Date: 22-12-24
Preacher: Ps Daniel
Title: The Meaning Of Life
The Meaning Of Life
On the Sundays when I have to chair, it is a privilege to have access to the PowerPoint slides in advance. Over time I have come to accept that the slides were meant more as a guide than anything else. In fact, each time the speaker would exceed my expectations, meaning the slides can never replace the speaker. How can technology ever replace the Holy Spirit and this morning it was the same. Certainly ‘the meaning of life’ isn’t an easy topic to cover in half an hour but Ps Daniel, with the Holy Spirit’s anointing, was more than able to.
It was a pre-Christmas message and he started with an ironic sharing that in most parts of the world, Christmas Eve would see a hike in crime numbers. To me it is sobering but unsurprising.
After that Ps Daniel went to talk about King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He had everything and even confessed that he would deny himself nothing but in the end he himself admitted that all was in vain. Then in addressing the topic, Ps Daniel posed 3 relevant questions for the congregation:
- Where did I come from?
- Why do I live?
- Where will I go?
The corresponding answers to the questions above were then provided from Gen 1:27, Eph 2:10 and John 14:3.
Ps Daniel’s unflinching stand is that we have to return to our source to fill the vanity (viewed negatively) or eternity (viewed positively) in our hearts but do we accept these answers?
The various anecdotes which Ps Daniel shared worked well to support the spirit of his message. There was the Egyptian Pharoahs and Qin Shi Wang, kings who sought to bring their wealth to the nether world after they died, only to have them found when their tombs were unearthed. His personal ones included a man who accepted Jesus in a comatose stage for 2 years. That is both satisfying a heartfelt eternity as well as fulfilling God’s purpose through Ps Daniel. I like especially his reference to all of us as akin to the unnamed characters in the Bible, nameless no doubt, but each with an important role to play to bring forth the glory of God. His employment in the air freight industry also highlighted his purpose in his walk with God as when he left, he counted at least 3 colleagues were converted. His own admission as someone who smoked, drank and gambled before his own conversion also helped him bring people to believe in Jesus as they saw the change in him.
To me the ‘success’ of his message comes from a deep conviction and asking simple but relevant questions and providing the answers grounded in the Bible. Also the power of that message lies in that it was a message by an ordinary pastor for the ordinary man and woman at an ordinary time(it was not Christmas) in an ordinary church. However, the Spirit behind all these is not ordinary.
And God would reward all those involved extraordinarily!
