The Gift of Trusting God | Pr Sandra Chin

You're listening to a message to go from at church. We hope this message

will light up your day. I just want to bring this to us today

and so you know, as we close the year and also entering a new

year, but we're also celebrating Christmas. But how can we how can we

celebrate this for ourselves as in to know, really you know our work which

is so entitled it today I want to give. I say to you,

give yourself a gift. Usually we give people love, but this gift,

yeah, I indict, did it? Give yourself a gift? The gift

is trusting God, the gift of trusting God. Give yourself a gift.

If you don't, don't want to give yourself, I want to tell you,

give yourself a gift. What give is this? Trusting God? Trusting

God is a gift because we very Susan trust God. Yes men, but

we don't trust God. Know, we tried our own way, you know.

And then but you never do for me like that. You want the

answer like that, but actually go aheads better plans. I read something,

he says. Okay, so maybe some of you ready, I can't remember

it's already he says. If when you pray and and then and then and

then God gives you the answer. Praise the lad hallelujah. You pursue it

right. If the lossay weight means what this is not good for you?

La, so you have to wait. If you say no, there's something

better for you. Okay, So we trust God. There always been something

better. Did happen? War? And then you don't have to wait war.

You know, sometimes waiting gives you even the even better, you know,

something even better surprise for us. And God will never give you a

snake if you're asking for a brain, because he's a good father. Again,

those of us who are moms and dad say, you will never give

your child a stone. If your child asks you for sweet even though you

don't want him to have gula gula, you will give you something else like,

but you will never give You will not give him a stone. You

will not give them anything that will because ours in our nature, we have

a god nature in us to give one another, give our children the best

that we can. That's why parents work so hard to provide for them,

make sure they have the best. Okay and uh, and even we cannot,

we try to do second best because cannot cannot give, and when parents

cannot give, if we were set were set one no, So I understand

we we work very hard and so as children also if we are we are

believing in Christ, we will say thank you Lord God. My expectation is

to trust you, so God can come to for us. Amen. And

I want to say there's a gift to trust God. And I can say

that because I never got an education to go to university. In my time

when dinosaurs walked the earth, there was very few local universities, very few

private universities, local universities. I think I didn't try. I think if

I tried, I would have maybe entered a course that nobody on take,

like English literature, nobody on take all that. But my Form six was

quite My Form sixer was quite badla my results. I was sick. I

know the results came out. I didn't even borderer. They say apply for

that college. I look at that college requirement and said, you cannot la.

Then I did know the asp you gon la. If I went there,

I son, I cannot speak you. So so I never bought it

to apply. You pee you or you peu I they call you peu is

at our local university. So I so I think, I don't think you

give me by Actually maybe I could have, but no one in the family

who My father lost everything, you know, he lost the house, he

lost his business, so he didn't have any money, no, no more

normal nothing. House gone ready, so to chief House, Chief house and

going rent rant Now so how to pay? So my mother became a babysitter

and she had, you know, someone from Jesse. I suddenly discovered I

got twins, unexpected, they got twins. Depending then until you can take

care of okayler. So that's how she took care of the family by babysitting.

You not much those days. So I finished from seats, I went

out to work and I said, no, I will I want to study.

And I felt like some pika, the scum of the year, because

all my friends were going off to university, local university or even overseas.

But at that time there was only two Taylor's College, very long time running

and not university at Taylor's College. And Kadi, you you know, kay

do you just started with an American program. And I thought, oh,

I want to go marry good. But I got safe. But then okay,

my own pleased diary regular. So I said, okay, how lot?

How lot? You know? But you know you trust got and God

brought me to I had my higher education. I got my tertiary education.

I worked and I studied. I worked and paid myself through school. Those

colleges as more small one now to day big time called segi. Last time

not called segi, last time called system MATI and I do professional paper.

I tried to do law. I tried to do don't know what. I

tried to do something for Oxford University pre at Oxford to do law, but

a lot of money I cannot. So I sit there and I forget this.

Will I will pursue something else. I pursue a professional paper, which

you know, in God's maybe I could have done something else, but I

did that in God's plan, I didn't done finish faster faster, finished,

because I have to go and earn money for to keep the family going.

So you know, you have to trust God. And it was a lesson

for me to learn to trust God. It will provide for me that I

won't be something my shaka, I will be okay, all right back then

and then my family will be okay. And and God has been has been

very good to to provide for all of us. Maybe I don't have for

other people have, but I need to know God provided for me for where

we were, where my family was. So I I have a little bit

of understanding. If you, if anyone here, you say, you know,

I cannot go to university or I can't afford or the course. Actually

the course that I wanted to do was what it was not offered back then

when dinosaurs walke militia there was no the course wasn't offer I had to go

to Australia to study that, but we just couldn't afford it. Yet again,

I say, God, you why I shouldn't take that cost? Because

I would have been son if I did that cost. I cannot you know

what course I was wanted to become physiotherapiest. And then when I found out

years later what the class lesson is touch your touch there, I gone ready,

I cannot take out close all you cannot get on. I think that's

practically I got to go in. So I say, oh God, new,

I see you I want but actually that's not for me, you know.

