Peter Tan-Chi - True Blessing Is Not About Us
Blessed 37th anniversary to all CCFers! To God be the glory, 37 years of God's faithfulness! Let us say hi to all our CCFers, the satellites all over the world: from North America to Europe, to the Middle East, to Asia, Oceania, and of course all over the Philippines. As we celebrate our 37th anniversary, I'd like to remind us that our celebration must always be God-centered, not man-centered. I want God to get all the glory because CCF is really the work of the Lord. He started it. He protected us during this pandemic and is causing it to grow.
I praise God that during this pandemic, He allowed us to pivot. He allowed us to transition from certain ways of doing things in the past to something innovative. Why? Because I'm always reminded our mission stays the same: to go make disciples, to evangelize, to disciple people; but how we do it, we must learn to be flexible because of the reality of circumstances. What have we learned? That we do not have to limit our ministry in the confines of a building. Worship does not have to be limited by four corners, by being in a particular place in a particular time. Today, our ministry has become borderless, and praise God for technology. We are sharing this not to brag. We are sharing this to encourage all of us with what God is doing, because it is His love.
You see God so loved the world. God is compassionate in reaching out to those who have not heard the Gospel, and we are His instruments. We don't take any credit. It's all about God, His concern for humanity. We must always remember the work has just begun. Do not think we are so big. The truth is there are still over 2 billion people unevangelized, and God has placed the Philippines in the most strategic location: These countries range from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Thailand. These are all in Asia. And our privilege is we are right here. So let us redouble our efforts. Let us consider this a privilege to serve the Lord. So let us be faithful, because God has given us this amazing privilege of partnering with Him to fulfill His mission, not our mission, not our agenda. It's always about God's agenda; it's God's glory.
Our theme today is Let me repeat: "True Blessing is Not About Us". What is true blessing? Psalm 67 has seven verses, and those seven verses focus on true blessing. It begins with blessing, it ends with blessing. I'd like to highlight three important realities when it comes to God's blessing. Number one: God delights in blessing us; God wants to bless us. Number two: God is blessing us because God blessed us to bless others. And lastly, God's blessing will lead to worship. Ultimately it's all about God. God is our true blessing. In Psalm 67:1, I'd like you to notice: it is so exciting that our God is the one who wants to bless us. This is a very biblical prayer, so there's nothing wrong if you and I pray for blessing.
Look at this prayer: So all blessing begins with the grace of God, and what is the grace of God? Undeserved. It's from God. Not because we are qualified. So God's blessing is from Him. What a comfort to know that it is God's grace, not my qualification, that will allow me to have this blessing. And it is perfectly okay to pray for God's blessing. "God be gracious to us". The first step of blessing is to understand the grace of God. Next, "bless us". Now, the word "bless us", what does it mean? Let me repeat: many times people think it is just material blessing; it's more than that. This verse explains what is true blessing. What does it mean, "cause His face to shine upon us"?
This is taken from the book of Numbers where God told Moses, "Moses, when you bless the people, you bless them by saying the following: (meaning the Lord will protect you)", but what is the most important phrase? What does it mean, "make His face shine on you"? Look at verse 26 of Numbers 6. What does that mean? You see, real blessing is having the favor of God, the presence of God, and the approval of God, you want God's favor. And that's why I'm reminded when my children were small, they kept saying, "Daddy, look at me, look at me"!
Why do children want their parents to look at them? You know why? Because of undivided attention. Because they want our blessing, they want our approval, and above all, they want our smile. You know, that smile of God to me is the greatest blessing. I'm reminded of the story of this concert pianist, how she was always nervous when she plays the piano in front of thousands of people. And when she finished, they'll give her a standing ovation and she's still nervous. She will only relax if that "one" person will stand up and that person will clap.
