12+1 Core Values: Generosity Branded | Pr Alvin Keng

You're listening to a message to go from X Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Generosity branded. And yeah, you know, before I start, I

just want to encourage all of us that, you know,

I was saying that in PJ just now that I've

been in X for about, let me count, 21 years already. 2005, yeah,

21 years, about 21 years. 22, 21 years, that's quite long.

And the thing about our church is that our church is, well,

I wouldn't say unique, but I think the Lord has

a special call for us for certain things. And why

are we doing all these core values, right? Because for me,

because growing up in the church, this is not new

to me. Again, I mean, for some of us here

who have been in Acts for a long time, like me, John,

and different ones, you know, this is not new to us.

You know, it's not new. And we've heard it from

Pastor Kenneth before, how he came out with it, you know,

and it was good. You know, it was inspired by

the Holy Spirit, drawn out from Acts chapter 2. And

Acts 2 · chapter mention

it's very important that we understand this. But of course,

as the church go by, you know, looking back, when

we started coming to the church, we were probably YY,

campus student. Hi, Victor. Victor, probably the time when, campus student, right?

When you came to X? Just graduated. And then now married,

going to have kids soon. But yeah. And then now

I have kids, okay? John has kids, right? You know,

and our kids didn't go through this, you know? And

of course, you guys are here and some of you

are new, you know, to X, you know? And, you know,

I always like to tell people this, something that you

got to think about is that everything you experience in

life or everything you enjoy, you know, like even here

in the church, you like it, it came from the

sacrifice and the building blocks of the past, right? You

know that? Do you realize that? Even if you look

at our country, what we enjoy today comes from the

building blocks of people who sacrificed in the past. They

may not enjoy it, they may not experience it, but

they've gone through it. It's almost like me being an

old uncle telling you, you're a young fellow, you better

appreciate it. In a way, yes. But I think it's

not just appreciate. I think we need to have awareness

of where it came from. And if you're not careful

or if you don't realise, the problem is that we

will start, well, not just taking things for granted, we

will start not practising the things that we should practise

and then after a while, you won't look or you

won't enjoy or the people that come later will not

enjoy the stuff that you're enjoying today. You all catch that? Right? Right?

Same in family as well, you know, my kids are

able to enjoy what I sacrifice, right? You know, and

of course, we want the next generation to be better.

So why are we doing 12 plus 1 core values?

Because we want to be able to let you know that,

you know, all that we experience in our church is

because we practice these values. All that you experience and

all that we've seen happen in our church, the growth,

the the transformation, the testimonies, is because of Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

That's where the church first started. Right? And it's good

to have that awareness. Because if not, we will come

and we will do our own thing and try our

own thing and after it looks funny, you know, or

looks different, you know. And then, it's funny, you know,

I realised, you know, come, wah, you know, so boring.

Then do, then change. Then after that, it gets worse.

Then you say, ah, yeah lah, you know. Not realising

that they are the ones that created the mess. You

get me? It's very funny, you know, suddenly we come

to that place. So, I always like to think about

it this way. I always like to think about alignment.

I always like to think about what are the things

that if I practice, it will put me in a

better place. And these are things. So if you're here

and you're an XPU, my encouragement for you is this.

Although we are finishing this series, but it's not finished.

It is stuff we practice every day. It's stuff we

do every day. It is things we practice as a church.

It's not going to, next year it's going to change,

no more church. No, no, no, no, no, no. The

reason why X is who we are today is because

of the values. Our DNA, what we believe in, what

we do. And we have to understand that because if

we don't, and we don't, how to say, if we

don't embody that, if we don't practice that, then it

will look different. And then the thing that you, the

thing that maybe when you started, you joined, you experienced,

will start looking different and you'll start feeling different and

then you'll start blaming a lot of things, not realizing

that actually we never kept the faith. You get what

I mean? Or we never kept the values. Yes. Because

there's a change there. I thought I just want to

bring some awareness. Because it's very easy to just point

and say, ah, these leaders all ah. But actually, we

practice not. Because if, let's say, because today we're going

to talk about generosity branded, right? And let's say you

experience generosity, but if you're not generous, then the next

generation won't experience generosity. Y'all catch that? Okay, so let's

talk about it a little bit. Acts chapter 2, verse

Acts 2:44–45

44 to 45. Oh, now I know why BJ is

so quiet. Because the first time I started like that also,

it feels like gonna marah like that. Are you guys okay?

Hi, everybody.

Because you're very quiet, just like, no, no, no, I'm

not scolding you all. I'm just giving you awareness, okay?

Acts chapter 2, 44, 45 says, now all who believe

Acts 2 · chapter mention

are together and have all things in common and sold

their possessions and goods and divided them among all as

anyone had need. That's where it came from, okay? Of course,

we read other things. Do you, do you, okay, let

me ask you a question. Do you like this line,

a generous church? How does it sound to you, a

generous church? How does it sound to you? Sounds good?

I like this line. Do you know that I confidently

tell everybody that X church is a generous church? Some

of you are like, huh, sure or not? Generous, meh?

But I also not generous? I say, don't know, then

that's your problem lah. But I believe that my church

is a church, and I have, and not just that,

I have proof of concept. My claim is evidence-based, which

I'll share with you after this. Wow, I'm using all

these terms, Sharon. All these education terms. I'm getting myself

ready for, I don't know, maybe one day master's. Do

you know that when we read the Bible, we see

generosity everywhere? Read, we just read it. Hey, who does this?

