At His Feet
Speaker: Pastor Rebecca Jones
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When was the last time you gave something your full attention?
Without a doubt, our world is more distractible than it has ever been. However, we are not always only distracted by things like our phones, Netflix, or social media. Distraction can come in the form of things that are good—our families, our career, even ministry.
The story of Mary and Martha is a poignant example of this. As Jesus and His disciples came to Martha’s home, each sister responded differently upon His arrival. Martha sought to serve Jesus to the best of her ability, using up all of her attention to prepare for His arrival. Mary, on the other hand, did nothing but sit at His feet. Rather than putting focus on serving Jesus, she chose instead to dwell in His presence. Jesus isn’t just someone we need to serve—He is someone we need to know. Even though things like ministry, family, and Scripture are good, everything flows from His presence.
Jesus understood that silence and solitude with God were key. In times where He was “interrupted” by God and put into unexpected situations, He never panicked. Why? Because He understood His purpose from the time He spent with His father. In the same way, we never need to carry our problems alone. When we sit with Him instead of demanding Him to answer our prayers, life will come. What is given at His feet can never be taken away.
Lord, may we learn to recognize the order of operations: before we pour into others, we must first be filled. Before we serve, we need to sit in Your presence. As we enter into our lives this week, may we cast all other distractions aside and place our focus on the one thing that is most important: You!
Skipping the Wilderness Through Obedience
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Hebrews 11:29-30:
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
Verse 29 took 40 years to happen, verse 30 happened a generation later and only took 7 days. What was the difference?
The wilderness generation murmured instead of marching. They chose to focus on the seemingly impossible obstacles before them instead of trusting what the Lord was speaking to them and obeying His direction. Obedience is the key to skipping the wilderness.
Obedience is not about gaining a full understanding of the Lord’s plan before stepping forward. It requires action by faith to see the breakthrough and the plan unfold. The Jordan river did not part until the priests stepped foot in the water.
The wilderness mentality vs. the Joshua mentality
The wilderness asks, “What if I fail?”
Joshua answers, “What has God said?”
The wilderness complains, “We’ve never done this before”
Joshua responds, “God can never fail us.”
Walking in this Joshua mindset is as simple as being willing to believe God, obey Him, and move forward with Him. Our willingness to do so determines if we get stuck in the wilderness or if we forward to the promises God has for us as a Joshua generation.
As we enter this new season, let us enter with consecration, obedience, and following the presence of God. May this key be the way we go from a promise revealed to a promise fulfilled.
Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand
Speaker: Pastor Richard Kao
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Na’aseh V’nishma. We will do, and we will hear.
A Hebrew phrase meaning: We will obey whether we understand or not. We will do first, and we will listen or understand later. We will surrender first, and comprehend later.
Na’aseh V’nishma is the way we were created to live. We were created to live in trusting response to a covenant-keeping God who is fully trustworthy, who is good, who is perfect.
This was how Adam and Eve lived in the Garden before the Fall - God spoke, they acted, no questions asked. Satan tempting Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge was the start of his intention to destroy Na’aseh V’nishma, to keep humankind from obeying God with no reservation or doubt.
When God instituted the old covenant with the Jewish people on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24), He said: “If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…” (19:5-6).
The people’s response to this covenant was Na’aseh V’nishma: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (19:8), “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do” (24:3b), “We will do (heb: na-‘ă-śeh) and we will listen (hear) (heb: wə-niš-mā‘)” (24:7b).
In Jesus’ first sermon, He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). For His Jewish listeners, this was meant to bring refreshing and light because it was a bridge connecting back to the Sinai covenant, which they understood. It struck a core covenantal concept to being a follower of God because it echoed back to Na’aseh V’nishma.
Jesus restates Na’aseh V’nishma in new covenant terms: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6) - the very order and formulation of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Repenting, turning to walk in His way comes first. Obedience to Him brings the victory. Obedience is the door to life and joy. This is a crucial reminder in a culture where we often pursue His life and blessings before walking in obedience to His way.
