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It's the 5th of May, and here at YCCA, we are celebrating Mother's Day early. Join us as Mrs. Jean Lynn shares from the Word and her own journey in her message entitled God's New Song.

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Good morning, Church. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, grandmothers, and spiritual mothers alike. And uh thank you, Vicar, for the privilege to share today. Let me introduce myself. I'm a mother of two, grandmother of three, and I'm Jeffrey's wife. And uh today's sharing is entitled God's New Song. Before I begin, let me open with a word of prayer. Dear God, I thank you for this privilege and joy to sing your new song. May you speak to us and draw us to you, O Lord. Empower me, help me to deliver the glad news of your steadfast love, of your faithfulness, your goodness, and your grace. We are all standing on holy ground. So Lord, this is your honor, your power, and your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Why I chose Psalms 40, verse 1 to 3. Um, I believe you are just as surprised as I was when Vika approached me to share this day. Um I wanted to give excuses and I want to look for another Jin Limb to take over. But I told Pastor, let me pray about it. And when I say let me pray about it, I did pray about it, and God took it seriously. First March from the book of Prayer for Lent, I read Psalms 40 verses 1 to 3. Um, while doing my quiet time, God brought me back to a period of time in my life in the year 2000, which is about 23 years ago. That was when I fell into a 10 days of spiritual depression. I was feeling terrible. I I just want to be in the dark room. I I don't want to talk to anybody, and I get so angry with myself, even with God, I don't know what to do. I keep praying and nothing happens. And on the 10th day, as I read my journal, my prayer of asking God to get me out of this dark hole was just like the words of Psalms 41, 2 and 3. And when I read 41, 2 and 3, I realized verse 3 says, He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. And many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. You know, when you are going through depression, it's very hard to sing. But I said, Okay, God, if you said, You were put, you were put. So I just sang and I said, New song. Okay, what is a new song? So I just sang in my own new tune, or whatever tune, maybe off-key, I don't know. But I sang verse 1, thanking God that he waited patiently for me. And I mean, I waited patiently for him and he inclined his ears to my cry. And I sang verse 2, that he drew me out of this dark hole. And I say, God, I thank you for this new song. And I just praise him for who he is, praise him for his character, his attribute, anything I can think of, I just praise him. I went through verse 1, 2, and 3, go backwards, 3, 2, and 1 for a couple of times, and I realized suddenly something supernatural happened. I was delivered from this depression. It's like as if someone just switched on the light in my room. And uh, it's not a coincidence, and the thing is that the confirmation comes, the phone rang. It was Bessie Hoon, Pastor Vincent Hoon's wife. And she said, Jean, are you going through something that I need to pray for you? Because the whole week I was burdened praying for you, but I do not know what to pray. And God only gave me one word, Elijah. So she said, Elijah went through depression. I said, Bessie, I was in 10 days' depression and I couldn't find any way out. And that was it. And I realized that wow, singing to God a new song is praising Him for who He is before you see deliverance. Um, when you are in depression, when you are struggling with a problem, it may be financial, it may be some spiritual thing, or it may be even physical or sickness or a wayward son who hasn't come home to the Lord, all this weighs us down. If we were to focus on that, we won't be able to see the goodness of God. So I just want to share this with you because when I prayed about it, I say Jinlim to speak, God, are you sure? But when I on first March when I read verse 9 and verse 10, I realized it says here, I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation. Behold, I have not restrained my lips as you know, Lord. Verse 10, I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. Wow, first much, I haven't answered Pastor yet. I was looking at the great congregation repeated twice, and I learned that when God repeats Himself, He is emphasizing and He is speaking to you. So I called Pastor, I say, Pastor, I think I cannot escape. It looks like every time when I pray, I say, God, may I glorify your name. The Lord is saying to me, You have not. You did not speak to my great congregation. You have restrained your lips, you have hidden my deliverance. When I read verse 9 and 10 again and again, I realized that I have to, I got no choice. So today you are called the great congregation. So as I was reading, I asked God, what can I share? I can't preach, I'm not a pastor, what should I do? And I realized that with this, the Lord just brought upon my heart these four um uh points that I need to share. Take God seriously, take God's grace earnestly, take it easy, take it to God in prayer. So when God says, tell them your struggles, tell them my grace, I say, okay, then it has to be the deliverance of that 10 days of spiritual depression that I went through. So today I just want to share with you, in my years of quiet time, I realized that the more that I take God seriously, the more I discover the goodness of God, his attributes, his unchanging character. It all deepens my relationship with him, and I could trust him even when I don't see my prayers answered. There are still many prayers in my heart not answered, but yet I still have to sing the new song