Legacy of Faith

[0:00] It's my pleasure to bring to you today's sermon. So let's pray before we begin. Father in heaven, I pray that as I bring your word today, help me be faithful to the text.

[0:12] Help me preach what is true and glorify your name. Encourage us, warn us, push us, challenge us today. I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:24] Now today's sermon is not part of a sermon series, but a one-off sermon. Based on Deuteronomy 4. So being a one-off sermon, one of the good things about it is that it's new.

[0:38] It's fresh. But because it's new and it's fresh, it's unfamiliar to some, or maybe it needs some refreshing in our minds of what Deuteronomy is, who is it written to, who wrote Deuteronomy.

[0:54] So a little context before we begin. It's always good to set the background for today's sermon. Deuteronomy is the fifth book in the Old Testament, the fifth book of the Pentateuch.

[1:07] It was written by Moses in his later part of his life, and his audience was the Israelites. At this point in time, the Israelites have already been wandering the desert for 40 years.

[1:20] We will remember from Numbers 14 that after the 12 spies returned from Canaan, some bringing news of fortified cities and giant Canaanites, the Israelites doubted and refused to conquer Canaan.

[1:33] They refused to trust in God despite all the miracles he had shown them since the exodus from Egypt. Now their lack of belief in God's word and promises brought forth the wrath of God.

[1:47] He cursed them for 40 years of wandering the wilderness until the unbelieving generation died off, never setting foot in the Promised Land.

[1:59] So by the time of the writing of Deuteronomy, most of the older generation had died off, and it was time for Israel to enter the Promised Land. However, it was not just the older generation of Israelites that was not allowed into Canaan, but Moses himself.

[2:16] Now it was briefly mentioned in verses 21 and 22 in this passage today, but we know that Moses was not allowed to enter Canaan. In Numbers 20, we learn that because he failed to trust God enough to honour him as holy, he would not be the one to bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land because he could not go into Canaan.

[2:39] Moses wrote Deuteronomy as a form of a farewell speech or an address to the people of Israel before they entered Canaan. So in it, he reminds, encourages, warns, and assures the Israelites of who the Lord God is to them and what he has done for them since Egypt.

[3:02] Now this would be an important point in Deuteronomy. He implores them to follow God's commands and decrees and essentially asks them to be obedient to God. Now obedience would be a key theme in today's sermon.

[3:18] Now even as we have spent time looking into the context for today's passage, it flows rather nicely for the first point of today, which is the legacy of the past.

[3:30] Now I would like to clarify that today's sermon is from Deuteronomy 4, 15 to 14, but verses 1 to 14 will be quite relevant, so don't be surprised if I draw from earlier part of the text.

[3:43] So do jump there in your Bibles if you're following. And because of the repetitive style of Moses' writing, I will be jumping up and down in the verses, not on the stage.

[3:53] So do follow me through the bulletin, the outline in the bulletin. So legacy of the past. Similar to today, Moses begins Deuteronomy by giving context to the Israelites in the first three chapters.

[4:10] Just like we did, he reminded the Israelites and narrated what had happened to their people as they wandered the wilderness for 40 years. Now it's good to realize that within the Israelites, there were the older ones, the ones who were younger than 20 years old when they started wandering the desert.

[4:27] So they would be around 50 to 60 years old. And there were those who knew nothing of Egypt, a generation that was born in the desert and had not experienced the Exodus, not seen the plagues and some of the miracles compared to the older generation.

[4:45] So even as Moses narrates the past, he does so as a reminder to those who remember and also as a retelling of history to those who were not there.

[4:56] Now it's no surprise that in our passage today, there are a lot of allusions and reminders of the past. Now in verses 32 to 34, Moses encourages the Israelites to think about their shared history.

[5:12] Verse 32, Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth, ask from one end of the heavens to the other, has anything so great as this ever happened?

[5:25] Or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have and live? Has any God tried to take for himself, one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by mighty hand, and outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes?

[5:52] So he asked them to think back, to think long, long ago to the time of their forefathers, of the time of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[6:05] Being an Israelite, they no doubt were told of their heritage, no doubt they were told what was promised to them and where they were going, what their inheritance was.

