that there's this command not to work on the Sabbath. But there's this guy who is just blatantly disregarding God's Word, who goes out to do it. And this, I think, is given as an example of what it means to sin in a high handed way, and the severe punishment that will be rendered in that he will be killed.

Now this is not very pleasant, but this is needful. In a New Year, we got to think about our lives, our sins against God. Why? Because God is holy. He does not tolerate sin. He detests sin. And if we are to be a people walking in fellowship with Him, we cannot pretend that there is no problem in our lives. We cannot ignore the fact that we are living in ongoing sin. But instead, we should be conscious to humble ourselves, to repent, to confess, to be forgiven, that we may walk right with Him. You see, Jesus, He taught us in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6, that this is what we pray for. We pray that God will forgive us our debts. And I suggest to you that this prayer is not to be made only once in your lifetime, but this prayer is to be made regularly, almost daily. Why? Because of the word “and”, “and forgive our debts”. The word “and” connects us with “Give us this day our daily bread”. This is something you pray for daily. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts on a daily basis. We are to keep short accounts with God. We are not to sin and sin and sin and sin and pretend that there's nothing going on in our lives and that God still loves me and that I love him. No, you can't do that. That's not that's not genuine relationship. You can't be committing adultery against your wife every day and not confess and still say, “I love you”. You can't.

So Christians, brothers and sisters, in the New Year, we can't just ignore this reality. We need to be aware and grieved and broken over our sins. But the great promise of the Bible is that if we confess our sins, the word “confess” means to agree with. If we agree with God about our sins that it is grievous, it is hideous, it is detestable, it is to be forsaken.

If we confess our sins,

this is the wonderful promise of God.

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. (1 John 1:9)

It's not based on how deserving you are. It’s based on what Jesus has done for us.

Numbers 15 speaks about the sacrifices that need to be made. Praise be to God. Today, no one needs to make another animal sacrifice, because Jesus is that ultimate sacrifice all these animal sacrifices point to, and he has suffered and died for you. And so if we confess our sins based on Jesus' finished work, God is faithful and just to forgive you your sins. So don't hide them. Confess them. Don't don’t say to yourself, “I'm so ashamed. I don't dare to come to God.” God is faithful and just, even when you can't find grace to forgive yourselves. See 1 John speaks about how God is light, and if we are to have fellowship with God, we must be a people walking in the light.

What does it mean to walk in the light? Does it mean that you are living a perfect life? No, it means that you are someone who is not hiding. But you bring your sins into the light. You confess your sins before God. That I think, is what it means to have fellowship with God when we confess our sins and walk in the light. On the other hand, someone who walks in darkness is someone who denies his sin, who refuses to acknowledge his sin, who stubbornly holds out and say, “No, that’s not wrong.” I do not know if you have met people like this in your family, around your friends, but it's very hard to have a meaningful relationship if people will not turn from what is wrong and admit their faults. As God's children, we must be careful about denying our sin, because that would mean a broken fellowship with Him.

Now I want you to know when we talk about being aware about sin. We are also to be very clear that Jesus is the one who secures our forgiveness. I'm not saying be aware of our sins so that we will be self- righteous. No, not at all. I'm not saying that we should be condemning ourselves. No, not at all. Because Jesus died for our sins, Jesus paid it all. I'm mindful of my sin, but I rejoice in the forgiveness found in the Gospel. But it will be very dangerous for someone to say, “Oh, because Jesus died for us, don't think about your sin anymore”. Oh, that's that I think is taking it to a wrong extreme. And just as a warning, I think that's what's happening in some, where they preach and teach that you should not be sin conscious, but be son conscious. Now I think it's very clever use of words. Don't be sin conscious, but be son conscious. Son, meaning Jesus. Don't think about your sin at all, but think only about Jesus. I agree. We should all understand Jesus paid it all. But I don't agree, and I don't think Scripture agrees that you should not think about sin at all. Jesus tells us to confess our sins. John tells us to confess our sins. And if you do not acknowledge your sins and face up to it, how can you turn from sin, repent of your sins?

So in the New Year, I hope you will not be fooled or deceived to think that I can just ignore my sins, confess righteousness in Jesus and live as if God doesn't know. You want to have fellowship with Him, walk in the light, confess your sins. Maybe today you have lived the past days, weeks and months in some kind of hidden sin. Maybe this is a good time for us to acknowledge our guilt, confess our sins, and turn like that caterpillar over a new leaf by the help of His Spirit.

Guidance Through Tassels and God's Commands

Number four, my time is running out, and it is about ‘guidance’. This text presents, then a very interesting account of tassels.

Speak to the people of Israel and tell them to make tassels like strings on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.(Numbers 15:38)

So this idea of tassels has lasted since Numbers 15 till today. If you go to Israel, you'll see people with shawls, with garments, with tassels. And you would maybe also remember how in the Bible, perhaps there's this lady who wanted to touch the hem of Jesus' garments. Maybe reaching out to the tassels there. She said, “If I could just touch, I would be healed”. And maybe you remember how Jesus spoke about the garments, the borders of the garments, right? He pointed out these religious leaders and look at their,

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I always like the way the artists draw the “hao lian” face, the haughty look. And Jesus points out in what way they were arrogant and proud and show offish. They like to, they like to enlarge their phylacteries. The phylacteries are these boxes that they wear on their forehead. It's a box where they contain the Scripture. For example, Deuteronomy 6. Just to show people wah my phylacteries very big, so I remember the Bible very well. So they like to enlarge the phylacteries. And they also like to enlarge the borders of their garments. The borders of their garments is where the tassels are. So they like to make it big, big, very obvious. So people look at it, wow, you're very godly ah. You have a phylactery here, and you have the garments there, your tassels here. I think the Pharisees have taken it the wrong way. Nevertheless, the original intent that God has for tassels is that people, the people of Israel, will look at the tassels every morning they put on that garment. They will see those tassels, and they will be reminded to remember all the commandments of the Lord. So that they will be a people who will be obedient to God, so that they will know His will and His ways.

