This Is The Way, Walk Ye In It

• 💭 Consider this: As sinful human beings, we have a tendency to stray away from God and His ways. How is God directing you to walk in His ways today? What steps will you take to follow Him?

TRANSCRIPT

"This Is The Way, Walk Ye In It" is the topic that we will discuss this morning. The very ironic fact in the world today about Christianity is the fastest growing Christian churches in the world is of course not in Israel, but it is in Iran. And we all know Iran is the archenemy of Israel. It is an Arab country. Yet it is the country where many people turn to the Lord. Many churches have been established. That is the irony when it is supposed to be Israel. Israel is God's own people. The Lord Jesus Christ was there. He was born there. He was a Jew. The apostles were from Israel. But it is very, very sad to know — and it even exists until today — that they are the most people who deny and reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I went to Israel with Pastor Koshy, I was so shocked to know that the Orthodox Jews there are very, very hostile toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Every time they hear the name the Lord Jesus Christ, they always look down on it. He's a rebel. He is a man who always disagree and always confront the government.

But the days will come that the nation of Israel will be the most glorious nation. They will all turn to the Lord and believe in the Lord. But it is not happening yet. Right now they are the most disobedient people as far as the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned. Iran, being an Arab country, is very, very good in responding to the Scripture, in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the day will come that they all will turn unto the Lord and they will worship the one living and true God whom their forefathers rejected. And it is only made possible because of the whisper that they will hear. And that whisper surely is from the Lord, from His Holy Spirit.

It is very clearly stated in Isaiah 30:21,"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." This is something that is not happening yet. It will happen during the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, right after the great tribulation.

But for sure this will happen. This is part of God's plan. There will be a time that all Israel shall turn unto the Lord and be saved and worship Him because of that whisper that they will hear. And that is from the Holy Spirit. There will be a rapture first, so that during the great tribulation, every believer will never experience it. And after the great tribulation, the Lord will come for the second time to deliver Israel against the enemy, the Antichrist, and all the nations who oppose Israel. And that will be the day that they will all turn unto the Lord.

And imagine, why not today? Why is it still in the future? Well, it is the Lord's plan. Rapture have not happened yet. Tribulation not happened yet. Yet it will happen. And when it happened, the Lord will come down at the last year, the last part of that tribulation—great tribulation period—when the Lord will destroy all the enemies of Israel under the leadership of the Antichrist.

So from the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, even until the time that the Lord will come again to deliver His people and to make them a believer, is quite a long period of time. But verse 18 is very touching. Look at Isaiah 30:18, "And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him."

This is something that is not yet happening. Yes, the Lord's grace and mercy is upon His people Israel. But look at it—in the midst of it, Israel remains to be disobedient, rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. But this promise is very true, and it will come to pass. And it will happen, not yet. It will happen in the future. During the end of the tribulation, the Lord will return and all the people of Israel will believe and serve the Lord for 1,000 years during the millennial reign.

But that is not my point. I'm not talking about this eschatology. But I am here trying to magnify the beauty of God's grace, "And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you." So this verse would tells us that this should believe even during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no one from Israel, no Jew, should disbelieve or do not believe in the Lord. They should and they must—even during the time of the Lord. But it didn't happen, right?

But the Lord is so determined, according to His plan and purpose. It will happen. And it will happen in the future during the millennial reign of the Lord. And it's still too long way to go. But He is gracious to wait. The people in Israel—very disobedient, rejecting the name of the Lord. But He is gracious to wait upon them that they will all turn to the Lord, Isaiah 30:19, "For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more” - but today they weep every day. Bomb here, bomb there, trouble here, trouble there. It's a very common thing in Israel that there will be bombing there. There will be schism and chaos. Arabs and Jews fighting one another. It's very common that they all weep - but there will be a day that they will weep no more.

And the Lord is gracious that He is able to wait. He allowed them to be disobedient today. That does not mean that He allowed them to, it is the Lord who determined them to be disrespectful and dishonour Him. No. But by His graciousness, He allowed them to be like that. The Lord did not make them a robot—’you are a Jew, you must believe Me.’ No. He gave them the free will.

