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00:00 Dr. Peter and what a great joy and privilege it is for me to come and spend this time with you. You know I'm always
00:06 very happy to have a pulpit in front of me because whenever I go to a new place I'm not sure people you know what they
00:12 think of me and how I'm going to respond to all of them. You know, I think uh many pastors we say the same thing every
00:18 time we go to the pulpit. And I still remember a pastor, he went to the prisons to speak to the prisoners and
00:24 the first thing he said to them was, "Good morning. I'm so glad to see all of you here."
00:30 And secondly, this is the best place you can be in. And thirdly, he says, "The
00:36 world will be a better place with people like you." Well, of course, uh I'm not speaking to
00:42 any prisoner, but I'm speaking to all of us who are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm so impressed with this
00:49 church because you have so many young people. You know, God loves young people. I've been working with young people for many years. And when I look
00:55 across the church as not only the worship but everything, I can see the young people. I think that church has a
01:01 lot of hope and u aspirations because the hope of the world is actually found
01:07 in the young people in the church. They often say that the young people, they're the hope of the world. I don't think so
01:14 because the hope of the world is found in the young people in the church who have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So, I'm so happy to see this
01:21 church with so many young people. But I've been asked once, who is a young person? Well, when I was younger, I
01:27 says, well, a young person is someone between the age of 13 to 18. And they asked me why. I said, because when
01:33 they're 19, they become overteen. Then later on I you know uh was a little
01:39 older and u I went to study in America and I came back and I was still serving young people and they asked me who is a
01:45 young person I said a young person is someone between the age of uh 13 to you
01:51 know 28 and they asked me why I said because I'm 27 of course when I became a pastor in my
01:57 30s you know I told them that a young person is someone who is 99 and below
02:02 because as long as you are young at heart you are a young person and nowadays you know there is a a
02:08 progressive change in the definitions of many people and when you are you know 50
02:13 60 you are still in your midlife I'm sure you know there's no more that uh
02:19 older folks I always believe in my church we have some older folks we have some of them who are 50 60 some 60 to 70
02:27 and some 80s and some 90s so I think that the the O the XO and the double XO
02:32 you know but young person Who is a young person? Really? I feel the young person is someone who refuses to say ask where
02:40 he's come from and refuses to say where he's going. Unless you're like this little boy, Kuma Kuma, little young boy,
02:48 a Chinese boy. He asked his mother. He says, "Mommy, mommy, where do I come from?" And the mommy was very upset with him because the mommy felt very
02:54 embarrassed to tell him. He said, "I want to know. I want to know." And the mommy says, "You really want to know?" And he said, "Yes." Then the mommy told
03:00 her how told him how you know she met the father they dated they fell in love and you know and then they got married
03:07 and about 10 months later he was born to which the young boy says so boring. He
03:12 says my classmate Kumar say he come from India. I just want to know where I come from.
03:20 Well of course my own definition of young person is someone who stops listening to his FM stereo father mother
03:27 stereo. as an original, you know, Edwin llam kind of thing. But this morning,
03:33 I'm just really glad to come and share with you about the Asia-Pacific Baptist Federation. You know, I flew in from
03:40 Singapore yesterday afternoon and I'm so thankful to Dr. Peter for bringing out for dinner and spending time with me and
03:47 this morning bring me out for breakfast and driving me to your church. You know, I'm so excited about coming to First
03:52 Baptist Church because I've heard so much about First Baptist Church, all the wonderful things you're doing and how
03:58 the Lord has blessed abundantly far beyond your wildest dreams, imagination this church. So, it's been a real
04:05 privilege for me to come and share this time with you. But Asia Baptist you know uh uh this federation really belongs to
04:13 22 country and more because now we are penetrating into countries like Cambodia, Laos and also you know um
04:21 Mongolia and even China because we belong to the largest land area in the
04:28 whole of the Baptist world alliance and 61% of the population resides in the
04:33 Asia-Pacific. So we have the largest landmass but we also have the largest number of people's group but at the same
04:40 time the largest number of natural disasters and Asia Pacific Baptist Federation really includes not only
04:46 China and India but Philippines, Koreas and you know Malaysia as well as
04:52 Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and all the countries in Southeast Asia and then
04:57 you know in Bangladesh and towards the other side will be Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and all
05:04 those little islands. You see, the Lord has brought us together as the Asia Baptist, you know, Asia-Pacific Baptist
05:11 Federation. There are millions of Baptists in this area, but we are part and parcel of this great family. As I
05:18 say, 61%. We have 62 conventions, 22 countries at this moment, but 33,000
05:25 churches. And many of these churches are not just in India and Myama, but across
05:31 this region. The Lord has been blessing the region so much that we can see growth about 200% right in this region.
