Builder Of His House | Celina Tan

You're listening to a message to go from ex church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Today, we're going to look into the book of Heguy. Okay.

So I just want to give a little background about

he Guy.

Okay.

So her Guy lived in Jerusalem shortly after many of

the Jews has written from exile in Babylonia.

Okay.

So those who written they have began to rebuild the temple.

But when the opposition comes, okay, from the local enemies,

they actually abandoned the project. Okay, they stopped building, Okay,

the temple that they were rebuilding. So the year was

five hundred and twenty busy, and the city of Jerusalem

was essentially a landscape of unfinished project and unfulfilled promise.

Okay. So there is a picture before that, okay.

So you know, I wanted to know how Jerusalem looks like,

So I went, I cannot find a picture that I like,

So I asked Germini, can you help me to visualize

how Jerusalem looks like when all of them will be

in exile because they cannot attack right by war and

all those whatnot. So everything was in ruin okay. So

when they came back, so of course the first thing.

First they wanted to build the temple, okay, but a

position come they gave up. Okay, they say that, Ah,

you know, I tried to build a temple. It doesn't work.

I want it to be, so I stopped doing Okay.

So it has been nearly seventeen years since the Israelites

were taken into captivity and eighteen years since they finally

returned home. But the most important place in the whole nation,

the Temple of God, was there, sitting in silent, dusty foundation.

Okay.

So now we can visualize that they built the temple

halfway and then they just ignore it.

Okay.

So we usually think of revival as a highly emotional experience, okay,

a sudden exciting rush of wind of the Holy Spirit,

and then everybody's shouting and praising. Okay, But the history

of hair Guy show us something different. Revival isn't just

a feeling, okay, but it's a total shift of priority.

Okay.

So the Israelie has mastered the art of shout. So

when they came back from exile, right, so, they were

shouting praisers.

Yeay, finally I'm free. I'm pretty sure.

That if let's say you're gonna caught by someone, and

then people release you. You know, then you will shouting yay,

I'm finally free.

Right yay.

But then they've forgotten how to use the shovel to build. Okay,

they know that they are free, but then when they

come back, they built halfway a position. Come then they've

forgotten totally entirely who was the one that set them free,

and they just ignore it. So the celebrated coming home

with love praises, okay, and then everything is that's it.

So for sixteen long years, the reconstructions of house gathered dust. Okay,

But one thing that the people were focused on was

building their own house. Okay, So they look at the temple.

No matter how I build, people keep on, you know, uh,

criticizing me, opposition, discouragement, this contentment. I don't want to

build the temple really like I focused on my own house.

I built my house. Okay.

They invested their time, they invested all their resources to

build their own comfortable house. Hanna house, very nicely done. Okay,

and then I have a picture for that. Where's my picture? Yeah?

Can you say the temple?

I don't care, but I build my own house again

I cannot find picture in Google. I asked German and

I to help me do the contrast. Okay, so you

can see when when they were supposed to build the temple,

but the time was invested in building their own house.

So this delay is a perfect picture of sometimes our

spiritual standing okay, our own life. So when we bring

back into the modern lifetime, right, you will realize that

we often sit around waiting for an emotional stirring to

move us. Okay, whether we like it or not, same

goes to me. I'm not hitting anyone per se, but

I'm talking across the board. A lot of times we

sit down to wait for the emotional stirring to move us.

But what is God waiting?

God is waiting for our obedience to stir us. God

is not here to stir us first, then only we obey.

But God wants us to obey first before he stir us.

So every day we have a choice. Are we going

to build our own comfortable life, our own empire, or

are we going to prioritize God's house. So the t

true spiritual awakening began when we look past our own

comfort and to see the reality of what we have neglected.

So God is calling all of us today, okay, to

come back to our to refocus ourselfs, to reprioritize what

we are supposed to put priority first, okay, and to

understand that serving the house of God equates to building

God's house.

Amen. So that is my introduction.

And then you must be saying that you know, yes,

Lena's introduction very good.

Where does this come from? Okay? And where do I

get this?

Uh?

What you call it this inspiration from?

Is when you know this season after the whole U

turn right, I was led to read the minor prophets

in the Bible. Do you know that I always keep

this part because I'm like you talking about all the

prophecy My rain cannot brain it, okay, But this time

I challenge myself to try to brain it, okay. So

as I was reading the Book of Hergui, this words

caught my attention okay, And I'm gonna read from New

Living Translation, even though my slights is from New King James.

But I like how a New Living Translation.

Translated because it gives the date so easy for me

to visualize because the date that was written there is

the date that we used.

Now, okay, you will understand what I'm talking about. Okay.

Start from chapter one, verse one. On August twenty nine

of the second year of King David's reign, the Lord

gave a message to the prophet hair Guide, to Zara Babel,

son of Sheltill, Governor of Judah, and to Jesuas son

of jehuo Zaidad the high priests. This is what the

Lord of Heaven's armies say. The people are saying, the

time has not yet come to rebuild the House of

the Lord. Okay, here this word again, the time has

not yet come to rebuild.

The house of the Lord. Okay.

