We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.

And has been prayed, we had our very first Saturday worship service in Gospel Light's history. We are 30 years old, but that was the first time we had our Saturday worship service and we are thankful that God brought in many of our friends and loved ones to come and join us. This was a picture taken yesterday by one of our folks. We held it not here, but at level II - Gospel auditorium. And we were pleasantly surprised that it was pretty packed, already on day one. Now of course, some were here because it's a more suitable timing.  Some were here because for a long while, they cannot worship with us because they are working or some have not been able to worship with us regularly because they're serving on Sunday.

So we are thankful that at least now they can join us in worship and we had some new friends who have never come to Gospel Light before. And because of this new timing, I guess they are able to make it. So we are thankful for this little step of faith we can take. We are going still hold the second service this coming Saturday at level II.  We will watch the crowd because first week we understand there may be some who are just curious and want to find out, so we will look at the crowd again this coming Saturday before we decide if we should move up to Shine or not. Nevertheless, thankful for a wonderful start and excited again to preach God's Word, the same message yesterday to you today. I don't see anyone from yesterday here. So it's good and I can preach as if no one knows what I'm going to say.

Alright. Well, I'm sure all of us are the whole world pretty much was fascinated what, that with what went on in Thailand this past month or so, you will know that there was a group of boys. 13 boys from a soccer team called the “Wild Boars”. They were lost, they were stranded, they were stuck in a cave. And so the whole world was watching, how will these 13 boys with their coach ever escape out of this cave.

Well, came, it came along this wonderful team of people from divers, to Navy SEALs and even the common folks, common folks who will cook for the rescuers, people who wash their clothes. So it was a huge team effort. And thankfully this week, the 13 boys were all saved, were all rescued successfully from this cave. Now it was a group effort of course, and everyone, although very, very different, very diverse ,coming from different countries, different nations, they unite around this mission of rescuing these boys.

So when I look at this story, it reminded me of a rescue mission. A rescue team that was formed many years ago. And this rescue team is an amazing team because their rescue mission still survives up till today. The rescue mission was not just about delivering people from caves, but delivering people from darkness and alienation from God, to a life of light and life with God. This team, formed some 2000 years ago, by the Lord Jesus Christ is what we will call, “The Apostles.” So that's what we are going to look at in Matthew chapter 10.

Well, there's an old African proverb that says, “if you want to go fast you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together.” And in a sense that's what Jesus Christ did. He formed a team of Apostles who went really far, not geographically but chronologically or in terms of time. Because their ministry lasted beyond their own lifetimes, to our lifetime, even unto the end of the age.

Let's be introduced to this special elite force, as it were. In Matthew chapter 10[verse 14] we are told, “and He [that is Jesus] called to Him His 12 disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction.” Like what Jesus Himself had authority to do. “The names of the 12 Apostles are these, first, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alpheus and Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him.”

Some two weeks ago, we had our membership class and one of the questions I had in membership classes is, “are there still apostles today?” Very relevant for our discussion this morning. Are there apostles still today? What would you say? Let me try to explain and, and in a sense, you, you, you are right, all of you are right. Why? Because the word, “apostles” in the Greek really is the word “apostolos”, very simple. And what is “apostolos” in its basic meaning? it simply means “someone who is sent out, someone who is a messenger or someone who is a delegate.”

So in a sense, we are all “apostolos”, we are all ambassadors for Christ. We are all witnesses of the Gospel. We are all sent out by God. God saved us by His grace, and He sends us here on earth. He did not receive us like a UFO. We do not die immediately the day we believed in Jesus, but we are left here in this world for a mission. We are here to tell other people about Jesus. We are all His messengers. So in a strict sense, we are all “apostolos”. We are all messengers and sent ones.

However, when the Bible talks about “The 12 Apostles” or “The Apostles”, it refers to a very select group of people and the number is limited.  You can't add to that.  We know that, for example, in Revelation 21, that's right at the end of the age, everything has taken place, the tribulation has come, Jesus has won the victory, claimed that victory and then we read “in that heavenly city, that there will be the 12 names of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb.” [Rev 21:14]You don't have number 13, 14, 15, 16, or if they are still alive today, hundreds and thousands of apostles. Just 12.

So it's a very limited group, specific group. And to be an Apostle, in the way that qualifies for part of the 12, the Bible is very clear that you “must be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” [Acts 1:22] So it's not anyone or everyone who can be an Apostle.