[6:16] The stories of their forefathers, the covenant that Abraham had with God in Genesis 12, 1-3, they were the chosen people by God, who promised them a new land and many blessings.

[6:30] Now in verse 33, he speaks of an incident of them hearing the voice of God speaking out of fire and they lived to tell the tale. Now we look back in verse 10 of chapter 4, or Exodus 19 for a full description, to what he was referring to and for clarity.

[6:47] Now Horeb is another name used for Sinai, okay, in verse 10. So in verse 10 it reads, Remember the day you stood before the Lord, your God at Horeb. So this is verse 10, chapter 4, yeah.

[7:00] When he said to me, Assemble the people before me to hear my words, so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children. You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

[7:19] Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. They heard the sound of words but saw no form. There was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant and the ten commandments which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.

[7:36] Imagine that. Imagine going to Mount Santuong, standing at where the jungle trek begins. Suddenly you see above the mountain heavy clouds descending, lightning and thunder accompanying the clouds, smoke billowing from the fire as God descends, trumpets blowing from seemingly nowhere getting louder and louder and the whole mountain trembles.

[7:58] If that happened and God spoke to me, whatever God says, you know that I will be 100% convinced whatever he said is true. And that's what Moses is appealing to, to the older ones especially, the ones who were there when this happened.

[8:13] he's asking them to think back to the time where God showed his power and majesty to them. Not only in this incident but in verse 24 through testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by mighty hand and outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds.

[8:29] All these things, if not most, were witnessed by the Israelites. Now how about us today? If you are a believer, you have this legacy of faith.

[8:41] At one point in time, you came to believe and trust in God as your Lord and Savior. At one point in time, you may have repented of your previous lifestyle and chose to live a life pleasing to God.

[8:55] And perhaps, even if you were baptized in this church, you would have sung, I have decided to follow Jesus. What is your legacy of faith? Just as Moses asked the Israelites to think back to their past, what brought you to Christ?

[9:10] Was there a defining moment in believing? Think back to what you felt, what you thought, and who you were and compare your past self to yourself today.

[9:24] How has your journey been? For some, it may be decades and others, not as long. But I just want you to think and reflect about your journey of faith.

[9:39] As you reflect on our lives, we realize that the journey or the legacy of faith doesn't start or end with us. It's generational.

[9:50] It can be passed from one to another. Now, for those who know me, you know that I am a Lumbawang. I grew up in this church in BEM OSIB. And if you didn't know, the BEM denomination has shared history with the Lumbawang people.

[10:07] Now, in the 1900s, early 1900s, we were regarded as pagan savages, headhunters, and alcoholics. Back then, the Brook administration decided the Lumbawang people were too dangerous to help or assist.

[10:22] So they left the people to die out from drunkenness and from unsanitary conditions. But, it was by the grace of God that missionaries, mainly from Australia, decided to come to Limbang Lawas area to bring the gospel.

[10:41] In a short time of maybe 10 to 15 years, it was a 180 degree turn for the Lumbawang people. No more pagan practices, alcoholism, and because of that, my great-grandfather, he became a Christian.

[10:54] My grandfather became a pastor and pastored a few villages. He brought my father at a young age with him as he preached. my father grew up as a Christian and he was an elder in this church for a number of years before.

[11:08] Then there was me. I grew up knowing of Christ as early as I can remember, taught by my parents. I grew up in a Christian home and here I am preaching to you today.

[11:20] Now this is part of my legacy of faith. So how about you? We all have different backgrounds, different stories, and if you are a Christian today, someone would have shared with you the gospel, given you a Bible, a reading material, or heard the good news over a radio or podcast.

[11:43] That is where your legacy is passed on to you. And if you think about it, the legacy of Moses and what Moses is talking about here in Deuteronomy 4 is also our legacy as well through Jesus Christ and the new covenant.

[11:59] Even as Gentile believers now, we are part of God's people. We are the wild olive shoot as described in Romans 11 that has been grafted into the olive root that is Christ.

[12:10] Now, we can look at God's faithfulness and power and know that this is the God that we hope and trust in. So now as we look at Deuteronomy 4, this is a shared legacy of faith that we have with the Israelites.

