We are all humans and we have very real needs. Jesus knows what we need.

It may not be us, but some people of the world live from mouth to mouth and they have to worry about their lives; where their next meal comes from, what to eat and wear.

We have needs and our Heavenly Father knows this very well. As Christians, we ought to understand the real needs of the people around us. But still, we need to understand what are the most important things in lives.

The Sabbath day is for us to realign ourselves to why God created us for; why do we live and work to keep ourselves alive?

Individually we have our own needs. The church has its own needs. The church also needs to fulfil its material needs; if the church doesn’t have money, there’ll be no lunch later, there’ll be no place to worship God in.

The Lord Jesus wants us to free ourselves from worries and wait unto God. The TJC is a very tiny church amongst the many churches in the world. In a tiny island in Singapore, we have a great population (or, great density). But our numbers are few in the church. In Sabah, the ratio of TJC believers to the population of the place is probably the largest in the world. But when we talk about the world as a whole, we’ll understand why Jesus names His disciples as a little flock; and we’re His little flock.

Jesus says, “Do not fear, little flock.” Why did He say to not fear? We’ll say, “It’s because we have God with us,” but let us see what Jesus says after that. We read Luke 12:30-32;

30 ‘For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ‘

“The Lord is pleased to give you His kingdom.”

We may not immediately be able to absorb this; what is this kingdom and what does it mean to give to us?

Earlier on Jesus says to not be afraid of what to wear or eat. He asked His disciples to look at the lilies of the field and the birds of the air; His conclusion is what we just read. These are the worries the gentiles worry after. They’re afraid they’ll lose out on these things. If our Father knows that we need these things, He’ll fulfil our needs and He wants us to focus on the real purpose of life. Jesus says to seek the kingdom of God.

Our focus in this life is to seek the kingdom of God; but do we know what it means? What does it mean to have the kingdom of God given to us? We need to understand these. Then, we’ll have to strength to do what the Lord says to not worry about what to eat or wear. Then, we’ll be able to align ourselves to the purpose God has for us.

Jesus says, “Do not fear, just because you are small. Do not compare yourselves with the other nations.”

Israel came with a small nation. God chose Abraham and his family grew to about 70 people. During the time of Jacob, the family came to Egypt and they grew. Then God took them out of Egypt. When they came out of Egypt, they became a nation where God is king. When they went into Canaan, they remembered God.

Every year they offered first fruits and before the priest they say, “My father was a Syrian, weak and ready to die. Then they went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed us, but God allowed to grow into a nation, large and populous and brought us into this land, in which we dwell, flowing of milk honey.”

God took care of them physically.

Later on they vanished from their own lands. Ten tribes were taken away by the Assyrian empire. They were reduced in size again and became a very small kingdom of Judah. Yet, they did not continue to receive blessings from God. They became worse and worse. God says, “You didn’t learn from your sisters (the ten tribes), you’re worse than them!”

God allowed them to lose their kingdom and homelands. They were ruled by the Babylonians, Persians, the Greek empire and by the time when Jesus came, the Romans.

Jesus told His disciples, “Little flock, do not fear.”

Jesus also said at least once before, “There are other sheep I have that I’ll breed into this fold.” Meaning, although the people of God are small and under foreign rule; God will make them expand. God have other sheep outside Israel, and they’ll come in. Israel is the core.

The people of God didn’t continue in God’s blessings but because they didn’t love God.

God said, “I didn’t love you because you’re great. I love you even though you’re small and stubborn. I want to make you populous.” God wanted them to see their own stubbornness. God wanted to bless them but they couldn’t continue to live in His blessings because they were stubborn. Instead of trusting that God will continue to make the land futile flowing with milk and honey, to focus their attention of worshipping God and being the light of the nation, they did everything the opposite so that the name of God became tarnished in the nations.

To seek the kingdom of God is to make God our king and to understand His will. No matter the smallest physical need, it’s okay to pray to God to fulfil our needs, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This is how the Lord taught the disciples to pray.

Sometimes we ourselves or the people around us may be falsely spiritual, “Don’t need to pray for physical things!”

Jesus didn’t say to not pray for your daily bread, He just says to not worry, “Do not make your life a life of seeking such things.”

These are the things the nations see, but your Father knows you need these things. We commit our daily cares to the Lord and put the top of our mind the kingdom of God.

