Turn to Romans 6:4;
‘Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.’

This passage talks about us being baptised into Jesus Christ. Being baptised is to be baptised into Jesus and to be resurrected with Him. V1-2; “shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” 2; “how shall we who died in sin live no longer in it?” It continues to say that we are baptised into Jesus Christ and into His death.

We know that 9 August 2019 is the 54th birthday of Singapore. Many of us seated here are older than Singapore, though not all of us were born here. We have seen a very obvious improvement in the growth of Singapore and we often talk about how it was like in the past. The speaker has lived in Singapore for over 30 years. Let us look at the MRT - when he arrived 30 years ago, there was not a single MRT line but now we see a very developed MRT system. This is one of the very important progressions in Singapore. We want to showcase our improvement to everyone and so we have the NDP for everyone to watch. The speaker remembers attending the NDP once over 30 years ago. Today we can just watch the TV and we don’t have to squeeze with others for the NDP.

Today this sermon title is discussed to remember our birthdays. Singaporeans seem to esteem our birthdays but actually the day we’re born is not very important. We also have our spiritual birthdays - when we were baptised into Christ, we are reborn as a new man. Paul says that as we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. A person who has the newness of life should have a very lively and progress in his life. Have we changed after being baptised into Christ? Have we improved or grown?

Just like in those days when the Jews preached to the Gentiles that they have to be circumcised to be saved; circumcision is a need of cleansing oneself, it’s a requirement of God. Paul says it’s not important whether you’re circumcised, but if you’ve become a new man. Circumcision is done in the flesh, but are you truly a new man? This is something we ought to reflect, because after baptism we’re very glad that our sins are washed away. But have we truly lived out the newness of life?

We know that when we are baptised our sins are washed away, but what happens after that? Our actions have to show the newness of life. We say that we become a living being. When God created man, He created man out of dust and later when He breathed into it, it became a living being. Then, men died because Adam and Eve went against the command of God. And so when Jesus was preaching the gospel, there were some who followed Him and He called people to follow Him. Some (who were called) said they have not completed the things they want to do and want to go back to bury them. Jesus replies to let the dead bury the dead. It’s not that the words of the Lord were without compassion. These words were written for us to understand how can dead bury the dead? In the eyes of the Lord, when a man has sinned, he’s already dead spiritually. Although you’re physically living, in His eyes, you’re dead. And so for those who are not reborn, it’s like the dead burying the dead. As mentioned before, we have been buried together with the Lord Jesus and resurrected. How great of a grace is this?

Today we are living beings and we have very royal and precious status. Since we have a new life we have to think about how we want to grow in this life. Here says we should walk in newness of life because we have such an important status and we have to treasure it. When Paul was called, he said that he was a sinner. Just as Paul who was a persecutor of Christ, he said that he was the foremost of all sinners, but today what have I become? He was expressing this himself. We turn to 1 Corinthians 15:9-10;

9 ‘For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ‘

Paul said that in the past he wasn’t worthy to be called an apostle and he was a persecutor of the church of God but he says that now that he has been called, he has a very precious status. He was full of thanksgiving because all these are the grace of God. Similarly, we are able to be born again through the grace of God. How is it that we’re able to come into Christ? The Bible tells us that God chose us and not we chose Him, and so all the more we ought to know how to repay the great grace of God.

Let us look at Psalm 116:1-8;

1 ‘I love the Lord , because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord : “O Lord , I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord , and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.’

This psalmist has received a lot of grace from God. It seems that this person has come to the very end, but God has delivered him. Some say that this was written by King Hezekiah. He was the king of Judah and was amongst the good kings. We know that he was sick to the point of death. Later on, he cried to the Lord and He gave him 15 more years of life.

There was a general from Syria that wanted to conquer him (King Hezekiah). He knew that the kingdom was small and the kingdom of Syria was very big. He knew that he would be destroyed if he relied on his own power and so he prayed to God. Because he was pleasing in the eyes of God, God helped him and he was able to kill tens of thousands and he saved his kingdom and himself. We read Psalms 116:9,

‘I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living.’

v13-14;

13 ‘I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord .
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.’

v17-19;

17 ‘I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord .
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the Lord ’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord !’
Since we have received this great grace, we need to walk before the Lord in the way of living and we have to be set apart. All of our actions have to show the newness of life. We were in darkness in the past because we were under the bondage of sin.

When a person meets with great danger or when he’s in the midst of great pain and suffering, very often he would call to God. He would ask God to help him, and when he’s well, he’ll do this and that for God. This is the vow to repay God. Before we get what we want, many would make such vows.

This king would be able to experience the great grace of God, and spoke about the things he was going to do. First was to walk in the Lord. Today, have we experienced great grace? We should be consecrated from this world, and walk in the land of the living. As Jesus said, let the dead bury the dead, and so for those who are living; no longer walk in the way of the dead.

