Life in the Spirit

We're going to pray together now.

This is out of Galatians 5.

It's going to be responsive prayer together.

Merciful God, we think of the freedom that Paul speaks about,

and too often we accept it as the freedom to do what we like,

rather than being obedient to you

and serious about reflecting your character into this world.

So we confess this morning with shame

that whenever we've taken and devoured one another,

such things as discord and factions exist,

even within our faith communities together.

Forgive us when we use our freedom to be self-indulgent

instead of serving one another in love.

We confess that we fail miserably

when we try on our own to live lives shaped by love, joy, and peace.

Patience, kindness, and goodness.

Faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So forgive us when we fail to be led and guided by your Holy Spirit,

who enables our lives to produce such fruit.

Fruit which enrich and enhance our lives,

and through us, the lives of others.

So merciful God, we confess also our failure

to seek the empowerment of your Holy Spirit.

When we are confronted daily with the challenges of following Jesus,

when we look at the cost which Jesus sets on his discipleship,

we confess that so often we fail to meet that cost.

So forgive us when we fail to take Jesus' demands on our lives seriously enough,

forgetting that our love for us,

he has already walked the hard road,

the way of the cross.

Let's pray together.

Gracious and loving God,

in and through Jesus Christ,

you have given us the freedom

and the power

to live

by your Spirit

and to be guided

by your Spirit.

May our acceptance of these gifts

be visible as we bear profusely

the fruit of the Spirit

and as we faithfully follow Jesus

on the challenging road

of discipleship.

This we pray

in the mighty name of Jesus.

Everybody, amen.

Today's scripture reading

is found in Galatians chapter 5,

Galatians 5:1

verse 1 and verses 13 through 25.

Please follow along in your bulletin.

It is for freedom

that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm then

and do not let yourselves

be burdened again

by a yoke of slavery.

You, my brothers and sisters,

were called to be free,

but do not use your freedom

to indulge the flesh.

Rather,

serve one another humbly in love.

For the entire law

is fulfilled

in keeping this one command.

Love your neighbor

as yourself.

If you bite

and devour each other,

watch out

or you will be destroyed

by each other.

So I say,

walk in the Spirit

and you will not gratify

the desires of the flesh.

For the flesh desires

what is contrary

to the Spirit

and the Spirit

what is contrary

to the flesh.

They are in conflict

with each other

so that you are not

to do whatever you want.

But if you are led

by the Spirit,

you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh

are obvious.

Sexual immorality,

impurity,

and debauchery.

Idolatry and witchcraft.

Hatred,

discord,

jealousy,

fits of rage.

Selfish ambition,

dissensions,

factions,

and envy.

Drunkenness,

orgies,

and the like.

I warn you,

as I did before,

that those who live like this

will not inherit

the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit

is love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness and goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control.

Against such things

there is no law.

Those who belong

to Christ Jesus

have crucified the flesh

with its passions

and desires.

Since we live by the Spirit,

let us keep in step

with the Spirit.

This is the reading

of God's Word.

Please be seated.

Today is Pentecost.

This is the day

we celebrate

and commemorate

when God poured out

His Holy Spirit

on the church.

This is the church's birthday.

Happy birthday, church.

And I'd like you to turn

to your neighbor,

at least to two others,

and say,

happy birthday, church.

Happy birthday.

Happy birthday.

And how old are we?

Give or take a year or two,

1,980.

I'm sorry that Walter Mark

is unable to produce

a cake that size

with 1,980 candles,

but we have said

happy birthday, church.

Now most of you know

that we've been going through

Paul's letter

to the Christians

in Galatia.

And today we're going

to explore together

chapter 5.

And appropriately,

our theme for today

is life in the Holy Spirit.

Life in the Holy Spirit.

Now here in this

remarkable letter,

the Apostle Paul

speaks of the Christian life

in three ways.

First,

it is the life of faith.

In chapter 2, verse 20,

as the Apostle Paul

reflects and muses

on his own life,

he declares,

I have been crucified

with Christ.

I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me.

The life I live in the body,

I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave Himself for me.

I live by faith.

So the Christian life

is a life of faith.

And then Paul,

secondly,

speaks of the Christian life

as a life of freedom.