So the short answer I have to this question, are there apostles today? Is this – yes, there are apostles, if you mean it to be a messenger, a witness, an ambassador, an apostle, with a lowercase “a”.  But if you talk about “The Apostle” or “The Apostles”, the office of an Apostle then, no. It's a group of 12. And that's all.

So it's quite unfortunate if people today would have self-proclaimed titles that they are Apostles and so on. So you know how it works, you are first of all, you are “Pastor”. Then you are not satisfied with this name, a bit low class you want “Reverend”. Then you don't want Reverend, you want “The Most Reverend”.  Then “The Most, Most Reverend”.  Then you call yourself “Apostle” and “The Great Apostle”. Well, there's no need for that! The Bible is very clear for Apostles - the select group of 12. And in a sense of the word, we all are apostles. Alright, so that's a little clarification that some of you might need.

So let's look at the 12 Apostles. These are the 12 Apostles. Alright, Simon and Peter, don't be surprised if they've different names. For example, we think, Bartholomew is also Nathaniel, right, Nathaniel. So it's quite common for them to have multiple names like how we are today. Jason Lim Kim Guan, Lin Jinyuan and you can call that altogether. So Simon Peter and so on, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Mathew, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean, who is also Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot.

Now, what do you learn about this group of 12? What can you tell me about this group of 12? Today's sermon's very simple. It's just looking at names. Most of the, no lah, they have surnames, they didn't mention further.  But Andrew is of the same family with Peter and so on. James and John, they are from Zebedees line or their father is Zebedee.  They're all guys [audience response]. Very good. They are all guys [audience response]. Good point. Excellent, what else? They were very ordinary people [audience response]. Very good. We will latch on that in a while. Very good.

OK, let me just share with you a few thoughts about these men. I think some of you have already hinted to it and that is, these men or this group of Apostles were, it is comprised of a very diverse group of people. They're very different people.  You have different jobs - like fisherman, tax collector. You have the zealots, as I've mentioned, a zealot, a revolutionary. One is a pessimist, one is like pessimist I think is Thomas, ‘the mister eeyore’, in the group always doubting, always fearful. Then you have Peter, who is all the .. He is an eternal optimist, always very ready to go. Some very talkative, some very quiet like John, the Apostle.  But they're very diverse group of people, highlighted I think by the fact that Simon the Zealot could coexist with Matthew, the tax collector. You say, “why?”

Now, do you know what's a Zealot, first of all?  In, In those biblical times, there are four major sects, not s e x, but sects. There are four major sects.  Do you know what they are? Four major sects? You know 少林派[shao4 lin2 pai4], 武当派[wu3 dang1 pai4, 峨眉派e2 mei2 pai4], 昆仑派[kun1 lun2 pai4]. But okay, alright, so you have the Pharisees, then you have the Sadducees, Scribes is part of that group, Zealots. Yes, the Essenes. So they have these four groups.

Pharisees, I think are the most commonly spoken of in the Bible. They are the ones who are very meticulous with the Word of God. They are very strict, they are legalistic. The problem is that they add onto God's Word.  They are traditions and they minimize the real understanding of the teaching of God's Word. So you have the Pharisees, that's the group that always attack Jesus for performing miracles on the Sabbath.

Then you have the Sadducees. What, what are they characterized by? They don't really believe in the supernatural. So they denied the resurrection, they deny angels. That's why they ask Jesus, “what happens when a woman dies and she has had seven husbands? Whose child is this?  They all died. So if you say that there are living, whose child is this?” So they deny the resurrection and that's why, if you read in the book of Acts, the major opponents to the Apostles ministry are the … not the Pharisees but the Sadducees. When Jesus was alive, His main opponents were the Pharisees. But after He died and rose again, His main opponents are the Sadducees, because they cannot let the world believe that there is a resurrection.

The third group is what you call the Essenes. The Essenes are like the nomads, the hermits. They want to leave the world.  They want to stay in their caves. They want to be away from the dirty bad influences around. So they're like the, the hermits, the nomads.

And then you have the Zealots. Zealots are the patriots. They love Israel, they are the nationalist, they are the uncompromising die hard fans of their country.

