Sunday, 9th December 2018
Rev. Daniel Xi An Poon
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20)
Joseph did not say he was afraid, but the angel said to him “do not be afraid”. God knew that what Joseph was going to face would not look normal or right in human’s eyes, therefore He was telling Joseph not to be afraid.
We are like Joseph at this stage, we may make decisions based on what we think is true from our past experience or what other people tell us. But this is not kingdom living. Our standard is not of the world but from the Bible only when we live by the standard of the Bible can we live on earth as in heaven.
Jesus suffered when He was persecuted on earth, so He knows what we are going through. He doesn’t want us to isolate ourselves but to enter the world and be the salt and light. Often we limit our thinking because we are just the followers of this world, and forget that God has given His children the ability to create. We must know who we are and not be afraid to try new things.
“And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:10)
What does it mean? We need take off the old one first before putting on the new self. We tend to want to upgrade our things but look at others through the old lens and demand them according to the old ways. We should follow the new way as long as it is good. We can only be renewed in the knowledge of God when we study the Bible, in this way we will not be pushed by this world. We often lose our direction, so we need to rely on God.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
Do we know what God’s will is? We need to know deeper than just the simple “Jesus love you, I love you”. Everyone searches the true love to satisfy their deepest desire, and Romans 12:2 tells us the secret of how to know what God’s will is – Our life should be changed after becoming a Christian. Our life will start to have value and purpose once we know God’s will for us. Then we will have faith to try new things and keep going even after we make mistakes, because Jesus came to love and care for us. We just need to humble ourselves and be willing to learn and change. When we are willing to invest our time in God’s kingdom, we will get truly prepared for the blessing ahead. And as a church we must be in one body and one one mind so that we can work in unity to fulfill the purpose that God has given us.