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This is our last Sunday worship service, as has been mentioned and prayed, and we do thank God for these one or two years that has gone by.

We are continuing our series in a book of 1st Corinthians. And I like to start with this story, which is rather sad. A few years ago, there was an earthquake in Taiwan, and the building collapsed and many lives were lost. And if you look a little bit more closely, you will realize that in the walls of these collapsed concrete slabs were tin cans that were inserted right in the middle.

Apparently, the contractors have decided to take some shortcuts, cut corners, took the easy way out and wanted to kind of a ... cheat the building. And as a result, the building could not withstand the pressures, and the difficulties that it faced in the earthquake.

When I looked at this picture, I, I thought about church ministry because it's the same thing. People in church, in pastoral ministry, may I say, can also choose to take shortcuts. They can cut corners, they can take the easy way out in order to look bigger, in order to look more impressive. So to build faster, to build more impressive buildings, to build more impressive churches, people insert 'tin cans' into ministry.

Well, that might be the very problem that is taking place in the church at Corinth, thousands of years ago. There was a lot of envy and strife and competition amongst the church. They were people who say, "I belong to Paul", and they will people who say , "I belong to Apollos." And they were probably boasting in the size of their ministry. "Look at Paul, how many followers he has!" "Look at Apollos, how many followers he has!" And so this became the culture and the smell of the church.

And I wouldn't be surprised, if the leaders of the church began to think that way. "I have such a ministry, I have so many people under my care, you have so many people under your charge." And they begin to be competitive, they begin to pride themselves over another because of the size. And as a result of that, there is strong temptation to compromise. You want to build a bigger following, and so in order to do that, faster, easier, without fuss, you begin to take shortcuts, you begin to take the easy way out.

So this morning, we are looking at a passage that teaches about short cuts, or really a warning against "Shortcuts In Pastoral Ministry". Very embarrassing, very sad that we have to look at something like this, but this is real. It happened probably in a church at Corinth and it can happen to any church today, including Gospel Light. Isn't it?

Now, Paul is going to teach about the shortcuts in ministry with an architectural example. It's ... it's like the Taiwan building we saw. He's a ... quite a master at using examples. Some two weeks ago, we looked at how he uses a baby to describe carnal Christianity. Last week, we learned about agricultural example, about farming and learning, that actually we should never quibble about growth, because it is God who gives the increase.
Today, he gives a third example about a building. So let's take a look at these verses before us.

"For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field ..." that was last week. This week, he transits into not just an agricultural one, but an architectural example. "... You are God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid the foundation and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it." [1 Cor 3:9-10]

So the 'how' he builds is the main point of this illustration.

"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and straw — each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burnt up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved but only as through fire. Do you not know that you're God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you. If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." [1 Cor 3:11-17 ]

Now, that ends the reading of the Scriptures, I know it's not an easy passage to really get to, but let's try to do it in a ... I ... I hope, the simplest way possible.

Now, this illustration Paul's gives, it revolves around a building. And he's saying that, "This building illustration is not just teaching you architecture, this is teaching you about ecclesiology, it's about teaching church, because he says, "You are God's building."'

So Paul is saying, "Just like how an architect, a contractor, a construction company will build a building, the church minister, the pastor is led of God or used of God to build up God's people." Get that? Very simple, straightforward illustration.

He goes on to say that, "This building, however is no ordinary building. This is about the temple, it's about building the temple." Even more apt, the temple of God, as described, or as pictured here, as a building, is also a reference to the people of God. The temple of God is where God dwells, and God dwells in His people.

And then he goes on to say, "You are that temple." So very simply Paul is saying, "Church people equal or parallels temple building" Got that, right? Let's go on.

He goes on to say, "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ, or Jesus Christ." So this is even simpler, the foundation of the building is pictured to how Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church.

Now, when did Paul lay the foundation of Jesus Christ? Well, if you have been following our sermon series in 1st Corinthians, you will know that in chapter 1 and verse 23, Paul says that, "The foundation is laid in his preaching." And then, in chapter 2 and verse 2, he says, "I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus and Him crucified."