and to praise him for who he is, not what he can give me. So, how shall we take God seriously? I say, God, how am I going to share this? Then I realized two weeks ago in the flight home from my holidays, you know, the usual they have the in-flight safety demo. I am guilty of it that I don't take it seriously. But on that day, when I listen, it says, now we request your full attention. If you are traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first and then assist the other person. Please keep your seatbelt fastened throughout the flight as we may experience turbulence. That day when I was listening, I say, God, is this what I can share? And then as I went through, I realized that God is also speaking to me. When I pray to God, God take me very seriously. But when God speaks to me, do I give him full attention? Most of the time, no. And in this journey on earth, we are not traveling alone. We have children to take care of, we have our children's children that we can speak to about God. We even have parents, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews who yet to know the Lord, or the neighbors' children. We are not traveling alone. Then I realized that God is saying you need to secure this deep relationship first before you can assist the others. Well, fastening of the seatbelt. I'm also guilty sometimes. I don't fasten my seatbelt throughout the flight. But I realize that God is saying, if you have the belt of truth, which is God's word, with you all the time, when turbulence of life come, it protects you and it will also protect your family. And the belt of truth is the first piece of the full armor of God listed in Ephesians 6, verses 10 to 17. The belt of truth is the first part of the armor listed. Without truth, we are lost, and the schemes of the devil will surely overpower us. And Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6, verse 14, stand firm, then with the belt of truth you can fight. You know, the turbulence of life is unavoidable and it comes unannounced. So to take God seriously is to pay full attention to his word, and the word of God is our primary line of defense. I also want to remind us that in John 16, 33, Jesus said, I have said those things to you that in me you may find peace. In the world you will have turbulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Now let me take you back to Psalms 40, verse 3 again. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God, and many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. For a long time I always asked God, why is it called a new song? Is it because it's a new tune? Then I realized as I walk closely with the Lord, I discover a new level of trust, a new height of faith, new insights, and how great God is that I never knew. And I begin to develop this new strength that he is sovereign. This new depth of love for him was not there before. But as we take God seriously, we trust him in his faithfulness. God is faithful, he is all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful. He is God Almighty that we have, and he is God who saves. And I just want to encourage everyone to secure our relationship with God first, then we can exist, assist others who are in our care so that many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Especially when we don't see God working, we just trust his heart. I begin to see that yeah, I'm not traveling alone. To leave a legacy of Christ to the next generation and to the next is my responsibility. So I just want to encourage mothers, grandmothers, spiritual mothers. In fact, all of us are spiritual mothers. Leaving a legacy of Christ behind is our responsibility. We receive so much. Are we going to keep it in our heart? Are we going to seal our lips? No, we have to tell it. And I also want to encourage grandmas, if God takes the trouble to mention in 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 5, Paul said he sees the sincere faith of Louis, Timothy's grandmother, and of Eunice, Timothy's mother, is living in Timothy. So I just hope that all of us do the same, grandmothers and mothers. Let that sincere faith that we have be seen in our children and our children's children. Let me leave you with the first principle. The more you discover about God, the more you love and trust Him. At some point of my time I did ask the same question: how to trust when we don't see. And I always remember, whenever I'm in need of God to help me, I go back to Hebrews chapter 4, 16. An invitation of God to all his children, the people of God. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. It's there. So and this brings me to the next point. Take God's grace earnestly. Let me share with you a live testimony of my encounter with God. What did God say about his grace? And I'm sharing this with the permission of I.T. and Webber, and I think most of us here know IT and Weber. They were our members before they migrated to Australia. One day IT gave me a banner, and she says, Jean, I have no use of this banner because I can't read the words. Maybe you bring it home, you outline the words in black marker, then you keep it. So I did that. Went home, hung on the wall, pen in the hand. I wanted to walk up to outline the words. The first step I took, I heard no. I didn't know how to recognize it was God's voice. I still went forward. The second time, no, I don't. I realized, oh, God, is that you? Then the silent voice, so gentle, so comforting, it says, only the eyes of faith will see my grace. I say, wow, what does that mean? Only the eyes of faith will see my grace. Second time. Then I realize, yeah, we don't need to see God's grace. I no need to outline and to remind me that word that God is with us. I just have to have faith to believe that. Cut the long story short, I say, IT is so precious, I give it back to