05:39 And I believe that First Baptist Church, you are part and parcel of the APBF because you're part and parcel of the
05:44 MBC. And the MBC, Malaysian Baptist Convention is part of the Asia-Pacific
05:50 Baptist Federation. So what do we do? Actually we organize a lot of conferences not only to train pastors
05:57 and uh to develop leaders but we also come in the terms of training people in
06:02 theological understanding in peacekeeping in mission you know all kinds of missions across the Asia
06:09 Pacific as well as having the aid the aid program of course those younger days
06:14 I prefer the word AIDS you know AIDS means helping one another but nowadays you know the word has a different
06:20 connotation but yet we have APB B8 helping in all those natural disasters,
06:26 all those women who have been abused, those those children who've been kidnapped and so into slavery. So those
06:32 are works that we do within the Asia-Pacific Baptist Federation. But we also have what is called youth
06:38 conferences across the region so that we can develop the young people with the
06:43 word of God and they will make disciples and multiply disciples for the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what we are
06:50 doing. And of course the other things about communication, promoting the ministry. But I just want to invite your
06:56 partnership together with us because there are so much needs around the world. No one country, no one church, no
07:04 one group of people, we can do everything, but together we can be strong. Together we can do the work that
07:11 God has mapped up for us as APBF to do. And so this morning is just a great
07:16 privilege for me to come to First Baptist Church to spend this time to introduce to you APBF. And of course, we
07:23 do have some brochures. And I'm sure that when you need more, we can always deliver them to you because there's
07:28 still many in our Malaysian office, too. But this morning, before I go into the message, I also want to introduce a
07:35 simple book. I normally don't do this, but since I'm new to you, I just want to introduce a book that the Lord has
07:41 impressed upon me to write for many years. is called changing destinies living with a passionate vision. Because
07:48 as we think about the world around us, we're not here to do church. We're not here to have a program. We're not here
07:54 to have strategic plans and all that. What are we here for? I believe that we are here to reach our world for the Lord
08:01 Jesus Christ. And that's what the Lord Jesus wants us to do. Thus, the more I think about the vision that God has
08:08 given to us, that the Lord Jesus has given to us, I believe that this vision can be spread across the entire face of
08:16 the earth. That wherever we go, we know that Jesus Christ is not one of the saviors of the world. Jesus Christ is
08:23 not the best savior of the world because Jesus Christ is the only savior of the world. You know this morning as we think
08:30 about this topic living the passionate vision you know I believe right in the Bible in almost every part of the New
08:38 Testament there is a command and illusion to go and preach the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ whether
08:45 it's found in Matthew chap 28 18 to20 Mark 16:15 or you find in Luke 24:48
08:53 John 20 21 Acts 1:8 or Romans 1:16 and
08:59 even 1 Corinthians chapter 9:16 when the Apostle Paul says, "Woe is me if I
09:04 preach not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ." Of course, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, he says, "The God of this
09:11 world has blinded the eyes of the people so that they cannot see the glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ." So,
09:17 there's always an illusion to the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, as we live in
09:23 the on the face of this earth, we know that the Lord Jesus is coming back soon. In fact, his coming is so soon that many
09:30 signs are pointing towards his return. He is the only person in the world who dares to says, "I shall return." You
09:38 know, it's not General MacArthur who said that on the shores of the Philippines. Is not Anna Schwzenegger
09:43 who says I'll be back. You know, but Jesus says, "I shall return."
09:49 But when Jesus Christ our Lord comes you know today's passage that we have read before us I have only a very simple
09:57 question you know that passage about judgment day but yet there's one question I have in mind for you and for
10:03 me when Jesus our Lord is sitting on a great white throne will there be more
10:08 sheep or more goats will there be more sheep or more goats you see Jesus while
10:14 he was sitting there he was dividing the people to the right and then to the left, you know, to the right were the
10:20 sheep and to the left were the goats. You know, you know why he called them the sheep because they did what the
10:26 father wanted them to do. The goats are those who did not obey the word and commands of God. But yet, we are living
10:32 in a world that's progressively getting more and more people. Today, the world has more than 7 billion people. You
10:40 know, if Jesus does not return in the next 20 years, the population will double. That means there'll be probably
10:47 much more people living on the face of this earth than the entire history of the whole world. And what you do with
10:54 the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ will determine whether there will be more
10:59 sheep or there'll be more goats. Thus, my beloved, you know, as you think about evangelism, everybody wants to talk
11:06 about evangelism. You know, we know it's very important. We talk about it, we share about it, and we praise God for
11:11 it. But how many of us are really doing the work of evangelism? You know, when it comes to other church ministries, we
11:17 have thrones of people coming. We love it to get together to fellowship among friends. You know, they have good food
11:24 and the delicious food. You know, even though I'm a Singaporean, I still believe that the better food is found in
11:29 KL. I'm not saying this to make you happy. Every time I come to KL, I rather go and
11:36 eat at those uh hawker centers or whatever the food, you know, those push cart and the food is still better, you
11:43 know, because I think the K people, you really know how to cook good food, you know, and uh when it comes to
11:51 fellowship, there must be food. But how about doing evangelism? I believe that
11:56 evangelism is more than just you know um as what the we always say it's more than
12:01 just presenting the four spiritual laws or the bridge to life illustration of conducting an alpha course which I think
12:07 your church has conducted with much success much success and I'm so impressed that you done so many courses
12:14 of the alpha cause that many have been converted and brought into the kingdom but I believe that you and I must not
12:21 only preach the gospel of Jesus Christ yes that is primary memory. That is ultimately what we must do. Preach the
12:28 glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. But the Lord also tells us that we must feed in
12:34 Jesus' name. We must give in Jesus' name. We must clothe in Jesus' name. We
12:39 must love in Jesus' name. And we must visit in Jesus' name. Because the whole thing about presenting the gospel is
12:46 that it's a holistic thing. God desires not only that spiritually we who are
12:51 dead in sin come to know him but that even our physical, our emotional, our social, our mental aspect of our lives
12:59 are being touched by the gospel because the word of God is sufficient and the grace of God is sufficient for all this.
13:06 So what then is evangelism? I believe that evangelism is more than just as I
13:12 said you know presenting the four spiritual laws the bridge to life or conducting an alpha cause you know
13:18 evangelism is what Dr. Billy Graham has once said, he says he's presenting the
13:23 whole person of Jesus Christ to the whole person by the whole church to the whole world. So it's not people like
13:29 Billy Graham and Lewis Palao and all those great evangelists who should be doing this work. But it's you and me as
13:35 members of the body of Jesus Christ. We must be in the business of doing evangelism. And the church will only be
13:42 doing evangelism when the church is united. When the church loves Jesus Christ with all of our heart, mind,
13:49 soul, and strength, that's how we can tell the world that God sent Jesus Christ to be the only savior of the
13:56 world. And I'd like to suggest to you that Jesus Christ loves you. This is the
14:02 greatest truth and reality in the entire universe. Jesus Christ loves you. This
14:08 is the greatest truth and reality in the entire universe. So then as we think
14:13 about evangelism, let's talk about the perspective of the church. You know I look at the church two aspects. One is
14:21 the inwardlooking nature of the church and secondly the injured nature of the church. Now what do I mean by that? You
14:28 know like the inwardlooking nature of the church. I think today many churches we have nice beautiful buildings. We
14:34 have good cushion seats. We have fantastic music. We have good worship.
