Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
When I was sixteen, I was given an opportunity to preach in Mandarin during a missions trip to Northern Thailand. The elder of the church saw and heard me minister in Mandarin and suggested that I attend Bible seminary after serving my national service in Singapore. Even though I knew that I had a calling to fulltime ministry, I turned down the offer because the study allowance wouldn’t allow me to support my parents. I started to work as a professional at the age of 25. I forgot all about my calling until I was posted to the United Kingdom for a skills upgrade program. It was during a short winter break when I attended a Christian conference in Sweden that God reminded me about my calling to be a fulltime minister. The thing about God’s calling is that you can run, but you cannot hide from God. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29 NKJV) The individual who has a call to serve God fulltime will be miserable if he does not respond.
Upon my return to Singapore from the UK, I quit my job and applied to study in Sweden with my wife, Doreen. I had the desire to become an evangelist after my theological studies because I didn’t want to be a pastor. I wanted to travel and preach the gospel in third-world countries, see people respond to altar calls, get saved and witness signs and wonders. I felt that it would be burdensome to be a pastor, having to love and care for the flock, listen to their problems and be on call 24 hours a day. However, God had other plans, and it was not for me to travel around the world as an evangelist, although by then I had preaching assignments from New Zealand to Norway to St. Petersburg, Russia. Little did I realize then that the Lord had given me the gift to pioneer and break new ground for Him.
I was assigned to a denominational church to help pioneer a Mandarin ministry with approximately forty (mostly elderly) people and also to direct the entire outreach to the community. We had a family service center, kindergarten and after-school care. Initially, I was resistant because I was not very conversant in Mandarin. Nevertheless, I submitted after praying the prayer of consecration and knew that it was the Lord’s plan for me. In time, and despite my poor Mandarin, people started getting saved weekly and the ministry grew into a vibrant Mandarin fellowship. God provided very good teams to work with me from different ministries and these ministries still exist today! That is the grace that He will provide when we are walking in His will. This calling in Singapore lasted for six years, then the Lord gave me my next assignment, this time to Shanghai.
Truly, if God opens the door, then nobody is able to shut it. Doreen and I sought God’s face, He spoke to both of us very clearly before we took the leap of faith to come to Shanghai. Now all of a sudden, I had to preach in English. Nevertheless, we submitted to God’s plan and will to plant and develop the International Church of Shanghai. Most international churches are not pastored by Singaporeans, but the Lord made it happen.
ICS started as a small group of twelve people. The authorities gave us permission to hold our services in a local three-star hotel for foreign passport holders only. The Lord provided us with people from different backgrounds, with different gifts and talents for our ministries. We launched our first service in 2008. I preached simple and practical messages to a diverse, multicultural and international congregation. Ensuring that the sermon was balanced and acceptable to everyone present was like walking on a tight rope on a weekly basis. But God did the rest of the work; He caused ICS to grow and prosper to what it is today. It is a pioneering work that God had called my wife and I to do. I thought I had wanted to be an evangelist, but this has taught me to say to God, “Not my will be done, but Your will be done, O Lord, till the day I die”. I do not struggle with my gifts and calling, and neither do I feel insecure or inferior to those with different gifts and callings. My greatest desire is to walk in the center of God’s will, plan and purpose for my life.
The wonderful thing about living the consecrated life that is wholly surrendered to the Lord is that it is a brisk walk of faith. I am completely dependent upon Him: for good people to support the work of the ministry, for financial provision, for men of peace while working with the leadership of the church and with different government bodies. There is an absence of strife in the church. I am absolutely secure in Jesus Christ, I only want to be the person who God has uniquely created and called me to be. It is an exciting journey when we are yoked with God and walking in His calling, He helps us to be resilient during the “storms of life”.
