Be Shepherds of God's Flock: Nurturing Servant-Leaders

  Shepherds of God Flock by Dave

To the Elders and the Flock: Growing Leaders (1 Peter 5:1-4)

 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Do you remember at the Beijing Olympics, the United States had high hopes of winning the gold medal in the men’s and women’s 4x100-meter relay teams? They were talented, driven, ambitious and fast individuals. They had trained hard for many years. They came with blazing feet but the problem is not with their feet. The problem is with their hands. Both teams failed to win any medal. In fact, they were disqualified because they dropped their batons. On the surface, passing a baton does not seem very hard but it is heart breaking to hear it drop on the floor and to look back and find years of hope and hard work tumbling down the track.

The Christian life is like running a race… It is also a relay race – there’s no use being the fastest individual runner if we fail to pass the baton safely to the next runner. The apostle Paul told his young disciple Timothy: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust it, pass it on to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2) Here are at least four generations of faithful hands passing the gospel baton entrusted to them: Paul, Timothy, faithful men, others. This is the standard operating procedure, their church planting strategy. They would preach the gospel in a city, made disciples, gather them in community and they would appoint elders for them in every church. They knew that without trained leaders, trustworthy shepherds to care for these new believers, they would have no chance… they would be left to the mercy of predators and false teachers.

That’s why one of our CDPC Puchong priorities this year is to encourage, to grow, and to develop servant-leaders in the church. Without a team of godly leaders grounded in the word, the health and ministry of the church suffers. The spiritual maturity of a church rarely goes higher that the quality of its leadership. If we don’t intentionally ensure that the gospel is entrusted into a new generation of faithful leaders who will in turn pass it on, the church is always just one generation away from extinction.  

The passage of Scripture today is taken from a letter written by another apostle, Peter. And it has for us some important lessons about Christian leadership. What sort of people should be leading our churches in these challenging times? How should Christian leadership be exercised in our community? It is applicable for all sorts of Christian service. If you are a worship leader and musician, you are shepherding God’s people to adore and praise God. The songs you choose and play can have the effect of feeding and comforting people with truth. If you are a covenant group leader or Sunday school teacher, you are pastor-ing the hearts of those under your care.

Here we see that Peter is specifically talking to the elders/leaders in the church as a fellow elder. He’s saying: “I’m not appealing to you as someone outside from you or on top of you. I am a fellow elder like you. We are in this together. Not only have I witnessed the suffering of Christ on the cross, I also bear witness to His sufferings in the midst of our present trials and difficulties. With you, I will also share in the glory to be revealed when He returns.” Peter speaks as someone who shares in their responsibilities, challenges and future hope.

And he is calling them to watch over God’s sheep… He is giving to them the same task that our Lord Jesus had given him. Do you remember how Jesus commissioned Peter to be a pastor in John 21:15-17? Peter must have felt so undeserving and unworthy for denying Jesus not once but 3 times. He deserted Jesus at his greatest moment of need. So he went back fishing and caught nothing. But the resurrected Christ restored him by asking him 3 times: “Simon Peter, do you love me?” You know Lord that I love you. Jesus answers: “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep”. The fruit of love, the outcome of loving Christ is the privilege to be a shepherd to care for God’s flock. In the same way, Peter now passes the baton to others: “Elders, be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them”…

So who are our elders/shepherds today? Pastor Wong, surely. Pastor Chia Wen. Pastor Meng. Elder Phil Dehart. Elder Kee Huat. Today’s message is especially relevant for us. But that does not mean that today’s text is only limited to 3-5 people. Whether you realize it or not, you are already exercising spiritual leadership as a parent, as a Sunday school teacher, as a ministry leader, as a covenant group leader or simply as a more experienced believer who has influence on a younger believer. So today’s message is loud and clear not only all of us because it shows us what Christian maturity looks like.

A shepherd’s heart grows out of love for Jesus. When you love Jesus, you will care for what the Chief Shepherd cares about. You will yearn to seek and save lost sheep. You will look out for people who have yet to commit to Christ and hope to guide them a step nearer to faith. Or you wonder: Who are the newcomers in church that need follow-up? You carry a burden: How is the spiritual growth of our people? Are they being grounded and growing in the Word? You care for them and look out for them. In some ways, all of us need to be pastoral caregivers. Our Lord asks us this morning: Do you love me? If you do, feed my sheep. Do you love me? Take care of my people.

And as a church (as God’s flock), we need to seriously look out for and identify servant-leaders. They don’t pop up out of nowhere. We need to affirm/recognize them, pray for them, support them, challenge and equip them. Surely we can elect them to be an elder at the next AGM meeting. Do you know to be an elder; a candidate needs to secure 2/3 of the members’ votes? So every vote counts. Conversations about finding a pastor in Puchong…

As you may know, the letter P is CDPC means that we are a Presbyterian church. Our church is structured in a way that we are not a one-man show. And we don’t decide everything by a congregational vote. It means that each local congregation is governed by a team of elders elected by its members. This team of elders is usually called the Session. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery (ESP) and presbyteries can be grouped into a synod (the highest decision making body). Unfortunately, to be very frank, not many people want to be an elder in the local church. We are too busy with career and family priorities. Or we think that an elder must be elderly so we don’t qualify. Or we may believe that we are not good enough to meet the biblical requirements for an elder. The expectations we set may be too high. Whatever the reason, we do not have a Session of (at least two) elders. So this is a timely message for us to look into God’s word and consider what biblical leadership looks like.

