Thinking for a change

The Eagles at football.

Rev Joel Yong

Wesley Methodist Church Singapore

20 July 2014

Anthem : Panis Angelicus 

Soloist Lauren Yeo

Panis Angelicus fit panis hominum,

Dat panis coelicus figuris terminum.

O res mirabilis, manducat Dominum,

Pauper, pauper, servus et humilis.

Obstacles to life change

Pygmalion vs Golem

Pygmalion effect: greater expectations result in better performance .

Golem effect: lower expectation result in lower performance.

Experiment

Students given IQ test.

Teachers given names of 20 said to have high IQ

After a year these 20 found to do well.

BUT their names had been choosen at random.

Thoughts determine deeds.

Rev Joel 

Bottom of class in Sec 2

Was told and believed

Unless you put your foot to the pedal you can't go

Studied and studied

Within a year reached near top of the class.

1) Don't let your yesterdays be a bondage

Eg Lot's wife

Longingly looked back expectantly at Sodom

"Good old times"

2) Don't let yesterday's give you an ingrained mindset

Having left Sodom and Gomorah

Lot lives in a cave with his daughters 

Isolated.

But the past licentious  incestous atmosphere of sexuality remained.

His daughters get him drunk in order to get pregnant by him.

They had an ingrained contaminated mindset, influenced by their yesterday.

3) Don't let your yesterday leave you with a narrow mindset,

Eg Israelites, free but hungry in the deser

Would rather be well fed slaves in Egypt.

Tunnel vision, microscopic view

Fail to see the big picture.

4) Don't let your yesterdays limit you:

Israelites saw the enemies as giants and felt like grasshoppers .

For their fear and failure , wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Fail to see, blinded, that you can do bigger things

One thing in common of these examples

FAILURE

Failure to reach destination

Failure to accomplish what God had wanted them to accomplish.

Our yesterday ended last night

"Yesterday" some church members were ugly

Late in registering for course/camp

Rude to staff/volunteers / Sunday school teachers 

Come with consumer mindset demanding to be served rather than wishing to serve.

Bury that yesterday

May there be a new tomorrow

Sermon Illustration

Rev Joel introduced football to a group of disadvantaged kids

Group of 28 grew to 100.

Team "eagles"

Entered under 16 competition

11+ year olds vs 15+

Held steadily to 0-0 at half time

Crowd cheered

Lost double digit but left field proud

Not influenced by their background but by what they decided to do.

The harvest is plentiful

Mission Sunday

13 July 2014

Wesley Methodust Church

Pastor Yeoh Seng Eng

Pasir Panjang Hill Bretheren Church

Text Luke 10:1-12

The "other disciples" were sent "two by two" to "prepare the way"

Jesus is coming soon

We are the "other disciples "

We are to prepare the way.

Three interesting points

A) Status update

B) Strategy

C) Strength

A) Status update

i) Harvest PLENTIFUL

ii) Workers FEW

iii) You may be REJECTED

iv) You may be ACCEPTED

Even if you are rejected, it is not you that is being rejected, but God.

B) Strategy

i) Go two by two

Or pair up with partners from other churches

ii) simplicity

Use what is in your hands

Moses used a stick

Seng Eng used dried flowers

Make greeting cards

Grew into a business to support 800 families

Agriculture

Goats

Odorless vegetarian pigs (feeding on  Azolla)

iii) seek man of peace

iv) heal the sick & tell of the kingdom of God

Care Channels used

Help them

Empower them

Dignified ways to get food on the table

These enabled connections with communities who are then willing to hear your message 

C) Strength

With God's power

All things are possible

Ministry to migrant workers in Singapore 

Lead to Telugu service

 15-20 baptisms a year

Some will return to Bangaladesh and serve as pastors/ missionaries.

On a trip to Dacca

Pastor Yeoh got seriously injured in a traffic accident

13 micro fractures and a haemothorax

Finally returned to Singapore: needed to be drained (twice)

During healing process felt an unsuall warm sensation on chest: touch of an angel.

Lord’s Day Hymn – “Facing a Task Unfinished”

By Frank Houghton, 1930

Facing a task unfinished,
That drives us to our knees,
A need that undiminished,
Rebukes our slothful ease,
We, who rejoice to know Thee,
Renew before Thy throne,
The solemn pledge we owe Thee,
To go and make Thee known.

Where other lords beside Thee
Hold their unhindered sway,
Where forces that defied Thee,
Defy Thee still today,
With none to heed their crying
For life, and love, and light,
Unnumbered souls are dying,
And pass into the night.

We bear the torch that flaming
Fell from the hands of those,
Who gave their lives proclaiming
That Jesus died and rose.
Ours is the same commission,
The same glad message ours,
Fired by the same ambition,
To Thee we yield our powers.

O Father Who sustained them,
O Spirit Who inspired,
Saviour, Whose love constrained them,
To toil with zeal untired,
From cowardice defend us,
From lethargy awake!
Forth on Thine errands send us
To labour for Thy sake.