How do we know it's time or not time? Okay,

So this is what the people say, not time yet,

It's not time to build God's house.

Okay.

Then the Lord sends this message through the prophet hair Guide.

Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house

lies in ring?

Ouch?

Again, why are you living in luxurious houses while my

house lies in ring? This is what the Lord of

Heaven army says. Look at what's happening to you?

Okay.

In new King Join's version, it say consider your waist. Okay,

you have planted much, but hours little you eat but

are not satisfied. You drink, but are still thirsty. You

put on clothes, but cannot keep warm. Your wayes disappeared

as true. You were putting them in pockets filled with holes.

This is what the lod of Heavens Army says. Look

at what's happening to you. See twice the Lord said,

look at what's happening to you. Now go up into

the hills, bring down timber and rebuild my house. Then

I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says

the Lord. You hope for rich hours, but they were poor.

And when you brought your house home, I blew it away.

Why because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord

of heaven Armies, while all of you are busy building

your own fine houses. It's because of you that the

heavens withhold the dew and the earth Earth produces no crops.

I have caught for a drought on your fields and heels,

A drought to wider the grain and grapes and olive

trees and all your other crops. A drought to staff

you and your livestock, and to ruin everything you have

worked so hard to get.

Wow a very heavy word right.

So when I read this, the first respond that I

had was out, when you bring it back into the

modern time, don't you feel that it reflects us most.

Of the time? Right? And when I read this, right,

I was like, all right, I'm sorry.

Because it really it mirrored me as well. Right, it

mirrored the things that I've been through I went through. Okay,

So the spiritual struggles of the Utra began with a

simple excuse, bad timing. Okay, so that was the excuse.

It's a bad timing. It's not a time to rebuild

God's house yet.

Okay.

So that is their argument. So this mindset is a

comfortable trap. And do you know that why I said

comfortable trap. We rarely say no to God, right, God

say hey, uh okay, maybe Crystal Cristol, can you go

for missions?

She would not say no.

She would say okay, God, but wait a let me

give birth to.

My third baby.

Fist right, So you know a lot of times when

God calls us, Okay, I'm not hitting her.

Every time I asked missions, way me, she will say

yes onn.

Okay, all right, I'm just using her as an example

because it's a perfect example. Okay, Yeah, we rarely say

a flat no to God, but we always say, wait, okay,

we just postponed God. Right, So in another word, let's

put it into our our our life. Okay, So what

are some of the weight that we often use when

it comes to serving the Lord in building God's house?

When we were teenager?

Okay, our church leaders say that, hey, is Lena, can

you serve God? And then my uncle will be wait,

I wait until I start college for luck? Okay, because

right now I'm too young. I'm still dependent on my parents.

And then my parents are not believer. They will not

let me come out on Sunday, so earlier, just to

be ready to serve the Lord. Wait, wait, wait, I

go college ready, that I got a bit more freedom

than I would serf. So okay, wait, then when you

are a college student, then your church leaders today, hey,

is Lena, you enter into college ready? I think you

can start serving as a horse ready?

Right?

And then what I say, Leona, I just started college?

Renila can can wait that? Because I just started college ready?

And then there's many assignments I cannot manage my schedule. Well,

I scart if I serve right, I got not enough

time to do my assignment and then write. My lecturer

told me on Monday, I got exam. I haven't studied yet,

so you know, I want to use whatever time before

I come to trash in the morning to study chapter

one Carreta. Maybe when I start working already, I will

have a bit more time because I got no exam

on Monday. Man, right, then I can serve. Right, and

then you become a young working adult. And then Joela said, hey, Selena,

can you start serving in kids? And then I say, uh, Joe,

uh can careta because I just started my word Nila.

You know, sometimes my boss I want me to work

o T. I don't think I have time to plan

any eskids lesson uh? And then plus right, you know,

I cannot afford to lose my job because I just

bought a car and I want to buy a house,

and my financial is not very stable yet, so I

cannot afford to lose my job. So maybe probably a

few months later or one year later, when I get

my confirmation ready, then I start to serve the lord.

Wait and then when you finally gained stability you get promoted.

You say, wait until I retire. Then I will have

more time to serve and then when retirement comes, you're

already okay, how old do we retire?

Sixty years old? Okay?

And then you say that, okay, when I am young

at that time, I've done my share. You know, when

the church got conference, they asked me to serve as

a wholest I went, hiya, but.

Now let the younger generation do the worldler I would

do when I canna.

Wait, there you are wait and the way right? So

these are endless cycle, right. We often say wait again,

I say I'm not hitting anyone because the other experience

that I've been true Okay, haven't retired okay, haven't get

financial stability ever get promoted. But yes I did during

my time, you know, to say that God, wait, but

again I say my even words. You have heard me sharing, right,

God asked me to go. I say Lord, no, okay, yeah,

I I rely tell God no okay, but God caught

me anyway.

Okay.

So there is a lot of endless cycle of waiting.

And then some of your waiting will be different.

Okay.

Maybe you are single and you say that God, wait,

first I find a partner reity that ourself God. Or

maybe then you find your partner reity God, wait first

I get married. I was together with my husband. And

then when you get married, you get pregnant, Say God, way.