The way is to trust Him.
We obey and act before understanding, because we trust God unconditionally. Constantly questioning Him will block His blessings. Jesus Himself started and ended His earthly life with Na’aseh V’nishma to the Father: Though He was sinless, in humility He underwent the baptism of repentance; on the cross, His final prayer was, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit.”
In the old testament, priests offer sacrifices. In the new testament, as priests we become the sacrifice. This is how we live as God’s covenant people - a holy nation and a royal priesthood (Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9): by becoming living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).
Father, deepen our trust in You. You are fully trustworthy. Na’aseh V’nishma - When You speak, help us to obey even if we don’t understand.
The Sound of Sacrifice
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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As we have taken time to recognize the feast of trumpets, the Lord has reminded us again of sacrifice and obedience through the symbol of the shofar.
Blowing the shofar can mean different things:
1. A steady long blast announces that the King is among us.
2. It is a wake up call that shakes us out of our complacency. It reminds us to pay attention because something is happening.
3. It is a call for the people of God to gather and to come together to hear what He is saying to us.
4. It announces that there is something coming, and it alerts us that there is movement and a shift that we need to prepare for.
The shofar itself represents sacrifice. A shofar is a ram’s horn, and the animal had to give its life in order for the shofar to exist. When we see and hear a shofar, it is a reminder that there was a sacrifice that took place. It is a reminder that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice that took our place.
The shofar on its own does not create sound, it requires breath to flow through it in order to accomplish its purpose. In the same way, we are vessels, and we are surrendered to the one who can breathe into us, and through us, accomplish the purposes He created us for.
Before the shofar could accomplish its purpose of releasing a sound, there had to be a sacrifice. What are the things in our lives that we need to sacrifice and lay on the altar to be able to release the sound the Lord is calling us to release? What is in us that needs to die so that sound can be released?
Lord, we are willing to be the empty vessels that you breathe through. We are willing to surrender ourselves, to be consecrated and set apart for You. Reveal to us what we are still holding onto so that we can surrender it to you.
Obedience and Sacrifice
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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When obedience and sacrifice become the same act, the Father is pleased.
Cain and Saul offered up sacrifice without obedience. Even though they brought things before the Lord and acted as though they built something for Him, they did not know the heart of God. Their sacrifices were rejected because it was not what God had asked them for. Fire falls not on the altar, but rather on the sacrifice. To obey is better than to sacrifice.
However, obedience without sacrifice is cheapened. If we do only obey when it costs us nothing, then we are acting out of convenience rather than obedience. When our sacrifice flows from obedience, it is received. Jesus serves as the ultimate example of combining sacrifice and obedience.
The Japan gathering was a collection of sacrifices; a gathering of people from many nations who chose to obey and seek His heart and sacrifice in their own way. Because of the nations laying themselves down, life was brought even to Japan, a place that had been kept from fully receiving the Lord for hundreds of years.
What does this mean for us? We are each accountable to what God has spoken and revealed to us. The Lord has deposited His beauty to each of us in a unique way. We must check our own heart and know what we bring to the table. We are each accountable to what God has spoken and revealed to us. And, in response, we need to know what He desires for us to sacrifice, and give in obedience to Him.
In this coming season, let us know what is on His heart, and what we can bring to the table!
His Heart is for Family
Speaker: Pastor John Elijah Lowndes
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The Father who sees you is giving you the spirit of the overcomer.
He sees you, you are important. As Father, His desire and design is for each of us to live in family - natural, and spiritual. In these times when birthrates around the world are going down, individuals are isolated, and the enemy is attacking family and marriages, let us be reminded that the desire of our Father’s heart is for multiplication. It’s for children. It’s for family. It’s for fathers and mothers raising up sons and daughters.
He is inviting and drawing us to come close to Him. When we come close to Him and to the spiritual family, He will restore our hearts. He will restore our families - natural and spiritual. And He can use the smallest thing or person to start a great domino effect for others.
