Good And Faithful | Pr Alvin Keng

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

We hope this message will light up your day. The

title of the message today is Good and Faithful. Very

interesting that Elaine said that just now. Good and Faithful.

So there was a question. So we celebrated our ex-BJ

birthday last... Last month, actually, right? I think, what, three

weeks ago? Two weeks ago? And it was good. I

don't know whether all of you were here, but we

had a good time. YN did an awesome job, right? Oh,

by the way, her husband just became doctor yesterday. Dr. David.

So we got another doctor. Do you know that we

have a lot of PhD holders in PJ? You know,

I always wonder why, because I'm like, I'm not very smart,

you know? Or did I study a lot? But then

I have a lot of people who are PhD doctors

in my church plant. So quite stressful lah, right? Because

I have to be very careful with what I say.

Thank God I got Pastor Matt because Pastor Matt is

a scholar, right? So maybe he cover lah. All the

part that I say wrong, he help me cover, okay?

So if you got any questions about the Bible at all,

don't ask me, ask Pastor Matt. Pastor Matt is Adeline's husband, okay?

So there was a question posed to me. What do

I desire for our church in XPJ? Or what do

I want to see happen in this church? And we

had a video. And that question was asked. And I

had to think about it because I didn't start X Church.

You get what I mean? I consider myself... It's different

when you are the founder of the church. I'm not

the founder of the church. I am just a church

plant coordinator that planted XPJ. Right? I'm the third generation.

If you count like family, I'm actually the... So you

have Pastor Kenneth, Elder Kenyat, second. I'm the third generation.

And I'm planting church. And of course, they say that

when you reach the fourth generation, then you know it

will continue. And I think X Church, we've kind of

nailed something because... my fourth generation, which is Pastor Steven,

planting a church. I pray that he will raise up

another person that plants a church. Then you know we've

got it right. You get what I mean? Because they say,

in any organization, any business, go and study it, okay?

After you surpass the four generations, you know you did

something right already. Right? Even the bad things also, they say,

what Chinese family that's rich one, the wealth won't go

beyond the, what, third generation or something like that, okay? So,

that question was asked me. what do I see? So

I really had to think, you know, because you see,

if you're the founder of something, you definitely got some

vision and all. Uh, and for me, it was like,

no lah, I was just being faithful lah. Huh, what

do I see? Oh, okay, I really have to think,

you know. Like, so what do I see? Because, because

I don't see myself as leader of XPJ. Okay? I

see myself as, yes, shepherd, but servant. So I serve

all of you. Right? Uh, And as I was thinking

about it, and it's almost like XPJ is not a standalone.

We have a legacy and a heritage. You get what

I mean? We didn't come out of nowhere. It came

out of one man's faithfulness to say, Lord, I will

obey you. In 2000, he with two other young gentlemen

went and planted a church. And of course, now we

are like, whoa. 16 church plants in Malaysia. Let's not

even count the world. It's a lot. And it's God.

Because no man can create this. We have to admit that, guys.

So then, what do I hope to see as the

church plant coordinator of PJ? And this is what I

hope to see. Let's all turn to Matthew 25, verse 14-30.

Matthew 25:14–30

It is not an unfamiliar passage. Even when you were

in Sunday school, if some of you had the chance

to be in Sunday school, you would have somehow read

this story before, right? And they always use this story

to encourage people to serve one. Like, after you share

this story, then, please sign up for X Kids. Please

sign up for, you know, or please, you know, a

lot of these kind of things, right? And it's actually

the parable, in my Bible, it says the parable of

the talents. the parable of the gold bag, whatever lah, okay, different,

whatever version, but of course it has to do with money.

But I like that they use the word talents because

when you talk about talents, it's not just money, it's

other things, skill sets and all. And this is what

Jesus said, okay, because it's all in red. It says here,

for the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling

to a far country who called his own servants and

delivered his goods to them. Right? Right? And to one,

he gave five talents to another two and to another one,

to each according to his own ability. And immediately, he

went on a journey. Okay, let's pause here for a moment. So,

I used to, when I'm young, I don't understand. I

used to think, hey, why are you all so unfair?