First, I let me give both first. Then you give birth.

Readay, say got way fasted when my children grow up first.

There's a lot of wait in our life. We always

tell God to wait. Okay, So there is always a

good reason. Okay, there's always a reason. I'm not saying

that all these are bad reasoner. Okay, there's always a

good reason. But we never seem to find the perfect

moment to serve, whether we like it or not.

We never find a perfect moment to serve. Okay.

Sometimes you know, we can even dress up our excusers

to simply to make it sound spiritual. When your leader

asks you to serve. Okay, when Crystal maybe go to

uh you know, come to me and say that is Selena.

We're gonna enough PC like, can you surf? Or no?

Okay? Not okay?

One Christal okay, oh you say Christal team, come to me, Sea,

We're gonna enough sound personal?

Uh you you have background in technical right?

Can you surfer? Then our answer team?

Let me pray about it.

I haven't feeled God telling me to serve an ex

soun yet and then yeah, very spiritual. And then Mattias

come to me and say that Selena, I need to

go overseas for three months since you always say right

XTIV is a pressing abdoubt. But can you serve in XTIV?

Now? I tell her?

You know what, I sense that God is telling me

that I should serve in keyboard, not computer keyboard, but

the music keyboard.

Right, But can I play keyboard?

No?

I can't.

Okay, I make it sounds spiritual, says the Lord. But really,

did God really tell you that?

You know?

So, if we are completely honest, we have to face

the painful truth. Okay, really what we really have to

face this painful truth? God is not our priority?

Right?

Why do we always have all these kinds of excuses

because God.

Is never our priority.

We may say with our lips that God is number

one in our life, but our life doesn't reflect that

God is number one in our life. And coming to

church become a religious duty. Why I can say that

once upon a time I was like that, I will

share with you at the end of the message.

Right. So to us is lip service.

Is always easy, but the actual service is not so

we tell ourselves we will serve when economy gets better,

when things get better, when our.

Personal lives settled down.

But when So in Guy's time, the people were living

in luxurious wood panel house while God's temples set in ruin. Right,

and this contrast showed where their true devotion lay. And

we must realize that in God's kingdom, delayed obedience is

simply this obedience.

You know.

That's why I said, when I read this right, it

is really a tight slap to my face. So when

we make ourselves the center of our own universe, we

neglect God's work. We end up spinning our wheels. Okay,

we end up like the hamster, running on the wheels

out of our life. And then we still don't find satisfaction.

Okay.

And God showed us the very real physical and spiritual

cost of leaving him out. So we read right in

Worse seven or The Way to Wards eleven, the cost

of putting God outside of the picture. You will you

are working hard, but you get very little. You were

never satisfied. Your pockets, Your pockets are always filled with holes.

Right.

So, during the hair GE's time, the people planted plenty

of seats, but they harvested very little.

Why there is no God's blessing. They were never satisfied.

They eat and drink, but they never feel full because

why there is some emptiness that money and material things

cannot feel on all, right, and.

The pocket is always in hole.

And maybe they say that, yeah, I'm just having a

bad luck, but is it really a bad luck or

is it a wake up call from God? So there

is a wake up call from God.

To all of us.

Why is he blowing away a lot of things that

you try to do to fill in the emptiness in

your life. Sometimes we experience a hollowness in our own life, right,

and we try to find different things to feel it,

to fill in the blank.

But yet we cannot find the satisfaction.

Why because there is certain emptiness that is within us.

Only God can do.

And in order for us to be filled, it's by

acknowledging what God is in our life, right.

And this whole.

Passage here it reminds us what Jesus told us in

Matthew chapter six, verse thirty three. And it's something that

we always remind ourselves. And this is what the Word says.

But sick first, his kingdom and his righteousness. All these

things will be given to you as well. So when

we put other things before God, I can guarantee you

you will end up losing it, losing the very thing

that you work hard for. You work very hard to

protect your earthly thing, and you ignore God. One day

the very thing that you are trying very hard to protect,

you will lose it. And to experience a true spiritual awakening,

you must recognize the damage caused by our own misplaced priority.

So as you reflect upon your life, start to ask yourself,

where is your misplaced priority? And you know, one of

the things that I always ask myself is this, if

there is certain things that my earthly boss asked me

to do and I will never say no to, why

would I say no to to my heavenly boss when

my life is given by my heavenly boss and I

can just say that no God, I'm not free. But

we will never say to our earthly boss saying that

no Boss, I'm not free. Right, we are so afraid

of losing our earthly job, but we never afraid losing

our spiritual eternity. So this is really a wake up

call for all of us. So now we recognize the ruin.

Get the ruin your misplaced priority. And this is the

response that we need to respond to.

Okay.

So I'm going to continue reading from hair Guy chapter one,

verse twelve to fifteen. Okay, so this is what the

word says. I'm reading from NLT again. Then Zerabebel's son

of Shelti, and Jesua son of Jeho's that the high

Priest and the whole remnant of God's people began to

obey the message from the Lord, Dear God.

Okay.

So here he says that they begin to obey Okay,

I have a new preacher here, okay. And when they

heard the word of the of the prophet, her Guy,

whom the Lord God has said.

