Date: 14-07-24
Preacher: Ps Brenda Lim
Title: On Being and Doing
On Being and Doing
It is an understatement that a woman’s creativity knows no bounds under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And that is how I would describe Ps Brenda’s message
this morning; not only did she keep to the annual theme of ‘doing all to the glory of God’, she did it with a refined common touch that would have resonated with the congregation. Just look at the title!
She began by talking about the spirit of excellence that is so characteristic of secular Singapore. Next, she shared a most pertinent verse from Romans 8:29 which was the main biblical reference for her message. She then stressed that our being should lead us to our doing and in the case of our faith, our devotion to God should lead to our delight of duty. However, she cautioned that good work doesn’t necessarily produce good character but good character does produce good work.
Next, she shared 3 ways of strengthening our being with the ABC acronym:
- Abiding in Christ
The biblical reference is John 15:5. At a practical level, she shared that she would do this by having breakfast with Jesus every morning. It was her intended time with the Lord every day and it certainly contributed to her being with the Holy Spirit. - Be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The biblical reference is Zechariah 4:6. She also gave her personal testimony of her work life as she is also working full time. She shared how her event organisation on top of her regular work was making her bitter as she was so overwhelmed. It was when she sought God, who impressed upon her that He was doing His will through her and she was stepping up to the plate for His sake, that helped her to overcome her personal challenges. In her words, the Holy Spirit helps us to master our emotions and to guard our heart posture. She also drew inspiration from Ps Benny Ho’s words: ‘Take care of the depth of your life, God will take care of the breadth of your ministry’.
- Celebrate the goodness of God in our life. The biblical references are from Ps 146:2 and Ps 23:6. She shared it is important for us, Christians, to celebrate our victories and successes too.
Before her conclusion she shared how in our walk with God, we should occasionally reframe our life challenges and see them as fertile soil for God’s goodness to grow. And when we do all for the glory of God, we are doing it from inside out rather than outside in.
Today’s message is also relevant to those of us doing guidance and counselling work. Ps Brenda shared what has long been established from a psychological perspective that a person’s thoughts would influence his beliefs which would then guide his actions. The other is the power of reframing.
What a creative gem, the entire message!