So if you think about it, Simon the Zealot, who loves this country would hate the guts of Matthew - the betrayer. Because the tax collector betrays his own people, collect money from his own people to give the Roman Empire. So I think, if not for Jesus, Simon the Zealot would take a knife and stab, stab Matthew if he could. But no, we read that the 12 were together. So this is amazing! The Apostles were a group of diverse people, but they were united around Jesus. They were united around a love for Jesus, they were united around a mission with Jesus and for Jesus. And I think that has tremendous implications for us as a church. Don't you think? That we can be a very diverse and we should be a very different group of people. But we are united not because we are the same occupation. We are not united because we are of the same race. We are not united because we speak the same language, but we are united around Jesus, that's what church is.

So number one, they were a diverse group.  What else can you learn about these guys? Maybe it would help if I put out the list for you, the lists for you. The 12 names are listed in three other passages Mark, Luke and Acts. So this is like a pattern recognition.  What pattern can you see?  Yah, Peter is mentioned first in all the lists [audience response]. Very good. So it is assumed that Peter is the leader and when you correspond that with the rest of the Bible. Yes, Peter is certainly the leader or one of the leaders of the Apostles. He was the one who preached the sermon on the day of Pentecost, where three thousand people got saved.  He was their spokesman, he was a leader and if you remember there was a dispute in Acts chapter 15.  Wah, Paul came back with news that the Gentiles are getting saved and they have a kind of a debate as to what's going on, Peter stood up, and spoke as a leader.

So here, here you go, all three authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke, when they write down the, the names of the 12, Peter is always mentioned first. And I can be sure it's not you can be sure, it's not by chance. What else? Judas is the last one, yes, Judas is always mentioned last because as Matthew has explained, he is the one who betrayed Jesus. So he is caught in infamy for the rest of history.

What else? Yah, there's a, there's a kind of a, there's a kind of banding right, uh PSLE? Oh, no, no, no, O Levels A1, A2, B3. There's a kind of banding. You see there. So you have the first band, the first band is made up of people, you're, you're, you're very familiar with, you, you know quite a bit about them.  A lot is spoken about them and I think the first four are very obvious band - Peter, Andrew, James, John.  It rolls off your tongue because we always read of them - Peter, Andrew, James, John. Peter, Andrew, James, John.  The two pairs of brothers. The two pairs that Jesus first called by the sea of Galilee, “follow Me and I'll make you fishers of men. “

So this first four, we have the greatest amount of information about and they represent the innermost circle with Jesus. They are, they are, they are the ones who follow Jesus to the Mount of Transfiguration. They're the ones who were closer with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. They are, they are that inner circle. So band one.

Band two, you know a little bit about them , not too much like the first band but there is substantial data about Philip, Nathaniel, Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew himself. Right! We know somewhat about these guys.

And then the last band you know probably very little except for Judas Iscariot but you know a lot about Judas for all the wrong reasons.  Well, this group is the third circle.

So here you see the Apostles organized, into different circles of intimacy. And for all these three bands, the leader is always mentioned first. So there is a kind of a structure within this structure. And so the Apostles were an organized group of people. Sometimes they were sent 2 by 2 but otherwise this is the way they would relate with Jesus Christ. Organized.

What else do you learn about the Apostles?  Eng Chuan mentioned just now that the Apostles are a very ordinary group of people. I think so.  We don't think anyone is that famous before Jesus called them.  And indeed, it is stated in Acts 4:13, “that when they saw the boldness of Peter and John [these two were just ordinary fishermen], they noticed that they were uneducated and common men.” So they were very ordinary people. God chose, Jesus chose very ordinary people.

That's amazing to think of. Who are the real world changers today? Ordinary people. I mean, today we think about Elon Musk, “wah, super smart guy, he's going to change the world with, with technology.” And we think that world changers must be like Elon Musk. But no! God chose ordinary men. Very simple people. That's typically God's style. He loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He loves to take a little shepherd boy called, David to defeat the Goliaths. Why? So that we know we serve an extraordinary God. No glory goes to man, all glory belongs to God. Certainly, in the case of the Apostles.

Now, what is unique about these Apostles? Even though they were ordinary men, was that they were extraordinarily willing to follow Jesus. They left all to follow Jesus. Isn't it? So Peter, later on in his life said, “see Lord, we have left everything and followed You.” [Matt 19:27] What makes them amazing is that they were willing to follow. They were willing to leave their nets. They were willing to leave their boats. They were willing to leave their fathers. They were willing to leave their, their tax table. They were willing to leave their ambitions, their occupations behind. They say, “I'm absolutely dependent on You, Jesus for my livelihood now, I'm following You, but I'm willing to leave all to follow You.” Extraordinary things are done by people who are willing to leave all for Jesus.

