I was looking through my old sermon notes when I came across a talk I gave to the graduating sunday school kids of my church. I had completely forgot about the talk, and as I read it through it reminded me of how important it is to establish the foundations of our faith in Christ – to love Him instensely with all our heart.

I thought I’d share my talk today, as it was a really apt reminder for me and the current status of my relationship with God.

I remember my first day of high school when I had gotten lost trying to find my way around – it was ten times bigger than my primary school! That’s the great thing about you graduating, it means that you’ve been recognized to have the maturity and smarts to move up and learn new things, more challenging things and see some more of the world. Things are really similar at church, you’ll be moving into the main service and into the senior Sunday school – that’s a big change.

It reminds me of this one young guy in the bible. We get introduced to him in 1 Samuel and his name is David. Now, we all know the stories of David and Goliath, how he took five stones and flung it at the giant Philistine. And we know that many years later, as an adult, the shepherd boy became a mighty king. But many of us won’t need to fight lions, or bears, or giant philistines. But you are now growing up and I think there’s a lot we can learn about the young boy David.

Let’s turn to the Bible to see what God thought of David as a boy, to 1 Samuel 13:13-14. The prophet Samuel was telling off King Saul when he was doing wrong and had told him that someone else was going to take over as king.

“but now your kingdom will not endure, the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people”

And in 1 Samuel 16:7, when Samuel is trying to find out which of the sons of Jesse is going to be king, tells us what God was looking for.

“do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

You see, God was looking for a “man after His heart.”

What does that mean? If you look at David and read his many battles, learning about how he earnestly supported the building of the temple, and if you read his psalms, I think you can find out one really important thing we can all learn and apply.

You see, David loved God A LOT. For most of the time, David loved God so much that he would do anything for him. He would sing about him, write songs about Him, he would enjoy God’s Word. He would go out to battle for God and give all the glory to Him. He would listen to what God has to say. And when he did wrong, he went to seek for forgiveness.

You see, David loved God and had a personal relationship with Him. I really want to challenge you this year, as you step into this new part of life, to think about what it means to love God, and what it means to have a personal relationship with Him.

Do you consult God when you’re struggling? Do you sing your lungs out at church because you just love to sing about how awesome God is? Do you dedicate your triumphs to Him, but go to him when you’re feeling low? Do you try and get to know God more by reading the Bible, learning from a sermon, or trying to understand a passage of the Bible in Sunday school class?

I want to challenge you to really enjoy God. To understand what it means to really love Him, that you could step up to your giants and say that you have the Lord Almighty behind you? I really hope that this year, you can discover that in senior Sunday school and the main service, and many people will be praying that God works in your lives just as much as he did in the shepherd boy, David.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain….How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you.”

- Psalm 139:6, 17, 18

Yesterday I laid on the beach half asleep. In my daze, I ran my fingers through a fistful of sand. I watched in quiet amazement, thousands of quartz pebbles cascading through the gaps of my fingers. Then I thought of Psalm 139. I have always loved this psalm, but today, I had an epiphany about it. It made me consider the magnitude of God’s awesomeness.

As I peered down into my sand-filled palm, I noticed that I could see each individual grain of sand – I could actualy count them. If I were to go so far, I could arrange them into groups by colour and size. Then I thought about what God. What would He know about the sand? I believe He would know each pebble individually. He would know how many edges each single pebble had. He would know where the pebble came from, each single motion it took since the dawn of time. He would know which sea bed it once laid in. Our awesome God would know this for each and every grain of sand. He would know it’s life story and know it’s future. Now that is awesome!

God knows me much more than I know myself. He knows me from my deepest, darkest secret to the very hair on my knuckles. He would know my every thought, my every desire, and each present and future decision. I think I have touched the surface in understanding the solitary fact that the Lord knows me. In fact, He knows me beyond all comprehension – and that for the other seven billion of us in the world.

God is awesome. He is much bigger than we could ever imagine. He is impossibly huge and His intelligence knows no bounds. I get a headache even imagining how much He knows, that He would even know every single detail past, present and future, regardng one tiny grain of sand. If He knows this about a pebble, then surely He knows me fully.