Sold their possessions and good and divided them among all.

Not sold their possessions and good and gave to the church. Hello,

have you read properly? Sold their possessions and good and

divided them among all as anyone had need. Isn't that generous?

You read Acts chapter 4, generosity. Do you know that

Acts 4 · chapter mention

our God is a generous God? Right? Where? The famous scripture.

For God so loved the world that He, His only

begotten Son, He gave first. He didn't take. He didn't demand.

He gave first, friends. God is not a cruel God.

God is a generous God. If you read the entire Bible,

you read generosity everywhere. So isn't it cool that I

can say and we can claim that we are a

generous church. Right? How come my pastor can say stuff

like that? Well, because we are and I'll prove to you, okay?

So let's talk about generosity a little bit. Do you

know that generosity is powerful? What do I mean by that? Well,

generosity can heal. Right? Think about it. It builds. Being

generous builds. Right? It brings people together. Don't you think so?

Generosity can fill up voids. Do you know that generosity

can help fulfill dreams? It does. It's powerful. Do you

know that generosity is something everybody understands? Everybody gets generosity,

you know? The next slide. Everybody gets generosity.

Oh, sorry.

I didn't write that down. Yeah, you can go back.

I also don't know my slide. Yeah. But it's okay.

Not your fault, my fault. generosity is what people understand.

Because people might not understand Christian jargon. Hey, brother, you

know Jesus or not? Do you know that he died

for your sins or not? Do you know he died

on the cross? Do you know this thing about, you know,

when you sin and then, you know, you need to

replace the blood with sin and then it's a blood thing,

it's a blood covenant. Do you know that? Do you

know about justification and sanctification and predestination and all these

other shuns? That you never hit before in your life?

Do you know that? Do you know you need to

accept Jesus as your brother? Do you know? If not,

you go to hell. No, bro. Do you think people

understand that? They don't. But would they understand generosity? You

need anything? Money. Let me give you money. Do you

know that people understand generosity? Think about it.

Okay?

Okay. They might not understand things, but they understand generosity.

Do you know that... Now we can go to the

next slide. You know, when we are not revived in

our hearts, let's do a bit of self-reflection, okay? Because

I've been there. When we are not revived in our hearts, revived,

you know, on fire for God, right? Do you know

that it's very easy to think about ourselves when we're

not revived? Yeah, people, it's all about me, right? And

most of the time, when you're on fire, you don't

think about a lot of things. You don't think about

being taken for granted. You don't think about, it's all

about me. But when you're not revived, it's all about you,

you know? Why they do this to me? Why the... Now,

Pastor talking about generalist, asking for... When you're not revived,

when a person has not revived, right? And I've been

there before, it's easy to be stingy. It's easy to

be worried, is that enough for me or not?

Right?

But every time a person is revived, think about it,

think about that person, that friend, think about yourself. Every

time the person is on fire for God, revived, the

by-product is generosity. Right?

Right?

The by-product. It's not even, I'm not talking about the

main thing, I'm talking the by-product is generosity. The person

can't help but being generous when they are revived. It's

not about them anymore, it's about others. Right? Every time

a person is revived. Do you guys watch the missions report?

I don't know, is there today? Yeah, so you all

saw the missions report, right? So why do I say

X Church is a generous church? Let's talk about the

organization first, then we'll go deeper, right? So we had

a missions report and you see the para-church contributions that

we get. Aren't you glad that our church contributes to

other people? That we don't spend money on, you know what,

let's buy the latest guitar so that you can have

better sound to worship God, right, and connect God. Do

you know that, yes, it's important, but do you know

that that's not our focus? Do you know that we

don't focus on things like that? Huh? Pastor Steven, why here?

Got nicer hotel, nicer seats. Why can't after church we

go for a buffet? Church got a lot of money, right?

Do you know that we don't focus on that? Right?

Because that's about us, me, me, me. No, we think

about others. When NECF writes to us and say, hey,

we need support because NECF does a good job, it

is an opportunity and a chance to be generous. When

Malaysian Care writes to us, Malaysian Care is doing great work.

If you don't know, Malaysian Care is going to research.

Malaysian Care helped me. Without Malaysian Care, we would not

have Timmy Ministry. Without Malaysian Care, I wouldn't be doing

what I'm doing. So I give them all the honour. Right?

And I'm thankful because they are doing good work. You know?

When they write to us, it is a chance to

be generous. But can I be honest? Although it's a chance, sometimes,

And I know it's not you guys here, it's people.

Let's generalize it a little, people. Sometimes you're tempted with

the amount, right? Do we give 10K? Do we give 5K?

Do we give 1K? Because a lot of people, right,

when they give, it's just token only, you know that

or not? I just give you a token. Actually, you

don't need one. Other people support you, right? Nah, I

just give you a token, right? You know, we don't

want our church, right, to come to a place, right,

we're just giving tokens and we are pleasing our conscience. Right?

So that we can give and say, ah, I'm a

nice person. I give, ma. I give, really, ah, Pastor Steven.

