Fearless!

Text :

Sermon Title : I will never leave you nor forsake you...

Occasion : PLMGS Baccalaureate Service

Location : Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School Agape Hall

MPP : Cling on to the God of Peace and you will have peace

<pray>

Good morning,

Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you this morning to spend some time with you…

On a very special juncture of your life here in PLMGS…

You know friends, every time I come to a PLMGS event,

I’m very aware of my deep connection with PLMGS…

Not only am I a chaplain to the school,

But I am always reminded of the fact that my wife used to be a PL-lite and is still a PL-lite…

And I am what Mrs Quek termed a PLMGS-Son-in-law and I’m very proud to be so…

So in reality, we are family…

So don’t treat me like I’m a stranger ok?

You know, speaking about my wife,

I was reminded of this time when I was holidaying with my wife in New Zealand

I had just handed in my thesis ahead of time, had some time before I needed to come back to Singapore and begin work again...

So, we decided to do some travelling before coming back to Singapore...

In other words, it was a very last minute trip...

We didn’t really do much planning,

Other than looking at the plane tickets there were on sale,

Finding out that car rental was within our budget,

And based on my rough calculation on how many miles we can travel within a day, I know I can make the round trip in the South Island of New Zealand within that time frame that was given to us...

But other than that,

We didn’t book any accommodation and went there by faith...

That’s right we were young and foolish...

(And the difference between then and now is that we are no longer young)

Anyway, we ended up at this place called Franz Jose,

Which has beautiful glaciers, and is suppose to be one of the most accessible glaciers on earth… <pic>

And another thing that the place is supposed to be famous for,

Are the glow worms… and there are tours that bring us into caves in which we are able to see the glow worms…<pic>[1]

Both are things that were considered must-dos in Franz Josef,

But I was concerned with our budget…

So you can imagine my glee when I saw in the motel reception area that the motel allows us to borrow torchlights to go into the trails just behind the motel that would allow us to see the glow worms for free!

And because glow-worms only glow at night, we had to go in the night to see them properly and I managed to convince my wife that we can do that after dinner…

And when the receptionist asked us whether we wanted to take one or two torches with us,

I thought one torch is enough…

So that’s what we did…

After a nice dinner, I was carrying the torch,

Walking down this otherwise pitch-dark trail…

Illuminated by this tiny beam of light from the torch…

And to find the glow worms,

I turned off the torch ever so often to try to spot the glow worms and while I was walking, I pointed the beam of light to the side of the trail whenever I thought I saw something interesting…

Even though what I was actually doing was in reality, quite scary,

I mean imagine walking into an unfamiliar forest in the middle of the night…

It’s almost like those horror movies where people enter forests and never come out…

I didn’t feel all that afraid because I had the torch in my hand…

So, we were walking along and out of a sudden, you know what happened?

<pause>

Suddenly…

<pause>

My wife asked to hold the torch

Well, I didn’t think too much of it,

And readily passed the torch to her…

But you know what…

It was a totally different experience holding on to the torch then to have someone else hold the torch…

And later, after the harrowing experience, I checked with my wife,

And she confirmed that she wanted to hold the torch because she wanted me to experience what she experienced when I carried the torch in a carefree manner from side to side,

And switched off the torch to check out for glow worms without warning her in advance…

(very vengeful hor?)

And she was right…

It was a totally different experience having the torch in your hand and having someone else hold the torch…

With the torch, I felt so confident despite being in a very unfamiliar and dark environment,

But without the torch… even though it was my wife holding it…

I was so much more frightening…

I can just imagine how much more frightening it would be if we didn’t have the source of light with us…

The light gave us comfort and gave us security…

The light showed us the way in the dark and unfamiliar environment…

The light granted us peace despite the darkness around us…

The light made the critical difference between anxiety and peace…

Friends, if you understood this point,

You would understand today’s lesson which is taken from the book of John,

Chapter 14, verse 27…

But for context, let us start reading from a few verses back, I’ll read for you , and 14:23-27

And now, let us listen to the word of the Lord

13:33

““My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (, NIV)

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (, NIV)

So, what is happening here?

