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This is session four of four of Living as God's Community. Recorded at our YCCA Church Camp held in Penang, Malaysia. Our speaker is Pastor Benny Ho, former senior pastor and current leadership mentor of Faith Community Church in Perth, Australia.

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Go with me now to Leviticus chapter 6. I want to sort of bring the whole series to a close by taking us beyond the camp. After tomorrow, when we all go back to Singapore, and then the day after we all go back to work, we go back to the from the mountain, we go back to the valley, we get back to the real world, because that's where our discipleship is being lived out. How many of you agree it's easy to be on top of the mountain, have a great time, you know, and encouraging one another? It's on Monday when you get back to your office, you get back to your workplace, that is when your blood pressure begins to go up and all your horns begin to grow out, you know. So it's it's really that's where the rubber meets the road. And how do we ensure that we can keep the fire burning inside of our hearts? I think that's what I would like to leave you with this evening. So if you can go with me now to Leviticus chapter 6, I want to read for you verses 10 to 13, which is actually describing the rituals of the burnt offering in the Old Testament. So go with me now. Uh Leviticus 6, verse 10. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar, and place them beside the altar. Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. The fire on the altar must be kept burning and it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously and it must not go out. Double emphasis again here he repeats the fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously and it must not go out. Lord, I pray this evening that you open our eyes to behold wonderful things from your scripture. Allow your scripture to become a source of inspiration and instruction to all of us. I pray that your word will become a word in season that will renovate our hearts and our minds so that God we can become more and more aligned to who you want us to be and what you want us to do. And Lord, we just want to commit this time as we invite you once again to take us on this journey towards spiritual maturity. So we commit this time to you now in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. In this passage that is describing the rituals of the burnt offering, there were three key phrases that kind of jumped out for me. One was this phrase, put on his linen clothes. Now, the purpose of putting on the linen clothes really is to reduce perspiration, literally to reduce perspiration. Now we all know there are two types of materials that are very breathable, and we all love wearing it. One is cotton, the other is linen, right? That's why these two materials they are cool to the touch and it's meant to reduce perspiration. And this really speaks to me of us not doing things in our own human effort, using our own sweat and tears, but to be dependent on the Holy Spirit. Are you with me? Put on your linen garment. All the priests are supposed to do that. They do not depend on their own human abilities, they depend on the Holy Spirit. The second phrase that kind of jumped out at me is this phrase: take out the ashes. That's the second thing the priests need to do. Take out the ashes. Now, the question to ask is this where do these ashes come from in the first place? Where does these ashes come from in the first place? Yeah, right. They come from what was once much needed firewood, but now they are no longer useful. They have been burned and become ashes. In fact, these ashes need to be removed in order to keep the fire burning. And this really speaks to me of the need to review at the start of every new season because what may be helpful, what may be useful in the past, may now need to be removed. Are you hearing me? What used to be very useful, firewood, that which is needed to keep the fire burning, now they are ashes and they may need to be removed. What was relevant and effective in generations past may be obsolete today. And that includes what we do in church. There are many things we do in the past that is very useful, very effective, but today it may be obsolete. Our message will always remain the same because the gospel never changes. But our methodologies must change with the times, and we must be prepared to do that. We don't just exegete the Bible, we also need to exeget culture so that we understand what is relevant and what is able to reach the generations today. See, and that's what this really speaks to me about. Take out the ashes. The final phrase that really hit me, and which is what I'd like to focus on tonight, is this phrase add firewood every morning. The priest must add firewood every morning. The fire must be kept burning, and it can only be done if we add new firewood every morning. And this really speaks of the need to keep fanning the flame of God's presence in our lives and in our ministry. Because the truth is this you cannot depend on yesterday's anointing. But we need new firewood, we need fresh oil. And this is what I like to focus on this evening. Now, allow me to use this picture as a metaphor. Now we ask ourselves, what are the different pieces of firewood that we need to add to keep adding in order to keep the fires of revival