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Very good morning and welcome to our first English worship service this morning, let me get straight to the sermon this morning. The salmon is an amazing fish, don't you think? Amazing to eat and amazing to behold. And the salmon has an amazing life journey. You all know that they begin their life in the riverbanks high up, maybe the hills and the mountains. When they're hatched, they swim down the river and join the oceans, they remain in the oceans for a couple of years, one to five years. And when they reach adulthood, it is time for them to go back home where they came from. So they embark on this long journey, you say how long is long? Well, it is said that some of the salmon can swim some 900 miles back home. Now, 900 miles is very far, it's about 1400 km, you say how far is this? It's between somewhere here to Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia, Thailand, Jakarta, that's the kind of distance we are talking about. And they travel not just horizontal difference, distance. They also have to scale heights because the rivers from which they come from are on mountains and hills. You say how high, well the vertical distance can be somewhere like two kilometres. That doesn't sound a lot, but if you climb two kilometres it's a lot, I've done some maths, it's about 12 times the height of Bukit Timah Hill, so that's how much you have to swim. So it's a long journey and so if if they swim upstream, they would have to jump, I mean when they reach the rapids, the waterfalls or whatever you have,  they have to jump up the river, they swim against the flow of the waters and by the way, this leaping motion is that motion from which they get their name, salmon. The word salmon means to leap and so when people see the salmon leap up the waters, they called them the leaping ones or salmon.

So this journey is strenuous, but it is also treacherous as you have already seen, salmon are prone to be attacked by predators by bears who would grab them in the waters and if the bears are smart, they won't go to the waters and swim there, it's quite hard to find,  they just wait. They just wait for the salmon as they leap to jump right into their mouths and become sashimi for them. Now if the salmon is fortunate  enough to survive this long distance swim against the tide, fortunate enough to escalate, escape the clutches of the bear, the mouth of the bear they will reach the riverbanks and they will be absolutely exhausted. The reddish colour of the salmon is because all the fats have been used up and now you can see only the flesh beyond the thin layer of skin.

These are not the ones you buy and eat alright, you'll be, the ones you eat are usually the big fat ones but these are the ones that are all exhausted, all their energy stores are used up. So why did the salmon go all this way, up the riverbank, up the rivers to the riverbank to their birthplace? Because they are there to repeat a cycle. They are there because they're going to spawn at their natural birthplace, a salmon typically have loads of egg, this is a female version, and they will lay those eggs right where they came from. Somehow they are able to find their way home, amazing tracking device built within them and there the eggs will be fertilised, the eggs will hatch, little babies will emerge and become bigger and now they began the journey their parents have embarked upon, they will swim back down the oceans only to repeat the cycle, several years later.

So when the salmon was in the oceans and reached maturity it has only one goal. When it is sexually mature it has only one goal, I will return. I will return to my birthplace because I am meant to reproduce, I am meant to be fruitful. This is the way God has designed the salmon. This is the destiny and goal of this fish. By the way, that is the story of all nature, don't you think? Plants, flowers, animals, insects. They all have this built in instinct to reproduce and to be fruitful.

I think that is also true, spiritually. Do you realise that as God's people we are also called to this one destiny and one goal and one design? That we will be fruitful. Jesus said it in John 15, I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit that you should be fruitful. In this church we have been on this series on Ekklesia about Church, what it  is all about, we say our mission is to be leading generations into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. And that means we are to know Christ, to grow in Christ and to go for Christ. What do you mean by going for Christ? What it means is to go and bear fruit. So this morning I'm going to speak about your design and destiny, if you know Jesus. If Christ is your Lord and Saviour, and you are His disciple, God has called you to be fruitful and to bear fruit.