But the key message that we need to consider and exalt Him is by His being gracious to wait upon them, that they may all turn to the Lord. And so it's very interesting. Let us take a quick look at Zechariah 12 8-10,"In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."

They will mourn for the Lord. They will love the Lord. And everyone that is feeble among them shall be as strong as David. This is the fulfilment. They who oppose the Lord shall become lovers of the Lord. They will love the Lord with all their heart and they will be as strong as David—strong in body, strong in faith.

Now we all know that David is a man after God's own heart. Through his body, he was so courageous to defeat the giant Goliath by his faith. And we all know also that it is the Lord who enabled David to be strong and never afraid of the giant Goliath. So the day will come that the people in Israel, even the most weak spiritually, will be as strong spiritually as David.

Yes, David committed sin. But he is considered the man after God's own heart. He repented. Nathan the prophet was used by God to make him repent and return to the Lord. And in general term, as we look at the life of David, he’s a man which is a strong man in the Lord.

So these people in Israel who do not believe in the Lord are considered weak spiritually. But they will become strong spiritually like David—strong in the body, strong in the spirit—that they may become all believers and worshippers of the one living and true God, only made possible because of the whisper that they would hear from the Holy Spirit.

Let us now go back to Isaiah chapter 30 - but this whisper of the Lord that have not yet been so effective in the people of Israel has been so effective to you and to me. Well, in Israel, there are few Jews who believe already in the Lord. But majority of Israel—the people of Israel—we all know they do not believe in the Lord. Only few.

And the tour guide that we have in Israel last time is a Messianic Jew. He is a Christian and he believe in the Lord. But there are only few of them. But the Bible is talking that all of them will become a believer because of the whisper that they will hear. Praise be unto the Lord for giving us the opportunity. Though we are Gentile, we are not Israelites, and we are not Jews. Yet by His grace and His mercy and out of His tender love to all of us Gentiles.

That the word of the Bible to all it told, he came unto his won but his own received him not, But to those who believe in him, he gives them the right to become the children of God (John 1:11–12). Though we are Gentiles, yet by His grace and mercy, by His great providence, though you and me are Gentile, He allows us to experience to live life according to His way—only made possible through His whisper for us.

Remember the very first day you came to know the Lord. Maybe some of you came from a Christian family. But even though you came from a Christian family, you grew up young hearing the Word of God, attending churches and Sunday school—for sure, there will be a very special moment in your life where you will feel the movement of the Holy Spirit. That would make you believe and come to the Lord. It will make you repent and turn to the Lord. It is made possible of the whisper of God through the Holy Spirit. And every Christian should have experienced that. And I know you will understand me because you have experienced that.

As I have said, I grew up in a Roman Catholic family where the Word of God is not being read. In fact, we are afraid to bring the Bible in my country. People will laugh when we bring Bible because the Roman Catholic there would say that only the priest can read the Bible, and if you will read it, it will make you crazy. So as a young boy I was idolatrous. In my simple, simple life as a village boy, being ignorant of the Word of God, I have my own way of being idolatrous. And that idolatrous life leads me to live a young boy without knowledge of the Word of God, being ignorant of all His promises in the Bible. That leads me to live a life of sin through drug addiction. At a very young age of 13, I live all these kind of vices in the village. But I am what I am. Who could imagine that a boy like me who was once idolatrous would come to church and preach the Word of God in front of you?

It is all for the glory of God's name through His working, prompting of His Holy Spirit, by the whisper from His words. You have that in your life, right? We all have experienced this. And that is why every time everyone who come to church, before you are baptised of course there will be a catechism and the pastor must make sure that you really are a born again who experience this prompting and working of the Holy Spirit. This is what we are today. We are here to celebrate the beauty of God's regenerating power made us to see the way that we may be able to behold the truth and walk according to it. Lay hold on to eternal life. We are here because we are aware of eternal life. And eternal life is the proposal of the Bible that makes you glad in serving Him.

Last Sunday we were speaking about spiritual benefits and those spiritual benefits will all redound to the glory of God because of the eternal life that He promised to you and to me. As I have said during our prayer meeting last Friday, my lecturer Reverend Timothy Tow is there and he was happy to be there and he know that he go ahead.

