Hi everyone, so the reading today is from Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 to 25.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.
God to know. My name is Bo, and I am one of the elders of the church.
Today's message, the title is Bringing Many Sons to Glory.
This title, while we are doing Matthew 1, verses 18 to 25, this title is taken from Hebrews 2, chapter 2, verse 10.
In this verse, only sons are mentioned.
What happens to daughters?
Because in the New Testament, sons represent those who are to inherit, or having the right for inheritance.
And that's why everyone who is in Christ are sons.
Similarly, we are all daughters in Christ as well.
Daughters are used in the Bible as people who, like daughters of Jerusalem,
just people who depend on God for their life or for their significance.
So, it's not so much gender-based.
Okay.
And I've been thinking, like, last, when I first started this, preparing the sermon,
I was thinking the title, like, A Better Life or Bitter Life.
But then, towards the last weekend, it came to me that this could be the title I should use,
but I wasn't sure whether I could cover it.
It's quite a big title.
But then, last Sunday, for the household song, both morning and afternoon service,
the household song was the same.
It was chosen by two different people independently,
and it was, how deep the Father's love for us.
So, the first verse says,
How deep the Father's love for us,
how vast beyond all measure,
that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure.
How great is the pain of sharing loss,
the Father turns his face away,
as wounds which mar the chosen one,
bring many sons to glory.
So, I thought, well, since those two people chose the song,
that would confirm for me to speak on this title for today's sermon.
Shall we pray before we begin?
Oh, Father God, we thank you for the grace that is awaiting us,
even as we read your word and listen to you.
And we also thank you for reminding us that we are made in your image.
Even though we see everywhere in the world the shadow remains,
we know that you are doing something to restore us and restore your creation.
And we await that day to come.
And as we do so, help us to live a life worthy of calling.
Thank you, Father.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
On 17th April 1975,
the inhabitants of Nong Peng,
that is the capital of Cambodia,
they were very excited.
They were celebrating on the street
because they've been fighting
with their own government for a long time.
the government that was under King Suhano,
that is very corrupted.
And so,
people, they are not happy.
They were looking for a better government,
a better life.
And so,
for years before that day,
Pol Pot was leading the rebellion
with the communist army
under the help of Chinese communists.
So,
eventually,
and finally,
they won the war
and toppled the king.
And people were very happy on that day.
So,
Pol Pot and his army marched into the city.
And on the same day,
Pol Pot executed 800 people,
all those top officials of the whole government.
And the same day,
he ordered 2.5 million of the inhabitants of Nong Peng
to march out to the rural area
because he didn't trust any of those people.
And so,
many people died
as they went out under the hot sun
and with very little provision.
And over the next four and a half,
four years and four months,
one in four of the population
died because of Pol Pot's regime.
And there was no education
over those four years and four months.
No industry,
no development.
And it took 20 years
after Pol Pot was toppled
for the nation
to start developing again.
So,
it's quite a big blow
to the whole nation.
What happened to Pol Pot's vision?
You see that at the beginning,
Pol Pot,
I think he did want to give people of Cambodia
a better life.
But he ended up giving them death.
The Cambodians' dream of a better life
became a nightmare.
The problem was that
Pol Pot tasted power.
We all like to have power.
Power means that we can achieve
the desire of our hearts.
Pol Pot also had the backing
of the communist ideology.
Pol Pot was convinced
that communism was a way
to achieve utopia for his people.
He therefore needed to kill
all the potential threats
to protect himself
and the ideology.
Human hearts are both
short-sighted
and self-centered.
We do anything
to protect our own interests,
often not considering
the things we do
may eventually destroy us.
When we all do that,
even the food that we eat right now
could be destroying us
slowly.
We don't even know
because we enjoy doing it.
Or anything that we do,
the movie that we watch,
the work that we do,
they all can be
damaging to our bodies
or our souls.
We just didn't know
or didn't think about it.