you. She says, No, God spoke to you, you go and share. So I kept it. But years later, they have to migrate, and Weber will be alone because of work. So I say, IT, my parting gift to you is this banner. Please give it to Weber. Help him to hang it in his house when he's alone. Help him to remember God's grace is all sufficient. And she did that. And sometime later, Weber told me, he says, it was one night when he came home very late, the whole house was dark. He switched on that small little light that was just above the banner. He could see the golden words, it was so clear, glowing. And he says, Wow, I felt God is saying, when things are bright, uh, all things are well and good with your life. You don't see God's grace because we take God's grace for granted. We think we don't need to ask for grace. And when things are dark and bleak, hopeless and helpless, I see his grace so clearly. And just to share with you, this is something personal. I am struggling with a thorn in my flesh that cannot be fixed. So is Weber. He was my doctor when he was here. He told IT, when I see Jean every time, she encouraged me. And I told Weber, now whenever I see you, you encouraged me. So in the end, before he left, he says, Gene, I want you to have the old banner back so that you can go and testify about God's grace. It's true, indeed, it is God's grace that sustains us. Even when there is a thorn in the flesh that cannot be fixed or not to be fixed yet, I don't know, but it's God's purpose. But we still hang on to God's grace. And that gives me that next principle. Only the eyes of faith will see my grace, and that's the banner. You can't read the words, right? Because it's so bright. So I think it is a wonderful testimony that I was so encouraged by Weber himself. So I just want to share with you Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11, verse 6. And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists. God is real, and he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7. For we live by faith, not by sight. So I just hope that we all remember. If you cannot remember anything, remember his word. Only the eyes of faith will see my grace. Building our faith in the Lord is important, it's vital. But we all have struggles. We have our own struggles on our faith journey, don't we? So this brings me to the next point. Take it easy. We have our bad days, our good days, and my encouragement to all mothers, grandmothers, spiritual mothers, especially the golden girls, my age group. We are struggling with health. Take it easy. Let me tell you the story of this napping dog. One day, an old, tired-looking dog wandered into a woman's garden. She could tell from looking at her that she had a good home. She followed her inside anyway, down the hall and promptly fell asleep. Two hours later, she went to the door and she let her out. The next day she came back, resumed her position, and napped again for another two hours. And this went on and on for a week. So curious, the woman pinned a note to her collar. The note says, Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap. And then the next day the dog came back. It showed up with a note. It says, She lives at home with 10 children. Apparently, she needs some quiet time. Can I come with her tomorrow? So when I read this, I said, Wow, having a two hour nap is a luxury. And I believe mothers or grandmothers, you probably can relate to me. To find rest is a blessing. Well, I just want to encourage you. Well, we are not super mums. We are not superwoman. We are not required to be super mums. Just be a good mom who loves the Lord. Be a good mom who prays unceasingly for her children, her family, and be a good mom who is faithful to the Lord and her family. Psalms 91 verse 1 to 2 was composed by Moses on the day he completed the building of the tabernacle in the desert. And Moses' own experience is written here as he entered into God's presence. 91 verse 1 and 2. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. I just want to look at the words dwell. Make your home the shelter of the Most High, a dwelling place where the presence of God can be found. Find rest in God's presence. You may not have two hours, but just a one-minute rest in the Lord will strengthen you. Rest in our mind, rest in our soul, rest in our spirit and our heart. We are oblivious to the unseen spiritual forces that is at work in our lives, in our homes. Therefore, we need to be found in God's presence. In God's presence we will find protection, protection from the enemy who comes to rob, to steal, to destroy. We will find refuge from the storms of life. We will find God's provision. Not tangible provision, but God's love and joy and peace and hope is his provision. To find peace, peace in the midst of turmoil. Peace is not the absence of turmoil, you know. Peace is knowing that God is with you through your turmoil. And Psalms 91, verse 4. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Why compare God to a big bird? Mother birds are known for their faithful protection they give their young, especially covering them beneath their wings, and also to keep them sheltered from the storm. Let's look at God's faithfulness as our protection and our security, our covering, our shelter. Worship Him for His faithfulness. And let me encourage all busy moms. A lot of busy moms are working today. Finding God in our own seasons. How to find God in our own seasons. It's difficult to find time, even time for just a short rest. I want to encourage every one of us. Worshiping God anytime, anywhere, praising God in all seasons and circumstances, trusting God even when you don't see Him. Example, like when you're doing your dishes or when you're doing your laundry. That's my habit. Whenever I do laundry, I look up to the sky and I just worship God