Leadership - Part 1

Welcome to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 6 verse 4. Acts chapter 6 verse 4. But we will give ourselves up to prayer and the ministry of God's Word. Let's have a short prayer. Dear Lord, we want to thank you for gathering us together into thy presence. Lord, we look to thee to speak to us, to speak to our hearts, because thou art the Word of life. Lord, this is your time. Glorify yourself. Touch each and every one of us with thy living Word, and bring each and every one of us into your very presence. We commit this time into your head, we ask in thy precious name. Amen. Thank God for gathering us together this morning. We want to touch upon the ministry of God's Word. The ministry of God's Word is a tremendous task. It is not just taking God's Word and try to explain it. It has to be part of the message. The Word must become flesh before it can be delivered. The Spirit of God needs to do a deep work in our lives before we are able to minister God's Word. In other words, the Word needs to become flesh before it can be delivered. The Word must work deeply in our lives before we can deliver God's Word. The Spirit of God will work deeply in us by his Word. The principle of the Word becoming flesh is the principle of the ministry of God's Word. Before the Word works deeply in us and transforms us, we cannot do the ministry of God's Word. The Word becoming flesh is a principle to be remembered. The Word becomes flesh in us before we can deliver it. This is the work of the indwelled Holy Spirit. He is responsible to make the Word living in us. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, we are gradually transformed to his image. Then when we speak, we speak the Word of God. In other words, the Word must become flesh before it can be delivered. I hope these words will sink deep into our hearts. The only way to deliver the Word of God is to allow the Word to become flesh in us. The Spirit of God must work within us. He must speak to our spirit and enable us to succumb to his speaking. Allow the Spirit to work deeply in us. Touch us. Touch the points that need to be touched. Now, unless there is such a deep work in our hearts, there is no ministry of the Word. So, brothers and sisters, as we gather here this morning, we want to open our hearts to the Lord and ask the Spirit of God to touch each and every one of us, to search our hearts, to see if there is anything within us that is not in agreement with God, anything that needs to be dealt with. And unless we have such an open spirit, there is no chance of becoming spiritual. So, dear brothers and sisters, the one thing that we need to do this morning is to open our hearts to the Spirit of God. Thank God when he saves us, he not only has forgiven our sins, he has given us a new spirit. And in this new spirit, his own spirit comes and dwells within us. This is the greatest gift of God, because the Holy Spirit who indwells in us is to take charge of our spiritual life. We cannot be spiritual by ourselves. It is through the indwelled Holy Spirit that we are able to be spiritual. But the point is, do we cooperate? Now, sometimes we think, if only we are saved, then we can go on by ourselves. Brothers and sisters, this is not true. Even though we are saved, and yet by ourselves, we cannot please God. Thank God, because he has done something more than we expect. He has given even his own spirit to dwell in our spirit. This is the greatest thing that God has done for us. If we are saved, and then we are left to ourselves, we think that by being saved, we are able to please God in our daily life. But we also discover that it is not true, unless the Spirit of God comes and dwells in our spirit. And he becomes the power within us. He will speak to us in his still, small voice. Oh, brothers and sisters, how we thank God that when he saves us, he wants to save us to the uttermost. He will not just save us and leave us for ourselves, to fight the war, to live a spiritual life. Brothers and sisters, we cannot do it. Without him, without the indwell Holy Spirit, there is no opportunity, no chance for us to be spiritual. So, I hope this will sink deep in our hearts. Do not trust ourselves. Even if you are saved, you are not trustworthy, because the world is just too much for you. You are no match to God's enemy. You will yield to temptation. You will fail as a believer. But thank God, he knows it. So, he has made provision for us. He has not only forgiven our sins, which is a big thing. I hope you remember when the Spirit of God begins to work upon you, he began to reveal your sins to us, how you regret before God. I remember when I was young, I was brought up in a Christian family. In my family, we have family devotion every morning. My father, who was a pastor, he loved the Lord. He would gather us children, seven of us, each evening before supper. We would all be gathering in the sitting room. Our father would read from a big Bible, and after he read it, he called all of us to kneel down to pray. But he knows us. We were not saved yet. So, he never let us, anyone else to pray. He would just pray himself. Only after, by the grace of God, I was saved. Then my father began to ask me to pray sometimes. This is the way I was brought up. But brothers and sisters, even though I was saved by the grace of God, even though I do have a heart for God, yet I realize that I cannot be a good Christian. It's beyond me. I try. I try my best, but my best is no match to the world, no match to the enemy of God. I fail again and again, until by the grace of God, he opens my understanding. He showed me by myself, I can never overcome. But thank God, when he first saved me, you know, brothers and sisters, when I was saved, it was such a big thing to me, because I used to think I'm good. When I look into the world and see all the dirty things in this world, I thought to myself, I'm not like that. I'm good. So I used to have the thinking, let God save people, but not me. I'm too good to be saved. Now that was my true thinking before I was saved. Then the Lord, by his Spirit, began to work in me. He began to show me how sinful I am. From the top of my head to my bottom, there's