So when you turn

to the sheet you have

of our scripture reading,

Paul begins by saying,

it is for freedom

that Christ

has set us free.

Stand firm then

and do not let yourselves

be burdened again

by a yoke of slavery.

Verse 13,

you, my brothers,

were called to be free.

So it's a life of freedom.

We no longer live

under the constraint

and shackles

of the Old Testament law

with all its do's and don'ts.

We are free people.

We have been delivered

by the Lord Jesus Christ

and our life

is to be expressed

by freedom.

Then thirdly,

it is life in the Spirit.

And we'll zoom in

and focus on that thought

and theme for this morning.

Life of faith,

a life of freedom,

the life of the Spirit.

All these are like

three strands in a row.

They're all intertwined.

You can't separate them.

But today,

we're going to explore together

life in the Spirit.

Now,

let me comment a bit

on freedom.

During these past Sundays,

we've been looking at

how the Apostle Paul

warned the Christians

in Galatia

not to be hoodwinked

but the Judaizers.

They were saying,

yes,

trust in Jesus,

accept the gospel,

plus add on

the works of the law.

Then your salvation

can be guaranteed.

But the Apostle Paul

is saying,

no,

we have been delivered

from the law.

And he says in verse 1,

do not let yourselves

be burdened again

by the yoke of slavery.

This is surprising.

If Jesus came

to set us free from sin,

we accept.

Our theology

resonates with that.

But some of us

still find it

very difficult to understand

how we are freed

from the law.

Isn't the law

of Moses

God's law?

Did he not receive it

on Mount Sinai?

Was it not mediated

by angels?

How can we be freed

from this law?

Now,

you must understand

that law

was given

in order to guide Israel

to be the covenant

people of God.

And law included

the ritualistic law,

the civil law,

and also the moral,

ethical law.

And in Galatians,

Paul says in chapter 3,

verse 23,

the law imprisoned us.

We were kept in jail

by the law.

And then he also says

the law is like

a very strict schoolmaster

or disciplinarian

by the Gogos.

And that is

a household steward

who would be in charge

of the education

and tuition

of young children.

You can almost have

the image of a teacher

with a cane in his hand.

You write something wrong,

say something wrong,

whack.

And the law

was like that.

And yet,

why is it that

we don't want to

run away from the law

if it's so

depicted that way?

By the way,

do you have

a favorite fruit?

What is your favorite fruit?

Some of you

might be oranges,

apples,

for those of us

who come from Singapore

or Malaysia,

durians.

And there are kinds

of things like

strawberries and so on.

But if you were

to ask a Jewish rabbi,

what is your favorite fruit?

Do you know

what his answer is?

He would say

a pomegranate.

Why?

Because in Israel,

the pomegranate

has 613 seeds.

613 seeds.

And that is

the number of regulations

in the Jewish law.

365 prohibitions,

the don'ts,

and 248 commands,

the do.

Don't do this,

don't do that,

do this,

do this,

and then you will live.

Now the Jews,

sadly,

they thought that

if they kept,

observed the law

of Moses,

then they would earn

their brownie points

from God.

They would be loved,

accepted by God.

So they worked their way,

did all they could.

And Paul says,

that's not the way

to get right with God.

It's not the way

of justification.

We are all justified

in Jesus Christ alone.

But then someone might say,

all right,

Christ has set us free

from the law.

Does it mean

because I'm now

under grace,

I can do what I like?

And of course,

some of us remember

the freedom days

of the early 70s,

the hippies

in California,

when there was free love,

free sex,

everything free,

and you can do

what you like,

and licentiousness

crept in.

Remember those days?

But freedom is not like that.

Freedom is towards

a responsibility

because in our text,

we are told in verse 13,

brothers,

you were called to be free,

but,

here's a strong conjunction,

but,

do not use your freedom

to indulge

in the sinful nature,

the flesh.

Rather,

serve one another in love.

The new law,

the entire law,

is summed up

in a single command,

love your neighbor

as yourself.

And so here,

we are told very clearly

that freedom

is to a responsibility,

to love the Lord our God,

and also to love

our neighbors

as ourselves.

So freedom

is to responsibility,

not to anarchy.

Now,

someone might ask,

what's the difference

between a Christian

who is set free,

who has the Holy Spirit,

and one who's not

very aware

that the Holy Spirit

recites him,

leads him,

and empowers him.