So who are these elders? We can look at it in terms of their roles and their characters. In the NT, the words translated as elders are presbuterious/presbyterians or overseers/bishops (episkopous) are interchangeable. They refer to people who do the work of pastoring (shepherding God’s flock). To be an elder is to be someone who provides spiritual care and manages the church’s affairs. What do they do? They feed God’s people on the green pastures of God’s Word. They make sure there are both milk for the newborn believers (1 Peter 2:2) and solid meat for the mature (Hebrew 5:11-14). Week in week out, they clarify the gospel for both believers and unbelievers.

Sheep need to be led, not just fed. That means the shepherds must be out in front so that the sheep can see and follow them. They need to model what discipleship looks like and guide and equip believers for spiritual growth and service to others.

A faithful shepherd is always on guard, always on the watch against wolves and put himself on the line for the sake of the flock. These wolves can come in the form of false teachers who twist the truth for selfish gains. That’s why one of the criteria for being an elder is someone who “can encourage others in sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it”.

Ok to feed, to lead and to protect are the roles of an elder… but his relational character is also crucial. The Bible sets the bar high so that the witness of the church in holiness and in doctrine is preserved. Texts: 1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9: “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children are faithful and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

We don’t have time to go in detail here, but you get the sense that the primary characteristic of the elder/bishop/pastor/overseer is that his life constantly reflects biblical values and integrity. Most of these virtues - to be faithful to your wife, not violent or lose temper easily, to be self controlled and holy – are expected of all Christians. It’s nothing special, in one sense. You have to walk the talk, basically. You may listen to these requirements and despair. If we take them to extreme, none of us would qualify except Jesus. Who among us is blameless and above reproach? But that’s not what it means. None of us is perfect so we should not expect our leaders to walk on water. There will always be room for growth and times when he may fall short. It just means that we can observe these qualities in the elder to such a degree that they stand out as prominent and consistent patterns of his life. It means that the elder’s lifestyle is such that, generally speaking, no one can rightfully accuse him of conduct that is unbefitting a mature believer.  

So in a nutshell, an elder is walking the talk, self-controlled and gentle in character yet firm and rooted in doctrine and lifestyle to feed, lead and protect God’s flock. Whoa, no joke man being an elder/pastor. Let’s be frank here. By now, some of us may start to wonder, “OK. Who in their right mind will want this job? Why would I want to take this responsibility upon my shoulders when I have the option to just sit back, relax and mind my own business? No amount of pay or pleading can force me to take on this role.” No wonder it’s hard to find a few good men to be an elder.

Which brings us back to our Scripture passage today… Look at verse 2: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them— not because you must, not because you are forced to or grudgingly but voluntarily, gladly, out of your own choice, because you are willing. Why? Because that is what God wants you to be. That’s point no 1. Shepherd God’s flock not grudgingly but joyfully. It is not God’s will that we should be sluggish, feet dragging or unconcerned about the well being of His people. This is not to say we cannot take a break from ministry or prioritize our schedule. We can feel comfortable to say no, when there is good reason to do so. But there is also a kind of reluctant “Aiya… please don’t ask me. Ask someone else to do it!” attitude towards ministry that reflects badly on the One we are serving. If we do it out of coercion, as if being forced or pestered to do it, it is really a denial that serving God and His people is a joy. That the Lord we love should now invite us to be part of what He is doing in people’s lives. It is a privilege that we don’t deserve. That’s why it’s not God’s will that we drag our feet as if serving Him is the worst possible job in the world. Peter is warning us against tidak-apathy… he is challenging our obsession with comfort, ease and leisure when it comes to the Kingdom. Not everyone is called to be an elder but all of us can be a spiritual care giver. And honestly, some of us here are gifted and qualified to be an elder. This word is for you too this morning: Take the initiative, come off the bench, step up and be in the game not because you have to, but because you want to. Be willing.

Point No.2: Look at verse 2b “Be shepherds of God’s flock not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve.” Peter warns the elders/the servant-leaders/all of us: Don’t do ministry out of greed. Don’t serve the King motivated by lust for money. There was a movie called Leap of Faith in which Steve Martin played the role of a fake faith healer who claimed to receive divine revelation about who is having what kind of diseases during a healing rally. But it’s actually all a trick. His colleagues would talk to the audience in advance, gather personal details, ask about their health and then feed him the information through a radio transmitter.  The tragedy though is this: The movie is actually based on a real case of fraud exposed with the help of a radio scanner. They were caught communicating over the radio: “Way over to the other side of the other balcony is Josephine Parino.” Then the so-called healer asks the worshippers: “Who’s Josephine?” “Parino”. Then the lady identifies herself. “She’s got cancer of the stomach”. It’s like a game show.