Now, in the New Year, the government tells you, ”You have skillsfuture credit, please, learn this, learn that.” Can I ask you, “Have you made plans to learn God's Word?” If you have not, maybe this is a good time to consider how God is going to guide you into the New Year through His Word. Now in our church, I've shared this a few times. I just want to do it one more time. We have this pancake approach to learning and growing as a Christian. Pancake, because you can stack it any way you want. You want one, you want two, you want, in whichever order you want. Just stack it up, and the various stacks are simply number one worship service, care group, Bible study groups. These are groups or platforms that most churches would offer, I would say. Think about it. If you're not in a worship service, come join us. If you're not in any care group, consider joining one in the New Year. If you want to learn the Bible in an in-depth way, we have Bible study groups. Besides that, in our church, we have something called life on life missional discipleship, and then we have shepherds training. This is a topical training dealing with subjects that we don't always get to do on Sunday morning. Sunday morning, we do expository so we need to re-equip our people on a Saturday, and that's where we teach about doctrines and contemporary Christian issues that are important and relevant in our lives. And for some, you may consider internship. But all that is so that you may learn to handle and understand God's Word. But that's not all. Not only must we remember all the commandments of the Lord, there is a particular emphasis here, not just to know them, but to do them. Important to do and to do.

Suppose today I say to my sons,
“Pack up your room”.
And they say, “Yes, dad.”
After a day, (someone from the congregation said, “No.”. Pastor said, “Good ah you”).
Okay, they say, “Yes, dad.”
And the next day, I go and I check, they did not pack up the room.
I said, “Did you not understand?”
“No, I understood.”
“Did you not know what it means?”
“I know what it means.”

But that, not only that, I even studied the Greek and Hebrew of what it means to pack up the room. I gathered my friends and we did a study on packing up the room. I memorized the phrase “pack up the room”. Did you pack up the room? No. That's very much like you and I, right? When we read the Bible, we understand what God says. We memorize the verses. We have small groups that talk about that verse, that concept, we even study the Hebrew and Greek of it. We understand all the mechanics, but we just won't do. So in a New Year, maybe think about what God has already taught you and what you are not quite doing. This church is not meant to be a lecture room. This church has a clear mission of leading generations into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. It's about obedience. It's about doing His will. We don't want to educate fools. You know, according to God, what is a fool? According to Jesus, what is a fool? A fool is not someone who does not know. A fool is someone who knows and won't do because Jesus said,

The man who heard my teachings and obey them will be like a man building his house on a solid rock. But a man who hears my words and does not do them, he is like a fool who builds his house on shifting sand. (Matthew 7:24-27)

The difference between the wise and the fool is not in a hearing, both heard. The difference is in the doing. James would tell us a comical story, a picture of how you might look yourself in the mirror in the morning and you see all the blemishes there, and you see it, and you just walk away. You are fool, because if you see all those blemishes, you had an opportunity to correct them, but you don't. So it is with a man who looks at what the Bible says, and will not do anything about it.

Conclusion and Final Prayer

In the New Year, be wise, follow God in His Word. And lastly, let's look at the very final verse,

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 15:41)

Two fold repetition. “I am the Lord your God”. Everything that is said in Numbers 15, everything that is about this new era, new generation, new start, fresh beginning, has to be rooted in a right relationship with God. I hope you don't see Christianity as a list of do's and don'ts, rules and regulations. At the heart of it all, it's about a relationship, a relationship that is initiated by God. This relationship with Israel is initiated by God. God is the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and God is the one who sent His Son to die and save us from our sins. God is the one who sent His Spirit into our hearts to woo us and to call us to Himself. This is the Lord our God. And may we in the New Year, live in an abiding, faithful relationship with Him. So for 2025, maybe 2026 I have six things, but in 2025 we have five things. It's about grace, it's about giving, it's about guilt, it's about guidance, and it's all about God. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Hey, children, I want to say thank you for listening well. But for one and all today, let's now still our hearts and consider how 2024 has been and how we can make the right decisions for 2025. Maybe you are ashamed, maybe you have disappointed even your own self. Maybe you have felt that there is no more chance for you. Let's be reminded this is a God of grace. Amazing Grace. Sinners, you can be saved even though you have lived your entire life in defiance against God, if you will humble yourself. Jesus paid it all. My dear brothers and sisters, think about the way we are to give, the way we are to worship, the way we are to be a living sacrifice. Think about your sin and how you ought to turn to repent. Think about the study, the deepening of our grasp in God's Word and how we can obey. And think about your relationship with God. Today, I'd just like to give you this time to reflect and to respond to God. This is his Word for us. This last Sunday of 2024, you can have a fresh start once again. Set your priorities right and cry out to Him to enable you to keep these resolutions for the New Year.

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Father, we thank You that You are the God of all grace, and you have called us to yourself through the gift of your Son and the sending of your Spirit. May your people today understand your deep love, so that we may worship you worthily with our lives, so that we may be a people who are sensitive to sin and will be quick to turn and that we will be a people who would walk in obedience by the help of your Spirit. And again, I pray for our friends who do not know Jesus as yet. Please touch their hearts, open their eyes, help them to see that you are the God of grace. Save our children, save our family, our friends. Dear God, thank you for another year that is dawning. We
ask all this in Jesus Name, Amen.