Why one get one, another get, what, three? Three, is

it three? Two, two. One get five, one get two,

one get one only. Why? Why so unfair? Why this

master so unfair? Why not give everybody the same? But

then you read the scripture and it says, to each

according to his own ability. So then you might also

think like, why the master so kira one, right? Why

so kira and only give according to their ability one?

Why not just give all same and then let's see

what happens, right? Then only fair ma, right? Being a

leader for so many years now already and doing ministry

and dealing with people, right? I think the master is

very fair. Let me give you my perspective. The master

knew his servants. He knew them. He knew what they

can handle. Wouldn't it be unfair to them if he

gave them what they cannot handle? Like how some of

us here, we can serve actually every week one on Sunday.

But then we go and set a rule that we

must have a break at least two times a week. Again,

I'm not knocking that. I'm just giving you a perspective.

At the same time, there are some of us here

that one week also very hard to find. Right? And again,

it's not the wrong thing. That means I can't even

manage one day. I can't even manage this. But I

still want to serve. Is it still counted? My simple

answer to you is yes. It is still counted. We

will still count it. It's like the lady of the

two mites, you know? Because if I say no, then

I will be making a mockery out of the lady

of the two mites. Because when the disciples and the

Pharisees saw the lady give two mites, they were like, aiyah,

so little money. Right? Look at all the... See, but

Jesus saw that she gave her all. And He said,

she will be honoured more or no. It's not about

the amount, no friends. It's never about the amount. Why

we go and count the amount? Human likes to count

all these surface things, right? Right? And that's something that

I caught. I realised, no, the master knew his servants.

The master was kind to his servants to say, this

guy only can manage one, I better not give more.

Because he might squander everything, lose everything, waste everything. And

then it will be on him. Don't you think so?

Don't you think that it is on us, responsibility-wise, if

we were to not take care of things? Don't you think,

let me give you an example. If let's say XPJ,

I'm given the opportunity to plant XPJ, I plant XPJ,

but then I go and mess up the church. Is

it your fault or my fault? It's my fault? No,

because I'm the leader. You get me or not? Right?

If I mess up God's plan, if I mess up things,

it is my responsibility. Right? So I think the master

is very fair. I think the master is very kind.

Because the master didn't give his servants what they cannot manage.

If you reflect on your own life, good question to

ask ourselves is, what can I actually manage? You know?

And the funny thing is that we all human, I'm

talking about myself as well, we all like to manage

things we like. Things we don't like, we don't like

to manage. Right? But is it just about preference or

it's about stewardship? Let's read on. Then he who had

received the five talents went and traded with them and

made another five. So the master made a good call, right?

Because the one that five did traded another five, right? Right?

100% increase, okay? And likewise, he would have to gain

two more also, which is good because the one that

had two had the capacity. It was not about the amount.

He also got a 100% increase, right? I wonder if

the master gave the person that has two more, would

he just come out with two or three? Maybe he

would just come out with two only. Give you five, two.

Isn't it wasted? What's that term we use? Lost opportunity cost.

You could put the other three in another place. What

are you going to put here? Put there only, you

get two. You all don't understand some investment terms I'm using,

is it? I see those that understand me nodding their heads.

So isn't it wise for the master to utilize and

make those decisions? Right? Okay, let's read on. But he

who had received one went and dug it in the

ground and hid his lord's money. After a long time,

the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

They have to settle because, see, the money doesn't belong

to them. Right? Right? A lot of things we have

here don't belong to us. Do we have that perspective?

I think, right, if we don't have that perspective and

we think that everything belongs to us, then we have

the license to be irresponsive. Y'all catch that? If we

think we own certain things, we feel sometimes we have

the license to be irresponsible. However, we talked about ownership

yesterday in homes. I asked this question to my homies.

I said, guys, when you go to a shop, right,

can you recognize the owner or not? If you go

to any business or anything like that, when you go in,

can you make a... If the owner was there, could

you recognize this is the owner and this is the worker?

I think most of you can, right? Because the owner

owns the thing. Means the owner will have more care

for the thing. Can see one. Can see one. You

can see who's the owner and who's not the owner.

You know? You can see who owns the place, who

has ownership of the place and who doesn't. Can see one.