I give, really, ah, Missions Conference. I give, really, ah,

every pledge. I give, really. I'm nice, my... It's not

like this other brother that didn't give anything or this

other sister. No, friends, we don't do that. Because if

we give, we want to make sure we give in

a way that really helps the problem. Don't you think

that's more powerful? It's not about token. It's not about token.

We want to give in a way that makes a difference.

Do you know how that would feel? Not for you,

because for us, it might not feel anything. Right? We

want to be able to give that way. And I'm

so glad that I'm in a church that gives that way.

That the leadership knows how to give. That the leadership

knows how to be generous. You know? That's why I

say we are a generous church. Do you know that

a lot of self-reflection today, so I'm sure you guys

will be quiet after this, okay? But I'm not knocking

any of you. I'm just encouraging you to consider some things, right?

Giving really speaks about our priorities in life. It does.

Giving also keeps our hearts soft when we give, right?

And giving keeps our focus on God and not us.

Will you agree? Okay. A bit hard to think about

ourselves when we give, you know? I think a lot

of us, especially those that are giving out of a need,

we'll be really thinking about God. God really got to

help me. You know? Yeah, it does. It does. And

giving also reminds us that He gave His Son first

to us. I'm talking about us as believers. Of course,

if you're out there and people believe in other things,

they give to get. I give so I can have

good karma.

Right?

We don't do that. We don't give to have any

good karma. There's no reason besides that God has gave

and we should be generous. Right? Friends, if our church, ex-church,

can remain generous, we can remain soft in God's hands.

Because a generous person is not a hard person, correct?

Have you ever seen a hard person who's generous? Maybe

he is hard on things, but when it comes to

giving to a particular thing, you'll notice that the person

is very soft. Right? Maybe a hard boss and But

the moment you see the generous comes out, it's soft.

It's soft. Right? A generous person's heart is always soft

in the needs of others. Correct? And a soft heart,

God can move. A hard heart, very hard to move.

But a soft heart, God can move. Right? That's why

we pray that X Church, we will be a church

that continues to be generous so that we can remain

being clay in God's hands. That's the focus. It's not

about the money, friends. God don't need our money. Our

God don't need our money, seriously. He doesn't. He doesn't

need it. It's more for us than for Him, right?

Let me read 2 Corinthians. If you're wondering, where is

this coming from? Well, in the Bible, in the Scripture,

it says, 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6-8 says, But this

2 Corinthians 9:6–8

I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let

each one give as he purposes in his heart, not

grudgingly or necessitating. That's why, you know, that's the thing

I love about church is we teach this, you know. Hey, friends,

if you're giving out of compulsion, if you're giving out

of stress, don't give, please. Don't do it. We won't

encourage you to do it. Because it says here that

God loves a cheerful giver. But why? He loves a

cheerful giver because the Bible encourages us. Don't give out

of grudgingly or necessarily. Pastor, guilt trip me. No, I'm

not guilt trip anybody. Please, if you feel that way,

don't give. Because that's not a generous heart. Right? It's

not about the giving. It's by the condition of your heart, right? Right?

And this is the kicker. It says, continues saying, and

God is able to make all grace abound to you.

That you always having all sufficiency in all things may

have an abundance for every good work. We got to

read the scripture in its entirety, friends. This scripture just

tells me The only way where a person can be

generous and be cheerful giving is if that person understands

who is God in their life. You all catch it

or not? Let me give you this concept. It's all

about mindset, okay? Understanding and mindset, okay? Scarcity mindset or

abundance mindset. This one's quite powerful for some of us.

And I do understand because I used to have a

scarcity mindset growing up. Now, I remember the day where

I literally had to like fight with my dad to

get five ringgit for allowance. And I got so upset.

And I was from three at the time, I remember. Okay, young, teenager.

I got so upset. And I won't fault my dad,

you know, because again, scarcity mindset, right? I got so

upset that I purposely went to find a job as

a waiter to prove to him that I can work

and earn money. That's how on fire I was, real fighter, right?

And then I learned, just a word of advice for

all of you, please be nice to your waiters because

you don't know what they'll do to your food. Right?

Please be nice to your waiters because there are many

ways we can do things to your food. Not me,

not me. The people that I work with. So a

scarcity mindset, I grew up with that, unfortunately. I grew

up with not having a lot. So I had that

scarcity mindset. And I went the other direction, you know,

But I've learned to have an abundance mindset. I've learned

to understand who God is. Not who my father on earth,

not how much money I have. No, who God is

in my life. Right? Because when I am able to

be a cheerful giver and give purpose in my heart,

not grudgingly, not out of necessity, not out of compulsion,

God is able to make all grace abound to me.

And I've experienced it. So I've got some testimonies to share. Right?

My encouragement to you. It's also a thought process about

faith over fear. This is a constant thing that we

struggle with. And it's very normal struggle, friends. Can I

tell you that if you struggle with this, you're not weird?

You're just like the rest of us. Because I also

struggle with faith over fear. Right? But the cool thing

about God is when you overcome one struggle, you get braver.

Or I say that God gives you another mountain to climb.

Sometimes I'm like, oh God, enough mountains. I'm very tired already.

Right?