You see,

The apostles were with Jesus for the last 3 years…

They travelled with him, they listened to him,

They healed the sick with him, and he learned lots from him…

Jesus was their teacher and their leader…

Jesus always had the right answers and always knew what to do…

He was a reliable source of information for things they didn’t know…

Source of comfort for things when things got bad…

Source of direction when they were lost…

Source of help when they got into trouble…

A very present help in times of need…

But now, he told his disciples that he was now going away…

He was going to be betrayed by one of his very own and will no longer be with them any longer…

And the disciples were devastated…

Not only were they sad because they had developed deep relationships with Jesus and would miss him when he is no longer around…

But evidence showed that they were getting increased persecution from the people around them…

They were seen by people around them to be a rebel and now, the one they could lean on for help and guidance…

And the one who could lead them through this crisis said he would be going away…

With all these things going around them,

Initially they felt confident to ride these storms because Jesus was with them…

Just like the darkness that surrounded me in the New Zealand forest,

Initially I felt confident because I had the torch with me… that was light to drive the darkness away…

But now, for the disciples, the light was going away…

The disciples felt a sense of lost,

Fear…

Perhaps that’s how you’re feeling now…

You are coming towards the end of your stay here in PLMGS…

For some of you, you had been here for 4 or 5 years…

Some of you had been here even longer…

Perhaps you had been here since primary school and had been here for 10 or 11 years…

You’re already so comfortable with this place…

You know the temperament of every teacher in school…

You know when to avoid certain teachers by looking at their faces and know they are in a bad mood…

You know the best place to hang out in school when you need a quiet place to be by yourself…

Perhaps you even know how many tiles there are in canteen floor…

You already have and are already familiar with the rhythm of life here in PLMGS…

You know when chapel is and when you get to feed upon God’s words…

You and your friends are around for so long already and know each other’s thoughts even without speaking…

But soon, you will all be dispersed to various places in your next phase of life…

There’s lots of uncertainty and you’re worried and scared…

And even before that…

You’re going to take the very important examination in your life and you’re stressed and scared…

Just like the disciples, you’re in a place of uncharted territory as far as your lives are concerned and you are worried, stressed and scared…

No longer will you be a place of familiarity and the support of your friends and teachers will no longer be there anymore…

Well, friends, if that’s how you’re feeling now,

Listen to the good news that Jesus told the disciples…

V27 of our text says:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (, NIV)

What does that even mean?

Well, friends,

What Jesus was telling his disciples is that

If you’re looking for a simple “well friends, don’t worry… you wouldn’t be stressed, you wouldn’t have trouble… you don’t have to take exams… you wouldn’t feel lonely anymore”

You wouldn’t find it here…

You will still be stressed, you will still need to take your exams, you will still feel lonely because you miss your friends…

But the good news is that you wouldn’t have to do that alone…

V18 of our text today says that Jesus will not leave us as orphans…

Though the disciples will no longer have Jesus with them physically, in the human form…

Jesus said that He sent them the Holy Spirit… to guide them and teach them and lead them…

And this promise was indeed fulfilled as we know in the book of …

Jesus after he left the disciples sent the disciples a helper to be with them who is not bound by human flesh and rules like Jesus was when he was on earth…

The Holy Spirit, was omni-present, and is our teacher and our helper…

And He is always with us and will never leave us…

Can you take in the significance of that?

God is always with you and will never leave you…

No matter how dark the world is out there…

No matter how scary your situation is that you face…

No matter how daunting your exams are…

No matter how lonely you feel…

God…

The creator of heaven and earth…

The one who created you and knows your innermost thoughts before you know it yourself…

The one whom we read in the bible that even the demons and angels bow down and submit to…

The one who is supreme ruler and absolute authority all the world…

The one that is described in that “…neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.” (, ESV)

Will be separate you from…

God will always be with you and will never leave you…

He is described in the Bible as the true source of light because unlike the torch in my hands in New Zealand,

Our God will never leave us… and will never go out of battery…

And cannot be taken away from us…

And that’s why the disciples can have the shalom peace despite facing all those challenges in their lives…

That’s why Jesus can tell them not to let their hearts be troubled nor be afraid…

Likewise, you can have shalom peace despite facing all those challenges in your lives, because God is with you…

That’s why Jesus can tell you not to let your hearts be troubled nor be afraid…

And friends, over the many years that you had spent in school,

You have established a relationship with God and had been equipped with skills to continue that relationship with Him, through prayer and reading the Bible, and through small groups gathering…

Those shouldn’t stop…

Keep drawing close to God…

Keep seeking God…

Keep praying and reading the bible…

Don’t stop gathering in groups to encourage one another…

Or even through social media

And as you do so,

Even as you leave this school do not let your hearts be troubled nor be afraid,

For the Lord will always be with you…

And this is what we are going to proclaim in a few moments’ time as we celebrate the Holy Communion…

For it is God’s constant reminder to all of us…

That despite what we’re facing now…

He will never leave us nor forsake us… Amen!

[1] https://www.franzjosefglacier.com/about-us/blog/4-secret-spots-of-glacier-country-you-dont-want-to-miss-out-on/