The king of Cambodia
allowed his officials
to oppress his people
because he gained much wealth
from that corrupt behavior.
He did not think that
this would eventually
lead to his own demise.
The people of Cambodia
supported Paul Port
and his ideology
because they wanted to escape
from their corrupt government.
And Paul Port
oppressed the people
more than the government
he toppled
so as to maintain his power.
He thought that
by killing all the educated people
and leaders,
no one would challenge him.
He did not expect
his own official
were the ones
to finally rebel
against him.
Humans have been trying
to build a better society
to live since history began.
We all think
that we could do better
than our forefathers.
We think that we can
have better marriages,
better families,
better governments,
or even better churches,
but we fail.
If you remember
1 Kings chapter 19
when
who is that
I just have a
mental blank
when the prophet
Elijah
asked God
to take his life
he said
I'm no better
than my forefathers
even though
Elijah was such a
great man
a great prophet
but he
he was
still trying to
do something
better than his forefathers
and he felt so disappointed
that he couldn't achieve it.
And that
so the best
even the best of us
would feel that
we could not
make a better society
make a better church
or make a better family
even.
I suppose
you can see
that the disappointing
outcomes
should be expected
if you understand
that the problem
is with the raw material.
The humans
who make up
the marriages
and societies
are rotten.
So when you mix
rotten eggs
together
you should not
expect to get
something good
out of it.
We see this
even clearer
in the
story of Exodus.
So God provided
the Israelites
the best
human leader possible
to rescue them
from the Egyptians.
And on their way
to the promised land
the Israelites
complained
bitterly
and repeatedly
about being
mistreated
by Moses
or misguided
by Moses.
Every time
the Israelites
complained
Moses prayed
to God
for them
and God
provided their
needs
but they
kept complaining.
Why did they
keep complaining?
Because they were
short-sighted
and self-centered.
Their slogan was
what do we want?
We want a better life.
When do we want it?
We want it now.
And this slogan
has been repeated
ever since then
until now.
The Israelites
wanted to get
into the promised land
straight away
because God
had promised
to bring them
to the land
flowing with
milk and honey.
Do you know
what would happen
if you put
rotten people
into a land
flowing with
milk and honey?
You can imagine
they would start
fighting for more
milk and honey.
they would start
fighting to
be the most
prominent person
and basically
they would spoil
the place
as they are
and they did.
I mean,
eventually they went in
and they did spoil
the place.
But the fact that
we are always looking
for something better,
a better life,
a better marriage,
better government
tells us
that we
have been created
for something better.
We fail again
and again
to build a better
society
with education
and civilization
because our minds
are crooked
and our hearts
are rotten.
It takes someone
with a right mind
and a pure heart
to start the process.
We cannot produce
someone from
within ourselves.
We needed to
come from
it
it needed to come
from outside
of us.
Just like the
computer
programming terms
garbage in,
garbage out.
So we cannot use
garbage
to produce
good things.
And so
that's how
this story
comes in
today.
So
going back
to
last week
from
Matthew 1
verses 1
to 17
it tells us
about God's plan
and the
genealogy.
So despite
the Israelites
short-sightedness
and self-centeredness,
God did not
leave the Israelites
alone
because he promised
their ancestor
Abraham
that his
descendants
would become
a big nation
and become
all the nations
of the earth
will be blessed
through them.
God does not
leave the world
alone either.
He promised
Adam and Eve
that an offspring
of woman
would abolish
the curse
of their fall.
God has
an eternal
plan for his
kingdom
and this plan
will be fulfilled.
The fulfillment
of God's promise
to Abraham
is part of
the fulfillment
of his promise
to Adam and Eve.
Today we have
come to the beginning
of the fulfillment
of both promises,
the coming of the Christ.
The Christ
or the Messiah
means someone
who is anointed
or chosen by God
to establish
his kingdom.
The existence
of Israel
was to prepare
for the coming
of Christ.