[12:23] As we have seen what God has done in the past for both us and the Israelites, we have our second point today, the legacy of the present.

[12:36] So why do all these things to the Israelites? Why does God show his great miracles and power and then wander the wilderness for 40 years? In verse 35, you know how it says, you were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God and beside him there is no other.

[12:58] The Lord is God beside him there is no other. Now, Moses is reminding us and the Israelites that the Lord is God, he is the one and only.

[13:09] Now, verse 35 and chapter 4 as a whole, in fact, primes the heart, primes and reforces the heart of Deuteronomy that is in chapter 6, verse 4 to 5.

[13:22] Chapter 6, verse 4 to 5 which reads, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.

[13:34] It sounds similar, right? Now, Moses places God and who he is at the heart of Deuteronomy. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Beside him there is no other.

[13:46] From this, everything else flows. All the decrees and the laws taught by Moses will be held because of who God is in our lives. He is our God. So then, because he is God, Moses repeats a theme of response of the Israelites in Deuteronomy that is obedience.

[14:05] Obedience to God is our response to him. In chapter 4, it's repeated in verses 1, 4 verse 1, 6 and 13. Follow the laws and decrees that it may go well with you and your children.

[14:18] In verse 36, it also says, from heaven he made you to hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire and you heard his words from out of the fire.

[14:29] God showed who he was to discipline and teach the Israelites to be obedient to him. In Moses' command of obedience, there is one specific issue that he mentions. starting from verse 15, Moses, verse 15, Moses specifically warns against idolatry.

[14:47] In verse 15, from verse 15, it reads, you saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourself an idol, an image of any shape, whether form like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth, or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground, or any fish in the waters below.

[15:14] And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the heavenly array, do not be enticed into bowing down to them, worshipping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

[15:28] But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace out of Egypt to be the people of his inheritance as you now are. Now what is interesting and I just want to point out is that to the Israelites, what we have just been through is the first and second commandment.

[15:47] Now you can flip over to Deuteronomy 5 or in Exodus 20 where in Deuteronomy 5 verse 6 it starts, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

[15:59] You shall have no other gods before me. The first commandment. And verse 8 is second. You shall not make for yourself an image in any form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

[16:13] So what is also interesting is to remember in the Exodus account when Moses was with God receiving the Ten Commandments and the decrees, one of the first things the people did was to build the golden calf.

[16:29] Not long after leaving Egypt, not long after seeing the plagues and miracles, and not long after Moses went up Mount Sinai, they built an idol. So it's no surprise that Moses forbids idolatry.

[16:41] He puts it very early in Deuteronomy as he did in the book of Exodus. He knew what the Israelites had done in the past and their tendencies to be somewhat fickle, so he warned them to be obedient only to God and no other gods.

[17:00] For us today, how are we in our obedience? Are we saying, Lord, you are God, aside from you, there is no other? Do we, as verse 39 says, acknowledge and take heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below?

[17:17] Of course, could be your answer. We don't worship any idols made from metal or wood anymore. I hope not. No idols.

[17:28] But I will caution you that idols aren't limited to graven objects crafted by human hands. idols are anything that you give your life to, that you pour every ounce of energy into hopes of bringing you the things you desire in return, anything that you place above God.

[17:51] There are many idols we struggle with and many of them creep into our lives without us even knowing. Things like wealth, prosperity, career, studies, self-image, and even family can be idols that take priority instead of God.

[18:10] Listen, I'm not saying don't go to work, don't study, don't have families. It is where you place these things in importance in your lives. Now there is wisdom.

[18:21] There is wisdom in discerning this. But what is it that you prioritize? Do you find that your lives revolve around work? Does your paycheck, wealth, and promotions become your core pursuit in life?

[18:37] Are we so inward looking, thinking only about my family and what we are doing that we forget to care for and serve others? Maybe we have created, you have created an idol in your life that you may not know, that you may or may not know of.

[18:55] In the end, it may be Hebel, right? And I'm saying this not as some sort of perfect person. I'm just like you. I have my many struggles and I'm fighting them too.

