I want to just begin by asking a question. How many of you, you came to faith in Watermark Church?
Can you raise your hands? Wow! Wow, look at that.
Kevin, those who came to faith in Watermark Church, do you see their hands?
Kevin, you want to take a look?
Quite a lot. Wow, so wonderful, so wonderful.
You know, when we were worshipping just a moment ago, I was like singing those songs and praying and asking God for this session, the things that He will accomplish.
And one of the things that weigh upon my heart is if there's someone here in this crowd, and I don't want to embarrass anyone here by calling them out,
but if you are not a Christian, you're here because someone invited you, someone loved you, someone who feels that you matter so dearly to them,
and you're here with us, my greatest prayer is through this time, through this retreat, through an encounter with Christians in Watermark Church,
that God will impress His love upon you, that you come to know Him.
And that, by the way, is one of the features of a church that is filled by the Spirit.
Because in Acts chapter 2, we see at the end of that chapter, the Lord added to their number.
The Lord added to their number.
Non-Christians were part of the group that were attracted to the beauty of Jesus.
So that is one feature.
I wanted to, initially I wanted to address that at the end of the message, because that's the last verse of Acts chapter 2.
But I thought I was just front-loading that at the beginning, so that I'm clear that this message is for non-believers as well,
in case there's any one of you here.
Let me just, why don't we open our Bible, instead of Acts chapter 2, can we go to another passage?
Similar to yesterday, we started with a letter, a New Testament letter.
We're going to go to 1 John.
Sorry, yesterday I think we started with a Gospel, John 14.
And today we are starting with 1 John.
1 John chapter 4, just one verse, verse 13.
Are we there?
1 John chapter 4, verse 13.
By this, we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit.
So this whole retreat, the topic is on the Holy Spirit.
We've been talking about the person of the Holy Spirit yesterday.
Last night, there was a sense of worship, abiding in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
And if you have felt the Lord speaking to you, encouraging you, ministering to you, it is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works in a way that are mundane, ordinary.
The Holy Spirit moves in supernatural, spectacular ways that we see in the book of Acts.
And when you look at 1 John 4, verse 13, by this, we know that we abide in Him,
because He has given to us, He has given us of His Spirit.
Now, the this refers to the symptom, right?
By this symptom, we know the desired outcome of abiding in Jesus, which is something that we all long for.
We all pray, we all want to be drawn near to God.
We long to be where He is.
He dwells in us and we long to draw near to Him, to dwell with Him.
And the reason why we can do that is because He has given us His Spirit.
Now, you know, 1 John focuses so much on love.
So, the symptom of being filled by the Spirit, the symptom of God abiding in us is love.
It's love.
I'll just read the top few verses before verse 13.
So, I'm going to read from verse 7 to verse 12.
Follow me as I read 1 John 4, verse 7 to 12.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Verse 8.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Now, this is one of the most alarming statements in the Bible.
God is love.
Now, there are many ways that if the Bible is simply trying to tell us that God is a loving God,
you can use like a descriptive word, right?
God is loving.
God is the most generous when it comes to giving love and dispensing love.
But this is how the Scripture describes God.
God is love.
He is love itself.
Love is defined by Him.
And then verse 9, it gives us an even narrower description of love.
In this, the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
In this, His love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Verse 11.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
If we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.
Now, isn't it amazing?
The Spirit of God is the reason why we can abide in Him.
And then in this, we know that we abide in Him.
And then this refers to love.
Loving of one another.
And this love is narrowed down through a vision of the cross.
In this is love.
God sent His Son so that we may live through Him.
And then through that, we are called to love each other.
If you were to summarize the mark of a church filled with the Holy Spirit,
full of the work of the Holy Spirit,
evident of the fruit of the Holy Spirit,
it would be a church that abides in love.
It would be a church that truly loves.
A church that put God on display is a church that put love on display.
And I didn't make that up.
Because God is love, right?
God is love.
So if you want to put God on display,
you put love on display.
Now, here's the tricky part.
The world that we live in often defines love very, very loosely, right?
Love is a feeling.
Love is the sensation that you get when you listen to a love song.
Love is, you know, the fuzzy emotions that you experience
when you watch a really warm and nice romantic movie.
That is how we often relate with love.
But the love in scriptures is defined for us
pretty clearly here in this text.
And this is love.
Not that we love God,
but He loves us.
And
in this text,
we also see that
no one has seen God in verse 12,
but if we love one another,
His love abides in love.
His love is put on display
through us, in us,
to the whole world.