Sad but true, ‘godliness’ can often be turned into a means of shameful profit. When Christians are fooled into supporting self-proclaimed TV prophets anointed and appointed to make us healthy and wealthy, the only people getting millions of dollars to buy mansions and drive private jets are the conmen themselves. There’s a word for this: It’s called fleecing the sheep. Instead of caring for the sheep, they are taking advantage of God’s flock for selfish gains. Peter says: Don’t do ministry motivated by money, rather do it with enthusiasm. Love what you do in ministry. Be eager to see God’s name lifted up. Do you find joy in your work/ministry in seeing lives transformed by the gospel? Can you honestly say it is more blessed to give than to receive? I thank God for all the leaders we have in CDPC. They may not be the slick and flashy ones or the smooth talking ones. But in their sincere, unassuming and quiet ways, they are eager to serve God’s flock.  

Don Carson once said: “The worst situation in the local church occurs when the church adopts the attitude, "Lord, you keep (the pastor) humble and we’ll keep him poor," and the minister adopts the attitude, "I’m going to get every cent I can out of this selfish congregation; they have no idea how much I do for them." The best situation occurs where the congregation sees itself in the privileged position of supporting someone in the ministry generously so that he is free to get on with the work of the ministry, and the minister for his part doesn’t give a rip – in a sense, he is above all that.” Point 2: Don’t do ministry out of greed, but out of eagerness to serve”.

Third point is this: Don’t lead out of pride, lead by example. Look at verse 3: “Shepherd God’s flock… not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” Peter warns the elders against the love for power and prestige. Don’t be a petty tyrant, craving for command and control. Don’t boss around: “Do as I say not as I do. Don’t ask questions. Listen, listen, listen. When I talk, you listen. How dare you touch the Lord’s anointed?” For some of us, leadership gives us a high when we call the shots and show our authority. We like to feel needed. We crave the praise, admiration and the dependence of others. This craving for power may be expressed with domineering “My way of the highway”. Or more subtly, we may manipulate others with disguised pain of a wounded hero. Pride means we rely on our strength and feel the world stops spinning when we are not around.

What’s the antidote for pride? First and foremost, you lead by example. Whether you are an elder or not modeling godliness for others is central to your discipleship as a Christian. Like it or not, we will set a good example or a bad example. People will look at their leaders’ example and that shapes their idea of what spiritual maturity looks like. What will CDPC be known for in our community ten years from now? Do we model holiness in lifestyle, gentleness in speech, selflessness in relationship, soundness in doctrine? Will our young people and our children be encouraged to imitate and think of godliness in this way? Or do we model greed, quarrelsome speech or selfishness? If so, should we be surprised when they turn out exactly like that one day?

Don’t exalt yourself: “Do as I say, not as I do”. Rather, lead by example: Follow me as I follow Christ. How we live will make a much bigger, more lasting impact than anything we might say. 

That’s a lot to handle, I know. It’s a challenge for all of us. Where do we find help to serve God’s people willingly, joyfully and humbly? We need hope. We need motivation.

This is what Peter gives us in verse 4: "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." Ministry is not an end in itself. We do ministry to prepare the whole people of God for Christ’s return. We are not in this church business to get praise for ourselves, but to bring praise, glory and pleasure to God. One day, Jesus the chief shepherd shall return to reward all who serve Him and His people.

The choices we make today depend on what we believe about the future. Who invests more money: the person who believes that share prices will go up or the person who doesn’t care if it does? Who changes the world: the person who believes what he/she does in life will echo through eternity or the person who thinks “you only go around once, so why not enjoy it”? C. S. Lewis wrote: “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” Mere Christianity

If you think leadership is too burdensome, think of the day when our Chief Shepherd will crown us with His love. If you think giving pastoral care to others is hard, think of the day when our Great Pastor will return and lead us home. The wealth we gather in this world will fade but not the glory that we will receive from our Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have loved me and cared for those whom I love.” Only one life that soon will pass, only what’s done for Christ will last. Therefore we long for His return. The proper reward for faithfulness and fruitfulness in service is that He grants us ability and authority to serve him in greater ways, in unimaginable ways in His kingdom.

Being a spiritual care giver is a high calling. It’s not easy. The only reason we do it is because the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not be in want. We lay down our pride because Jesus is our Chief Shepherd. We are just under shepherds. We do it willingly because out of love, He risked his own life to seek us, His lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:4-7). We care for others because our Lord is moved with compassion for the people for they were like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36). We lay down our greed in the things that will perish because His reward will never fade away. Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10). Because we have such a great Shepherd, we could shepherd others. And He is calling us this morning: Do you love me? Feed my sheep. Do you love me? Take care of my lambs.  

