In the Old Testament, the Levites had no inheritance but God Himself. In the New Testament, all believers are “a royal priesthood”. Bobby Chaw preaches on how to qualify for this inheritance.
“Jesus bought you with a price and He wants to be your Light and Life,” declared Pastor Bobby Chaw. “On our end, are we willing to submit to Him completely?”
The weekend of March 2 and 3 at City Harvest Church opened with praise and worship led by award-winning Christian band Leeland, that brought down a strong presence of God and prepared the people for the message.
Executive pastor Bobby Chaw preached about the inheritance that God has reserved for His servant: His presence. But to qualify for this inheritance, one must be willing to submit to God completely.
In this ongoing series based on the Book of Numbers, the pastor had previously taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, as the person who fears God will single-mindedly seek after Him with a hearing and obeying heart. At the end of Num 17, God defended Aaron’s leadership with a sign and wonder, putting an end to the rebellion and unrest.
God had always spoken through Moses, but in Numbers 18, He chose to speak directly to Aaron on three separate occasions, giving him a direct and personal Word. This was a reminder to Aaron that he was a servant of God and God was for him and with him.
Pastor Bobby asserted that whenever God anoints and appoints His servants for assignments, He also enables and protects for “He is the saving refuge of His anointed,” as seen in Psalm 28:8.
“You and I are called to serve the people,” he said. He reminded the congregation that as they carry out their mission for service, they also carry God’s presence into their work. God had promised Aaron in Numbers 18:8 that He would not shortchange him. Likewise, other servants of God have the assurance that they will not walk in lack.
The Levites had a sacred job to minister to the Lord in the holy sanctuary, protecting the children of Israel from the wrath of God. Their portion and inheritance was the presence of God Himself, Who was also their only source of provision for daily sustenance and survival. Moses reiterated in Deuteronomy 10:8-9 of this special relationship, that “the Lord is his inheritance”.
THE EXCLUSIVE OWNERSHIP OF GOD
The book of Revelation gave a glimpse of life in heaven. Revelation 22:3-5 says that God’s name is found on His servants’ forehead, signifying possession. Pastor Bobby preached that Christians must be willing be exclusively owned by God—that is, they must be holy.
In the Bible, the word “servant” is represented by the Greek word doulos, which means “slave”. While a servant maintains a level of self-autonomy and is free to make decisions, a slave does not choose his task—he does only what his master wills him to do.
Pastor Bobby shared his personal testimony of how he made a decision to be a doulos. When he first graduated from the university and was praying for his career, he felt God call him to full-time ministry. However, the only vacancy in the church office then was a data entry position.
“I thought I would be a preacher, pastor, evangelist, missionary, or something like that,” the pastor shared candidly. Nevertheless, he chose to obey God and accepted the data entry role.
“You were once a slave, slaves to sin and the kingdom of darkness and in bondage, but He bought you with a price—and whoever bought you owns you,” said Pastor Bobby. “God wants to be our light and life, but on our end, we must be willing to come under complete submission to God.”
What does it mean to be completely submitted to God? It starts with a pure heart. According to James 4:8, it is a pure heart is a heart that is not double-minded; that means that there is no wavering, indecisiveness, or vacillation.
“You have to decide who your master is,” said the pastor, adding that one cannot have “two legs in one boat”, as the Chinese saying goes. Believers are called to be single-minded about God and to give Him exclusive ownership of their whole selves.
GOD’S RESPONSIBILITY AS OUR MASTER
Pastor Bobby brought the congregation back to the familiar story of Daniel and his commitment to remain steadfast in his prayer and praise to God, despite knowing that he would be thrown into the lion’s den (Dan 1:20-22). He eventually emerged unharmed from the lion’s den when God sent His angels to shut the lions’ mouths.
This is part of the inheritance: when believers have the presence of God, miracles happen. What was even more miraculous was that King Darius, upon seeing Daniel unharmed, declared to his nation that “men must tremble and fear the God of Daniel…He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.” Even the pagan king could tell that in God’s presence, things were on earth as they were in heaven.
Just as slaves focused solely on their work, depending entirely on their masters for every provision—food and shelter—so are believers to trust God for every need. “The Master’s responsibility is to make sure that the servants’ needs are taken care of,” said the pastor.
Christians have a faithful Master, Jesus Christ. Just as the centurion sought Jesus’ healing for his servant (Luke 7:1-2), Jesus set aside His high position and made His way to Calvary’s cross–where He was hung naked, rejected and ridiculed—to bring his servants healing and restoration.
Pastor Bobby read from Isaiah 41:9-10: “You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Paul, who called himself “a slave to Christ” (Rom 1:1) gave up everything to serve God. He endured great danger and near-death experiences to be a doulos to Christ. Yet, he found healing—physically, emotionally and mentally—in the inheritance that was God. “He inherited, carried the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, in an earthen vessel,” explained the pastor.
Often, after some time in their walk with God, Christians might be pulled away by the demands and distractions of life. Spiritual decisions that used to be easy to make, become increasingly difficult because of other concerns— or “masters”—in their lives.
Closing off with Revelation 21:6-7, Pastor Bobby reminded the congregation that when they thirst for God, they will inherit God and all things, for He is the creator and owner of all things, “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End”.
At the end of the service Pastor Bobby prayed for healing for groups of people and led the congregation in a corporate prayer. At the Saturday service, a number of people in the congregation found themselves healed of different conditions, including tennis elbow and shoulder pains, and sent in praise reports.
Thilda Ting, 25, a social media insights analyst, agreed with Pastor Bobby’s point that Christians should not be double-minded. “Someone prayed James 4:8 over my life about a month ago. God has a calling for each of us, and we should never allow fear, doubt, or unbelief to share a place with our faith for God in our heart and mind. We need to acknowledge that we are slaves in the kingdom of God, and our sole purpose is to serve the people in His kingdom.”