While we do not give the enemy place in our lives, we are not ignorant of his schemes. He is working through the spirit of Jezebel to attack the father’s heart into hiding in isolation, hopelessness and failure (as Jezebel attacked Elijah in his day). And, through the spirit of Leviathan, he sows pride that brings division and contention (Job 41:34). Guard your heart against the seeds that this spirit sows - a little thought, a small offence. Bring things to the light in your relationships. For, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). In humility, our God becomes the One who contends with the enemy.
When the enemy tried to attack and divide us, humility and oneness protected this house against the schemes of the enemy. As we are reminded afresh of the battles we face, our Father is giving us the spirit of the overcomer. He gives grace to the humble - to overcome things first in our homes, in our closest relationships. As we overcome, that is how we receive authority in the nations.
One domino at a time… and it’s ok to be the second domino! It’s ok not to start something. Look to see where a dream of God is growing, and see how you can invest our domino in that dream. He sees you.
From Zion to Zion
Speaker: Pastor Agnes Chang
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From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines.
The Bible mentions Zion about 150 times. What is the significance of this city?
Our house bears the name Zion because it represents the calling that we have. It means that our identity is tied to those who walk on the physical land of Zion today: Israel.
The Lord calls Israel many names in the Word: dearly beloved, my treasured possession, my people. God’s name is also tied to the name Israel; His name is called as the God of Israel, the consolation of Israel, keeper and king of Israel, among many others.
The word makes it evident that God cares for Israel, and that He chose them for His purposes; many of His promises in the Word are directed with great passion towards them. Through Christ, we were grafted into those promises; however, they are first applied to the land and people of Israel; our spiritual ancestry is rooted in this nation. Therefore, we must honour His chosen people.
We also pray for Israel because of the price they paid as God’s firstborn. They carried the seed of Jesus and the purpose of God, and have suffered much because of this. Yet still, they keep their faith and celebrate their feasts each year.
It is written in the Word that Israel has prayed for our salvation for thousands of years. When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he also prays for us to hear His voice and access His dwelling place, because He knew that the heart of God included those outside His chosen people.
In these times, it is important for us to pray for the Jewish people and receive the revelation of God’s heart for them; to lift them up in the midst of the persecution that they face.
The Word states that Jew and Gentile will become one new man. We are in a covenant relationship, both with Jesus and resultantly His people. We are called to walk with Israel. God longs for His table to be complete, which means that both His firstborn and all those who came after must be a part. If we are to walk in covenant with God, we must also walk with His people.
May His salvation go from Zion to Zion!
Hunger for God Changes the Boundaries of a Generation
Speaker: Pastor Eddie Ma
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We are a generation with the mandate to build a dwelling place for the Lord.
Our hunger for God is the thing that brings us into oneness. We may each be from a different background, culture, speak different languages, but hunger for God is our common denominator.
The mandate of this generation is to build a resting place for God.
A resting place for God exists when we build a true family.
A true family exists when true mothers and fathers rise up.
True mothers and mothers rise up only when there are true sons and daughters.
It is only then that we build a safe family, carry God’s glory, and build a resting place for the Lord.
Hungering after God is the greatest protection we can provide the next generation. Hunger for God is not a decision that affects each person individually; it determines the spiritual climate of the next generation. If we do not love Jesus passionately, then how can we expect that the next generation will live in a world that loves God and holds to His standards? So may we hunger after God so that we can leave the next generation a church that passionately loves Jesus.
May we hold onto a greater expectancy of what the Lord wants to do. May we come expectant for His supernatural, life-changing presence. May we be hungry for God beyond what is possible for us to fill in our own strength. We cannot set the time of revival, but we can decide to be a generation that hungers after God and is full of expectancy.
Lord, we desire Your presence above all else. May we remain in Your presence and prepare a church where You can come and stay.