The people feared the Lord.

Then her Guy, the Lord's messenger, gave the people this

message from the Lord. I am with you, says the Lord.

Okay. So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm.

Of the Rebebel's son of Sheelite Governor of Judah, and

the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehu Zedek, the High Priest,

and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God's people.

They began to work on the house of their God,

the Lord of Heaven armies on September twenty one of

the second year of King's Darius reign.

Okay, So when.

God first sport was August twenty nine, and then they

started working in September twenty first, right, So before we

can build God's house, we need the wake up call.

So God has already given us the wake up call.

So what is our response now? We need to have

experienced a change of heart, So that is something that

we need to do. God wants us to change our

heart to come into total repentance.

That is something that I preach the last message.

We need to be repented of our al ways and

turns towards Him. We need to come to God in

the position of humility, acknowledging his lordship and his sovereignty

over our life. And we need to serve God. Worship

the Lord with clean hands and pure heart. So a

pure and willing heart is a true foundation of serving

the Lord. So what I want to encourage all of

us here is that the Holy Spirit is always there knocking.

On the door of our hearts.

You know, with rue Okay, the Lord is the Holy

Spirit is knocking, okay.

And he's always there. Convict us to.

Do the right thing, and he's always there working in

our hearts, changing our hearts so that our hearts will

be at the right place. But are we responding to

this conviction? Are we responding to this knocking? So what

I want to encourage and challenge all of us here

this morning is that let's respond to the knocking. Let's

set our hearts in the right place. And when our

heart is in the right place, that is when we

need to start to act. We need to start to

take action. And when we read just now right In

Haggard chapter one, he says, the people begin to obey.

They heard the word, they obey, and then what they

God promised, God promising that I am with you. So

God promised blessing to his people if they put their

priorities back in order. Hey, put our priority back to

him with him and his work. Okay, But we also

know that sometimes blessing don't come immediately. We just need

to keep working, okay, and God do not want them

to be discouraged. So this is what God says in

the scripture, I will bless you from this day.

Okay.

When you read in the New King James, he says

that I will bless you from this day.

Okay.

So maybe a lot of us we are saying that,

you know, well, I'm not serving now because my heart

is not in the right place.

Okay.

So sometimes we wait for the spiritual feeling, which I

say just now, or sometimes we are waiting for a

special sign before we start serving. So it's like something

that we say that, oh Lord, if if today whole

day is bright and shiny, then I will sign up

to serve as espresso.

Okay.

And then the baddibah you walk out from church on

Sunday that it started raining, Okay, I take it a

sign that God don't want me to serve an expresso

really okay, but do you know that God would never

answer this count prayer because why God wants our obedience first?

God say that, why should I show you a sign

to get you to serve the house? God says, I

called you to serve the house, and I want you

to obey. And this is what the people did. They

obey first.

Okay.

So in the world, this is what I called when

obedience comes the feeling what comes there after, which is

the stirring of God.

Okay. So again, the first time to serve.

Is often the very spark that's the work of the

Holy Spirit in our life. So we must stop falling

back on the excusers that you know, I want to

wait for the sign that you need I serve or

maybe sometimes even worse, someone else will do it. Wanna

never mind when you know every time, actually I say

that all the dreams not enough people in the end,

or so she get people power, right, I don't need

to I don't need to save.

Someone else will do it.

Why why do we want to let someone hold the

blessing when God says I also want to give you

the same blessing?

Why do we want to miss the mark? You know?

Why do we want to like you know, it's the

same blessing God wants to give to Joel, God wants

to give to John, God wants to give to me.

But I said that new mana. Let John and Joel self,

then they get the blessing. And then I'm like, God,

what you know?

Bless me?

Right? God says that I have the same blessing for

all of you, But you say, let someone do it, right?

That is not what we're supposed to do, Okay, So

we need to come before the Lord, with clean hands

and pure hearts, with a repentance heart, and obey.

You may feel that.

Your heart may not be in the right place yet,

but it's okay, because all of us is a work

in progress. The Lord is constantly working in us, and

when we obey, God will slowly transform our hearts. So

I'm gonna share this story that I found is about

this guy called William Carrey. Okay, he's a very famous

missionary to India.

Okay.

So when he first about his passion to reach people

for God, an old leader told him, young man, shit down.

When God pleases to convert the heaven, he will do

without your help or mine. Oh wow, Imagina. Hey, Noah

came to me and Saysalia, I want to go through,

but don't and apreciate the gospel. And then I tell him, Noah,

sit down. If God wants to convert the people in Bandung,

he will do it without your help or mine. Imagine,

how are you, Noah eight years old? Imagine God wanted

to use an eight years old to reach the villagers there,

and I told him, no I'm already part of the

person that breaks the world of God. Yes, God can

do it without your help.

Or mind.

But God wants to partner with us. And that is

what Carrie knew. He knew that God wants to partner

with him to reach to the people in India. Okay,

so God wants us to step up before he moved.

So Carrie, what.

He did was he rejected the attitude of that old

leader and he lived by this motto, expect great things

from God a time great things for God.