I praise God that I am wonderfully made. I praise Him that He knows me. I pray that I learn to trust in Him more. For if His eye is on the sparrow, so much more then, His eye is on me.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

- Matthew 10:29-31

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
– Psalm 103:11-12

I was given a good piece of advice today; to forget the sins of my past, forgiven, and move on. It reminded me of this verse in Psalms. There is such power in the promise that God has removed our sin from us, as far as is infinitely possible. Whilst it is encouraging to know that God has etched that sin away from us completely, what we find hard to do is forgive ourselves. Forgiving ourselves, forgetting, and moving on.

It may not always be the case, but depending on your sin and on the situation, forgiving and forgetting is quite a necessity. When you become so hung up on your past mistakes, so focussed on your wrongs from years passed, you tend to get stuck and not move forward. I’m not sure if you can call it self pity. It’s more like “beating yourself up over it”, but to an extent that you cannot progress any longer.

What I have forgotten is that God has forgiven me completely. Though there may yet be consequences from those sins and actions, God has wiped the slate clean. In His books, you are free to move on, to move on towards His direction. Sometimes it takes a person (whom you respect very much) to tell it to your face, “you have to let your shady past go!”. It is the first step, in many cases, to renewal. Renewal of relationships with others and especially with God.

This year, I’ve really struggled with the concept that David was a man after God’s own heart. After reading some of his psalms, I’m beginning to understand why he was accredited that title. David’s relationship with God was close, real close. He really understood how it should be – the relationship between a lowly man and an Almighty God. It is the difference between broken vessels and ultimate perfection. David understood the gap, but what’s more, he appreciated the gap. He appreciated that God was the only one that could bridge the gap. Not even with all our collective strength could we come even close to attaining that kind of perfection.

Psalm 103 is the expression of a man who has a relationship with God. It was not written for a father, or a lover, or a friend. It was written as praise to an awesome God.

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

I’m glad David wrote that. If God can be like that to an adulterous murderer, then maybe I stand a chance. I do deserve a hefty repayment of my sins, but because of His mercy, I walk free. And I guess the biggest part of grace is accepting the gift and moving on. Forget the sin, embrace the grace and move on towards Him; fearing Him, loving Him, seeking Him and praising Him.

“Praise the Lord, all His works everywhere in His dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.”

The godly people are all gone
There’s not one honest soul left alive here on this planet
We’re all murders and theives
Setting traps here for even our brothers

The day of justice comes
And is even now swiftly arriving
Don’t trust anyone at all
Not your best friend or even your wife

For the son hates the father
The daughter despises even the mother
Look! Your enemies are right
Right in the room of your very household

And both of our hands are equally skilled
at doing evil, equally skilled
at bribing the judges, equally skilled
at perverting justice, both of our hands,
Both of our hands

Reaching always reaching
Never reaching solid ground
Seeking always seeking
Never seeking what I’ve found

Both my hands are filled with guilt
(Be my absolution)
Oh with my eyes are blind with filth
(Be my absolution, absolution)

Baptize my mind
For these seeds to give birth to life
First they must die

No, don’t gloat over me
For though I fall, though I fall
I will rise again

Though I sit here in darkness
The Lord, the Lord alone
He will be my light

I will be patient as the Lord
Punishes me for the wrongs
I’ve done against Him

After that He’ll take my case
Bringing me to light and to justice
For all I have suffered

And both of His hands are equally skilled
at ruining evil, equally skilled
at judging the judges, equally skilled
Administring justice, both of His hands,

And both of His hands are equally skilled
At showing them mercy, equally skilled
At loving the loveless, equally skilled
Administring justice, both of His hands
Both of His hands

God is my shepherd
I won’t be wanting
I won’t be wanting
He makes me rest
In fields of green
With quite streams
Even though I walk
Through the valley
Of death and dying
I will not fear
‘Cause you are with me
You are with me

Your shepherd staff
Comforts me
You are my feast
In the presence of enemy
Surely goodness
Follow me
Follow me in the house of God, forever

Lyrics by Jon Foreman, from “Baptize My Mind”, “Equally Skilled”, and “The House of God Forever”.