Heaven's Economy
Speaker: Pastor Rebecca Jones
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Maturity is living in Heaven’s economy. The currency of this economy is every moment, opportunity, relationship, gifting, and talent that God has entrusted to each one of us. The value of Heaven’s currency lies in our citizenship and birthright as His children. And our Father God has a maturing process for each of us, so that we can spend our lives wisely.
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Unless we know the purpose of our lives, we will misspend our lives. We need God to teach us to number our days rightly, so that we can spend the currency He has entrusted to us wisely. To do that, what God needs is that we trust Him. God doesn’t mind our questions, if we don’t mind His answers (which can sometimes be partial, or challenging, or simply inviting more of our trust).
When God asks things of us that seem small, insignificant, inconvenient, or even “beneath us”, it’s because He wants to involve us in something greater. If young David had decided he didn’t want to bring bread and cheese to his brothers, he would have missed his path to slaying Goliath (1 Samuel 17). If Jesus’ disciples had balked at His request to fetch a random donkey from the city (Matthew 21:1-3), the prophecy that our Saviour would come riding on a colt (Zechariah 9:9) would not have been fulfilled.
Our God has need of us. He has need of you. The Creator of the universe, the Saviour of the world, could do it Himself. Yet He chooses to build His Kingdom with us. He still uses someone’s boat, someone’s bread and fish, someone’s donkey… someone’s Yes. I am not here, I am not in church to just eat from God’s fridge, enjoy His house without contributing anything. His house has need of what I hold, because I am part of this family. Perhaps this is how revival is ushered in - when each of us not only knows but acts on this realization: God has need of me.
What is He asking of me?
How is He asking me to serve His house? What has been keeping me busy that He wants me to let go of? What has He entrusted to me? Do I trust Him enough to release it to Him?
Arise, Shine
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Zion, arise and shine!
To arise is to be restored; it is to come out of the darkness and be free of captivity. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Therefore, as the light and glory of the Lord comes, captivity and oppression is vapourized.
We are also to live with a conviction to shine. To shine isn’t to strive for recognition or initiate things outside of God, and the radiance that we bring doesn’t depend on our effort; in the Kingdom of God, there is no need to generate your own light. Rather, we live as reflections of His light; our mission is to follow Him and point towards Him. Only through the Spirit of the Lord being upon us can we see transformation in our city and among our people even as chaos and darkness surrounds us. We want to be a community that builds according to the Kingdom blueprint.
Our church and community is meant to be like the city on a hill described in Matthew 5, one that turns on the lights both for themselves and others. A city on a hill cannot be hidden, it is seen without needing to try to be seen; in the same way, to shine is not to create performance or attention, but rather to draw those outside of the light towards it. When the presence and power of God is among us and there is deeper relationship, honour and worship in the family, the world will have no choice but to take note of the growing radiance of the Kingdom.
Zion Family, remember who you are! Know how great God’s affection for our house is. Our greatest worship, encounters and promises are ahead of us; even in the midst of darkness in the world, the Kingdom always increases. And, as we continue to advance forwards, may we remember that the focus is always His agenda and His presence, not our own productions or programs. Amen!
What I AM, You Are
Speaker: Pastor Daniel Cheung
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God does not call the qualified, He qualifies those He calls.
If you feel unqualified, welcome to the club, but just know, that will never stop what God can do with your life! Take the story of Gideon for example. He saw himself as the weakest man in the weakest tribe, but that didn’t stop God from using him to fulfil Israel’s destiny.
Moses is another example. He dislocated himself from his destiny when he ran away into the desert after murdering an Egyptian. Suddenly God revealed Himself to Moses and showed him his destiny as the deliverer of Israel. He felt so unqualified, he didn’t even speak well. His question to God in response to this revelation was, “who am I?”. He questioned his qualification for the job, yet God used Moses despite his excuses, and He chose to reveal His name and His identity to Moses: I AM.