Very obvious one. Right? In the natural. Okay? So let's

read on now. So he who had received five talents

came and brought five talents saying, Lord, you delivered to

me five talents and I've gained five more besides them.

His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You were faithful over a few things. I'll make you

ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

He was rewarded. Right? That's great. He also who had

received two talents came and said, Lord, you who delivered

to me two talents, look, I've gained two more talents

besides them. Okay? Okay? Then he starts saying to him,

well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful

over a few things. I will make you ruler over

many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord. Eh?

Why same ah? Why same reward? Although the number is different.

Interesting ah? Why same reward? Can we have a flip

side or not? Look at the master's heart. Look at

the master's heart. If you were the master and your

servant both generated stuff, wouldn't you be happy? Wouldn't you

give them similar rewards? Because it was about being faithful

to what you had, no? It was not about the amount, no?

It's not about, you know, like I said, man looks

at the number. God looks at other things. Right? So

what are we looking at? Are we just looking at numbers?

A lot of times, we just look at numbers. Hey guys,

once we fill this hall with everybody, it means XPJ

is successful. Do you know that that's not true? I

have been doing ministry many, many years. I can tell

you that's not true. I'd rather have, I'd rather have, okay,

not to say, don't fill this seat, not good, but

I'd rather have a few committed people rather than a

whole room of people who are not committed. Because with

a few committed people, you can do a lot. But

with a room of people who are not committed, Wah,

tough man. True or not? Think about it. Right? So

it's not about the numbers. Right? Then he who had

received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew

you to be a hard man, reaping where you have

not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. Wah.

As I think about it, I'm like, it might be true,

but I also think maybe it's just a defense mechanism.

Before you find fault in me, I find fault in

you first. Right? Right? And I was afraid and went

and hid your talent in the ground. Look there, you

have what is yours. But his lord answered and said

to him, you wicked and lazy servant, you knew what

that I reap I have not sown and gathered where

I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have

deposited my money with the bankers and at my coming

I will have received back my own interest. Therefore take

the talent from him and give it to him who

has ten talents. For to everyone who has more will

be given and he will have abundance. But from him

who does not have even what he has will be

taken away and cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Okay. So

let's come to a conclusion. Again, this one you might know.

If you put yourself in the... Didn't the master make sense? See,

if you don't want to work, you can just put

it in the bank, correct or not? At least some interest.

I don't even... And let me ask you another question.

If the servant, maybe... Because even the servant that didn't

do anything with money was entrusted with something, you know?

Something small. I can just imagine Master thinking, this fellow

has been consistently not cooperative, not compliant. How? Let me try.

I give this person one talent and see what he

does with it. And if you study the Bible, one

talent is not a little bit of money. One talent

is actually quite a lot of money. It's quite a

lot of money. So even with that also, you're entrusted

with a lot. Not just one thing, but a lot.

But it was very sad to see the servant's reaction.

That's why I'm not surprised to hear. Last time, I

used to think, hey, why the master so cruel one?

You know, our perspective of God, because it says that

kingdom of heaven is like this, and of course, who's

the master? Master is God, right? And then we think, hey,

why so cruel one, the master? Why so difficult one,

the master, right? We were thinking like that, right? Actually, no.

Master gave chance already. Gave chance also still never, never,

never comply, you know. How you're not angry? In fact,

like I said, If this servant would have learned his

lesson and even just put it in the bank, I

think the master would still have the same reaction. So

it's almost like the master cares so much to say,

I will give you one last chance. Please just don't fail.

Please just a little, just show me you can. Tak boleh.

Tak boleh. Not just tak boleh, didn't learn, fight back.

How la, friends? How? Not angry also? You're not angry also?

Very difficult. How compassionate can we be? Right? Again, this

is a story for us to learn. Okay? Because Jesus said,

this is how the kingdom of heaven works. So we

should learn from this story. Which servant do we want

to become? Because ultimately, we are the servant under the master. So,

what is my desire for our future of our church

in PJ? Okay? So it's very easy for me to

relate to this because I am the servant. And let's

say I use loosely my master. Of course, you can

argue and say doctrinally, oh, Jesus and all. But I

would say I respect my leaders. My master is my leaders.

Easier for me to imagine. You get what I mean? Right?

Of course, his master is Jesus and whoever. So it's mine.