Can you just keep me here? Right? You know, I

can trust in you different things, but it feels like

the thing I'm trusting in you have more zeros coming

at the back with no decimal points, you know? And

I'm like, how? But that's the thing. He wants to

stretch our faith because without faith, it is impossible to

please God. So faith over fear mentality, a scarcity mindset

or abundance mindset, something for us to think about, right?

Because it's difficult to be generous if we have a

scarcity mindset. But if we have an abundance mindset and

if we understand that we are stewards and the Lord

is there with us, it might help us be a

little bit more generous. Y'all catch that? And also, It

requires faith to be generous. And I'm not saying faith

like the gila kind of faith, like, you know, because

I also believe God's not, how to say, God won't

ask you to do things that will put you in

trouble one. Can I say that? He won't challenge you

to do things that will put you in trouble one, right?

But he'll always challenge you to stretch your faith and

to trust him more, correct or not? And generosity is

one way to do that, right? Can I share with

you this other idea? Generosity led by principles and not emotion.

Y'all catch that? Generosity led by principles and not emotion. Huh?

What does that mean? Nowadays, you know, having the opportunity

to lead and to advise young adults and different people

and being a shepherd, right? I've learned, well, I learned

the trick or maybe, I've learned the trick or I've

learned the principle of giving wisdom to people, it always

has to be based on what the Bible says. That's

why I say it's principle-led, not emotion-led. Decisions that are principle-led.

You know, the way to lead the church, our friends,

cannot be by personality, you know. Cannot be by my preference, though.

It has to be by principle or by the leading

of the Holy Spirit. And do you know that the

leadership of the church, this church, have led that way?

Especially Pastor Kenneth. Holy Spirit say do, he'll do, you know.

And we are blessed because of it. Do you know that?

You might not fully agree, but you are blessed. We

all really know. Right? We have experienced it for those

that understand. Right? So this thing about generosity as well,

led by principles. Generosity led by the Holy Spirit, not

by opinion or motivations. Do you know there are a

lot of opinions out there about how things should be done? No,

it's Holy Spirit. It has to be Holy Spirit led.

When you are generous... when the Holy Spirit and the

Lord is challenging you and you're generous because of that

and you're obedient because of that, you will be blessed.

You will understand what faith is. Not opinions. Opinions doesn't

bring you anywhere. Emotions doesn't bring you anywhere. Do you

know that? It doesn't. I have seen how when people

become generous and I've experienced how when people become generous,

led by the Holy Spirit, there is fruit one, no.

There is changed lives one, no. Things are happening, you know.

That's the crazy thing about it. Have you experienced it before?

Maybe you need to stretch your faith. Let me share

with you the legacy of our church. Like I said,

I've been in Acts Church for very long. The legacy

of our church is that we are a generous church,

despite having little. And it's interesting that our campus pastor

is here in this church, because I'm going to share

a testimony when Acts Church started. Why we are so

big on campus students? Because Acts Church started with campus students.

Campus students no money one, friends. Okay, nowadays, right, campus

students got a lot of money, I realise. Nowadays, campus

students got a car, can buy chagi, can go bouldering

every week. Last time, campus students are very different. Last time,

campus students want to go to church, have to take bus,

you know. Must got moto, right? No car. Car means

you're best friend. I just recently spoke to a girl.

She said, oh, I'm driving. I said, ah, like that?

Are you everybody's best friend? She's like, no lah. I'm like, huh, why?

When I had my car, nice little Kancil, I was

everybody's best friend because no one else have car. But

I guess now every campus student got car. Mummy, daddy,

very nice. Go and buy for them. Good. Okay? The

last time ex-church, don't have. And when we are church

of 60, imagine we have this testimony. We are church

of 60. We raised up, I think, if I'm not mistaken, 5,000

or 10,000 US dollars to build a church in Bihar.

John will remember this. Were you in campus when you came? No,

this is after that, right? Yeah? I remember that. I

also didn't experience that. But the church, no. Campus student allowance, no.

Build a church, no. You might be thinking, ah, real

or not the church? Real, because I went and see

the church. I was part of the team that went

and saw the church and they were doing amazing work.

And it was crazy testimonies about how they were, you know,

it was the poorest state in India. I hope now know,

but it could still be that. And they were giving

the kids there a lifeline, you know, by the obedience

and the generosity of campus students, Pastor Steven. That's the

potential we have, right? And I was there, and I

remember hearing this testimony about how the villagers were so blessed,

and they had Hindu extremists. They wanted to burn down

the school because the school was a Christian school. They,

no qualms, man. They wanted to burn down. The villagers came, ah,

and held hands surrounding the school and say, over our

dead body. Because they are taking care of our kids here. Friends,

these are like years later after we built the school,

you know. What can generosity bring? We are a generous church. Amen?

That's the legacy we have. These stories, you don't know. Okay?

That's the legacy we have. Right? Amen? Let me give

you an example that might be a little bit more

closer to home. Okay? But I'll start with this. Generosity

led by principles. So during COVID, right? Don't show yet.

During COVID, I remember we were all at home. Okay?

All very free. Some was going crazy because we had

meetings and kids' school to go through. Some of the

single ones were also going crazy because they were lonely.

Everybody going crazy. And I remember there was a movement.

There was a You all remember this or not? A

white flag movement. Where after a few months, I think

six months into COVID, there were different ones who may

not be as, you know, may not have enough like us.