[19:08] And I understand that we are in an Asian culture. Get a good career, good grades, make a lot of money is what we were taught in school. Prestige, self-image, saving face is what our society encourages.

[19:24] What does the Bible say is important? What is it that you put on the pedestal of your life? Realize that some things that we may be chasing may be idols in our lives.

[19:40] So I ask you this question. Reflect on this. Where is God in your life? Who is He to you? As you take some time to reflect, as you do reflect on this aspect of obedience in the present, I would also encourage you to think of your journey of faith from your past to now.

[20:05] How have you grown? How have you changed? Are we maturing and growing in Christ? In your reflection and in whatever state you are in, let me encourage you to endeavor to grow in maturity in your faith.

[20:19] Don't be stagnant. Make use of the facilities like the library that we have and read. Although it's not open today, I think it's open next week, but it is there. I promise you, you won't grow in faith by being on Facebook or Netflix.

[20:34] If you have time, go for workshops and webinars that the church has or promotes. Equip class on Old Testament 1 starting next week Saturday. So do sign up for that if you want to understand the Old Testament and scripture more.

[20:49] That's an opportunity for you. Or perhaps you can join or rejoin a home fellowship group. Take time out to be in a fellowship of believers and study scripture. Learn to care, learn to be patient and perhaps for some learn to find your idols in your life.

[21:05] Let's seek to be obedient to God and to grow in Christ. So we've talked about the past, we've talked about the present and now our legacy of the future.

[21:18] Legacy of the future. Now Moses makes the call of obedience clear. Obey the Lord your God, but if you refuse, there will be consequences.

[21:30] In our passage, there are two instances where we can see the consequence of disobedience. Now the first is from verse 21 to 24. Verse 21, it reads, If the Lord your God made with you, do not make for yourself an idol in any form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden, for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

[22:13] Now Moses was the one who brought the people out of Egypt. He was a type of Christ, foreshadowing Jesus. In Hebrews 11, he was listed as one of those with exemplary faith.

[22:26] He walked so closely with God that in Deuteronomy 34, 10 to 12, it was described of him as, in verse 10, Eric for verse 10, and there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

[22:55] And yet he was not allowed to enter Canaan. You can read the full account in Numbers 20, but again, Moses disobeyed a direct command from God.

[23:06] He failed to trust him enough to honor him as holy before the Israelites. So as a consequence, he was not permitted to lead his people into the promised land.

[23:18] Now this, that was his punishment for disobedience, but we know that God still cared and loved for him, bringing him atop Mount Nebo to see the promised land and eventually burying Moses.

[23:29] Now this is the first example of the consequence of disobedience to God. The second is from verse 25 verse 28 to 28 or verse 25 verse 4.

[23:44] After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, your God, and arousing his anger, I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day, that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

[24:05] You will not live there long, but you will certainly be destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.

[24:17] There, you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. So what is interesting about this section of passage is that it is both a warning and a prediction.

[24:31] God knows that they will inherit Canaan, but at the same time warns them against idolatry that may happen. If you worship idols, he says, then you will perish from the land and be scattered among the peoples.

[24:43] Now the toad seems to change from a warning to a prediction of judgment as we read along the passage. And as we see the history of Israel through the later books of the Old Testament, it came true.

[24:55] after living in the land for many generations, after the golden years of King David and Solomon, there were kings who worshipped other gods, idols, and eventually the Assyrians and the Babylonians scattered the Israelites from the promised land, just as God had said would happen to them if they worshipped idols and not God.

[25:15] This is the second example. We understand that in the context of Deuteronomy, the book is written to the Israelites of the time, and with the two examples, how does this relate to us?

[25:27] As Christians today, we are part of God's people through Jesus and the covenant. The promised land is no more Canaan or physical Israel, but heaven. Just like Moses and the Israelites, if we disobey God and worship idols now or some way down the line, it is clear that we will not inherit our promised land of heaven.

[25:48] And when we think about it that way, it's serious and important. So church, just like the Israelites, this is our consequence of disobedience. Now God's view of obedience and disobedience comes from God's nature.

[26:06] In the text, it's said that he is a jealous God. You must be wondering, isn't jealousy bad? Isn't jealousy evil? Understand that the human and God's jealousy are not one of the same.