But God plays figures of authority over our lives for

a reason. That's why I don't fight with that. Because

I understand the covering. I understand the significance. And if

you study the Bible... And you might even go the

whole Christian way. Like, oh, but this person's a non-believer.

My boss. Can you read the Bible? Daniel served under

four non-believer kings in his lifetime. And he was seen

as righteous in God's eyes. Even once he got in

trouble and was sent to be killed in the lion's den,

he still survived because of God. So is it just

about the boss? No. If you read the Bible... The

Bible teaches us as believers to honour our authority figures,

to honour our bosses, despite whether or not they're believers

or not. Because God sees. So are we going to

be self-righteous and, you know, use all this Christian jargon

to justify our actions? Better not. I'm teaching you Bible stuff, okay?

So what is my desire? Well, my desire is that

we are good and faithful. Right? Not just good, not

just faithful. Oh, we are good ah, good ah. but

not faithful. Or faithful only, but not good. No. Good

and faithful. Right? So the last servant, well, you can

kind of argue that he was faithful, but he wasn't good.

Can we agree on that? He was faithful, but he

was not good. But then you can also say that

by being not good, he was actually not faithful to

the cause. So end up not faithful also. Right? So

I have a question because sometimes we can equate faithfulness

with presence. Is faithfulness just being there? But Pastor Alvin,

I'm faithful what? Every week I go. Every week I do.

Every week. I maintain. That's what the servant did. Maintain.

Faithful mah. But not good. So therefore not faithful lor. Right?

So how can we be good and faithful? Well, we

need to keep at it. But we also need to

bear fruit. That is how you become good and faithful.

So being good stewards to what God has given us, alright,

and giving you this perspective. So what has God given you?

What has God placed in your hands? Right? What has

God placed in your hands? We talk about stewardship. I

believe that everyone in XPJ, right, has something in your hands.

It doesn't matter whether or not you have been here

for many years or it doesn't matter whether or not

you've been here just today. first time, and you say, okay,

I think I'll root down in this church, you have

something in your hands. You have something to be faithful

to God with. Not to me. You don't owe me anything.

You don't owe this church anything. I don't owe you anything.

But we all owe Jesus something. Correct? And if God

has brought you to this church, and if God has

brought you to my fold, right, I confidently say that now.

Last time I did not say, you know, confidently come

to a place where, yes, I'm shepherded. So if there's

any wolves here, right, I will fight you. Don't mess

with my sheep, right? If the devil comes and wants

to steal the sheep, I'll pray. That's what I do now.

So understanding my role, right? What has God placed in

your hands? Let me give you some examples, okay? Let

me give you some examples to give an idea. Right now,

I can use house as an example. Let me talk

about the Lims. The Lim family has been coming to

XPJ since the beginning. And I remember them clearly because

they were the only and first family that actually come

to me and say, Pastor, that time not Pastor yet. Alvin, right?

Not Pastor yet, okay? Even then also, they come under leadership.

They said, you're the person in charge, okay? We want

to have makan with you. So when people say that,

I get a bit scared. Can makan and come out

with demands, right? Maybe. Like, this is what we'll do,

this is what we'll do. Maybe lah, okay? But they came,

they had makan with us. And last time, they had

makan in the Chinese shop down here. I don't know

what is the name of the shop. Some like, like

Duck King or something like that. Is it? Is it

Duck King? Oh my goodness, I got it right. It's

Duck King. Expensive Chinese shop, okay? Uh, so when they're

makan with them and then they say, I think it

was the first month of PJ. And then they say, again,

you must understand on my perspective, very fresh, very new leader.

Don't really know all this, you know, uh, SOP, you know,

I also don't know. I'm like, Oh, okay. Let's do it.

Right now. I'd be better. Okay. And I remember them

coming and say, Hey, we just want to meet you

to tell you that we will root down here. Oh, okay.

And they have. And do you know that since then

until now, they've opened up their house for homes without fail?

And not just homes, they've opened it up for prayer service.

They have never said no when they could. If I

can remember correctly, within the past 14 years, maybe once

or twice, not free, busy, got something happen. But they've

never said no. In fact, I remember there was one,

we had salt, we booked the place upstairs and suddenly,

due to some clerical error, double booked or not open.

