For Such a Time as This

24 Aug 2014 by Kim Yung CM-  

 

It was mission’s weekend at SunwayMas Community Centre (SMCC), Kelana Jaya, where Pastor Phua Seng Tiong preached on the 16^th of August regarding such a time as this. The dynamic founding pastor and Senior Pastor of Sungai Way-Subang Methodist Church, Petaling Jaya, has a strong heart for missions and through his message, he encouraged many.

 

 

He began by quoting Nelson Mandela, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

“Mission is a matter of the heart. Why? Because it is a matter of God’s heart and it’s a matter of Jesus’s heart, and it’s a matter of the Holy Spirits heart, and you if you are filled with the Holy Spirit then you should be. Mission should be a natural extension of the Church ministry and not the optional extra. It is the DNA of the Church!” shared Phua.  

 

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. (Proverbs 27:19)

 

 

“Does your heart reflect the heart of God?” asked Phua. When you follow Jesus, you’re already on a mission. He will show you what He wants you to see and what He wants you to know. It is important to know what you are going to do when your heart is touched.

“God is a missionary because from the very beginning, He sent His son Jesus; and Jesus was a missionary. He was on a mission all His 33 years on earth. The Holy Spirit is a sending spirit of mission; you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” he shared.

In fact, the whole book of the Bible from Genesis up to Revelations is about missions simply because that’s the heart of God.  

 

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. ¹⁴ And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach. (Mark 3:13-14)

 

 

According to the verse above in Mark, Jesus called those who He desired and He called upon the apostles. We have high regards for those whom we call apostles, however it is important that we remember that when Jesus appointed His apostles, He appointed them before they even began their missions. The more you get to know God, you will catch His heart for missions and the more we are with Him, we better understand why He was sent to this world. The cross was His mission. As followers we need to be a witness who reflects whom we are witnessing and when you declare His praises you are already a missionary!  

 

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1Peter 2:21)

 

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

 

 

You can be a testimony to people by sharing your story about the bondages in your life and how you’ve been set free in Him; about how you were in darkness but now in the light.

“This is what declaring praises and missions is all about, it’s not about going overseas even though that is important. God is telling you that you need to constantly give praises to what He has done in your life. When you reflect that in your life, I say to you, you’re already on a mission!” shared Phua.

Church is not just on a Sunday, is it from Monday to Sunday! If something amazing is happening in your Church, there must be something more amazing happening outside because God is at work all the time! As you follow Him your eyes will open because God is working.

Don’t let the reason you’re following Him be just a ritual in your life; because you feel you need to follow regulations. Mission has to do with you and your relationship with God! We all need to have a relationship with God in order for it to move us, so that we can do more than we can imagine and ask for, simply because God is at work in us. Missions allows other people to see God’s heart that we hold dear.

 

 

“This is the basis. If you understand the basis, then whether you go to Sabah, to China, or Afghanistan or if you face difficult situations, you’ll know it is about the heart. It’s about reflecting who Jesus is in your life” shared Phua.

Do not worry in your life, and send your worries to Him, because God is at work and when He stretches out His hand no one can turn it back! Align yourself with His plan.

“God is saying to you Church, that for such a time as this, I stir up the waters. God is stirring many things. Just like a surfer, you need to wait and ride on the waves and from there you’ll go places!  

 

For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar– the LORD Almighty is his name. (Isaiah 51:15)

 

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, (Ephesians 1:18)

 

“How can your heart have eyes? Except when you have the same heart as God then your heart will have the same passion and compassion for people who are lost” shared Phua.

Be on a mission to touch the marginalized, and do you what you have been called to do so that people will be able to see with their own eyes, so that they can stir and feel with their own heart and so that they can do what Jesus would do.

 

 

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