Bioethics: Integrating Faith and Medical Science

Mark 8:34-38 

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

  Cost of Discipleship by Dave

Have you heard that BFM 89.9 (The Business station) advertisement on the Property show? You are born, you grow up, you learn to walk, you scrape your knees, you go to school, you fall in love with a girl or a boy, you graduate, you find a job, you break up, you cry, you travel to the Eiffel Tower, you make lots of money, you fall in love with a girl (or a boy), you get married, you have kids, you buy a house. Buy a house? You buy a house.

Is that all there is to life? And you can go on a bit further. After you buy a house, your kids grow up, you travel the world, you play golf, you fall sick and you die.

 Is that all that you live for? That’s the script for most people as they drift along life.

Well, you may say, there’s nothing wrong or sinful with all that, right? That sounds like a perfectly normal kind of life. What else do you expect?

Well, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. They are good in and of themselves. But if all that you live for is personal comfort or a great career or great vacation or wealth or success or pleasure or even for marriage and family, if on these things hang your ultimate significance, your purpose in life, your ultimate hope and security, if these things are your mini gods, then you are too easily satisfied. The problem is not that your desire is too strong. The problem is it’s too weak. You settle for far too little.   

We are sometimes like the little child who plays with dirty mud by the drain (longkang), and Mommy comes along and says, “Come, Ah Boy, don’t play in the mud. Come, Mommy bring you play at the sea or at Sunway Lagoon instead.” And the boy refuses (I don’t want, I want to play by the longkang) because he cannot imagine how wonderful playing by the sea or at Sunway Lagoon is like. The problem is not that his desire is too strong, but it is too weak. He settled for far too little.

The irony is you think you saved your life, but you have wasted it. You think you have gained the world but you have lost your own soul in the process. We are made for so much more.

There is a God shaped hole in our hearts that only He can fill. Like a splinter in our mind. It drives us to thirst and hunger for more than this world has to offer.

According to C.S. Lewis, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it… Probably, earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing." These longings, aching for something more are clues that point us to the God who truly satisfies. Don’t settle for less.

But the solution is not just to add some religious activities into life and everything will turn out nice. God is not the means to get us our best life now. Jesus says: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” You want to be my disciple, you need to die to self. There’s an exchange: You give all that you are for all that He is.

For the longest time, we function as if there were two categories of Christians. If you accepted Christ as your Saviour and say the sinner’s prayer, you were saved. You had Christ in your life. You would go to heaven when you died. You attend church, listen to sermon, sing songs, don’t smoke or drink. You are a respectable Christian. But if you were really serious about your faith, you would then commit yourself to spiritual disciplines, radically serve others. You would sacrifice comforts and do serious stuffs like reading the Bible regularly and actively lead others to Christ. If you were really serious about the Christian faith you would become a follower of Jesus. Evangelism and mentoring others is a pastor’s job. Or a cell group leader’s job. But making disciples is an optional upgrade for ordinary Christians. It’s only for those who are a bit over the top… 

But that is cheap grace… it’s the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, it’s cheap grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, it’s just a mental assent or signing a card that does not transform anything.

If you are a Christian, you are not your own. Christ has bought you at the price of his own life. That means your life is not your own. It is God’s. God made you to be truly satisfied, truly filled in Him. He bought you so that you belong to Him. This is the meaning of our lives.

There is a warning. The path of following Jesus will cost you your life. Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” In other words, it is better to lose your life than to waste it. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and self all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

It changes everything. It is costly and painful. But in the final analysis, there is no ultimate sacrifice. We don’t sacrifice for sacrifice’s sake… we give up things for something much more glorious, more beautiful, more joyful, more worthwhile than life itself. You will lose your life, but you will find true life, abundant life, purposeful life, eternal life with the God who loves you.   

In order to experience that, our Christian faith cannot just be just 2 hours of singing songs and listening to sermons just on Sundays… It’s got to be more radical than that. We have to leave our comfort zone, die to our selfish agenda and really follow Jesus. It is not an optional add-on. We have to follow Him, stay close to Him and be passionate about what He is passionate for. Don’t waste your young life. Be sold out for Him.

Now, what does it mean to follow Jesus in IMU?

Let me ask you a question: If you really love Jesus, if you really follow Jesus, what would your life look like? What would you do with your life? You’d be a missionary and preach the gospel in Africa. You’d give up your studies and become a pastor, right? Maybe. Or a full time worker at World Vision or at the church or a ministry? Driver into the church? Doctor or nurse or teacher? Lawyer? Politician? Musician?

Hierarchy of spiritual work…  Dualism: Heart for God/Mind for Science… Pastor do ministry, the rest are just recipients of ministry. Or they are doing the background, support work so that pastors can do the real ministry. Don’t get me wrong. We need more pastors in our churches. And I pray some of you will serve the Lord in that capacity. But the biblical model is that pastors, teachers are not the only ones doing ministry, all of us a prophets and priests and kings who are to be salt and light, to be witnesses of the gospel wherever we are, we are the ones (every single member of God’s people) doing the ministry… and God gave us pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11)

The good news is you can serve God as you study biomedical science, medicine, dentistry, nutrition, psychology, pharmacy and nursing. It can be your act of worship (heart and mind) to God and as service for the kingdom. How can that be?

