Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. Today, we’ll carry on with the topic “Ministry/Service View of a Disciple”.

Last week, we have said that to serve is to worship, and vice versa. Our lives must become a witness to service and is itself a ministry, just as we come to God in constant prayers to build up our lives, so that His glory can show up in our daily ministry. Which is why I said it is a ministry in itself, too.

There is nothing abstract about such ministry. We minister to our flocks, and build-up our believers to become the body of Christ to glorify Him. We are His believers as well, and as such, we are praying for our leaders unceasingly so that their lives may be blessed, their families’ lives be smooth sailing, as is their work too, so that they can focus on continuing to serve the church. Thus, the church leaders must serve the congregants and vice-versa, to build up the church of Jesus Christ.

As parents, we need to constantly minister our children to lead them nearer the Truth as we walk alongside them. Thus, we are to discipline them in love to achieve this through the Word of God. The aim is to build them up to become self-sufficient, independent and able to manage themselves well. It would be heart-breaking and worrisome if they are not able to achieve this. However, they would be happy and we would be filled with joy, too, if they are able to handle themselves well--their own health, families, married lives and so on.

Parents must make sufficient time for their children, provide them with help and guidance. If we have done them wrong in the process, we must make it a point to apologize to them unreservedly. Remember, we should be prepared to lay down our own pride when necessary, so that our children can know what is good and evil, and tell them apart, even to learn and be enlightened from seeing how we live our lives in front of them. Such serving through our own example is the most effective way to educate our own offspring.

Today, we will be digging deeper into how parents can minister to their children by showing due respect to them, including matters on their opinions, friends and privacy etc. Put another way, they have the right to make their own decisions, and we need to respect their rights here. Westerners attach greater importance to such issues, for example, each individual has his own rights; parents are not to make decisions for them, including what studies to go for and careers to choose in time to come. It is up to the children rather than their parents to call the shots based on their gifts and areas of interest. In short, parents do not have the right to foist their decisions on their children, but must show due respect to them instead. When they bring their beau to meet us, for instance, we should let them make their own decisions! While you may offer them some advice in private, you are not to stand in the way. They have come of age and we need to show them due respect as full adults.

Additionally, we are also to respect their privacy and must never invoke so-called parental authority and throw our weight around. One day I saw a notice “PLEASE KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER” on the door of my primary school son when I was about to enter his room. Even a boy at that age knows how to exact such respect from his parents! That being the case, how can you open their letters or look into their belongings at will before their assent. Doing that may lead to a stand-off between you and your own children!

Apart from this, parents can minister to their children by introducing them to slices of spiritual life. Our final aim is to spread the gospel to them, so that true faith is established as an important part of their lives. Such faith is a blessing to their entire lives and is of prime importance. Through such first-hand sharing from the ones closest to their lives, our children would be able to appreciate how real and important the spiritual life of a person is. I first shared the good news to my son on Good Friday when he was just five years old. He cried upon hearing my story and prayed after me as he accepted the Lord. Just imagine: a five-year old boy can understand all of that! Hence, we should bring our children to God at a tender age and minister to them by sharing our faith.

Conversely, how are we to show concern to our parents as their children?

One: We must do so in obedience, as that would bring consolation to our parents, and bring great benefits as well. In the Bible, in the Book of Proverbs teaches us that a stubborn child is a foolish child. However, wise children are those who are willing to listen to their parents. Hence, we are to serve our parents via this route.

Two: we are to serve our parents by treating them with due respect because of who they are. They are like representatives of God within our family, and we must respect them as such. Do not treat them shabbily as though they are transparent, as in not acknowledging them when we come home or turning a blind eye to their needs. Indeed, the older our parents are, the more they need the attention and respect of their children to feel protected. Do care for them and assure them that they still mean a lot in the hearts of their children. This is an important ministry.

Three: Minister to them by gently turning down those requests that are obviously harmful. I am referring to those instances whereby our parents instruct us to do something that goes against biblical teachings. In the Bible in the Book of Exodus chapter 20 verse 12 tells us to “honor your father and your mother” but what are we to do when they direct us to buy lottery tickets, big sweep tickets or do things that go against the teachings of God? Well, we have to turn them down in a firm but gentle manner. Only by doing so can we help them walk towards the way of Truth, make our home a better place to be in, and not to senselessly drift along doing something that is not right.