burning in our hearts, even after this camp is over? In a time like this, we all get excited, we all get charged up, but how do we ensure that going back after Monday, after tomorrow, you will still continue to keep the fires of your altars of your heart burning? What are some firewood you need to add there every day so that the fire can keep burning? I want to outline for you now four pieces of firewood that every one of us here, myself included, need to add to the altars of our heart in order to keep the fire burning. Here are the four pieces of firewood. Can I leave them with you? I hope you take it home with you, okay? Number one is the discipline of persevering prayer. It's the discipline of faith-filled prayer. The great revivalist Lennon Ravenhill once said this: a man is no better than his prayer life. A man is no better than his prayer life. The greatest thing that anyone can do for God and for man is to pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the main thing. The great peoples of the earth today are the people who pray. And I'm not talking about those who believe in prayer or those who talk about prayer or those who teach on prayer, like me. I'm talking about those who actually take time to pray. These are the greatest people on the face of the earth today. Why do I say that? It's because prayer is power. Right? The time of prayer is a time of power. The place of prayer is a place of power. The people of prayer is a people of power. You read the scriptures and you know this throughout through prayer, the mouths of lions have been closed. All sorts of diseases have been healed, wars have ceased, demons have been expelled, chains of bondages have fallen off, isn't it? Laws of nature itself have changed. And that is why the devil will do anything and everything to stop us from praying. Because when we pray, he trembles. When we get on our knees, he flees. Now we all know we need to pray. But the big question is this how can we persist in prayer? Every one of us can pray now and then, but how do we actually maintain that consistent prayer life? And one of the things that gave me a breakthrough was this, you know, that I begin to learn that prayer is not about wearing God out with our persistent asking. Are you with me? Yeah? It's not about wearing God out with our persistent asking, it's not about twisting God's arm. It's not about us paying the cost so that we can get the price. Sometimes we think if I pray hard enough, then I can get what I want. If that is the case, then prayer has become transactional. Prayer was never meant to be transactional, it's meant to be relational. See? So I think the key is this, and this was what gave me a breakthrough when it comes to this area of prayer. It is not about how we pray, it is about who we are praying to. That's more important. It's not how we pray or how much we pray, it's about who you are praying to. If you know who you are praying to, then it will inform you of how to pray and inform you of how much to pray. See? And the key is this who are we praying to? The moment you know who our God is, you will want to pray. Now, the let me let me tell you why I come to this conclusion. Jesus actually told two parables on prayer in the gospel of Luke. And we are all very familiar with these two parables, but let me outline them for you. One is found in Luke chapter 18, where there's a parable told about a persistent widow. Remember that? She was apparently she went through some injustice, and so she came to a judge, but this judge was an unjust judge. And he came knocking at the door of the judge and he said, Give me justice, give me justice. And then, even though this judge didn't care, actually, he was a very uncaring judge, but he finally still got up and grant her justice based on what? Based on her asking, her persistent asking. But that's what we all read. But here's my point: listen carefully to this. That was not the main point of the parable. The focus on the parable of the of this parable was not on the fact that she was very persistent in asking. That's not the point. And you notice that why I say that is because you notice that Luke chapter 18 is actually a parable of contrast. It's a parable of contrast. See, and what Jesus was doing in Luke chapter 18, he was helping you and I to see the contrast between this unjust judge and God, who is our righteous judge. That's why you read in Luke chapter 18, verse 4 and 5, a description about this judge. Listen to what he says here. For some time he refused. That means the widow was knocking, knocking. He refused to get up. But finally he said to himself, even though I don't fear God or care about what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won't eventually come and attack me. Okay, so you tell me what was his focus? His focus was not on justice. He was focused was not on the widow. He was not focused on the injustice. He was actually focused on self-preservation. He said, I better give her what she wants, or those she'll come, or else she'll come and wild up me, you know. So I better give her what she wants. It was all about self-preservation. He didn't care at all. But in total contrast, our righteous judge, which is God, actually go on to say in Luke chapter 18, verse 6 to 8. Now listen to this. Here's the contrast. And the Lord says, listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? Rhetorical question. Of course not. In fact, he