Where to meet leh? Immediately. Can use our house. Then

we drive over and we have salt in their house.

Isn't that faithfulness? But isn't that good and faithful? Think

about it. Let me talk about the Changs. Now, must

be family lah, okay? Right? Of course you argue, oh

but they are full-time workers, they are, you know, they should, right?

They should, right? People have this perspective about us that

serve God as though we are not humans and we

got no life. And everything is the church. Right? They

should know. The Changs have been very generous. Right? When

we say we don't want to use, then we say,

I think we can use our place. And then right now,

we're using the place for salt. Not easy. And I

know they also open up their house for homes. Right?

When other people cannot, they open. Right? I mean, these

are things that I would love to do but I

cannot know because I don't stay near. Here. And it's

not an excuse, okay? It's not an excuse. But I

can tell you, if I stay here, my house confirmed

open for homeless one. Confirmed. It's a, what my insurance

agent always say, no-brainer. She always say no-brainer, I don't

know why. And there are other examples. These are the

two that I can remember and I'm sure there are

other examples of people being good and faithful. And I'm

not just highlighting them to, oh, now everybody open your homes. No, no, no.

Don't get me wrong. I'm saying that people, we have

people who know what they have in their hands and

they say, have it, Lord. Not have it, Pastor Alby.

Have it, Lord. Because by doing all these things, we

advance the church. Right? Many people, many of you here

who same homes with the Lims, they have experienced being

in their homes and experienced Vonica's wonderful cooking. Yeah. Yeah.

All those that say yes, you know, you experience it before.

Even if it's just one time, you know, right? And

she's still doing it. I look at my home schedule, food, Vonica, food, Vonica.

No complaints. Not just faithful, good and faithful. So I

hope that in XPJ, we will have people like that. More.

I pray that all of us here will understand, hey,

I have one in my hands. So I tell you

what I have in my hands. And again, God always

reminds me constantly the stuff I have in my hands.

And let me tell you my problem. I admit, I admit,

I admit. My problem, I have very itchy fingers. I

cannot sit still. I'll go and find something to do.

You ask my wife, I have new projects every day

in my house. A lot of unfinished projects also. Right?

Then I will lose interest or maybe I will achieve

the goal. Then I'm like, oh, why did I do

this in the first place? That's me. Okay? And I've

come to realise, right, that is the apostolic gifting. Praise

the Lord. Must do new thing. Then once maintenance mode,

pass it on to someone else and then start another thing. Okay?

I just need to be wise in doing that. But

what do I have in my hands? I tell you

that I believe I have tried my best and will

continue to try to be faithful. Is that God has

given me storytelling. and the skill to do video production.

God has given me the special needs ministry. I didn't

ask for it now, friends. He's given me that. In fact,

if you think about video, right, can I tell you

that I was trained in creative film and animation, but

I didn't do film? All my film skills, I had

to self-learn. All self-learn. All self-taught. When I graduated, I

graduated as a 3D animator. Sound very jantik, right? Right? Sorry,

Malaysia very hard to earn money, 3D animation. You know?

So I had to learn. It was given. God has

given me XPJ. I pray I've been faithful to this

church plan. Right? Who knows? He might give me other

things in future. Let me tell you what else that

God has given me. God has given me my family,

my kids. very thankful for my family, very thankful for

my kids. And I continuously need to be faithful. It

cannot be, oh, just ministry only ah, ministry more important ah,

don't care about anything else. No. My kids is important,

my family is important. Right? God has given me my marriage. Friends,

I am very saddened with the state of the world

today where divorce is used flippantly. That the word is

thrown around flippantly. Where the sanctity of marriage is not serious.

It's always preference. I don't feel like I love you anymore.

That's it. Come on, friends. Is it so shallow? No,

it's not. My marriage is important. I guard it. I

take care of it. Nobody mess with it. I don't

mess with it. We have to guard things like this.

And I have to ask myself the question time and

time again. Am I faithful? Am I faithful? Am I faithful?