Do you know who is that person? Her piano teacher. Because her effort is to make sure that her teacher will be happy with her performance. In the same way, it is like our relationship with God. Why is that important? It does not matter if the whole world will applaud you, if the whole world is happy but God is not happy. And it doesn't matter if the world is not happy with you but God is happy because the most important person at the end of your life is the Lord Himself. Question: are you living a life that's pleasing to Him? In 2 Corinthians 5, in verse nine, Paul says, For Paul, the most important thing, the most important blessing is the smile of God, to be pleasing to Him. He gives us two reasons. Why is that most important?
Reason number one: when you see the word "therefore", you read the previous verses. Paul knew that he will be in the presence of God. Therefore it is important that he be pleasing to God. He gives another reason: He now gives you another reason: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ". In other words, the most important blessing, the most important thing you must pray for is the smile of God in your life. For Paul, he wanted to please Him. And that's why Paul says, "I do my best to please Him". Why? Because someday "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed". Each one. Paul was very conscious of the reality that at the end of your life, the greatest blessing is the smile of God, the affirmation of God that you have lived well for Him.
During this pandemic, all of us have loved ones who have passed away. I have dear friends, I have close friends, I have close relatives who have passed away. No matter who they are, no matter how rich they are, no matter how poor they are, those are all secondary. At the end of your life, these are realities: you cannot bring your money with you. You cannot take anything with you, including your paintings, including your hobbies, including your prestige. There's nothing you can take with you. But the most important is your relationship with your Savior. The question is: did you live a life that's pleasing to our Lord? Recently, the mother of Jeff, my son-in-law passed away from COVID, and my daughter of course, was very sad.
My wife and I were very sad. But one thing that comforts us is the reality of her walk with the Lord. I always asked, "How is her spiritual life"? And my daughter told me she was at her best. She loved the Lord, shared the Bible, she was involved in Bible studies. Why is that important? Because I'm reminded: at the end of the day, the most important is the smile of God. That is true blessing. The second thing I'd like you to know about true blessing is You see blessing is not to be kept, it's to be shared. Notice what it says: Do you notice the connection? Verse one talks about "God be gracious to us, bless us". And then verse two, "so that Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations".
The purpose of blessing is to bless the nations. Not just the nations, to bless, notice, all nations. What kind of blessing? The knowledge of God. "That Your way may be known". You see it is one thing to know God. It is important that we know the ways of God. Why? So that you and I can be pleasing to Him. When we know God, when we know His ways what is the result? Salvation. You see at the end of your life, the most important thing is salvation. Do you have eternal life? And that my friend is how we bless people. Blessed to bless others. Question: is your life lived in such a way that you'll attract people to Jesus? Is your life lived in such a way that when your family members look at how you live, they'll be attracted to Jesus?
You see, this does not happen by accident. The blessing being passed around has to be intentional: "That Your way may be known on the earth". How will they know? Through your life, your words and your deeds. "Your salvation among all peoples", how will they know? Through your life, through your deeds. For example, during this time of COVID, a lot of people are scared. A lot of people are so afraid. They're anxious. Well, is your life different? Are you able to show them the peace that you have, that you are not always panicking? There has to be a difference between the way you live and the way they live. Now, my wife and I made it intentional. We always try to bring the Gospel tract wherever we go. In restaurants, when we play golf with caddies, when we are with friends, we make it a point to use every opportunity to share the Gospel. How can we bless others?
Notice, Psalm 67 tells us, What do you notice? To be a blessing to others, you have to be intentional. We must tell people that the Lord is coming again. Notice the emphasis: "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy", this is good news, but it can only be good news when we are prepared. "For You will judge the peoples with uprightness", the psalmist is saying God is coming again. He is coming as judge. And how will he judge? With uprightness. He will come as the ruler. That word "guide" has the idea that He will govern the nations, "guide the nations on the earth". Think about it. In other words, we are blessed to bless others.