Next is to rise upon the cup of salvation. We know that Jesus drank this bitter cup to save men, and He took this bitter cup to open up this new and living way. So we must declare this.

If we’re spiritual babes (newly baptised), we may not have the strength. Our spiritual lives have to grow, and not remain in the same stage as when we were baptised, this would tell us we’ve not grown. To grow, there are different speeds, but there must be growth. For us who have believed in the Lord for a long time, we have to reflect on ourselves.

If we compare being alive to being dead - when we were dead we were without hope and everything we do will be in sin. So we who have received great grace have to walk as living men. V14;

‘I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.’

We have to take on the cup of salvation. Jesus said that in order to complete salvation, He had to drink the bitter cup. To Jesus, this was a bitter cup and it is a salvation grace and blessing to us. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, He opened the living way and we have to proclaim the gospel. For us, we have to drink our own cup and take up our own cross. This is an act of repaying.

Are we able to achieve perfection immediately after being baptised? We know that it is not possible. We have to do it step by step. In Titus 3:5;

‘not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ‘

Step by step we wash away the sins we have. This is being sanctified. Then, we need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. In order to live out a new life, we have to do it slowly. We read Colossians 3:9-10;

‘and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, ‘

“put on the new man”, we have to put off the old man and put on the new man. This man is renewed in knowledge and this includes us submitting to God. To have the newness of life, we have to be in accordance to the image of Him. It talks about a newness, gradually. A new man has the image of God. This is a step by step, like a child who gradually grows. We must feel for ourselves that we have changed, no longer like we in the past.

In our 10 basic beliefs, the 9th is that we are saved by grace through faith. This is a grace, as long as we believe. We also have to rely on the Holy Spirit to pursue holiness. We need to be like God - God is holy. We have to obey the commands of the Bible - to fear God and love men. This is our 9th basic belief. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit to pursue holiness and live out the commands of the Bible. We have to live out the commands, attend services, Bible studies, etcetera.

It’s not like what many Christians to say that as long as we raise our hands to say that we believe in Jesus, we’re saved. We must keep what the Bible tells us to do. We must not commit sin that leads unto death. This is a gradual renewal, and don’t despise upon these stages. The church has arranged for us many opportunities to grow in knowledge and spiritually, and we must seize the opportunity to learn. Through the truth and Holy Spirit given to us, we must keep hold to the word. Don’t be a Christian only in the church, and become a non-Christian when you leave the church. In Revelation, in the rebukes by Jesus to the 7 churches in Revelation 3:1;

‘“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ‘

The Lord has given us this white garments, and the people are dead because they’ve defiled the white garment. When you dirty the garment, you can wash it but some garment defiled may not be able to be washed clean. This is what we term as ‘mortal sin’, which is sin leading unto death. Those managed to keep the garments white and pure are victorious, in Revelation 3:5;

‘He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.’

What we want is when Jesus comes again, for our names to not be blotted out from this book of life.

We read 1 Peter 1:23;

‘having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ‘

We have been reborn into this new life because we have this incorruptible seed in us. This seed is the word of God which lives and abides forever. Our spiritual has been reborn but we need to gradually grow. In baptism, we have to put aside the old man and put on a new man.

Being born again is to be baptised and to be not of corruptible seed. This is the word of God which lives and abides forever. In the parable of the sower, Jesus says that He scatters the seeds which are living and those who are able to accept are able to grow in Him. To be able to germinate and also to grow and flourish, and then flower. Some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred.

Peter says that this seed has already been planted in our hearts. When we were born again, the seeds are planted in our hearts. If the ground is good, then we can see such a harvest.

We read Mark 4:20;

‘But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”’

This is the parable of the sower. In the beginning, we are able to accept the gospel and hence we are baptised. When the seeds are sown, some are able to bear fruits. Some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred. We read v28-29;

‘For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ‘
‘But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”’

Jesus says that this is something natural. Based on the laws of nature, the seeds will grow and when the grain ripens it can be harvested. This is done step by step. Our renewal happens step by step and is not immediate as well. This is what we have to pursue our entire life. What is natural is God creation and His protection. The heavens and earth are created by God - how the earth rotates, how life goes, is determined by God. Naturally, it should grow healthily and if you’re unable to grow it means you’re sick. If in the past we walk in the way of darkness and within us is evil, defile, unable to give thanks, have we changed now? If your spiritual life is unable to grow and unable to bear fruit it means your spiritual life is sick. Based on the will of God we should be able to grow naturally. Some grow faster and some slower and this is based on how much effort we grow in. Most importantly is we grow. If after believing in God for tens of years and we don’t change it means we have not grown - this is spiritual sickness. Only the spiritual doctor, Jesus, can heal us.

Though the speaker is not a farmer, he followed his father around when he was younger (though, his father was also not a farmer. He was a teacher). There was a period of time his father had to look after a plot of land for his father in law and he was a farmer for that period of time. There were many plots of land so workers were needed as well. The speaker was still studying then but during the holidays and Sundays he was asked to help his father. The speaker learnt to sow rice grains, black sesame seeds, sweet potatoes and peanuts. He did all these before and also participated in the process.