He knew it. He knew that if God thought, he

has to obey, and he obeyed.

And if you read the whole story about how he

obeyed and how he went in to reach out to

the people in India, you would realize that if he

were to listen to the older leader, things may not

be the same. Or perhaps it may not be a

William carry. It may be another carry. Okay, I don't

know who, but God will use someone else. But instead

he said that no, I will go. I will expect

great things from God, and then I will attend great.

Things from God.

So just like what God told the israelizing Hey God,

chapter one was it go up to the mountains and

bring wood. He expects physical action and participation. Same thing

with us. God expect our physical action. He expects our participation,

and this challenges us to us ourselves. Are we acting

like the older leader who says sit down and wait,

or are we going to step up and do great

things for our church. I haven't even asked you to

go for missions. I'm only asking all of us to

start doing great things for our church at our comfort zone.

This is really our comfort zone, because if you were

to go to missions, you will know how difficult it

can be. You know, even in extra our missions feel

like still not yet that difficult if you really go

to the hardcore missions, which sometimes I hear some of

the mission's trip that my husband went through. I told him, no,

I'm not going to go because you have to roll

through the river with crocodiles. You have to go and

stay in the longhouses that maybe maybe you will get

bitten by leeches. You have to eat the worm from

the tree bark because that is the religious delicacy. And

then you to go into different villagers to preach the gospel,

which half the time they don't understand you. And then

you don't have proper toilet to shower. Okay, it can

be worse than that. Or maybe some of you have

been to even more extreme missions where people were coming

sort and traveling to say that if you were to

preach Jesus to my villagers, I'm going to step you

to death. There is there is missions that that that

is happening like that, and people are going. But I'm

not asking all of us to go for missions yet. Okay,

if you hear the word yet, I'm only asking all

of us to step up to start building our church.

So remember that true revivals requires more than just changing

how we think.

We may change.

We may change our mindset, but we still won't change

our acts. So the true revival is change your mindset

and change your action. So it requires us to change

how we act. So in hey guy, both Zerabebel, which

is the government leader, and Joshua the religious leader, they

step up and fully submitted to God's plan and they

show that every part of our of their life belongs

to God.

Okay.

So you see the order of event. They obey and

then God stir okay. So remember that action always comes

before inspiration, before feeling.

Okay.

So, and this awakening is that we need to learn

that God wants to partner with us.

So when we.

Take the step of obedience. God's beautiful promise of I

Am with you holds. So when we obey God, we

can already guarantee that the Lord is with us. God's

presence give them the feel for the hard labor. The

internet string, they finally felt, was God's reward for their

willingness to get their hands dirty. So if you see

this thing is only not being found in the book

of hair guy. If you go and read the book

of him, it's the same thing. The people saw the ruin. Okay,

they didn't just dream about Oh wow, Jerusalem is in

such a ruing. I dream of visiting the city, and

they continue dreaming. Do you think that the city will

be built by you just dreaming?

No?

Right, So we always say that, oh I dream to

be a boss one day, but I continue dreaming in

my sleep.

Will you be a boss one day?

No?

How can you be a boss?

You take the step of action that the type of

faith you start building a business, you start to run

your business, then that is how you become a boss. Right,

same thing, Okay, if you want, if you dream that,

you know, exaumbound one day will be packed. It's so said,

so hungry for God. If you dream of seeing the example.

Every Sunday God, people raise up their hands say I

want Jesus. Then we have to start acting on it,

not just dreaming about it. So in him Maya they

want the broken city to be rebuilt, and they say,

let us rise up and rebuild. And they found their

strength to do the work. They find their own walls,

and they started working. They didn't just started dreaming. They

started working. And we know that when we start to

do the work of the Lord, opposition will come right,

opposition will come up down, left, right, everywhere.

Okay, and same things. The same comes to us.

When we say yes to serve the Lord, to serve

the house, we will start off with a lot of excitement.

But when opposition comes, when discouragement comes, that is where

we feel the excitement fade off. Okay, And then that

is when we start to begin to think, Okay, I

want to throw in the towel.

I don't want to do it anymore.

And that is when we often hear the word I think,

I'm burned out, I want to stop serving. I'm not

hitting anyone. I am one of them. If you ask

my line of leader, how many times I tell them

that I want to resign as a CPC. But you know,

in God's kingdom there is no resignation right and God

will never will never accept a resignation letter. Right, Yes,

Because why being in different leadership position, we face different

kinds of opposition. I have my FairShare of discouragement. I

have my fair share of disappointment. I have my fair

share of pain. You know, my my my line of leaders,

they know, because why I need to account to my

own leaders. Every time I tell them, Joe will get

the most joy. You become a CBC. I become, you know,

just any other leader to support you. You know, I

always say that, yeah, John, as we'll get I said, yeah, John.

You become you know, you become the CPCA. You know

I stepped nowt I become the the CPC. Will do

you know? Sometimes I said, I I'm so I don't

do you know? I don't know.

I don't know self anymore. All of us face it.

But how do I renew the strength?

I prayed?

And that is where God said that, Selena, I know it.

I am with you. Keep pushing on, keep moving on.