In every area of study and work, there are signs of God’s good creation and the corrupting influence of sin. As follower of Jesus, you are to enter into that discipline and affirm/celebrate what is good and critique/correct what is wrong. How can I do that? How can I integrate my faith with my work/my research/my studies?

•          Science – What’s Its Method and Limits? Should I assume only what can be tested in experiment is real knowledge? Every day you are confronted with the amazing design of God’s creation (video DNA) – it ought to inspire worship in us 

•          Ethics – End of Life Issues? (Janet) When does human life begin? Abortion? Stem cell research? Peter Singer defines a person as a self conscious rational being who can make decisions. Newborn baby does not qualify as a person and can be killed In the first 28 days of life.  

•          Reality –How do you view Evolution? Is there such a thing as adultery gene or gay gene? Is our behavior determined by genes?

•          Virtues – Dealing with suffering and pain? Caregiver even when you can’t fix the problem? Or is there a life not worth living that justifies a doctor killing patients? (Pediatrician who can't get over her patients/children who die – I don't know what the answer to the problem of evil is, but the cross proves that the answer cannot be that God does not care)

I’m not here to give answers (each of these questions deserve a full seminar on its own) but I’m here to raise these are the issues that will confront your life as a Christian. Following Jesus means grappling with these tough issues, because you are the front line soldiers in this battle that is raging all over the world. If you do not form your convictions based on God’s word, you will conform to the patterns of this world and its assumptions… rather than be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

To be a follower of Jesus means you need to bring a Christian perspective that informs how you make decisions on all these crucial issues. I’d like to give you tool box. The bible storyline of creation-fall-redemption-restoration is also toolbox, a worldview that helps you navigate through some of these complex questions.

I truly believe that this Christian Fellowship is a unique, strategic mission field in the kingdom of God. Because I came to know Christ and learn about ministry through CF. If not for a CF I would not have come to hear the gospel at an Easter gospel meeting. If not for a CF, I would probably have abandoned the Christian faith in college.

You are not here by accident. Firstly, campus ministry is strategic because you only have a couple of years studying in this place. Maybe you will leave to continue studies overseas. You and your friends are at a stage in your lives where you are searching for something to live for, where you are open to new ideas, where you make new friends easily. Opportunities for evangelism abound here that may not be there when they are too busy chasing the Malaysian dream after graduation.

Secondly, in this student fellowship, you get a very precious and rare chance to worship together, pray together and serve together with fellow Christians from a different church tradition. You will mature as you learn to discover your spiritual gifts and passions with each other. You learn from your mistakes.

You can talk to committee members and explore how you could serve. You may think you are not talented, but you are gifted. You think you are not needed, but you are. Lead a Bible study, invite your friends to converse about the areas of your research and give them a Christian perspective, be a friend and show them Jesus. (Campus Outreach) 

Stories: Even when we don't have a quick fix (brain transplant?) we are caregivers. Story: At 2 years old, his muscles ability weakened and so, he couldn't walk properly. At 11 years old, he had breathing difficulties and constantly had to rely on a medical device. One day, this boy told his mom to remove the device because it was a painful ordeal for him. He has lost his will to live. The Pediatrician Neurologist who is treating him asked what are his dreams. The boy wants to be a pilot, to visit Disneyland in Hong Kong and he likes fast cars. So the pediatrician neurologist proceeded to make arrangements with a local plane company that takes passengers on flight simulations. The boy took flight that day as the co-pilot. Something changed after that, the boy wanted to live. The neurologist pediatrician works in UH, he shared today in church on his day-to-day job and the challenges of having to face circumstances treating young lives with tough medical conditions every day. I'm deeply moved, he saved a life by letting the boy fly. I believe he gave the boy a reason to live, Hope.

What is Worship?

Colossians 3:11-17: ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Worship is more than a song. It is what we were made for. The ultimate purpose of our lives.The gathered church is God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved – here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free, Malaysian or African or American, male or female, young or old. These distinctions no longer separate us because Christ is all and is in all. So worship is not about me. Or my individual or cultural preference? It is not what I feel when I am by myself. Worship is all about Jesus. Therefore, we are all united in Him. The walls that divide us are broken down as we stand equal before God. It is our response to what God has done in loving and choosing and rescuing us. It’s about us coming together as a family to encounter Christ and be transformed by the Spirit.