Now,

some of you

have been to China,

and you've seen

on the busy roads

of Shanghai,

or Beijing,

or Chengdu,

bicycles.

And these are

motorized bicycles.

They are powered.

There's an engine there.

Now,

suppose you were to

ride one of these bicycles,

and then rev up

the engine,

and you find that

you'll be able to

ride speedily,

and you would

rejoice in the new freedom,

the new power

that your bike has.

At the same time,

if you say to yourself,

I can do what I like

because I've got

this powerful engine,

does it mean you can

neglect,

break the traffic law,

ride to red lights?

Or,

you say,

now that I've got

this power,

I can just

bang my bike

against a wall,

a stone wall,

and everything be okay?

Of course not.

It's just like

when your child grows up,

those of you who have children,

you say,

look,

you must learn

to love your brother.

And then the son says,

yeah,

I love my brother,

I love my brother.

And the next moment,

you find that he bites

his younger brother.

I love.

There's no law now,

I can do what I like

because I love.

That's not true

because we still

obey some of the

ethical guidelines

of the law

of God.

So here,

we must remember

freedom is to serve,

to love God.

Freedom is to be able

to love and serve

our neighbours.

But now let's look

at life in the Spirit.

Life in the Spirit

is a normal Christian life.

It's not for just

a few elite believers,

it's for all

who name Jesus

as Saviour and Lord.

We began life

with the Holy Spirit.

We are born again

of the Holy Spirit.

He regenerates us,

He gives us

new life.

He brought us

and applied

the wonderful benefits

of the cross to us

so that we can be called

God's people

and He's the one

who sets us free

and life begins

with Him.

And that's why

in chapter 3

of Galatians,

Paul rebuked them.

He says,

how did you start

your Christian life?

Galatians 3.3

Are you so foolish?

After beginning

with the Spirit,

are you now trying

to attain your goal

by human effort?

We begin

with the Holy Spirit

and we continue

with the Holy Spirit.

That is life

in the Spirit.

And let's look

at this life.

And if you look

at your passage,

the first thing is

that we are to be led

by the Holy Spirit.

Glance at verse 18.

But if you are led

by the Spirit,

you are not under law.

Now in the Old Testament,

and for most of these

Jewish believers

and especially

the Judaizing teachers,

the law was the guide,

the leader to life.

Because the word Torah

means direction.

But then,

Paul says,

no,

that's all changed.

In the New Covenant,

when Christ came,

when the Holy Spirit

was poured out,

our new leader

is the Holy Spirit.

Step aside law.

You've done your shift.

Now,

it's the Holy Spirit

who is going to lead us

and to guide us.

We are to be led

by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

displaces the law.

He is our new leader.

Now it's very interesting

that today,

Pentecost,

we call it,

the Jews call it Shavuot,

which means

the Feast of Weeks.

It's also a time

when they commemorate

the giving of the law

on Mount Sinai.

So,

their Pentecost,

Shavuot,

commemorates the giving

of the law

on Mount Sinai.

And yet,

in God's dispensation,

on this very day,

God is saying,

there's a new leader

that I'm entrusting

for you, church,

and that is

the Holy Spirit Himself.

And that's why,

both individually

and corporately

as a church,

we are to be led

by the Holy Spirit.

Now,

if we are led

by the Holy Spirit,

what would happen?

In Romans 8,

Romans 8:14

verse 14,

we are told

that as many

as are led,

same phrase,

by the Spirit,

we are the children,

the sons

and daughters

of God.

And in Ephesians 4,

Ephesians 4:4

verse 4,

we are told,

God sent His Son

at the right time

into the world

to rescue us,

to deliver us,

and then God also

sent His Spirit

into our hearts,

a double sending,

the sending of the Son,

the sending of the Spirit.

And what's the sending

of the Spirit for?

That we can call God

Abba, Father.

That we can appreciate

and embrace

our identity

as children

of the living God.

And so the Holy Spirit

does that.

when we are led

by the Spirit,

we can say to God,

now,

I don't have to fear you

as the judge,

as that heavenly policeman

who's trying to see

whether I break the law

and then whack,

you penalize me.

No,

you are now Abba,

Papa,

Daddy.