Hebrews 12 is like a triumphant call to arms. After inspiring us with countless people of faith in the past, the author points to us – it’s our turn to respond!

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Unfortuantey, we have no excuse. Unlike the old testament people quoted previously, we can clearly look back to the completed work of Christ, instead of looking forward to a picture of the Messiah to come. We have faith in a work that has been done, but look forward to the culmination of God’s blessing in the resurrection. For that reason, we are to continue striving to finish the race.

In my recent conversations with others, we were discussing about potential leaders. We raised the topic of who would be the most suitable leaders, what training they may need, how much dedication they would require. After long discussion, we came to the conclusion that the real key to a solid Christian, is the longing to persevere in the race – come what may!

The author of Hebrews hits the nail on the head when he reminds us to continue forward in our salvation. We are redeemed, but we also live in a fallen world. We still struggle with temptation and we succumb to sin. But, the call is not to reach perfection on our own strength. The call is to stay strong in Christ and resist sin for Him and by Him. We are called to persist and struggle “to the point of shedding your blood” (verse 4). It is an extreme example, but perhaps it was given to show the intensity against sin that we should pursue.

In the same way, we are reminded of the discipline we are called to undertake and to be prepared to receive. We are not yet done, we still live in this lifetime and world – still permeated with sin. Unfortunately, sin is still prevalent in our lives, but that does not mean we concede. No, we are to rise above it. Discipline trains discipline. God, out of love, teaches us right from wrong, correct from incorrect, fruits as opposed to transgressions. It is hard to be disciplined by God, but it is harder to live a life in sin.

Sin separates us from the full relationship we have in Christ. As a result God wants more than ever for us to be close to Him, to seek righteousness, to keep purity. The call is not easy – take a look at all the old people of faith in the past. It is the hard slog of this life, a reality of this broken world.

“Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.”

- Hebrews 12:12-13

But, we belong somewhere else. We have arrived, not to a place of despair and disdain, but to the shores of hope and the hilltop of triumph!

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

- Hebrews 12:22-24

Is there any better place to be? We have been made new already. We already have the power of Christ behind us, why do we slack off? Why don’t we run to the place where we belong?

Hebrews 12 is a call to arms; not to wait for heaven, but to live for heaven. Like our forefathers and mothers before us, we set our eyes on the prize – the kingdom of heaven that our Father pleasures to give us, due to the mighty work of Christ on the cross.

Someone asked me what are the main issues for a young person in life, to which I responded “love, work and dreams”. I really do believe that those three issues/things are what drives many lives – young and old. However, what also came to my mind, almost as an epiphany, was that love, work and dreams may not just be an individual pursuit.

In actual fact, I believe that our pursuits of love, work and dreams should be driven, directed and provided to and from God. While we go along in life in pursuit of love, and working hard to achieve our dreams, we often think only of ourselves.

Who am I going to fall in love with, and who is going to fall in love with me?
What if I lose my job, where will my career head to?
What if I never attain my dreams, how can I get there?

They are all valid questions in life, but the focus is very inward looking. We are narcissistic by nature. Inherently, we do things mainly for ourselves. I would say, if you can confidently say that you have fallen madly in love, found intense satisfaction in your daily work, and have achieved the wildest of your dreams – then you would be a happy man. But, I wonder how many would be happy in achieving that, or going through the process of achieving that!

The counter-idea is to realign your love, work and dreams to a direction that is eternally rewarding. The answer is obviously God. The difficulty is it’s implementation; the theory is easy but in practice it is hard. Very recently, I have not wanted to align these three things to God. I have felt fed up for not being able to align these things to myself. There are, however, very real repercussions.

Firstly, there is unsatisfaction. I don’t know what it is, but doing things for myself is deeply unsatisfying. There is a thing about serving and outpouring oneself that is richly rewarding.

Secondly, it pulls you away from the joyous presence of God. You literally turn away from His grace, ignore His blessing and run from His love. It is very much directing yourself to loss.