So Paul is saying, "I laid the foundation of the church by preaching to you, Jesus and Him crucified." So, a contractor lays a foundation with his machines, with the stones, but a pastor, a church planter lays the foundation of the church by preaching to God's people, Jesus and Him crucified.

He goes on then to say .... which is the main thing now, please get this. I ... I will say this is the main thing you really need to grasp, "If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one's work will become manifest."

I colored it in two different colors, so that you can see that Paul is really talking about two kinds of materials you can use to build the building. And these two kinds of materials will describe the two kinds of ministries one can have. So, you have perhaps a ministry that is described as gold, silver, precious stones, and another kind of ministry that can be described as wood, hay and straw.

That's quite obvious what these two kinds of materials represent. Gold, silver, precious stones are costly things. They are pricey, they are precious, not ... not cheap to obtain, because you've got to have a lot of effort spent to search for them, and to dig them out from underground. So, they are costly and difficult-to-find materials. But the thing about gold, silver and precious stones is that they last, they don't get burned up easily, as the imagery goes with Paul's description.

However, wood, hay and straw are the total opposites. They are readily available, you can find them anywhere in those days, maybe a bit hard to find now in Singapore, but in those days, very easy to find. And they are easy for you to obtain, doesn't cost you much. The problem with them, however, is that they are very perishable, one fire and it's all wiped out.

So, I think Paul is here talking about a kind of ministry that is costly, difficult and lasting. I would say, "This presents a faithful ministry." And then the other kind of ministry, wood, hay and stubble, or wood, hay and straw, would be a ministry that involves taking shortcuts. You don't want to do it the right way, because you are not patient, you're not willing to pay the price, so you take the easy way out.

And so Paul approves of the faithful way, clearly, that's the imagery. And he does not approve of that, which is taking shortcuts.

So, what is this sermon about? What is this big idea about? Well, to be more accurate, it's, "Please Don't Take Shortcuts In Ministry." Don't let compromises come into church, don't build a building where you insert all the 'tin cans' in the walls, because one day, on the Day of Reckoning, everything will be made manifest.

I think this big idea, therefore is easy, right? I ... I hope you are following me, I know it's Christmas. I had a big Christmas dinner last night, and I had a food coma. I was not knocked out, man! I hope you're awake right now, so if you're awake with me, I urge you to follow me into greater depth on consideration of three things.

The first point will be the most difficult, will be the most demanding of your attention, second, and third point will finish in a jiffy.

[1] The Work of the Pastoral Ministry
Alright, so the first point, I'd like you to consider in this imagery, the work of the pastoral ministry.

What is pastoral ministry about? Paul says, "I laid the foundation, someone is building upon it, take care of how one builds upon it." I think this is about a pastoral ministry, and it is clear that a pastoral ministry is like that of an architect or a builder.

You are building however, not bricks, but you are building people.
You're building a people who will be the dwelling place of God, in whom God dwells. Now, that's special, don't you think? People often ask me, "Why you would quit medicine, it's such a sayang [Malay], it's such a waste." I never thought so, because there's nothing more precious than the people of God, than the manifestation of God through His church.

So, the work of the pastoral ministry is building people. And based on what we have learned in 1st Corinthians, I suggest to you, the work of the pastoral ministry is building a people of faith with Gospel-centred truth. Now, that I think is my main takeaway from the first three chapters, thus far.

It's building a people, it's not just about individuals. Now, yes, God says, "Each one of us individually," but God says, "Each one of us individually, so that we might form a beautiful structure, that we might form a beautiful community, a beautiful people."

And this people, a collective people, a community of people is joined together by faith. We are not united because we are of the same race. We are not united because we are of the same social economic status. We are not joined together because we have the same address, not all of us live in Punggol, not all of us are Singaporeans even. But we are joined together because we all believe, worship and serve God through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are a community of faith.

Now, I get that faith idea very strongly in 1st Corinthians, chapter 2 and verse 5, you can take a look at that, if you like.
Paul's goal in ministry is that your faith might rest not in man's wisdom, but in the power of God. And so, the work of the pastoral ministry is to build a people of faith, who would love Him, serve Him, glorify Him.