says, I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. Can you see the contrast? That God will make sure that we get what we ask for quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? That is the question. But what a contrast. Are you seeing what I'm seeing? It's a contrast between the unjust judge and God, who is our righteous judge. And the point he's making is this if an unjust judge can be made to respond to a cry for justice, even though he couldn't care less, how much more will our righteous judge respond quickly to our cry for justice? Are you seeing this? That's what he's trying to teach us. But the key is this if only we can have faith in this God who cares for us. See, when will he find faith on this earth? The issue is not persistence, the issue is faith. Okay, but that doesn't mean you should not persist in prayer. Okay, but my point is this parable is not talking about persistence. It's helping us to see who our God is. Who are we praying to? And if you know that you are coming to a righteous judge and not an unrighteous one, then why don't we come? Why don't we pray? We are coming to a God who can't wait to hear your cry, who can't wait to respond to you. That's the God we are praying to. And just to make it make just to seal this point, okay, Jesus told a similar parable. We're also very familiar with this parable. This time it's found in Luke 11. In Luke chapter 11, it's about now it's about a friend who went to his neighbor to ask for some bread because an unexpected visitor has come to the house. Now you need to understand that in Middle Eastern culture, if you have a visitor who dropped by unexpectedly and then you discover that your pantry is empty, it is actually very shameful because it's very bad not to be able to extend hospitality to feed anyone who comes into your house. So that situation that Jesus described is actually a mini crisis. And in desperation, what this friend did was he went to his neighbor's house, and even though it's midnight and he knocked on the door begging for bread. The neighbor did not want to respond. Why? Because he's already in bed, he's already in his PJs and he wants to get up. But in the end, this guy keeps asking. He finally got up, gave his friend what he needed. Why? On what basis? It was Luke 11, chapter 8, verse 8. Luke chapter 11, verse 8. Listen to the New King James translation. It reads like this. This is the reason why he got up. He says, I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as much or as many as he needs. The New King James translation translated the Greek word anadea, which is where this word is in the Greek, to the word persistence. The King James Version used an even older word that we don't even know. Importunity. He used the word importunity. We don't even use that word. NIV, which uh this is the version I preach from, uh, is I call it the nearly infallible version. Uh no, like new international version. Okay, in the new international version, they actually use the word bonus, they translated the word anadia into the word bonus, and then later in their reversion, when their revision, when they revised the NIV, they changed it to this phrase, shameless audacity. Oh, I like this, man. This is a good good phrase because of its shameless audacity. That means you are so audacious, your faith is so audacious, and you are shameless. And you dare to ask, okay? And uh, so the NIV now reads like this Luke chapter 11, verse 8. Uh, shall we read this one out loud together? I love this, okay? Let's read this. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. And I think in the in the context of Luke 11, this is closer to the truth. Okay, again, this is a parable of contrast. You read it carefully, it's a parable of contrast. Jesus now is contrasting this unwilling neighbor against our loving heavenly father. And the point he's making is this if an unwilling neighbor can be persuaded to respond based on shameless audacity to ask and keep asking, how much more will our loving Heavenly Father respond to us when we ask, when we seek, when we knock? That is why Jesus ended the parable with this principle. This was a lesson he was teaching. Luke 11, verse 13. He says, If you then, talking about us, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to his children. We all love to do that, right? We give good gifts to our children. How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit, give good things to those who ask him? That's the whole point. This is the God that we are praying to, brothers and sisters. I don't know if you are excited about this, but this is such an important point about prayer. It is this is the God we are praying to. We are coming to the God of the how much more? We are not coming to a reluctant neighbor. We are not coming to an unjust judge. We are coming to one who can't wait to respond to us. We're coming to a God who can't wait to give you good gifts. With a God like that, why don't we pray? With a God like that, why do we want to struggle in our own strength? Why do we want to sort out our own problem? Why do you want to do your own thing? Why don't you come to a God like this? Are you with me? This is a really good place to shout amen, man. You know, this is this is the God we are coming to. The God of the how much more. We are coming to the God of the more than willing. And that is why we can come boldly to his throne of grace with shameless