A church is only as strong as its members. On the weekend leading up to City Harvest Church’s 29th anniversary, executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain thanked the members for their faith, hope and love.
City Harvest celebrates its 29th year as a church this coming weekend.
“Next week, we will be talking about the future of the church, but this weekend, I want to thank all of you,” said executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain as he took the stage to preach over the weekend of Oct 6 and 7.
“The strength of the nation is measured by the family unit,” he said. “Similarly, the church is only as strong as its members.”
Pastor Aries read from 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5, thanking the congregation for three things: their “work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope”.
Their Work Of Faith
People often associate works of faith with important and powerful people, like Bible heroes such as David and Samson.
Reading Hebrews 11:32-40, the pastor noted that the writer of Hebrews mentioned many unnamed people who fought the fight of faith. They too contributed to the completion of the works of faith.
“Unseen acts of faith plus acts of faith we read about in the Bible come together to make one complete faith,” he said, urging the congregation to never forget the unsung heroes of the church.
Pastor Aries gave the examples of Peter, Paul, and Joseph in the Bible. Peter and Paul were apostles who raised the dead and healed the sick. On the other hand, Joseph, through his methodical and thorough planning, was able to help Egypt and the surrounding countries survive the famine.
“We always equate high spirituality with drama, but we need to remember that for every Paul and Peter, there are a dozen Josephs,” said Pastor Aries. Joseph never healed the sick, but instead, he was the one who stopped sickness from spreading. Pastor Aries went on to thank the “Josephs” of the church, which include cell group leaders, ministry helpers and volunteers.
Their Labour Of Love
“To stay with a person in a crisis is not an act of kindness but an act of love. This is exactly what you all have done,” said Pastor Aries. Jesus stayed on the Cross even when it was difficult to because of His love for mankind.
“For all of you who stayed, there is a promise,” he reminded them.
In Luke 24:49, Jesus declared a promise for His people but the prerequisite was that they were to “stay in the city”.
In the verse, Jesus urged His people to “tarry in the city of Jerusalem”. Pastor Aries shared that God wants to pour out His Holy Spirit upon City Harvest Church, but for that to happen the church must go from staying to tarrying in God’s presence.
“There is a difference between waiting and tarrying,” he said. “Waiting has a time limit, but tarrying means to stay longer than intended. The promise doesn’t come at the end of our waiting but at the end of our tarrying.”
He urged the church to go beyond simply coming to church for the sermon and leaving, but instead to tarry in God’s presence during the altar call. This is because the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happens when the church prays together at the altar call.
“The outpouring comes when we choose to wait a little bit longer,” he said. “We need to learn how to tarry so that God can pour out His blessing on our church one more time,” he said.
Pastor Aries went on to share the example of Joshua. In his youth, Joshua learned how to wait upon the Lord, and because he chose to linger in the presence of God, God gave him what he needed to be the next leader of Israel. He lived to see God’s promise come to pass because he had tarried in the presence of God.
“There is a difference between waiting and tarrying,” he said. “Waiting has a time limit, but tarrying means to stay longer than intended. The promise doesn’t come at the end of our waiting but at the end of our tarrying.”
Their Patience Of Hope
To see God’s work coming to pass in the future requires patience.
Pastor Aries recalled that in the past, he often prayed that God would deliver him from the “valley of the shadow of death” that he was in. God, however, reminded him to “walk through the valley”—that meant he couldn’t drive through the valley like it was as one would normally do at a McDonald’s drive-through. Walking takes time.
“We have to be patient to see God do greater works in CHC,” the pastor said. He shared that management gurus Jim Collins and Morten T Hansen studied the topic of leadership in turbulent times and discovered how some companies thrive in uncertain times.
The thing that sets successful leaders apart is not their creativity or risk-seeking; it is their method of leading with self-control in an out-of-control world.
“In the end, it is not the flashy or the flamboyant that survives, but the ones with steady hands, sober minds and steal hearts that survive,” Pastor Aries said. He pointed out that in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5, the Bible says the Holy Spirit “puts steel in your conviction”.
“Sometimes our convictions can waiver in the waiting, we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to put steel into our convictions so that we can continue to have patience,” said Pastor Aries.
He reminded the church that God’s history is redeemed not in minutes, but in lifetimes, and encouraged them to keep having faith in God’s promises.