He is a very good friend of Pastor Paul. He's a very good friend of me and he is excited that I will go there. And when I go there, Reverend Tow will say, the Lord will say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Now meet your teacher Reverend Timothy To.’ It is only made possible because of that whisper that happened in my life. For the very first time, I came to realise the beauty of God's leading and prompting, from having zero desire of God's Word.

I am not saying I am perfect and I am now good and great because I love the Word of God. But simply I realised, I became to understand the Word of God and even started to desire it. How? I did not find ways that I want to read the Bible so that I may understand it. No. And even in fact, I ran away—I ran away from the truth. God allowed circumstances - and not just to me and I believe to all of us.

To all of us there is that special providence of God in our life that will leads us to the hearing of this whisper. Now last night I was talking about Deacon Jeffry and Brother Derek and Yuan because we were in Deacon Jeffy's house. We're talking about schizophrenia. Now this is not schizophrenia. Now I had a member in the church who has schizophrenia—split mind. They hear voices. Well, that is mental sickness. But the whisper that we hear is not a literal whisper. We all know that.

It is the prompting of the Holy Spirit that we may read and embrace the Word of God and apply it in our daily walk with Him. If you would try to recall the very first day you believe, the very first moment you have the desire and the delight in embracing the Word of God and applying it and serving the Lord through your worship and devotion— I believe you will agree it all started because of that whisper, because of that prompting, because of that working of the Holy Spirit who regenerated you, who regenerated us and enable us to see the truth and walk according to His way.

What a wonderful life we had in the Lord. It is the abundant life that the Lord promised in John 10:10 (“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”). Life is only abundant because of the Lord and His Word and His Holy Spirit who is always abiding in us. And this is what we are. We are here all gathered celebrating because He called us unto salvation, and He called us to come unto His church to worship Him and even to serve Him.

But sometimes we all know that even though we came to know the Lord, even though we came to receive Him and serve Him, the Lord sometimes is forgotten. Sometimes the Lord is neglected. And this is what happened to the people of Judah. Now during this time when Isaiah wrote this letter, as I have said even long, long time ago, way back in the Old Testament, 99% of the people believe in the Lord God Almighty. Only 1% follow the Lord. It would only be possible that all of them will turn to the Lord during the millennial reign after the tribulation period.

But during the time of Isaiah, let’s say 99.9% of the people turn away from the Lord. And they ought to be a people who always listen to the whisper of God. That is why the Lord is gracious to them—that the Lord will wait for them, that this people will turn to the Lord and become His people only during the millennial reign.

But during the time of Isaiah, the Lord delighted that though the time for them to flourish and to become one people with God is not yet happening, but the Lord delighted to see them trusting in Him. But we all know over and over again, and if you will read the book of the Word of God, and if you will try to study the people of Israel, they have been rebelling over and over and over again—forsaking the Word of God, neglecting the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Just as even during the time of Isaiah, when he wrote chapter 30—Countless times in history, Israel turned away from the Lord, run away from Him, forsake Him, and neglect Him. This Isaiah chapter 30 is just one of the many thousands or even ten thousands of instances where they rebel against the Lord. We're only looking into one incident during the time when he wrote Isaiah chapter 30.

It was a time when Egypt was becoming strong, and they were anticipating the Assyrians coming to destroy them. They ought to listen to Isaiah. They ought to behave as a man, as a people of God. They must trust in the Lord God Almighty who created the Heaven and the Earth. The God who saved the people of Israel from Egypt. Yet when the Assyrians are coming, the fear, the imminent fear is very clear. They turn to the people of Egypt for deliverance.

Isaiah 30:1 says, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin. That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!”

‘They add sin unto sin’ - this is the greatest danger every born-again Christian could have in his life. The Lord has already enabled him to hear that whisper. But there will be a moment in a Christian's life where he will take for granted the prompting of the Holy Spirit and become so occupied with the Lord and turn away from Him that he adds sin unto sin.

