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If you are here also for the 1st time, you come to the very last sermon, in our series through the book of Daniel.

Daniel is one of the 66 books in the Bible, it's in the Old Testament, the 1st half of the Bible and we have come to the very last chapter. So if you have your Bibles please turn with me to Daniel and chapter 12 and the last few verses in particular.

The book of Daniel has been a fascinating study, there is a lot of prophecies, a lot of predictions about the end times, about the future, but we come now to a very, very practical conclusion in the book of Daniel. And I want us to stick with us, because it's so easy to go through Daniel and be fascinated and obsessed really about future things. Things that we might not all be very, very clear about. But one thing that is very clear at the end of this book is that we all need to understand the principle or the importance of faithfulness.

Time stamp in audio 0:01:03.5.

Let me start with a story. There is a story about this man, who works in an office that is full of attractive young ladies. So his wife is rather suspicious and not very comfortable. Every time he goes home, the wife would interrogate him with lots of questions and he would be evasive of the questions, and she would then check his coat and she would see if there's any strand of hair, if there is a blonde hair. She would say, “You must have been with this blonde lady.” If it is black hair, “You must have been with this Chinese lady.” If it's brown hair, “You must have been have been with this other lady.”

And so the man is really quite tired of all these questions. And so he decided to buy himself a brush and on his way back, before he steps into the house, he would make sure he brushes away all the strands of hair, whatever there is. And the wife will now search the coat and find there is no hair. So, he stands in the corner, with a smug smile in his face.  But then she began to cry, she wonders what's happening. And so, he, he reaches out to her and says, “Dear, what's wrong?”  She slaps his hand away and says, “Don't touch me, you are now with a bald woman.” (Laughter in the congregation).

Time stamp in audio 0:02:19.7.

Faithfulness is very important. I think faithfulness is important in a marriage, faithfulness is also important in our relationship with God. If there's one thing we need to be focused about at the end of the book of Daniel, is that we ought to be faithful to God. You see this is what the preacher Vance Havner, used to say,


God is faithful. This is His attribute. This is who He is and he expects His people to be faithful. God's Word speaks of faithful servants, faithful in a few things, faithful in the least, faithful in the Lord, faithful ministers and all points up that day when He will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Time stamp in audio 0:03:07.1.

It is so simple, so fundamental and yet it is often the most difficult in our life, faithful in a few things, faithful in the least.

Daniel has been an exemplary man in terms of faithfulness. When he was a young man, when he was plucked out of Jerusalem and thrown into the deep end in Babylon, he faithfully honoured the Lord, he would not defile himself with the things that he should not take. He faithfully served under wicked kings because God has told him in the Bible to do so. He faithfully continued to trust God, even though he was going to be thrown into the lion’s den, he faithfully prayed unto God even though his enemies forbade him to pray. Daniel is a faithful man, from the beginning and now hopefully unto the end.

You see, we come to Daniel 12, where it is said, “Daniel heard and saw a lot of things.”

In Daniel chapters 10, 11, 12, it was an amazing prophetic vision that he received. There is something that is clear, some things that have been explained, but some things that are still unclear and unexplained. So he is rather confused in, he did not fully understand and so he said to the Lord, “What shall be the outcome of these things, what's going to happen? What's really going to take place, there are some questions in my mind, Lord, could You tell me more? I want more, I'm curious about it.”

And God, in a very rather surprising way, gave him a gentle rebuke, to say the least, because God said, “Go your way, Daniel.” In other words, “Move on, go on, carry on what you been doing, this is none of your business Daniel. This is not in your place to ask, this is not for you to know, I've not intended for you to know, so move, go on, carry on, focus on what you're supposed to do, be faithful in it. And this is not of really for your concern.”

Time stamp in audio 0:05:15.0.

And so, Daniel is in a sense, gently reminded, that he is not to continue to speculate, wonder, obsessed over what is the outcome of these things, but to be reminded to be faithful to what God has called him to. I think this somewhat reminds us of that little story between Jesus and Peter, remember that time, after Jesus was resurrected, He was with Peter and He told Peter, the way he's going to die.