We read in Galatians
chapter 4 verse 4
but when the fullness
of time had come
God sent forth
his son
born of woman
born under the law
to redeem those
who were under the law
so that we might
receive adoption
as sons.
The birth of Christ
had to be unique
if it was that
someone who came
from outside of us.
This someone
needed to be holy
like God
to redeem us.
He also needed
to be one of us
to represent us.
He needed to be
both God
and man
both holy
and common.
The virgin birth
was therefore
necessary
to make this
combination possible.
You may think
that virgin birth
is scientifically
impossible.
You can think
deeper again.
If scientists
can make
test tube babies
why could not
God make
a baby
from a woman?
Eve was made
from a man
without a woman?
Adam was made
without a man
or a woman.
Even for all
of us who are
made because of
one man and one woman
it's still
miraculous.
If you know
how many things
can go wrong
for pregnancy
to happen
for a child
to be born
you will know
that each
birth is a miracle
in itself.
So even though
we said that
the virgin birth
is a miracle
actually any birth
is a miracle
if you know
how many things
could go wrong
in any
consciousness of birth.
So the virgin birth
though we call it
virgin birth
actually is virgin
conception
so it's the
more appropriate
term
and the
virgin conception
is necessary
because
Jesus needed
to come
from outside
of human beings
but he also
needed to be
part of human beings.
But like most
people
Joseph could not
believe this
and how could
Mary explain
to Joseph
about her pregnancy?
The Holy Spirit
made me pregnant
or
Mary could
also
tell
Joseph
if you do not
believe me
you can ask
my cousin
Elizabeth.
Actually God
did not leave
Mary on her own
there was
someone
who can
confirm
Mary's
story.
But
Joseph
did not
bother
to go
and
see
Elizabeth
is some
distance away
I suppose
so he decided
to cancel
the marriage.
So Mary's
pregnancy
presented
a huge
problem
to Joseph.
I think
he loved
Mary
but he was
an Israelite
a person
who was
born under
the law.
To him
marriage
was sacred
and audient
by God.
To have
to be seen
to have
premarital sex
would mean
disrespect
to God's
will
for marriage
and dishonor
to both
families.
So if
he accepted
the responsibility
for the pregnancy
and married
Mary
he would
bear the
shame
of having
premarital
sex
with Mary.
If he
denounced
Mary as
an adulteress
and cancelled
the marriage
Mary
would be
stoned to
death.
Joseph was
a just
man.
He could
not
believe
or tolerate
Mary's
behavior.
In
Joseph's mind
Mary was
not only
an adulteress
but also
a liar.
Though
Joseph
tried to
be kind
in planning
to cancel
the marriage
quietly
he was
still
short-sighted
because he
could not
see
miracles.
Joseph
was still
self-centered
he needed
to protect
his own
reputation.
The
cancellation
of the
marriage
would only
save
Mary
for a
short
time.
How
would
Mary
explain
the
baby
to
other
people
in
the
jungle.
If
Joseph
did not
believe
Mary's
story
what is
the
chance
of
other
people
believing
in
Mary's
story?
You
might
think
that
it
was
fair
for
Joseph
not
to
believe
in
Mary's
story.
If
I
was
Joseph
I
wouldn't
believe
in
that
story
either.
But
considering
if
Joseph
faced
God
in
God's
judgment
throne
before
God's
judgment
throne
God
asked
him
why
didn't
you
believe
Mary's
story?
Joseph
can
defend
himself
and
say
that
well
this
story
is
simply
not
possible
it's
not
believable
then
God
will
ask
Joseph
did
you
believe
in
Mary?