14:40 You know, we are always doing a lot of things that's wonderful. But have we become inwardlooking?
14:46 You know, I think that some churches around the world, they just want to have speakers to come and make the Bible come
14:51 alive to us. I'm sorry to say this, but the Bible is already alive. The Bible is already alive and sharper than any
14:58 double-edged sword. And as S Spurgeon says, the Bible is like a roaring lion.
15:03 You don't have to defend it. You just have to let it go and the Bible will accomplish its own plan. and purposes
15:10 because God's word being spoken will not return to him void. Thus, we like
15:16 speakers who come and make the Bible come alive. And a lot of times church programs is really for us. Are we like
15:22 that? You know, as I listen to Dr. Peter, I'm so happy to know that First Baptist Church seeks to be relevant not
15:29 only to the new generation, seeks to be obedient to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm sure through the
15:35 disciplehip classes that you have the equipping of the saints that's how we can build up the kingdom of God. So let
15:42 us not be inwardlooking because so often time we can degenerate into that. And of course secondly I want
15:49 to say that we need to look at the injured nature of the church. The church often time instead of being that gorilla
15:56 unit that Jesus sets up. You know in Matthew chapter 16 18 the Lord Jesus
16:01 Christ was speaking to Peter. He says, "Your name is Petros, but upon this
16:08 Petra, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against
16:13 the church." You know, the Lord Jesus was talking about himself building the church. Thus, the church is supposed to
16:20 be the most dynamic entity on the face of this earth. You know the gates of Hades, they are stationary, but the
16:27 church is going to smash it into pieces because the church is supposed to be the most powerful entity on the face of this
16:33 earth. So let's ask ourselves, is our church what God wants it to be? Our
16:39 church that is worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this morning in our worship, we sang about the worthiness of the Lord
16:46 Jesus. He is worthy to receive all glory, praise, and honor. Are we as a Christian fulfilling God's will for our
16:52 lives? And do we have that vision for the loss and a passion for souls? You
16:59 know, as I said, as a pastor, I think the church must be also a hospital
17:04 because the church must be a place where the injured, you know, those who are disadvantaged, those who are sick, those
17:12 who are needy, we must reach out to them. We must love them. That's what Jesus says. Give in Jesus' name. Love in
17:18 Jesus' name. clothe in Jesus' name, visit in Jesus' name. And I believe that the church must do that. But you know
17:25 what? We cannot continue just to be a hospital maintenance unit. The church needs to be an army of gorilla that will
17:32 penetrate into enemy territories, into the gates of Hades, and snatch souls out
17:38 of the clutches of the evil one. You know, I've been privileged to serve in the Singapore Army, though you don't
17:44 think I did cuz now when I look down, I can't see my shoe, you know. But believe
17:49 me, I was a sold soldier in the army. One of the things I learned about being in the army is that we need to be
17:57 vigilant. You know, we need to be operationalally ready. And I believe that's what the church should be. But
18:03 you know something in the army they taught me this that if a person is being injured
18:10 in a battlefield it takes an average of 32 people to take care of an injured
18:16 soldier because his colleagues or comrades must carry him in a stretcher
18:21 to go to the field where the helicopter will come and bring him to the field hospital where the doctors and the
18:27 nurses or those rehabilitation people will be there to take care of him. After that they bring him to a proper hospital
18:33 and through a process he'll be back to normal self to continue to serve in the army. But you know something when a
18:41 soldier is dead all it takes is only two people to bury the dead soldier. And you
18:47 know the evil one he knows that we are not dead because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are alive in Christ. We
18:54 have been dead and buried and rose again with the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus we are
18:59 not dead. But he wants the church to be so injured, you know, by scandals and
19:05 all kinds of division and petty quarreling and all those things that will divide the church. So they have no
19:12 time to penetrate into his territory and snatch all those souls out of his
19:17 clutches. Beloved brothers and sisters, yes, the church must be a hospital, but
19:23 we are called to be a gorilla unit because the church must be the most powerful force on the face of this
19:30 earth. And thirdly, of course, I said that, you know, as you think about the church, we need to remind ourselves that
19:38 people need the Lord. And I'm sure that Steve Green has sung a beautiful song, people need the Lord. But you know in
19:45 order to know that people need the Lord we need to have a vision of a lost humanity. That today people without
19:51 Jesus Christ in their hearts they are lost. They're going to lost and Christless eternity only by the name of
19:59 Jesus Christ as the word of God says in Acts chapter 4:12 that there's no other
20:04 name given under heaven whereby man must be saved except by the glorious name of
20:10 the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to look at the you know lost humanity whether
20:15 they are religious or philosophical or whatever ideologies they have without Jesus Christ they are lost and of course
20:23 secondly we need a vision of the Holy Spirit but what do I mean by a vision you know I believe that a vision is
20:30 God's revelation of he who he wants us to be and what he wants us to do for his kingdom if your vision is small your
20:37 work will be small but if your vision is big then your work will commensurate with your vision because it all comes
20:44 back to what is your vision when Isaiah saw God in his splendor you know he
20:50 knows that there's a great work to be do to be done and what did he says Lord send me because he knows that he need to
20:58 be sent by God to do this great work for a great God and then he felt the first
21:03 thing was that he was a man of unclean lips and you know he had to take the tongue a fire and burn his lips and God
21:11 allow him to have a sanctified lips so that he'll be able to proclaim the word
21:17 of God. So I believe if your vision is small, your work will be small. But when
21:22 your vision of God, your vision of the lost world, you know, you know that you want to do something about the world.