So the question I want to answer this morning is: what is fruit? Some questions, but first question is a simple one. If Jesus calls you and I to go and bear fruit then what is fruit really? What qualifies as fruit? Grapes, oranges, what does it mean in my life? So this definition is derived from Scripture. John 15 verse eight, Jesus says, by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. I want to highlight two phrases here. “Father is glorified” and “fruit”. So you put this all together, how would you define fruit? Very simply, I would define it this way. Fruit is anything in a disciple's life that brings glory to God. Very simple, God calls us to be fruitful, what does it mean to be fruitful? Anything in my life that brings glory to God, but I'm going to say that I think anything in a disciple's life that brings glory to God can be in a sense categorised into five W's.

The first W is Words, we can glorify God with our words, this is found in Scripture. Hebrews 13:15 Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. So it's a tremendous opportunity for us to glorify God with the, with the words we say. We can glorify Him every Sunday when we sing, we can glorify when we talk to our colleagues, our parents, our friends, our family. That is fruit. That's anything in a disciple's life that brings glory to God. So your words can bring glory to Him.

But not just what you say, can I also say it's also what you do not say? Because in Philippians 2:14 it says “Do all things without grumbling or disputing”. You know what's the common pastime in Singapore? Complain ah, complain, why the carpark so far, why the weather so hot, why no taxi? These are the common things we complain about. But what does it mean to be a witness for Jesus? What does it mean for you to shine as Gospel lights? Well, it's also what you do not say. Hey, one of the things you can you can assess a man's spirituality it's the frequency of grumbling and complaining. Have you ever thought about that? We hear a lot of people say, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Everything punctuated with praise the Lord, that's great. Wah, the weather very hot, praise the Lord, I'm not sure what that is from. Without complaining or disputing, or grumbling, that's a tremendous wonderful test in modern day Singapore, alright. So we can glorify God with our words, with what we say and what we do not say.

Another W for you, not just words, but wealth. Wealth is one of the ways by which we glorify God, you say how? Well, in Philippians 4:17, Paul here is saying, the Philippian church is giving Paul some help, probably physical resources, finances.

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And Paul said, I I am happy, not because of the money itself, not that I seek the gift, which is the financial support, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. So, Paul rejoices to receive the help from the Philippians not because of the money itself, but because he sees that that is an evidence of life change, of fruit that brings glory to God. Another text that may be helpful, for  the ministry of this service, 2nd Corinthians is talking about giving, is not only supplying the needs of the saints but it's also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. When you give to people in need, you know what happened, what happens? People see that generosity, that giving, that help and they gave glory to God for working in that man's heart in providing needs. Your money can be used to glorify God. I want to say this, money is not a bad thing. Sometimes Christians have this idea that having money is a bad thing. No, having money is not a bad thing. Money in and of itself is not evil, it's the love of money that's evil, it's the lusting after money that is evil, but if you are rich and you are good giver, a godly giver, you bring glory to God, that is fruitfulness. It is how you use your money. Are you a steward of resources that bring glory to God?

So I've given you two Ws, can you guess the third one? So you have words, you have wealth it's easy right? W not so many words ah. Sorry works, that's right, that's number four. Worship, well, worship is everything we do. So I think my words, my wealth, my works is an act of worship, expressions of worship. So anything else? The walk, excellent, the third one is the walk, I want to share with you. The Bible tells us in first Peter 2:12, Keep your conduct among the gentiles honourable.  Live in such a way that you are beyond reproach, blameless. Live in such a way that people see your life and they said, wow, I don't really like what he's teaching, I don't really like his theology,  but his life is certainly different, he's full of good deeds. And you know what they may not admit it at the day itself, but on the day Jesus returns and judge the world, they say, “God, you are worthy to be praised”. Your life, your manner of life can bring glory to God, that's fruit. Well, I guess the clearest text is in Galatians 5 talking about the characteristics, the qualities, the traits of the fruit of the Spirit. Now this fruit is seen in your life, but is born by the spirit alright. That's why it's called the fruit of the Spirit, I don't make myself more loving, I don't make myself more joyful, I can't make myself have real peace, that is the work of God, that's the work of the Spirit.  But if I'm walking with Jesus, I'm walking in the Spirit, that will be the kind of life and behaviour I manifest and this brings glory to God.