I've shared this story before. One thing to shift to

PJ due to frustration. So I understand. I understand that

we go through frustrations. I understand we go through challenges

in life, right? And every time we go through a challenge, right,

in life, of course, the understanding is that, oh, you know,

we go through this so that we mature, so that

we grow. Yes. Then you have words that say, oh,

you know, whatever doesn't kill you, make you stronger. And

then we know that the Lord wants us to grow. Yeah,

all these things are true. But when you're going through it,

it's a very frustrating one, right? When you're going through

struggle and challenge, it's very frustrating. And you want to

end it, no? When I say end it, I'm not

saying end it. I'm not saying end it as you

want to end the frustration. So you will find all

kinds of ways to end the frustration, right? And you

will try to justify it so that you won't be

seen as doing the wrong thing because you hear other

people do it when and then maybe not the best.

So you want to find your way out, right? That

was my house. Want to find my way out, go.

And then the Lord had to say, or at least

I had to learn, have I been faithful with the

house He's given me? Have I fully utilised every single area? No,

I have not. So how can I confidently say, Lord,

please bless me with new things when the stuff that

God blessed me with, I haven't even done much with it?

Isn't it a mockery that I haven't utilised all the

talents and then I expect more? Isn't it greed? Let's

think about it. Let's think about it. More things isn't

a bad thing. I'm not saying don't get more things.

I'm saying, have we fully utilised all that we have

before we look for something new? Before we look for

something else? Or are we very easily distracted by shiny

new things? Shiny new things. What's the latest trend? Let's

go for it, friends. Because it's the latest trend. before

we want to try something new or do something else,

have we been faithful? Yeah, I mentioned that. Let me

tell you the risk. The risk of chasing new shiny

things is that we might not be able to be

good stewards of the stuff that we already have. That

is the risk. As I say, it's not bad. Can

do new things, can try new things. But is it

at the expense of what we already have? You get

what I mean? Let me give you a perspective. Don't

know if the guys can catch this. So there was

a time where my wife wanted to look for a job, right?

And I mean, we were also entertaining the idea of like, oh,

maybe we can migrate or go and work other place,

you know? And I said, you know, go and find, right?

And we'll see how. And she went and found a

few and I think there was an opportunity to work

in Singapore, you know? And she was considering it seriously.

And she asked me how. The arrangement for this work

is that half the time I need to be in Singapore.

Half the time there, half the time here. And of course, friends,

you know lah, Singapore is times how many? Good right? Right?

Good right? Okay. So I told her, I said, hmm,

like that lah. then I'll follow you. But then we said, no,

but then the kids, school house, we don't want to

uproot them. You see, it's a big thing. It's a

big thing for families to do that. That's why we're

very careful when we chase after our dreams. Very careful.

Because there's always a cost one. So I told her

in the end, I said, after thinking about it, maybe

praying about it a little bit, I said, dear, I

think you should reject the job. Because I think your

presence here with us in the formulative years of our

kids' life is more important than a few more zeros

in your paycheck. Am I believing that God can? No,

I believe God can provide and God has provided us

and we are doing fine. But you see, every time

we chase after something, it is always be at the

cost of something else. You know, if the Lord opens

the door next time for her to go, then yeah,

things will align. Means we wouldn't have to sacrifice different things, right?

So it's not a bad thing, right? But sometimes we

got to see what is important. And what are we building?

Because if we are not careful, we will be building

another castle that actually God didn't intend for us. And

that's detrimental. And a lot of people don't realize this

because they get the new castle already. And then they

will say, this is just collateral damage to my dreams.

That's how the world operates. Is that good and faithful?

I don't know. You got to think through that, okay?

I don't know whether I should share this with you

or not, but we'll see. Maybe not. Let's read John 15,

1 to 8. Okay, I'll just keep it a secret

for now. Sorry, I wrote one thing there then. Should I,

should I, should I share? Do you want to know?

My wife say no. Shaking her head. Five minutes, okay.

Who wants to know, who wants to know what I just... Okay,

not enough, not enough. It's fine. John 15, 1 to 8. Okay,

I'm coming to a close, okay. You want to know,

you can ask me later. I'll share with you. Don't

get it recorded. Something that I'm looking forward to next year,

but I'm still praying through. John 15, 1-8. What does

it say? You might like, Okay, Pastor Alvin, I get

good and faithful. But how do I become good and faithful? Well,

not very hard, actually. We read John 15. It says,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He

takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes.