How do we bless others? We need to tell them. We need to tell them the truth that God is coming again. And I am reminded of the example of Ezekiel. You see in Ezekiel chapter 33, God gave this amazing example of what should be our responsibility. In the book of Ezekiel 33, God appointed Ezekiel a watchman. What is the job description of a watchman? A watchman is somebody who would the warn entire city that there's an enemy coming. You see in that time of Ezekiel, people live in walled cities. That's how they have protection. In the walled cities, gates are open, but there is always a watchman guarding. The moment they see danger, they will blow the trumpet, they will ask the people to get inside the gate so that there will be protection.
And God is saying, "Ezekiel, you are a watchman. You are to warn them". And what is the message? And this is the message: God says, The metaphor of watchman is to bring up the importance of responsibility. You see, Ezekiel was a prophet. God said, "On top of being a prophet, you are a watchman". A watchman is responsible to warn the people. And God is saying, "Ezekiel, if you don't warn them, the blood of the people I'll require from your hand". And my friend, today, a lot of people are dying left and right. They are afraid to die. You know why they are afraid to die? They have no peace. They have no assurance of eternal life. They are afraid to die.
In verse nine: Now the desire of God is for people to repent, but God is saying, "If they don't repent, that is their responsibility, but your responsibility is to tell them". I want you to notice what the apostle Paul said. The apostle Paul, in the last part of his life, this is what he said in Acts 20: Paul is saying, "I am innocent of the blood of all men". Paul understood he is a watchman. The reality is this: we are all watchmen. So God is saying "You do your job". My job is not to force people to repent. My job is not to force people to listen. My job is to be faithful. And notice what is emphasized? The next verse: In short, he repents. How is repentance seen? He turns from his sin and he begins to change his life.
Notice the promise of God: Here is the amazing promise of God. God says he will be completely forgiven. This reminds me of the New Testament passage found in the book of Hebrews chapter 10, where God says, "Because of Jesus, I will no longer remember their sins. Their past sins, I will remember no more". Do you realize that kind of blessing, the peace that you have? If I look at my life, I know I've done a lot of foolish things in the past. I've committed many sins. But God is saying, "If you repent your past sins, I will remember no more". Repentance is the key to blessing. And then God reminds the righteous. Have you ever wondered why this was placed in the Bible?
The Bible says warn the righteous man. You know what God is saying? You cannot be presumptuous of your forgiveness. You cannot live a life that takes forgiveness as a license to sin. Jude 4 warns us of I want you to notice the following statements: "ungodly persons who turned the grace of our God into licentiousness", the grace of God is not a license to commit sin. Many Christians are not taught properly. I'm reminded of the story of my friend, how when his son went back from college to visit him during Christmas. And that young man told his father, "I'm enjoying the drinking, the girls" and the father said, "What do you mean"?
And then the father realized it's about immorality. It's about getting drunk. And then the father asked him, "Are you a Christian"? And this young man got angry. This young man said, "How dare you ask me if I'm a Christian. Do you not know? When I was 13 years old, I raised my hand. I went forward. I got baptized". And the father said, "Wrong answer". And that young man got so angry. He left the house angry. But praise God, the father was direct. The father was honest with the son. That question bothered him. "Are you a Christian"? One year later, he came back, and he said, "Dad, I am now a Christian". Why? He realized a true Christian cannot live in sin. He repented of his getting drunk, and of his womanizing.
The apostle Paul warned Christians in the book of Galatians. Remember, Galatians is a book that talks about how we are forgiven by faith in Christ. It's all about the grace of God. But do you notice? In chapter five, he talks about the importance of true repentance. Here is a very clear warning from the apostle Paul. You cannot claim to be a follower of Jesus and practice such lifestyle, living in sin. Why? Because a follower of Jesus is somebody whose goal in life is to please God, to live for Him. Does it mean perfection? Of course not! Look at the heart of God in Ezekiel 33:11; this is God's heart. Notice the heart of God. "I don't take pleasure in the death of the wicked".