nothing good. I sometimes would sit by myself and wept. I repented of my sins. Thank God he has saved me. But do you think that being saved is all that God would do for me? No. He knows me too much. He knows that even though I was saved, my sins were forgiven. I have received a new spirit. But even with the best intention, I was no match to the world. No match to the temptations that were around me. So by the grace of God, after he has saved me, given me a new spirit, he has put his own spirit within me. Brothers and sisters, this is the greatest gift of God. I hope that you will remember this. To be saved is wonderful, but if we are saved and be left alone to fight our spiritual life, we are bound to be defeated. The world is just too much for us. Satan is too strong for us. We will yield to temptation. We will be a failure in our Christian life. But this is God's purpose. God wants us to be a victorious Christian. Since he has saved us, he wants to save us to the uttermost. Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about that? What a great thing it is that when God saves you, he does not leave you alone. He saves you to the uttermost. Now what did he do? He not only had given us a new spirit, but his own spirit dwells in our spirit. We may not realize what God has done. We often think that just to have our sins forgiven, that is wonderful. You know, I was brought up in a Christian family. We had family devotion every evening, but none of us were saved. So at that time, after my father read the scripture and we all knelt down to pray, he never asked anyone to pray. He knew our situation. He was the only one who would be praying. Only after, by the grace of God, I was saved, then he began to ask me sometimes to pray also. To my father, this is a serious matter, to be before the Lord, to pray to the Lord is a wonderful thing. But brothers and sisters, after we are saved, we may think now all things will be good, that we will be from victory to victory. We all want to be good Christians. We all want to please God. We all want to do the will of God. I believe that is our desire. But can we do it? Even if we are saved, even if we have a new life, but brothers and sisters, this new life is young. It is weak. It is no match to the world, no match to temptations, no match to the enemy of God. And God knows it right away. And that's the reason why he has not just saved us and leave us alone to fight the battle. He knows that we cannot succeed. So, thank God. After he has saved us, forgive us our sins, give us a new spirit. He sent his own spirit to dwell in our spirit. This is a great gift of God. Unfortunately, at the beginning, we do not realize it. I believe after you have struggled with your sins, after the spirit of God began to reveal your sins, the only hope in your heart is to have your sins forgiven. I remember how I cried to the Lord. Save me, O Lord. Forgive my sins. How I sought the Lord at that time. I live in Shanghai. Shanghai is a big place, international place. And famous preachers all over the world will come to Shanghai to preach. And they usually preach in my father's church. I went to hear them. I was touched. I went to the front a number of times. I cried. I confessed, but nothing happened. This continued for a whole year. So, in the summertime, I determined I was to be saved. So, there was a Bethel mission in Shanghai. They had a summer conference. I went there. Three young men from America just graduated from Asbury College. They came to preach. I went to hear them, morning after morning, but nothing happened. Because all that they had preached, I knew already. So, I remember one day, one morning, I sat in the room. I do not know what I was doing, whether I was praying or just speaking to myself. I said, Lord, why is it other people got saved so easily? I saw people went to the altar, got saved, happy, glad, but it didn't happen to me. So, I told the Lord, maybe I'm gospel hardened. I knew too much. I knew the gospel from my childhood. I've heard it so much that it made no effect upon my life. So, I remember I told the Lord, I said, Lord, if you want to save me, save me now. If you don't, goodbye. Now, that very afternoon, I went to the meeting. Mr. Kirkpatrick was speaking. And you know what did he speak? John 3:16. I knew it by heart. Nothing he said was new to me. So, after he finished speaking, he asked all of us to kneel down and pray. And whosoever was touched would go to the altar. I didn't even go to the altar. I just kneeled by my own chair because I've been there a number of times. Nothing happened. An Indian brother came and knelt by my side. All he did was to urge me to go to the altar. Now, I said I've been there a number of times and nothing happened. But out of courtesy, I did go. When I was at the altar, I began to pray. I confessed my sin. I wept. But nothing happened. The meeting was over. As I was walking out, a Chinese pastor, if I mention his name, probably some of your older ones remember the name, Andrew Chee. He was a young pastor at that time. He must be noticing me. So, when I walk off, he stopped me. And he point blankly asked me the question, are you saved? I had to be honest. So, I told him I want to be saved. So, he stopped me. Everybody left, hundreds of people, just the two of us in that room. He asked me one question. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God? I say from my childhood. He said, all right. Read 1 John chapter 1 verse 9. So, I opened up the Bible and I read it. And he made me to read it twice. Instead of using the word iwi, he said put your name there and read it. So, I did. Then he said let's pray. So, we knelt down. Now, I knew how to pray. So, I started to pray. I confessed my sins. I said Lord, there are many sins I have forgotten, but you remember. Forgive me according to your word. Now, I have done my part. It's up to you. If you want to save me, save me now. If not, goodbye. You know, immediately there came such peace into my heart. I got up. So, he asked me, are you saved? I said yes, I'm saved. He said, how do you know? I say I have such peace in my heart. He shook his head. No, he's very clever in leading people. He said, your feeling may change. Are you saved? I say I am. Because I felt such peace in my heart. He shook his head. He said, your peace you felt may pass away. And suddenly, suddenly, the word of God came to me. I told him, I know I'm saved because God says so. He said yes. This is the assurance of salvation. He was very wise in leading people. So, he told me, go out, tell someone what the Lord has done for you. I did. I still remember vividly. After 80 some years, I went to my room. I opened up the Bible, 2 Peter. I read it. Every word began to speak to my heart. Praise God, he has saved me. And this is over 80 some years already. Brothers and sisters, when the Lord began to save you, he wants to save you to the uttermost. He will not save you and leave you alone in the world to fight against the world, the temptations, the devil. He knows that you are no match. You cannot overcome. So, thank God. After he has saved you, after he has given you a new spirit, he put his own spirit in your spirit. This is the greatest thing that God has done. The Holy Spirit of God comes and dwells in the new human spirit. He is to be the life of this new spirit. Otherwise, how can we by ourselves fight against all the temptations that are around us? We are doomed to fail. But thank God he saved us to the uttermost. He gave his spirit to us. Dwells in our spirit to be our strength, to be our guide, to lead us into victorious life. Brothers and sisters, did you ever thank God for the indwelling Holy Spirit? He is the greatest gift of God to mankind. Why? Because without him, we cannot live as a Christian. But because the Holy Spirit of God dwells in our spirit, he is responsible to make us a victorious Christian from glory to glory. I do not cease praising God, what he has done. The indwelled Holy Spirit is a great gift of God to mankind because God has not only saved you, but in order to save you to the uttermost, he gave his own spirit and put it in your spirit to be there, to be your guide, to be your strength, to be your victory. It is by the indwelled Holy Spirit that we are able to overcome the world and all the temptations. I believe, brothers and sisters, you who are saved, you must have this experience, the working of the indwelled Holy Spirit. He never leaves you nor forsakes you. He is there to see that you live a Christian life. Remember, Christian life is impossible unless you are indwelled by God's own spirit. Because even though you are saved, you are still no match to the world, to temptation, to God's enemy. He is too strong for you. But thank God, after you are saved, the next wonderful thing is God's own spirit comes and dwells in your spirit. He is there to be your spiritual life. So, spiritual life does not depend upon yourself, not even the newly saved one. Spiritual life is wholly dependent upon the indwelled Holy Spirit of God. Remember this. Do not try to fight against the world by yourself. You won't succeed. But by the indwelled Holy Spirit, we are able, well able, to overcome all temptations. But the thing is, do we cooperate? Do we yield ourselves to the indwelled Holy Spirit? He is there leading us. Do you follow? The indwelled Holy Spirit, while he is working, he usually begins with small things. For instance, after you are saved, you used to go to a certain place. But after you are saved, when you begin to go to that place, somehow there's a small still voice within you saying that now you are the Lord. Do you think it is right to go there? In the beginning, you do not listen to that voice. You still went. But after you went there, if not at the right moment, at least in the evening, when you began to pray, you cannot pray. You felt there was something wrong in your life. You had to confess your sins, ask forgiveness. Then you are clear to continue to pray. Now, this is Christian life. So, dear brothers and sisters, thank God for the indwelled Holy Spirit. He is given to guide you in your Christian life. Without him, you won't succeed. But with him, all things are possible. I believe after you are saved, when you begin to go to a certain place that you used to visit before you were saved, a still small voice will begin to speak to you and say, now you are a Christian. Do you think it is right for you to go there? Most likely, you ignored that voice. You went. But in the evening, when you began to pray, you just cannot pray. You have to confess your sin before you are able to pray. This is the way the Spirit of God is leading you to sanctification. So, dear brothers and sisters, when God saves you, he wants to save you to the uttermost. Not just save you and leave you alone to fight a battle. He knew you cannot succeed, but he has given his own Spirit to you. And by his Spirit, you are able to overcome. And this is Christian life. So, dear brothers and sisters, thank God you all have the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is our responsibility to listen to him, to cooperate with him, to go by his direction. And if you do, you will have a victorious Christian life. He usually will begin with small things, and then gradually he will go to bigger things. He will begin with outward things, and gradually he will go deeper into your thought, into your mind, into your will, until you're fully yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit. And this is Christian life. So, may the Lord help each and every one of us. Do not think that after you're saved, that's it. No, that's just the beginning. You begin to walk as a Christian. And only by the indwelling Holy Spirit will you succeed. So, may the Lord use these simple words to encourage us. Shall we pray? Dear Lord, we want to thank you for your salvation is so complete. We thank you that you have not only saved us, but you save us to the uttermost. We thank you for the indwelling Holy Spirit who is there guiding and leading us, that we may build a Christian that will glorify your name. We commit all the brothers and sisters here this morning into your hand. Pray that our word will find his dwelling in our midst, that by thy grace, by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we will go on with you until we see you face to face. We ask in thy name. Amen.