"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.’