Peter is going to die with his hand stretched out, probably signifying he is going to die in a crucifixion. So, Peter was, was in a sense, shocked maybe with this revelation and so he said to Jesus, looking at a guy beside him, what will happen to the other guy? If I am going to die this way, what will happen to this guy? He is pointing to John. “Yes, what about that fella, I'm going to die,” he says, “What about that fella?” And what did Jesus say to Peter? Jesus says, "What has it got to do with you, Peter, that's his business, don't be a “kay poh” (colloquial for busybody) in other sense, in other words, you concentrate on following Me.”

Time stamp in audio 0:06:28.5.

In a sense, God is saying to Daniel, that's not on your concern, you concentrate on following Me. You see, at the end of the book of Daniel, there are many questions we cannot answer, there are many loose ends.

If you look at chapter 12, there is a reference to 1290 days and then there is a 1335 days, actually up to this point of time nobody knows what that refers to, but there's plenty of speculation, people today are speculating: What is the 10 horns? What are the 4 beasts, wow, who is the Antichrist? It's all speculation. No, one can’t know for sure today and certainly I hope in this church, after we have gone through the book of Daniel, we will not walk out and obsess over the speculations or debate with people over what is right or wrong, when Scripture has not made it crystal clear.

But the call, is that in the light of all these prophecies, many of which has been fulfilled, we will be faithful to God. You see Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 24, He says,


"With regards to my coming again, no one knows the time, that day and hour, no one knows that even the Son.


But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

(Matthew 24:36 ESV)


So what are we going to do? Speculate? Debate? No! The responsibility is that even after I shared with you all the details about end times, many things unclear, this is your responsibility, it's shared with you, it's given to you so that you may be ready, so that you know, not exactly, but generally that it's coming, it is real, it is certain that you will be ready, you'll be faithful and wise.


The goal of the prophecies in the Bible is to cause us to have practical obedience and faithfulness to God today. It's not for us to imagine the future, speculate the future, but is to be rooted and faithful today. And Jesus actually has very strong words for those who will not be faithful, He calls them foolish virgins, in one of the parables, He calls them wicked servants, He calls them slothful servants, He calls them hypocrites and I certainly don't wish this to be called for anyone of us, that after going through the sermons, we don't do what God wants us to do, we become lazy, we become slothful, we are unfaithful.

Time stamp in audio 0:08:58.9.

You say, “pastor, all right, fine, prophecies is given, the Scriptures a given, so that we are not just to speculate the future, but we are to be obedient today. What is it that I need to do? What does it mean to be loyal to God? What does it mean to be faithful to God? What does it mean to obey Him or follow Him?”


1.    LIVE PURE AND HOLY LIVES

Well, there are some points.  I think first of all we need to live pure and holy lives.


Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is the faithful and wise servant …

(Matthew 24:44,45 ESV)

People who are slothful, wicked, hypocrites, lazy are those who live in sin, they revel in sin, they love sin, they don't care that the Bible says, “Jesus is coming again.” They say, “Aaah,  that's not going to happen soon, He will never come, I may die before that.” And so they live a kind of a reckless abandonment when they indulge in sin. But the Bible says, “If you know that Jesus is coming, it's almost like it's going to be day break, it's going to be dawn soon, the darkness, the night is far gone are the days is at hand.”

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

(Romans 13:12 ESV)


What should you do in the light of the coming dawn. Cast off the works of darkness, quit pornography, quit unforgiveness, quit covetousness, quit your worldly thinking, quit all these sins and then put on the armour of light, purify ourselves.

Time stamp in audio 0:10:14.8.


Same thing in 2nd Peter,


Knowing that the time is near. We should live holy and godly lives.


Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God….

(2 Peter 3:11-12 ESV)


And again in Hebrews 10. Not only do we live holy, godly lives, our responsibility is to encourage one another to live holy and godly lives. That's why this great verse, we need to stir up one another to love and good works and encouraging one another. It's a Christian responsibility.