As what Jeremiah says in verse one, the people of Israel and Judah have been rebelling against the Lord. Their rebelliousness is very evident in their way of life. God wanted them to be chastised that they may turn to the Lord, and the Assyrians were somehow used by God. So the imminent coming of the Assyrians is a sign that the Lord will deal with them, that they may turn to the Lord, that they may come to God.

But what happened? They add sin to sin by going to Egypt and asking for help from Egypt, and they put their trust and confidence in men rather than God. They add sin unto sin. When they are sinning by worshipping other gods, Assyrians will come that they may know, that they will turn to the Lord. But they add sin to sin. They have been sinning by being rebellious and worshipping idols. When the Lord brings chastisement in order to turn them to the Lord, to bring them back to the Lord, they act more foolish. They add sin to sin by disobeying the Lord and trusting Egypt.

When I first came to start work in the Philippines, I was very young. I had just graduated from FEBC. As I have said and as I have shared, I really didn't want to start a mission work. Yet, I loved to work in the rehab, drug rehab centre under Helping Hand because there, as a single man, I had so many staff. I had so many co-workers where I could have fellowship. For me to go there as a single boy — I'm still very young — is not easy.

But Pastor Koshy is very persuasive. Because of his great love for God and because of his great love for the Word of God, he has the strong heart to fulfil the Great Commission. Praise the Lord. Bethel BP Church is a church also who proclaims the message of God to different places like in Myanmar. And Pastor Koshy, though he knew that my fear or my concern was that I was young, was able to convince me through the Word of God — not according to his own wisdom, but through the Word of God.

Timothy was young when he served, and the Lord is able to strengthen a young man to serve the Lord. And so I was able to agree. And the very first message that he preached in Bohol is a form of reminding me and instructing me what to do in the ministry. And he said, ‘Edsel, you must always remind yourself and always know this — the Lord is your shepherd.’ And you should not say, ‘Koshy is my shepherd.’ You should not say, ‘Singapore is my shepherd,” but say: “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).

And even until today, that encouragement, that godly instruction is still within my heart. I'm not saying I am perfect and I am so spiritually high and mature. Nevertheless, I praise the Lord for enabling me to always remember these instructions that I had. Oh yes, there will be a great tendency for me, as a young man who went there and served — experiencing all kinds of persecutions, trials and sufferings — that I may tend to trust in men and in the worldly ways of behaving. But the Lord, in His great providence, taught me to rely on the Lord.

As I have shared with you, when I was a single boy, when a single servant of God, I knew nothing about trials. Well, persecutions — people will laugh at you because you are born again. Oh, they may not bury you in a cemetery — it doesn't bother me. But the Lord is so good. He allowed me to become a married man and experience problems as a married man. As I have shared with all of you, all the struggles, all the difficulties — yet the Lord proved to me that He is able to help me.

I tended to find any other means and way, as what the world would offer us. But by simply trusting in the Lord, I decided to be still and to trust in Him — a lesson we only learn from the Word of God. This is the only way wherein we can rely that the Lord will deliver us.

Isaiah 30:7 says, “For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.” Only Christians can do this. Only Christians who experience God’s working in life can enjoy and embrace this truth: Their strength is to sit still.

When my first member was persecuted — he was a strong Roman Catholic guy, but I came to know him. He was a security guard in the bank where we put our offerings. And so I was able to minister to him. He was a Roman Catholic — a Catholic faith defender somehow — but he was saved by the grace of God and became a member of my church. But a real problem arose when his sons were experiencing mental problems — the schizophrenia. And schizophrenia in the Philippines is a very big problem, especially if a family is incapable of providing all the medical needs.

And because of that great problem, there was a tendency for him to go back to his old faith, because these people whom he had served together with before were promising him: ‘Come back to us. Roman Catholic Church is a big church. We can help you. Your church is too small — because we’re only 18.’ And as a pastor, as a missionary, as a preacher, there is also this great fear — that this man may be tempted and trust in men rather than trusting in the living God.

And you all know — these poor people in the Philippines, they love to see the solution. And the only solution that I gave to him is God. But God is invisible. And the Roman Catholics there were showing to him the very, very visible solution. ‘You want money? You want people to help you? We have many people in the church. Come back to us. You raise your name from that small church. Return to us. We will help you.’

