CHC’s advisory pastor Phil Pringle preached on trusting in the Lord, finding delight in Him and letting go of one’s burdens into His hands.
CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh
During the weekend of Nov 21 and 22, City Harvest Church members came together for their usual weekend services, showing solidarity in the aftermath of the sentencing of the six in the long-drawn CHC case.
Executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain and investment committee chairman Rick Chan took to the stage to address the church’s ongoing civil suit against the church’s former investment manager, Chew Eng Han and his firm AMAC Capital Partners.
The civil suit revolves around CHC’s attempt to recover some $20M in investments owed to it by AMAC. As both parties had failed to reach a satisfactory resolution despite four years of negotiation, the CHC resorted to legal recourse in order to protect the interests of the church and its members.
More information can be found on the CHC website under Special Notices.
Trust in the Lord
CHC’s advisory pastor Phil Pringle delivered the word that weekend, basing his message on Psalm 37:3-5.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”
Pringle’s message complemented Kong’s recent sermon, “Faith, Trust and Rest.” In speaking about trust, Pringle said, “Faith is not exactly the same as trust. Faith results in action. Trust is when you can do no more, can’t move in faith, and you just let go and trust God.”
He illustrated with the biblical example of Jochebed, the mother of Moses. During a time where Hebrew children were being hunted and murdered by the King, she put Moses in a basket and let him float down the river, trusting that someone would find Moses and take care of him. God turned the situation around entirely for Jochebed: her son was not killed, and she had the opportunity to raise him as his nurse; in fact, she was paid by Pharoah’s daughter to raise her own son.
Pringle also used the example of Naomi and Ruth to depict that dwelling in a land takes trust. After Naomi lost everything in Moab and went back to Bethlehem (Hebrew. house of bread) in Judah (Hebrew. praise), Ruth chose to stick with her. Through Ruth’s union with Boaz, they became part of the genealogy that brought forth Jesus Christ. Therefore, “stay in the land of the living, the place where God dwells, the place where God has placed us,” Pringle exhorted the congregation.
Delight in the Lord
Pringle also quoted the Westminster Catechism: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
Referencing I Peter 1:6-8, Pringle told the church, “there may be times you are tested by fire, but you’ll find joy in the Lord through worship.”
Pringle also reminded the church that one’s ministry is unto God and not just to the world, and that believers were to be spiritual ministers. “A refiner can see his own face after the vessel is refined (Malachi 3:3). God tests us so that in the end He can see His own face in it, so that the vessels are not contaminated.”
“There is a purpose for afflictions. We will not rule with Jesus until we have suffered with Him. At the end of the day, we want to see Christ living inside of us.”
Commit to the Lord
Just like how the sustain pedal of a piano lengthens the sound of each note, the life of a believer is designed to last and sustain. God is the one who sustains our ways, said Pringle.
He referred to Psalm 55:22, which states, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you,” and explained that “to cast” meant to “hurl like a javelin.”
Casting your burdens to the Lord means that after we give them to God, we must not take the same burdens back! If we could learn to let go, we will be free; if we hold on to what we should let go, God cannot move and we cannot move on, he added. When we commit to God, we don’t know how, but He will make things work out in many ways. We have to learn to let go and trust God.