What else do you learn about these guys? We have left everything.[Matt 19:27] Why do they leave everything? Why do they need to leave everything? Because this is the call of Jesus. “And He appointed 12 whom He also named Apostles, so that they might be with Him.” [Matt 3:14] Why do you have to leave all these things? Because you need to be trained, guys. You need to be equipped. You need to be discipled. If you want to be a world changer, if you want to be a fisher of men, this is what it takes.  You've got to learn of Me, you got to take time to be discipled.

There is no shortcut. There's no magic bullet. There's no magic zap that says, “now, you become …, no, you got to be with Me for three years. You’ve got to spend time with Me. I’ve got to spend time with you. You are not going to be different by osmosis or diffusion. You are going to be different because I'm going to disciple you. You are going to eat with Me, sleep with Me. You are going to walk with Me, minister with Me, suffer together with Me. You are going to learn of Me, I'm going to teach you, show you. And in the course of these two, three years, you will be discipled, you'll mature.”

You see, our Lord Jesus Christ doesn't send out novices. He doesn't say, “oh, I, I see good potential in you, you go serve.” No, no. He says, “come, follow Me first, then I'll send you.” Did Jesus do a good job here? Did He succeed? Absolutely right! Because later on, we read, “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were actually very ordinary people, they were stunned, they were astonished. Wow! How come they were so bold? Wow! How come they preached with such power? Then they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” [Acts 4:13] This is the secret. This is the secret sauce as it were. Jesus did a fantastic job with these 12 men.

The job was so well done that even after Jesus died and rose again, they carried on the ministry until the day they died. They never compromised on the message of God's Word. They never shrunk back from what their necessary duty was, which is to preach the Gospel. And according to tradition, all 12 of them died for the faith.  They were all martyrs for the faith. They all die tragic deaths for the faith.  But these 12 men, accomplished what no one could ever believe. That through their ministry, two thousand years ago, right up till today, the faith of the kingdom of God is still expanding. And we believe it will carry on until the day Jesus returns. They were absolute world changers. They accomplished great significance. They were an ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things because they were with Jesus.

We often talk about this example in our church and it's a fictitious story, of course.  It's a story of how Jesus died and rose again and went up to heaven. Fake story ah, and there in heaven, Gabriel the angel said to Jesus, “wow, you died for the world, you died for their sins, does the world know that you did that for them?” Jesus says “no, the world doesn't know but there's a small group of men I’ve poured my life into, they know about it and they will tell the world about this.”

Then Gabriel asked, “but what if they don't tell the world about what you did? What if they became scared? What if they go back to fishing? What if they are entangled by the things of the world? Who else and what else can tell the world? Is there any other plan? What if they do not succeed?” And Jesus says, “there is no other plan, that is The Plan.” And the Apostles were faithful to the plan and the, again as I say, the fact that Gospel Light is here at Punggol is a testimony to the success of Jesus’ discipleship with us.

And as I thought, as I, “oh no, none of us are part of the 12, right?” But in a sense, we all are to manifest the ministry and life of the 12 Apostles. Because the Great Commission is that they will teach us, and we will learn all that Jesus has taught. So in a way, the church today has great similarities to the lessons we can learn amongst the Apostles.

So let me just draw this parallel. How is the local church to embrace and really to live out some of the values and characteristics of the 12?

1].  Diverse People
First of all, as we have already looked at, I think the church of Jesus Christ is to embrace diversity. The church is to be a diverse people. What I love about Gospel Light is that we are a diverse people, we are multi-generational and multi-cultural.  It's great!

Like for Saturday service, yesterday, I had always thought and I've learned from others that typically Saturday evening service is well frequented or it's usually attended by young adults.  Young adults who love to chiong [to do many things at one time] on Saturday night and therefore they are finding it difficult to wake up on Sunday morning. So a lot of young adults, they like to go to the Saturday service. But yesterday, I saw a lot of mature folks, so I asked them, “you also like to “chiong” is it? But we, we had a multicultural group, multi-generational, it is pretty much like what you see on Sunday.