This is part of what it means to be faithful to God, I'm not seeing my own life alone, but I see this community, I see that Christian living is a call for me to love my brothers and sisters, to care for them and therefore, I need to stir up their faith, their love, encourage them, why? And all the more as you see the approaching or drawing near.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

(Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV)


The urgency, causes us to be fervent and faithful. Not only that, brothers and sisters we need to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. As I mentioned before, the word therefore links us to the resurrection that is to come, the end times, that is to come, and in light of all that we should be always abounding.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

(1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)

The Christian life is not a life of ease and rest. Yes, we should be rested in our soul. But we should be faithful and abounding in our works. And so, God is calling you to live holy lives, to encourage one another, to be in community. All of you come to church for services, but not all of you are exercising faithfulness to God in community and the reason why you don't go community, it's because you said, “There is nothing in it for me.”

Time stamp in audio 0:12:09.3.

But maybe this is not the only right way to think about things, you should think about how you should serve others. Yes, there may not be for you initially, but there's something for you to do for others. And if you have received the love of Jesus, you have been blessed by Him, won't you think God want you to be faithful, to bless others as well?

So that's what it means to be faithful, we should be serving, we should not be quitting and so this is what Jesus describes it, He says, “Engaged in business until I come. This story is of course about servants who are faithfully dealing, trading and doing business. They don't sit back and relax, they are actively working, until the master returns and all of us are to be actively serving Jesus, faithfully living out the Gospel, faithfully being a blessing to others, purifying our lives until He comes.
Time stamp in audio 0:13:07.0.

So Daniel, is going away, He said to Daniel, “Do what you're supposed to do.” And you say for how long? By the way, Daniel now is about 80 over, 90 years old, “lau kock kock” (colloquial for very old ) already, la, probably has hip problems, leg problem, heart problem, whatever problems, he has plenty of them.

He probably would say,”Ccan I take a break? Can I have a Kit-Kat. You know, I have a lot of CPF (Central Provident Fund), I worked in the Prime Minister's office for two kingdoms, I should have a lot of money. I still have not traveled to Alaska, South Africa, I want to travel the world, but it's time for me to retire, God.”

Well, God says, “Go your way, Daniel till the end.” verses 13


He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”

But go your way till the end.

(Daniel 12:9,13 ESV)

Time stamp in audio 0:13:48.6.


No, no retirement, no holiday, till the very end. Oh, what a lie this world has bought into! Whilst you may retire from your secular jobs and many of you will probably enter that realm soon or if you're, some of you may already been in that realm. I'm retired, I am no more in the, in this business, I am no more in this industry, I have retired.

Let me tell you something, you may retire from a secular job, you never retire from being faithful to God. You never, it is always to the end. But somehow the retirement, Singapore has given to us, is now the retirement Christians have also believed, so this is our idea - when I am young, I give my life for Jesus Christ. But when I'm 60, 70 years old, don't touch me, it's my time to “tan sai gai”[“enjoy the word” in Cantonese], it’s my time to enjoy, it's the time for the young, the young people in this church, should step up and serve, we can now sit back and relax and watch them.

What a lie, you never retire from Christian ministries. You never retire from being faithful to God and always abounding in the work.

Time stamp in audio 0:14:59.6.

Recently I read about this man James Innell Packer, of course, I have known him for some time and in terms of a preacher, theologian, J I Packer for short, great theologian. He is 88 years old this week, also, so, very similar to Daniel’s age. And he just came out with a new book, called “[The Joy of] Finishing Our Course With Joy.” That's about his life, he is now 88, and he is saying, I'm, I think I'm finishing my course, but I want to share with you, what it means to finish my course with joy.


In his book, he talks about how we should redeem, we should use our 60s or 70s, our 80s, for God and live flat out. You know what flat out? It means you, you, you go with all your zeal, your energy, your don't hold back anything, you give everything you've got, 60, 70, 80 and this is what he said:


Retirees are admonished both explicitly and implicitly in terms that boil down to this relax, slow down, take it easy have a Kit Kat, amuse yourself to only what you enjoy. I mean, you earned that right to do so. It is a warrant for taking it easy across the board and prioritizing self indulgence for the rest of our lives. The agenda as a whole, turns out to be a recipe for isolating oneself and trivializing one's life with apathetic boredom becoming one's default mood day after day...over time, it would generate a burdensome sense that one's life is no longer significant, but has become quite simply useless. It is the wrong way.


Retirees are admonished, both explicitly and implicitly, in terms that boil down to this: Relax. Slow down. Take it easy. Amuse yourself. Do only what you enjoy. [It is] a warrant for taking it easy across the board and prioritizing self indulgence for the rest of our lives.