That is one number two? Why can't I still keep

moving on? Because my leaders here they say that Selena,

we are with you. They didn't say that CBC is

your job, you do it yourself. No, that's why we

cannot always say that let another person do it. Everyone

has a part to play, you know. Everybody has their

part to play. The leg cannot do the hands job.

The hand cannot do the brain job. The brain cannot

do the hard job. And all of us is like

the part of the body. We have the hard to play.

We need to pick up the shovel and build the

house of God together, and that includes all of you here.

So instead of one person burning out, why don't everyone

burn up the fire of God, the passion for God's house,

burn up the fire, the zealousness for God's house, and

let's build God a great house.

Amen? All right?

So remember that building God's house are It's not for

ex church, it's not for Selina, it's not for ex umbunk.

Why do I encourage all of us to serve? Why

do I encourage everyone to build God's house? Because we

are the lighthouse in the heart of kl When a

person is lost, where can they find God? If we

keep our light hidden? When a person need encouragement, where

can they find God? If let's say we don't go

out and shine the light of God. Where can a

people find comfort? If we are the church, you know

that always think about I, me myself. People will not

find comfort, people will not find warm, people will not

find encouragement. And in order for people to find warm,

find encouragement, find community, all of us have a part

to play, okay. And this bring me to the last point,

the reward, the promise of the greater glory. So reading

from Hagary chapter twover was one to nine. It says,

then on October seventeenth of the same year, the Lord

sent another message to the prophet hag Guid, say this

the Zerabebel, son of Cheltiel, governor of Judah, and to Jesuita,

son of jeho Zadak, the high priests, and to the

remnant of God's people here in the land. Does anyone

remember this house, this temple, in its former splendor.

How in comparison does it look to you? Now?

It must seem like nothing at all. But now the

Lord says, be strong, Zeabebel, be strong, Jeshuas or jeho Zadak,

the high priests, be strong. All you people still live

in the land, And now get to work, for I

am with you, says the.

Lord of Heaven's Ami.

My spirit remains among you, just as I promise when

you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid,

for this is what the Lords of Heaven Army says.

In just a little while, I will again shake the

heavens and the earth, the ocean and the dry land.

I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of

all the nations will be brought to this temple. I

will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of

Heaven Armis. The silver is mine and the goal is mine,

says the Lord of Heaven Amis.

The future glory of.

This temple will be greater than its past glory, says

a lot of armies. And in this place I will

bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven Armis, have spoken.

So remember my message two.

Months ago, where I say is that revival begins in us,

where I spoke about the trap of comparison. I don't

know whether you'll remember or not the object lesson that

I showed to you all about how we always compare

to other people. And and I and I remember telling

all of us that you know we should not build

our life based on what others look like.

Already, we should.

Be faithful with what we have in our hands, because

we have to remember that our plan is not God's plan,

and we always have to lean on God's plan. And

we must hold on to this truth and put our

hands to cloud to build God's house. Okay, So we

always have to remember that when we work, when we serve,

when we build God's house, we need to guard against

the silent trap of comparison. It's a silent and deadly trap.

So back in the book of Heir Guy, the issue

like mentioned in the in in chapter twover was one

to nine. Just now we mentioned that when they were building,

there is a wave of discouragement. We all know, right

when when Solomon built got temple at that time, it

was very majestic, splendor, all glory. Okay, that is because

he has the gifting of building. He has the gifting

of money and talent, wisdom, whatever whatsoever to build got

such a grand, majestic temple. But when these Israelites came

back and then they started to build, and of course

the older people will remember that this temple only if

we can build like during King Solomon's time, nice and

beautiful and grand and whatnot. Look at what we built

is not even one percent of the majesticness of the temple.

They were discouraged because why they compared back then and now. Okay,

so they compared the past and to the current, and

it's really not comparable, right, and it's very discouraging. So

do you know that what is the one way of

the enemy stop us from serving is making us compare.

The enemy will always resplain to your ear, you know,

or resper to my ear you think you can do

better than el the ping whom you think you can

do better than whoever that you know? Leader churchman, man,

I forget it that no needl just close Downpanga and

then you can go back to extra bang, right. You

know that is how the enemy will stall us, whether

you like it or not. This is real, Okay. The

enemy will try to stop our progress.

Okay.

The enemy was try to stop us from experience God's blessing.

The enemy will try to stop us from seeing God's glory.

So it's very important for us to guard our heart

and mind and not fall into the track. So when

I was when I was preparing this message there I

came up across this prayer. By this this man called

a w Towser, where he prayed about guarding against competing

with other servants and getting discouraged by the smallness of

our gift.

And this is the prayer he says here.

Dear Lord, I refuse henceforth to compete with any of

thy servants. They have congregations larger than mine, which is true,

so be it I rejoice in their success. They have

greater gifts, very well, there is not in their power

nor in mind. I am humbly grateful for their greater

gift and my smaller ones. I only pray that I

may use to die glory such modest gifts as I possess.

I will not compare myself with any not try to

build up myself esteem by noting where I may excel

or another.

In thy holy world.

I hear we've made a blanket disoural of all intrinsic worth.