I don't think a church should ever aim to be a singular culture. Like oh, we are specialists at reaching university students. And that's all we want to reach. Or we are specialists at reaching elderly folks, and that's all we want to reach.  No.  I, I think we need to have a higher regard for the power of the Gospel. It's the power of the Gospel that breaks down barriers, no more Jews or Gentiles, no more male or female, no more slave or free but we are all what? One in Christ.  I think diversity glorifies God, shows the world the power of Jesus Christ to break down barriers, animosity, biases and so on and so forth. It's beautiful! When the world sees that the Jews and Gentiles could be together, loving one another.  They say, “it is supernatural, it's the work of God.”

So here at Gospel Light, hey, we love to see multi-cultural racial people joining this church. I hope we will have such a Gospel-centered heart that says, “let's embrace one and all, we are one family in Christ.” Our unity is not because we all came from the same school. Our unity is not because we all came from Punggol. Our unity is not because we are here. Our unity is because of Jesus. We are united around loving Him. We're united around following Him. We're united around being on mission for Him. It's Jesus!  That's what it means to be a Gospel-centered church. We are not culturally centered and we are not generationally centered. Embrace diversity. I think that's the beauty of a church.

Embrace people with different gifts, embrace people with different talents, embrace people with different quirks, embrace different people with different social economic status. That's what makes church, church. Alright!  And I hope that you will not always hang out only with people of your same age group.

I know it's comfortable, you talk about the same things. The old guys like to be with old guys. The young guys like to be with the young guys. But I think, part of the beauty of the church is when the older one can invest in the younger ones. And the younger ones will learn from the older ones. It's not something I want to organize.  We can't structure that from top-down, but it's got to be organic from the bottom up. You see the need to serve this young man, you see the need to be discipled by this older lady. That's what it! That's, that's church, on mission for Jesus - centered around Jesus.

2]. Organized People
Number two, I think the church has to be organized. Certainly, I think the Bible gives us clarity that God is a God of order. There is organization in the home. The father, the husband is the head of the house and so on and so forth. There is order in the government, God has established leaders in our nation. And there is order also in the church.

Now, I'm not saying that the leaders are superior in any way.  It's just the way God organizes His church. There are leaders that people are to submit to and leaders are to serve God's people. Just like how the Apostles are organized, we are to be an organized people. Think that's straightforward for us.

3]. Ordinary People
The third point which I really love to latch on is that God uses very ordinary people. So often we fall into this trap of thinking, God can only use smart people, rich people, powerful people, God will only use handsome people. I don't think so. God, in the Bible uses a lot of very ordinary people, I mean His choices baffle us. Because if you are a CEO or a director in your company, you want to choose very capable people, good schools, good records. Well, Jesus chose very uneducated people.

So many of us may think today, “I can't serve God because I'm very ordinary. I'm not very smart, I'm not very skilled, I'm not very capable of doing a lot of things.” Well, God loves to use you. If you're someone like that, if you know you are weak, if you know that you're powerless apart from God, you are the prime candidate to be used by God. I say, “all of us can serve God, all of us.” Ordinary people by His grace, can do extraordinary things. So I want to say to you, “you guys, all of us.” It's amazing to think all of you who believe in Jesus, God has a wonderful plan and purpose for you to serve Him, if you're only willing next to forsake all.”

4].  Willing People
I think church must be made up of a willing people. Now, I have been a pastor here for some time now and I am very acutely aware that in a sense, leading a church is very different from running a company. I meet with friends, they are bosses, whatever. And in company heads, they snap a finger and people fall in line, because they owe him a living. Right? But in church you snap a finger, people run. You ask them to jump, they say, “how high?” oh, no, no, no, in a company ask you, “how high?” If you ask them to jump in church, they say, “why, why, why?” And, well because church is really not a military organization where we listen to a fearsome commander. But we, we are a people who, who serve God because we love Him and we are willing to do that for Him.

Now I'm not saying that this church is rebellious or difficult. No, not all.  But it is with the understanding, we all serve, we must serve from a willing heart. We must serve from a heart that is willing to follow Jesus,  willing to forsake all. So I think one thing that holds you back from really being useful for God is because you're not willing to let go of some things in your life.

Maybe when you're younger, it's your exam grades. Can't let go, must study. Can't serve God, can't attend Bible studies because must study. Because that's the thing, I'm not willing to let go of. Then maybe later on, it's your career. Can't let go of my career. If I serve God too much, if I spend much time studying my Bible, my career advancement won't be as good. So that holds you back.

And you know it's so easy for us to think that's normal. Everybody chases a career. What's wrong with that? But when you look at the Bible, it's not normal. When you look at the Bible, what’s normal is people willing, radically to give up all to follow Jesus.  And I think that's normal Christianity.