So the gift of trusting, give yourself a gift because God is in

our metest trust him. This is the gift we can give for ourselves because

he's there, all right. And I want to look at this one person.

I'm not here to worship this person. I'm not here, but it's

a study of this person. And her name is Mary, Amen, all

right, So this is young Mary that we look at. We can see

in the Book of Luke. Now, Book of Luke was written by doctor

Luke. Doctor Luke Luke was a doctor. And you know what, he

was the only non Jewish person to write the book Look, and the Book

of Acts, all the all the chapters you ever written in your Bible,

the library of books in the Bible al Rite, sixty six books altogether were

written by Jewish writers. But look, he was not a Jew. He

was a Greek, all right. He was a gentile, and yet God

chose him to write. And because he was a doctor, he paid a

lot of attention, like Mary, how many months you know how she gave

birth? Because he's a doctor, A lot a lot of details. We

can see this and compare with different of the Gospels. So Luke probably went

and listen and say, tell me Mark, Marky, you wrote this,

Okay, he said, wherever he heard, whatever he experienced, whatever he

could, you know, we hear, and he would take those witnesses and

he would write it down. And so a very good account from the day

one of the birth of Jesus, or before the birth of Jesus into Jesus

resurrection and ascension. So he wrote about this young girl. So here we

have a picture and I and I I've course I want the first These are

the points. But something something about Mary. There's just something about Mary.

But it's not that movie, okay, all right, So there's something about

it's a funny show. All right. So there's some points about Mary.

And this is a young Mary. All right. If we look at Luke

chapter look chapter six, look chapter one, just for just for reminder,

I will just read it reverse. If you can follow. I didn't put

it on the slides. You can follow on your Bible or your e Bible,

all right, Luke, Chapter one, verse twenty six. So what

happened Dang jang Jing? Okay? Now, in the six month, the

angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee name Nazareth, and

then to a virgin who was engaged to marry a man whose name was Joseph,

and his family name his family lineage. She heritage from the family of

David, all right, and the virgin's name was married twenty eight And having

come in, Now who's there? The angel said to her, rejoice,

his highly favorite one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among

women? But when she saw him, she was a bit perplexa, a

bit trouble you so be trouble, right, I don't know how the angel

looked. Did he have wings, did he have what? No, no,

no, no, no no no no no no no, wait,

we don't know. We don't know how he looked like. He might have

looked like come in a form of a normal person. You know, angels

can't do that. I don't know. So she was talking to this angel

and then she's like, what kind of greed thing is this? She never

experienced this great thing? Right, So if I came up to you,

hello, Michelle, oh, highly favorite one of the Lord, the Lord

is with you, all right, because because to say to you before,

before this thing happened, there was silence for four hundred years from the last

book in the Old Testament Malachi to the Gospels. It was silent. There

was no sound. God did not speak anymore. He left all the prophecies

there four hundred years of silence, and then the silence broke when the Lord

first spoke to Zachariah. And if you read that earlier part, okay,

the priests, okay, so I'm not going to dead. That was the

father of John the Baptist. I'm want to talk about Mary. So here

she goes like, wow, what kind of great thing is this? And

then the Angel said to her, don't be afraid, Mary, for you

have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb

and bring forth a son, and you and shall be and u sh your

colleagues name Jesus. Okay and uh. And then the word Jesus means he

was safe all right, yr probably in Hebrew is yah shuah Yoshua. Okay.

And then he will be great and will be called the Son of the

Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

He will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom

there will be no end. Then marries it to the Angel No, and

he say, Angel, how can this be? How can this be?

Because I don't know a man. I haven't had sex with a man.

Okay, I'm good girl, all right. And the Angel answered and said,

oh, the Holy Spirit is gonna come upon you, and the power

of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also the Holy One who is

to be born will be called the Son of God. And indeed, now,

indeed, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old

itch or must be an antid or something. And this is now six months

of her who was called Barren. So verse thirty seven. For we've got

nothing will be impossible. What does Mary say? I don't know whether we

will say this Mary? Is it? Behold, I am the maid servant

of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And

the Angel departed from her, Amen, do the reading of God's word.

So these were the early stages to the build up of the Christmas story.

So I want to encourage us about, you know, as we come towards

Christmas, when are some remind us for us? And we look at Mary.

She was, they say culturally in the Jewish culture, likely because of

marriageable age, she would have been anywhere between the age of thirteen to sixteen.

That culture is like that, La, And maybe at that time those

girls, if we look at us at thirteen sixty, we are still my

induls La, still running around, half flying everywhere, you know. But

for that culture and for many cultures, that age was actually they were quite

ready for marriage. That is just the olden times and things have changed over

times. So at that time there was marriageable age roughly thirteen to sixteen,

was that? So maybe she was fourteen when she got the message and maybe

you know, nine months later only perhaps or in between, she was betrothed.