Maybe those who are poorer and all, they were struggling.

They were day wage earners or people who couldn't work

because they were not essential. And they were struggling because

after a while, there's no food to eat, you know. Like,

for some of us, we still can grab, you know,

ask mummy to grab for us and stuff, still okay.

But these were people that they had to rely on,

and they had no wage. And they were struggling. Your

neighbour could be struggling, no food to eat. And I

remember that this movement, and I was really praying, like, Lord,

cannot be, during COVID, our church, okay, there are a

lot of conversations that we got there, it was crazy.

One of it was, Lord, Can you plant church during COVID?

He said, can. Be you started, okay? Then the next

question is, Lord, cannot be during COVID, all these things happening,

the church is just useless. Wow, use strong words, useless.

The church do nothing. Cannot be. I prayed. And then

God spoke. James chapter 1 verse 2. Pure and undefiled

James 1:2

religion before God and the Father is this, to visit

orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself

unspotted from the world. Deuteronomy 10.18. He administers justice to

the fatherless and to the widow and loves the stranger,

giving him food and clothing. That was what God said

in the Word. See, generosity led by principle. That's the principle. Right?

I'm like, okay, let's do something. So, Pastor Alvin, it's

a great idea. Like, nothing to do. Everybody's stressed out.

Everybody's going crazy. Pastor Alvin say, hey, let's do something

as a church. The time XBU haven't started yet. But

this is your legacy. Okay? Let's do something as a church.

I got in touch with the adun. And I said,

can you find, do you have families like this that

we can contribute? We will commit six months. As much

as 100 ringgit only. 100 ringgit, to me, not a

lot of money. 100 ringgit. And we say, let the

homes handle it. Okay? Let the homes handle it. And

this is what happened. Right? So we met, planned together, COVID,

have to do Zoom meeting, right? Then Matt planned together

and then we bought a hundred ringgit worth of food

and we delivered it to different families. Because like, hey,

cannot go see, cannot visit, can send grab, right? So

we did that. We had 10 families that we did that. Right?

You see some familiar faces, right? I don't know who's this,

you know, not familiar. Yeah. Then we have Paul, you know.

Paul had a great idea. He's like, oh, I cannot go.

I send Grab. I pass the food to Grab and

then Grab will send to them. And then we had

Aris and Cathy. And then there's Celine. Celine, that time,

no car yet. She was using e-scooter. She e-scooter all

the items, right? And then this couple also, look very familiar.

Cannot recognize because cover the face. This is a legacy

that you all have now. I'm talking about legacy, right?

They went and they gave. Guys, they gave. I remember,

I don't want the, some of you would know this

because you directly deal with them, the reps directly deal

with them, right? Because at that time, I remember the

home leaders all were stressed. I'm like, no, no, no,

what are you doing? Just find someone in your homes. Huh?

Find someone in your homes. Someone, one person that can help.

But I tell you, the testimonies that came back was amazing. Right?

We've got people praying for them. I know one of

this old lady, if I can remember the story correctly,

if she didn't get our stuff, she would have gone

hungry for like, don't know how long. You know, some

of them. And you might think, okay, those that are

more sceptical, a little bit like me, might think, maybe

they're taking you all for granted. Actually, they can afford one.

Do you know that some families, during this is another testimony,

after three months, they tell us, no need already. We

are okay. Help another family. Stop your contribution, please. Who

would do that if they want to take you for granted?

And it's not a lot, no? I remember when we did.

It wasn't a lot, the effort. Six months we committed. Right?

So many testimonies that come out of it. Just because

we were generous. Amen? Let me tell you another testimony,

quite powerful one. Because we set a certain amount of things,

like 100 ringgit set a certain amount of things, and

then after a while, the homes, out of their own compassion,

they say, eh, Pastor Alvin, can we adjust the grocery

a bit? Can we change some of the things because

they don't need it? You know, maybe some of the families,

they have kids, they got no milk, no. Can we buy?

I'm saying, of course! Do whatever you think is necessary.

We are not so strict until we're like, no, whatever

that helps them. Whatever they need. Because that's the goal, right?

Some even ask, RM100, can we top up? Because we realise,

I'm like, of course, if your home is on top up,

go ahead. I'm not going to stop that. Right? But

can I tell you, to get things going in the

beginning was difficult. Because everybody was quite preoccupied. But after

the testimonies came, the church understood her role So powerful.

This is what I mean by generosity led by principles,

not just compulsion. Amen? Principle versus perseverance. Think about that

a little bit. Sorry, preference, not perseverance. You know, if

you are, I mean, if we are really honest to ourselves, right,

a lot of times we steer towards preference. I prefer

this timing, I prefer that, but we don't realise that

actually if we lead ourselves by principle, we will be

in a better place. It's always preference one. You know,

But thank God, things in our church is led by principle,

not preference. It's led by principle, not personality. Right? Not personality.

I don't think you can grow the church. I mean,

can lah, maybe lah. The church can grow with personality.

After a while, I don't think it will survive. I

don't know lah. Okay, wow, very strong to say things

like that. You know? But it's not personality, friends. I'm

so thankful that our church is a generous church. by principle,

by practice, by our core value. And yes, I might

be sharing this and you might be thinking, okay, you're

sharing all this, you're a church leader. Friends, I have

experienced it myself. Let me go to the next testimony.