Jesus says, “you cannot serve God and mammon. No man can serve two masters.” So let me ask you today. You say, “I want to have my life count for Jesus and pastor, you say I'm an ordinary, ordinary lady, ordinary man and you said, according to how God has used people in the Bible, He can use me, but why is He not using me?”

5].  Discipled People
Maybe I ask you, “are you willing? Are you willing? Willing to do what? Willing to be discipled. Willing to follow Jesus. I'm not telling you right now go serve, go to Timbuktu and be a missionary there. That may be a step too far for most of us. But it begins right here. Are you willing to be discipled? Discipled in the Word, discipled in Gospel communities. Are you actively looking for someone, who you admire in the faith, who you believe can have a great input into your spiritual life? Are you learning and following someone?

Hey, I, I look at the promise in the Bible, it's amazing you know. The Bible says in 2nd Timothy, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reprove, correction instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete or perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”[2 Tim 3:16-17] What is it that makes me able to serve God? The Word of God. Following Jesus in His Word.

So let me ask you, “are you spending time to do that in your life?” I want to do extraordinary things for Jesus, it comes down to the dailyness of your commitment. Too many of us think we can be heroes overnight. Nah, you need time. You need to spend time with the Lord.

We often look at Apostle Paul like, wah, he suddenly became the super duper preacher. Hey, far as I know, I think he spent 14 years studying you know. He went into kind of a the deserts of Arabia and nobody knows exactly what went on there, but I'm pretty sure he grew in Scripture there. He grew in the understanding of God's Word and when he re-emerges, wah, superman already.  Like in Chinese, 闭关修炼[bi4 guan1 xiu1 lian4], close the cave, practise his martial arts and after his practice, to come out, wah, power all come from his hands. I, I thought that's what he is, I mean he really spend time with, with the Word. Eh, I want to ask you guys to really consider, “if I want to be used by God, will I be willing to be discipled?”  Will I be hungry for knowing God and His Word. Will I be discipled?

6].  Faithful People
I think the local church must be a faithful people. We're not here to give our own version of truth, that will not be truth anymore. We are here to faithfully represent the simple but clear Gospel of Jesus Christ, even if it means endangering your life.

So, I'm not preaching a message that is happy, go lucky, feel good. The call of the Gospel is a risky call - demands your life. I almost feel surreal talking about this in Singapore because we don't face dangers to our lives. But this is not representative of the world. Singapore is not representative of the world. Singapore at this juncture certainly is not representative of history. To be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, often times means that you may need, need to give up your life, risk your life.

So if you're here today, you say, “I want to be a Christian, I want to know more about Jesus Christ, so that I can be rich and successful.” I say you’ve probably come to the wrong faith. This is not about health and wealth here. It's about the eternal life that is to come and because my hope is set on the eternal life that is to come, even if it means losing my life here, it's fine.  I trust Him, that's what Christianity is. And that's what the Apostles did. They, they all risked their lives and they died for their faith, but we all say, “it's worth it, right!”

7] Significant People
And lastly, I think they were a significant people. I mean, the church should be a significant people. In other words, we should, we should certainly create an impact amongst those we live. One of the questions we are, we ask ourselves is this, “if Gospel Light is to disappear from the face of this earth tomorrow, if we all disappear from the face of this earth tomorrow, will anyone know it?” Well, that measures our impact. We're not here to make a living, I don't think God has given us a command here to make a living.

God has given us a command to make disciples, to be a blessing. And I think a church must always aim to be significant. I'm not talking about success in terms of numbers, I'm talking about significance in the sense of blessing and impacting lives.

At the end of the day folks, it's really simple, this is what church is. A very mixed group of people, organized, we are ordinary but we are willing to follow Jesus. We give up the things of this world. More and more, we, we will surrender it all for Jesus sake. We want to learn of Him, we want to be faithful to Him and as we do so, we will create an impact in the world we live in.

Let me just end with this little cute, little illustration. There's a young man in America who wanted to be a missionary. So he applied to be interviewed by a missions board to serve under the missions board. So he was told to turn up at 3AM for the interview, 3AM in the morning. And on that very morning he turned up at 3AM, he sat there at the table. And five hours later at, 8AM, the examiner walks in, says, “hi,” sat him down and said, “I'm, just I'm going to ask you two questions for your interview.”