And I know and I am aware of that. And as a man who serves God, I know this is not just an ordinary, simple problem. But this is a problem about spiritual battle — a spiritual battle in the sense that this man, whom the Lord has brought to Gethsemane BP Church, is my responsibility. As a young man during that time, I encountered a big problem also concerning this man. If he would turn away from the Lord and go back to his old faith and be with the Roman Catholics and be helped by them, I should not say it’s my fault. I should not say it’s defeat on my part. But it is disgraceful in the sight of God and in the sight of the fellow members in the church.

And I prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, these men are very poor. And every time they see the tendency of visible material help, they will forget — and they have the tendency and inclination to forget — the invisible God.’ It's very common in the Philippines, in a country like the Philippines where there are so many poor. Though the word of God is so sweet, every time they see the visibility of the offer, they tend to take the offer and reject the God that is invisible.

It was a struggle for me. It was a real battle in my life that I consider it as a spiritual battle. I did not share to Pastor Reggor. I did not share to Pastor Koshy. I keep it to myself and I pray hard, ‘Lord, help me that I may be able to bring this man to remain faithful and steadfast in the Lord in serving Him.’ And so when the need was very clear, when the bill — the hospital bill — is very clear, and we all know that in the Philippines, schizophrenia must be done in the private hospital, not in the government hospital. So when I brought him to the hospital — that boy — I brought him to the hospital, I did not have anything, but I just say to the in-charge of the office, ‘Can you please just accept this guy? Don't worry, I will try my best to settle everything.’

After a few days, the bill is there. And the man, the father, was so very scared to see the bill. And I said to him, ‘Don't worry. Let us trust in the Lord.’ But I can see — I can see in his life that he is somehow, the offer is there already. The comfort from the Roman Catholic friends are there already — very visible. But my encouragement is, ‘Don't worry, the Lord will help us.’ Sometimes this instruction of a certain pastor — ‘Don't worry, the Lord is able to help us’ — is not attractive to a man that is already bothered, because he saw something visible on the other side. And I am aware of that. And sometimes I can see in his face that when I encourage him, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ his mind is somewhere, wondering. And I know he's contemplating about the offer from the other side.

And I said to myself, ‘If this guy will really go to these people, it is a shame to the church. And for him, he will become a bad testimony, because he had become already known in the village of being a strong man in the Lord, member of a Protestant church, and then suddenly going back. It is a funny thing.’ And I also bothered with that.

Then I told him, ‘Can you please come to me and let us talk heartily?’ So we went to a calm place, very calm place. I did not want distractions, because I want to deal with this guy. And this is my first problem as a young missionary in terms of persecutions and trials and problems. As I look at him, I know that he is not comfortable because I brought him in a far place and say, ‘Why do we walk there?’ But he is so interested in going to the people who will help him.

But nevertheless, I prayed to the Lord, ‘Lord, speak to us. Reveal to us Thy presence.’ And that was a prayer that came from my heart. I remember the days when I first came to know the Lord. ‘Lord, I was an idolatrous boy. I know nothing about Thy word. I had no desire to come to Thee, but Thou by Thy grace whispered to me, and that is a miracle. And this miracle of Thine is possible to solve this problem.’ And that I said to myself while walking.

And I sat down there, ‘Okay, what do you look? What can you see?’ ‘I see trees. I see the clouds. I see all the animals that are running.’ And I said, ‘If you see that, what will you know and understand?’ As far as I have always been telling them, if there are creations, there must be a Creator — as we learn from the Westminster standards. If there is a design, there must be a Designer. And he said, ‘Yeah.’

But it seems I can see in him that he is not interested. Then I said, "God is telling you that He is present.’ But I did not tell him, ‘Just as you are seeing your former Roman Catholic friends so present and so visible.’ But I did not — because maybe he will be offended. But I told him, ‘God is so real. He is here. He’s willing to help you. And me, being your missionary in charge.’ Maybe he agreed in theological terms. He maybe got my idea, but he never sees God.