21:28 And the next thing I want to say to you is people need the Lord because it's a vision of a lost humanity. You know way
21:35 back in 1990 in Singapore we had a unriched people's group consultation at
21:40 that point of time it was like the in thing you know let's talk about unrich peoples of the world so we discovered
21:46 there were 12,000 unrich people's group and know there were 400 pastors there
21:52 and leaders were there and we were so touched that the world still have 12,000 unrich people's group but over the last
21:59 you know many years 20 over years the lord has been pleased to use different aspects of churches from across the
22:05 world to join hands together to reach all those unriched people's group. Thus, today there may be about 6,000 more of
22:12 unriched people's group. But there is still a lot of people who still do not know Jesus Christ. And many of them are
22:18 living in the 1040 window. And I'm sure you are very familiar with this because this is a very well- educated well
22:25 disciple church. a church that is Bible based, you know, 10 degrees north of the equator to 40 degrees north of the
22:31 equator from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of Japan. That is the
22:37 1040 window of which 97% of the unriched people's groups are located. So there
22:44 are still many people in the world who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why people need the Lord. But
22:50 more than just looking at the fact that people need the Lord, we need to have a vision of the Holy Spirit. Because the
22:57 history of the church is actually his history. It's a history of the movement of the Holy Spirit. You know when the
23:04 Holy Spirit came to the face of this earth, he came, the church was born and empowered in Acts. He came as the
23:11 original one who converts people and gives us eternal life. You know today the world likes this movie called the
23:17 Transformers. You know whenever I preach about transformers some of the young kids wow their eyes open up transformers
23:24 but I say the original transformer is the Holy Spirit because he comes to
23:29 transform our lives. He comes to give us eternal life and he wipes away our sins
23:34 because through the blood of Jesus Christ we are cleansed. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. You know the
23:41 word of God says the Holy Spirit inspired the word of God. It's infallable. is inherent because the
23:46 author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit and more than that the Holy Spirit comes and empowers us every day to live for
23:55 the Lord Jesus Christ and also he gives us the spiritual gifts for service and
23:60 ministry. No wonder as you think about the world, the history of the world, whatever people, politicians are up
24:06 there, economic sars and all that, they are actually allowed by the spirit of God to move across the world so that as
24:13 he moves on the face of this earth, God's plan and purposes will be fulfilled.
24:20 You know, as we think about this message today, living with a passionate vision.
24:26 You know, there must be a passion for souls. You know a lot of time we have passion for many things as a pastor some
24:32 of my church members says you know pastor I think you should disciple our men in church you know because you know we are golf widows I say what do you
24:39 mean you know our husband remember the golf scores or all these great people like Tiger Woods and all that but can't
24:45 remember our wedding anniversary also can't remember my birthday you know every time it's free he'll take his golf
24:51 clubs and go up there and wherever in the world there are some nice good courses they will be there you know I
24:57 think some of because we are passionate about cooking. We are passionate about playing tennis. I mean, we like Roger
25:03 Fedra. We like uh Nadell, you know, and all this Jookovich and all these great players because there's a passion
25:10 within. But is there a fire and a passion within you for the souls of men
25:15 and women? I believe in order to have a passion, there are three aspects of passion that I want to talk about this
25:22 morning. Firstly, a single passion. Secondly, a heart passion. And thirdly,
25:28 a lifelong passion. It must be a life passion. Not just for the here and the
25:33 now because we can hear the word of God and we can be tickled a bit sometimes. We can be so excited about it. But you
25:39 know after a while the passion dies down. You know I believe that single passion is very important. But there
25:47 must be passion in what we are doing. And of course I'm sure you know about this great man there. You know his name
25:53 is uh Winston Churchill. and Winston Churchill when he was you know right at the British Parliament where Nazi forces
26:01 on May the 10th it was announced that Europe was gripped with fear at Hitler's invasion you know into Brussels
26:08 Netherlands and Luxembourg you know the British parliament was anxious when would the Nazis overrun the whole of
26:16 Europe but Winston Churchill he stood up he says you ask me what is our policy
26:22 our policy is to wage war by and by sea and by air with all the might that
26:28 almighty god will give us. You know those words of church stir the whole
26:33 British parliament to their feet and then they started you know to join forces with Americans as well as Russian
26:39 to defeat Nazi forces. You know here is a man with passion. He had a passion for
26:46 victory. But today, you know, we have a greater passion than this because it's
26:51 not about dying in the war and losing our homes, losing our loved ones, but we're talking about passion that will
26:58 determine the eternal destinies of people. Whether they'll be found in the kingdom of God or they are found on the
27:04 other side. My beloved brothers and sisters, there are only two kinds of people in the world. Either you are a
27:10 follower of Jesus or you are not. But we believe that when Jesus came, he is the light of the world. that whoever walks
27:17 after him will never walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. And I
27:22 believe that this day God wants us to know that there is a great work for us to do. Yes, Churchill was concerned
27:29 about victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all all kinds of terror. Victory however long and hard
27:35 the road may may be. For without victory there's no survival. But for us it's
27:41 more than survival. It is the eternal destinies of people. First beloved brothers and sisters, we need to have
27:48 that single passion. What am I talking about? You know, all of us had that passion.
27:54 But when we think about the Lord Jesus Christ, he says the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
28:02 That was his one allconsuming passion. Jesus one desire was to go to the cross
28:08 and die for us. And when you think about the Apostle Paul, he says, "Woe is me if
28:13 I preach not the gospel." And then right in Romans chapter 9:3, he says, "God,
28:18 please save the Jews. Let me be cursed, but save the Jews." You know, Paul had
28:24 this allconsuming single passion. And of course, David has one passion. You know
28:30 it says one thing will I ask of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in
28:37 the house of the Lord to behold him in the splendor of his holiness and inquire in his holy temple. You know they had
28:43 that one consuming passion. Paul says this one thing I do forgetting the past
28:50 straining towards the future for the goal the price of the high calling in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the one
28:56 thing that you want to do? You know, DL Moody once says, "Give me a man that says this one thing I want to do, not
29:03 this 50 things I dabble in." You know, I have always been very amazed by this
29:08 guy. I'm sure you may not know him just because of that little slack there, but
29:14 this man where when I was a young man of 16, I heard the song and I fell in love
29:20 with the song. I thought it was a beautiful song to sing to a girl, like a little sonnet or a little romantic
29:26 thing. It says story story night. Paint your palette blue and gray. Wow,
29:33 fantastic. You know, but he doesn't know what the song is about. You know what it is? It's about Vincent Van Go. Vincent
29:41 Van Go. He talks about, you know, this songwriter says, "Catch the breeze and the winter chills, the colors on the
29:48 snowy linen hills." You know, my beloved brothers and sisters or linen colored
29:53 lands. But I want to tell you Vincent Van Go started off as an evangelist. He
29:59 was probably the greatest evangelist in Netherlands. He was so famous an
30:04 evangelist. So one day he decided to go to Bible school to learn how to be trained as an evangelist. But you know
30:09 what? After a while he gave up. After one year he gave up and then he went to painting. In his entire life he paint
30:17 more than 600 paintings. But throughout his life of 37 years, he only saw one
30:23 painting. So one day he took a gun and shot himself. He didn't die immediately.