I am but an unprofitable servant. I gladly go to

the foot of the cross and own myself the least

of type people. If I errn in myself judgment and

actually underestimate myself, I do not want to know it.

I purpose to pray for others and to rejoice in

their prosperity as if it were my own. And indeed

it is my own if it is time on, for

what is time is mine? While one plants and another water,

is it towl alone that giveth the increase?

Wow?

Okay, I never take English literature before, so this is

a mouthful. But you know, in a nutshell is head,

we rejoice for the greatness of other people, but we

focus with what we have in our hands.

Okay.

So that is what we have that God has given

to us, and God will use our little for his glory.

Okay.

So yeah, if we were to be honest with ourselves, okay,

maybe I will share with you my journey. You know,

Like I mentioned to you, right, I also faced the

danger and the trap of comparison. You know, when I

took over xampank, my first question to myself is that

will I do it as good as Elder Pinghole? Okay,

Elder Pinghole was the one that planned x M Bank.

I'm the one that took over to keep watering it

only okay, but I will always ask will I do

better than him? I'm not so eloquent like him. I'm

not so smart like him. I'm not so people person

like him? Will I do better than him? And then

I will also compare ourselves with you know ex Su

Bank where we will plan out. Okay, so sometimes when

I look at Xampuank and look at ex Subank, then

I was like, wow, how nice it is when we

were you know, together with ex su Bank, we have

full sets of sound system, full sets of band.

There's drums and keyboards.

And electric guitar, acoustic guitar bassed okay, you name it.

Then last time we also have acquired the singing whoa.

You know, it's a heaven on earth.

But look at sun only have one acoustic guitar and

keyboard and team will have four hands. Two hands on sound,

two hands on sometimes keyboard, sometimes on carhol sometimes on base.

I don't know where he has all the hands. Okay,

he's like an octopus, you know. Now I was like,

you know, lord, why you know why you're not like that?

You know? Sometimes I will also compare when x Ambund

first planted, every Sunday we have at least one hundred people.

X clids was exploding with so many kids. You know,

we were busy serving reaching out to people and then

we started sending people out to plant differentiach plan our

numbers strength, COVID came strength even more. Okay, in case

you're wondering what I meant by we send other people

out to plant. You know, out of x mbum, we

planted x Klang by John Rusch and Ivy. Out of exambum,

we planted extraraz by Passa Gloria. Out of ex empound.

We plant ex Germany by Gert and Norris. Right, So

the number strength and I missed.

Those were the days.

But Gause, Hey, I'm not asking you to look back.

Those were the days. I'm asking you to look now

and forward. Sometimes I also will compare myself with I

dont BC. I'm like, Lord, why cause so many ideas

and I don't have. But every time I do that,

God will bring me back into alignment and God always

rebuild me. This Selina, I caught you to be you,

I called you to plant x I'm bunk based on

what I have given to you, not what I've given

to other people. So this is what you know. I'm

bringing back into alignment. And God reminded me when I

call you, I will equip you and I will bless you,

and this is something that I hold onto. So when

the issue life felt the exact same discouragement, did you

notice that God didn't magically give them more goal, better worlds,

bigger crowd, But God give them something better. God promised

his presence and that is the same promise that I'm

holding onto. I want to experience God's presence in x Umbunk, Okay.

So he commanded them to be strong and work, promising

them that the glory of this new temple will actually

be greater than the old one, not in terms of luke,

but in terms of his presence. So God wasn't talking

about physical beauty He's talking about He's only talking about

one fact that Jesus Christ himself the desire of all nations.

One day he will physically walk into that very temple.

And that is something that we want to hold onto.

And our desire here is that we want to see

God's presence feel x Unbunk every Sunday and fill every life.

So today, even as I come to a close and

I invite the extreme come forward, I just want to

issue this challenge to all of us here. Let's rise

up and let's build this church together. God has promised

to bless x Umbund, you know, and I'm holding on

tightly to this promise. So let me be very very

honest with all of you here that you know the

journey of leadership and church planning, it can sometimes feel

very very lonely, you know.

And I can tell you.

That I cannot do this alone, and I can cannot

only always only depend on just my leaders. And my

leaders also they cannot do this alone. We need everyone.

We need each and every one of you here. God

has given you a talent. God has given you, you know,

a dream. Are you ready to answer to the call?

Are you ready to put in your hands into the

plow and to build this church? Are you ready to

be the eighty percent serving the twenty percent. The eighty percent,

it's us, the partners of this church. The twenty percent

is the newcomer, the pre believer that will come. So

the message of hag Guy is a wake up call

to myself, and I hope it is also for all

of you. We cannot settle for our own comfort life

and hide behind whatever excuse us that we may be

giving while the work of God's kingdom is neglected. Remember

I mentioned just now when I issue the call to

serve in church. It's not just for this church plan

to grow in numbers, but it's so that this church

plan will be the answer to many people.

That this church plan.

Will be the very part plan that peace to the

people who are searching, That this church blood would be

the mission field where many will come to know the

saving knowledge of Christ.

So remember I shared.

With your early just now that I have my own story,

you know, of awakening, my own story of how I've

been through the room, how I gave different kinds of excuses,

and how God has brought me to where I am today.