First question, how do you spell dog? The young man says, “d o g.” Very good. Let me ask you something about figures. What is 2 times 2? The young man says, “four.” The examiner shook his hand and said, “young man, you have done very well, we will let you know the results.”

The next day, the examiner now faces the missions board and said, “we have found an ideal candidate, he's excellent for this missions job.” The examiners then asked him or the board then asked him, “why do you think he's so good?” He says, “number one, I tested this man on self-denial, I made him wake up early in the morning to get out of his snug warm bed to appear for an interview at 3AM.  Next I tested him on punctuality, he appeared there on time. Third, I tested him on his patience, because I made him wait for five hours and when I arrived, he never even asked me why I was late. Number four, I tested him on temper, he showed none of it. Number five, I tested him on humility, I asked them questions that even a little child could answer and he answered it without any frustration. He is our ideal candidate!”

You know, God today is not looking for smart guys. I never read in the Bible, “you who are smart, serve God, you who are stupid, don't serve God.” Do you read that? God loves to choose the foolish to confound the wise. Don't you see your calling? Not many rich are called. He has chosen the poor, the foolish to confound the wise.  God specializes in using ordinary man for extraordinary things.

We are an ordinary church, made up of ordinary people, but we have an extraordinary God. And if you're willing to be discipled, to be faithful to Jesus, God can use us for extraordinary things in our lifetime and beyond. Would you be willing?

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Charles Spurgeon had a quote that says, “if God has called you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king.” Listen to this again, “if God has called you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king.” I think when he talks about missionary, it's not talking about someone who has to cross the seas alone, but is someone whose willing to cross the street.

Someone who is on mission, someone who says, “I am an apostolos, a sent one. I'm a delegate, I am an ambassador for Christ. I'm to witness of the Gospel.” So if God has called you to be a missionary, don't lower yourself to pursue kingdoms of this world. It's not worth it! Preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

You are an ambassador of the King of kings. So what if you are CEO of this world, so what if you are some general, so what if you're some boss. It means nothing, unless you are on mission for Jesus. If God has called you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king. Don't make a foolish exchange and my friends, God has called all of us who are His children to be His missionary. Ordinary people like you and me. Let us be on mission for Jesus.

May this church, though diverse, be united around the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May this church not just grow in our seating capacity, but we pray, “oh God, make us a willing people who forsake all, who will grow with Jesus, be discipled by Jesus. And then we will be faithful to Jesus.” And may this church, then say, “Lord send forth the laborers, grow our sending capacity.”

May we be missional right where we work, live and play. May we create significance, may we create an impact right where God has placed us. That's the way to live our lives. We have only one life, let's make it count.

Oh, The twelve Apostles, what an example! What a group of common, uneducated men. But look at their boldness, look at their ministry. And when people see them, they can only say, they had been with Jesus. Gospel Light, when people see you, will they say they had been with Jesus.  Abide in the vine and you will bear forth much fruit.

Perhaps today, some of you are here with us, and you do not know Jesus. Let me tell you, He is worthy of your following. Men and women across generations have given up their lives to follow Jesus because they believe Jesus has given up His life to save you and I from our sins.

Jesus formed that rescue mission to save man, not from caves and dungeons but to save us from sin and alienation from God. He brings us into the light, into the life with Him.  He gave His life, He shed His blood that you today might be forgiven of your sins.

Folks, if you're here with us, you do not know Jesus, let me today have the privilege to say to you, “please believe in Him.” Because He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father but by Me.” He's the only way you can be saved, repent of your sins, believe in Jesus. He has paid it all.

So Father, this morning we are thankful for Your Word. Oh God, have mercy to touch hearts, save lives, save souls, even right now in our midst. And oh God, let Gospel Light not just be a group of people who come for some religious ritual alone, but may we be true disciples of Jesus Christ. A people who are growing in the knowledge of Your love, who are gradually but surely loosening the hands, the grips that we have upon the things of this world. A people who be faithful to follow, a people who be on mission for Jesus.

Lord, thank You that You delight to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It is our humble prayer that You will use our five loaves and two fishes and multiply it in this neighbourhood, in this nation, unto the uttermost parts of the world. Thank You for Your Spirit, thank You for Your promise that I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. So may Your church, rise, and obey. May we abide in You, O God. Thank You for hearing this prayer, grow the sending capacity of Gospel Light, we ask this now in Jesus Name, Amen.

We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.