30:30 He died slowly. But Vincent Van Go today as you think of Vincent Van Go, he is
30:37 considered the greatest impressionistic artist the world has ever known because
30:42 way back in 1986, the Sunflower, which many of you are aware of, was sold for
30:48 $50 million to an American corporation to celebrate the 100th anniversary. And
30:55 the following year another one of his impressive painting, impressionistic
31:00 painting, you know, I think it was called Violet. It was, you know, sold no
31:06 irises, sorry. It was sold to an a Japanese corporation for 48 million US.
31:13 But today, the world doesn't know of Vincent Van Go, the evangelist. Because
31:19 a single passion once you lose it the consequences are tragic. Beloved, as we
31:27 think about the passion in our hearts, let's look at the Lord Jesus. He was crying right on the Mount of Olives at
31:34 Jerusalem. You know, there's a a church there called the church of tears. And the Lord Jesus says, "Jerusalem,
31:40 Jerusalem, how often I want to gather you like a mother hen gathering the chicken under her wings, but you will
31:48 not allow me." You know, the Lord Jesus had a passion for the people of Israel.
31:54 How about us? Do we have the passion for souls? Secondly, we need a heart
31:59 passion. Now, I believe that without love, we can never change the world. It was
32:05 surrendered God who says you know when we love we
32:10 make the unequal equal you know the unequal people becomes equal. They may
32:15 be the disadvantaged they may be the refugees they may be the unloved people of the world but in love we make the
32:22 unequals equal because when Jesus came you know it's so interesting that God
32:28 never gives us a definition of love in the Bible. Some of you may say, "Oh, come on, Pastor Edin Lam." You haven't
32:35 read 1 Corinthians 13. I have. 1 Corinthians says, "Love is gentle, love is kind, love is patient, love bears all
32:42 things, you know, endures all things, and love is not selfish. It is not uh you know uh so many things about love.
32:49 But you know what? That is not the definition of love. It is only the characteristics of love. I have the
32:56 privilege of reading the Bible many times. Maybe not as many times as I have. But you know something the Bible
33:02 never gives us a definition of love. But the Bible says for God so loved the
33:07 world that he gave his only begotten son. And this is how God demonstrated
33:13 his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ Jesus died for
33:18 us. You see God tells us that love is found in the person of Jesus Christ. You
33:23 know God is love. Love is not God. That's what's wrong with the world today. We think that love is God. But
33:31 the Bible says God is love. You know when you think about love, we don't have
33:36 a definition. You know, I have been the privilege to work with young people and I asked them what is the definition of
33:41 love. Someone give me something very interesting. You know, I wrote them in the I asked them write in pieces of
33:47 paper and I collected them. One of them says love is a feeling that you feel when you feel it.
33:54 I say what is it? I say hatred is a feeling that you feel when you feel it. Envy is a feeling that you feel when you
33:60 feel. You know, jealousy is a feeling that you feel when you feel. Anger is a feeling that you feel when you feel.
34:06 What then is love? You know, we think we know about love. We can see love when
34:12 the mommy kisses the little baby. We can see love when this young couple hold hands and, you know, uh speaking all
34:19 kinds of uh interesting things into each other's ears. Something like, you know, darling, I'll climb the highest mountain
34:26 for you. I'll swim the deepest ocean for you. I'll cross the hottest desert just for you. But if Saturday, you know, it
34:33 rains, sorry, I cannot meet you at the Empire Mall. You know, I think sometimes
34:39 we think we know love when we see it. But what is love? People write about love. They scream over love. They they
34:46 die for love, you know, and they have sung about love. So many songs. But what
34:51 is love? God loves because he desires the best for you and for me. God loves because he
34:60 decides the best for you and for me. God loves because he does the best for you
35:05 and for me. He gave his only son, Jesus Christ. That's what love is all about.
35:11 But beloved brothers and sisters, love must be the reason and the result of all we do for Christ and in Christ. So I'd
35:19 like to suggest to you that when you talk about Jesus, there's no other way to talk about him
35:25 except talking about love. And thirdly is about life passion. It's not just
35:31 about right now and here I'm excited about Jesus. I'm in love with Jesus. You
35:36 know, I mean long time ago with a wonderful t-shirt, I'm still in love with Jesus Christ. You know, it's a nice
35:43 t-shirt. It was so in fact it was sold out because people like the word I'm still in love until they turn to the
35:50 back with Jesus Christ. You know it's a beautiful t-shirt. You know that's what it is. But are we in love with Jesus
35:57 right now and here and forever? You know it must be a lifelong passion.