Then there is Jacob, who tricked his brother into giving up his birthright. Isaac could not see Jacob, but when Jacob took Esau’s place to receive the blessing, Isaac asked, ‘“Are you really my son Esau?’ he asked. ‘I am,’ he replied.” (Genesis 27:24). Jacob took on a false identity. The truth, however, is that the real blessing of God only comes when you discover who you are. God cannot bless who you pretend to be, He can only bless who you really are.
Jacob was only able to come face to face with his true identity when he wrestled with God in his old age. “The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered.” (Genesis 32:27).
Only after Jacob faces who he really is did God bless him with the new identity of his destiny, “Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’” (Genesis 32:28). Once Jacob admitted who he was, God showed him his potential to become Israel. In that moment his life totally changed.
Once we strip away everything honestly before God and admit who we really are, it is only then that God can bless us and reveal the potential of who He created us to be.
So why is it that we still say the phrase, “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?” God wants to identify with our weakness. The phrase, “God of Jacob” reminds us of where we came from. It reminds us that God is still pursuing us and loving us in our failures and weaknesses “God of Israel” emphasize the covenant God has put in place for His chosen people. It is a reminder of our redeemed relationship with Him and of His transforming Grace.
So, the next time you feel unqualified just remember that qualification is not a prerequisite to being called. God qualifies those He calls. There is no need to pretend to be someone you are not. It is time to stop pretending and start resting in His faithfulness.
More Than Gold: Finishing Well
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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We run in such a way as to win the prize.
We run surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, giants of the faith, fathers and mothers who have gone on ahead before us and are cheering us on.
We run with eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus, who ran well his course, for the joy set before Him:
You.
You are in a race that only you can run. The Father who sent His Son to pursue you, give His life for you, establish covenant with you, He is the Father who has called you not just to start, but to finish well. And He will (He has) sacrificed everything so that we will finish this race, together.
Your faith is worth far more than gold (1 Peter 1:6-7). Your perseverance, guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, is the slow burning flame that will fuel your completion of this race. Press on, keep going, together.
How can we stay in the race and finish well (Hebrews 12)?
Listen to the crowd cheering you on
Listen to your coach, Holy Spirit
Run light - Throw off all that easily entangles
Run with a team
Focus on WHO’s at the finish line
Don’t quit
Let us run to finish well. That, at the finish line, we may see the smile and hear the voice of Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Back to the Beginning of Wisdom
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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“Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.” Proverbs 9:1
The nature of wisdom is building.
You cannot apply wisdom and end up without something. Wisdom is productive and multiplies. Just like in the parable of the talents, the one who was judged didn't produce anything with the gift that was given to him. The ones who did multiply the gift were rewarded with more. We are called to take the gifts given to us, use them with wisdom, and therefore multiply what the Lord has given us.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’” Isaiah 6:8
The fear of the Lord is the doorway into wisdom.
When the fear of the Lord marks a person, their natural response becomes “here I am send me.” The fear of the Lord is extreme honour and reverence from Him who is holy and worthy of everything. It is a captivating of our hearts, and the goodness of God is impressed on us to the point that He becomes the biggest influence in our heart in any situation. Asking Him what He thinks about every situation is what shifts my agenda and activates my response.
When we are marked by Him, the moment we hear God ask, “Whom shall I send?” our response is to say, "Here am I, send me.” We live in surrendered obedience without delay or negotiation. We no longer treat His desire as optional or inconvenient. Instead, it becomes an honour and a privilege to do His will when we are struck by just how majestic and big and great He is.
Lord, we long to be marked by the fear of You. We ache to be undone in Your presence. May Your voice always have the most influence on our hearts, and may surrendered obedience flow out of us. Here we are, send us!
What Are We Waiting For?
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Biblical waiting is not passive. It is not sitting back and seeing when God does the thing He said He’d do.
When God asks us to wait, He is inviting us to “remain around” - to perimeno (the Greek word for “wait” used in Acts 1:4). Such a posture of waiting is steady, it is attentive, it is actively engaged.