Catch that, okay? For without me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast

out as a branch and weeded, and they gather them

and throw them into the fire and they are burned.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you,

you will ask what you desire and it will be

done for you. For this, my Father is glorified that

you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.

So how do you be faithful and how do you

bear fruit? How do you be good? Abide in Christ.

Because we won't be bearing fruit if we don't, or

at least we won't be bearing the fruit of the

true vine. You'll catch that. That's why abiding in Christ

is very important. That's why coming to church, doing your

quiet time, being in prayer service, being in the discipleship relationship,

worshipping God when you should be worshipping God. Friends, next week,

can you all don't be late for worship? It's not

just the word. The worship primes our heart for the word.

If some of you are not accepting the word right now,

it's because your heart is not primed for the word.

So you cannot receive. Right? Right? When we are good

and when we are faithful, we will bear fruit. Amen?

Don't you guys want to bear fruit? And then we

glorify God. And let me tell you what is your reward.

Let's read on. John 15, verse 9 to 17. It says,

John 15:9–17

As the Father loved me, I also love you. Abide

in my love. If you keep my commandments, you abide

in my love, just as I have kept my Father's

commandments and abide in His love. These things I have

spoken to you, that my joy remain in you, that

your joy may be full. That's the first thing. If

you abide in Christ, your joy will be full. Are

you being stressed out right now? That's why we say

the joy of the Lord is your strength, right? It's

written in the Word. And when I pray for God,

I say, may God's joy be with you because when

you're happy, you're strong. When you're sad, you're depressed, you're weak,

you don't feel like working, you want to sleep. But

when you're joyful, when you can look at the storm

and smile, with Christ in the vessel, I can smile

at the storm, smile at the storm, Smile at the storm.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as

I love you. Greater love has no one than this,

than to lay down one's life for his friends. You

are my friends if you do whatever I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant

does not know what his master is doing. But I've

called you friends for all things I've heard from my

father I have made known to you. You did not

choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that

you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit

should remain that whatever you ask the Father in my name,

He will give you. These things I command you that

you love one another. And the reward and our benefit

of being good and faithful is this, that whatever we need,

whatever you ask for, the Lord will give us because

we have been good and faithful. See, when you're good

and faithful, right, I think whatever you ask, the Lord

will provide. Because you have been great and faithful. But when... Wow,

very strong if I say this. But when we're just

spoiled brats, very hard to give spoiled brat things, you know.

Very hard. Because you know you'll spoil them further. Because

you know they're going to grow up to be horrible

human beings. Do you want to do that? I mean,

some of you might not be able to relate to

it because you've got no kids yet. But I think

about it. That's why you cannot see me give all

the time. You know? You have to know what to do.

Because if not... See, you can do it now and

feel good and then 10 years down the road, it

will come and bite you in the butt. Unfortunately, it's

like that. Right? So good and faithful. Yeah, maybe extreme

can come up and worship God. So this is my

desire for all of us here. That all of us

will be good and faithful. Why that? So that you can,

you know, fill up the seats in the church so

that you can be a model Christian? No, friends. Because

I understand with first-hand experience, That when you are good

and faithful in your life, the Lord will bless you.

You will experience more. Your capacity will be expanded. The

maturity that you have as a believer will grow. You

just got to look at your life in the past year.

I tell you, I've grown leaps and bounds year by year.

So much so, I'm quite scared. When God put a

new thing, I'm like, wow, really? But when you take

on the decision and say, Lord, I'll be faithful. I'm

still here. I still remain. I abide in you. I

trust in you. Yes, this challenge, I will take it on. Yes,

this new thing, I will try. You become an example

to the people around you. Not just the people in church,

your friends, your family. Because we will do great exploits

for God. And that is powerful, friends. Because people will

recognise God in you when you lift Him up. Amen? Amen.

So that's my desire for XPJ. That all of us

here be good and faithful. It's not rocket science. But

it does take commitment. It does take us trusting in God.

And it does take us persevering. It's okay. I'll wait.

Maybe I'll say no to this one this round because

it's not aligned. But the next time God opens up

a door, everything will just flow smoothly. There'll be no stress.

because I'm ready. Amen.