This is the heart of God. He wants to bless us and the key to true blessing is repentance. The key to forgiveness is repentance. And that's why God is saying, "Give them this message. I want them to repent. I want them to turn". When the Bible says God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, it is the echo of 2 Peter 3:9. 2 Peter 3:9 says, You see God's desire is repentance, and the message throughout the Scripture may shock you. From Genesis to Revelation, you have the truth of repentance. We need to repent. When Jesus began his ministry, what did he say? Look at His message. You see, the Gospel is about repentance and faith in Jesus. The same thing at the end of his ministry, what did He say? Jesus tells us, In other words, forgiveness and repentance, they go together. Forgiveness and faith, they go together. Repentance and faith, they go together; you cannot separate the two.
Acts 26:19 and 20, when Paul was talking to the king, Notice the message of Paul: When the apostle preaches, he talks about repentance. Repent and turn to God. So what is repentance? To understand repentance, let me explain to you three important words. The first is regret: it impacts the mind. "Why did I do that? Why did I do those stupid things"? Example, a man is caught in immorality, the wife caught him. He is regretting. Remorse: the mind impacting the heart. "I feel sorrowful. I feel ashamed. I feel the pain". That is not real repentance. What is repentance? The mind is affected, the heart is affected, and the will is affected. That's from the word "metanoia", it's a change of direction. So repentance has to do with change.
In 2 Corinthians 7:9 and 10, I want you to read the following. The Bible says... Now, what is he talking about? In other words, there's a kind of remorse, there's a kind of sorrow that does not lead to real repentance. In fact, it leads to suicide. But there's a kind of remorse that leads to repentance. And I love this: "the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation". An example of regret, remorse, and repentance. Do you recall, among the 12 disciples of Jesus what happened to Judas? Judas betrayed Jesus. He felt remorseful, he regretted. What did he do? He committed suicide. You notice Peter. Peter denied Jesus. He regretted, he was sad, but he repented. His repentance was shown when he turned to the Lord and began to serve Him and love Him. Friends, that is the heart of God: repentance.
I love this quotation by Thomas Carlyle: In other words, repentance is the work of God. And that is why it is the key to true blessing. Psalm 67 tells us what true blessing is all about. It's not about us. True blessing is from God. God wants to bless us, God blesses us to bless others, and lastly, God's blessing leads to worship. Psalm 67 closes with a circle getting wider and wider. Notice the prayer, the grammar: all. God blesses us. Do you know what the psalmist is saying? The blessing from God is a certainty. It is a promise that God will bless you, God will bless me. Many people don't realize everything that God is doing in your life ultimately is for your blessing. Sometimes, it is disappointments. Sometimes, it is trials.
I want you to hear the testimony of one of our members. Many of you will know him because he was very popular, he was on top of the world. And then God did something. And you will think it was a disaster, but if you hear his story, you will notice something: once we understand the goodness of God, once we respond in faith, what is a disappointment can be the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. Let's hear his story. Praise God for our brother's testimony. What do you notice? How he experienced God's blessing, it may not always be material, but he is able to lead others to the Lord, he is able to impact his family. His life story, his experience is now being used by God to encourage others. You see blessing is all about Him. We are his instrument. We are blessed to bless others. God's blessing is so radical. It will transform us from somebody who is running away from God to becoming the worshiper of God.
Remember: worship is our response, the proper response to who God is, to what He has done. And the moment you and I experience true blessing, how God has forgiven us, how we are given eternal life, how Jesus died on the cross so that our sins can be completely forgiven, what will that do to your life? It will totally transform your love and your heart. You will really begin to worship Jesus, to worship God, because you have experienced the unconditional love and forgiveness of God. Look at Psalm 67. "God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him". I want you to notice something: "God blesses us", certainty, "that all (notice the grammar, 'all') the ends of the earth," the whole world, all the ends of the earth "may fear Him", may reverence Him, may worship Him. That is an amazing prayer. If you love the Lord, that will be your desire: for people to know Him.