Waiting happens in tension, in the in-between place between promise and fulfillment. When Jesus commanded His disciples to GO and make disciples and to WAIT for the promised Holy Spirit, He was asking them to wait with purpose and direction - waiting to go. This waiting has a release point - this release happens when the promised Holy Spirit comes.
The moment the Holy Spirit comes, the moment the one we are waiting for arrives, our attention and our posture of waiting shifts. We shift from waiting for Him to waiting on Him. Waiting on Him to speak, to move, to initiate. Zion Family, this is the shift we are in. Our waiting does not stop, but our posture of waiting changes. Instead of waiting expectantly, our waiting deepens to a continually fixed attentiveness. Like a skilled waiter at a restaurant who gives enough space but is watching, attentive, present. We stay engaged with what the Holy Spirit is doing and what the Father is speaking, just like Jesus did.
Just as Pentecost shifted the disciples of the early church into a new daily rhythm, when the Holy Spirit comes He empowers us with a new devotion:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42-44, ESV, emphasis added)
Our participation through our devotion - to teaching and learning from fathers and mothers, to fellowship and accountability in community, to remembering Christ’s body and blood given for us, and to faithful prayer and intercession - our devoted response to the Spirit’s coming and power releases signs and wonders.
Lord, we are not just going to wait - we are waiting to go. Help us to wait with the humility of wisdom (James 3:13-17). We don’t just want appearance, we want substance. In tension, we choose to wait in trust and stay engaged.
And awe will come upon every soul.
Favour: Given and Grown
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Favour is what wisdom produces.
We cannot wrestle or strive for favour; favour is given. Samuel’s story of receiving favour starts even before he was born, when his mother Hannah dedicated him to the Lord. Samuel had no choice in the matter; he is the result of someone else’s sacrifice. What he received wasn’t a result of his deeds, but rather a reflection of the Father’s grace.
Samuel grew up in the midst of an environment where those around him rebelled against God, and where the one who was supposed to lead was also compromised. Despite this, Samuel never allowed his environment to become an excuse; rather, he placed his focus solely on ministering before the Lord. Favour is received when we set our eyes on His presence despite the circumstances around us.
Samuel’s choice to stay near the ark allowed him to hear God’s voice; something that even the high priest was unable to do in the moment. Proximity is important; because of Samuel’s closeness to the presence, he was able to hear His voice. As Eli slept soundly in his usual place of rest, he could not hear. God also challenges Samuel - He chose not to reveal Himself even as Samuel mistakes Him to be the voice of Eli. God trains Samuel to recognize His voice. The result? He became recognized as a prophet of God, a man who definitively knew God’s voice. That is favour!
Favour also leads us to people. When we are given favour with people from God, we gain the grace to influence their hearts where no one else can touch. Favour with men has to be grown. Just as Jesus sat with His teachers in the temple and asked them questions, when we sit with others, we want to get to know them and who they are. Learn to ask good questions to those around you.
What does this mean for us now? We now have a generation desperate to understand what they live for. The truth is, the only way we figure out who we are is to figure out who we belong to. Our identity is rooted in the Father; when we come to know who God is and what He says about us, He enables us to walk in the favour and mission that He has assigned to us.
So, the key is this: what is our usual place, and what is our ark? Eli’s place was familiar but farther from the presence of God - Samuel intentionally placed himself close to God, and in return was given both favour from God and eventually, with people. Where is our usual place, and how do we close the gap between us and God so that we intentionally place ourselves closer to Him? For some, maybe it looks like replacing our phone with the Word first thing in the morning. Maybe it looks like listening and praying with our children rather than simply praying for them. Maybe it looks like turning off the TV during dinner, and instead ministering unto the Lord as a family together. What would it look like this week to move closer to the ark?
Lord, may we learn to steward favour from You so that we may touch the hearts of those around us. May our focus be on Your glory and presence, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. Through Your favour, may be be able to walk in the unique mission that You have assigned to each and every one of us.