Thirdly, there is judgement. God does pour out His grace, but He also sees the heart and convicts us of our sin. If sin is defined as rejecting God, then rejecting His direction for our love, work and dreams is just the same.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
- Hebrews 4:12

Instead, I dare you to read His Word, sing His praises and fellowship with His people while trying – you may realize quickly what our love, works and dreams should be.

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
- Genesis 2:2-3

It’s an interesting (and comforting) thought to know that God rested after His work of creation. What a concept! Surely God need not rest? From verse 3, I actually think that God does not need to rest, instead He teaches about rest. His creation work presented to us the earliest demonstration for us to rest – to the point that He made the seventh day holy because of it. There must be some importance in resting.

I need rest. Little do I know, but I actually do not know the art of resting. I am continuously on the move and always have ants in my pants. I strive to be productive, strive to be accomplishing something, wanting to always be used by Him. It is easy to forget that one of God’s earliest lessons to mankind was to take a break.

I am tired. Day to day work sucks the life out of you. Whilst we don’t toil the ground, we do slave at our desks and we use large amounts of mental concentration to get us through the day. We actually get tired from doing work. That’s where rest comes in, and there is a certain biblical teaching to it.

Firstly, resting should be holy. I believe the first instance of rest points to the establishment of the Sabbath. It is an interesting concept, but the heart behind the sabbath is not so much the ‘not-working’ aspect of it. We know that in Mark 2 and 3, that Christ ‘worked’ on the sabbath. When we look at the initial teachings of the sabbath in Exodus 31, we read that observing the sabbath is “a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” I believe the intention of the sabbath is to stop and reflect on what God has done for us. The first sabbath, God rested from creating everything – and He reflected on it. In the same way, we are to rest and reflect on everything God has done for us; having created us, saved us and continues to provide and bless us. Resting is holy when we consider God in our rest.

Secondly, resting is stopping. Many times throughout the old testament and in it’s laws, we read of the severity of working on the sabbath day – disobeying it was punishable by death (Leviticus 23:3). This law was certainly taken to the highest degree by religious men. However, Jesus provides us with a profound truth in His teaching, saying, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). What a fantastic concept! God certainly did not need rest – as He is an almighty God. But we certainly need rest. As people, we need to stop our work and rest. We need to actually stop, recuperate, reflect on God, then continue on in love and good needs.

Lastly, resting should be refreshing and enjoyable – when we have a perspective of God in it. Whenever I think of a good rest, I think of Psalm 23, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.” I envy David – he must have really enjoyed rest with God. What a calming and encouraging piece of prose! It full of meaning and teaching! When we go to God in rest, He provides the refreshment, He settles us down, He realigns us to the right direction for the glory of the Father! It is a fantastic reminder of how rest can restore our soul.

I really want to experience a rest that refreshes me and points me back to the direction of God. I want rest that makes me “be still and know that He is God”. I want a rest that allows me to stop from my work and focus on Him. Yes, I need to rest, and I need to rest well.

Why is it that God always seems to remind me, at just the right time, that He is working in this world? Here I am, so caught up with temporary issues; looking at life through the lens of the lost. Then once you reach the lows of humanity, being proud and heartless and unempathatic, He lovingly reaches for your shoulders and shakes you to the bone.

He still works

He always works

He will work

I was reminded today how true it is when to God “a thousand years are like a day has gone by”. From up above, He looks at the world with an eternal perspective, a sovereign outlook and in the knowledge of alpha and omega. But we, as a speck in time, try to juggle the things of life around us, He comes in and shows us Truth.

Today I was reminded that God works in people. It is not my works – He may have used me, but it was all His work. For God, seeds planted in the winter can be grown. Coins that were lost, are now found and invested in. God never forgets a soul. No, He pursues them.

I cannot take credit for anything I have done, for I have done nothing. But while I wallow in my sin, in my failures, in my blatant ignorance of other’s wellbeing – He still cares. The greatest lesson for me is that He still cares for me. Though I sound like a clashing symbol, He cares for me. Though I treat none like my neighbour, He cares for me. Though I fail and fail and fail, He picks me up.

Dear God, please forgive me for my wrongdoings, for my careless words and heartless actions. Please forgive me for my intolerance of others and my indignant selfishness. I have learnt that You reign on high; all things are in the mighty palm of Your hand. You continue to change lives and strengthen the weak. You give faith to the once faithless; You feed the hungry. Lord, I am hungry and weak. Please satisfy me with Your unfailing love. Amen.