So a little bit background about myself is that you know,

I'm a first generation Christian in my family. Okay, my parents,

they are all non believer. When I first accepted Christ

and ex Church is not my first church, so I

came from another church. So when I first stepped foot

into Eggs, I came to X Church with a lot

of heavy baggages. I have a lot of disappointment, discouragement,

burned out, and past offenses from the church I came from.

I'm not gonna tell you what, okay, because no point

counting history, right, But it's a testimony worth remembering.

So when I came to.

Ex right, I remember telling God this Lord, enough is enough.

I'm not going to serve in this church. I'm just

gonna come every Sunday to be a pure warmer.

Okay, a pure warmans.

You come, you sit down, you receive the message, and

then you say kay, text by okay, and then you

go back. So that is why I told God, I'm

just gonna come here and be a pure warmer. I

will come and I will go. So my heart is

not in the right place, and I knew it, and

I refuse to make it right, you know. So I

just told Got that you know, I'm just gonna come.

So sometimes past her will stop us from one thing

to give our time our treasure, and I'll tell them

to God. So we think that, you know, by us

doing that, we are protecting ourselves. But God has another plan.

He convicted my heart. He challenged me to step up

and serve. Again. There's a very deep hugging in my heart.

You know, Like I said, I always tell God, no, no,

I don't want.

I don't want.

You know, if you know me well enough, you know

that I'm a very stubborn person. He even took God.

I said no, God, no, no, I'm not gonna serve. No.

I struggle, I argue, but you know that you can

never win God. Right.

So finally, after the match dagging and fighting and argument

with God, I have relented and told God, fine, I

was serf in any ministry except this particular ministry where

I got hurt.

I said that Lord, I was serf in any.

Ministry except so I reluctantly say yes.

And so happened. During that time.

There's a call to tineer two age group. One is

X kids and one is ex teens. I said, okay,

I was gonna serve in X kids. It is right,

you know. To the young children, just tish Nima and

then I can hide in ex kids and nobody can

see me. So I helped pioneer ex kids and back

then was Passassandra who started it with a few other leaders.

So with my reluctant yes, I went in.

And that is the beginning of an incredible journey that

the Lord has prepared for me. God took my reluctance

and turned it around for his glory. From initially saying

no to God, I eventually grew to know him more

intimately from not wanting to deal with people at all,

I started touching life of the little ones that God

has put around me in ex Kids and do you

know that many of whom they are now actively serving

in our church. And one case in point if you

do not know, our current ex Edinburgh church funk coordinator

was once upon a time a child in ex Kids

that I have.

Privilege to teach.

So God taught me from teaching little children to preaching

his word to adults today. From discipling children, I went

on to disciple adults. From reaching out to children, I

reach out to adult and see them grow in their

faith and in their walk with God. Some of the

people that have a privilege to sow into One of

them is a church frend coordinator of Ex brick Field.

One of them he happened to serve with me in

as Kids that I have a privilege to disciple him.

He is the existency busy of x Mandrin. Would I

have expected this back then when I told God I

just wanted to be a pure woman. No, But God

showed me that when you obey and start serving in church,

you are giving directly to Him and unto His glory.

So does all these people that I reach out to.

It's my own glory. No, it's for His glory.

Because of my obedience, morsels get to hear the saving

knowledge of Christ. God owns the cattle of thousand hills.

He doesn't need anything from us. To be honest, God

can use anything. But God wants our obedience. He wants

to partner with us. He wants our trust. He wants

us to give him what little we have so that

we can see how He can increase the little that

we have in our hands. So do know that whatever

increased that God's going to increase in your hands will

ultimately bring glory to Him.

So is it just about the building the church.

No, When we put our hands into the plowt and

start building, that is where we will see more people

saying yes to Jesus. That is where we will start

seeing more pre believer coming to know Jesus.

So it is not just about us. It is about Christ.

It is about the one that needs to hear, that

needs to feel, that needs to experience the love of

God true us.

So to move.

From the eperity to awakening, we need to recognize the

ruin in our life, our misplaced priority. How are we

going to respond to God? And then are you ready

to receive the reward? So remember God is not asking

for our excuses, He's asking.

For our partnership.

Don't hold back because of passwords, don't hold back because

of discouragement. But allow God to feel in every single

gaps in your life.

So let's be obedient.

To God called this morning, this afternoon, and know that

He will bless the work of your hands. So do

remember that when you say yes, God will definitely bless you.

God will definitely use you.

And maybe the very friend, the very family that you're

praying ford to know Jesus will come to know Jesus

to your work. And maybe some of you here may

not know all these Jesus that I'm talking about, or

you may have not received Jesus personally as your Lord

and savior. This afternoon, I just want to encourage you

to take a step of faith to get to know him.

Maybe you have been experiencing a ward in your heart

and you're trying a lot of ways to fill the gap.

I do not know what you may be experiencing, but

this afternoon, the Holy Spirit says that here I am

come back to me.

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

information on our church, please visit Asks Church RG. We

are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that

this week is going to be a good week. A

hat for you, God bless