We Have a Perfect Father
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalms 103:13
We have a perfect Father, and the Word is full of examples of how He shows His everlasting love and kindness to His children.
He sees you
Hagar was a slave with no status in the world she lived in. She was without a voice or a future that she could call her own. When Hagar fled and went into hiding while pregnant, an angel of the Lord appeared to comfort her and gave her the name for her son, Ishmael, meaning the God who hears. Her response is to name God, “‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” (Genesis 16:13).
God wants us to experience HIm for ourselves so that we know we don't have to fight to be seen. I don’t have to defend my own case because He is the one who sees it all. A person who has not yet discovered that the Father sees them spends their entire life trying to be seen by everyone else. They need the approval of others. A son or daughter that knows that the Father sees them is free to see and care for others. They stop performing for the crowd and instead look for the ones that the crowd would miss.
He names you
Names are given by parents to give identity. Identity is not something we earn or prove, it is what the Father gives us. He calls you son and daughter before you even have the chance to do anything to deserve it.
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba Father.’”
Romans 8:15
The spirit He has given us is what causes us to cry out and call Him Abba. He has placed that reach for intimacy in us from the very beginning.
He’s given you everything
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:3
The Father emptied out heaven’s treasury for us. He gave us the most valuable treasure in heaven, Jesus. If He is willing to offer us that precious gift and grace, what would He withhold from us?
He gives you Family
You get a Father and a family. The Lord’s prayer specifically starts with “Our Father,” not my Father. We were never meant to walk alone. The Lord gave us this priceless gift of family, and we have the ability to keep giving this gift freely to others.
He runs to you
Adam and Eve created distance between them and the Father when they sinned, but the Father’s pattern from the very beginning is to close the gap between us. Just like in the parable of the prodigal’s son, the Father is not ashamed of our filth. Instead, He waits and watches for us, filled with compassion and love, and the moment He sees us turn towards Him, He runs to us with arms stretched wide, ready to embrace.
Father, please keep showing us your deep love for us. Our hearts cry out to you, Abba, we long for a greater depth of intimacy with you.
Happy is the One Who Finds Wisdom
Speaker: Pastor Caleb Chiu
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Wisdom is a person.
It isn’t just something we possess or collect throughout life; rather, walking in wisdom is to be in relationship with God, and walking with the mind of Christ. Wisdom is a divine partnership which we only gain access to when we choose to get closer to Him and open our eyes to what He has to say.
Wisdom allows us to reign.
The purpose of wisdom is to enable us to have authority over the circumstances that happen around us. When God gives us wisdom, it allows us to have influence and serve His purposes in love and humility, even in a world that values dominance, greed, and power. For example, when we reign in wisdom for finances, our resources can work for us rather than against, no matter the amount of resource we have. When we have wisdom for our relationships, we are able to discern and conduct ourselves in a manner that empowers us to serve and thrive among others rather than being victims of the relationships that surround us. Wisdom enables us to set the tone - no matter the situation, environment or people that we find ourselves amongst.
We get wisdom by asking God.
We have access to wisdom when we posture ourselves to seek Him and His word. Jesus, through His blood and the cross, has enabled us to have access to relationship with Him. If we lack wisdom, seek HIM! Simple as that. We need to pursue wisdom; it is a prize that we must run after, and also teach the next generation to prioritize. King Solomon chose wisdom over power or favour when asked by God for anything he desired. In the same way, may we learn to lay aside what we desire for wisdom. In turn, when we train well for wisdom, it enables us to use what God has given us to benefit rather than harm those around us. God only entrusts those he sees are wise.
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Lord, in a world where we are taught to pursue happiness and fulfillment of self, may we recognize that true happiness comes through the pursuit of You, the person behind wisdom. May we begin to turn our ears towards You and allow You to work within us. May You mark us with your wisdom so that we can partner with You as we step back into our families, communities, roles, and relationships in this coming week. May we find other wise companions to pursue wisdom together. May we reign in wisdom!