The agenda as a whole turns out to be a recipe for isolating oneself and trivializing ones life, with apathetic boredom becoming ones default mood day after day … … Over time, [it] will generate a burdensome sense that ones life is no longer significant, but has become, quite simply, useless … …“Wrong way!”

JI Packer

I'm not saying you can't go to Alaska, I am not saying you can't take a holiday trip, I am not saying you can't take a break, but I'm saying that should not be the goal of your life, that should not be the aim of life.

Time stamp in audio 0:17:07.5.

I have some friends and you know, we are connected via Facebook, everybody's connected by some form of social media today and I see his daily posts, he is living the high life, everyday eat this, go there, and enjoy this, it's like, he doesn't need to work [want] and it's like, wah, good life, enjoy life.

But then I thought to myself, even if I had all the money like that, I hope I will not live that life, I hope so. Because if life is only for the here and now, by all means, indulge. But if there is a Master to whom we have to be accountable for, you better don't live that life. Don't let your life that is designed for greatness and for eternity and for glory and splendor be trivialized into self-indulgence, into what gourmet food to eat tomorrow. I mean that is ridiculous, if you think about it from the grand scheme of things. And JI Packer is right, be faithful unto the end.

Time stamp in audio 0:18:09.7.

I have a particular burden for the Better Halfers; you guys are great people, no, no not all of you, you all don't look like Better Halfers, look very young. In our church, you are probably 40+, 50s, 60s, 70s, Better Halfers and I'm scared that you may come to this church and think, oh, this is a church for the young, that we as Better Halfers, have already done our part in the early years of this church.

We are the pioneers, we are the originals, now we can go to Crispy. Okay, you don't get it, never mind, you can go to the new guy, no, don't do that. If that is so, God would have taken you home. But you are here because there is a purpose. So don't, don't, pervert that, don't trivialize that. You say, “I have knee pain, cannot serve.” There are plenty of people with knee pain who are still serving today. Today, right now, second service with the kids, knee pain, but still, jumping up and down with kids.

Better Half: “I do not know anything, I am not so active anymore” But God has given you so much wisdom. The young cannot live in isolation, they need your wisdom, they need your encouragement, they need your support. Where are we? Not we, where are you? You say, better half, why better half? Better to enjoy ? No, better to give, better to serve, better to live for Jesus.

I pray you live your life with such an attitude to be faithful in every aspect right up to the end, so that when we sing the song, “May the Lord find us faithful,”  you can sing with all your heart.

Daniel is told, “Go, be faithful.” 88 years old, 89 years old, 90 years old, “yes, continue to be faithful unto the end, this is my task for you, Daniel, is not for you to speculate about what's going to happen, but you be faithful.” Would you be faithful?

However, I want to give a bit of credit to Daniel. I don't think, I don't think at all, Daniel is asking what is going to happen in, just for, for curiosity sake. I don't think he is asking that, simply to satisfy his own curiosity. I think Daniel is truly concerned for Israel, he is truly concerned for the people. And so he might want to have more details, so that he can teach the people or brief them, or warn them and prepare them better for what is to come, so he asked for more. I think that's probably the case.

And God graciously, actually, pre-empts that and tells him more. God says, "Don't you worry Daniel, you could go your way." In effect, God is saying, “You don't have to worry about it, you just stay faithful because you can be confident I will take care of things, you can be confident because, many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand, so now go your way.”


He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”

Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

But go your way till the end …”

(Daniel 12:9,10,13 ESV)

Time stamp in audio 0:21:20.8.


One of the difficult things for us to be faithful to God, one of the reasons why we can't be faithful to God, is we wonder: if I am faithful, will God take care of things.

I mean, I'm just called to do this, little part, there is so much else to do, there is so much else to do, there is so much it seems God needs my help, can I just do what I do and trust to do the rest.

I think here, is the passage that says, “Daniel, you just do your part.” Yes, the wicked shall do wickedly but don't you worry, there will be the wise, there will be those who understand, there will be those who will purify and refine themselves, you don't have to worry, I've got it covered, you can leave it to me.

Time stamp in audio 0:22:03.1.