 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

- Matthew 10:37-39

Jesus’ perspective of commitment is pretty full-on. In fact, His definition of commitment is unchangeably rock solid. To follow Him requires a removal of self and a reliance on someone much greater – God. Commitment to Him is the pursuit of Christ and the lowering of self, like John the Baptist, “He must become greater, I must become less”.

I question whether we, as Christians, have pursued Christ to the point where we have truly forsaken our old life. I am a tad concerned that over the past decade, there has been a prominent rise of the easy-preaching church; the ‘relevant’ worship service for a church that “suits-my-needs”. The issue is propagated with our bubble-wrapped generation who demands faster and wider connectivity, fancier clothes, higher salaries, greater self-recognition, a plethora of friends to suit our popularity and the relentless pursuit of an unending drip-feed of “self-esteem” otherwise known as an ego. We are becoming “more of me, less of Him”.

We live in a society of non-commitment; we even have the option on Facebook to RSVP to an event as “maybe”. Are we so lack-luster in our convictions that our ‘Yes’ is not ‘Yes,’ and our ‘No’ is not ‘No’? This attitude is also permeating Christian lives. How many of us have been asked to serve in a ministry, only to find ourselves responding that we will “pray about it” beforehand? Now don’t get me wrong, we should definitely commit all that we do for Him in prayer and petition to Him and for Him. But, I can confidently say that for many of us, our “pray about it” has turned into our Facebook “maybe” – it has become blatant response of non-commitment.

Increasingly, this attitude has shaped our Christian culture. We so easily talk about how often we change jobs or careers in our lifetime, yet we consistently find ourselves jumping from church to church blaming the pastor, the ministry, the fellowship, the worship-feel, or the odd-bot that always talks to you after service. We have a million excuses to change to a church that better “suit my needs”. Is church really just about suiting our needs? Do we divorce our families because they no long “suit our needs” (although sickly enough, some do)?

I find myself extremely frustrated at the state of God’s children. We are so quick to point the finger, yet so good at hiding in the shadows of those who serve vigorously and tirelessly.

Imagine a church where all its members are praying for one another, serving others, evangelising to the lost and living with the hope of Christ as the anchor for our souls. Imagine if we clung onto the promises of our living God and stepped out in faith, with His armor armed and the Spirit driving our passion. Imagine if we cast away our wordly wants and pursued unselfish righteousness. Imagine if we truly took up our cross to follow Christ.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

- 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Philippians 3:14

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

For years I’ve been trying to understand the meaning of grace. I understand it, but only intellectually. “Grace is getting something you don’t deserve”, I would tell my Sunday school kids. It is such a simple concept. However, in reality, it is hard to practice and is actually painful to receive.

It is only when you need to demonstrate grace, do you realise the awesome power of Christ. Without His grace, we would be nothing. Grace in essence is not about earning trust or deserving something through effort. It is purely a gift; one that requires no return, has no disclaimer, and affords no gratitude. It is an one-way act of love – and it is extremely difficult.

Practical grace? It actually comes few and far between. Practical grace is giving a kiss to your enemy. Practical grace is trusting the untrusted and forgiving the unforgivable. Practical grace is loving the undeserved. Practical grace is giving your all to someone, knowing that their all may not have been given to you.

Funnily enough, many of us have received this practical grace. I certainly have. As an imperfect being, I realise that I am of no position to demand for love, or trust, or faithfulness from anyone. I myself too, in my time, have been guilty of not loving, nor being trustworthy or faithful. In fact, my past is the very reason why I am in need of a Saviour. Thankfully, I am saved.

Christ asks us to follow Him and it is hard. He is the perfecter of practical grace. He has every right to demand for love, trust and faithfulness. Yet, He receives it so inconsistently and with much restraint from us. How can I talk about practical grace when I cannot even give grace back? We are all sinners. We can all be forgiven. We can all give grace. We can all love without condition.

“Love…just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way…love…”

- Ephesians 5:25-27