And the builder uses something to build. What does he use to build? He uses truth. Now, the pastor has nothing to offer to his people, except to lead God's people to truth. And when we say truth, it is not just a random collection of thoughts and ideas, it's not just throwing at people verses and facts and figures.

I, I believe God's Word is meant to describe and to depict a grand narrative of how He's going to save a sinful man, through His Son, Jesus Christ. So, not just truth, as if it's just a random throwing of ideas, but it's a coherent message, it's about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now again, I bring you back to how he was so crystal clear about what he wants to do in the church at Corinth. He says, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus and Him crucified." [1 Cor 2:2]

Now, he's not saying that, he doesn't teach about other things, about perhaps the role of the husband and wife. It's not that he doesn't teach about ecclesiology, about the role of elders and about many other things in the Bible. He does teach about all these things, but they're all tied together, they're all seen through these Gospel lens.

And so, Paul was very Gospel-centered in his approach. Likewise, how the church should be developed, should be along Gospel-centred lines.

And he goes on to say, "The reason why I will preach to you the Gospel, the reason why I determined to know nothing among you, I don't want to come in human eloquence, human ideas. I don't want to impress you with Greek philosophy and so on, because I want your faith to not rest in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God."

There is a way of ministry that allows people's faith to be resting on the power of God, and there is a way of ministry that allows your faith to rest in the wisdom of men. Do you realize that? You can go to different churches, and you can divide them into these two categories. One allows your faith to be built up on the power of God, and one allows your faith to be built up in the wisdom of man.

So there are two areas, two likelihoods here, and so, let's go back to the imagery Paul has laid for us. You can build a building, you can have a church that is based upon the power of God, or you can have a ministry that is based on the wisdom of men.

The ministry that is rooted in the power of God is that which is centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 'Bo geh yam, geh cho' [Hokkien dialect], no added salt and vinegar. Just the real deal, the raw deal - Jesus and Him crucified. And how that impacts everything in life.

And then there's another kind of ministry that is otherwise, it is not centered on the Gospel. It's centered on many other things, but it is not centered on the Gospel. And ... and so I suggest to you Paul is saying, "The gold, silver, precious stone kind of ministry is that which is Gospel-centred. And the wood, hay, stubble kind of ministry is that which is not Gospel-centred."

And the difference is that the Gospel-centered ministry is costly, it's difficult, it's not easy to find, because the builder has got to search, to dig, and then to apply these costly materials. And he can't find it in the world around him, it is buried somewhere, is buried in the pages of the Bible.

In other words, he can't just lead and teach based on what he already knows in his life! He's got to go into the Bible, dig out those gems, and then build it. Dig out those gems, and then build it. Dig out those gems and then build it. But there is another kind of ministry that you don't have to go to your Bible much. You can make use of some words of the Bible, but you are not really digging into it. You just teach people what you already know, and you teach that which is easy — what people can accept readily.

The Gospel-centred ministry is a ministry that is rooted in the Scriptures, that is dug out from the Scriptures, that is applied to the people line upon line, truth upon truth, layer upon layer. It may not be something people accept or appreciate, it is not something everybody likes.

But there's another kind of ministry that everybody likes. Another kind of ministry which is way easier — humanistic ideas, human philosophies but not Gospel theology.

"Pastor, what do you mean by that, still a bit abstract lah?" Well, let me try to give you some illustrations of what I think humanistic philosophies may be. And I give them all the isms, you know, we ... we like isms in Singapore. So, let me give you some examples of wisdom of mankind of ministries, wood, hay stubble kind of ministries.

Humanistic Philosophy 1: Pragmatism
Number one, we may be building ministries based on pragmatism.

Heard of that? Just being downright practical, whatever works we use. So pragmatism is designing ministry, simply based on what appeals to people and what works. I put the word "works" in inverted commas, because to most people, whatever can bring in the crowd, is what "works".

So, how can a church pastor minister? Well, he can choose to follow pragmatism. "Oh, if this kind of music means that we have more people, this is what we will do." "If this kind of teaching is appreciated by more people, this is what we will preach." "If whatever draws in the crowd, that will be how we build our building." Doesn't it sound like those who say, "If it could save us some effort and money, just put those tin cans into the walls, we will look good, and we will save some cost."