[26:20] When we think of jealousy, we normally think of the feeling of resentment against someone because of the person's rivalry, success, advantages. But God's type of jealousy is different. It is one of zealous vigilance or demanding faithfulness or exclusive worship.

[26:38] God is the only true God and therefore, God views worship and faithfulness as rightfully his. It belongs to no other except to God.

[26:50] An analogy we may understand better is the marriage analogy that the Bible uses. Even at a human level, if a husband and wife truly love one another, they will feel jealousy if the intimate relationship is being threatened by a third party.

[27:08] Human marriage is patterned after the relationship that exists between God and his people in old covenant and Christ and the church in the new covenant. Just as a husband is appropriately jealous for the love of his wife, so the Lord is jealous for the love of his covenant people, Israel.

[27:26] In addition, remember that God made a covenant or promise with Israel. He will be their God and them his people. They will worship him and him alone and he will bless them if they do and curse them if they don't.

[27:40] Do you know the consequence of breaking a covenant? It was meant to be death. That's why God views obedience in such a serious way. And why he is a jealous God.

[27:52] Now in view of the covenant, God is a jealous God, but he is also a faithful and merciful God. He is faithful to his covenant with Israel and promises to Abraham and his descendants.

[28:05] And therefore even in disobedience, he provides means for his people to turn back to him. And in verse 29 to 31 it reads, but if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart, with all your soul, when you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.

[28:31] For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors which he confirmed to them by oath.

[28:42] In their disobedience, when they have scattered the nations, if they turn to seek him with all their heart and soul, they will find him. They will return to God and obey him.

[28:54] He does this because he is merciful and faithful to the covenant that he made before. So if we find ourselves in disobedience to him, I want you to understand that it's serious.

[29:08] God views it seriously but he offers a way of forgiveness and mercy to us. We have a future inheritance in heaven that God has promised us if we are to obey him.

[29:22] So if you are in disobedience in your life, turn back to him and be right with God. Now my sub point, my last sub point for today, as I think about the legacy of the future, is about children or the next generation.

[29:42] So now as I was preparing this sermon, I was interested to find last week's sermon talking about the exact same thing I was thinking about today. I could have easily taken the transcript of Tim Nichols' sermon and put it here and read it to you and preach it to you, but I will be focusing on a few points.

[30:00] So go online on our website or YouTube to find last week's sermon for a fuller talk about this topic. So this Bible passage was the call to worship last week, if you remember.

[30:12] Deuteronomy 6, 4 to 9. And in fact, you read a portion of this earlier in the sermon just now. But let's read it again in a fuller way.

[30:26] Verse 4, so chapter 6 verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

[30:37] These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts. We remember these three verses from earlier. Now, it continues in verse 7. Impress them on your children.

[30:49] Talk to them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands, and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

[31:03] Similarly, in Deuteronomy 4, 9 to 10, and verse 40, it says, only be careful and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not forget things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live.

[31:20] Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord, your God at Horeb, when he said to me, assemble the people before me to hear my words, so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.

[31:38] Verse 40, keep his decrees and commands which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

[31:52] Now remember, our legacy of faith doesn't start with us, nor does it end with us. Do you know that the quote Christianity itself is never more than one generation away from extinction?

[32:04] Now I think this quote is more or less true, and I think this is a serious matter for the church, and to me personally. Do you recall the story of the origin story of the Lumbawang, origin story, the origin story of faith of the Lumbawangs earlier?

[32:20] How my great-grandfather and my grandfather's generation were eager, so eager for the gospel that parties would come down the mountain looking for the white people who would tell them about Jesus.

[32:33] But there's been a change. Maybe it's the previous generation, but more obviously in my generation that saddens me. It's not everyone, of course, but when I go back to the villages, I can see the disinterest they have towards God or church.

[32:49] Some are addicted to drugs as teenagers, or even as young as primary school, destroying their lives and burdening their family. Why is this happening exactly?

[33:00] I don't know, for certain. But I know, what I do know, is that at this current trajectory, the Christian faith as a whole in my tribe is in trouble. What should be done, then, to try to prevent or remedy this?