But I said, ‘The creations revealed that He is a Creator.’ He may agree with me theologically, but practically and from the heart, he did not. Then suddenly my phone rang, and during those times, no smartphone yet — cannot video call, only the QWERTY keypad. And the call comes from Singapore.

Then I answered. It was Elder Boaz Boon, and he know that man so much. Elder Boaz Boon loved his children so much. And Elder Boon came to know about his problem because — one week, in fact — the son of Elder Goh of Tengah, Ian Goh went to the Philippines in my place to have a honeymoon. He just recently got married. So he told me, ‘My honeymoon is double purpose — to visit the church and to have my wife and me a special time.’ Then he went with me in my visitation, and I brought him to that house. He saw the problem. And when he went to Singapore, he shared to Elder Boon, and somehow Elder Boon was so very kind and good to these poor people.

I did not tell Ian Goh, ‘Okay, go tell Elder Boaz Boon.’ He just suddenly told Elder Boaz Boon there. And then suddenly, when we were in that special place — I wanted to bring him to the presence of God — but somehow he is so determined to believe and trust the people in the Roman Catholic church whom he sees very clearly. And God is invisible.

Suddenly the phone — my phone — rang, and Elder Boon was speaking to us. And he can hear the voice of Elder Boon. And he said, ‘And I heard about Ian Goh’ - I did not ask Ian Goh to tell him. - ‘and Ian Goh told me that this son has certain problem. I am sending $2,000.’ And I told him, ‘Can you send it to Pastor Koshy, and Pastor Koshy will send to us?’

So he called up Pastor Koshy, ‘Pastor Koshy, ‘Preacher asked me to send this to you.’ And Pastor Koshy said, ‘No, send it directly to the church.’ No choice. Pastor Koshy sent it to the church account. I don't want him to send to my personal account, but to the church account. And so I send. In order for me to withdraw the money, I need to sign it. And I sent to Pastor Reggor — I asked someone to go to Cebu to let Pastor Reggor sign it and bring it back to Bohol so that I can withdraw. And so we withdraw the money and we were able to pay the bills in the hospital.

In my experience, it was a very touching moment. And I cried silently to the Lord for this wonderful experience — that He allowed me to experience that He is so real to a man who is almost losing faith in trusting Him. I was full of faith in the Lord during the time. Praise be unto the Lord. But this man, somehow, lost. It seems he is so determined to trust upon those that are visible — the friends in the church, the people who are rich there, who wanted to give.

But all I have — all I can offer to him — is the invisible God and His word. We read verses from the Bible, and I show him the creations, but he still seems not so determined to embrace the way I encourage him. But when Elder Boaz Boon called up, I can see in his face that he was stunned. He was stunned because he literally heard the word of Elder Boaz Boon. And I told him, ‘Brother, this is how God helps us. He’s so real. He is so loving and caring — that even He said, "For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still” (Isaiah 30:7).

What a very real, so close, experience and encounter with God at that very specific period of time. And it really gave me joy in trusting in the Lord God Almighty. Their only strength is to sit still. So this man is so inclined to find strength in many ways. He is comfortable to see people who are promising to him to help him because God is not visible. Somehow there's no joy in trusting God. But when he came to know how the Lord works, he realised that even when a Christian will never find a way, God will find a way to help him and solve his problem. Their strength is to sit still.

All of you may not have the same problem with all of us who are in a poor and third world country. But for sure, there will be many times that as a Christian you will be confronted with something that will make you to choose whether something visible or something invisible. That the Lord will allow you to experience whether you will choose Him or you will not choose Him. Of course, your situation may not be like from those who are from the poor country like the Philippines, but for sure there will be. And the Lord will teach you to somehow trust in Him, that you will always rely upon Him, that you will always just need to do is to sit still and to be confident in the Lord.

There are so many verses in the Bible that would encourage us concerning this, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). When the people of the Roman Catholic Church who tried to bring him back—99% they were expecting that this man will leave Gethsemane church and return to them, I can see also that this fellow, my brother of mine, member of my church, are so determined to go back there. And I can see also that these people are so confident that he will leave me and he will left the church.