The first time the speaker went to Myanmar, he went to the place where the Chins tribe lived. There is a church there. The speaker saw the fields and the people there threw rice grains there and left it to grow. The speaker doesn’t know if they were fertilised, but the grains didn’t look very good. Like what Jesus says, naturally, they did grow, but they didn’t grow much. Some were tall and some were short and they didn’t look fully grown. While others could grow thirty folds, they could only grow five or six folds. So, we need to choose the good ground.

Then there is the seedling and there needs to be sunlight and water. The seedlings will grow to 5-6 inches. They have to uproot the seedlings and put them into small puddles. They try to align the seedlings so they can grow up nicely. Because the soils were loose, they were pushed into the puddles quickly. There was also grass that grew on the side of the seedlings and the weed had to be removed and so they kneeled alongside the trenches of the fields and removed the weeds. Then there is fertilisation. There are many different stages before the seedlings start to flourish. This is the step by step of sowing the seeds into harvesting them, and this process takes months. If you forcefully try to pull them, the seedlings are harmed. So like what Jesus says, we should not be anxious about bearing fruit. The process takes time and is step by step. Those who are newly baptised, we shouldn’t expect them to grow too quickly, but advise and help them. Our spiritual life has to be cultivated step by step by God and only then we can have a hundred fold.

If you want a good harvest, you need a good ground. Earlier on we talked about the seeds being sown in our hearts and whether or not it grows is out of the natural order of law and good ground. Whether we grow quickly or slowly is determined by the type of ground we have. Sometimes we have many things in our hearts and may not have good grounds. How shall we loosen the soil? How shall we remove the weeds, so that this can be a good ground for the seeds to grow? For our hearts to be good ground depends on how we loosen the soil. In order to loosen the soil - hard work, sweat and effort is needed for the seeds to grow. Have we put in the effort? We also need to take in spiritual food and go through tests and this is a process. The seed of life has already been planted into us and the Bible tells us that it is God who gives us life and through the true words of God and through His workers, you are nurtured to grow gradually. When shall fertiliser be put? Since we have this new life, we have to accept this with humility. We must have a teachable ear. We’ve heard many sermons and many things we ought to do has been taught to us but very often after leaving the church we forget. But it doesn’t matter, as Long as we can grow. At the very least, we gain a little, and also how we put this word into practice.

We read Galatians 6:15;

‘For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.’

here says the contention of circumcision is needed to be saved. Paul says here that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails to anything but a new creation. This may not matter much, but what’s important is if we are a new creation. Though we receive this status and name, we need to become a new creation. If we don’t behave and walk in the newness of life, we are stuck there. We need to live out as a new creation. No matter how many years we’ve been baptised, we need to ask ourselves: are we any different from before and after we’ve believed In Jesus Christ? Have our behaviours and actions changed? Ephesians says we have to walk according to the grace we’ve received and so we need to reflect on how much we’ve changed. If not, we may lose ourselves in this process of grace.

We should move forward. If we have such a mindset and reflect on ourselves, we are unable to walk to the end and we would not be able to reap folds of grains. We will reap what we sow.

Let’s look at Psalm 126:5;

‘Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.’

To sow in tears means that much effort is put in and when they reap they will be in joy. Jesus says that we are the branches and we have to be connected to Jesus Christ. We need to be trimmed in order to bear more fruit. When we are trimmed, it’s like trials and tests for us. Only when we undergo tests will we be improved and then we can have a good foundation and walk to the end. This is the exaltation the speaker wishes to share with us today.

We read Hebrews 10:37-39 as a conclusion;

37 ‘“For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.’

The author of Hebrews wrote this as an encouragement to us today, “I’m not those who draw back into rendition”, we must encourage ourselves like this. If we don’t grow, we may be excluded in the future. But if we say, “I’m not that kind of person, I’m those who believe to the saving to the souls.”

We’ve been pushing All 8, and we should also think about what our family is like. The speaker once heard this elderly couple, “when I see the other, I’m angry! If you come, I’ll avoid you!” Did they not think what it was like on the day of marriage? If we got married in the church, what were our vows? When we quarrel, we think about the past. Our spouse may not be a church member, but at the very least on your day of marriage, you’d think you wouldn’t be able to do without your spouse but why is it that now you can’t stand the sight of him/her? For those who have yet to be married, it can be your siblings. This is very important because if this doesn’t start from you, there’s no way you can live up this cup of salvation. Do we think about this? Why has this come to this stage? Why is it that after believing in Jesus you don’t have this great change for the better? We’ve heard many sermons and encouragements; it may be easy to hear but difficult to do, but we have the Lord Jesus whom we can rely on and if we have no strength, we can rely on Him. We must have this heart of humility to receive this teaching then we can live a life of value in this world, then we have confidence for the life to come.