October 25, 1998
What you just witnessed is God’s Spirit poured out upon all flesh!
Young people and young adults whose lives have been so transformed that at our Sunset church plant, new neighbors are coming because they see the “Christ in you.”
Children and youth whose lives have been enriched through our excellent programs that taught them Bible stories, identified their talents, and most importantly said to them, “Jesus loves you.”
Families, men, and women whose adjustment to their new home in America was made possible by the hospitality of this church sharing with them that “God welcomes you.”
The faith of our mothers and fathers that has sustained the ministry of our church through tough times and good times continues to envision the future with boldness saying, “Here we are Lord, send us.”
Mighty Deeds
When we follow God’s ways, the prophet Joel announced,
In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days, I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
This powerful wind from God has enabled us to perform mighty deeds at First Chinese Baptist Church.
The mighty deed of rebuilding out of the rumbles of earthquake destruction
The mighty deed of claiming Chinatown for Christ where there are loyalties to other gods and passions
The mighty deed of affirming our rich heritage and identity of being bi-cultural, bi-lingual, and multi-generational
The mighty deed of purposefully and faithfully planting a new church to reach more people with the Good News of Jesus Christ
The mighty deed of courageously declaring to the world that our mission is not yet done in Chinatown because there are more people than ever who need Christ in their hearts.
We are about to do another mighty deed! Yes, with God’s help, we must continue to perform mighty deeds. But we know that we can’t do mighty deeds without all of us together.
All of Us
The Scripture says God’s Spirit is poured out upon all flesh: no one is to be left out! Inclusivity is defined in six categories:
Sons and daughters
Old and young
Male and female slaves
God’s gift of the spirit in this time of salvation is without regard to gender or age or social status. It is for all.
And everyone will have direct communication to and revelation from God: everyone is on AOL with God! The Spirit enables all to prophesy, all to dream dreams, all to see visions. What a powerful affirmation and message to us at CBC today!
In faith we will be setting our course for the future through the Continue the Legacy stewardship campaign. Let me declare that
Whatever barriers we erect, may the Spirit of God poured out on all of us, breaks them down
Whatever divisions we create, may the Spirit of God poured out on all of us, unites us
We must strive anew to open ourselves to the winds of God’s spirit and allow our human barriers be swept away by God’s spirit. Only in the spirit of God will we be able to do mighty deeds!
Sons and Daughters
When Joy and I were here in the 70s, our son Greg was born. He spent 2 ½ years under the care and love of CBC. He was always in the arms of Henry Ng and Carolyn Wong. The OYYAS kids watched him when we were at fellowship time. Greg stayed overnight at Carol and Maurice Shums so that we can escape to Carmel one weekend. He played with Christy Jin while Joy worked. And during 9:00 service, I would see Greg in Mei Lew’s arms looking down at me from the nursery balcony. Greg is a good man because of the care and love he received from CBC.
Look at our sons and daughters who are growing in maturity every day. They are truly our legacy in our future. Through our commitments tonight we along with all of our “sons and daughters” will do mighty deeds because the God’s spirit has been poured upon all of us to prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions.
May God’s spirit bless us all.
Let us pray.
Precious Lord God, your people at First Chinese Baptist Church are prepared to continue our legacy of Christian ministry in the coming years. Empower us to love one another for you first loved us. May the mighty deeds of our stewardship pledges that we make tonight lead to even more mighty deeds of service and mission. Thank you, dear God for all the people in the room, the testimonies of faith that moved us in the slide presentation, and our sons and daughters who will prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions with us all.
Amen.