So you know, Mary was thinking, how am I going to get

pregnant? And I can tell you it's not gonna happen again. All of

us who've been trying to get pregnant, wish day we would just have the

immaculate pregnancy. But sorry, only one time, Mary, All of us

have to work very hard. Yeah, those who are married, you,

I want to have joy, I want to have a child. You have

a child? Okay? All right? And old age are you? Okay?

Not impossible, but it's okay, all right. So one time and

never again did that happened. This thing where she was impregnated by the Holy

space, really a miracle, can't explain it. How does it happen?

It's the impossible. God did it. And so she was carrying within a

normal girl. She was like the ordinary girl that went to the passa by

sayoh, come back, gook for her family, to care for her brothers

and sisters. Just an ordinary girl. She wasn't more special, nothing,

ordinary girl. But God said to her that day, you are highly favored

of the Lord. The Lord is with you, and he's going to use

you to carry the son of the Highest, to have the Son of God.

Wow. So the focus is not on her to be worship but the

focus is on the Jesus that was going to be burn birth right. So

she's like, okay, there was this faith. I suppose that said,

okay, Lord, be it unto me. Let it be unto me according

to your word. If you said it, I'll believe it. Amen.

And so I get this word this point of Mary's obedience, right one point

Mary's obedience. That's where she said, behold the maid servant of the Lord.

Let it be according to your word. God. If you say so,

okay, I will trust you, because this is what we call obedience.

You cannot say but but but but yo yo cho but but but you

know, no bad but but oh my god, so only bad but but

but so we have to be like a ship me me, oh, I

know bad bad b b oh, he's doubting. So we don't want ass

I give yourself a gift today, guys, let's all trust God a little

bit more. That's the overall theme. So Mary had an obedience. This

is her only a young girl. Uh. And then let me tell you

she was going to create what a rackus in a community, meaning what you're

not Mary, you're pregnant, but you're pregnant or you're naughty girl. Ah.

So I as a teenager. She was this teenager who was pregnant,

which was looked down upon in her community. Even in our community if something

happened, you know people why pen lah, Although they were all very accepting

and just okay whatever. But still in her time, this is a no

no all right in the culture. No no. What was she going to

say? But she was going to pregnant. I don't know any I haven't

had any sexual relationship with anybody. But okay, you say so lord,

sure lord, whatever you say. Her obedience right number two, We move

on Mary's faith to trust God she had to trust God, because who is

she gonna trust pregnant? All right? Why how did she trust God?

We know this from her relative in Luke one forty five the moment she so

a when she heard that her relative, Auntie Elizabeth was pregnant. They said,

you know in verse thirty nine hours. Mary quickly got up. She

wasn't pregnant yet. She got up and she went to the hill country with

Haes, you know, to the city of Judah. So she was living

in Galilee area, but she had to go south to the hill country of

Judah, which is down south a little bit, to visit Auntie. And

apparently on research, the hill country that she had to travel from when Nazareth

to death is not an easy road. It's actually a very dangerous road.

How in the world did Mary travel from there to this visit her auntie,

Auntie Elizabeth. I don't know. It was dangerous, but she went because

she wanted to visit her aunt, maybe to encourage her aunt, maybe to

you know, just wow, if the angel also spoke to her, you

know, what was God doing? Let's go and build our faith. So

she went down to Judah to visit the aunt and when her ant saw her

the baby within her left moved because that means as the angel spoke to her,

probably the conception happened the word of faith. The moment she said beat

unto me, a seed of faith was planted. Remember, we all can

be pregnated, impregnated with the seed of faith, even for what God has

given to your promise. And she carried this promise, and probably at that

time the seed of faith was planted with the Son of God. And so

when the baby heard the sound like hello, aunt, dear Elizabeth, the

baby that was six months on leap. That's why we believe in children ministry

before the baby is born. We call it cradle role. We don't have

any ex church, but I've had that opportunity to be in that ministry before

the baby was born. We believe in the mother's womb, the baby already

can receive. Can hear? Can you know? That's why abortion is a

no no, because life begins the moment you are conceived. So abortion is

actually murder. So it's not just we all like pro life forever, but

we'd just saying God gives life. So when we are bought a baby,

where is three months or five weeks old is alife, and we have to

say sorry to God if ever any of us have gone to abortion. You

know, we have to say love. We didn't know better. The baby

leaped and then as the baby leave, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

and she began a prophesye. And one of the things that she prophesied

is in verse forty five. It says that blessed is she who lived,

for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the

Lord. So we can see Mary's faith immediately worked for her. She trusted

the Lord. And Auntie Elizabeth prophesied and said, wow, blessed is this

girl. She believe God, because many of us might not believe God.

It's like, it's like, you know, I can give you the picture

when God said to pastor speaking to him, and it's quite I said,

plan at church. He's like, really, And then he told me plan

at church? What did I say? No, very hard to plun judge

one. We don't even know how to plant. And then plunchie mess one.