(c) Overseas Missionary Fellowship

Church as community

MIC meet 

Friday 11 July 2014

WMC

Jason shared a summary of church camp teaching (Edmund Chan)

Church family 

Word based

Discipleship Community

United

Word based

Hearers and doers

Firm foundation

Foundation not seen except times of storms

The LKY tree stunted and unhealthy because roots could not grow

Church should be discipleship community

Salt to the earth

Light to the world

Discipleship needs to come from within

Unlike man who swam across shark infested pool only to ask

"Who pushed me"

Church united family

Three causes of tension

Boasting

Impatience

Envy

Need to work together

Think of one another 

Think of self

Think of responsibility 

Witness as a church family

Don't wait to go on mission trip

Taxi ride provides opportunities

PDA

Pray for Divine appointments

Take every opportunity

Not a parachute ministry 

But ministry in community

Be part of the community

June 2014 Choir retreat

Our choir had an in-house retreat

Our meditation was brought to by Mrs Chang Wei Hwa

Focusing on WHYs

And the need to tap on agod like a 3A battery

We has a sumptuous buffet lunch 

Then the boys and girls were separated

William brought the men though some basic techniques

Warming up

Focusing on uniform vowel pronunciation

Picking out the vowels in a song

adding the constanants...

Zinnia zinned the girls.

By the way Eric had nice tulips for us: thanks Eric.

My comic book style notes .

20140628 Crossing the Jabbok

Sermon topic: Crossing the Jabbock River

Dr Tan Lai Yong

Wesley Wesley Methodist Church

Saturday 28 June 2014

Text: Genesis 32

Crossing the Nijiang River is scary, terrifying.

Jacob was crossing the Jabbok

He was scared

He named the place "Mahanaim" which means Two Camps but there was only one camp!

There was a binary theme in his life.

2 daughters of Laban became his wives

2 flocks

2 groups coming to meet him

2 brothers

2 wrestling matches

2 times angels

He always sought to devide and conquer.

Problem: what was on his heart?

Chinese writing

Knife on heart: ren, endurance

Self on heart: ji: jealousy 

reason on heart: En: grace

Double amputee

Came to ask for two artificial legs so that when he walked into a brothel he would not be rejected.

He was looking for love but on the wrong way

(he was given the artificial legs)

Jabbock 

Alone

Calculating

Battling

Opponents

An angel came to wrestle

Through wrestling with God (Prayer) God changes us.

Through wrestling Jacob was changed from Possessions to Stewardship.

Question to ask

Where is your heart?

Psalm 51:10

New International Version (NIV)

 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We need to confront and deal with the many lies around us

Eg "the PSLE is the most important examination in your life. 

"If you don't do well, you're never going to make it."

Be an Israel

Be a God-Wrestler.

Handicapped girl on a picnic

Feeling downcast 

We are like the grass on the picnic site

Every one step on us

On the brighter side; if there is no grass there would just be mud.

Take home message as seen by su min

From

problem

Fear

Possessiveness

We can find release

Transformation 

Change

Through struggle, wrestling, prayer.

To achieve obedience , stewardship.

20140622 Life Change

Andrea stuck in the ball pool

Rev Joel Yong

22 June 2014

Life Change

aka How God's power comes

John 10:10

I have come that you have abundant life

But not all are experiencing the abundant life

Need change

Need U-turn.

For a car to U-turn

Need to apply brakes

Then apply accelerator.

Need to stop what is harmful

Need to start what is helpful

But this is not easy

Especially if you are stuck in a bad habit

Many stumble at the first rung of the ladder

We want proof before we start

Eg proof that dieting work

Eg proof that counseling work

But that is not how God works

Faith is living in advance what you will see in future

Nick Grumble

The ship is only safe in habour

But if you want to go anywhere you have to move out.

Exodus 14:13-14

Chariots were chasing the Israelites.

God says "Do not be afraid. Stand still."

Red Sea had not yet parted.

Nor did the Israelites know that it would.

Israelites were trapped.

Egyptians were advancing.

Yet God wants them to stand still!

Joshua 3:8

similar situation.

Enemies advancing.

"Take a few steps into the river and stop there"

They obeyed and the River Jordon parted!

John 2:7-9

at the banquet

The wine ran out

The servants were told to fill the jars with water and serve the guests.

It was while they obeyed that the miracle occurred.

Luke 17:14. 

The lepers were told

"Go and show."

And as they went, they were cleansed.

(It is not that they were healed then they went..)

As they went, power came along .

Why does God do this?

(Require us to obey Him without proof?)

2 Kings 5

Naaman and Elisha

Naaman had leprosy

Was told that Elisha could heal him.

Stopped outside Elisha's house.

Was told by messenger

"Wash yourself 7 times in Jordon River"

Naaman was angry

Bigger issue was pride

Prophet would not see him face to face

asked Naaman to wash in dirty river

Syrian rivers are cleaner

But it is not about the cleanliness of the Syrian rivers

But about the power of God

Naaman is persuaded to try washing in the Jordan

And indeed it works

He is cured of leprosy

And he believes!

"Now I know there is no God in the world except in Israel."

He even thinks Israel's dirt is better than Syrian dirt.

God's power had stripped away his pride.

Max Lucado tells how his daughter Andrea was collecting balls in a ball pool.

Andrea slipped and was at the bottom of the ball pool.

"Andrea" Max shouted "push down on the floor and you will be able to get up"

"I can't, my hands are full of balls" she replied.

What do we need to let go of in order to get up?

2 Cor 5:7

We live by faith not by sight.

Olympics 

Although the motto is faster, higher, better...

These achievements are mainly the result of better technology. 

Cinder track vs modern surfaces

Hole in cinder vs starting blocks...

If you truly want better you need God.

Pastor Joel was in his 3rd year university course when he felt called to full time service . He responded by applying for theological studies. Now he has been in ministry for the last 12 years.

Is God calling you to change?

Career?

Body weight?

Relationship

     To mend?

      To break?

Join a small group?

Whatever the change

God is saying

I will give you strength 

Strength for the first step

Strength for the first day 

And the next 

And the next.

Will you take the step of faith

Will you change?