Worship is God-centered. We give to God the adoration, honor, praise and glory that He deserves. Because He is worth it. The first letter in our SIMPLE DNA is “S: Seek and celebrate God”. Worship is the quickening of the conscience by the holiness of God, the feeding of the mind by the truth of God, the purging of the imagination by the beauty of God, the opening of the heart to the love of God, and the devotion of the will to the purpose of God. In worship we encounter God and all that He is – His truth, love, beauty and holiness. And we are changed by Him – all that we are, mind, will, heart and imagination (theology and doxology, mind and heart, in spirit and in truth). It is powerful means of teaching, modeling worship and spiritual formation. Happy songs and lamentations…

 Worship is corporate or communal. It is not a solo performance.  It’s personal but it’s not private. We worship as a family. When we worship, we assemble as a people belonging to Him. We are not just individuals who just happen to be in the same place at the same time. It is more important that we are in harmony than for our music instruments to be playing in the same key. It’s far more acceptable to have an instrument playing off beat than our hearts spiritually out of tune with one another. That’s why Paul stresses “forgiveness”, “love”, “peace” and “unity”: words that can have meaning only when we relate with other people.  He also calls us to a life of “singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in our hearts to God.” For God deserves the best music we can offer Him.

Our SIMPLE DNA: “By glorifying Him in creative, contemplative, heartfelt and celebratory worship, joining the global church through the ages”. That means when we worship, we do so in unity, in solidarity with true worshippers from different cultures, denominations, nations, languages across space and time. The global church is much bigger than we think. And we want to honor that inclusive diversity. Singing is an act of unity. Creeds, hymns connect us to the past. Bahasa songs connect us with our context in space and culture. A church without history is like a person without memory. Not only that, we need to be shaped by the story of God’s people in redemptive history when we celebrate the Holy Communion and enact the gospel.

Worship is gospel-driven

Worship is often understood narrowly as just the “singing before the sermon.” But again, the Scripture says worship is much broader: whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to the Father. All of life is to be an act of worship and thanksgiving. Worship also includes our prayers, our responsive Scripture readings, our silent reflections, our confession of sin/guilt, our tithing, our listening to the Word preached, the Holy Communion. Every element of a worship gathering is a tool in the hand of God to shape and mold us in His own image. 

How can it be meaningful so that even a guest will get to understand and experience the good news week in, week out? Our worship tells a story. We want to tell the gospel by the way we worship. It’s the simple yet profound story of creation/fall/redemption and restoration. When we practice this pattern of adoration, repentance, assurance of forgiveness and dedicating ourselves to God’s purpose, the gospel becomes a habit and guides us so that we do not just drift along with the leaders’ preference, or denominational tradition or what’s appealing to the surrounding culture. And we can see an inside-out movement in worship where having been gathered inside to encounter God and renewed, we are again sent outside to be salt and light in the world. The goal of evangelism is not just to save souls from sin (that’s true, of course). But the ultimate goal is so that people can enjoy and glorify God in fellowship with Him forever.

Isaiah 53: Prophecy on the Suffering Messiah

  Isaiah 53 - Prophecy of Suffering Messiah by Dave

Luke 18: 31- 34    

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

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This painting is called The Shadow of Death. It is not portraying any event recorded in the Gospels. Rather, it depicts an imagined scene. Here Jesus is portrayed as a young man in the carpenter’s workshop before his public ministry had begun. Tired from work, he stretches his arms. His face carries a mix of rapture and agony. His shadow is silhouetted against the wall across his tool board, creating the impression of his body on the cross. In the corner, his mother Mary looks up, aghast to see the shadow of the cross looming over her. If you look carefully, you see that she is opening a chest that contains gifts from the wise men – gold, frankinscense and myrrh which represent his kingship, his divine glory and his death. Although this painting is not historical, it does truly depict a biblical insight that the shadow of the cross hangs over the entire life of Jesus.

In the ancient world, there were three “supreme penalties” that people fear the most. What are the worst methods to punish criminals to death? Beheading was a horrible way to go, being burnt alive was worse (more painful but sometimes, people died from inhaling the smoke before the fire reached them). But the most extreme death penalty one can have was by crucifixion. You catch a glimpse of how violent and agonizing a crucifixion looks like in the movie The Passion of the Christ.

And that is Jesus’ destiny prophesied in Scripture. It is his mission on earth. It is the reason He came.

That’s not something you would expect. Our Muslim neighbors would stress that the prophet of God cannot be allowed to be mocked and crucified. Or suffer defeat. Surely God will protect his servant by rescuing him and replace someone else to be crucified instead. We don’t want that kind of hero. According to a 16^th century document called the “gospel of Barnabas”, Judas Iscariot was supposed to have substituted Jesus on the cross. You may like to know that manuscript written in Italian is more than 1500 years removed from the actual event. So it’s not a reliable historical source.

But the Gospel of Luke, written within only a few decades from the death of Christ, shows us that our Lord was not surprised by what’s going to happen in Jerusalem. He knew it was coming. He anticipated it. He was going to travel to the holy city one last time to celebrate the Passover. Jerusalem is the city where the temple is located, the sacred place where heaven and earth meets.

So Jesus rounds up His disciples and tells them that He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him. They will flog him and kill him. 

You may think: “Oh well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. John the Baptist his predecessor was also executed earlier. There was no freedom of speech in those days, right? So what’s so special about Jesus’ death?”

