Pastor Koay Kheng Hin
19 May 2019
What is this spiritual honey all about?
1 Corinthians 3:6
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
Paul was saying that the Corinthian church was planted by him but Apollos watered the seed that he planted. But the growth of the church spiritually or numerically was by God.
Today as we move into the ministry of the church to the body of Christ or outside the body of Christ, the task of the church is to plant and to water. The focus of the church should be upon planting and watering.
And we must humbly accept that it’s a spiritual ministry that no man can determine the growth of the church but by his sovereign will and by his appointment that all glory is unto him alone.
But if God is responsible, we cannot just sit back and let God do the work. The planting and the watering is by us.
What is this planting and watering? I want to look at these two verses and know exactly what we are planting and what we are watering and where the focus of the church is.
Psalms 19:7-10
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
This word of God is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. When I say planting and watering, I want to draw our attention to verse 10, that there is treasure in the word of God. He compared it to gold and wealth and honey and it is even more precious than those.
The ministry of the church is to preach, to teach and to live out the word of God.
If you want to catch bees, you don’t run around chasing them. You’ll never catch many. You have to ask what attract bees? Honey bees are attracted to honey and when you have honey, the bees will come. If you focus on bees, you don’t get honey or bees. If you focus on having honey, the bees will come.
The word of God as spiritual honey as it’s being preached, taught and lived out willl gather spiritual bees. Who are the spiritual bees? Me, you and your friends.
Every man has a spiritual vacuum. It will always be there and cannot be totally fulfilled until he meets his God and creator. That spiritual honey will draw people.
I have been a teacher all my life. I never bother about how many students comes into my class. Some teachers are like that. If they give an extra class they must make sure all the students must come. If they don’t come they de-merit them.
Then students will ask how many points. Teacher if say two, they say two no need to come. If teacher say four or five, woah…like that better come. I never look at that. I just say I have extra class and by the grace of God they come. They come because they know they will be better off.
What I’m trying to get at is whether it’s my teaching or my access to the marking scheme, they come because I had something to offer. We can try to drag our spouse or brother who is a pre-believer, but if they know there is something that we can offer them, they will ask to come. They will realise the church has something to offer him.
We are like the spiritual bees. You have honey, they will come. There is no other way we can build spiritual honey except the word of God. That is why we have Bible Study and we preached the word and that is why we have the Global University. We do all these because we firmly believe that the word of God will feed into his soul.
Verse 7 the law of the word revives the soul. People may ask why I’m so into the word of God. Maybe you say it’s because I’m a teacher and because I am a reader. No, it’s not just that. It’s because the way I came to know Christ was through his word.
When I initially read the word of God, it was to try to put my brother down. When I was in Penang Free School, my Christian friends will come and share with a group of us. I say I’ll read the Bible to counter them. My brother knew even more so I have to read even more to counter my brother.
One day my brother shared with me and I started with the flood. And I asked my brother do you know how much water needed to cover the whole earth? Because he was a Chemistry man and I a Physics teacher, I won and he scratched his head.
My other brother said let God deal with him. I’ve repented. It came to a point where I had to confront the Lord and I read from Genesis to the end. It took me 8 months. I didn’t read by books but by page number. My wife sometimes asked me to come to sleep but I kept reading.
Along the way, I had a gastritis problem from Form 4. It was 20 years and sometimes it was so bad I’d roll in bed. Until I didn’t replenish the medicine I also didn’t know. Because it was gone. Because of my thyroid problem, I also have an anxious and nervous problem. I also forgot the medication and I threw it into the waste paper basket because it was all gone. No more hyperthyroidism.
More importantly, I woke up that morning and I passed a phase where the word of God revived my soul.
Our friends who have not known God have not heard the word of God. When they hear the word of God they will see God and the soul of man connects with God spiritually and the conduit is the word of God.
At TOP we will plant and water the word of God. The word of God has two “L”. It can remain a letter or when it is lived out will bring life. When it is lived out you see it in his word.
John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
It was not a new Commandment. The extend to which we love one another is how Jesus loved his disciples. It’s the intensity of that love. It’s a very tall order. Jesus said by this all men will know you are my disciples.
If the word of God is being taught but not lived out it will remain the letter and will not transform. It will just be in the mind. Once the word of God revitalises your soul then the word of God will be lived out. That’s when you will grow in the unconditional love for others.
It is easy to love the lovable or someone who cares for you but difficult to love someone who exploit you or take advantage of you. But unconditional love means you have to move beyond that. To love the unlovable. To move into another realm of love.