Pragmatism, I think a very prevalent philosophy. Rather than faithfully teaching and preaching and laboring in the Gospel, even though it takes longer, change is not going to take place immediately, crowds will not come in immediately, people will not appreciate this ministry immediately, but let's do it the right way, the faithful way.

Well, pragmatism rules in many cases.

Humanistic Philosophy 2:Nominalism
And then another example, I can give to you is nominalism.

What is nominalism? It simply means that we are satisfied with nominal believers in our churches because they fill seats and make us look successful. So, doesn't matter if they don't really understand the Gospel, as long as they walk in, we say, "Brother ..."

I know we don't all use brother the right ... the same way. But we ... you know what I mean, right? "Ah, I'm so glad you're Christian now." "Am I?" "Yeah, you come to church, you already Christian, what! You come church a lot, so long already. Come and get baptize lah! Be part of our membership!" And we become very loose in the way we define what it means to be a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ.

And it doesn't matter, because as long as you are part of our statistic, you make us look good. And there is a kind of ministry like this, where the leaders of the church do not cause God's people to think seriously about whether there is real faith in their lives.

Humanistic Philosophy 3:Traditionalism
There's is a third kind ... well, there are many kinds, so I'll stop numbering them but you can think about traditionalism.

Whilst there are people today who designed their ministry based on the latest trends and fads. There is another danger that we are so stuck in our traditional practices, because we're scared of losing people. We could be inclined to rely upon traditions rather than seeking to see how the power of the Gospel can be contextualized and apply it in our day.

You know, I'm not saying, "Traditions are bad." Many traditions are good, wonderful, but if you're so stuck in tradition, and you're not understanding the principles of the Gospel and applying it to life, there's a danger. That's not building a building, a ministry on the power of God but merely in the wisdom of men.

"Oh, because our ... our pastors say so." "Oh, because the old pastor says so, or because our third generation pastors said so, so we stick to it." Well, I'm not saying, "Destroy everything, destroy traditions, destroy the past. No, but we've got to think, based on biblical principles."

Humanistic Philosophy 4:Moralism
Perhaps, moralism is another danger.

There can be a kind of ministry that is just based on how we lead people towards self-righteousness. I mean, believe it or not, the Bible presents self-righteousness as something people like. And the Gospel is the offense of the cross, so maybe one of the best ways to create a big religion is to tell people, "Do this and do that to earn favor from God."

And don't be surprised that there are many religions, many cults in the world that are huge, because people love self-righteousness. And the Gospel is so humbling to them that they cannot accept it.

Humanistic Philosophy 5: Experimentalism
Experimentalism. Well, that's a big one too, isn't it so? That there are those who base their Christian life primarily on their subjective experiences, rather than the truth of God in the Gospel.

There can be a ministry that leads people to feel their way to God. I'm not against feelings, please don't ... God made us with feelings, feelings are important, but feelings are not the ultimate authority for life, God's Word is the ultimate authority for life.

And so, it is dangerous to create a ministry ambience that sucks people into thinking, "I am close to God." You know, it's easy to do that! All we need to do is to get a more charismatic preacher, turn down the lights, play nice music and make you feel so good. Make you feel like you're so close to God, and well, it's not hard to draw people in.

Humanistic Philosophy 6:Sensationalism
If you mix and match some of the combinations I have already suggested to you, maybe sensationalism. It's a craving for spectacular experiences, I would say, "Even fake signs and wonders, to create a sense of intrigue and mysticism and credibility, rather than a faithful ministry of the Gospel." That's ... that's very real!

"Ah, the Word of God is not enough!" The Gospel is not enough, So we need to create some spectacular things. We need to pray for more signs and wonders, so that people will be, "Wow, this church is amazing," and draw in the crowds."