36:03 You know when you think about Paul at the end of his life he says I have finished the race. I have kept the
36:11 faith. you know, and he said this that there's now a crown of righteousness
36:16 waiting for me because he had fought the good fight. He can say at the end of his
36:22 life that I have done what God wanted me to do. You know, as you think about all those great men of the of the Bible as
36:30 well as all the great men of history, John and Charles Wesley, they were traveling from, you know, coffee shops
36:37 to cemeteries preaching the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. They were riding on horsebacks, preaching and preaching
36:43 until they dropped dead and so did the poor horses because they were going for
36:49 so many miles on end preaching the glorious gospel of Jesus. Beloved, there
36:55 are people who crossed the Atlantic oceans in the past seeking to bring the gospel. Whether it's Mia Moody, whether
37:02 it's George Whitfield, you know, they travel miles and miles and people who went to India at the beginning, they
37:07 even died there and Donan Johnson died in uh Mama. Why? They want to give their
37:14 life fully. I still remember Henry Marty the the famous missionary to India. He
37:19 says, "Let me burn up for you, God. let me burn up for you. You know, today we
37:25 have a lot of psychologists who say, "Oh, you must be uh, you know, slow down a bit. You know, you need some rest and
37:30 recreation. You know, don't work so hard. You know, you might burn out." But, you know, you never see those
37:35 people talking about burnout. They were always burning up for the Lord Jesus Christ. Including this young man who
37:42 says he's no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. And I'm sure you know Jim, you
37:50 know Elliott, famous man, you know, who came thinking that he could reach those
37:55 out Indians for the Lord Jesus Christ. Before they can even do anything, the five of them were killed. You know, they
38:02 were innocently killed. But yet they gave their life for the Lord Jesus
38:07 Christ. You know when Jesus calls us, he says, "Whoever wants to follow me must hate his father, his mother, his wife,
38:14 his children, and his brothers and sisters, including himself. Oh, you're not worthy of me." I'm not suggesting
38:21 that you go home today and tell your parents, "I hate you. I hate you." Oh, tell your husband, "I hate you. I hate you." Because Jesus says, "My must hate
38:27 everybody." No, no, no. I'm saying that Jesus when he said that the love that you have for him is so great that
38:34 compared to the love for your family is like love and hatred. Beloved, what is
38:41 your personal response to God this morning? As we come to this sanctuary, as we listen to the word of God, how are
38:48 you responding to God? I think in evangelism, we need to set our eyes on Jesus and how he
38:55 evangelizes. You know the book that I've written, the Lord has impressed upon my heart many years, changing destinies.
39:02 When I look at the way Jesus evangelizes, Jesus always was person
39:08 centered. He was always person- centered. Jesus didn't have the four spiritual laws or the bridge to life
39:14 illustrations, the steps to peace with God. He didn't even attend an alpha course. But Jesus looks at the person,
39:21 the uniqueness of the person, the needs of the person, and he spoke to the uniqueness of the person. He spoke to
39:26 the needs of the person and he sought to win them into his kingdom. So let's look at how Jesus evangelizes. Secondly,
39:34 let's have the spiritual passion set on fire. Thirdly, seize every opportunity. Of
39:42 course, finally, the strategy is from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the age. You know, I think that
39:48 God desires that we follow what the Lord Jesus does. You know what? What do I
39:54 mean by set your eyes on Jesus and how he evangelizes? I said just now that Jesus star was always person centered
40:02 relationship. So when you think of Jesus our Lord when he was here on the face of
40:07 this earth you know the way he he met you know Nicodemus it was person
40:12 centered. He knew that people didn't like Nic uh no sorry not when he met Nicodemus Nicodemus was a wise man
40:19 intelligent man. He was probably one of the highf flyers in the Jewish society.
40:24 But he came to Jesus and Jesus told him unless a man is born again he cannot
40:31 enter the kingdom of God. And this man was lost. He says me an old man going
40:36 back into my mother's womb to be born again. Jesus says that which is physical comes the physical way. That which is
40:43 spiritual comes the spiritual way. And by that he's talking about a spiritual birth. You know many years ago you were
40:49 born on the face of this earth. That is your physical birthday. But on that day when you receive Jesus Christ as your
40:55 personal Lord and Savior yet you entrusted your life to Jesus that is your spiritual birthday because that day
41:02 you have entered the kingdom of God and know the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that. And then when you think about him and
41:08 the Samaritan woman it's very interesting because here Jesus purposely detour from the road most traveled. He
41:14 was creating interest by asking the woman, "Can you please give me a drink of water?" And the woman was surprised.
41:20 Do you know why? Because Jewish men when they pray, they say, "Oh God, thank you that I am not a Samaritan. Thank you
41:28 that I'm not a Gentile. And most of all, I'm not a woman." You know those Jewish
41:33 men, they were so prejudiced. And when Jesus says, "Give me a drink of water,"
41:39 she was surprised. How can this man who looks so stately, so majestic, ask me
41:46 for a drink of water? Doesn't he know who I am? But yet Jesus was creating interest. Jesus is going to against the
41:53 norm. Jesus was bringing the physical about the the water to the living water
41:58 that she was in need of because Jesus was showing her, you know, the unknown
42:04 from the known. And of course, Jesus was trying to handle her distractions. Here was this woman. She was so you know when
42:12 Jesus says bring your husband she oh I have no husband you know Jesus says well actually you're right you don't have a
42:18 husband but actually you have five husband and the one you're living with you know and then she she immediately
42:24 changed oh you guys always talk about worshiping God in Jerusalem but we worship God in this mountain you see
42:30 Jesus handled the distraction and say that when you want to worship God you worship God in spirit and in truth
42:37 because that's what God is seeking for truth true worshippers of God. And then Jesus began to talk about himself as the
42:44 savior of the world because when you think about it, Jesus established a relationship with her. And I believe
42:50 that evangelism is always best done in relationships. And of course, Jesus
42:55 never forget to confront the issue of sin and finally reading for God's harvest. You know my beloved brothers
43:02 and sisters, when Jesus was invited to the village, he stayed there for two days. You know, I long for the day when
43:09 I see the Lord Jesus face to face because the person I want to meet the most firstly is this woman. She's the
43:16 first evangelist of the Christian church. Secondly, the person I want to meet the most is that the criminal on
43:23 the side of Jesus who says, "Jesus, when you come in your glory, remember me."