for who he is. Beautiful day. Even when it's a rainy day, I still thank God for the rain. And these are the moments that when you worship the Lord out from your heart, not because what he gave you, but out of love for God. It just melts the Father's heart. And I want to encourage those who say, I have no time. Just one small step at a time. Small steps is better than not at all. And I love gardening. I just found this this morning that different trees bear different fruits in different seasons. Young trees take a longer time to bear fruits. Old trees have bigger fruits and they give a bigger harvest. Whatever, wherever you are in the seasons of your life, just be like Psalms 1, verse 1 to 3. It says, Be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. So take it easy on yourself, mothers. Let's find rest in the Lord. And also take it easy on others. And uh I want to encourage fathers as well, although it's Mother's Day. Mothers and fathers included, it is a challenging thing to raise a family. I need to share with you the testimony of my son when he was a teenager. I had many challenges with him. We don't seem to agree. And one day when I was so angry with him for coming home with his uniform shirt full of mud, socks turned brown, shoe kicked with mud. And I was so angry and I I think I wasn't nice when when um I scolded him for that. As I scrubbed and scrubbed his shoes and socks off the mud, the Lord said to me, Be happy he can run. And that taught me never focus on the minor, focus on what is major. Thank God you have healthy children. Thank God you have a son. So what is just socks and shoes? Just wash. And that was a wonderful uh lesson for me when I heard the Lord say, be happy for what you have. Don't focus on what you don't have. And another incident was I was in the car with Jeff. I was so angry with him. I think I was scolding him and he was having a yearful. Then in front of the car was a patrol, what do you call it? A truck that is delivering patrol to the patrol station. It has a big sign that says danger, highly flammable. Then as the red flag stopped flying at the traffic light, it covered the letter D. And you know what? The Lord made me read. Anger, highly flammable, stop. It's destructive. Then I begin to shut my mouth and say, Wow, if I carry on nagging, nagging and scolding him, he's driving, you know. Then I realized not only in the car, whenever there is anger, I learned the lesson. Don't react in anger, respond in love. When you respond in love, it's easier to handle the situation. The muddy shoes and the highly flammable have taught me one minute of anger destroys 60 seconds of your joy. And that gives me the next principle. Anger swallows no pain. Love digests them all. And this anger swallows no pain is not my words. It was one night when I was so angry, I dreamt of a neon-like uh signboard, and the red lights repeat itself. Anger swallows no pain. Anger swallows no pain. Anger swallows no pain. When I woke up, I say, Oh God, is that you? For months or years, I don't know. I still cannot figure out what is God saying. Anger swallows no pain. Then I realized as I read the word, as I uh become more serious with God, and I did my Bible study, it's all about love. Love digests them all. And I want to remind ourselves, 1 Corinthians 13, verse 4 and 5. There are more words, I just pick up this few. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not rude. You know, when I'm angry, I was quite rude to Jeff. Sorry, yeah, Jeff. Not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. You know, I don't know about you. I always keep records of wrong. And I keep reminding him and talking to him. And sometimes I was the one that made myself angry because I remember all the wrongs. So I'm reminded again. It keeps no record of wrongs. The true love of God. You find it difficult to love the unlovable? Ask God to give you his love. Love others with God's love. And that takes me to the next point. Take it to God in prayer. We need God's grace to help us in time of need. We take it all to God in prayer. There are many wonderful scriptures in the Bible that I journal them to remind myself to turn it into a prayer. And uh, I just pick a few here. Philippians 4, excuse me, Philippians 4, verse 13. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. You know, this little bird is called a bearded riddling, it balances on two reeds just to wait for the moment to pick a snack. And I realize that sometimes we are told to do this. Although some of us wear more than one hat, some have to balance multiple roles. We don't have to be super moms. Just be a good mom who loves the Lord and our family, and all one who always prays unceasingly. Whatever difficulties you're going through, whatever struggles you are going through, take it to God in prayer. You can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Another one is also like as if I encompass, uh encompassed beginning to the end of my life. I like to always pray Psalms 32, verse 8. The Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway of your life. I will advise you and watch over you with my very own eyes. And that will be the prayer. And I want to give thanks to the Lord that when I ask God, when I uh think about the principle for this, is give all that he asks, take all that he gives. When you do that, it's a divine exchange. God never shortchanged others, he always outgives himself. So when I ask the Lord, what do you want to say to your people? the Lord says, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Isaiah 43, verse 2.

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We pray that you've been ministered to by the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about Eastern Christian Church, please visit our website at ycccanglican.com. Have a blessed day.