audacity and ask in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. This is the God we are talking about. God wants to move in YCCA. The Holy Spirit is working on your behalf. You have been given delegated authority, brothers and sisters. Every one of us have been given delegated authority to pray on behalf of our family, our church, our community, our city, the nations of the earth. Do you realize that as parents, you can bind the works of the devil in your home? You don't have to let the devil run our family around all over the place. We take back what the devil has stolen. As workers, employers, employees, you assert the authority of God in your workplaces. As citizens, residents of Singapore, we will the authority of God in our city. The center of power is not found in parliament. The center of power is found in the church. We have ability to enforce God's will on earth as it is in heaven. And we must take up our authority and do that. And through the power of the Holy Spirit resident within us, we enforce the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. How do you do that? Faith-filled prayer. It's not just persistently asking the same thing, it is having faith in the God that we are praying to. Because if you don't have faith in this God that you are praying to, why bother to pray? The only reason why we pray is because God, we believe God can make a difference. Okay, and we must be ready to cry out to this God of the how much more. Every day, add this piece of firewood to the altars of your heart. Amen. That's the first piece of firewood. Please take it home. It's the discipline of faithful prayer, persevering prayer. Can I give you the second piece of firewood? Take this piece home also. It's the hunger for God's word. It's the hunger for the word of God. The wings of revival can sweep masses of people. Back to the church. But I tell you, only the word of God can sustain a revival. This has been proven to be true in all historical revivals. And one of the most powerful revivals in recent history, I think, would be the Wales revival under Evan Roberts. And most of us have read about that. Evan Roberts ushered in a massive revival in the country of Wales in the 1900s. And the revival actually started very powerfully, but there was also a great number that fell away after the peak of the revival in 1904. Why? I'll tell you why, because the centrality of preaching the word began to give way to unusual events, supernatural manifestations like angelic sightings, dreams and visions, etc. But please don't get me wrong. YCCA, don't get me wrong. I think we need more of the supernatural in our churches. In fact, I cannot see how Singapore is going to turn God's word without an invasion of the supernatural into our churches, into our nation. So I'm all for the supernatural. In fact, I think we need more of it. But my point is this if the word of God is neglected, the winds of revival will begin to die down. Today, you return to Wales, I tell you, the church is only a shadow of what it was during the revival. And that is why my good friend from Cornerstone, Pastor Yang Tat Yun, uh, bought over the Bible College of Wales just so that he could redig the wells of revival. Every year I go to teach there now. Every um autumn I'll go and teach there, and I can tell you he is redigging the wells of revival in Wales. But on the contrary, you find that the revivals under Whitfield, under Wesley, under Spurgeon, they continue much longer. In fact, the churches they planted are still here today. Right? Under Whitfield and Wesley, right? The Methodist Church is still going on. They continue much longer. I'll tell you why, because biblical preaching was at the center of the revivals. And what we need, therefore, brothers and sisters, is a mighty restoration of the word of God in every single church in our nation. Someone put it this way: there is only one great issue that is to get the truths of the Bible into the hearts of the people. Because if we do not saturate our homes and nations with God's word, our TV, our movies, our mass media, our TikTok, we'll saturate them with the philosophies of this world. You better thank God that you got a pastor who wants to exposit the word of God. Teach the word of God line upon line, precept upon precept, because it is in biblical literacy that we will begin to see revival happen. We got to get back to the restoration of God's word. The late uh founder of YWAM, Lauren Cunningham, he actually wrote a very powerful book just before he died. If I can recommend you to read this book, read it. It's a book entitled The Book That Transformed Nations. The Book That Transformed Nations. And in his book, every chapter, he talked about different nations that are impacted and transformed by God's, the power of God's word, including Japan, you know, Malaysia. We were looking at different cities and countries that were impacted by the word of God. One chapter really captured my imagination. It's a chapter that they talk about the city of Geneva. How many of you have been to Geneva before? How many have been visited Geneva? Some of you have? Okay. Only one. You all prefer JB. Okay. Geneva, beautiful city, okay? One such city, very famous city. And what is the city of Geneva famous for? Do you know?

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Rolex.