I got a photo to show you all.

Ah!

Did I pick this photo to talk about my wedding

and just pick this photo for fun just to show

you all? Yes! Let's see the next one. Ah! My

pretty wife. Still very pretty. No, let's go to the

proper photo. Next one, next one. Yeah, my wedding. Okay,

let's talk a bit about my wedding. I might have

shared this before, but I remember one week before my wedding,

you know, I always encourage couples because of my experience.

I say, hey, a lot of couples worry like, no

money to get married. I say, guys, I'll give you

two advice. One is, the Lord provide because the church

you're in is a generous church. But I must clarify

that because I clarified that in PJ. Not just any

couple in Acts. God loves everyone. But I believe that

the couple that really honours the church and really is

committed to the church, the Lord will honour you back.

Because I also know a lot of couples and I'll

be honest with you. So if you're like that, please

don't be. Come to church, get married and say bye-bye.

Where are you? What happened now? Just come to church,

get married. Don't do that. I'm not talking to you.

They're here. Just have to look at them. I can't

look at anyone else because I know they'll be here.

But I believe that if you call access your home

and you're committed, don't worry. The Lord will provide. Because

we've heard of many testimonies about how God provided for

not just couples but the people in our church. You know?

So I remember one week before, I was down 5,000 ringgit.

I got this testimony. I got 5,000 ringgit And friends,

can I be honest with you that I was full-time? Full-time,

we trust in the Lord. That's all, as much as

I'll say about that. And I was worried. I couldn't sleep.

I didn't tell my fiancé at that time because I know... No,

I joked. I said, oh, if she knows, she'll probably say,

let's not get married. But I was committed. I was like, OK,

you know what? Let's just get through this week. Saturday

is the wedding. Get through it. And I will sell

my car. I will do anything. I'll work really hard

just to clear the debt. It's not good to start

the marriage in a debt. So I went and I did.

And somehow, we got married. OK? Happy enough, okay? Didn't

think about the debt. And normally when I do counting,

for practical reasons, I don't count in the... A lot

of people ask me, oh, how about the dinner? I

don't count in the dinner one because the dinner is

an anomaly. The meal is an anomaly, right? Thanks. The

meal is an anomaly. So I normally count only fixed

costs only. Fixed costs, how much I will spend, right?

The dinner, I'm not sure. You know, up, down, just

pray that it's covered. So what happened was, went through

the whole wedding, had a good time, Then at night,

you know. And oh, can I tell you something that

I like about weddings nowadays? I love the QR code.

I tell this to all the parents. Because last time,

remember or not, when you get married, you have to

count the money you want to know, John.

Right?

Must have counting machine. You must have a team of

people who cannot eat. Only that, just count, count, count only.

And then not only that, you have to bank in

the money after that. Think about how dangerous it is

to carry 20,000, 30,000 ringgit to go to the bank

at night. Right? It's crazy, right? Pay the bill and...

QR code is the best. Okay. Let me teach you

all some tips. For you who are going to get

married or still single, just some tips for you. Okay.

You got friends overseas that cannot make it for a wedding,

it's okay. Do live stream. Make sure you have a

slide with your QR code there to ask for contribution. Okay. No, really.

I'm being very practical. For those who are married, too late.

Too late for you. Don't worry. Just enjoy your life.

The Lord provide for you. So that night, My best

man called. Then, of course, first question ah, eh, how ah,

how ah? Then he said, bro, don't worry, don't worry.

Dinner sorted. I'm like, oh, thank God. You know, relief. Yeah, relief, okay,

thank God. Then I ask, I say, go extra. Then

he like, huh, extra? Ah, go, go, go, go. I

think he purposely went, he purposely went, go, go, go, go,

because he knew I was worried. Go, go, go, go.

Then I like, hmm, go ah. Okay, okay, okay. Don't worry,

don't worry, I'll bank it for you.

Go, go, go.

Then I like, okay, okay. How much ah? He still

want to ask how much. Then I remember he said, 23,000. Wah,

I cried. On the spot. Not because of anything, but

because that God was good, He provided. And that, can

I see the next photo? And that my church was

generous to me. My church was generous to me. My

dinner ah, friends, I had one table ah, Full of teens.

Because that time I was in teens ministry. Let me

tell how practical I think. Right? One table teens ministry.

Do you know that teens, right? They go for wedding dinner, right?

Let's just say I didn't expect anything. That table just give.

So one table gone already. Okay? For those who understand

what I'm talking about. Right? And I was in teens ministry, friends.

But the Lord provided. The Lord is good. I told,

I tell you, I'll give you two advice. I'll give

one more advice. Very wise advice that Pastor Sandra gave

me when I was worried about my wedding. She said this,

even poor people get married, right? You are going to

be okay. Got another testimony to share with you. Next photo.

You might not know fully because I think during that

time I was sharing more with PJ. I might have

shared here a little bit. But in And 2022, my

mom was, she had a seizure. She was in Brisbane.

She was there. And she was stuck there for a month.

And it was one of the lowest moments in my

life because don't know what to do. Every day was stressful.

You know, still had to really pick up myself and

prepare message, you know. How do you prepare message that

God will be good to you when you feel like

everything is down? It's tough. It was tough. Every night

I was praying. Every night I woke up and prayed.

