01/11/2015 Sermon Notes – Pastor Lian on HOPE

Brother very experienced in water who has done diving and is a strong swimmer was pulled out to sea by currents and went under. Saw death. Cried out Jesus save me. A man came to him wearing white with a surfboard in his hands. Was told to hold on to the board and brought him back to shore. His BIL was there and saw everything. Thought it was him learning to surf. Then they realize the man with the surfboard wasn’t there with them. 

Even if we feel like we are going under, Jesus is there in our circumstances. 

Jesus took the curse for us- poverty and lack are curses- and so today we are not cursed. Amen. 

Outreach ministry went to thrash mountain to deliver food and share with kids there. Due to lack of education, many had poor hygiene and had head lice. Our volunteers helped to get rid of hair lice for the kids. Church sponsored a feeding programme there. Their homes are built on top of rubbish so when it floods the rubbish floats up and spreads diseases. 

We contributed to 10000 to Myanmmar to help with flooding. Emergency relief packs containing medical and emergency supplies to 140 households and brought water purification tablet and taught them. Ps Mark went China and we see a pic of one of the kids who benefited from the giving of our church and could go to school is now helping to read the bible to his grandma. 

Church shows us videos of the many feeding programmes we sponsor overseas. We are blessed to be a blessing and Ps Lian says Christ in us and through us help us to reach these people out. It’s all of Christ. Amen. 

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Sermon by Ps Lian 🙂

Going to go into a word of season for us

She was preaching at Gen Rev camp two months ago. Shared a simple revelation. God is raising a generation of Josephs. Joseph was raised nurtured by grace. Rachel- lamb- grace. Joseph is “God has added”. God is adding to u. A couple at Gen Rev felt it was a word in season for them and believed it for them. The husband went back to office on Monday to work. HR called him in and said they were going to give him a raise- for nothing. Increment of $600. Believed and expected that God will do it for him. 

Just take and believe and receive what the LORD is speaking to u. Be expectant. Amen. 

Ps was going to a restaurant for dinner. A lady stared intently at her and Ps went to say hi. The lady shared she was from a diff church. She, her hubby and her kid had physical challenges. Her prev church told her they are ill because God is punishing them. And because no breakthrough, God is angry with them still. Since attending NCC, everything changed for them. Now hear pastor preach, believe and everything changed for them. Ps Lian knows the next time they meet, she will have received her miracle. 

HOPE- today’s topic. It’s so important. 

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

If we don’t even hope, faith has nothing to latch on to 

Live in hope as believers. 

Hope- Elpis – a confident expectation of good 

Live every day with a confident expectation of good 

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore having been made righteous by having faith in His finished work on the cross– He paid them all– because of that now we have peace with God. He is no longer angry with us. Through Jesus also, we today are under grace – unmerited, undeserved favor of God. Because we are under grace today, we can rejoice in hope of the glory of God

What is the glory of God?
All His goodness- Moses asked God to show him His glory and God said He will cause all His goodness to pass by 

Because we are under grace, we have glory

Sometimes we don’t see he immediate manifestation of the goodness of the glory. Sometimes it is immediate but not always. So what do we do? Whilst waiting for this grace to manifest in the glory, we REJOICE IN HOPE. We know we are under grace, in btw grace and glory, we don’t give up. We rejoice in having confident expectation of good. 

Even though u don’t see things change yet, don’t give up. Have CONFIDENT EXPECTATION that God’s goodness will manifest in our lives. 

Someone shared how she met with a sister who was suicidal. Went to roof top and wanted to jump. Was brought down. Didn’t shower for a long time and considered going to the roof again. The counsellor came and they met at the void deck and ministered her. The sister cried and questioned God. Had divorce and spiraled into depression. Counsellor spoke into her and shared about Jesus’ finished work- gave her the word John 10:10. Ministered hope back into her and she felt hope rise in her heart. Said yes she was going to believe God to heal and restore her from her brokenness. Went home, showered and when hope came back, faith rose back in her heart. The office gave her back her job without question or difficulty and did well again at work. Began to ask God for a life partner. Had her conditions- wanted a spouse serving in NCC because she wanted to be in a place where she will be cared for. Attended CG. Found someone who a really cared for her. She found out this guy is someone serving in the church. A few months ago, they got married. 🙂 

What the bible says is true. 

Romans 5:5 HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT

The world says don’t get your hopes up but we must believe and have confident expectation His goodness will manifest in our lives in Christ. 

Don’t hope in people- they will fail u. Don’t hope in Self. Bible hope that God is good will not disappoint us. 