But when the help come in a very special way, his attitude of being so inclined to go there suddenly changed. Tears flowed from his eyes. And he told me, ‘Brother, forgive me. I admit I had weak faith in the Lord.’ And of course, I know. But I did not say, ‘Yes, I know that.’ No, I never. But I said, ‘But now what? He’s real. He’s true.’ And I said, ‘Yes. Yes’. All you have to do is to sit still and know that He is God, that He is still on the throne, and that He is still the sovereign God, the ruler of this universe and the Governor. He is the Governor. He governs everything. Nothing happens without His permission.

The only thing that is not according to Him is the sin that we do when we disobey and sin against Him. But though you may be praying for good health, then suddenly in the next morning you are sick—if it is the will of God, it is not a tragedy. It is perfect and beautiful according to His own purpose and will. He is sovereign, that all that we can do is to submit to Him and rely upon His working. Of course, we can ask Him to be gracious unto us, that He may hear us when we pray.

The people of Judah were displaying a heart that is so disrespectful to the one living and true God who saved them, to the one living and true God who revealed Himself to them. Jehovah is the covenant God of Israel. Yet His own people choose to reject Him and to turn away from Him, when they should be still and know that God is able. Egypt was destroyed by God when they ran after the Israelites. What foolishness it is when they still turn to Egypt. They are aware. They are very familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures. They are so aware that those Pharaoh and his army followed after Moses when he divided the Red Sea, were killed. And a foolishness—they still go there and even rely upon Egypt. They should be convicted that, ‘Why shall we go there? We all know that God, during the time of Moses, was so strong enough against Egypt.’

And sometimes I always go back to the experience that I have with my member, that he also has the tendency to be foolish. Though the Bible is very clear, though the Word of God is very sure, because God of the Bible is invisible, he relies and he has the inclination to trust upon the visible. By the grace of God, he learned a lesson. I learned a lesson. I grow in my faith. I grow in my trust upon Him. That when I was confronted personally with all kinds of difficulties and hardship as a married man—it is not easy. It is difficult. Yet the only strength that you have is God and His whisper from the Word of God. Your strength is only to sit still.

I just sit down there in the mission church, and as my wife and my daughter are in the hospital, I said, ‘This is not an act. This is not—this is something that is not known into Your presence, O Lord God. In fact, this is Your will. Teach me. Have mercy. Strengthen me, that I may never wander away but I will be resting in You.’

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass” (Psalm 37:7). “Rest in the Lord” - Yes, this is something that I experience with God in the service of the ministry. In the ministry. And Pastor Paul has his own testimony. Pastor Koshy has his own testimony. You have your own testimony. And all these testimonies redound to the glory of the one living and true God who bring us to the right way. He whispered to us, “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Let us continue walking—walking in this way.

The Bible is very clear. Jesus Christ said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

The Roman Catholic says, ‘We are the biggest Christian church in the world, and with all the numbers that we have, it is impossible for us to be wrong.’ Wow. You go to the Philippines. This is the very common explanation and the very common testimony of the Roman Catholic. ‘With all the numbers that we have, how can we be wrong?’ God said they are wrong. Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”

And I told this to my member who almost went back to the Roman Catholic—and he was so emotional. He is crying. I also cry. And I was able to explain to him Matthew 7:14: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” He has the tendency to always go back to the Roman Catholic and believe their saying that it is impossible for them to be wrong, giving all the numbers that they have around the world. They are the largest religious institution. But I said, why believe in them? Why believe in the words of men rather than believing in the word of God? God says, “few there be that find it.” And I said to him, “This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Last Sunday, this man was the chairman in my worship there. And today, his son-in-law is the chairman of the worship service. And there was a big and strong typhoon in the Philippines just three days ago. And I heard there is another one that is coming. They were so very concerned. They tried to message me, ‘Oh, can you be able to go home this coming Wednesday because the typhoon is coming?’ I said, ‘Okay, never mind. Don’t worry. Thank you for being so concerned. I am also trying to monitor the weather system in the Philippines while I am here. Don’t worry. Let us trust in the Lord.’