43:28 You know, he was believing in Jesus against all odds. And Jesus says, "From
43:34 this day onwards, you will be with me in paradise." So you know when you think
43:40 about how Jesus meet Zakius, nobody likes him. He was a tax collector. His
43:47 wife and his children shawn him. But yet Jesus says, "Hey, Zakius, today I'm
43:52 going to your house for a meal." You know, he changed his entire life. He says half of what I have I give to the
43:58 poor and whoever I have cheated I'll return four times because the encounter with Jesus changed his life and when you
44:05 think of Jesus and the rich young ruler that's the part I like very much because here was the rich young ruler he says
44:11 what must I do to have eternal life Jesus says have you done this done that done the other oh yes Lord I did everything Jesus says go and sell your
44:19 properties come and follow me the guy was sad you know it gives me a lot of
44:24 encouragement It doesn't mean that every time I share Christ with somebody that person will be converted. Even the Lord
44:31 Jesus didn't bring the rich young ruler to himself. Of course, I believe the Bible didn't record. Later on, Jesus
44:37 must have sought him out and then he too became part of the kingdom of God, you know, but I'm saying that God's word
44:43 encourages us that sometimes when you share, it doesn't mean that everyone
44:49 will believe. But I want to thank God for his privilege given to me that as
44:55 the first convert in my family. In fact, the whole of the lump family, there were no Christians. The Lord touched my life.
45:02 And as a result of that, I was privileged to bring my grandmother to the Lord. Then my sister, my younger
45:08 sister, my brother, my mother, and on the day my mother got converted, my father wanted to divorce her and kick
45:15 her out of the house. But my mother wanted to be faithful to God. She read the Bible. She prayed and prayed and
45:21 prayed that God will speak to my father. And of course after my mother's conversion was my elder sister's
45:27 conversion. Then it was my my nephews and nieces.
45:32 Then my father-in-law. Of course I'm married. I don't know how people can be not married when they have
45:38 a father-in-law, you know, or mother-in-law for that matter. And my father-in-law got converted. You know, I
45:44 always say that I'm a niece because I'm a Cantonese, my mother is Hainanese, and my wife is Shanghai, and I'm Chinese.
45:51 So, I'm a niece, you know. So, my father-in-law is a Shanghai. He is a very learned man, difficult to convince
45:58 for the gospel. But the Lord brought him to himself. And of course, after my father-in-law's conversion was my own
46:05 father's conversion. God through a a series of miracles bring my father to him because you know my father he
46:11 doesn't want to believe in Jesus you know he's a Cantonese he says
46:20 k people all know Cantonese very well right it means my father says I don't believe in any religion I believe in
46:26 sleeping because the word cow you know is about the same you know that's what my father was saying but the lord
46:32 touched him he became a Christian and last but not least is my beloved
46:38 mother-in-law you know I had married her daughter for 20 over years and she would complain to
46:44 my mother you know your son every time want me to be a Christian I die also I'll never be a Christian you know and
46:50 one day I brought the Bible to her and she told me get out I'm not going to read this book even if I would die I
46:56 will never read this book but yet five days later the Lord brought her to
47:01 himself you know there was so much joy and rejoicing in my heart because Now the entire family, my side and my wife's
47:08 side and all become Christians. Beloved, what God can do in my life, God can also
47:13 do in your life because God is the God of our salvation. God will never short
47:18 change us. I believe in what Jesus says. No, God the Apostle Paul says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall
47:25 be saved. You and your household." And I clung on to that. My father was so
47:30 difficult. My father-in-law was so difficult, but my mother-in-law was so very difficult. Yet God has brought all of them into his kingdom. Beloved, but
47:38 there's still so much more work to be done. Today, as the Asia-Pacific Baptist Federation president, I had the
47:44 privilege to travel all across, not only Europe, America, but right across the
47:50 Asia-Pacific region, preaching the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Because I know that what the world needs the
47:56 most is not some economic s. What the world needs most is not a great
48:01 politician. What the world needs is Jesus Christ the savior because Jesus
48:08 Christ is not one of the saviors of the world. Jesus Christ is not the best savior in the world. Jesus Christ is the
48:14 only savior of the world. And so in closing, you know, I think about seize every opportunity. You know, I have been
48:21 privileged to go to China every every year two or three times and sometimes very difficult to communicate with the
48:27 Chinese people because all these are lawyers and doctors and all the young people who are vibrant and growing up.
48:34 The economy is thriving but yet in their heart is full of emptiness because they
48:40 know they need someone. God has created us with a vacuum in our hearts and no
48:46 one can you know fill that gap except the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe
48:53 that you know one day I was in China the privilege to bring two old folks to the Lord himself. And then as another person
49:00 a high government official heard about this she says you know pastor lingu I'm
49:06 very burdened for my mother. I hope you can go and talk to my mother.
49:11 She says, "But you know your flight is leaving already." It was about 1 hour 15
49:16 minutes before the silk air was leaving Chongqing. But you know, I said, "Never
49:22 mind. We'll divert to your mother's house and share the gospel with your mother." You know, I told the Lord, I
49:28 said, "Lord, you only have 10 minutes to bring this lady to yourself." You know, it's like an operational ready thing.