What I'm saying is, as I reflect upon this passage is that, we can be faithful because God is faithful. You see, if God is not faithful, I won't want to be faithful. Think about it, if God is not faithful, I won't want to be faithful because what he tells me, may not be good enough. But if He is faithful, I can trust Him.

I have this little statement that goes: [faithfulness, our] faithfulness flows from faith in our faithful God.

I know it's a mouthful, with f and th, but faithfulness, our faithfulness, flows from faith in our faithful God.  Have you tried “trust fall” before, you know what is trust fall? Okay, let's demonstrate. Okay, we are not going to do that, I don't trust any of you. (Laughter in the congregation).

Trust fall, is very simple, just stand on a tall structure and your task at the top of it, is to fall straight. You cannot bend, bend not counted, you are supposed to fall really rigid, rod straight backwards and there should be people will hold you.

Time stamp in audio 0:23:13.8.

Let me give you a positive demonstration of trust fall.

Video plays.

Okay, you should clap, because, that one is very good, it's not easy to do. It is not easy to do trust fall, all right, believe me, you can try, if you don't believe it.

This is Eugene and some years ago, we had this simple demonstration on faith on trust fall and he was really good, he was faithful, isn't it? He really starts straight, he didn't bend, he didn't worm himself, never, he just very calmly, confidently, went backwards. Why? Why? He was faithful, he was able to do what is called to do because he believed that the people at the bottom, are also faithful.

Imagine, I substitute the guys with children, (Laughter in the congregation) I think Eugene won't do it so straight, he will probably be really worried. Or if I substitute those guys to be his enemies. He wouldn't dare to go down. But he is faithful because the people holding him are faithful. He is able to do his part, because he knows the rest will do their part.

Time stamp in audio 0:24:34.9.


I apply this to finance, in your life. What does it mean to be faithful to God? It means this. You do not revolve your life around money. But you say, “If my life is not revolving around my career, my advancement, my promotion, then, what if I don't have enough to eat in the future?” Be faithful to God and trust Him to the care of your future.

Please understand I'm not saying that we become irresponsible, don't work, and say, “God will take care of my needs.” I'm not also saying, “Oh, you should never save up and you should never prepare for the future.” That's not what I'm saying. I'm talking about the central focus of your life.

Many times, we are not faithful to God, we are not faithful in stewardship, we don't give, we are not a blessing to others. We allow our time to be sucked all into our career, we allow our attention to be all in our career, why? I tell you why, at the heart of it all, is unbelief. You don't believe Jesus words when he says,  "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you", you don't believe.

Time stamp in audio 0:25:45.6.

That's why you're not faithful in falling backwards, because you don't believe God is going to hold you, so you sacrifice your spiritual pursuits, your ministries, your Bible studies, your care group. You say, “Where got time for these things, career, I've got to work, you know, otherwise, how I can be CEO?” You sacrifice all these spiritual things on the altar on something call career.  So you, you don't follow wholeheartedly.

You can only be faithful, if you really believe God is faithful. I think it's the same for relationships. Some of you are at obsessed about finding a partner in life. Now, we all understand this, it may be need of your life and you're really led to believe that this is the time for it, but there's a, there's a difference between looking and obsessing. The spouse, the future spouse should not be again the central focus of your life. You should not spend your waking hours looking at dating websites, looking at everybody in this church, as if you on a hunt. You shouldn't.

What is your focus? Your focus is to be faithful to God, it means your faithfully growing, serving, giving, blessing and you are growing in a sense that God will make you the spouse, you ought to be, rather than to look for the ideal spouse and you are not the one that God wants you to be.

Your focus is wrong, you are looking at others when you are not faithful to God yourself. But you can trust God as you are faithful. And you're praying for your spouse, you don't have to make this the central obsession of your life.

Time stamp in audio 0:27:32.7.

Same thing for business deal, you don't have to cheat, you don't have to lie, in your dealings with people you can be honorable and upfront because you trust that if you are faithful, God will be faithful. Same for ministry. Some of you are dreaming of greater things for Jesus Christ and I think that's a wonderful desire, that you want to do more for God, you want to do greater things for God, you want to be used by Him, in a larger manner. That's great! But let me tell you, if you want to do greater things for God, you must be willing to do the simple things faithfully today. It's very simple!