In this Global University session, one night the question came out about loving people. That God’s grace goes beyond the logical. I asked about Sri Lanka and the bombing. They were probably thinking to pray for the churches but I said we need to pray for the terrorists that they may be saved. I asked can pray for them or not? They said very susah (difficult).
I stopped there. If you really look into the word of God, that’s the extend we have to go. Finally, you have Jesus saying love your enemy. I can let you know if we can grow in this, we will have a wonderful family life.
You and your spouse are not perfect. But do you realise that sometimes your wife has not moved to the level of a terrorist and your wife say a wrong word and you terrorise her already.
Love will always have that grace. A reason to justify the words of your spouse. For example, you come back after a hard day’s work. The marketplace was not easy and your boss just scolded you. And you see something and you complain. Your loving wife will say he’s tired. Maybe he’s had a hard day or is scolded by his boss. The loving wife justify by finding a reason. That is love. One little area we all can learn.
For children it works both ways. If you have two or three children sometimes we treat the smarter ones better. Sometimes we don’t treat the less smart ones less. Unconsciously. So the children will also know. And they will try to score good marks because they think that’s how they get love. That is conditional love. Many problem children have this problem because their need for love is conditional of their performance.
I have this student who got 50 in her physics and she jumped with joy while another who got 75 cried because she said her mom will kill her if she gets less than 80. We love people for who they are and not what they do.
The children have to understand that almost all of us parents mean well. We may pick on certain things, we mean well and children must see from the viewpoint of their parents.
Don’t talk harshly to your parents. Talk nicely to them. This is one area I am very very firm with. This is one thing I am very firm about. I have seen children who say but my father is wrong. It is not about right or wrong but you must respect your father.
We preach, teach and live out the word of God and we will be a community that is different and people will see it. Along this line, introducing you to our newest head of ministry. The visitation ministry. Headed by Bro Moses Leow. Why?
It’s because when we have a visitation ministry, it is more organised how we care for each other. I approached him twice last year but he was not ready. But I formed the team but it was dormant. So this year I told him I formed the team and told him I have the team already and when he’s ready he has a team then.
He finally said yes. And now he’s a very fast worker. We want to live out the word of God and grow the community.
I pray that we will build up real friendships and we will care for one another. If you go through a difficult phase I will help you. And one day if someone else goes through a difficult phase you will help him. And one day when I go through a difficult phase, God will sent someone to help me.
A lot of people are individualistic but there will come a time when we all need help. God is working in the midst of us so that we grow in a community that will help one another.
Yesterday my friend sent a link to me, what’s your expected lifespan. I did the test and I got 83. I’m satisfied with the result. Sis Rachel was higher. I want to be real that I will grow old. Whether you are a pastor or lay person, the curse of sin falls upon all men.
Experience of perfect salvation awaits glorification. God is trying to say that the body will decay. The time will come and I will need to go. I like to take care of old people. Tomorrow when I’m old people will come and visit me.
It’s a community and you will realise we can experience the overcoming faith. When we go through difficulty it is only a phase. At the end of the tunnel is the light. When they’re going through that phase, you see the difficulty. But once they pass the phase, you see the blessing. The difficulty is when you go through the tunnel and you think you’re alone, that’s the difficulty.
Spiritual honey is the word of God that is lived out. A community of people that cares and love for each other.
Acts 2:42-43
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
They were a growing church as God added to them daily. They devoted themselves to the word and a fellowship of unconditional love. They took care of one another. Jesus held everything together and through prayer where the word became alive.
The result were in verse 43. The power of God came down.
Acts 3:6-8
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
I want to summarise everything with the alphabet “I”.
1. Inviting church – when we are a church that attracts and draws people.
2. Imparting church – we cannot give what we do not have. A teacher cannot impart what he or she don’t have.
The manifest of the presence of God. When I pray I pray for the powerof God for deliverance and I also pray for the peaceof God for the rest of his soul.
We cannot impart peace if we have no peace. Let us grow in impartation by spending more time with Jesus, read the word of God and spend time in prayer.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
3. Introducing church – the cripple was introduced to Jesus.
4. Intimacy in Christ – we grow in our love for God.
Tabernacle Of Praise will be an inviting church. An imparting church and also an introducing church. And finally an intimate church with Christ.
The planting and watering is focused on these 4 “I’s”. We are planting and watering to facilitate an environment for an inviting church. And men and women who does not know Christ can be introduced to Jesus. And finally we will also grow in intimacy with God. This is where we are heading.
My focus is the spiritual honey. You plough the ground and plant the seed, you don’t have to worry, the durians will grow.
Focus on the process the product will fall into place.
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