49:33 You know, you go in for a convertive operation. You try to go and share who you are and then the most important news
49:39 for this old lady and then she believed. I tell you it's so amazing 10-minute conversions and I can tell stories upon
49:46 stories of how 10-minute conversions come about because God is the God of our
49:52 salvation. Beloved, we need to have that, you know, passion. But as you
49:59 think about it, the next thing I want to talk about is that spiritual passion on fire. You know how do you kindle this
50:06 passion? The apostle Paul by laying on of hands on Timothy he says to kindle
50:11 the fire for evangelism that God has not given you a spirit of timidity but of love of power of a sound mind. So you
50:19 know Timothy he was nurtured and discipled and mentored by the apostle Paul and yet he stood up to be one of
50:26 the great leaders of the Christian church. And I believe that when you want to have a spiritual passion, I'm not
50:33 saying that we have to lay hands on everybody. I believe that God can bring about the passion in your hearts. You
50:40 know, I believe that there's only one way, two ways, sorry. Firstly, visit the cross of Jesus often. Let's think about
50:47 the cross. Why did Jesus died on the cross? Just now, our worship leader gave
50:53 us some minutes to think and meditate on the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. But secondly, we need to draw
50:60 so near to God, so near that we can hear his heartbeat. You know, I have two
51:05 daughters. I love my two daughters very much. My first girl when she was young, I call her darling sweetheart. You know,
51:12 she said, "No." When she was two years old, she said, "I think darling sweetheart should be mommy, not me." I said, "But I can't call you darling
51:18 sweetheart number two, right?" Then she had a little baby sister. Then she said, "Oh, so this one darling number two." I
51:24 said, "No, no, no. This one's darling. So cute and so sweet." You know, my second guy is darling. So cute and so
51:29 sweet. But you know something, those two girls, the time I enjoy being with them is not when they want yakob and
51:36 chocolate and sweet and go to the zoo and do all kinds of fun things together. But the time I enjoy the most with them
51:41 is when they're wrestling with me on the bed. And then my daughter hears the heartbeat and she says, "Daddy, what's
51:49 that noise?" I said, "That's daddy's heart. It's
51:54 beating." You know, beating means I'm alive. I can go to work. I can buy you
51:59 chocolates, buy your sweets, buy your yakobs, buy your ice cream. And she said, "Oh, daddy, I love love daddy. I
52:05 want to hear more." You know, when you're so close to God, you will only hear his heartbeat. And God's heartbeat
52:14 beats for people. That's God's heartbeat. And of course, you know, thirdly, seize every opportunity, which
52:20 I talked about just now. And finally the strategy as I say is not just it's so
52:26 easy to say I want to reach the world for Jesus Christ my only problem is my neighbor next door. Have you ever seen
52:32 this kind of quotation you know we want to love the world you know but we are irritated by our neighbors you know
52:40 Jesus says love your neighbor as you love yourself. It must first begin in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to
52:48 the uttermost parts of the earth because God is here. He desires to use each and
52:53 every one of us. But this morning, I want to ask you a simple question. You
52:59 know, when Jesus Christ, our Lord, returns, will there be more sheep or more goats? My beloved brothers and
53:06 sisters, the answer lies with you and with me. Because I've said if Jesus
53:12 doesn't return in the next 20 years and most of you will be there the next 20 years will there be more sheep or more
53:20 goats? The answer really depends on you. But let us be set on fire for Christ.
53:27 You know way back in the late n uh 60s the Vietnam war was raging. Nobody likes
53:34 that war but there was a a magazine called Life magazine. The front page of
53:39 the life magazine shows a Buddhist monk who dows himself with kerosene and he
53:45 set himself on fire. You know that picture became the epitome of the
53:50 Vietnam War. But you know something, God brought to my heart that picture when
53:56 you and I are set on fire for Jesus Christ. You don't have to tell people, "Hey, come and see. I'm on fire for
54:02 Jesus." You know, because people can see you're on fire for Jesus. that your
54:07 lifestyle, your habits, your discipline of grace will show that you are on fire for Jesus Christ. So today, you know,
54:15 let us allow the Lord Jesus to set us on fire. And of course, the second thing I want to say to you is in Matthew chapter
54:22 9:37-38, the Lord Jesus says to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Ask the Lord
54:29 of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. I
54:34 believe that you and I need to ask God to kick us out into the harvest field because there's so many people ready to
54:40 hear the gospel. They are ready, but are you ready for the harvest? I believe
54:46 that God can put in your heart that readiness, that operationally
54:52 ready kind of attitude. Let's pray together.
55:04 Are your eyes are closed and your heads are bowed? I'm sure today you are here because the
55:09 Lord has brought you into his house that he desires for you to come and listen to
55:15 these words. Words of life, words of salvation. But today the one question, will there
55:23 be more sheep or more goats at the great white throne of the Lord Jesus Christ?
55:29 My beloved brothers and sisters, the answer lies with you and with me. But
55:35 today, if the Lord has convicted your heart that you want to be set on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ, you know the
55:42 story was told of a young man who went to a revival meeting who was so excited. He went to the preacher and says,
55:48 "Preacher, I want you to send revival to my church." The preacher stood down with a chalk and
55:55 drew a circle around the young man. And he says, "Young man, you first pray
56:01 for revival within the circle. I believe that when you are set on fire for the
56:07 Lord Jesus Christ, when you have this passion on fire, God is going to use you
56:12 far beyond your wildest dreams and imagination. God's grace will multiply abundantly and
56:19 amazingly in your life. But beloved, today, would you allow God to do that?"
56:26 If today you are sitting here and you want God to do something with your life, would you pray this simple prayer with
56:32 me, I just want to request you to pray this simple prayer with me. It's a prayer
56:38 that God wants you to pray from your heart to him. You don't even have to say out loud in your mouth. Just said it in
56:44 your heart. Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you and I praise you. There is salvation in
56:50 no one else except by you because you alone are the God of salvation. Oh Lord
56:57 Jesus, today I want to ask that you set my heart on fire that I might burn for
57:03 you. Yes, Lord. So many of times I say, Lord, use me. Lord, use me. But I can pray to you. The cows come home and the
57:09 mosquitoes go to bed and yet you may not be using me because I'm still stuck where I am. But Lord, I want to be used
57:16 for your kingdom and for your glory. May you be pleased to set me on fire that
57:22 the world may see me burn for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
57:30 All the eyes are closed and the heads are bowed. I want those of you who prayed this simple prayer in your heart
57:35 to just raise up your right hand. If you have prayed this simple prayer in your heart, yes, I see your hands. Whoever
57:42 you are, wherever you're seated, I do not know who you are, but God sees your hand because God saw your heart. That
57:49 you desire to be set on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you just raise up that right hand?
57:55 Father in heaven, I thank you that you love this each and every one of us because you love us with an everlasting
58:02 love. Today we want to pray this simple prayer that Jesus be the center of our
58:09 lives. that our hearts be set on fire for him, oh Lord. May you touch us
58:14 aresh. Fill us with the spirit that we may be empowered by him to do the works
58:20 that you have for us to do. Father, may each hand been raised this morning. You
58:26 bless them. You answer their prayer and you will supply all of their needs out of the glorious riches in the Lord Jesus
58:33 Christ. For it's in his glorious name that we pray. Amen. Please put down your hands. God
58:40 bless you.