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Ah it's it's actually famous for a few things, like the Geneva Convention. It's always held there, right? It's the international headquarters of the Red Cross. It is the home of quality Swiss watches like Rolex and Patek Philippe. They all come from Geneva. And they actually make Geneva famous. But do you know, according to the history of Geneva, it was not like that in the past. In the past, do you know what Geneva was famous for? It was famous as the smelliest city in Europe. Smelliest city in Europe because there is a river that flows through the heart of the city. And during that time, all the down and outs, the criminals, the homeless, they all gather along the banks of the river and they do everything there. And because of that, the stench, you know, was carried by the city, by the river through the entire city. And the whole city smells. It's known as the smelliest city in Europe. Until one man came. And his name was John Calvin. John Calvin, the founder of systematic theology, he ministered in the city of Geneva. And when he was in Geneva, his primary ministry was teaching the Word of God. He taught the people line upon line, precept upon precept. And he taught them things like what the Bible had to say about work ethics, about diligence, about integrity, about discipline. He taught them these things line upon line. He taught them that God hated usury, where people loan money at high interest, make the rich richer, and make the poor poorer. And he said, God hates that. And do you know because of that? As a result, for 20 years, Geneva kept their bank interest rates at 4%. 4% is a very good interest rate to keep because it is high enough so that people who deposit money can get a reasonable return. Then it's low enough so that business people can borrow money and still make money out of it. And as a result, the economy began to turn. And then the city began to evolve until it became what it is today. But very few people understand that it all started because of the transforming power of the word of God. It was the faithful teaching of the word of God that really changed the hearts and minds of the people. This is the transformative power of the word of the living God. Hallelujah. Church, I don't know about you, we should be proud to be people of the book. We should be proud that we are followers of this wonderful transformative book, and we should restore honor back to the word of God. We take the word of God, we take this word of life, admit it to be the truth, commit it to our hearts, submit ourselves to it, and then we transmit it to the world. Hallelujah. And that will be the start, the beginning of an old-time Holy Ghost revival. We need, number one, the discipline of persevering prayer. Put that firewood in. Secondly, we need a love, a real respect, honor, and love for the word of God. So can I challenge you? Read your Bible. Then apply the word and see God change the church. Here's the third thing, very important, is the need for godly community. We all know we can't do this on our own, right? Let us move on. The maturity. We need godly community. C.S. Lewis was the one who said this. The basic laboratory for knowing God is the Christian community. It is through the Christian community. It's by journeying with one another we get to know God. You know, with the COVID lockdown and the advent of the online church, unfortunately, Christianity has increasingly become a spectator's sport. People tune in now to watch the church rather than to be the church to one another. I think the online space is wonderful. It's great for equipping. It's great for teaching and getting information. But it's terrible for relational engagement. It's terrible for relational engagement. You can't really engage relationally through the screen. At the end of the day, nothing can replace that face-to-face, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart connection that we need to have with one another. You know, in my travels, I often like Christians like to ask me this question post-pandemic. They like to ask me this question. Can I be a Christian and don't join the church? Heard that before? Can I be a Christian but I don't go to church? I don't join the church. My answer to them is yes, it is possible. However, you will be like a student who refused to go to school. You are like a soldier that refused to join the army. You're like a citizen with no country. You're like a captain with no crew. You're a general with no troops. You're like a salesman who got nothing to sell. You're like a businessman on a deserted island. You do business with yourself. You're like a politician with no party. You're like a trombone player without an orchestra. The only sound you can make is that's all. You know, you're like durian with no smell. You know, something is missing. Something is missing. Can I be a Christian? Don't join the church. Something is missing. Community is so important, brothers and sisters of YCCA. So important that Hebrews chapter 3, verse 12 and 13, the writer, Hebrews, tells us the consequence of not having community. Listen to what he said. He says, See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God, but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. How often are we supposed to encourage one another? It says daily here. Now, okay, I understand the context of the book of Hebrews is a time of intense persecution, and that is why they really need the encouragement day by day. Within