And I enjoy

an intimate relationship

with you.

But who makes

that identity real?

Who reminds us

of that precious relationship?

The Holy Spirit.

So if we are led

by the Holy Spirit,

we have

an entirely new

perspective of God

who now becomes

not the fearful judge,

but our loving,

intimate,

heavenly Father.

And we call Him

Abba.

So the Holy Spirit

leads us

into mercy.

And then the Holy Spirit

also leads us

into holiness.

And this is very important.

One of my favorite passages

is 2 Corinthians 3,

2 Corinthians 3:17

verse 17,

18 onwards.

And Paul was saying,

and we,

we believers,

we will unveil faces

as we behold

the glory of God.

We are changed

from one degree

of glory to another.

He's saying that

when we look

into the face

of Jesus,

as we sing the song,

Turn Your Eyes

Upon Jesus,

look full

in His Wonderful Face,

when that happens,

what will take place?

We'll become

more and more

like Him.

Now this week,

I happened to glance

at an article

called

Mirror Neuron.

And this tells us

that

in the front

of our head,

all of us have

this particular neuron,

biological phenomenon,

which helps us

to empathize

with other people.

And in the case

of married couples,

if they have

a happy marriage

because they spend

time together,

they look at each other's face,

what happens?

They become

more and more

like each other.

Now don't look at me

and my wife,

don't look at Tobin

and Christina,

but this is quite true

because you become

like the object

that you spend time with.

So when we look

at Jesus,

we become more

like the Lord Jesus.

We become Christ-like

and this is what

the Apostle Paul tells us.

If we are led

by the Spirit,

we become more

and more like Him.

Now one day,

there was a man

who was praying

this prayer,

Lord Jesus,

I want to become

more like You.

Holy Spirit,

I want to produce

Your fruit,

the fruit of love,

peace, joy,

patience, kindness,

goodness, and so on.

Will You help me

do that?

He was praying

this prayer.

And then,

on Monday morning,

he was rushing

off to work.

And as he rushed

to work,

just as he was

about to ascend

the steps

to catch his MTR,

what happened?

He knocked over

a fruit store

and all the fruits

went tumbling down.

What was he to do?

Because he had been

praying that day

that he would be

more like Jesus,

that he would have

the fruit of the Spirit

and he was already

quite late for work.

So as he was about

to run up the steps,

he suddenly stopped

and went down again

and began to help

the vendor

who incidentally

was blind.

The blind vendor.

He began to pick up

the fruits

and place them back

in their right positions.

And after everything

was done,

this blind fruit seller

got hold of his hands

and asked this question,

are you Jesus?

Are you Jesus?

So what happens is

that when the Holy Spirit

leads us,

in our character

there's a tremendous change.

We become more

and more like Jesus.

The problem is that

individually

and also as a church,

so often

we want to control

our own lives,

we want to set

our agenda,

we want to control

the Spirit

rather than

the other way around

because we should be led,

controlled,

guided

by the Holy Spirit

himself,

led by the Spirit.

This is the mark

of a life in the Spirit.

And secondly,

we are to walk

or live

by the Spirit.

Verse 16,

so I say,

and this here is

Paul's rallying cry,

so I say,

live by the Spirit

and you will not gratify

the desires

of the sinful nature.

Or in some translations,

walk

in the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

is not only the guide,

He's also the pathway.

Walk

in the road,

the path

of the Holy Spirit,

the way

He opens up

to you.

Now we know

that one of the

New Testament

descriptions

of the Holy Spirit

is He's the paraclete,

Greek

parakletos,

which means

one who is called

to stand alongside.

In legal terms,

your advocate,

your defense counsel

or attorney,

He's called

to stand alongside you,

to defend you,

and to walk with you.

And here,

Paul says

that we are

to live

by the Holy Spirit,

to walk

by the Holy Spirit.

In other words,

every day,

the Holy Spirit

is to guide

and lead us.

Then the amazing thing

is this,

as we walk

with the Holy Spirit,

as the parakletos

walks alongside us,

does it mean

we're going to have

a leisurely,

gentle stroll?

Everything will be well?

We'll be on cloud nine,

we'll have blue skies,

and no problems at all?

Not at all.

Because when we walk

with the Holy Spirit,

something happens.