I say, we cannot ember everywhere left, I said her. I

said, I don't want. I don't want to plunt jage. So but

he heard plant church. When he went to see one of our pastors.

The pastor said, why are you here, I send God wants you to

plant the church. Whoo you know, but we still didn't plant the church.

We started a ya. Anyway, I was ready to plunge it.

God knows. But five years later I was ready to plunge it. But

God speaks to you, and then there's this, you know, there's this

obedience. There's a seat inside the birthing. And then when someone else speaks

in the fastest spoken said, hey, I believe God ons you to plant

the judge faith arises right, So my husband and the faith. Sorry for

the unfaithful wife, not less faith wife. Okay, God gave me some

time. Gave me some time. Very kind of Jesus. He dinkers me

or put firere booth you. No, I'm here steal. So that's what

it speaks of Mary's faith to trust God. And that's why when Auntie Elizabeth

prophesied, she said, whoa blessed is she who believed, who believed right?

And therefore there will be a fulfillment of those things which God has spoken

to her. Wow. Friends, these are some of the things that we

ourselves need. We need to obey when God tells you something deep in your

heart to move to do something. E when you don't understand, you just

see that there's this obedience and then there's a faith to trust God. Mary.

So when looking married, she then received that faith to trust God.

She believed. Amen. Then we move on that she acknowledged her need for

God. While this is such a big thing, how to do this right?

Mary's acknowledgment of her need for God. And you see that in her

song, in her declaration in verse forty six to forty eight, this is

what Mary says. My soul magnifies the Lord, my soul praises the Lord.

Amen. She began to declare, I declare the greatness of God,

and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior, whoa for he has

regarded the lowly state of his maid servant. She's saying, I am so

low. I don't think I can I'm this small person. But God,

you have regarded me. I need you. You are my savior. Amen.

So there's an acknowledgment. We come to a place where we acknowledge and

say God, I can't do it without you. And every time he say

that to the Lord. When I say that to the Lord, he helps

me because he just he just loves your faiflower. That says, I can't

but you can. I can't believe that I will get this miracle. But

I will trust in you. I will believe. And I need you.

So you and you say you need God. He already is so near to

you. Already immediately he comes to show you that he can help you,

that this thing will happen. And man, so there was an acknowledgement and

say, I need you God because it's so big. I don't understand.

Who's the son of God. But remember the Jewish culture. We are not

in the Jewish culture. We're not jew so we don't understand. But if

you study it, they actually know the prophecies that are coming, and they

talk about it. Don't mean they bring it down from one generation to an

adjunction. Because they talk about it and they're sleeping, when they're sitting,

when they're eating, when they're walking. They tell all these testimonies to their

children, and so their children catch these stories. Whether they believe it fully,

I don't know, but that's what God said. You talk to your

children about so you so that from one generation to another, they will praise

the Lord. It's written in sums. So we talk about it. How

I don't know. I'm not a mom. Mom raised. I didn't have

that virus you're so we talk about these testimonies to remind you that God is

able to do it. We can't, but God can. We planted our

first church with nothing. We didn't have faith to plunder judge. That's why

I was in there. I say, okay to my husband, let's do

it. But then I had to be left in the other church to help

another judge finish off my husband's work. Right, yeah, but I picked

it up because we love the young people so much. I said our pastor,

as you've pastored the pastor and say, okay, but husband, you

go with you know, with zero yourself and then see what God brings.

And so I couldn't be there and I can never have that story. But

I really love the young people. We never leave people hanging. We finished

the job and we raise up a new leader. And then only I joined

my husband six months to a year later. So you know, past I

had to do it. How do you do it? Just did it alone?

And God brought the people around a man and slowly from three to six

six twelve. He just grew, you know. Whatever, however he grew,

God brought it. And that's what Mary. I acknowledge God, I

acknowledge God. I need you and man, wherever we are, whoever we're

going through. Even though you're so pained in your heart broken, or maybe

you are so lost, or maybe you feel like you know this project,

or you know this new job, but God gave you the job. Walk,

you got the job. Someone you still say, I don't know whether

I can do. Wait, you got the job. I mean, somebody

believes in you. You have to now trust God and say I need you

Lord. And last, last of what I observed from her was that Mary

continued the journey of faith. She continued, how you know in Luke chapter

two, when the Christmas story came about the angels of Hallelujah chorus, you

know, like the Angel said, hey, the baby has been born,

told the shepherds. You know, he didn't tell range people, didn't tell

the prime minister, didn't tell the king. He told to them shepherds sitting

there, Jagad the sheep, and they said, he the Savior has been

born in Bethlehem. You know, they all sitting, and so they went

and they and they found this baby and then say, yeah, it's true.

The angels said that. And and Mary was there, you know,

with the baby. And then it says in Luke chapter two, verse nineteen,

as they as they came to visit, you look, let's look at

Luke chapter two. You know, the angels had spoken to the shepherds,

saying, glory to God in the highest honor of peace, goodwill towards men.