our context, since we are not under persecution, I think we should at least say frequently or regularly. We should be encouraging one another regularly, encouraging one another frequently. And the only way you can do that, and that is why it's so important to recognize that Christian community that is so important that every person here must belong to a cell group. Oh, back to the same record again. I'll play it again. Why? Because it's so important. Everyone needs to belong to a small group, people that we can journey together with. And and listen, it's it's important to recognize a Christian community does not just happen on a Friday night when your cell group meets. What makes a really, really healthy cell, a really, really healthy connect group, is all the IBMs. You know what IBM is? It's not international business machine. It's in-between meetings. You need a lot of in-between meetings. Between one Friday and the next, there's a lot of in-between stuff that happens. In between, I text one another. In between, we encourage one another. In between, we may call one or two brothers and let's go for a cup of coffee. In between, we do life. Are you with me? That's what makes a cell group a cell group. And if not, then it is again just a program. But it is because of doing life together, that's what makes us really a connect group. We are really connected. And what happens if we don't? What happens if we don't encourage one another regularly, frequently? If we don't do that, the writer of Hebrews says, I might harden my heart. I might fall into sin. I might go astray. That's what he's saying. So we don't want any of our brothers and sisters to go astray, fall into sin, get hardened in their heart. What do we do? Connect with each other, encourage one another frequently, regularly. And if you have community, you will be provoked to love and good deeds. That's the power of community. Okay. If you remember nothing else from our session tonight, you just remember this, okay? The banana that leaves the bunch gets eaten. Okay, just remember that. Because it's true. Nobody ever eats bananas by the whole bunch. No, no. If they want to eat a banana, how do they do it? First thing they do, they detach you from the bunch. Then we skin you and then we wallop you. That's how it works. If the devil wants to get you, the first thing he will do, detach you from community. Detach you from a connect group, detach you from the body of Christ. And then he slowly skin you and you'll have you for dinner. When we isolate ourselves from community, we are we we can be in danger. It's a dangerous thing to be detached from community. There's a Jewish rabbi by the name of Harold Kushner, who is a Jew, he's a he's a Jewish rabbi, and he wrote a book that hit the top of the chart. The book was entitled Why Do Good Bad Things Happen to Good People? And that hit the top of the chart for many, many years. And Harold Kushner talked about a time where he was having a quiet, he just had a he was at the beach, you know, having his own time of reflection. And then he saw a boy, a little boy and a little girl, building a sandcastle. It was a very beautiful sandcastle. And these two kids was putting the finishing touches, you know, to that very elaborate sand castle when suddenly there was a wave that came in, unexpected. And the wave came in, knocked the sandcastle, and demolished it. So when Harold Kushner saw that, he thought to himself, oh dear, the kids must be so sad. I'm surely they will burst into tears. But what he saw was amazing. The kids look at a demolished sandcastle, they looked at each other, and they both burst out laughing. Then they took each other's hand, ran further up the beach, and they start building a new one. It was a Eureka moment for Hara Kushner. He went back to his house that day and then he started to write his reflection. And this was what he wrote. In Kushner's own words, I want you to read this. He said this all the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating are built on sand. Only our relationships to each to other people will endure. Sooner or later, the waves of life will come along, knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. And when that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh. Wow. How beautiful is that! It's true, isn't it? We spend so much of our time and energy building all kinds of things in our life. But sometimes the waves of life come, and in one moment it can be gone. But only those who have a hand to hold can continue to laugh. When all is said and done, what the church really boils down to is relationship. First with God and then with one another. So that when the waves of life come and knock down what we have, we still have hands to hold. And we can continue to laugh. I receive encouragement from God so that I can then be an encourager to others. And this is what it takes to keep our fire burning. Number one, the discipline of faithful, persevering prayer. Number two is the hunger for God's word. The third is the need for godly community. I'll leave you one last one. It's the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. Because without the Holy Spirit, all of us will end up like guitars with no string. No music will come. We are like pen with no ink. We are like a Ferrari with no engine. You're like spaghetti with no sauce. So dry. You're like naslama with no chili. There is no oomph, you know. There is