PENTECOST • 21

How Should We Live under God’s Government as His ‘Chosen’ and ‘Elect’?

SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 17 october

Matthew 22:15-22

Seek to prioritize God and His Kingdom

  • READ

    15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

    Matthew, in continuing to record the disputes between Jesus and his opponents, relates this conversation as a plan of deceit to trap Jesus in a no-win situation. A group of the Pharisees’ disciples are sent to Jesus, pretending to be concerned with ‘doing the right thing’. If Jesus advises not paying the tribute money to Caesar, he will be accused of inciting the people to rebel against Roman authority. If he advises paying, he can be accused of disloyalty to God by not insisting that they prioritize paying the temple taxes before the Roman taxes.

    Jesus’ reply, “Give to the emperor what is due, and to God what is God’s” not only throws the problem back to his opponents, but intensifies the question and pushes it all the way to its ultimate significance. Holding a coin right up to their faces, Jesus is essentially saying, “What does a coin tell you about who you really are?” They would have been able to see inscribed on that denarius, and on every other coin, the words “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus”. Did their hearts belong to the Roman Caesar (representing power and wealth) or did their hearts belong to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who had brought them out of Egypt? And would they acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son, the true king whom they owed their true allegiance or was ‘Tiberius the Son of the Divine Augustus’ their true Messiah/king?

    At the end of the day, that coin with Caesar’s face and the inscription was either going to go into the temple coffers or the state coffers. The real issue Jesus was forcing them to answer was the question of the heart. To which God and king was their ultimate loyalty and allegiance? Did their hearts truly belong to God or to themselves with their hearts full of deceit, malice and wickedness? Who was really undermining the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 5:7-8? Was it Jesus or them?

  • REFLECT

How do you spend your time, money, energy and talent? What do you spend them on? These are indicators of your loyalties and priorities. How do you prioritize God in your life? Share and encourage one another in LG.  

reading for: Wednesday Night, 18 october

Exodus 33:12-23

Seeking the presence of God together

  • READ

    After the incident of the golden calf where Israel sinned against God and worshipped the golden calf. Moses came down from the mountain and his anger burned hot, he threw the tablets of stone and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He destroyed the golden calf. He commanded those who are faithful to the Lord to kill their fellow brothers, companions, and neighbours. That day, three thousand people fell, and he commissioned the Levites for service to the Lord. Moses then went and interceded for his people. The Lord promised Moses that his angel will go with Israel, but he will not go with Israel because of their sin and sent a plague on Israel.

    When the people heard this, they mourned for they heard the Lord call them a stiff necked people. They took off their ornaments. Moses often entered the presence of the Lord in the tent of meeting where the Lord would meet with Moses face to face. Joshua also encountered the presence of the Lord.

    Exodus 33:12–23 (ESV)

    12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

    Moses in the presence of the Lord spoke to the Lord and interceded with the Lord for the Lord would not go with his people. Moses asked the Lord to show him his ways that he may know the Lord and consider that Israel is God’s people. The Lord then relented and declared that his presence will go with Moses and Moses will be given rest. It is likely to include the entire Israel along with this for Moses is the leader of the people of Israel. The Lord told Moses that he will do what Moses requested for he has found favour in the sight of the Lord and is known by the Lord. Moses asked to see the glory of the Lord. The Lord agreed and made all his goodness pass before Moses and proclaimed his Name to Moses. The Lord declared that he is the gracious God who will show grace and mercy to those that he wills to show grace and mercy to. However, Moses cannot see his face for no one can see God and live. The Lord then took Moses to stand on a rock and with that he saw the back of the Lord, but he did not see the face of the Lord.

  • REFLECT

    Moses was a friend of God who saw the Lord face to face. He spoke to the Lord face to face. He was not afraid to intercede for his people and the Lord granted the requests of Moses. The Lord has already declared that he will not go with his people and Moses still had the courage to stand before the Lord, interceding for his people so that the presence of the Lord would go with them.

    This is the kind of relationship that Moses had with the Lord and that we can have with the Lord. We in Christ can have the relationship with the Lord that Moses had and more. Would we dine in the presence of the Lord this week? Would we take time to pray for others who are facing troubles and persecution? Let us learn from Moses and speak to the Lord face to face as this is the privilege that Christ has given to us as we are the children of God that learns to see God as our Father.

    Let us also dwell in the presence of God together with our brothers and sisters, learning to dine in his presence and have fellowship with each other in the presence of God. Let us pray and worship God together as we gather for Life Group and Sunday Service.

reading for: Thursday Night, 19 october

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

A Church Caught Up in their First Love

  • READ

    Scripture Reading:

    “Paul, Silas and Timothy,
    To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
    Grace and peace to you.

    Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

    2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

    4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

    Commentary:

    Paul in this letter gives thanks and tells of the testimony of the new but fervent and vibrant Thessalonian believers. He recalls their i) ‘work produced by faith’, ii) ‘their labor prompted by love’, and iii) their ‘endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ’ (v3). He then goes on to describe how he saw evidence of these things in verses 4 to 9.

    1.    Not just with words but by the Holy Spirit - He saw how the Gospel came to them not just in his preaching but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction (v5). There is only so much that words can do to convey information or convince someone, but Paul notes that his preaching bore fruit because of the Holy Spirit power, His deep searching and connecting with the human spirit, and His conviction of truth and sin.