That's verse fourteen. And the shepherd said to one another verse fifteen,

let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass,

which the Lord has made known to us. Remember Jewish culture, if they

believed in the prophetic world of God that was written, they know this is

going to happen. That's why it's very difficult for us to understand why they

don't believe in Jesus. They just being naughty, you know, like this

doubtful Messiah. Why because Jesus was not born in a palace, he was

not born in hospital Jerusalem. He was born in a stable, poor nothing,

no doctor, the nurser. I'm thinking a hundred times she gave birth.

Who cut downbell i don't know. I don't know, I don't know.

I'm like, oh the blood, okay, no hospital, no king,

kingship. That's why the people say it can't be the Messiah. The

Massiami is an anointed one. They expected him to come in glory, but

he came in a poor, quiet state. Nobody knew, but to those

who had faith. The shepherds, an ordinary girl, you know, in

hotel Jerusalem did not have a room. Maybe they look at the two small,

llous young people. I cannot give you the room. I think you

can't afford it. No room, no rooms. Sorry, Because people were

bustling, busy coming to register, coming to Undila, that like, okay,

by not Undila register put in there. So there's I got a place

for you. And they thought, oh, look that's a stable. You

want, you can use the stable. So they use the stable. It's

like, you know, you're pucking Lotler. And so that's why Jesus was

placed in a manger. And I always thought the manger was the stable.

No, the manger was the plate that the horse eat from. So it's

a small plate. The manger is not the stable. The manger is the

eating plate that the horse will eat from. So again all the hey all

inside there. They don't know where to put the baby because my roller they

put inside there. So I always say no, my husband passed the Can

you like Jesus? Why of course I saw the buzzart born where Hospital condunker

Baw Singapore, Singapore no better name hospital condunker Baw. So today it's called

k K when Men's hospital, top hospital in Singapore for women and children.

But they don't call it kandunger Bau anymore. This shot from KK. Yeah,

so I at his birth sard and I said, I laugh, you

know the first time I saw his bird, say I laugh? Are you

you're so putting? You born in a KK Condunera were all the kurbas are

were like Jesus like you. But they don't call it kandunger Body. They

call it hospital KK KK Hospital for Women and Children, top hospital for all

problems with children, pediatrics and mothers. But he's called kandunger Ba Singapore.

Do so Jesus was like that born and his mother And then these shepherds came

and then they said whoa wait they and so now when they had seen him,

they made widely known the saying that was told to them concerning this child.

And all those who heard it marvel were really oh about these things that

were told to them by the shepherds. But verse nineteen. But Mary kept

all these things and ponded them in her heart. For me, Mary continued

her journey of faith. She heard these things. She already was told by

injel Gabriel that you're going to carry the son of God and you're going to

raise him up. And she's like, that's why. You know, they

lost baby Jesus. No, they lost Jesus. Jesus is not around,

oh son, Oh God, I've lost Jesus. They cannot lose baby Jesus.

Had to put in the plate. Cannot lose baby Jesus. And they

lost Jesus at two years old. We were we lost Jesus. Remember he

had to go and find him all over and all over and then finally found

him talking to all the you know, lawyers and teachers. So you can't

lose baby Jesus. So she pondered these things. She for me, this

is that look verse nineteen looked to nineteen. That she kept all these things.

She pondered, she you know, meditated on it because she remembered the

angel told her, you're going to carry the son of God, the son

of the Highest, and so she had the great responsibility to make sure this

child would grow and then you know, wow, you know Son of God.

She would be the one wh would worship him one day too. And

so I believe she had to continue her faith journey. She had to.

There were others. When you read the Bible, you'll see other things going

on. When she had to think why her son did days and that how

how so she had her own faith to believe, to grow, to keep

believing, to keep remembering that one word. And I tell you what,

friends, you only need one message, one impactful message, one word to

follow God until the day you see him. You don't need one hundred messages.

Serious. We cannot keep complaining. You're this picture again, understand nor

I'm just going to listen to YouTube, Sola, listen, listen. But

you know, like we're never happy about this feature, the creature. We're

all looking. But you know, some people only one message and they lived

their faith forever and they just follow Christ. I mean, I have a

story like that, but I just want to say she had that one word,

an encounter with the Angel of God and she had to remember that who

was who she was carrying, and why she was chosen just be faithful to

this calling to carry the child until he was ready to go on his own.

So she too had a faith journey that she had to continue, and

she had to remember who and why she was doing this, for why she's

even called to do this again, ordinary girl, no specialty, not from

the courts of the king, you know, not the king's daughter, nobody,

just this young girl. And that is how beautiful that we all can

identify. Jesus didn't come into the world with great luxury. I think many

of us can identify when we feel like we don't have anything. He too

came quietly and uneventfully. Nobody knew accept that. The angels came and sang

Hallelujah Gorris and spoke to three I don't know how many shepherds that were there

that morning, that night, and they came to tell people about Jesus.

Again. Where the people believe them, we don't know. And they didn't

expect something like that because they said, because the government will be on his

shoulder, and they will and to his government there will be no end.