We begin to be aware

of a fierce

internal conflict

in our lives.

Because if you

look at the text again

in verse 13,

do not use

your freedom

to indulge

the sinful nature,

rather serve

one another.

And then,

here we are told

that

verse 17,

the sinful nature

or the flesh

desires what is

contrary to the Spirit,

and the Spirit

what is contrary

to the sinful nature

or to the flesh.

Now,

the flesh is not

the meat

that clothes

your bony skeleton.

It talks about

our sinful nature

with its propensity

to sin,

to do evil.

And here,

we are told

that the Spirit

and the flesh

or our sinful nature

are in conflict

with one another.

And that's why

Paul says to us

that we

must allow Him

to lead us,

to guide us.

So he says,

live by the Spirit.

or walk

by the Holy Spirit.

So here,

our Christian life

is set,

as it were,

in the tension

of a conflict.

And in order

to know

more and more

about life

in the Spirit,

we have to be guided

and led by Him.

Because those

who are

led by the Spirit

know

that we

are the children

of God.

we want God

to run

our lives

completely.

So we are

to live

by the Spirit.

This is His

rallying call.

But once we try

to live by the Holy Spirit,

we begin to sense

that in us

there are two natures.

A lower nature

called the flesh

or sin,

our sinful nature.

And the other one

is our new nature,

which has been

saved,

recreated

in Christ Jesus.

And there is

an ongoing

tension.

And Paul says to us,

we are

to be led

by the Holy Spirit.

We are not

to be dragged down

by this sinful nature.

We are to allow

the Holy Spirit

of God

to lift us up.

And that is

what the Apostle Paul

is saying to us.

Live

by the Holy Spirit

and also

to keep in step

with the Holy Spirit.

So here is

Paul's

rallying cry.

We will experience

all kinds

of eternal conflict,

but we are

to allow

the Holy Spirit

to guide us,

especially

when we fight

this civil war

between our flesh

and the Holy Spirit.

And this raging

conflict

can only be settled

if we allow

the Holy Spirit

to take over,

to govern our lives

and our decisions.

Christians.

So,

here we are

told by

the Apostle Paul

very clearly

that we are

to live

and walk

by the Holy Spirit.

It's Paul's

rallying cry.

Because you see,

it's the Holy Spirit

himself

who leads us

to tell us

that we are

the children of God.

It's the Holy Spirit

who reminds us

that we are

his sons.

He's the one

who leads us

into intimacy

with God himself.

And he's the one

who makes us

more and more

like Jesus Christ

himself.

This is

life

in the Spirit.

So,

my dear brothers

and sisters,

as we

live our lives

together,

we have to ask

ourselves

who is guiding,

who is leading us.

Can I ask you

to pray for a moment

because I sense

a bit of confusion.

Let me be very honest.

As a preacher,

something is happening

because

in the heavenlies

and the Holy Spirit

wants to speak to us

but also

the spirits

that are not for us

are so against us.

Can I ask you

to pray for a moment?

Pray with me,

please.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord,

we thank you so much

that you are here.

Will you come now

and work in our lives

that we can follow you,

love you,

and trust in you?

And Father,

I do not know

what's happening right now

but I just ask you

to come

and pour your Spirit

in us

that we may live lives

really pleasing to you.

And Holy Spirit,

come and take over

so that the life we live

may be a life

that's really pleasing

in your eyes.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So we are talking about

living.

Can you just pray for me

for a moment

because I just sense,

as it were,

a kind of strong

spiritual attack

from the powers of darkness.

And this is a very real

ongoing battle.

So can we just pray?

Lord,

as we come into

your presence today,

we thank you so much

that you are here.

Will you lead us?

Will you strengthen us

that we may be able

to understand your word

to love you?

And I don't understand

why there is this

very big

spiritual attack

going on.