I did say works is number five, er, number four and so, let's go to number 4, works, Works here ah, is referring to the deeds, to help others and the Bible talks about that, in Titus 3:14 “let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful”. One of the ways you can glorify God is with the things you do for others, the poor, the needy, the suffering, the aggrieved. And when we serve them, you know what? It brings glory to God, you are being fruitful. Maybe one more text for works, this is with regards to the church. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, use your gifts. If you're a child of God, you have a spiritual gift, use it to serve in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. So again when you serve one another, God is glorified. Now, I want to say in this church, there are many service opportunities, I would encourage you to go to our website find out some of the ministry opportunities for you to be able to serve God in.

Number five, so we have, can you recap? Number one is words, number two, wealth, number three, walk, number four,  number five, it's a very important aspect, in  fact, I think this is probably the most important. The salmon goes back to the river to reproduce after its kind. The child of God is also called to make disciples. So I think the fifth W is witness. I have often intended to come to you, Paul writes to the Romans, in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. So he's looking to a harvest, he's looking to fruit. I think it's important that the Christian, the child of God, the disciple of Christ would say, I want to make disciples. I mean, that's what Jesus said,  go therefore and make disciples. Each one of us is called to be fruitful, making disciples is not the job of the pastor alone. The pastor must not think making disciples is the job of the people alone, neither should the people think that this is the job of the pastor alone, This is what we are all called to do. Let me ask you, in your life have you ever made attempts, I'm not saying whether you have won how many souls, I'm asking you, have you made those efforts and if you do not know how to, have you even made effort to be trained and equipped to do what you're supposed to do, this is what God calls us to do, the salmon is to do what it is supposed to do and the child of God is to do what we are supposed to do, make disciples. So what is fruit? Fruit is anything in a disciple's life that brings glory to God and it is including words, wealth, walk, works and witness.

What is amazing thing about this is that this is not just limited on Sunday you see. You realise that? Most people think glorifying God take place within a hall like this and within a time zone of the one and 1/2 hours to two, so every Sunday I look forward to glorifying God here. I sing loudly, I jump. Someone said this, true worship is not seen in how high you jump or how loud you sing but how straight you walk in obedience. Real worship is seen not just on Sunday morning. Real faithfulness and fruitfulness is seen outside Sunday. Outside these four walls. It's easy to look godly on Sunday mornings within these four walls, but real service to God takes place right out there. So I want to encourage this church, each one of us to be missional.

What does it mean to be missional?  It means I'm mindful and I am intentional in living out God's mission for me in my life. Where? In Gospel Light Christian Church, 39 Punggol Field Walk? No, in my neighbourhood, in my city, looking to make disciples. Using my words, my wealth, my works, my walk, coherently and holistically to point people to Jesus my Saviour, that's what it means. It means whether I eat or drink or whatsoever I do, I do all to the glory of God. This is the way of life, missional way of life. One of the fears we have in having a building like this is that God's people start to think in a fortress mindset. What is Christian ministry, get people to church. No, no, no, no. I don't think Jesus told us to do that, Jesus tells the church to get out into the world. That's what it should be, we  gather on the Lord's day, so that we can be taught, equipped, encouraged, exhorted, but after that you go and do the work of God. A basketball game is not won in the huddle, the coach calls the team, have a great huddle but that's not where you win the points right? It's what you do after the huddle that matters. So we huddle on the Lord's day but we go play ball from Monday to Saturday, that's missional living. Let me show you a video, I've shown this, screened this many times, but I think it is a great video, especially if you here with us for the first time, take a look

Church is ekklesia, it's not just about people gathering in a building, it's a people called out of this world, to remain in this world, to reach this world, this is our destiny and this is our goal - to live a missional life. But I need to move on, there's so much to cover, the salmon fights against all odds to be fruitful. He goes back there to reproduce after its kind and so today, we, you and I, we are called to go back into the world, against all odds to reproduce after our kind.