Time stamp in audio 0:28:12.0.

I give you an example. Anyone knows what this is? Waldorf Salad ! Excellent! Wah, never hear of Waldorf salad, oh oh, okay, Waldorf salad is apples, celery, I think, walnuts on a bed of lettuce. That's the classic Waldorf salad. What is the origin of Waldorf salad, anybody knows?

Let me share with you the origin of this classic salad. Many years ago, there was this man called George, he works in a small hotel at the reception. One day, there was an elderly couple who stepped into the small hotel requesting for a room and it's because they have gone to every other hotel in the city, and they had no space for them. So they came to look into this small hotel and George said to them regretfully, “Sorry Sir, ma'am, our hotel is also fully booked.” But seeing that they are an elderly couple, he had no heart to turn them away, and so George said, “But you can stay in my room.” The elderly couple of cost refused, but on his insistence they eventually stayed.

The very next morning the elderly couple were about to leave, checked out and the elderly man then said to this George, “You are a man who should not be managing such a small hotel, you are someone who should managed the biggest hotel in this country, I will build a hotel for you and I will come back for you and let you manage the best and biggest hotel there is in this country.”

Several years later, George received an envelope in which was a round-trip ticket to New York City and the invitation letter from this man, who invited him over. So he flew over, took a limousine, was a stopped right in front of a huge magnificent building.

The elderly gentleman came out, he introduced himself, “My name is William Waldorf Astor. I built this hotel for you, you will be the manager of this hotel.” Well, Waldorf Astoria is one of the opulent grand hotels in New York City. This is the second incarnation, the first one that George managed is over but this is the second one, it's a replacement and it is in Waldorf Hotel that the Waldorf salad was first invented or prepared.

But this story tells us something. If you are faithful in little, one day you be faithful in, or you will be called to do much. If you want to do big things, be prepared and be ready to do small things well and faithfully.

The same principle Spurgeon discovered in his life. Spurgeon, he himself said, “I'm perfectly sure that if I had not been willing to preach to those small gatherings of people in obscure country places I should never have had the privilege of preaching to thousands of men and women in large buildings all over the land.”

We say we want to bless people, we want to serve people, we want to do great things for God, but you are not willing to do small things today. How do you imagine to do great things for God tomorrow? It begins here, because the biblical principle is that you have been faithful over little, I will set you over much.

Time stamp in audio 0:31:38.9.

The same story for David, young shepherd, who is called to be the king. Same thing for Moses, he has to be faithful in shepherding, before he is going to lead Israel and that it's the same principle of life.

Faithfulness -  today is the best way for guidance tomorrow.

All said and done, is it easy to be faithful, is it easy to trust God with our finances? Is it easy to trust God with our future partners, with our ministry, with our career, with our jobs? Not easy actually, let me show you why.

This is the ideal situation, you are supposed to fall back straight, but let me show you the reality, if I was on top, this will be what will happen, and I suspect many of you would also go into this as well. Let's look at it.

Video plays

Time stamp in audio 0:32:29.9.

We all laugh, because it is so funny, I thought, it is easy to go down.  But no, it's not funny, you can go home and try. Ask your wife, your kids to do it for you. (Laughter in the congregation) It's not easy at all. It's not easy to go straight down, you probably bend because you just fear, you fear they may not be able to hold you, so if you try to help them, make it easier.

And I think that this is often what happens. We start really well. I want to trust God, I trust God with my finance: I am going to give a certain amount to God, I'm not going to hoard money, I am, I want to be a good steward, I want to be faithful.

But somehow, somewhere, family needs arise or grow and you start to compromise.

Time stamp in audio 0:33:32.3.

And I think this is applicable not only for finance, it's applicable also for relationships, you say, “I, pastor, I followed your advice, you know, I've been faithful, I serve God, I studied the Bible, I want to be the spouse God wants me to be, but after 5 years still “bo lang” (Hokkien for no one). So now, I think I have got to look for an unsaved person. I need to go to the disco, I need to go to the pub, I need to dress a bit more provocative, sorry aah, I have got to help God.” (Laughter in the congregation)

I can't fall back straight, I have got to crooked my way down, no choice, He cannot hold me. You see, that's the way we function.