You know, and it was tough because think about it.

I mean, this picture is a picture of her. So finally,

in the end, a week before Christmas, the testimony is

that we managed to get her well enough to do

an emergency evacuation. This white guy over here, he's a nurse, right?

We have to hire him. He cost $ 15, 000 to just

follow her on the plane and bring her back. Okay.

Okay.

Because my parents got no insurance. So everything out of pocket.

And then, of course, this is me receiving them from

the airport. And after that, put her in the hospital.

So during that season, right, it was very stressful. Don't

know what was happening. The bills every day slowly going.

Every single day was a decision need to be made.

At the end of everything, right, I owe the, we owe,

or my mum owed, the Australian hospital $ 60, 000 Aussie dollars.

That's about RM180. You're not stressed, I'm very stressed. Can

I tell you that I'm not... I don't have millions

in the bank. no. And the last I checked, so far,

I joke about rich uncle. So far, my uncle all

not rich. Not yet. I'm still waiting. I'm still waiting.

It was very stressful. How? She come back, how? How

to pay the bill? So expensive. By the end, So

my mom passed on a week later. Again, another testimony.

I won't share much about that. But can I give

you the encouragement that God provided and he was generous

to me because we managed to collect through the generosity

of different people a smaller amount. I won't say how much,

but a small amount. Definitely not enough to cover the bill.

But when we sent an email to the hospital and

we said, this is all we had, they wrote back

and said, it's okay. just give this and we will

clear the bill. So there was no debt, no stress.

So God provided. Let me tell you another thing that

happened to me that happened that a lot of people

don't know because during that time, especially the first few weeks,

it was very uncertain, you know. And I'm very thankful

for the different help that different one gave, like help

and advice. I remember Yan Shan and, you know, her

husband gave me, I still remember... Yvonne actually gave me

the Commissioner of Australia's contact. I still have the number

in my phone. I'm like, well, how do you get

this number? Because it was very difficult to get a visa.

In the end, my visa got approved. But I didn't go.

And it was tough because you want to fly not cheap. Brisbane, no.

It's not Penang, Singapore, no. I don't have a few

thousand ringgit lying around in an emergency. So it was

very difficult. But one of my really close friends is

someone from the church. Not here, but back in PJ.

While we were talking and everything, suddenly out of the blue,

he transferred me 10K. That's the most amount that I've

received personally from anybody in my life. I was shocked.

I didn't ask for it. Right? Right? And I remember

he said like, no, just take it, don't worry about it.

You know, I felt led to. But, and in the end,

that 10K, I could use for different things, to pay

for different bills. I tell you what the 10K, I

tell you, I will never forget this gesture from this person.

For some of us, maybe, I mean, some of us here,

maybe 10K is not a lot. Some of us, 10K

is a lot. Some of us, maybe, ah, 10K only, right? Right?

For me, it was a lifeline and it was a

breath of fresh air when I was suffocating in the situation. See,

it's not about the money, you know, friends. Can I

be honest? It's not about the money because money can

find one. Yeah, it was good. It helped. But when

I received that, right, there are two things that happened.

Number one, it was an indicator that God was still

with me despite what was happening. God used this person

to bless me, but it was a real indicator like, okay, God,

you're still here. when I didn't know, when everything was down, right?

That was one. And the other thing that it gave

me a bit of peace, because now I didn't have

to worry another additional problem. I already had $ 40, 000 Aussie

dollars to worry about. Then now I have to worry

about whether I can fly or not. At least one

is sorted. I've experienced the generosity of our church. This

is why when I tell people that our church is generous,

I'm not just telling you for fun, no. is evidence-based.

I have proof of concept. I've experienced how God is

generous to me, how the partners are generous to me.

I've experienced how when we are generous to other people,

other people are blessed. Amen? Do you know that generosity

doesn't always have to be in the area of money?

It can also be treasure, time and talent. Do you

know that when you are generous, you practice the first

and the second greatest commandment? Do you know that? This

is the first and great commandment. And second is like this.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. That's the second one.

And of course, you know the first one. You shall

love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul,

and mind. Right? Generosity is the expression. Let me share

with you one last testimony. I got some photos to

show you. So we had the Timmy Autism Conference yesterday. Right?

The testimony is that we had about 105 people come.

We gave out maybe about 18 free tickets. The rest

all signed up. And I mean, you guys know the

heart of it. Okay, yeah, you can show. Okay, go next.

So this is the amount of people that came. Okay,

can you go to the last picture? So this, if

you recognize these faces, these are all our church partners.

Can I tell you that the generosity of... if we

didn't have the generosity of the church, if we didn't

have the generosity of the church partners, the conference would

not have run. It was just me. You know, one

of the things that I'm very aware and I'm very

thankful of is that if X Church was not backing this,

it would not have happened. Not because just of the venue,

it's the people. The team is so, I tell you,

the team is so tight that a lot of people

come up to me and say, wow, so well run,

so well run. I say, I, Okay, I confess to you,

half the time, I don't know what was happening. Because

my team got it down. Some got, what to do?

I like, I think you ask this person. I think

you ask that person. I had no idea half the time.