[33:17] Two practical points I think we should consider now as adults or as parents. The first is a duty given to parents as written in the Bible.

[33:28] Parents are stewards of their children's lives and are responsible to raise them in a God-honoring way. In chapter 6, 7-9, it speaks of impressing it upon your children.

[33:40] Talk about it when they walk or sit or lie down or get up. It speaks of a continuous or constant teaching of God's commands or faith in daily life. It's not just Sunday when you talk about God, your faith or your church, but you weave it in to your conversations in your daily life.

[34:01] As parents, you are probably the ones who have most contact time with your children and therefore the best and trusted person in a child's life to teach them. Not Sunday school teachers, not the pastor, not the elders of your church, but you as parents.

[34:18] Now don't get me wrong, Sunday school teachers and even those leading our youth groups are important. The church, Sunday school, and youth compliments teaching and Bible study, but parents are again the prime educators.

[34:35] Now you may be thinking, I don't know how to teach. Then learn. Read the books about parenting from the library. Borrow the books that were behind the church hall last week.

[34:47] Now the library is closed today, but Meihua has the books about parenting behind the hall that were available last week. so it's there for you to borrow. Or you can go to the parenting workshop next month.

[35:03] Now equip yourselves and learn from others. Or you may be thinking, I don't have time to teach my kids. Too busy working. Then check your idols. Preoccupied with work, career, and money while neglecting your God-given responsibility of parenting is equally not good.

[35:22] My kids are all grown up, you may say. Then invest in the lives of your grandkids, your grandnieces, or grandnephews. Or I don't have kids.

[35:35] Well, Paul didn't have kids, but he became a father figure for others and a mentor to people like Timothy. Look into raising up the next generation that pleases God.

[35:48] Now secondly, parents, be examples to your children. Be an example in your marriage, in your conversations, in how you show love, in your actions towards strangers.

[36:02] Now children pick up things like this from a very young age. Children tend to imitate parents, the way they talk, the way they laugh, the body language. They imitate you.

[36:14] Right now I'm a father to one, and with one more on the way. my hope is for my sons to be better men than me, to love God more, to love more, to be wiser than I am.

[36:28] Again, I'm also on this journey of parenting. I've only got a few years under my belt compared to many of you here. But that is my intention, to set a good example for them to imitate.

[36:42] So make it a point to pray as a family, to go to church as a family. Don't get into fights on the way to church, even though you are late. Show them how to serve God in ministry.

[36:56] In your interactions with other people, and your actions at home, show Christ-likeness always. How will they know or do if you don't set an example?

[37:09] So as parents, grandparents, or spiritual parents, last week's sermon covered more than I could do today. But for us here, you have the duty to teach and encourage your children, and also set an example for them to follow.

[37:28] So as we conclude this morning, I think about Moses and how he was convinced of who God was, and not fully knowing what laid in store for Israel in the future.

[37:40] remember that all he experienced was the first four books of the Bible. Just as much of the Bible. But we have the fuller revelation of God's plan for us today, from the Old Testament to the New and true Jesus, in the form of the Holy Bible.

[38:01] And 2,000 years of history in between then and now. We have seen how the gospel has come all the way and even impacted us here in Kuching. This Bible is part of our legacy of faith.

[38:14] Like I said, everyone has their own story. Your story of coming to faith may be dramatic and interesting or simple, like being born into a Christian family, like my own experience. But all of us here, whether you are a Christian or not or otherwise, have made a wonderful and amazing opportunity to have come to the knowledge of the gospel of Christ and be able to respond to him in faith.

[38:41] To know what he has done for us from creation to now. To know he is good and is faithful to those who seek him and obey him. So what will you do today, church?

[38:55] Now as I call the music team back up on stage, reflect on your lives. Reflect on what he has done. I pray that as we remember what he has done for us in the past, what he has done for us on the cross, it will encourage and push us to live Christ-like lives as we strive certain towards our future inheritance of heaven in faith.

[39:18] Let me end today's sermon with this passage of scripture from Titus 2, 11, 14, as a prayer for us. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. He teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

[39:36] While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify him, to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

[39:53] Amen.