Well, in the case of Jesus, look at verse 31 here, his death and resurrection happened so that “everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled”. It has been foretold in Scripture. It has been predicted beforehand.

In other words, it may look to bystanders as though Jesus is the victim of betrayal and political conspiracy and mob violence and mock trials and corrupt religious leaders. Yes, we see that a lot in this cruel world. But what Jesus says is breath taking: I am in charge here. It’s all taking place just as Scripture has foretold. Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down. I take it up. Jesus already predicted when he died, how he died, and when he rose from the dead. Yet he still made that journey to Jerusalem. Why?

1) Because all that prophets have predicted hundreds of years ago must be fulfilled.

You see, Jesus is not just another human prophet. Rather he is the ultimate goal of all prophecy. He is their purpose. He is the fulfillment of what the prophets have foretold. What was predicted hundreds of years before had come true in his life. If you are considering the claims of Christ and wonder if there is any good reason to suppose that His life and death are unique, here is a powerful clue: Fulfilled prophecies.

Let me read to you a prediction written in the 16^th century and you tell me what event is being fulfilled here:

The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt,

An evil deed foretold by the bearer of a petition.

According to the prediction, another falls at night time.

Conflict at Reims, London and a pestilence in Tuscany.

(re-kan-s, tas-kanee)

Whose death do you think is being predicted here? You would never have guessed by just reading it. The answer is: The assassination of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Who do you think wrote these four lines of prediction? Nostradamus.

OK, thunderbolts and gunshots: not terribly dissimilar. And the great man was struck down in the day, as John F. Kennedy was. The other falling at nighttime would be Bobby Kennedy (five years later).

Science Channel: Now, it can work if you want it to, but do you really think a Secret Service agent reading this passage in 1963 would have cause to be concerned?

Probably not. It is so vague, vague enough to mean any other great leader killed during day or night. And it doesn’t even say there were related as brothers. And what of Reims, London and Tuscany? Their deaths were not related to any conflict or pestilence in those places. Not a terribly impressive prediction.

Now let us return to the death of Christ. Where was it prophesied that the Promised One, the Messiah will die a violent death and rise again from the grave? It would be amazing if such prophecies were true. But were they really talking about Jesus? Or were they just too vague like this one?

Around 700 years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah made one of the clearest predictions of the Messiah’s death and resurrection. It shed so much light to what He was doing that the book of Isaiah came to be known as the ‘fifth gospel’ apart from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  

I would like to read with you a portion of this prophecy about the suffering and vindication of the Messiah in Isaiah 53: The God of Israel says:

See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. (resurrection, ascension, exaltation?)
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him —
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

 Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (rejection by people in life)

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, (the Roman spear pierced Jesus’ side)
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. (substitutionary atonement language)

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth. (Did not fight his arrest, accepted suffering)
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested? (False accusations, corrupt trial)
For he was cut off from the land of the living; (means: His suffering led to death)
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death, (Even though Jesus was poor and crucified people are left to the dogs, Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea)
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth. (He has committed no crime or sin deserving death)

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his seed and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities. (This is all about the resurrection. Jesus would suffer, die, and buried in a rich man’s tomb. And then, after the suffering, he’d get out of his grave, he’d see the light of day, he’d enjoy life again, he would accomplish his mission to justify many and take away sin, that he’d reconcile us to God. “It is finished.” He will be satisfied to see His people, his seed prosper)
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Sin bearer)

Now, who is This Servant of the Lord? Who is Isaiah talking about in its original context? Some interpreters would say, in its original context, the servant of the Lord refers to the nation Israel. Israel has always been persecuted by the sinful Gentile nations and suffered greatly because of the transgressions of others. Think of Nazi Holocaust and similar tragic episodes throughout their long history. Yes, sometimes in the book of Isaiah the servant of the Lord is clearly the people of Israel (Isaiah 41: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you.^”). And sometimes the servant refers to the prophet Isaiah himself (Isaiah 49:5) "And now says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring back Jacob to him." Here the prophet Isaiah is the servant who brings the people of Israel back to God.

But in Isaiah 53 the servant cannot be the prophet or the people. Because the Servant is portrayed as substituting himself for both the prophet and the people of Israel. Verse 4: "Surely he [the Servant] took up our pain and bore our suffering." Verse 5: "He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities." "Our" means "me, Isaiah" and the people of Israel. So this mysterious Servant is not the people of Israel and not Isaiah, because he is the substitute for both of them. His job is to restore Israel and bring light to the Gentile nations.  

Who then is this Servant of the Lord? Ancient Jewish rabbis understood it to refer to the Messiah. So it is not surprising to find that Jesus clearly understood this prophecy as being fulfilled in his own life and ministry. He is the suffering servant who is crushed for the sins of the people. What will soon happen to Him in Jerusalem is fulfillment of this prophecy. He himself said, "The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve (to be a Servant) and to give his life a ransom [a substitute!] for many" (Mark 10:45).  