    2.    A hunger and desire for God- This was in turn seen by how they hungrily devoured how Paul and his companions lived among them for their sake (v5b), and also imitated them and the Lord Jesus even in the midst of very real persecution and hardship (v6). It takes a hungry and moved person to bother to turn their eyes from their suffering and worldly worries to observe someone else’s life and intentions. And even more to follow in their footsteps after seeing the kind of suffering and persecution these people faced, knowing full well that if they follow, they will likely face the same things. (I encourage you to do your own reading, if you are hungry to, to find out more about Paul’s short time with the Thessalonian church to see what kind of example and sure ‘consequences’ Paul showed them. This will really help you appreciate this point). And mind you, they did it so wholeheartedly and joyfully that they became role models to other Christians in the region and beyond (v7).

    3.    Can’t help but share the Good News! – Verse 8 tells us that the Message rang out around them beyond their region. ‘Rang out’ in the Greek or even in English is not some lethargic duty bound preaching, but speaks of energy and intentionally. Almost like it was overflowing from within! As a people attuned and close to God and the revelation of who He is (much like Moses in Exodus), we cannot help but glow, intercede, care and overflow in love for others. Naturally, we also can’t help but to share the Good News with them in words and deeds. Verse 9 tells us that outsiders and other Christians naturally testified about their contagious and different lives. Paul and his companions did not need to market them at all.

    4.    Turning from Idolatry to pursue and serve God – Verse 9 explicitly tells us that one of the surest signs of authenticity and the work of the Holy Spirit is when people turn from other gods, including themselves, to desire, pursue, and serve God. The seemingly small point in verse 9a about ‘the kind of reception’ they gave Paul is actually a big point considering how much they were already suffering and what they were getting themselves into by hosting and receiving someone who is facing heavy persecution and opposition from the powerful in the city.

    5.    A people who overflow out of their identity as people beloved and chosen by God – I saved the anchor for last though this is mentioned in verse 4. One of the most definite signs of the Holy Spirit’s work is the deep revelation of God’s love and election of them even in the midst of one’s sinfulness, unworthiness, and poverty. It is the only kind of spring that can produce a ‘labor of love’ in keeping with the love poured out into their hearts. It is also the only kind of wellspring that produces enduring hope (v3) and longing for Christ’s return (v10). 

  • REFLECT

    My dear beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, as I write today lectionary, I am reminded of Pastor Loy’s message on Sunday and his preaching on desire – i.e. that we ought to be grounded in our first love and ought to take stock if we recognize how far we have fallen from that place (read Rev 2:1-7). As a people in Christ, we ought to have ‘joy unspeakable that won’t go away’ even in the midst of the sufferings and crosses you have to carry in our lives (also see in v6 of today’s reading). Phil 4:4-9 that we read recently begins with that similar reminder to ‘Rejoice! I say again, ‘Rejoice!’’ (v4) because we have an ever-present Lord and very certain hope! We are called to meditate on praise-worthy and good things (Phil 4:8) not because of ‘positive psychology’ or ‘mind over matter’ nonsense only to become internally incongruent people. No, we do it because there actually is so much things that are noble, praise-worthy, and of good report that we ought to use our heart and mind spaces on in Christ Jesus! In fact, choosing to do otherwise is in itself a form of idolatry – i.e. turning away from God towards other things. Therefore, brothers and sisters repent and commit to the Lord afresh how we spend our time (reducing our time on Netflix, games, television or social media), not because ‘God say cannot’ but because we ought to not allow these things to take away our hunger and desire for God. Brothers and sister, build Godly disciplines in your lives, not because they are the churchy things to do, but because our ritual and rhythms actually form who we become!

    Let us turn to the Lord afresh together brothers and sisters and not forget our first love.

    Reminded of this song, ‘Consuming Fire’ in closing and my personal prayer us all.

    “There must be more than this.
    Oh breath of God come breathe within.
    There must be more than this.
    Spirit of God, we wait for You.

    Fill us anew, we pray.
    Fill us anew, we pray.

    Consuming fire, fan into flames a passion for Your name.
    Spirit of God, would You fall in this place.
    God have Your way. God have Your way with us.

    Come like the rushing wind.
    Clothe us with power from on high.
    Now set the captives free.
    Leave us abandoned to Your praise.

    Lord let Your glory fall.
    Lord let Your glory fall.

    Consuming fire, fan into flames a passion for Your name.
    Spirit of God, would You fall in this place.
    God have Your way. God have Your way with us.”

reading for: FRIDAY Night, 20 october

Psalm 99

Trusting in our King

  • READ

    Do you always trust that the Lord is King? Do you always believe that He is still in control in your life and the world?

    God's kingship, rulership and sovereignty is never in question until we encounter extreme challenges in life. Like when our loved one suddenly passes away or is suddenly stricken with a fatal sickness. Just ask Job when he literally lost everything. All of his wealth and his family and even his own health.

    Psalms 99 is a loud proclamation that the Lord is king! All the nations (no matter how mighty or strong) must tremble before Him. Even the earth, the unpredictable "mother nature" that can send earthquakes or tsunamis at an instance must shake before this King.

    For He sits securely in His throne, amidst the cherubim, in the center of Jerusalem.

    Everyone is to recognise His holiness, everyone is to praise Him (v. 3).

    For He is a mighty King who loves justice and established fairness (v.4). He acts with justice and righteousness.

    When any of His priests or children call on His name, He will answer (v. 6). Like He spoke to Israel through the cloud of pillar (v.7).

    He is a God who forgives, He is the One who answers and He will also punish us when we go astray (v. 8).

    This is our God who is Holy and we are invited to worship and honour Him (v. 9).

  • REFLECT

    Admist the chaos and upheaval of events and circumatances in our life, its important to keep meditating on who our God is. Rather than meditate on our circumstances and difficulties which will only cause even more sadness and frustration, we need to remember that our God is Holy and everything trembles before Him.

    As you meditate on this Psalm, try writing out how you have seen God do justice and establish fairness in your life.

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