But I just pray

that we may

learn

to know

the power

of your Holy Spirit

and in Jesus' name

we command

all spirits of fear,

doubt

to leave

so that we can be alive

through the work

of the Holy Spirit

in our lives.

so Holy Spirit

come

and take over

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

By the way,

water's something

sometimes in preaching

there can be also the powers of darkness coming

to stop the clear word of God from being spoken

and I find suddenly like the enemy is trying to sow seeds of confusion

here I'm telling you as a preacher some of the battles we face

and we try to expound God's word

so let's just ask the Holy Spirit to come again

Spirit of God you are here

in Jesus name I take authority

and command all spirits of confusion to live

and I also want to pray that you Holy Spirit will come and take over

so that we can

know your presence and your life

and also the reality of you guiding us today in our exposition

so we commit this time to you Lord

and ask that you will direct our thoughts and our minds

in Jesus name

Amen

my mind has just gone blank for this is very unusual I don't know what God is doing in our midst

that's good

I'm going to ask is Mark here

we had the worship team come up

and we're just going to spend some time praying

and going into a time of just continued worship

and as they go I just want to pray for our time here

and Father we just thank you

Father we thank you that you are the one that is in control of all things

Father we just pray that your spirit would be with us

we thank you just for your word which continues to show us the power of your son

and his spirit that comes into our lives

Lord we pray as we come before you even now

I know that even as I think through this passage

and we so often struggle with what it means to

to walk in the spirit

and to walk and be your children Lord

and I realize that there's even some people here right now

who are wondering

what that even looks like for them

and they don't know you Lord

we pray for them Lord

that even in this part in their life

that they would realize their need for you

they'd realize

that they have tried to be God in their life for so long

but as they look at their life

they realize that these things

just aren't things that can sustain their soul

and bring them to you

Father we pray for those here

that you would enter into their life

and they would feel your presence

and know that you're real and true

and that you are the power to save them

Father I pray for the rest of us here

who are in your family

but often we go off on journeys

apart from your spirit

we try to pedal the bike

without the engine and the power

and we wonder why we get so tired

and frustrated

and lonely

and feel hopeless

Father I just pray for those of us here

who do that

and we all do that

your word says in our journey

that we would come to you

and we would just lay our lives before you

that we'd surrender our desires

that we'd surrender

our trying to work out

our salvation and complete it

we would surrender

trying to add something to your gospel

which is already perfect and whole and true

and that we would trust in you

Father I thank you for my dear brother here

Pastor Troi

pray that you would be with him

that you would strengthen him

Father I thank you for all of us

that we all need you

and we need your strength and power

as we enter into this time to worship

to be with you

please ask your spirit to be with us

and to change us

and we love you

in Jesus name

Amen

why don't we just continue in prayer

worshiping

I think sometimes when we come up here

to bring God's word

you feel like

okay if I've worked out this speech

I've got it all set up

and it should be great

and you don't realize what happens

if God is there

and he meets you

and he has something else to share

in your life

and you don't understand

the spiritual dynamics

sometimes

I think as a pastor

you take those things for granted

I shared with you one time

about two weeks ago

that you guys just hear these sermons

for one time

and then you're gone

and we have to

think of them

for months

and allow God's spirit

to hit us

and to change us

and in the middle of that

you see that this spiritual battle

is real

that the world

we see

and we see on TV

is just

the physical

but God's word says

there's so much more

spiritually

around us

there's angels

there's demons

and not to fear that

to realize that God

goes before us

and we walk

in the power

of Jesus Christ

we can trust him

who vanquished

all those forces

on the cross

so in some ways

you just got

a better visual

of what it means

to walk with God

and walk in the spirit

than you could have heard

in a sermon

our hope and our prayer

prayers that you wouldn't

forget today

but you think about

what it means

for me to walk

with God

what does it mean

for me to walk

in the power

of his spirit

what does it mean

for me to trust him

and do I do that

or do I rely on myself

and how eloquent I am

and how competent I am

in my business world

we are leaving here

about one o'clock

for a beach party

we would love

for you to join us

there's two big

massive buses

downstairs

we would love

for you to meet us

on those buses

and come to

St. Stephen's Beach

there's little flyers

to pick up

on the way out

it's going to be

a great time

of fellowship

and just continuing

to talk about

what it means

to be a family

that we are a family

and that we do

this together

also there's some

CDs for sale

of Mark and Carrie

and they've been here