We start out with good intentions but we don't last the distance, and we compromise and we give up. It's the same for business deals, we all start with saying, I want to be honorable in my business, but “Pastor, you do not understand the practical things about business aah. You want to survive, you have got to “不择手段” [bu4 zhe2 shou3 duan4, unscrupulous in Chinese]

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Of course, mine not so much “段” but I still have to “不择手段”

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sometimes, little bit, compromise a bit. That's the reality of the struggles of your daily life. Really just look at the way your checkbooks are being signed, your relationships are being maintained and we know it's not easy. That's why, I say faithfulness is so important. And yet it is so difficult, in the small things of daily life.

Now I think, ministry is the same, and particularly I want to apply this to the church, at large.  Churches can be driven by the need for numbers. You know, when you meet people, “eh, which church you are from aah. Er, such and such a church. Aah, how big is your church.” You know, that's the number two question.

First question is: What is your church? The number two question is, okay, maybe not number two, where is your church, and then number three is, how many people attend the church.

And leadership can feel it, and so there is a temptation for churches to try to join the crowd. Instead of faithfully preaching the Word, which is commanded in the Bible, instead of faithfully making disciples, which is commanded in the Bible, we start to sensationalize church, we try to bring in worldly methods. We try to compromise, we try to attract people and we forget that more than, more importantly than attracting people, is to be faithful to God.

If you are faithful to God, you will reach people. But if you make attracting people your number one goal, you live a life of compromise, you will not be faithful to Him, and at the end of the day, what do we want to hear? Well done thou good and faithful servant, not big name servant.

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So I come back to this, why can you and I, why can the church today, be faithful? You know why? Because we know that God is faithful. I find it remarkable when you think about people like Hosea, Jeremiah, they are lousy preachers in a sense of the number of people they would, that would hear them.

I mean, they lousy in a sense, in the world, bad success rate. No one listens to them, every congregation want to run away from them, they want to go to the nearby, wah nice sounding preaching stations. They won't want to hear Hosea and Jeremiah, but I tell you what, though they had few, they were faithful and I think that should be the goal for each one of us and we can be faithful because God is faithful.

So I would encourage you, don't worry about tomorrow, be concern about faithfulness today. Yes, we do not know what the future holds, that's fine as long as we know who holds the future. We need not be overwhelmed by being fearful, but we can be faithful. And that's God's call for you and for me.

Very encouraging words at the end of Daniel. When God says, “Go your away to the end Daniel.” Why? Because at the end of it all, you shall rest and you just stand in your allotted place.

By the way, this is not before he dies, this is after he dies. There is no early retirement, go your away till the end and right at the end you will now be resurrected, you will now be rewarded, you will now have rest.

Daniel had a hard life. There's no doubt about it. He started in as a nobleman, somewhere. He started as a, part of the dignitaries in the nation of Israel. He was plucked out, suffered as an exile, people were led captive, he had to suffer under terrible wicked kings who kill and were tyrannical and all his life, he could not go back to his homeland. But it is okay, because now Daniel is at rest forever more.

Now Daniel is with the Lord forever more. What a tremendous example to us! He labored his whole life. He was faithful in his whole life and now he really enjoys. You see, he doesn't miss the fact that he didn't go to Alaska, he doesn't missed the fact that he didn't go to South Africa, he doesn't miss the fact that he didn't stay in all the 5 star hotels all of the world, that's fine, because God is his portion at the end of time.

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This is what matters, so what you have today here that matters really, there is man who brought a preacher, a pastor and said, and showed the pastor, all the things he has. So the man said to the Pastor, “Pastor, look at, look at what is in front of you, look at all the orchards, look at all the trees, look at all the luscious fruits, they are all mine. Pastor, look at this, look  all the animals, look at all the herds, look at all the cows, look at all the cattle, they are all mine. Pastor, look at this, look at all the lakes, look at all the rivers, they are all mine. And look behind, look at all the mountains, the huge vast expanse, they are all mine.”

And then the pastor taps him on the shoulder, and says, “Look up there, what you have up there?