So they were waiting for this government to be taken back from the Roman armies

and the Roman emperor to be so that Jerusalem Israel will have their own kingdom

like back in David's time. They were waiting for that, but that was

not God's plan. He wanted more than a physical kingdom. He wanted to

give all of us mankind the Kingdom of heaven, eternal life and reconcileates from

us, sins Amen. So what about us? What about us? Well?

I came out with this. If we were to be like Mary,

say yes to God. Don't say yes to everybody, say yes to God.

Every time you get a chance, say yes to God. Amen.

We want to say yes to the Lord. I know it's hard sometimes when

you get the chance, whether you're saying yes to serve something. What are

you saying yes to the Lord to do something, to speak to somebody,

to give to somebody, to go to somewhere and you didn't think why am

I going there? You do it right? You just have to say yes

to the Lord. And I read this story about a missionary, this woman,

she had four children and her husband and you know American Suddenly, you

know, as they were praying and they had their friends talking there was this

home for children for girls in Russia. No, no, no, in

Mongolia. American can't speak Mongolian, but there was a home in Mongolia that

was to help young girls, to restore them, whether they were abused or

whatever, trafficking whatever. And here they were in America and they heard about

this home and they said, we need someone want to go there and continue

the world. So they were praying, and as they were praying, she

felt God say to her you go. She like, what what what you

know? Good? Four children for children? Not easy to pack and go,

and you know for you know baby Mabe from baby and all the way

to don't know, maybe nine at that time at that time, but she

said to the group, I just felt God tell me that we have to

go. So her husband said, okay, let's do it. She said

yes to God. She didn't know what she was saying yes to. They

sold everything, they packed up, they took their babies with them. They

went to Mongolia and she entered the little hut and she's looking at this place.

There's no children here. Need two babies sleeping in the hut alone,

two babies. And she's like, there's no children here. And then the

mother of these two children come in and say, oh, I had to

go and get wood. It was either I leave the babies to die or

I have to find food. I think we need to keep warm and find

other ways to feed the child. And that was her entry into Mongolia,

into which they ran this home for young girls and they did everything that they

could to give them a news life. She's thinking, oh my word,

I don't know how to do this, but she said yes to God.

Wow, just have to say y're yes to God first, right? And

Mary said yes to God. She didn't even know how this was going to

happen. I want to draw a picture for you how difficult it was for

Mary. She said yes. Mary said yes to God. Maybe say yes

to God Passecna and I said yes to God to you know, be sent

by God to wherever he wanted us to go. And then of course we

started a ya to reach young people, and then later we started ex Church

number two. Friends, when you say yes to God, we don't know

what it, but what we need to do is to rest in God's truth.

Rest r e s t rest. We have to rest in God's truth,

God's word for you, rest meaning you have to stop struggling a drowning

persona and yeah, and then you will luck. And then if the person

want to come and save you are I heard, I might have to slap

you are and cank you our and then they swim and swim you are so

they can save you. You know, so you have to rest. They

say a struggling person cannot be saved. It will pull you down as well.

Those who have done life saving swimming, Tawana, cannot you struggle?

Don't struggle? Struggle, I will, I will, I will carry you

and I'll swim you right. Because there's a technique lie I never learned that

by her. If a person don't, you have to slap the person,

knock him out and then safe. If you know, can you know you

struggle, you also will sing together. So when we get a big deal

of a decision and say yes God no, Sheelene, I have to lead

worship. We are all the friends. You have to believe. Right,

you have to rest. And what does word does rest to me mean?

Like Mary, she just had to take it in and she had to just

say, okay, Lord, be it unto me, according to your word,

let your word come to pass. I would well basically, trust God.

Rest in the truth of God's words. The facts are all gonna be

there, Woman's gonna get pregnant, woman's gonna be look at stone. Maybe

by all eight that time they will stone you one. No, if you

I don't know how they hit her hit her or what I thought, right,

you don't, then no, no hospital. We had to rest in

God's truth. Word. Are you needing to rest in God's truth? What

is the promise that God has given you to get you from one place of

your faith to the next. Rest It gots truth wherever you are, friends

are we cannot go backwards, la. That's why the songs sayer, I

can't It was now you hold my future and you hold my present. Never

talk about them because the past is I can't go back to the past.

I can't go back and look at my mistakes. I can't keep celebrating and

she's not celebrating morning. You cannot mourn forever of the past. You got

to go forward to your future and you've got to live your present. Otherwise

you will think you cannot rest because you're struggling with your past. Sometimes we

are so a shame of our past. Sometimes we are so sad that I

can keep looking at my back, my past and go like god, and

you get my university education? What if I had lived like that? I

will never move forward. I only want to go to Mornesh University, Sergia.

What is DC right? No? I mean there was and so Ma

Lou you know those days? Oh my friend, top class they know?

Oh, then move on? What do I have to do? System met

they even get dark or lit shit? How to tell people you graduated from

a system and so have to use the England name? Like the England name?