I'm not saying, "God cannot give miracles". Please understand all these things, there is a balance that is to be struck. I'm not saying, "God cannot give miracles." But there's a everything wrong when you crave for it, and rely upon it, and not stand confidently on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Humanistic Philosophy 7:Materialism
I think the next things you will be quite clear, giving false promises of prosperity, vitality, and even fertility. You know, that's what churches do now. "Come to church, let your pastor pray for you, and your sickness will go away." "Come to church, let the church pray for you and you will be rich." "Come to church, and let us pray for you and you will have many, many children."

And these are the prominent promises laid out to draw who? To draw people. Why? So that the Church will look big, so that you will look impressive. Compromises, shortcuts, and rather than teaching that one must deny oneself to follow Jesus.

This is not a very attractive teaching, right? "Deny yourselves, take up the cross." Er, who will come to church when you tell them to deny themselves? But that's the right way, that's the costly way.

Humanistic Philosophy 8:Activism
Activism, let me tell you another thing that can draw in the crowds — activism.

Because if your church is interested enough in different things, you can draw in different people. "Pastor, we should ... we should do more about saving the planet. If we preach more messages about the green environment, you know, every government is talking about COP 20, whatever, all, all about these environmental issues, more environmentalists will come to church, you know?"

Well, I understand that logic works, but that's not what God calls us to do. God did not tell me to preach about saving the planet, God told me to preach about Jesus saving us from our sins. I got to get that right!

"Well, pastor, there are many social issues in the world today." Yes, I know, but do you also realize that the root of social issues is sin. And there can be no real remedy until people come to God, through Jesus Christ.

Now, I ... I think activism can even be in doctrinal realms. I'm not saying, "Doctrine is not important. We must stand on clear doctrine, but we must not become evangelists of particular doctrines and forget that we ought to be evangelists of the Gospel - Jesus and Him crucified."

Now, people ask me, "Pastor, do you believe in Calvinism? Do you believe in ..." I believe what the Bible teaches about sovereign grace of God. I ... if you would like to conveniently package it as Calvinism, I say yes, "I ... I personally do believe it." But I'm not here to be a Calvinist evangelist, I'm here to preach the Gospel - Jesus and Him crucified. God forbid that I'll champion Calvin and not Jesus Christ. Alright.

"But ... but you will draw crowds, a lot of Calvin fans will come." "I don't need Calvin fans, we're not here to build Calvin fans. We are here to produce or to make disciples of Jesus Christ." So, let's not be distracted to the things.

What is the work of the pastoral ministry? Building a people of faith with Gospel-centred truth, I hope that is clear. That is gold, silver, precious stones.

Oh, the wood, hay, straw ministry — faster, easier and bigger. Use activism, use materialism, use sensationalism, use experiencenalism, use all these things, pragmatism. Throw that in, it will be a bigger ministry, but that's not what God calls us to. Let's be clear!

[2] The Worth of the Pastoral Ministry
Well, I said point one is the longest, it did take us some time, but point two and three, faster. The second thing that I think you really need to consider from this analogy is the worth of the pastoral ministry.

Which one is more precious at the end of the day? Oh yes, gold, silver, precious stones — slower, smaller. Wood, hay, straw — faster, bigger but which one is more precious? How do you assess the worth of each pastoral ministry?

I, I give you the story of "The Three Little Pigs". I know there are many kids here you're ... you're like, "Wah, uncomfortable..." I give you "Three Little Pigs, 三只小猪". [sān zhī xiăo zhū]

What is the story about? Well, all three little pigs built three houses, and they look pretty good. One with straw, one with wood, one with bricks. And you know, and the 大灰狼 [dà huī láng] the big, big bad wolf, came and huff and puff and he blew the house down, for which one? The straw and the wood.

Now, they were built faster, easier because the two piggies actually laughed at the last brother. "Wah, why you take so long to build your brick house?" But when the big bad wolf came, the wisdom of the third pig shines through.

The worth of the pastoral ministry is not seen today, Do you realize that? "Wah, big church ah!" Not necessarily good, you know! "Wah, the church so tiny, your church so small." Not necessarily bad, you know! Because just like the three little pigs, you can't assess the value of the house, until the real test comes.

