Rise up, God’s soldiers
Ps Dr Ling, 03/01/2010 1045
Pro 29:18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
When a person has a vision his attitude is different. He acts differently and he view things differently. He has hopes. God has hopes in us. When we become children of God, He has expectations.
The Israelites who left Egypt all died. Those who were to enter the Promised Land were the new generation who did not witness God’s deliverance, except for Joshua and Caleb. To claim the Promised Land, an army is needed.
Exo 7:4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
God wanted to bring His hosts out of Egypt. The Israelites then were nothing like an army. They were immature. They constantly complained to Moses.
Who are the soldiers of God?
2Ti 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
We are the elite soldiers of God. God doesn’t look at us as we are but He sees us as when we are obeying His will, when we are filled with the glory of God.
To claim the land today = to get souls. Only 6% of Malaysians are Christians.
In the past, the Chinese speaking community is a hard ground. Today, many of them are coming to know Christ. Everyone in the church needs to be a servant of God. We need to prepare for the coming harvest among those who do not know Christ and those who have backslidden. We don’t want to have transferred growth. The harvest is out there. Our focus should be on those who have yet to know God.
DUMC’s vision is to transform the community. We want to be the light and the salt. We want to influence the community.
A Praying Church
The church needs to be a praying church. Only when we are strong in the spirit that we have hope to be victorious.
A Church with Hope
We need to have hope and declare hopes for others. The society is a void of hopes. We need to bring them hope.
A giving Church
Man tends to take care of himself. We need to be willing to give our time, finance and effort. The church growth is depending not only on the pastor but the while church. Giving (or lack of it) is contagious. A church that doesn’t give is a cold (lukewarm) church which is not willing to sacrifice. If we keep things to ourselves, God cannot bless others through us. Let’s be a contributing member of the church.
A Contemporary Church
We need to replace the old wineskins. The church should not be a place for old goods (used appliances, old furniture and unwanted equipment.) The songs we used in worship and the way we dress reveals whether we are according to time. We should not use Christian jargons. The church needs to be relavent.
A Lively and Healthy Church
Some elderly church members are livelier to the younger members. When we have ice-breakers or play games we have joy. We can dance and we can be silent before God. Many people are hurt. Sometimes they are judgmental or petty. This is not healthy. The spirit needs to be healthy before the body and mind can be healthy. If we are in Christ constantly, the spirit is healthy. Otherwise, we spend too much energy taking care of our own feelings.
What shall we do then?
We need to love the church
Mat 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The church is our family. When we have a problem in the family we will solve it and not leave it alone. A church problem is our problem.
Get Back on the Team
Paul described the church as one body with many members.
Continue to Progress
We should focus on a few things that we are gifted to do. We should strive for excellence service. Instead of do 10 things for 60% do 6 things for 100%.
Continue to Believe
When we don’t do anything we may find no problem. But when we start to serve we may find problems. We need to keep the faith. Do not lose sight of the vision. Believe that God can use each and every one of us.
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