Okayla institutel in my goodness? Right and sit there and eat worms.

No right, I can't go back to my past. I can't go back.

I didn't even want to go back and do my Form six. In

fact, systematic lectures to me, you go back and do your see you

in my heart you wish Form six is the worst year, so hard.

I cannot go back. I can't go back to my past. So how

move forward? Move farming, going workler, going worklow and then register and

study a college. We are rest in the lot. We stop struggling about

our past, whether it's our shame, whether it's our pain, whether it's

somebody else's fault, whether whatever we we slowly got to come to a place

and say, Okay, I'm going to rest in your lot, in your

truth. Your tooth says that God loved me so much he gave me cheese.

He says that he will never leave me nor forsake me. He says

that he will give me sufficient grace for each day. He says that he

has healed all my diseases. Although I'm facing what I'm facing, he says

He's forgiven me already. Then I am forgiven. He says that I have

a hope, a future, and a hope for you. Okay, Lord,

then I'm gonna trust you. I have to rest in that even though

those things that I want didn't happen. But what is God's truth? So,

friend, do you know what is God's truth? Have you been reading

the word of God to find strength? To find strength here? We need

to otherwise we don't know who we are and what is before us. A

man resting in that truth, I want to say to us, I don't

think it's easy for Mary to say yes Lord and then get pregnant and then

maybe have to hide hide high for I don't know, because they would have

told her that is their rule. You go and do this, you are

not married done. Of course, she had a nice Joseph who also wanted

to say I'll just quietly put you away and go away. And God spoke

to him and say, no, you will marry her because this is this

is this, You're gonna be fathering, helping to raise this son of God.

And so she has to live like hiding or whatever, three months in

the anti place, comes back, gets engaged, gets into the marriage,

pregnant, and then time to give birth. I don't know what kind of

chadchi she could not, but her community or the people with chutchy you right,

people will just talk bad about you. Right. How did she go

to it? What kind of head did she have? She said, Lord,

be it unto me? According to your word, you are surrendered,

ready? Lord? Then unless how can it be? Lot? And then

the angel said nothing is impossible for God, which which was probably my next

point. Nothing is impossible for God? Wow? Can you and I believe?

I think sometimes we struggle, Lot, It's okay, you struggle for

little and after that you just say surrender. Okay, I might as well

trust in the Lord. Then I trust in in what the army, in

the government's rules. I trust in my hospital, I trust in my money,

I trust in gold. What are you put your trusting a trusting my

mom? I know all this will not hold water except trust in the word

of God, God's word for us. Amen, serious, brother sisters,

we all will go through our journey like this. We're trust in the Lord

to give birth. I mean she would have had a proper meatwife right now,

don't have the husband has been a meadwife, right She's probably sweating your

first child, you know, the first child not the easiest to give birth.

I want to give birth. I don't know those days. If don't

come out, then how breach? Then how Thank God Jesus wasn't brich right.

The husband's gonna put a hand and pull out. Can know you don't

know, he's not a doctor. Just okay, baby, push, Stop

telling me to push. I'm in pain. Okay, don't push. You

know every mom your knows when you are giving my you're like yours is like

you know, don't tell me what to do. I'm in pain. I'm

sweating this. Who knows? This is the reality of how you give birth?

You so pain? Ready I'm gonna die. Maybe I love you.

Don't tell me I love you. I hate you? Now after afternon you

say sorry, darling, I didn't mean that. But I'm so painful.

Not so painful now. Who knows what she had to go to. She

wasn't like we really as if she just at you and then came out and

I know, you know, really reality, She had to push, she

had pain. Who knows, No, open you sure to know all it?

Did she sign up for this? No? Then what do you do?

That's when she has to remember what the angel see. That's when she

remember God is with me, because he said that the Lord is with you,

he favor you. Wow. Think about that. When you go to

the hard times and you go to lonely times, when you go to alone,

you're by yourself, you have to fight. It is true she had

a husband next door, but she had to fight it to herself to say

that this is great to be the son of God. I cannot decide to

suck it back in. I've got to let it out and I've got I

cannot. I cannot open your legs. I don't give both now, No,

she had to. She just got to believe God. Nothing is impossible

for God. I've got to believe that nothing is. But I've got enough

challenges. I think I was sharing with somebody in church and then his sister

said to me, what pastor didn't know? You're going through so much?

I thought, like you had it all together. God has it all together.

But I have to go to the heart. Dranila. Man, I'm

being vulnerable, I'm being real dead. I'm just like any other brother sister

in Christ. I just happened to be your pastor. Name you take away

the past time just me Sandra La. I was still Solf God. I

will still lead people. I don't need a title. But because there is

a title, it just makes me. Doesn't make me king, doesn't make

me angel, doesn't mean just makes me servan. I'm your servant. Actually

okay, But I don't have it all together. I do have family challenges.

