Sunday, 12^th November 2023

Rev Daniel Xi An Poon

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to first pray for the Will of the Father, may the Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. When we pray for the nations, God will fulfil our needs, we don’t need to worry. In New Zealand, we have a very special national anthem, God Defend New Zealand. It’s so important for us to always remember our land in prayers. Do we really know what are we here for?

We thought we are here at the church on Sundays because we are Christians, if we come because we have to come, then there is no meaning to it. Everything happens is about the relationship, God wants us to have a relationship with Him. Even when we are at our workplace, if we don’t know our purpose at our work, if we don’t have any relationship between ourselves and the company we work for, then we will only be there for the money, for the living, or for the sake of working, and we will not have a good time while we are working. The same with our marriage, if there is no relationship, if we only marry for the sake of marriage, then we will not enjoy our marriage. Everything we do should have a purpose, when we are committed in something, when we have a relationship, then we will feel loved, and we will enjoy everything we do.

When Adam woke up, he saw Eve, and he knew she was his wife. Before Eve did anything for Adam, Adam knew he had a relationship with her, because she’s created from Adam’s rib, she’s part of Adam. The husband and wife love each other not because of what they do to each other, but because of the relationship. This is the truth, the husband and wife are from one body, one unity. In our church, we are also one body, we have the same Father, everything comes from Him. In Him, we can find a sense of belonging; in Him, we can receive love; in Him, we can be whole.

Luke 8:5-15 says, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold. When He had said these things He cried, he who has ears to hear, let him hear! Then His disciples asked Him, saying, what does this parable mean? And He said, to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

The disciples of Jesus did not understand what Jesus was talking about, so Jesus explained to them, “to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables.” Jesus loves all of us, but His love is not cheap, it’s our choice to receive His love. It’s like preparing a full table of food, but if we don’t choose to eat it, then the food will have nothing to do with us. Jesus knew that the disciples did not understand, He was waiting for them to ask Him the question. Jesus said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” Every Sunday, when we come to church, we listen to the Word of God. The Word of God is not just any words in the Bible, but also what has been preached on Sunday.

1.    Receiving the New Seed Every Week

Every week we receive the new seeds when we come to church on Sunday. When we want to grow something, we need the seed. When we don’t have any seed, then we cannot grow anything. What do we focus on when we come to church every Sunday? Do we really want tot receive the new seed that’s been given to us? Or do we focus on how long the sermon is or how well the Word is preached? The seed we receive is a blessing, and the seed will grow into maturity in our lives. If we didn’t have the seed, then nothing will happen, and we will not know why we come to church every Sunday. When people ask us why we go to church, do we know how to answer? It’s like going home, we go home because of our love for our family, and because it’s where we belong.

2.    Spreading the New Seed Every Week

When we receive the new seed, what do we do with it? Do we keep it in our pocket or store in the storage? When we hear the Word of God, what happens afterwords? We may think the message is good, but never let it make a difference in our lives. We must plant the seed in the ground, in the good soil, then the seed will grow. The Word of God is our good seed, for us to plant in our hearts, practice with our actions, and we are spreading the seeds into good soil. Let the Word of God be alive in us!

3.    Taking Care of the Seed that was Spread Every Week

We must cultivate and take care of our seed every day, to fertilise it, to water it, and to let the sun shine upon it. Even when the same seeds spreading in the same soil may grow into different sizes of plants. We must really take care of our seed with heart, not just do it for the sake of ‘doing’. When God created the world, He first created the light, then He created the sky and the earth. Because without the light, the land cannot grow anything, and without the sky, there will be no rain to grow anything. Then God created plants, because without the plants, the animals would have nothing to eat. Last He created human to look after the plants and the animals.

When we buy a plant, we will first look at the environment where we will plant, to see if it has enough sunlight, and can receive enough water. The same with our prayers, when we pray, do we first look at the results? Or do we first connect with God and pray the Will of God? When we hear the message, it’s not about following every detail, but whatever we received that is talking to our hearts, then make it into action.

Faith is a process of continuing to believe throughout lifetime, for the sake of the glorious end time. How can we continue this process of believing throughout our lifetime? It’s like being pregnant with a baby, the mother will not know what her baby looks like, but she knows the baby is a blessing to the family. She is willing to carry the baby for ten months, it is not easy, but she has the faith that giving birth to the baby, her family will be blessed and joyful. This faith will not stop when the baby is born but continues as the child grows.

Every week, we must take care of the seed that is spread to us, for the sake of the glorious end time. Jesus will return, this is the truth, and we must be prepared. There are many issues in our lives, we tend to focus on the answer and miss out on the opportunity to build the relationship with God. God has already prepared everything for us, He has given us the bigger picture for our life. Let us pray for this faith, when we hear, when we act, and He will let our seed grow.