Joseph
will
have
a
bit
of
answer
this
question
because
I
think
he
loved
Mary
and
he
did
believe
in
Mary
and
he
knew
that
Mary
was
a
good
person
so
God
would
ask
him
that
he
told
him
that
you
should
have
considered
Mary's
story
seriously
take
her
work
seriously
you
see
whether
a
story
is
believable
is
not
so
much
about
whether
it's
scientific
or
whether
it
happened
before
but
it
depends
a lot
who
is
the
one
who
tells
you
the
story
if
someone
who
is
trustworthy
and
someone
who
has
no
history
of
lying
and
telling
your
story
I
think
we
all
need
to
take
it
seriously
and
find
out
if
he
went
to
see
Elizabeth
but
he
didn't
so
but
God
was
gracious
God
did
not
leave
Joseph
out
of
the
loop
in
this
matter
because
Joseph
was a
descendant
of
King
David
and
Joseph
played
an
important
role
as we
have
read
from
last
week's
genealogy
for
the
promise
of
God
to
take
place
God
gave
Joseph
a
dream
so
this
dream
is
a
better
dream
than
the
one
that
Joseph
had
before
we
can
imagine
Joseph
had
a
dream
about
his
marriage
how
he's
going
to be
happy
ever
after
with
Mary
all
those
things
as
all
we
do
and
then
Mary
told
him
that
he's
pregnant
so
his
dream
was
shattered
and
now
today
we
are
reading
another
dream
a
better
dream
for
Joseph
this
dream
confirmed
to
Joseph
that
miracle
was
possible
and
it
was
happening
right
before
his
eyes
and
also
this
was
a
sign
that
God
was
fulfilling
his
promise
to
Abraham
and
King
David
that
the
virgin
shall
conceive
and bear
a son
and
shall
call
his
name
Emmanuel
this
had
been
recorded
by
Isaiah
600
years
before
even
though
Joseph
was
not
the
biological
father
of
Jesus
he
would
be
the
adopted
father
of
Jesus
so
that
Jesus
would
become
the
greatest
son
of
David
so
the
dream
restored
Joseph's
trust
towards
Mary
was
not
being
unfaithful
to
Joseph
Mary
was
being
obedient
to
God
like
Joseph
Mary
would
have
her
own
dreams
about
her
marriage
God
had
given
her
greater
dream
to
conceive
Jesus
Mary
was
prepared
to
sacrifice
her
own
dreams
her
idea
of
marriage
and
even
her
dignity
because
she
would
know
what
Joseph
would
do
to
her
God
would
Joseph
prepare
to
stand
with
Mary
to
go
ahead
with
the
marriage
would
mean
a
loss
of
status
in
the
society
Joseph's
life
would
become
harder
Joseph
like
Mary
was
changed
by
God
and
you
see
this
again
and
again
in
the
Bible
there's
God's
grace
in
the
change
in
people's
life
after
the
dream
Joseph's
idea
of a
better
life
was no
longer
the
same
he
had
something
much
greater
or
bigger
to
live
for
he
stood
by
Mary
and
married
her
in
adopting
the
son
of
God
as
his
own
son
Joseph
played
an
important
role
in
God's
plan
of
adopting
rebels
as
his
sons
the
angel
of
the
Lord
said
you
shall
call
his
name
Jesus
for
he
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins
the
name
of
Jesus
was
not
randomly
given
name
it
represents
his
nature
and his
purpose
in life
as we
shall see
in the
book of
Matthew
his name
tells us
not only
what he
was going
to do
it
tells us
what kind
of person
he was
to the
world
Jesus
was not
an
impressive
person
he grew
up in a
little
and unknown
town
his father
was a
carpenter
he did
not have
any
qualification
or degree
to his
name
he did
not
write
a
book
to tell
people
how to
have
a
better
life
he
simply
lived
a
life
of
joyful
obedience
to
God
the
main
difference
between
him
and
other
people
was
that
he
did
not
come
to
fulfill
himself
none
of
this
Jesus
said
I
can
do
nothing
on
my
own
that
is
from
the
book
of
John
chapter 5
verse 19
in particular
Jesus
repeatedly
saying
that
I
can
do
nothing
on
my
own
except
what
my
father
told
me
to
do
Jesus
was
farsighted
and
God
centered
he
said
he
could
do
nothing
of
eternal
value
if
he
did
them
for
his
own
glory
Jesus
did
not
come
to
fulfill
his
own
and
that
is
how
the
image
that
Jesus
is
restoring
or
an
image
of
us
as
being
created
by
God
how
we
should
live
Jesus