Lastly, minister to our parents according to their needs. We need to spend time with our parents and not just by giving money and words of comfort. A story tells of a son coming home in the middle of the night to see his father sitting in a corner all by himself. The father casts a pitiable look when the son asked him why he was still wide awake at this hour. The old man replied that his doctor said he had six more months to live as he was already into the terminal stage of cancer. The son then asked his father when that prognosis was made. “Two months ago,” came the answer. “Dad, why didn’t you say earlier?” To which the father replied coldly, “Did you ever give me an opportunity to speak to you?” Such sad scenes play out time and again in many families where the child was so caught up with his own stuff that he could not even spare some time with his aging parents.

We have to bear in mind that our parents need us to care of them too. Only then would they have opportunities to learn about the Truth and receive consolation in their twilight years. In the past, our parents used to lead our unsteady walk by hand-holding us as they led the way. The time has come for us to hand-hold them in the same way along this difficult period of their walk into frailty and old age. So, do not sweep this equally important slice of our ministry under the carpet!

How is the church to minister the people in the world?

In addition to serving/ministering to fellow believers within the church and to our parents/children within our family, we have to minister to the people out there as well. Most of our time is spent with them. We are also to serve and minister to colleagues, classmates, friends and so on, who are non-believers. How should we go about this?

One: The above can be done by paying close attention to their views, act with courtesy, protect their reputation, perform simple acts of charity, lead upright lives and show a trustworthy character as we serve the world. In other words, we are to show and uphold a gentle attitude with humility as we look after them and their reputations. Such upright behaviour will produce great impact on the people around us. Bear in mind not to take after those crafty and cunning ones within us. We must do things differently, for example, be loving and commit ourselves to work towards the happiness of others.

Two:  equip ourselves adequately and take on leadership responsibility as we look over them. The world hungers for sympathetic leaders who are willing to provide them with servant-like care. Dear brothers and sisters, we see many political leaders who are corrupt, selfish and lead lives that are at sixes and sevens as we look around us. Most of them are in no position to bless others. As responsible Christian leaders, we should live and work amidst men differently as God wants us to take up leadership and serve them accordingly. They will be able to see how humble leaders serve and minister to others and show the way for the entire society, nation, and world to move towards greater stability and harmony.

Three: To minister via providing employees with “meaningful work” while letting employers do “honest work”. When we say “providing employees with “meaningful work”, we are referring to jobs that give the workers a sense of achievement, or a self-awareness that he is making true contributions to society. Dear brothers and sisters, employees are not robots, but real people throbbing with life inside of them. It is important that work delegated to them must bring them joy or feel the value of such labour and that they are not being made use of. Rather, it is to let them participate in the development of the company as a whole, and share the fruits as members of this big family.

Meanwhile, letting employers provide “sincere work” to minister to employees means that employers are to play their parts as well, and not become more ferocious, or threatening to their charges. By this, employees will then be able to treat employers well in return – resulting in a mutual service/ministry being fostered within the set-up. This company--and indeed, society at large--will be better for it.

Lastly, we must strongly refuse any attempt by employers to abuse us and forbid them to ill-treat us to serve their own ends. There are some employers who treat workers in any way they please. In this case, we need to engage these employers in a polite but firm manner and advise them, “Look, it is not right for you to do this.” They must be reminded that any form of worker abuse is unlawful and would not be tolerated. Thus, the employer would be reminded, albeit indirectly, not to go beyond limits as he may find himself on the wrong side of the law one fine day. In doing so, there is no intent on our part to protect our personal rights in any way, as we have left these matters in the hands of God. We believe strongly that He is seeing everything from above. We must make sure that the relevant party learns to give more respect to other people, including ourselves – who are as human as anyone else, and are worthy of respect as such. That is to say, we are helping the employers to learn how to respect others.

Those who are employers today must treat their employees well; conversely, the employees must respond likewise too. Both parties are to serve each other well. Bearing such witness is very important to the world and its people.

Finally, service or in ministry-- be it to God or man -- should not begin with the motive to gratify. A motive to gratify does not come from a charitable motive and life; it is a pretense that is unable to endure in time, whereas a service ministry that is born out of love is a natural expression towards the blessings from God. Have deep faith that our service and ministry is like the sweet aroma arising from our sincere offering to the Lord, and is pleasing in His sight. May God use us to serve Him well. Amen?

Let’s pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We are truly grateful that you have enabled us to serve others. Not only do we accept the ministry of others, we have even become someone who can minister to others.  Let us express your life through ours, be it in church, family, at home or in society and even in the world where we live to bear witness to everyone around us, in order that your gospel can be spread far and wide. May God be with us, bless us and the work done with our hands and edify us, even our posterity. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：[email protected]