Jesus teaches us the Lord’s Prayer and to not fear, “Although you’re small and have many nations among you, and many are larger and more powerful, God wants to give them to you. You will rule over them.” This is what Jesus meant.

Although we’re gentiles, the word “gentiles” mean “nations”. Nations will join in to join God’s kingdom. We’re so blessed with peace and the freedom of worry. We thank God for this.

We read Deuteronomy 7:7;

‘The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ‘

Only by choosing a smaller nation will we see the glory of God; it is seen when a small nation becomes a big and strong nation. They’ll rule over nations because the king of Israel will rule over them. Today Jesus sits on the throne of David and will rule over the nations. We’re part of the nations. Now we’re at the tail end of the fulfilment of God’s prophecy.

2000 years ago the apostolic church halted this project of preaching. Very soon after the apostles died, they were swept by gentile and pagan currents and the church became corrupted with paganism. We all know this story very well, but where do we fit in? Where are we in God’s programme?

Slightly 100 years ago, God built the TJC. Our reality reflects what Jesus says to not fear as little flock. Luke 12:31;

‘But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.’

When we seek the kingdom of God, it means we seek to obey God and our lives will be a beacon of light to attract the nations. When people come in, the people of God grows and the glory of the king is in the number of the subjects. We should seek the glory of God above our own needs because it’s already promised that He’ll fulfil our needs. If He doesn’t fulfil our needs, how do we preach the gospel? We need to trust to let God fulfil our needs and we focus our attention for the glory of God.

What is the meaning of God fulfilling our needs? Many want God to fulfil our wants and not needs. Then, we always say we have not enough. Especially in Singapore, we know it’s not that we don’t have enough. When we talk about our needs, they’re fulfilled but our wants are limitless. Jesus knows this, so He says, “The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking but peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

What satisfies us will lie in the matter of switching our mentalities. To be satisfied in the things of God. To have joy when we see God fulfilling us spiritually. To have joy when God gives us the ability to preach. Parents will have the joy in seeing their children grow in the Lord rather than good grades in school. Then, we’ll be groomed to understand that the church is the core of our lives and the Sabbath day is for us to put aside our earthly programmes; your tennis, piano and ballet lessons, you put somewhere else. Don’t schedule them on the Sabbath day when your children will rush into the lesson panting. Or when the teacher speaks 10 minutes beyond the lesson time and your child panics. These are experience form RE Teachers.

If so, Sabbath day is not a relaxing day for your child. The church spends a lot of effort into making the Sabbath day spiritually joyful.

When parents focus on the children’s spirituality and when youths focus on their time for God, they do well in school. Some may wonder if it’s really true.

If it’s not true, then Luke 12:31 should be taken away from the Bible. If you don’t agree, feel free to take a correction tape and take it away from the Bible.

“Seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.” The speaker believes it with all his heart because it’s what Jesus says and it’s what he sees being fulfilled HERE, in TJC Singapore.

Look towards the spiritual fulfilment and not the physical fulfilment.

Sometimes God lets us suffer hunger. Not because He doesn’t know what we need, but because He knows our REAL NEEDS. He knows we need those things more than our rice and bread. Look at the history of Israel or modern Jews, why do they suffer so much? God wants them to understand that they’ve a greater need they neglected.

We fast twice a year before the SM and baptism. The speaker sees less and less fasting these days; they just cannot bear the thought of hunger. But hunger itself fulfils a need; it’s better for us to have faith when we have lack than to boast when we have abundance.

If we have a need and that brings out our faith, that’s what God wants to see. God said it directly to them to the people of Israel, “God made you hungry, God made you lack and then gave you manna. This is something nobody has seen before,” in order to fulfil a greater need.

We read 2 Kings 20:12-18;

12 ‘At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
13 And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”
15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord :
17‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord .
18 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”’

Here, God healed King Hezekiah of his illness and gave him another 15 years to live. V12-18 talks about the time he boasted to the Babylonians.

God asked, “What did you show them?” King Hezekiah replied, “Everything.”

Do not fear our little strength or numbers but trust in God to fulfil our needs and realign our expectations to realise that the greater needs God wants to fulfil is for our souls and not our stomach.

Not fearing is a manifestation of our faith. The Heavenly Father’s good pleasure is the basis of our faith.