we know when we started

the church

we prayed about

people who would come in

and mentor us

Pastor Chua is one of those

and Mark and Carrie

have been on this journey

with us for two months

and there's some CDs

of theirs

out in the lobby

for sale

and I encourage you

to pick one of those up

yesterday I was at

the training time

for the kids club

so I think

the volunteers

freaked out

when I walked in there

because I just wanted

to see what it was like

to get trained

as a teacher

for the kids

that God has put

into our world

and it was a great experience

I mean the teacher

Susie is incredibly competent

and it was fun

and you can see

on the Facebook page

our picture of that time

but one of the things

that hit me spiritually

when I was there

was the lack

of guys

and I just started praying

from yesterday

and I was praying

that God would bring

five men

who would be willing

to commit

one Sunday

a month

to love on the kids

that God has brought

to us

and to encourage them

and to point them

to Jesus

so I'm praying

for five men

to come up

today

today

at the beach

sometime this week

and say hey

I want to join you

on this journey

because we need men

and there are some

great guys

in those classes

but we need

more of those

five guys

one Sunday a week

and it would change

the life of the kids

that you minister to

we sent off

the university ministry

on a mission

to the Philippines

all the support

that you guys

gave them

plus $40,000

that they're taking

to help plant

a new church

in Manila

so since God

has allowed

this church

to plant

you guys

as a family

have been a part

of helping

three other churches

plant

in Japan

in Hong Kong

and Manila

and that's why

we believe

that God

has us here

so I'm going to

pray for the offering

we don't take offering

and we talk about

that all the time

they're in the blue

purple envelopes

as you feel like

God has led you

and you give

in response to that

in these kiosks

but I'm going to try

something we've never

done before

I'm going to pray

for the offering

because I feel like

God wants us

to use it

in amazing ways

for his kingdom

and I think

we need to be praying

that we're in step

with his spirit

as he leads us

in that direction

let me pray for us

Father we just

thank you for this day

we thank you

that you are

in control

and we are not

we thank you

that despite

all of our best

plans

that they

they don't mean

anything

if you're not there

and if often

they don't mean

anything

if you're there

because you change

those things

and you teach us

something different

you teach us

something about yourself

and you teach us

something about you

and so Lord

I just pray

for today

as we think about

what it means

to walk in your spirit

that we would be

people who would

trust you

as a big God

to change our lives

to empower us

with the power

of your Holy Spirit

that we would feel

your presence

that we would

walk in that power

and that strength

and your kingdom

would be different

as we walk

in that way

and Lord

we thank you

for this tithe

these money

it's kind of funny

it's your money

it's kind of like

our kids asking us

money so they can

buy us a Christmas present

it's our money

and we give it to them

and they buy

something amazing

or something not so amazing

and we act amazed

but it's our money

but they give it back

to us

and in that same way

we come to you

and we present

your money

back to you

and we know

that even as you do that

your word says

that you're amazed

and so we pray

for the tithe

today

and the next couple weeks

as we continue

to be about planting

and reaching out

and planting churches

we pray for the money

that you've entrusted

to us

that we would be

faithful stewards

of it

and use it

to expand

your kingdom

and Lord I confess

even now

we don't know

actually what exactly

that looks like

because you're continuing

to bring new things

into our lives

and into our family here

but I pray

that we would be open

to those things

I pray that we'd be open

to your spirit

moving in our life

and so we pray

for the university

and that church

they're planting right now

that it would make

a difference

in the Philippines

and lives would be changed

and your son

would be lifted up

and glorified

and exalted

and so Father

I pray

for our church family

right now

I pray especially

for Pastor Trois

that you would be with him

that you would strengthen him

that you would block aside

the attacks

that are happening

in his life right now

that he would feel

your presence

and your goodness

and I pray for all of that

all of us

because I know

that if we are your children

we experience that too

in our journey

and so we pray

for the food

and for the sun

and for the fellowship

and for the beach

and for the community

and for Cyberport

and for the west side

of Hong Kong Island

and for the 200,000 people

here who speak English

who don't know you

94%

and for the thousands

of people

who speak Cantonese

and Tagalog

and so many other languages

who are walking

in darkness

help us to be faithful

help us to be a good family

to show them your son

we love you

and we pray these things

in your son

in Jesus name

amen

okay so this is

just so you won't miss me

at the beach

I'll be wearing this

okay

so we'll see you

at one o'clock

for the buses

and if not at one

we'll meet you

at St. Stephen's Beach

there's a lot of food

a lot of drinks

and God bless you

and we'll see you here

or there

take care