So let's come back to Acts chapter 2.
I thought that would be quite a good introduction
to this portion.
Because if we dive in,
into a passage that is descriptive,
as I mentioned yesterday,
Acts is descriptive.
It describes for us what happened.
But it doesn't explain to us
exactly the rationale
and what exactly was going on there behind the seat.
It just tells us
this was what was going on,
on the outside.
And
1 John 4
helped to frame
Acts chapter 2.
2.
This is how
a loving church
looked like.
This is how
what happened
when people are filled
by the Holy Spirit.
And the flow of the Spirit is
love, right?
Love, joy, peace,
goodness, kindness,
and the rest of those things.
But love
is put on display here.
I'm going to read for us
Acts chapter 2
from verse 37 onward.
The focus is on verse 42 onward,
but I'm going to read
the first few verses
so that we can set
the context
of this passage.
Now when they heard this,
they were cut to the heart.
The gospel,
they heard the gospel
and they said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles,
brothers,
what shall we do?
And Peter said to them,
repent and be baptized,
every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you will receive
the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
So listen to this.
There's a promise
and what is the promise?
The gift
of the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit
you receive
all three members
of the Godhead.
Father,
Son,
Spirit.
So the promise here
is not in
a successful life,
a life that is smooth sailing,
a life that is good
and comfortable
in the way
the word defines it,
but they will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And verse 39,
for the promise
is for you
and your children
and for all
who are far off,
everyone whom
the Lord,
our God,
calls to Himself.
So the Lord
calls to Himself.
And with many
other words
He bore witness
and He continued
to exhort them
saying,
Save yourself
from this crooked generation
so those who received
His words
were baptized
and there were added
on that day
3,000 souls.
It's not a small
numbers, right?
Have you ever
run an organization
of 3,000 people?
I don't know.
Do you have any
like some guys
who manage
I don't know.
There are churches
that are probably
in numbers
of a few thousands.
We,
back home in Singapore
we have a church
that is about
1,000-ish
maybe 1,002-ish
regular attendance
1,002,
1,003.
It's a nightmare
to be honest.
It's a nightmare.
I was talking
to Simon earlier
right,
he moved to Singapore
a while back
and then he moved
back to Hong Kong
which is telling us
it's too big
in some ways.
And as a pastor
I struggle.
I struggle to remember
the names of people.
I really do.
So when the invitation
came from Kevin
to come to Watermark Church
and I knew that
this is a church
of like 100 plus
close to 200, right?
1,002,
that is like
the size that
in my mind
that's the ideal size
for a church
where people can be known
you can come for a retreat
it's cozy,
intimate.
It is really possible
to know everyone really.
It still takes
much effort
but it is possible
to know everyone.
But we're talking about
here in Acts chapter 2
3,000 souls.
And friends
this is how it looks like
in the way
they do life
because often
we look at this
3,000
the church
in the book of Acts
we assume
that it's like
a small community church.
No, 3,000 souls
yes they be in their homes
they gather for
big gathering
and this is a description
of everything
but let's bear in mind
that 3,000 souls
verse 42
they devoted
themselves
to the apostles
teaching
the fellowship
to the breaking
of bread
and prayers
verse 43
and all came upon
every soul
and many wonders
and signs
were being done
through the apostles
and all who believed
were together
and had all things
in common
and they were selling
their possessions
and belongings
and distributing
the proceeds
to all
as any
had need
and day by day
attending the temple
together
breaking breads
in their homes
they received
their food
with glad
and generous hearts
praising God
and having favor
with all people
and the Lord
added to their number
day by day
those
who were being
saved
so
this is only
accomplished
through the power
of the Holy Spirit
that's my main point
and
can you see here
on display
is a church
that is full of
love
breaking bread
coming together
having things
in common
helping each other
no one is poor
here in this community
because they were
sharing their belongings
supporting each other
and through that
the love of God
is being put