But let me ask a second question then, why should you do this? I mean, have you ever wondered why does the salmon do it? I mean, who tells the salmon to do it? I don't know I've never spoken to a salmon, he has not told me, but why would you do it? I think God tells me why I will bear fruit, why would you bear fruit? In the Bible it tells us that we do it because of God's grace. It's said in Romans 12:1 that we will present our bodies, a living sacrifice because of the mercies of God. This is such a crucial verse, that's why there are even whole sermons and whole books written on one verse. But to really understand this verse requires you to understand what happened in chapters 1 to 11, and in chapters 1 to 11, Paul is saying God is so good that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us to save us from our sins. He saved you while you did not do any good at all, that is grace, He gave you something, He did for you something that you could never deserve, and you could never do for yourself. And because of that grace of God, because of how generously and sacrificially He loved you, now love Him by giving your life as a living sacrifice.

So why would I watch my words? Why would I want to be filled with the Spirit and live a holy life? Why would I help the poor? Why would I give my hard earn money, to help others? Why would I be willing to risk losing face and tell people about Jesus? You know why I'll do that? Because Jesus gave His life for me. Grace of God, mind you, friends, it is not about you doing the 5W's in order to get God's love- wrong order. Nobody earns God's love by our works, but the 5W's are the response to God's love that has been clearly demonstrated on Calvary's cross. So I serve Him, I want to bear fruit because He loves me and I love Him. Goes on to say, for the love of Christ controls us, it's not my love for Christ, it's the love of Christ, how He loved me, changes the way I live my life. So Isaac Watts has this song: When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride, love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. The man or woman who knows God's love would say “Amen” to the words of Isaac Watts. So why would I serve God? Because of His grace, but let me say this, this is not just about the grace that has been shown in time past, but what motivates me in the Bible is also the glory that is to come in the future.

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This is a very clear motivation repeatedly shown in the Bible. For example, 1Corinthians 15:58, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”. Why? It's linked to the word “therefore”. And so if you want to understand what happens, you got to read first Corinthians 15 verses 1 to 57. And in summary, God is saying in these 57 verses, you will be gloriously resurrected, you have a glorious hope. You no more die but you have a incorruptible, beautiful, glorious, celestial body. Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding. You don't risk anything in a sense, because yours, your future glory is secure. Glory motivates us, the honour from the father motivates us. Jesus said, if anyone serves me, he must follow me and where I am, there will be my servant also and if anyone serves me, the Father will honour him. And why would I serve God? I'm looking forward to that day.

Matthew 6:20 tells us about laying up treasures in heaven. Nothing wrong with laying up treasures, but where do you lay your treasures? And why do you lay the treasures? That's the question. Jesus approves of the way of laying up treasures right there in heaven. Mark 10 tells us very strong words, I say to you, Jesus said, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, do you know the Gospel calls you to such extreme kind of life? Christianity is not a club you sign up for. It's not just some paper you sign and say: ok, that's fine, it's just a CCA to me. No, Jesus meant what He said. Being a follower of Jesus may mean that you have to leave your brothers or sisters. I'm not saying today you go back home and say “爸爸，我不要你了“ (Mandarin: Daddy, I don’t want you anymore) ，no, no, I'm not saying that. You honour your parents, you love your parents, you take care of your parents, you do all you can, the best you can. But there may be times where hard choices need to be made. Following Jesus may require forsaking of things that are dear to us. But this is the hope that if I were to suffer, if I were to sacrifice, you will receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.