Hope will not disappoint because the love of God was poured out upon us. Where? On the Cross. 

He descended but death and the grave could not hold Him. Today He ascended and is at the right hand of the power above every principality and power. That hope in Him can’t be disappointed because it has ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The HS works in us to make sure that hope we have won’t be disappointed 

Zec 9:11-12 (this revelation was what Ps received from the LORD after 9-11 happened) 

He wants us to hope because we are under His blood covenant called grace where we are blessed not coz of what we do but because of His unmerited goodness and favour. Because of this new covenant, we are set free from the mire and we are now prisoners of HOPE 🙂 when u are a prisoner of hope, ur hope will not be disappointed. U will get double for all your trouble. 

Today let your spirit man receive this revelation. That for your trouble, He will give us double for all our trouble. We are prisoners of hope 

Hosea 2:14-15

God speaking about Israel here. We are spiritual Israel. 

He will woo us even if we are hopeless. He will comfort us in our wilderness. 

In your valley of Achor (trouble), fear not because He has placed a door of hope in the midst of our trouble. And when we allow His hope to come in, we won’t remain in the valley but will he lifted out of the valley of trouble. Confident expectation of good. 

Our season? Grace revolution season 😉

Don’t allow this season to pass by without u experiencing a grace revolution. 

So what is the grace revolution?

A revolution is a dramatic turn around and transformation. A grace revolution is when u encounter Jesus (whether in church or listening to his message in the car/train, or during holy Comm) and His grace. And u have a fresh revelation that God really loves me. He really loves me. When u have that revelation then a revolution happens. A transformation happens in our life. 

The grace revolution is an explosive revelation where you realize that WOW JESUS REALLY LOVES ME.

Easy to get used to some parts of the bible. Need to encounter Jesus AFRESH- read, chew and experience an explosive boom in our heart. 

God really really loves me.  

This love. What love is this? Like madness. The king of heaven came from highest heaven to lowest earth and was nailed to the cross for me. My sins are not swept aside but fully paid for. I am the righteousness of God. He paid for ALL my sins. Not some. 

ALLLLLLLLL my sins. All – that beautiful small words. He paid for ALLLLLLL my blessings. He ONLY has nothing but good for me. Suddenly hope and faith boom came into her heart. That’s a grace revolution.

His love came like madness. Poured out His own life. Blood washed romance. Greatest romance in this planet. 

There is no good reason why love would come like madness for us but this is grace. Unmerited unearned favor. 

Kelly from Florida shared- 

Throughout the years raised in church and attended bible college. Believed her sin was larger than His finished work. Was in constant fear that she would lose her salvation as the torment of her past overwhelmed her. Sexually abused and threatened into silence. Went through cycles of abuse and rape and drug abuse. Had a violent husband. Developed multiple personalities and PTSD. Hospitalized in psychiatric wards 38 time over 29 years. Hooked to cigs for 36y. Had no expectation of any good. Hopelessly encslaved by chains of torment. Thought to be beyond healing. People from church developed compassion fatigue. Thought her schizophrenia was her cross to bear. They gave up hope on her. She was already hopeless. She got into bondage and BDSM. Wanted to go home to her Heavenly Father even though she felt He wouldn’t want her anymore. 

But THANK U JESUS- He did not give up on her. This lady called Kelly, in the midst of that kind of situation, she began to watch Ps Prince ministry on Telly and as she listened to Ps preach on grace, the LORD blessed her heart and it brought illumination to her to see all the bible verses she knew through the lens of grace. Hope sprang up. When u encounter Jesus, hope springs up. She began to have hope and faith because faith had something to latch on to. Heard ps shared how Noah never fell out of the ark, sealed in despite the ark was tossed about on the waves. No matter what storms there are outside and we are tossed a bit, we are in Christ. Safe. Nothing shall by any means harm us. She realized as she read this, that God was calling her name and telling her that He has held her in the palm of His hands all these years even though she stumbled all this while. “You are mine.” Just hearing about Jesus and His grace broke through ALL the insanity and brokenness and darkness that used to bind her. Cried out hallelujah and wept. All her shackles fell off. And all the addictions and all the insanity was gone. Now she takes no meds for schizophrenia or PTSD, no longer has fourteen personliaties. Her doc who had worked in her for 20y declared she is no longer a mental patient. 

You have a God of enternity. No beginning no end. He is larger than your problems. He is the God of all things possible. 

His glory which is His goodness and ONLY goodness, will lift u up from your valley of trouble. 

Begin to hope in your good good God.