on display
and the Lord
added to their number
day by day
those who have
been saved
I don't know
whether you've been
to churches
that often focus
on growth
strategy
here's the way
to multiply
cell group
here's the way
to get to this
number
by the end
of this year
this strategy
this method
the strategy
laid out for us
in the book of Acts
is pretty straightforward
receive the gospel
receive the most
precious gift
of the Holy Spirit
treasure Jesus
make much of him
preach his word
faithfully
and through that
the apostles
they were
demonstrating
signs
and wonders
healings
restorations
life transforms
and as love
is put on display
the church
grew
the church
grew
let me just
highlight for us
in the city context
there are two
implications for us
you read this text
and it's like wow
this is like 2,000 years ago
it's quite far off
what is this going to do
with like in 2023
in cities like Hong Kong
and Singapore
what is this going to do
with us
how does that look like
for us
one very very
what I think is
it can be quite
shocking in some ways
and quite surprising
for us
is
about the features
of the New Testament church
is
we actually don't get
to choose
who we hang out with
in some ways
notice the language here
is God
has chosen
his
people
I'll read for you
verse 39 again
the promise
is for you
and your children
and for all
who are far off
everyone
whom the Lord
our God
calls
to himself
now notice
that the initiative
here is
God
has called
and chosen
a people
now
Kevin
I don't know
how much
you guys
have covered
doctrine
like election
predestination
being chosen
yeah
but
here
we see
quite clearly
here
I mean
when we come
to the topic
of the way
of God
who choose
God choose
or we choose
we need to
appreciate
the divine
mystery
that God
is God
right
we do see
in the scripture
God has chosen
the people
and these people
they have chosen
him
as they were
being chosen
by God
and we see
that divine
mystery
of us
choosing him
moving to him
longing for God
to draw us
to him
and him
drawing us
by grace
through the power
of the Holy Spirit
and we often
apply that truth
of election
being chosen
by God
in a very
individualistic way
like this is
for me
this promise
is about me
being chosen
but have you
considered
that this
implication
if this
is true
it implies
that the
body of
Christ
we are all
chosen
by God
now
here's a
thought experiment
you look
around you
if not
for Jesus
would this
be the folks
that you
choose to
hang out
with
and this
is not
meant to be
insulting to
anyone
really
what I'm
trying to
highlight
is that
we are
so
different
where is
EJ
is EJ
here
EJ
is she
somewhere
here
EJ
yeah
over there
I cannot
even
pronounce
her name
EJ
she has to
shorten that
to EJ
for me
and when I
realised
what's her
last name
that was
a greater
nightmare
right
you have
so
in my
mind
if this
just
happened
naturally
without
the
context
of the
faith
we just
happen
to bump
into each
other
and just
by reading
her name
I couldn't
pronounce it
I'll move
on to
another
person
right
this is
not the
person
that
I want
to hang
out
with
not for
anything
that is
bad about
her
but just
the
difficulty
of trying
to relate
to someone
of a
different
culture
whose name
I can't
even
pronounce
right
but look
at what
we have
here
isn't it
beautiful
isn't it
wonderful
I have
more than
once
people coming
to
and we
have a
very similar
church to
you guys
here at
Watermark
Church
in RAC
we have
a church
that's
quite
diverse
in
nationalities
and there
were
more than
a few
times
that people
would come
up to
me
and say
one of
the most
attractive
thing
about
your
church
is I
cannot
quite
figure
out
how
did
you
guys
all
end
up
together
now
guys
we are
meant
to be
perplexing
to the
world
with this
unity
that we
have
in
Acts
chapter
2
nothing
is
mentioned
about
whether
they
belong
to a
specific
social
class
specific
types
of
people
vocations
and so
on
we do
not know
what kind
of
industry
this is
not a
bunch
of
people
in the
same
industry
hanging
out
this is
people
coming
together
let me
just
make
sure
that
we
see
that
they
were
gathering
to the
process
teaching
to the
breaking
of
bread
let's
come
there
for a
moment
when
you
break
bread
what
do
you
remember
you
look
around
you
there are
people
that
you
would
not
choose
because
if
life
just
happens
you
would
not
hang
out
with
them
you
hang
out
with
people
who
are
more
similar
to
you
hang
out
with
your
people
group
people
that
you
feel
most
similar
to
but
here
we
are
as
we
celebrate
the
bread
being
broken
what
was
broken
so
that
I
can