Sermon Series: Resilience (Part 3)
行在神的旨意中(见证分享)
以弗所书2:10 我们原是他的工作，在基督耶稣里造成的，为要叫我们行善，就是神所预备叫我们行的。
十六岁那年，当我们去泰国北部宣教时，我获得一个用中文讲道的机会。教会的长老观看并听了我用中文讲道，就建议我在新加坡服完兵役后应该去读神学院。即使我知道自己的全职呼召，但我还是拒绝了，因为学习津贴不够让我奉养我的父母。我二十五岁时开始从事职场上的工作。我完全忘记了自己的呼召，直到我被派往英国参加一个技能提升项目。在一个短暂的寒假时，我参加了瑞典的一个基督徒大会，神提醒我那成为全职传道人的呼召。关于神的呼召是…你可以逃跑，但你无法躲避神。“因为神的恩赐和选召是没有后悔的。”(罗马书11：29)若某人有全职的呼召，却不回应神，他会很痛苦。
我从英国回到新加坡后就辞职了，并与我妻子多琳一起申请在瑞典就读。我读完神学院后希望能全职传福音，因不想成为牧师。我想去第三世界国家向那些还未听过福音的人传道,。我渴慕传福音和看到人们回应救恩的呼召及见证神迹奇事。我认为当牧师是一种负担。我觉得爱以及照顾每个教会成员、聆听他们的问题和二十四小时随传随到一定很累。不幸的是，神有其他的安排，而我不能以宣教士的身份周游世界，虽然我有从新西兰到挪威再到俄罗斯的圣彼得堡的布道经历。我一点也没有意识到主已经赐给我能力为神开荒破土。
我被安置在一个有教派的教会，帮助开拓一个四十多人的华人事工，其中大部分人都是老年人。我也被赋予任务去带领全教会的社群外展。我们有一个家庭服务中心、幼儿园和课后辅导中心。一开始，我不愿意去开拓中文事工，因为我的中文不是很流利。然而，当我做了分别为圣（以神为中心）的祷告之后，就顺服了主，并知道这是主对我的计划。随着时间的推移，尽管我的普通话很差，每周都开始有人接受神为救主，事工也发展成一个充满活力的普通话团契。神在不同的事工中为我提供了很好的团队，这些事工今天仍然存在!当我们遵行祂的旨意时，祂就赐给我们这样的恩典。这个在新加坡的呼召持续了六年，然后主给了我下一个任务，这次是来上海。
真的，如果神打开了门，那么没有人能关上它。多琳和我寻求神的面，在我们下定决心来上海之前，祂非常清楚地对多琳和我说话。突然之间，我不得不用英语布道。然而，我们听从神的计划和意旨，在上海建立和发展国际教会。大多数国际教会不是由新加坡人牧养的，但主使它发生。
ICS最初是一个12人的小团队。当局允许我们在当地一家三星级酒店为持有外国护照的人提供服务。主为我们的事工供应了不同背景、不同恩赐和才能的人。我们在2008年开始了第一主日服事。我向一个多元的、不同文化和国际化的教会宣讲简单而实用的讯息。确保讲道是平衡的，并且让在场的每个人都能接受，就像每周都在走钢丝。可是神做了其余的工作。祂推动了ICS的发展和繁荣，达到了今天的水平。这是神呼召我和我妻子做的一项开拓性事工。我原以为我想成为宣教士，但这却教会了我对神说:“不是按我的意思，而是主啊，愿祢的旨意成就在我生命里，直到我在世上的最后一日。”我不在我的恩赐和呼召上挣扎，也没有因为那些拥有不同恩赐和呼召的人感到不安和自卑。我最大的渴望就是行在神的旨意、计划和对我生命的目标中。
活出完全降服于神，分别为圣的生命的奇妙之处在于，这是一种信心的轻快之旅。我完全依靠祂：我依靠神赐给我好的人来支持我的事工，依靠神提供财务支持，在与不同的政府机构和教会领袖合作时，依靠神赐给我和平的人，教会里没有纷争。我在耶稣基督里有绝对的安全感。我只想成为神特别创造和呼召的那个人。当我们与神共负一轭时，这将是令人兴奋的旅程。祂帮助我们在“生活的风暴”中保持韧性。
讲章系列: 韧性（反弹/恢复能力)（第三部分)