I was just there. I was just figurehead, just show face, hello,

shake hand, you know. I didn't do, the rest of

them did everything. If there was no ex-church partners, if

they didn't offer their time and their work, this would

not have happened. If they were not generous with their time,

this one, I'm very aware. If my pastors was not

generous to allow us to do this, I'm very aware,

you know, friends. I think sometimes we got to really

be aware and give credit where credit is due. Because

we enjoy a lot of things in life, but then

now we can take things for granted one. You don't

know where it come from. Or we can become entitled.

You know what entitlement is? Yeah, it's because of me, ma.

Timmy is all about me, right? Yeah, if I not here,

you all won't be able to do. No, friends, I'm

very aware. I'm very aware that if there was no ex-church,

this would not happen. I'm very aware that if Pastor

Kenneth Pasadena didn't allow us to run this, this would

not have happened. Right? I'm very aware of the support

and the prayers from the church as well. And let

me tell you how we are generous as we run

this conference. We only charge people RM100 only for a conference.

And the amount of staff, I tell you, even the

sponsors were generous. Two weeks before, we're getting so much stuff.

You look at the goodie bag. The goodie bag that

they have. I think half the cost of the converse

is in the goodie bag. So many things. I was

so amazed at what God is doing. Again, we're non-profit

and all. And we keep it cheap because I know

that people in this space struggle. But if you know

how much a conference or at least you know how

much a training in special needs costs, you'll be surprised.

We are like the super cheap. But the funny thing

is how cheap we are, so people still ask for discount.

It's a true Asian culture thing. I'm like, we're really

so cheap, you're asking me for discount some more. I'm

giving so much, you're still asking me for discount. I'm like,

it's okay, it's okay. Because some of the conferences will

be about 500 and 1,000 ringgit above. Easy. Right, easy.

So we want to be generous to the parents, to

the families. Friends, the testimony that we've got, you see

a lot of happy faces, right? People come sad, they

go back happy. People come with no hope, you give

them hope. You see all the faces, friends. These are

people that you don't see in church, right? If we

don't do this, right, we will not touch them. You know?

That's why I love my church. Because if don't have ex-church,

all these things won't happen. It's very simple for me.

The formula is super simple. I don't want to overcomplicate it.

And I'm so thankful. So friends, XBU, you are our,

I don't know, 16th? 15th, 16th church plant already? Right?

I think, I don't know, I have to count, number one, right?

We stop counting after a while, right? XBU. XBU in

the future. Any other church plant that you'll be involved

in the future, X Church in the future, friends. Whether

we have more or little, can we continue to remain generous?

Because that is really our saving grace. Because God will

always honour those who are being generous. Amen? Got any

other photo after this? Don't have? Don't have really? Okay.

Can keep to the last one now. Because it keeps

our heart soft, remember? And it keeps our mind in

the right place. That's my encouragement to all of us.

Can we be generous? Can we try? Don't have to

be a lot. A little bit. You know? A little bit.

Let's just try. And if we are struggling when it's difficult,

ask God to help you. Say, Lord, help me. Help

me to be a little bit generous so that I

can be a lot generous. Sometimes it takes practice. You know?

But can we be branded as generous? Wow, these guys

are generous, man. You know? Let me share another thing

about generosity. People who are generous, don't ask a lot

of questions. Recently, I've had the chance to do fundraising

because we need funds to run. Okay, let's be practical.

And the one interesting thing that I've observed, again, I'm

not judging, I'm just observing, telling you observing. The people

that ask me the most amount of questions, right, either

give the most little amount or they don't give at all.

I find it very interesting. But the people that don't

ask me question, no, not even don't ask me question,

the people that give me the most amount, don't ask

question one. They just say, I trust you, I believe

in your vision, go and do what I do with it.

They don't ask question one. But those that ask 10,000 questions,

they are like... Again, I'm not complaining, I'm just saying, good,

you can ask question in very particular, but I've noticed

a trend that if you care a lot until... then

I'm not sure, you know, whether it's generosity or not.

But I noticed that those that are really generous and

really generous one, you're like, oh, you don't need to ask.

I sent you a paper, no need, no need. I'm like, huh,

no need. It's so interesting, you know, this experience. I'm

just sharing you an observation. So friends, just let's be generous. Amen.

And of course, some of us, naturally, we are more.

And that's good. Just keep it up, right? For some

of us, we may not be as. It's okay. Find

opportunities too. Because in the church, there's so much. You know,

FP pledge, all these things. These are opportunities, no? Tithes

and offerings. It's opportunities. How do you look at it?

That's important. What's your perspective of it? I see it, personally,

out of my own experience and all, I see it

as a chance to worship the Lord. And when I give,

it's to the Lord. What happens after that, it's not

my problem. How I manage the money is my problem, right?

How I manage the money in dimming is my problem.

So I really fear and trembling. People give, okay, let's

be careful, you know, don't see me spend, you know,

that kind of thing, right? Be a good steward of it.

That's my problem. But how I give, once I give,

I give it. The Lord will do whatever He wants

with it, right? And that's an important principle to have.

If God nudges me to bless a brother, bless a sister,

be a blessing, after that, that's it. I don't think

so much about it. And I think that's a good

way to approach it. Right? Amen.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit xchurch.org. We are also

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is going to be a good week ahead for you.

God bless.