Sunday, 16th April 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
This is the year God wants us to raise up the next generation. It’s not only the church leaders, but we need to have the next generation to rise up for God. We just had the youth camp last week, even though Rev Daniel had injuries, he still continued to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and organized the Youth Camp for all the young people. In the past we have held many camps, but it has always been family camps, and this is the first time we have held a youth camp focusing on the young people. This is God’s answer for us, we prayed, we talked to God, and we received confirmation.
Rev Daniel’s idea was only to sit back and ensure that all the camp leaders do their job, but God answered to him to also join all the activities the youth would involve in. There had been many challenges to start with, the weather report was not good, it showed bad weather all week, we also had plan B in case of rainy weather. But we still believed God will open the door for us, therefore we decided to stick to the plan. When we got to the bus on the first day, everyone was quiet, but after five days and four nights, everyone built strong relationships. The older ones looked after the younger ones, and everyone looked out for each other.
The weather was really good throughout the week, the only day that was rainy a little bit was the day we did kayak. But it was the perfect weather for kayaking because it was sunny then everyone would get sunburn. There were miracles every day and we saw the bonding of the children; we learnt from each other and encouraged each other. If God leads, He will take full responsibility, and we don’t need to worry. So how can we live by faith? What is faith? Is it about believing in ourselves that we can make everything happen? The truth is we still may fail, there are still challenges in life that may stop us from continuing to believe.
So what does the Bible say about faith? The Bible talks about faith, love, and hope, God wants us to arise and shine, to show people that we are different to the people of this world. It’s not about how successful we are in this world, it’s not about how much money we have, and it’s not about how popular we are. It’s about how we can live the best life now!
The True Faith
We all have our own ways of interpretations, we have our own thinking, our own mindset, and our own believes, but when God speaks, can we submit to God, to really humble ourselves and let God’s Will be done? In Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” Do we really believe that God wants the best for us? So often we only call out to God when we need Him, when we come across challenges. We become like a slave, and we cannot really experience God.
Following God with a truth faith is like having an adventure, when we decide to follow God wholeheartedly, then we can follow joyfully without worry. Do we have the truth faith and really submit under the Will of God? We must learn to stay below and under the Word of God, it is the foundation of our faith, and with testimonies, we can continue to have this true faith. When we share the testimony, God will do it again. All the stories we experienced are for us to know that God is real, He is the truth, and we can live the best life. It will belong to us, we will not feel tired, and we will not be burnt out. God will give us the strength to press on, and we will not feel tired but joyful throughout the journey.
To Really Believe
In Hebrews 11:3, it says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” If we don’t believe in what we see, then what do we believe? We believe in the Word of God. We believe in the Holy Spirit and we also strongly believe in the Word of God. Our Bible Institute and our Morning Devotion are all about studying the Word of God.
Our past experiences are not what we base on to really believe, but by the Word of God. In Isaiah 60, God tells us to arise and shine, we should not sit down and staying in our comfort zone, but to wake up and to follow God. This is how we can experience the best life!