I do have this. But God holds my life together. As we

sang in that song, that story of my life is being written. He

holds it all together. What do I do? I need to rest in

Him. I just need to. I don't know what the end will be,

but as in the way I think it should be. But I know

that God has an end, that has a story that will be better than

anybody else can write it. That's why he writes it. If we say

yes to him, we write it together with him. A man, we

say yes to him. And last of all, friends, the point for

us is God is with us, Emmanuel. God is with us Emmanuel.

There's so many times we go to life. We always forget the promises of

God. Are you how to do this or how to do that? I

cannot go alone? Lie? And yet God is with you. He is

our eternal God with you. He lives in us. Sometimes you say,

I don't know what's the direction? How a my child is going away,

straying away? How are my life is going directionless? And yet God is

our shepherd. We forget that the shepherd leads his sheep Hallelijah. Ah,

come on, Oh, we forget that God is there to lead us.

He's with us, Emmanuel. God is with us. Don't let's just sing

great songs. Let us live those songs in our lives. And then he

leads us, Oh, I'm trying. I don't know how I'm gonna live

my favor. I'm gonna draw in the tower. Yet he's the Holy one

who will perfect your ways. He's the only one that can perfect you.

We are not perfect. I think God just wants you to know he's there

and he looks at you in your face. He's there with you. That's

why it's called Immanuel. God with us. He is with us when we

love God. You have so many reasons to love God. He loves you

and I as we are. Can you say, Can I say, Lord

Jesus, I love you. Sometimes we're scared to say I love you because

behind up mine I might just forsake you. I might just do what Peter

did, run away and deny you. What the truth is. He wants

you to know him deeper and deeper. Know God, who is the Lord

who loves us, who sacrifices life for us, to his son Jesus,

who will carry us when we cannot walk. And if we are thinking,

if we get into trouble, you just say Lord help, He will already

come. How many instances have you ever heard testimonies? So many friends of

mine who have been in accidents, been in difficult circumstances, generally genuinely not

talking about exceptions, generally cried out to the Lord and they say something came

and stirred the car, or covered them or cushioned them or something. Someone

came and protected them from hurting themselves from whatever. And yet there are exceptions

when we don't know what happened. But to that person, may his faith,

her faith remain intact even if they lost their lives or they went into

an accident and we don't know, gratefulness comes out. This is the difference,

friends, between us and someone else outside the faith of Jesus Christ.

You say I cannot understand. I tried to understand. God is not about

you understanding how he works. God is about the faith that you will trusting.

It's not a blind faith. It's the faith that you experience and you

ask and you're experience Him inside, and then that as a result on the

outside. We must sharpen our faith. We must grow our faith because the

days are coming when there will be many challenges, and I don't know whether

we will stand now at the err of days. May I pray none of

them, including myself. I want to turn my back on God and say

I think the devil has a better way. I think gold has a better

way. I think you know that that prime min is that that country has

a better answer. Maybe, always say Lord, what do you want me

to do? Lord? Which way should I go? Lord? It is

terrible? The storm is so harsh on me. Lord, this, this

circumstance is beyond me. Lord, help me cry out to him. Say

yes to him. Always, whatever it is small, big, say yes

to him. Rest in God's truth that he is faithful. We sang,

Wow, His faithfulness will see us true. Challenging time and difficult times are

not times to give up. It is time to stay in and see what

God will do. Too many times we walk away. Too many times we

just say I don't see anything here, I'm walking away, I leave,

I give up. But in the vocabulary of God's eternal promises is he will

be with us to the storm. If the mountain is there, maybe he

will got it a hole for us to go through, or he will cause

us to go above and come down. Maybe he will supernaturally open away.

If not, we were the only climb climbate come down. But he will

be with us because nothing is impossible for God. Whatever we are, we're

believing for a miracle regardless, regardless, even if the impossible didn't happen,

Even if Mary, you know had to go through so much. May our

faith just remain knowing that Lord, you will not forsake me, whether in

sickness or in health, whether I overcome or not, I will trust you.

Give yourself a gift this year. Trust the Lord because God is with

us. Amen, Amenuel. God is with us. He's with us.

He cannot deny himself. We just had bloom for all the ladies in the

house. God is faithful, even when we are faithless. He will never

leave us, nor forsake us. We will forsake him. We might run

away, we might say I cannot the hand anymore, but maybe just rest

in him. Let go, stop struggling. Feel like you're sinking. But

as you let go, he will pick you up and you will float.

When you can't swim, and when you when you come down, and then

you can swim, and allelujah, Amen, God is good again. I

can't go back to my past. I can't keep reflecting about what I could

have done. Let's step into the present, move into our future with the

least that we have. Because it doesn't determine that that the finishing will be

worse. In Christ, we believe it will be best, best, the

best, that God has for you. Amen. Hallelujah. God is good.

Give ourselves the gift of trusting God. Don't hold back trusting God.

It is a gift God has given us. He says, I am here,

Trust me. Amen. We hope you've been blessed by this message.

For more information on our church, please visit as Church RG. We are

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be a good week ahead for you. God bless