started
by
giving
up
his
equal
status
with
God
and
became
a
man
Emmanuel
means
God
with
us
or
God
mixing
with
us
living
together
in
armies
despite
this
being
foretold
by
Isaiah
the
Israelites
could
not
believe
this
was
possible
the
Israelites
were
the
people
who
knew
they
were
rotten
because
God's
law
told
them
so
they
therefore
could
not
believe
that
the
holy
God
would
come
near
them
though
they
believed
that
if
they
worked
hard
enough
to
obey
the
law
they
could
become
good
enough
to
be
accepted
by
God
when
Jesus
came
they
were
not
prepared
to
receive
him
as
the
son
of
God
some
call
him
good
teacher
some
call
him
a
lunatic
some
call
him
a
liar
what
do you
think
will
happen
when
someone
with
a
right
mind
and
a
pure
heart
live
among
people
of
crooked
minds
and
rotten
hearts
people
would
find
him
both
attractive
and
repulsive
attractive
because
he
was
never
anxious
he
was
never
resentful
he
was
never
bitter
he
was
never
in a
hurry
so
when
people
look at
Jesus
they
would
find
that
he's
quite
a
fascinating
person
he
Jesus
didn't
seem
to
have
worries
that we
do
all
have
so
for
today
as soon
as we
wake up
we will
have
things
that
will
worry
us
things
that
we
want
to
be
in a
hurry
to
finish
or
accomplish
and
things
that
will
upset
us
and
those
who
live
near
Jesus
will
find
that
Jesus
didn't
have
such
things
Jesus
never
complained
like
the
Israelites
complained
bitterly
about
all the
discomforts
they
gone
through
and
Jesus
did
not
live
a
comfortable
life
and
Jesus
was
kind
to
the
needy
he
had
time
with
the
poor
with
the
sick
with
those
rejected
by
the
society
and
Jesus
was
unlike
the
leaders
of
the
time
we
can
see
the
leaders
it's
more
about
performance
as
like
performance
like
mobistar
rather
than
serving
the
people
so
we
can
see
people
who
want
to
be
president
would
criticize
the
presidency
people
who
want
to
be
in
government
would
criticize
the
government
so
a lot
of
talks
but
not
many
people
really
live
among
the
people
and
serve
them
and
people
who
are
near
Jesus
will
see
that
Jesus
was
not
like
this
Jesus
did
talk
and
teach
he
did
teach
but
more
than
teaching
Jesus
lived
with
people
he
had
compassion
with
those
who
are
lost
and
that's
the
part
of
the
difference
that people
would
notice
and be
attracted
to
Jesus
but
then
there
are
also
people
who
find
Jesus
repulsive
because
Jesus
was not
bound
by
traditions
he
was
not
bound
by
the
reputations
or
sensations
he
just
did
not
try
to
appease
anyone
and
he
was
not
intimidated
by
those
who
were
in
power
so
eventually
he
would
become
such
a
threat
to
those
who
were
in
power
that
they
plotted
to
discredit
him
by
killing
him
on
the
cross
the
Israelites
were
correct
in
thinking
that
they
were
rotten
they
were
mistaken
in
thinking
that
rotten
hearts
could
obey
the
law
and
remake
themselves
they
were
mistaken
also
in
thinking
that
Emmanuel
was
not
possible
the
biggest
surprise
for them
was not
even
the fact
that
God
did live
among
them
in
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
it
is
the
fact
that
God
was
killed
by
them
in
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
the
leaders
of the
world
would
sacrifice
others
to
secure
their
positions
who
would
foresee
that
the
creator
of
the
world
would
sacrifice
himself
to
secure
their
adoptions
could
give
us
life
Jesus
lived
among
us
but
unlike
us
he
was
without
sin
he
obeyed
God
joyfully
his
death
was
therefore
sufficient
to
redeem
us
his
death
also
tells
us
that
there
is
something
far
greater
important
to
live
for
and
to
die
for
many
soldiers
had
sacrificed
themselves
during
World War
II
to
defend
world
peace
the
death
tells
us
to
treasure
the
peace
we
now
enjoy
the
death
of
Jesus
the
death
of
the
soldiers
did
not
really
secure
world
peace
not
long
after
World War
II
a
newspaper
editor
in
England
asked
the
question
what
is
wrong
with
the
world
G.K.