And he told me, and they told me, ‘Yes, we will trust in the Lord and we will pray and we will have worship today, today even though there is no electricity. There's a blackout in my place. I don't know in Cebu, but in my place behold, the whole day today is without electricity.’ But they will gather for worship, though it will become warm because our worship service is very close. It is cement. But they are so determined, and they said, ‘We will come though we have no electricity.’

And the worship this day is in the afternoon because the preacher is from Cebu, and today is the anniversary of Cebu. And the man who will preach in my church today is attending in Cebu, and this afternoon he will go to Bohol, and he will arrive there somehow in the late afternoon. It would be dark. And all of them are trying to say to me, ‘Well, we could bring our lamps and torch. Well, we can have our phone to on our flashlight that we may be able to read the Bible though it is dark.’

I was so blessed and so happy and so encouraged that those people, even without me, they are so determined to do their best in their service to the Lord. And I believe it is only made possible because of the Lord God Almighty who whisper the word of God in their lives.

Oh yes, let us walk with the Lord. Let us walk with great delight. Let us walk with great joy. Let us walk with hope that this is the way that the Lord give unto us while we are in this world. If I may borrow the writings and exhortations of brother Joshua now to the youth during the camp, it was written in the bulletin—no, in the booklet: There are only two ways—the ways of the world and the ways of the word. And of course, the youth were instructed, admonished. When I was there also preaching the word of God to them, I was able to instruct them by the grace of God to choose the word, not the world. The word is the way wherein the Lord God Almighty show unto us that we may walk according to it and live according to it.

Ephesians 5:8,“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” The way that he showed to us will lead us to light—eternal life. We can see it during the time of Adam when, after God created the whole creation, Adam was the final creation. And God did not say, “Let there be man,” and there was man. No. God formed man out of the dust of the ground. And we all know that. And when the man was formed, God spoke to him and revealed to him His commandment.

God said to Adam in Genesis 2:16, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Immediately, right after God completed His masterpiece—the man from the dust of the ground—He gave him a commandment. He gave them the instruction: Of all the fruit you can eat, but except one, the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

So our God is a God who shows us the right way. If you are a parent, if you are a mother, if you're a father, you want to show the right way. You don't want your children to walk the wrong way. God, above all, has that desire for you and for me—to always walk according to the way He gave you. Adam was given instruction. We know he fell. But when Adam fell, God used prophets to remind them continually that you must always walk in that way—in the way that I have given you.

In our life today, in our time, in our specific period of time—2025—God doesn't change. If He is so determined and so loving and caring to Adam, if He is so determined and caring, caring and loving to all His people throughout the years—since Old Testament time, during the time of the New Testament, even until today—that great love and concern for His people remains the same. That He may show us continually His way, and that we may walk according to it continually, by His grace, by His mercy, and by His help alone. May the Lord of God continue to enable us to enjoy life—that we may be able to see truly, ‘My life is abundant in the Lord.’ And our abundancy is not about the worldly things, but about the spiritual blessings, the benefits that He gave to our soul and to our life. May we rejoice and embrace the way that He showed to us. Let us pray.

Our life is good and full of blessings, O Lord, because of Thy great blessings in our life. And in that great blessings through the Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy grace, we have found—we found the way. And this is the way that we are walking. We pray that You will enable us to continually walk in it. By Thy grace, teach us not to turn away from the left. Teach us not to turn away from the right, but to walk straight according to all the leading that You are prompting in our hearts. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, who is our Comforter, who is always there—ever present, every moment—to cheer us, to comfort us, to lead us. That we never wander away and forsake that way, but continue to embrace that way, though it leads to difficulties. But we all know it will lead us to life—eternal life full of goodness and blessings. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

What Lies Ahead

What Lies Ahead

Isaiah 9:6

This Is The Way, Walk Ye In It

This Is The Way, Walk Ye In It

Isaiah 30:21

The Man Of Sorrow

The Man Of Sorrow

Isaiah 53:1-12

Man of Sorrows

Man of Sorrows

Isaiah 53:1-12

Righteousness of the Redeemed

Righteousness of the Redeemed

Isaiah 54:11-17