You see, discipleship, evangelism is leading somebody to know the Lord and for that person to fall in love with the Lord and for that person to worship Him. And that my friend is the mission of CCF. This is one of the reasons why CCFers are all over the world: because God has commanded us, God has blessed us, and our desire is for all the ends of the earth to worship Him. For 37 years, God has been faithful in blessing us, and God is blessing us so that we will be blessing others. The blessing is not for us to keep. It is a blessing for us to share. What kind of blessing? The blessing of knowing the Lord so that we all become worshipers of who God is.
And that my friend is true discipleship. Once upon a time, I was running away from God. Once upon a time, I was rebellious. Then something happened: the Lord touched my heart by His grace. He transformed my heart. Today, I don't run away from God. I run towards God. My desire is to worship God, and not just for me. My desire is for everybody to worship God. I like A. W. Tozer when he said, Can I tell you why they are bored? Why they are turned off by worship? If you don't have a relationship with our Savior, if you have not experienced the goodness of God, why would you be excited about worship? For you, God is a theory. For you, God is a stranger.
And the way to test whether you are a recipient of God's blessing or not, ask yourself: do you get excited to worship God? Every Sunday, every opportunity, do you get excited? If you're not excited, I want you to take time to consider and ask yourself the question: have you considered God's blessing? Have you looked at your life, how He has forgiven you? I remember years ago when I was falsely accused of something I did not do. Right in the fiscal's office, when we presented our side, the fiscal said, "The case is dropped. All the charges are no longer valid".
Now, that is a simple case and I felt so good. I am just imagining someday when we enter heaven, no matter what Satan will do, no matter what you have done in the past, the assurance of forgiveness is something real. God says, "Their sins I remember no more". God chooses to forgive us. Why? Because that is His promise. Repentance is promised forgiveness. If you don't admit, if you don't face up to the reality of your sin, how will you repent? So repentance is the work of God. It will help you see your own sinfulness. And then you are willing to say, "Lord, I admit, I'm a sinner. I repent".
There may be some of us here, perhaps in the past you have been walking with the Lord, but somehow you have turned away. Well, it's never too late to repent. Remember the warnings: warn the righteous, that they must not live in sin. And then my challenge to all of us CCFers: you and I are watchmen. The question is: are you faithful or are you not? I pray that you and I will be faithful, faithful in living our lives in such a way that we can be effective in telling our loved ones the message of the Lord. If you're not sure of eternal life, you are not sure that your sins have been forgiven because you have never really repented, why don't you pray this prayer with me? Let's pray together.
Father God in heaven. I realize I'm not even sure that my sins have been forgiven. I don't ever recall coming before You in repentance. So today, Lord, I admit I'm a sinner. I come before You. I repent of my sins. I come before You accepting Your gift of forgiveness. I accept Your gift of eternal life, and I want to thank You that You love me. You died on the cross to pay for all of my sins. I now ask You, Lord Jesus, to give me a new heart and new desire. Help me to have the power, not just to repent, but to follow on, walking with You.
And Lord Jesus, we also thank You for your faithfulness for these past 37 years. Thank You that You have sustained us. Thank You that You have given us the privilege to be watchmen to help others come to know You. I pray that You will remind all of us to be faithful, to be strengthened by Your grace so that we will not only be faithful in giving Your message, we will be faithful in our walk, so that our talk and our walk will match. That we will be faithful watchmen, watchwomen. It is my prayer that CCF will even grow in terms of our influence for Your kingdom, for Your glory. We look forward to what You will do for the coming year. Help all of us to remind us we are watchmen. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
And Lord Jesus, we also thank You for your faithfulness for these past 37 years. Thank You that You have sustained us. Thank You that You have given us the privilege to be watchmen to help others come to know You. I pray that You will remind all of us to be faithful, to be strengthened by Your grace so that we will not only be faithful in giving Your message, we will be faithful in our walk, so that our talk and our walk will match. That we will be faithful watchmen, watchwomen. It is my prayer that CCF will even grow in terms of our influence for Your kingdom, for Your glory. We look forward to what You will do for the coming year. Help all of us to remind us we are watchmen. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.