no, it's powerless, it's flat. If we don't have the power of the Holy Spirit. And I can tell you this, brothers and sisters, there is no real revival until we have a fresh discovery of the person and the power of the Holy Spirit. And this evening, I think we need a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit. We need fresh oil and not stale oil. You know, YCCA, I know. Was a church that experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in one part of your history. I still remember Vincent Hunt, I think, was once a pastor in this church. And he I think he carried that to the mission view as well. You were a Christian church? You were a church that was touched by the Holy Spirit. Redig that well, man. And let the river flow again. Now, have you read the book Pilgrins Progress? John Bunyan? John Bunyan wrote that book. And if you have never read the book before, I'll tell you what it is. It tells an allegorical story about a man called Christian who is on a journey of faith. Okay? And along the way, he met many different characters that personifies different aspects of the Christian faith. There was one part where Christian met the interpreter. The interpreter was a picture of the Holy Spirit. And Christian got invited to interpreter's house. When he got to interpreter's house, he saw that there was a fireplace and there was a fire that was burning. But what surprised him was there was a guy standing next to the fire and pouring water into it. Of course, you pour water, what would happen to the fire? Psst. It gets doused. But next thing you see, hey, it came back, come back again. You know, and the guy keeps pouring water, it dies, and then it comes back again. You know, pour water, psh, come back again. And he was so surprised. How can that be? How can that be? And then until he walked behind the fireplace, then he discovered there's another guy over the other side. And this guy was pouring oil onto the fire. Ah, mystery solved. What's the point? The point we are making is that he was making is this that the fire on the altars of our heart will also die down if we do not keep pouring oil into the flame. In the same way, the fire on the altars of our heart will also fade off if we do not have the constant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the Spirit that keeps the zeal of the Lord at boiling point in our hearts. Amen. We need the Holy Spirit. We need the flow of the Spirit. We need the outpouring of the Spirit into our hearts. It is the work of the Spirit that gives us the zeal of the Lord and keep it at boiling point. Romans chapter 12, verse 11, one of my favorite verses, reads like this: never be lacking in zeal. Whatever you lack, brothers and sisters, don't lack zeal. Like I said, if you are a Christian, go all the way. You're either pregnant or you're not pregnant. Don't be a little bit pregnant. If you are going to live for the Lord, then keep the zeal of the Lord. Whatever we lack, don't lack zeal. But you keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. This word fervor down there can also be translated as fever. That's what the Greek word actually can be translated into. It can be fever. In other words, stay hot for Jesus. Stay hot for Jesus. Run a temperature for God. Keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. That's what we need. Do you have zeal? Do you have zeal? Yeah. If you got zeal, it shows, man. You know, if you got zeal in your heart, it shows. Zeal means not half-hearted, it's whole-hearted. That's the zeal of the Lord. You know, whenever I think about zeal, you know what comes to my mind? You know, there's this old cartoon that I grew up with. It's about a sailor man. His name is Papai, you know. Papaye the sailor man. So Papai is this really chill guy, he's a sailor, right? But like in all good stories, there's always a love interest. Okay, there's this girl that is supposed to be Papai's girlfriend. His name is Olive, right? Olive is supposed to be a beautiful girl that can cause dogs to bark and men to walk into lampposts and all of that. But of course, you look at the cartoon, not very impressive. She looked quite ugly. But, anyways, she's supposed to be a beautiful girl, and then, of course, in a good story, there's always a bad guy, also. And the bad guy's name was Brutus, right? Brutus, supposed. A bad guy. And Brutus will always be hassling, uh, all Lee, making fun of her and all the kind of thing, upsetting her. And Papa will be very chill until Brutus crossed the line. And when Brutus crossed the line, that's when Papa will stand up and say, This is as much as I can stance. I can stance it no more. It's terrible English, but he's a sailor. I can stance it no more. And then next thing you know, he whips out a can of spinach, right? Squeeze it, the spinach goes into the air, come down, he cobbles it up, then suddenly his hand becomes like dumbbells like that. Then he'll wild up brutals and then rescue Olive, right? And the two will walk. Then he will start to sing this song. I'm strong to the finish, because I eat my spinach. I'm Papa the Sailor Man. You all remember. There's you, man. There's you. When you see that that is enough, when we say to the devil, enough is enough. You cannot keep attacking my family. You cannot keep stealing away the things that God has given to me. And we stand up and we say, This is as much as I can stance. I can stance it no more. Then we take the