So, if I may say, it is all about the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ dying and saving us from our sins, because it's about God, who reaches out to us in His love. He gives His Son, we call this grace because we don't deserve this. And because of this grace our hearts are filled with love for Him and we call this gratitude. And we look forward to the glory that is to come. Why would you and I serve God? Because of grace and because of glory. Realise that it has nothing to do with men. I've been in this church for, 20 over years, I've been a pastor for 10 years and I tell you one of the most dangerous things for people to serve is people. If you serve for people's sake, you will be very disappointed, you will be very frustrated. You would say to yourself, I will throw in the towel, it's not worth it. People, this church is not worth serving because we fail people all the time. But you don't serve because of people, you serve because of Jesus, how much He loves you and how much He is going to give you the glory that is to come. So this is why we do what we do. This is why I do what I do because of Jesus and His Gospel, this is Gospel centred motivations.

So, number three, when do we bear fruit? You don't bear fruit all the time, right? I mean, I'm not always having the right words, using my money well, giving to the poor, helping, I'm not doing that all the time. I'm not walking the right way, I'm not witnessing all the time so when do we bear fruit and when do we not bear fruit? Jesus gives you a very simple criteria. He says “whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”, a branch that is broken off the tree can never bear any fruit. You can go to those jungles, you cut off the durian tree branch, you bring it home  and you hope that one durian…, it'll never come out. Once it's cut off,its gone, no fruit. On the other hand, the branch that is healthily abiding in the tree naturally bears fruit. I never had to walk past a fruit tree and hear the branch scream “ahhhhh”. No. It is not difficult, it's not like women giving birth. It's natural if you're abiding in the tree. The word “abide” simply means to remain, to stay in intimacy. So if you are in the intimate communion with Christ. You're listening to His Words, you're seeking to obey, you're walking right with Him, you know what? Fruit bearing is a natural consequence in your life, not just fruit bearing, but abundant fruit bearing. And so this is important in John 15 verses 4 to 9 you see this word “abide” appear nine times. Abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, abide, if there's nothing you remember today, I want to remind you, as what we have spoken last Sunday, if you want to go for Christ, be sure you're growing in Christ, you must abide in Christ.

The first call of the Bible is not so much abundance as it is abiding. Real ministry must be an outflow of a healthy inner life. When you don't serve God well, and when you're frustrated, I think sometimes it's a, it's a dashboard signal that comes up, you're not, your car, your life is not right with Christ. You burst out like Martha, because maybe you forgotten to be still like Mary. Don't blame the problems outside, sometimes we've got to look inside. Align yourself with Jesus and you’ll go about the assignment for Jesus much better. So this morning, yes, we talk about going for Jesus, but be sure you're growing in Jesus. Be in community, please be feeding on the Word of God, be praying for your own spiritual life. Take care of this inner garden and fruit will be borne through you. So, Gospel Light, we need to remember Jesus has called his disciples to go and bear fruit. This is what it means to be in a life-changing relationship with Jesus. It begins with knowing, it goes to growing and then, and then, and then there's a healthy going.