Why we have faith is because we know the Heavenly Father is willing to give us the kingdom and give us the most important.

We read back Deuteronomy 7:8;

‘but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.’

13;

‘And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. ‘

These are physical and material blessings. God blessed Israel materially and made them a great nation on earth to show us that His real purpose is to set up a spiritual kingdom and to have Israel in a prime position because their ultimate king, Jesus Christ, will be king over all nations.

It’s the same today; we must realise whatever it is, God will bless the TJC. We’ll be back to even preach to the physical Jews this time. One of the clear signs we’re the true church is that one day, the JEWS will be back and baptised into the TRUE JESUS CHURCH.

Romans 11 tells us that when God says something, it won’t be revoked. If we believe we’re the true church, there won’t be another revival.

It’s not, “The apostolic church failed and TJC was raised to do the work. If TJC fails, there’ll be another church again.”

It wasn’t a failure but God’s programme. The work of the apostolic church was foundation-laying. They have not failed because they preached the gospel of God amidst prosecution. In God’s programme and His own time, TJC was raised to build on the foundation that was already there. We don’t build a foundation, that’s why we don’t add to the Bible or have another sacrament. Our work is to complete the building of God’s house. It’s a glorious work, just as building the foundation was a glorious work.

The Jews built a foundation. We, the gentiles, will bring a great glory to build the building of God. Just as God was pleased to give the kingdom to the Jews, God is pleased to give us the kingdom. There’s no difference now. In God’s eyes, it’s all the same; we’re all Abraham’s descendants. We are the children of Abraham and we’ll inherit the world.

Do we have the faith that is large enough to embrace the world? We see this in history; so many are so confident in themselves to conquer the world. They fight wars, have ideologies, make people fight for them; this was how empires grew. Some ruling were by peaceful means and that’s why Singapore was under British rules. The British empire was very ambitious. The Japanese as well. The speaker can name many others, but God has never said to them that He’s pleased to give them the kingdom. God is pleased to give the kingdom to US, because the king is our Messiah.

Why are we here? What are we living for? This is the glory of God and the ambition God wants us to have. Can we have more ambition than Great Britain, or the heavenly emperor of Japan, or, Trump? We have Great Britain, “Make America great again.” But let this little flock be great, because great is the power and glory of God.

In Deuteronomy 7:14-24;

14 ‘You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock.
15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.
16 Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’—
18 you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:
19 the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
20 Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.
21 You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.
22 And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed.
24 And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. ‘

God told them them none of their animals would be infertile. They’ll fight battles and others will be subject to them. “Kings will be your subjects”.

Why were there wise men from the East to visit Jesus? That was to fulfil the prophecy in Isaiah that kings would come to worship. They were sent by their kings because they knew a king was born in Israel. They knew they should pay homage to this new born king so they sent these men with gifts. God led them to the child Jesus.

What God has done in history is a sign but God is going to fulfil these great works to usAre we willing to allow God to work with us? We need to pay a price, we need to spend time.

In Matthew 5:3;

‘“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

We need to humble ourselves and take on a lot of difficulties. We need to be patient and wait for God’s time. Some of us may find this exciting but it takes a lot of patience to join in God’s kingdom.

V10;

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

God will give us the kingdom through many trials and tribulations. This is the price to pay. It may not come soon because it depends on how we trust God and how we work. In God’s own time, our patience will then result.

Deuteronomy 7:22;

And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

Preaching the gospel is not an easy task. To conquer the nations is not an easy task. But it’s worth it.

Jesus says, “Do not fear” is the manifestation of our faith.

“God is willing” is the basis of our faith

“God will give us the kingdom” this is the kingdom of our faith, do not lose this faith. In Luke 12:33-34;

33 ‘Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

Those seated here today are not a poor group of people who have to worry about our next meal. About 90% have extra to give. Jesus says to focus on what’s important. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world, I’m a servant of Christ.”

We don’t fight with the physical world, we fight mental and spiritual warfares. Very often, we’re our greatest enemy. We have to see what we have to sell or give up, what are the things we’ve misaligned. With our hearts in the right place, we’ll have God as our authority and we’ll inherit the kingdom of God because Paul said to the Corinthians, “Flesh and bones cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. If we pay too much attention to our flesh and bones, we’ll be fat. If we put our hearts to Christ, we’ll inherit the kingdom of God.