That's my question, there is our question, what do you up there? What have your compromise and your chasing of this world amounted to at the end of the day up there. But this is what we long to hear, isn't it? His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much, enter into the joy of your Master.”

His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."(Matthew 25:23 ESV)

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Be faithful to the end. Better Halfers, don't enjoy life now, it's not worth it. It's not worth it, don't trivialize your life, enjoy your life after, all of us get to work, let's be faithful, let's be engaged in God's business until he come, because we’re not home yet.

There is this man, this couple, elderly couple who were missionaries to Africa and after a lifetime serving God, serving people in Africa. It was time for them to come home to New York City. On the very same ship, same ship was the President Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt is returning from a big game hunting trip, he went for fun, he went to have hunting and so they were nearing New York City and they could see, the couple could see the vast expanse of people gathering to greet Theodore Roosevelt.

There was a band, there was the mayor, the dignitaries, everyone was cheering, welcome back our president and the couple became, the elderly man, particularly became very upset. He says, “This is not fair. We gave our life to serve Jesus, our health is broken, we have no pension, we come broken as a people, we have given our lives and no one greets us, no one welcomes us home. But this president, he went for a hunting trip and then they celebrate him as if he's the, he’s the superstar of the day, this is not fair.”

The wife, very wisely and very gently, held him close and says, “but dear, we are not home yet.” Those are wise words. We are not home yet. Our home is up there.

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The joy that is set before us. Oh, what an example we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord. From the day He was a young man to the day He died, He was absolutely faithful to His Father. He was absolutely loyal and obedient to God, how obedient, you say, “He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, because He saw the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despised the shame and right now is set on the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus did it and He is our forerunner, He is our example, we are to look to Jesus and I say to you, as Jesus has been faithful right to the end, may you and I, may we all be faithful unto the end. May God bless us as we conclude our series in the book of Daniel. It's really not about speculation, it's really not about debate, it's not about wondering what's going to happen in the future, it is really about faithfulness to Jesus Christ today, may the Lord find us faithful.

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Let's bow for a word of prayer. I like us today to consider our lives. Faithfulness, notice, we are not talking about giftedness, we are not talking about talents, we are not talking about how great you are, we are asking ourselves, am I faithful to God? Am I faithful in my personal life - in my spiritual life, in my pursuit. Am I faithful in my family? And am I faithful in ministry? Am I faithful in my money, in my resources, in my stewardship? Am I faithful ?

God calls you to be faithful, because His Son is faithful. You can be faithful today because God is faithful, you can trust God with your finance, you can trust God with your family, you can trust God with your ministry. You can trust God with your life and just do what He wants you to do and not worry about anything else.

Blessed assurance really, that if you are faithful, He is faithful. Let me tell you something, even when you're not faithful, He is faithful. In the light of such amazing faithfulness of God, why won't you give your life to Jesus? Why won't you?

Is there a better way to live your life, than being faithful. I really can't think of it at all, there's only one way, yes it is difficult, there is pain, there is suffering, there is rejection, there is sacrifice, but folks your eyes must look beyond the here and now, your eyes must look unto the joy that is set before you and then when you arrive at that day, like Daniel had, has, you will look back and say it is all worth it, it is all worth it. Will you be faithful today, every day? Though we live, though we die.

My friends, if you are here today for the first time, let me tell Jesus was faithful to die on the cross. He did it, He didn't, He didn't hold back, he didn't back out and because He was faithful, He did it, He said, "It is finished." What did He finish? What did He accomplish? He accomplished the salvation of the world because He paid the price that our sins deserve.

He paid it all, Jesus paid it all and so you and I today we can have a relationship with God, we can be saved, we can be forgiven, not because we are faithful, not  because we are good, but because Jesus is faithful. Jesus is good, He has paid it all and He says to you, "Whosoever believes in Me, shall not perish but have everlasting life. He that have the Son have life. You can trust Jesus, you can count on Him. May God help you today, to repent of your sin and believe in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Father, we thank You for this morning, we asked that You will seal these words in our hearts, that we would be faithful to you. I pray for friends here today that they would have faith in Jesus, Your Son, by Your Spirit would you call them to repent of their sin and fly to Jesus Christ.  Dear God, work in their hearts, save souls, glorify Yourself, we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

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