President's Gallery: Work, for the Night is Coming
Photo taken by President at Lower Peirce Reservoir, Singapore, May 2021.
In spite of border control measures, the Delta variant of Covid-19 still found its way into many countries. Its rapid spread sent Singapore back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and for the first time in history, our National Day Parade had to be postponed.
One of the key strategies used to deal with the pandemic is Contact Tracing and for it to be effective, timing is of utmost importance. We need to identify the potential infected groups as fast as possible and get them quarantined and tested before the spread grows uncontrollable.
When disasters strike and rescuers search for survivors, there is a window period of 72 hours, after which the chances of finding survivors would be low. Rescue Operations need to be armed with not just diligence, but also a strong sense of urgency. It is a matter of life and death.
Taken from John 9:4, I want to share three points with you on this title “Work, for the night is coming”.
1. Be Serious in God’s Works
One of John Wesley’s Twelve Rules for Helpers reads: “Be Serious. Let your motto be, “Holiness to the Lord.” Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.”
Be serious! God’s Kingdom workers need to be serious in the work we have been entrusted with. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to be honest and ask ourselves: Is God’s commandment for real? Is Hell for real? Is the Great Commission for real? Is Jesus’ death and resurrection for real? Is your faith for real? If yes, can people see that we are serious from the way we live and behave?
Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5 NIV)
We need to do the works of God and we need to do it with a sense of urgency.
In light of Covid-19, who would ever have imagined that the world would come to a near standstill and millions of people would die in such a short span of time? Brothers and sisters, the time we have to evangelise is indeed limited and there will come a time when we will no longer be able to work.
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn” is an aphorism often attributed to John Wesley. While we cannot verify that Wesley did in fact write those words, they do accurately reflect his passion and sense of urgency for evangelism.
Wesley had once been cautioned by his critics, and even some friends, against being too zealous. In response to one correspondent, Mr. John Smith, Wesley wrote:
I detest all zeal which is any other than the flame of love… I sincerely thank you for endeavouring to assist me herein, to guard me from running into excess. I am always in danger of this, and yet I daily experience a far greater danger of the other extreme. To this day, I have abundantly more temptation to lukewarmness than to impetuosity… (to be) a philosophical sluggard, than an itinerant preacher. And, in fact, what I now do is so exceedingly little, compared with what I am convinced I ought to do.
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn”
2. Be Passionate for the Lost Souls
Matthew 9:35-36 shows us Jesus’ passion for the lost. He went through all the towns and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. He had compassion for the crowd whom He sees as people who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus also spoke of His disciples as workers in the harvest field. Matthew 9:37-38 reads: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”
At least three things are true about a Harvest:
(1) it will not gather itself;
(2) it has great value; and
(3) the time for harvest is limited and it, therefore, requires urgent action.
Ripe fruit must be harvested as soon as possible. Left alone, the harvest does not become riper; it spoils. There is no time for delay. God’s Kingdom workers, harvesters in His farm, should know the value of the harvest and be marked by God’s sense of compassion and urgency.
Ripe fruit must be harvested as soon as possible. Left alone, the harvest does not become riper; it spoils. There is no time for delay.
3. Be Driven by Mission
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20)
There is no greater cause than the mission of God. Jesus is very clear on what He wants us to do on this earth before He comes again. The Great Commission has to be the focus and centre of all our endeavours. In all our planning and doing we ought to ask: How is this helping us to make people a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Wesley called leaders to focus with intensity on the mission. Writing to one of his leaders, he expressed his disappointment about the apathy he observed in him: “I am concerned for you; I am sorry you should be content with lower degrees of usefulness and holiness than you were called to.”
Focus is the key. We are easily distracted; often, the many activities of the church may cause us to overlook this Great Commission. We need to focus on the One Call to make disciples; it ought to be our lifestyle.
“I am concerned for you; I am sorry you should be content with lower degrees of usefulness and holiness than you were called to.”
Conclusion
Let us seize the time we now have and be serious in His work; be concerned for the lost souls and let not other things take away our focus on God’s call. I have only one appeal— will you pray for your personal revival?
Pray, that you will serve Him not only faithfully but also with a strong sense of urgency, not procrastinating in the works that God has entrusted to you. Pray, so that you may be filled with excitement, joy, and honour as you do His work.
Listen, God is speaking and He is calling His workers. Will you wait on His voice and discern His will? Will you say to Him “I am here, Lord, send me”?
Will you also pray that God will call your children or grandchildren, people of the next generation, into full-time ministries? They may be called to be an Ordained Pastor, a missionary (local or overseas), or a Christian ministry staff serving in schools or in Christian parachurch organisations.
Jesus said: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt 9:37-38)
Dear brothers and sisters, we need workers, we need many workers. The farm is huge, the harvest is plentiful, and the time for harvest is limited; there is no time to waste, work, for the night is coming!
Pray, so that you may be filled with excitement, joy, and honour as you do His work.
Rev Dr Gregory Goh Nai Lat
President, Chinese Annual Conference