Chesterton
replied
dear
sir
in
response
to
your
article
what's
wrong
with
the
world
I
am
yours
truly
G.K.
Chesterton
so
in
a
short
sentence
but
the
best
answer
the
soldiers
or
the
United
Nations
cannot
secure
world
peace
because
there's
no
peace
in
our
hearts
until
we
have
peace
with
God
we
all
long
for
a
better
life
God
also
wants
us
to
have
a
better
life
God's
idea
of
a
better
life
is
quite
different
to
ours
our
idea
of
a
better
life
is
primarily
about
having
greater
comfort
God's
idea
of
a
better
life
is
primarily
about
holiness
that is
why
Jesus
came to
save
people
from
their
sins
he did
not
come
to
save
them
from
poverty
or
suffering
though
things
will
change
after
we
come
to
know
Jesus
it is
only in
holiness
that
we
can
have
peace
with
God
and
understand
what
real
life
is
glory
means
glory
means
glory
it
will
only be
a very
short
time
in
the
scale
of
eternity
Jesus
saved
his
people
to
bring
them
to
glory
means
something
that
is
eternal
value
something
that
is
worth
more
than
life
something
that
will
amaze
us
humble
us
delight
us
and
transform
us
Jesus
laid
down
his
life
because
he
saw
this
glory
we
also
have
a
glimpse
of
this
glory
in
Jesus
Christ
the
Emmanuel
such
a
glimpse
is
sufficient
to
tell
us
that
someone
truly
great
has
come
to
live
among
us
and
for
us
before
his
greatness
the
greatness
of
any
nation
any
race
any
family
and
anybody
will
pale
into
insignificance
he
has
been
sent
to
bring
many
sons
to
glory
would
we
surrender
our
desire
the
desires
of
our
crooked
mind
and
our
rotten
hearts
to
follow
him
if
he
insists
on
raising
our
own
dreams
we
will end
up
destroying
ourselves
if
we
follow
him
and
seek
first
God's
kingdom
and
his
righteousness
Jesus
promised
that
he
would
be
with
us
until
the
end
of
the
age
and
the
Holy
Spirit
will
change
us
into
someone
who
can
take
part
in
the
fulfillment
of
God's
plan
God
does
not
stop
at
forgiveness
of
our
sins
in
thinking
about
Jesus
saving
his
people
from
their
sins
we
tend
to
start
with
the
point
of
no
condemnation
for
those
who
are
in
Christ
Jesus
which
is
true
and
we
thank
God
for
that
Jesus
came
to do
far
more
than
that
he
came
to
bring
us
to
glory
he
came
to
change
our
lives
he
came
to
live
among
us
I
hope
that
we
can
see
that
and
so
we
can
live
a
life
that
is
worthy
of
his
calling
and
I
hope
that
as
we
go
on
with
the
book
of
Matthew
we
can
see
that
Jesus
was
living
out
a
glorious
life
and
he
is
inviting
us
to
join
him
let
us
pray
father
may
you
change
us
change
our
vision
that
we
will
see
greater
things
glorious
things
and
that
we
would
truly
live
a
life
that
would
honor
you
and
be
a
blessing
to
everyone
else
around
us
thank
you
father
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen
go
good
how
did
come
out
if
like
alone
I
did
read
the
life
вый
to
do
have
I
try
to
ürü
in