In all the history of Israel, no one comes close to fulfilling this prophecy apart from Jesus. In Acts 8 there is an Ethiopian eunuch (a diplomat) who was reading Isaiah 53 when Philip joined him in his chariot. The eunuch asked, "Of whom does the prophet Isaiah speak, of himself, or of someone else?" Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture he proclaimed Jesus to him (Acts 8:35).  

Let me remind all of us that this was written 700 years before Jesus was born and there was no way Isaiah could have known it unless it was revealed to him. This passage is packed with details about the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

2) Why did Jesus die? Why did He press on to Jerusalem knowing certain death awaits him?

What is the meaning of His death? Actually it would be more accurate to say there are multiple layers of meanings in the Cross of Christ. Like a diamond, it has many sides. The cross is God’s victory over the powers of Satan because sin and death have no dominion over those who are in Christ. It is Jesus’ non violence unmasking the corruption behind oppressive powers. The cross is Christ satisfying God’s holy requirements in the law. The cross is a demonstration of how much God’s love is for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us so our indifference melts away. The cross inspires us to follow Him in self-sacrifice and self-giving.

All these are precious ways of understanding the cross of Christ that should we should recover. And I would also point out that all this is true because sacrifice is at the heart of the cross. Jesus took up our pain and bore our sins. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. It was the Lord’s will to crush him as a sin offering.

What the movies like Passion of the Christ or the historical books cannot show us is what goes on spiritually on the cross. They cannot show us the reality that we are separated from God by our sin. That God is alienated from us by His holy anger. God doesn’t lose his temper for no reason at all. His anger is provoked always by sin.

 Some people say this is not fair. This is like me saying “You offended me. So in order that I can forgive you, I must go and beat up Yoong Zhen first”. Some even call it ‘cosmic child abuse’ – an angry Father punishes his own innocent son for the wrongs of others. But that’s a serious misunderstanding of what the cross is about.

Firstly, Jesus is not an unwilling third party here. He is not forced to do it. He willingly embraced the Cross for the joy set before him. He and the Father are one in this plan.

Secondly, God the Father so loved the world that He gave his only Son. It is not as though he is reluctant and needs to be pacified by Jesus. Precisely because God is love that He has made a way for sinful men to be forgiven without ignoring sin… without downplaying sin. It is not just another man that the Father is punishing for our sins, but Jesus the embodiment of God took upon Himself the sins of us all. The One who passes judgment now steps down and receives the penalty.  

It is in the death of Christ as a substitute and sacrifice that sin is removed and God’s wrath is absorbed, so that God can look on us without displeasure and man can look on God without fear. Sin is cleansed (expiated) and God is satisfied (propitiated).

It is not justice. But it is grace. God is showing us the love and mercy that we do not deserve.

3) When Jesus predicted His death, the disciples were clueless. They did not get it. Does it surprise you? How can that happen? Is it because they couldn’t hear properly or what? Or are they confused because what Jesus predicted was not what they wanted to hear? Could it be that their misunderstanding is caused by their refusal to understand? 

They are ever hearing but never understanding because they wanted a kingdom that brings judgment down on the bad guys. The Messiah should not suffer. He should cause our enemies to suffer. We want a Messiah who brings power, prestige and deliverance to us. A crucified Messiah is not what we would expect. He is supposed to be the one crucifying others. Lest we become too harsh on the disciples, let’s ask ourselves: Do we really understand any of this? What kind of Savior are we looking for? What kingdom are we expecting?

Do we seek a kingdom where God blesses us with a lovely spouse who is always loving; always understanding and agrees with us all the time? A kingdom where we are blessed with above average children, always fun to play with, always healthy and obeys us all the time? A kingdom where our nasty colleagues get fired and evil people get zapped right now? A kingdom where our bank account grows steadily and keeps us safe and secure?  

But the focal point of Jesus’ mission is not our comfort. It is sacrifice. And that’s hard to understand and if understood, it’s even hard to accept. Take up your cross and follow me. Die to sin, be alive to God.

Here is Jesus saying: I must go to Jerusalem. I must go to the cross. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone and lonely. But if it dies, it breaks forth into new life and produces much fruit.

The Christian life begins when we are forgiven of our sins and the Holy Spirit breathes new life into us. So our discipleship is shaped by the cross and the resurrection from first to last. As we die to our selfish pride, die to our greed and sinful ambitions, die to the mindset of the world, we become alive to God, alive to His purpose and design for our lives, alive to what it means to be in community.

Only through death can we experience newness of life and joy in Christ.

And I wonder: How would we die to sin today? Is there a legitimate pleasure that is controlling us, entangling us from walking closer to God? Is there something that our Lord is asking you to let go? Is He calling you to obedience in some area in your life? Perhaps He is calling you to sacrifice comfort to pursue something much greater? Are we shaped by the self giving pattern of Christ?

Friends, the cross and resurrection of Jesus is a once-off event that changed history. But death and resurrection is also an ongoing process in our spiritual life… dying to self and being raised to new life is the shape of Christian discipleship. We have a cruciform spirituality.