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I started this day with salmon I want to end off with salmon, but not so much salmon, but somewhat related to salmon, You know salmon as they swim up the river they need to eat as well. It's a long journey and one of the things they eat is the mayfly. Now the mayfly is something I've never heard of frankly until my son Shawn taught me about the mayfly. He said “Daddy, daddy, daddy, do you know that the adult mayfly lives for a few minutes, maybe at most a few days?” Huh? I say, what? An adult mayfly lives just for a few minutes? And he said, that's what they live and that's how they live. But you know, he said that the child stage, the nymph stage of the mayfly can last for a couple of years. I say, this is so strange that they are little kids, little nymphs for one to two years and after that, when they reach adulthood they live for just a few minutes or a few days at most, never more than a week. He says, ya. So I went to find out more about the mayfly, I thought it was fascinating. The nymph looks like this. They live in the riverbanks and this is what the salmon eats, alright? As they swim they see the nymph they eat. It's full of protein. You can treat it like salmon fries, I suppose. And they eat that and they feed on the, on the nymph. But the nymph will mature one day. So, after one to two years they reach maturity and the mayfly nymphs all become adults in the month of May. That's why they are called, so smart, what a smart church so they are called mayflies and they all reach maturity at about the same time. So when you set sail somewhere in England or so, the mayflies will fill the skies. They will fly around, some would live for a few minutes, some for a few days and you know the mayflies are amazing. They have no mouths. Serious. They have no mouths. They don't eat. They're not meant to eat. They eat when they're young, but when they reach adulthood, they don't eat, they don't feed on anything. So what do they do? Aiya, that's what you're thinking of, you're absolutely right. They live as adults to mate and to breed. They lay eggs, can you see the eggs coming out? Their short life as an adult is just to reproduce after itself. This is also the destiny, the design of the mayfly. When Shawn told me about the mayfly I thought about us. Compared to eternity, our life here is just a few minutes. It's very short, extremely short. We lament at the brevity of the life of the mayfly, do you know, in eternity you look back in our life here on this earth and say it was so short. What was our life here on earth for? Let me tell you what it's for: that you will go and bear fruit. Too many Christians today have too big mouths. We live in this earth to eat and to enjoy. Not the mayfly closes its mouth, no mouth, you just go and reproduce. I pray, Gospel Light Christian Church will learn from nature. Each one of you, each one of us will learn from the salmon to the mayfly to all kinds of creation around us and realise this is God's intention that we will go and bear fruit. May God bless each of you here this morning. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

The Christian life is one of great purpose and beauty. God did not save us just to come to church service. God did not save us so that we may just struggle through this life. God has called you out of this world to remain in this world to save this world, to lead many more into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of you are good at making money, making a name for yourself. Building buildings maybe, accumulating stuff. But what matters today is, what fruit are you bearing in your life? Do you have anything in your life that brings glory to God? A child of God is called to fruit bearing not just to bear fruit, but to bear more fruit and to bear much fruit. And I pray today, you will remember God's Word. Jesus' words “abide in Me”. So maybe this morning before I want to ask you to think about ministry to serve, people to bless, cousins to talk to, I want to ask you, how's your relationship with Jesus? Do you encounter Him in the Scriptures? Do you enjoy beholding His glory in the word? Have you been praying for your soul for your life? Have you been faithfully investing in Christian community? I pray you will because Jesus tells me, if you're abiding in Him, you will bear much fruit. I don't have to worry, you don't have to worry about fruit, if you're walking right with Him, because when you're walking right with Him, your words, your wealth, your walk, your works and your witness will be dramatically different.

So this morning in the hustle and bustle of this week, would you “be still and know that I am God”, would you, like Mary, be willing to cast aside all your cares and affairs and just be still and sit at the feet of Jesus? I long for the day when each one of us will be like that salmon, happily swimming against the tide, going uphill, braving the dangerous and say “God I will be fruitful”. And I can see in your life, all kinds of fruit and we can see in one another. Imagine a church we could be, each one of us, simple ordinary men and women, but full of beautiful words, using our resources, serving with our hands, bringing people to Jesus. Being the kind of husband and wife and child and parent we ought to be, what a beautiful, fruitful garden we can be. Bringing that aroma and fragrance everywhere we go. Every time, every day, everywhere, shining as gospel lights. Would that be your prayer this day?

My friends, if you are here with us for the first time, I want to encourage you. This is a life-changing relationship Jesus brings to us, He did not say change your life and I will save you. He says, I died for you while you were sinners, Come, repent and believe in me, and then I will change your life. Christianity is not the faith by which we work our way up. Christianity is where God reaches down with His Son and now He changes our lives. So this morning, would you repent and believe in Jesus to change your heart and to save you from your sins? Father, we thank You this morning for Your Word. Bless each and every soul. O Lord, I pray Your Word will not return to you empty, but each one would be careful to respond to Your Word obediently. May Your Spirit have free reign in our hearts, and may Jesus be enthroned in our lives. Lord, help us to be an abiding people that Gospel Light will be an abundant church full of good works, that others may see and glorify our Father which is in heaven. Bless each one here, we ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

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