authority that is given unto us and we tear down what the devil has erected. Strongholds will have to come down. Addictions have to break. People have to be free. Hallelujah. Whatever we lack, don't let Zeo have some backbone and stand up for what is right. Stand up for what we need to do. Amen. And I think that's what it takes. Hallelujah. And tonight I want to trust God to come, to give us these four pieces of firewood prayer, the word, the community, and the Holy Spirit. This is what we need to keep the fire burning on the altars of our heart. All these seem so mundane, but they are actually very fundamental. But before we pray this morning, this evening, I want you to know as you see that God is on the move. He's on the move. And we can actually come to the altar to catch a fire. And then we bring it back to Singapore. And bring it back into our churches. Since I don't come very often, can I take five more minutes so we are tiny? And I I will I want to end with this thought from Psalms 92, and then we will pray. And tonight we want to have a time where every one of us can receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And Psalms 92, in verse 10 to 15, has this powerful passage that reads like this The Psalmist wrote, You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox. Fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries, my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord. And they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, and they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming the Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him. The psalmist in Psalms 92 points out so powerfully for us the effects of the anointing. When people are anointed, the effects of it is amazing. In verse 10, he begins by saying this, You have exalted. The word exalted means to live. You have lifted my horn like that of a wild ox. The word horn often speaks of strength in the Bible, in the Old Testament. Horn is a pic is a is an example of strength. In other words, you can translate this verse as you have exalted my strength like that of a wild ox. How strong is an ox? Very strong. How strong is a wild ox? Even stronger. You may have come to this camp feeling wearied and tired, maybe a bit jaded. You know, because life really can bring all kinds of weariness. But I want you to know you can receive fresh new strength today. You can come tired and you can go home energize. Why? Because the next verse says, Fine oils have been poured upon me. Fine oils have been poured upon me. That's why my strength is lifted up like that of a wild ox. The King James translation put it this way: I have been anointed with fresh oil. I love this. Once you're anointed with fresh oil, brothers and sisters, your strength can be lifted up like that of a wild ox. If you need new strength today, you surrender your stale oil to the Lord. Ask Him for fresh oil. And God will give us fresh oil. Then you begin to see the effects of the anointing. Verse 11 goes on to say this My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries. When fresh oil comes upon you, brothers and sisters, you begin to see the victory of God in your life. You begin to see the defeat of those things that stand against you. The next verse says, My ears have hurt the rout of my wicked foes. If you receive fresh oil, you start to hear good news and not bad news. You start to hear gospel, not gossip. If you got fresh oil, you become victors and not victims. You come on top and not below. You become victorious, not defeated. What we need is fresh oil. God give us fresh oil. If you got fresh oil, verse 12 says the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. Palm trees are very common in Israel. The unique thing about palm trees is this, they grow strong even in dry places. If you got fresh oil in your life, it doesn't matter who is preaching in your pulpit next week, you will still remain, you will still flourish. Because you got fresh oil in your life. You can grow like a sea dust of Lebanon. Sea dust are also very strong trees. See, the unique thing about sea dust is this they are not only strong, they are lasting. They are lasting trees. See, and listen, if you got fresh oil, you will not fade off, you will not feas it out. Some people running on human enthusiasm, we fizzle out like overnight Coca-Cola. No psycho, that's it. You fizzle out. But if you got fresh oil, you will last and you will endure. You will keep the fires burning inside of your heart. You'll be planted, verse 13 says, planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish in the courts of our God. With fresh oil, you don't just survive spiritually, you will flourish in the courts of our God. And verse 14 the older I get, the more it's my favorite verse. You will still bear fruit in old age. And you will stay fresh and green. Hallelujah. You got fresh oil in your life, you don't retire, you refire. You got fresh oil in your life, you don't just grow old with grace, we grow old with glory. You got fresh oil, we are gonna give all the young people here a run for their money. And we are gonna keep bearing fruit for Jesus. And all the old folks in the house shout, Amen. You got fresh oil? I tell you, we don't grow old and jaded, cynical and grouchy, but we stay fresh and green. Hallelujah. We stay fresh and green. We will keep proclaiming the Lord is upright, He is my rock. There is no wickedness in him.