I say to you, "The exact value or worth of each pastoral ministry is not what we can accurately assess today." Now, I know it's not intuitive, because it's very, very easy and very common for us to talk about churches based on their size.

"Which church do you come from?" "Oh, I come from ABC church." "Eh, how many people there?" "How about the other ...?" And, and straightaway we pigeonhole people. "Oh your church, oh 20 people ah, lao yah lah [lousy in Hokkien dialect] you. No taste! Don't know why you go that kind of church!"

"Wah, your church 10,000 people, must be tak kong [outstanding in Hokkien dialect]] lah! So attractive, so many people like, must be good lah!" But I'm saying to you, according to Paul, you cannot accurately assess the worth of a ministry in God's eyes, alright, in God's eyes, and ultimately for all eternity, based on just superficial gauges and measurements today.

Now, this is not what I say, this is what Paul says. He says, "Each one's work will become manifest ..." [1 Cor 3:13] In other words, it is not manifest, it's not obvious today, but each one's ministry, the worth of the ministry will become clear. When? For the day, there is a future day, not now, not yet. But there will come a future day, where it will be clear by means of fire.

There will be a great searching and purging on that Day, because God will test what sort of work each one has done. "If the work that has, anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward." [1 Cor 3:14] So not every big thing is rewarded, it will go through fire and what's left, that which lasts will be rewarded. I'm sure this refers to 'gold, silver, precious stone' imagery.

And then there are those who may have big ministries, but if everything chow tah [Hokkien dialect], everything is burned up, he will suffer loss. He doesn't get anything, from anything that is burned up, even though he himself will be saved. So this is not about salvation, this is about reward. He will be saved, his soul will be saved, but what he thought he had labored in order to obtain reward from God will not do so. Because it doesn't last, and this I think clearly refers to the wood, hay and straw.

So the work of the pastoral ministry is not what we can accurately assess today. So I urge all of us not to despise small ministries. So easy for us to judge people and ministries based on this very simplistic thing called, numbers, size. Bei zhun [Hokkien dialect], not accurate! And please then do not idolize big ministries. Just because the ministry is big doesn't mean he becomes our model. Just because the ministry is visited by many people doesn't mean it is good.

How do you tell if it's good? The Bible, not numbers. See how easy it is for us to be pragmatists and not Biblicists and not people who follow Scripture. There is according to transformers, more than meets the eye, alright. Just like you look at the Taiwan building, woh, look big ah, but inside all tin cans — empty, no substance. What's the point?

And so I also urge all of us, that the goal of your ministry is not size. Now, please don't get me wrong, I think size is important in a way, because every single soul is precious. Everyone who is saved, results in heaven's rejoicings. Do you know?

The heavens rejoice over every sinner who repents. It's tremendous if there are many people who are saved, but that should not be the driving force of ministry. Because if that becomes your driving force, there will be huge temptation to compromise, to take shortcuts, to find the easy way out, to cut corners.

Rather, I say, "The North Star of ministry is faithfulness to God, in building a people with Gospel-centred truth." That's how it all ties up.

[3] The Weight of the Pastoral Ministry
Finally, this is even shorter. I end off with the weight of the pastoral ministry.

I think that's the emphasis of Paul. He says, "You've got to build a ministry. Be careful of how you build, be careful to build ministry, using Gospel-centred truth. Nothing else! Because only this kind of ministry will be rewarded in the end, everything else will be burned up."

And I want to remind you of how important this is, because you are building the dwelling of God. Now, imagine today you have to build a house for your friend, maybe chin chai [flippantly in Hokkien dialect] build still OK lah, but you build a house for your Prime Minister, you better don't chin chai build lah! Or you build a house for a king you better build it properly. Imagine you're building a house for God, you better put in your best effort.

And I think as a pastor, as a minister of the Gospel, there must be great care in building, because the weight of the building is added here, that is not just an ordinary building, is the temple of God.

"If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him." [1 Cor 3:17] Now, this is serious, if you anyhow build, you're getting into trouble. I think pastors, we will have a very, very ... I think ah, when I appear before God, quite nervy, kang chiong [Hokkien dialect], xiao leow [going crazy in Hokkien dialect].

Because I think sometimes I try to find to gold, silver, precious stones, but there are other times, I anyhow go and find wood, hay, straw, and put in, you know. Wah, this is serious stuff, this is nothing to be trifled with! We all will have to give an account.

The book of Hebrews say that, "Church leaders, you amongst all, will have to give an account to God in how you've served His people." [Heb 13:17] Pastoral ministry, yes, is accountable to God's people, but more than that, he's accountable to God. My boss, my Master is God.

Now, in a sense, all of us work, even in our secular jobs with an eye towards God, that should be the right way. But I think there's a particular reminder here, that leaders, we are responsible in how we shepherd, serve, teach, lead God's people, and let that be a warning for us. But I, I do not just want to talk about the scary part, the warning part, but let's look at the rewarding part, alright.

Paul, er Peter, not Paul now, "Exhorts the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in glory that is going to be revealed." [1 Peter 5:1] "Shepherd ..." he says, " ... do this well, please." "I exhort you, I encourage you, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering ..." [1 Peter 5:2-3]

Not being a bully, and I've read so many stories of church bullies, it's amazing. But Peter's words are so irrelevant [sic: relevant], "Don't bully, don't be domineering over those in your church, but first of all, be an example." [1 Peter 5:3] Do this well, "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." [1 Peter 5:4]

Now, I've ... like we always say, here, we don't know what this crown is representing. I'm not sure if it's a literal crown, like for all eternity, I wear a crown. And I like very happy with the crown, actually in this life, if you give me a crown, I also don't know what, don't want to wear — so heavy, headache after a while. But I can guarantee that whatever it is, it is definitely good, is definitely beautiful, is definitely glorious.

And so, there is huge weight in pastoral ministry. Maybe today, you are small group leader, a bible study group leader, a discipleship group leader, don't despise the size of your ministry. It's not important there in a sense, but it's how you minister, that's most important.

Don't look at Gospel Light as if we are a small church or a big church and make judgments based on it, it's more important that we are a Gospel-centered church, a people following Jesus.

This is the last sermon of the year. And I hope this story, or this illustration would stick in your life, would last or the distance for us here at Gospel Light, that as Paul laid the foundation of Jesus and Him crucified, we will continue to build upon the right foundation the right way.

If you're here today, and you do not know Jesus, I am saying to you, we are a community, we are a family, we are a church, not because we are Chinese or Filipino, not because we all went to university or went to polytechnic, not because we stay in Punggol or stay somewhere else, but we are all united as one people because we believe Jesus.

We believe Jesus gave His life on the cross some 2,000 years ago, in order to pay for your sins and mine. He came to give His life, so that we might find eternal life, reconciliation with God.

Why is the whole world celebrating Christmas? Why is He, the Savior who is promised? Because He is the only One who can save us from our sins. This morning, I urge you, I pray for you and I want to encourage you to turn from your sin and believe in Jesus. Depend on Him, join on this community building project, stand on the foundation of Jesus Christ. May you find eternal life, through Him.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Father, we thank You this morning, that even in a simple illustration like this, we can see how easily it is for us to deviate from faithful, Gospel-centred ministry. It happens in all our lives, when our eyes are taken off You, when we begin to be filled with carnality, strife, envy, jealousy, when we start to compare and compete one with another. Just as the church at Corinth struggled with this, I believe we are not immune to this.

So we pray that You'll protect us from deviations, from compromises, from shortcuts in pastoral ministry. O Lord, protect our hearts, that we will not resort to sensationalism or pragmatism or traditionalism or anything like this, but we will keep on, keeping on in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That we would be able at the end of our life and our ministry to say, "I have decided to know nothing among you, except Jesus and Him crucified."

And as we minister in such a way, we then pray that as the Lord Jesus Himself said, He will build His church upon this rock, we pray many more souls will be saved and many more would follow Jesus Christ faithfully.

Please also dear God, work in hearts of men and women gathered here online, on-site, that they too would join in this church, they would join in this body of Christ, as You grant them repentance and faith in Jesus, Your Son. Work in our hearts, we thank You in Jesus' Name. Amen. God bless.

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