have
this
body
now
why don't
we
make it
a
commitment
from
this
point
on
every
time
a
leader
stands
in
front
to
lead
the
communion
to
celebrate
the
breaking
of
bread
let's
take
a
look
around
ourselves
let's
not
just
bow
our
head
and
receive
the
communion
element
and
consume
it
on
our
own
but
let's
take
a
moment
to
take
a
look
around
us
and
remember
his
blood
was
shed
so
that
I
can
have
this
body
of
Christ
that
I
am
a
part
of
so
God
has
brought
us
together
as
a
people
we
did
not
choose
him
we
did
not
even
choose
one
another
but
here
we
are
he
loves
us
we
love
him
and
we
are
called
to
love
each
other
now
often
when we
talk
about
the
miracles
of
the
Holy
Spirit
we
think
about
the
miraculous
healings
the
tongues
the
prophetic
words
but
here
is
another
miracle
watermark
church
diverse
people
but
love
is
what
unites
us
the
love
defined
for
us
in
one
job
love
to
love
to
say
to
you
on
the
first
day
but
I
forgot
about
this
Ryan
and
Catherine
say
hi
to
all
of
you
so
I
met
them
a couple
of
Sundays
ago
they
are
part
of
a
mandarin
plant
so
RAC
planted
our
two
churches
and
English
plant
Simon
you
visited
led by
Andrew
purchase
and
then we
have
another
plant
a
mandarin
plant
in our
city
it's
fairly
small
right now
it's
quite
new
and
right in the
country
they are
part of
that
plant
and
when I
went to
visit
the
mandarin
plant
a few
weeks
ago
they were
there
they were
really
excited
I'm
coming to
Watermark
church
they were
talking about
how in
their time
here
that was
really
formative
I think
writing
came to
faith
here
I believe
so this
is a
very
special
place
to them
and
because
of
the
RAC
never
meets
their
standard
it took
them a
really
long
time
to
find
but
now
as
the
smaller
mandarin
plant
was
planted
out
they
are
now
getting
into
community
and
doing
life
with
other
Christians
so
it's
just
a
high
from
them
and
a
short
waiting
that
they
are
doing
well
they
also
wanted
to
send
me
some
good
places
for
sao
er
here
in
Hong
Kong
roasted
goose
so
it's
really
friendly
and I
really
appreciate
them
another
reflection
that I
have
is
do
you
realize
that
this
environment
is
more
precious
than
blood
family
in
some
ways
Yvonne
and I
we are
both
from
non-Christian
families
I
have
more
things
in
common
with
you
some
of you
I
just
met
we
just
had
small
talks
and
very
quickly
I
felt
that
connection
this
is
how
you
came
to
faith
and
just
a
sense
of
fellowship
and
love
and
it's
actually
very
challenging
often
when
I'm
back
home
back
in
my
family
my
sister
who
is
not
a
Christian
my
parents
are
not
Christians
there
are
just
so
many
things
happening
in
my
life
that
I
cannot
share
with
them
and
most
of
the
things
I
cannot
quite
connect
as
well
and
I
begin
to
realize
that
it
is
so
true
that
when
we
become
Christians
the
relationships
that
becomes
most
significant
to us
is one
that
is
bought
by
blood
the
blood
of
the
lamb
and
it's
thicker
than
blood
in
some
ways
when
we
a few
years
ago
we
said
to
the
church
at
REC
we
said
that
if
we
ever
get
knocked
down
by
a
car
by
the
way
these
thoughts
came
when
one
night
we
were
out
late at
night
having
supper
so
we
drove
out
and
there
was
a
huge
storm
so
the
traffic
was
quite
heavy
and
I
was
just
saying
what
if
we
have
a
terrible
accident
and
we
don't
get
home
what
would
happen
to
our
car
right
talking
about
which
family
we
want
in
REC
to
adopt
our
children
and
we
were
making
a
list
this
couple
they
are
wonderful
they
are
waiting
for
God
to
provide
them
with
a
child
our
kids
will
fit
in
so
nicely
with
their
family
and
we
were
working
through
our
list
and
one
Sunday
when
I
got up
to
preach
I
said
I
just
want
to
make
sure
it
is
registered
in
the
God
has
given
us
something
very
precious
here
a
family
bought
by
the
blood
of
the
lamb
so
that's
the
first
part
this
is
family
now
second
thing
I
just
have
the
first
part
we
did
not
choose
this
family
and
second
part
being
known
notice
how
in
this
faith
community
that they
share
everything
together
I
confess
that I
love
my
privacy
very
dearly
I
love
my
own
me
time
and
down
time
which
by
the
way
is
not
wrong
but
the
gospel
calls
us
to
some
kind
of
loss
of
privacy
right
we
see
clearly
in
Acts
chapter
2
they
were
sharing
life
with
each
other
there
were
people
who
were
different
from
each
other
but
they
were
sharing
their
possessions
coming
together
and
we
see
through
the
book
of
Acts
that
there
were
many
examples
of
the
believers
laying
down
their
life
for
each
other
sending
helps
whenever
help
is
needed
this
is
real
bonds
between
a group
of
people
brought
together
by
the
gospel
and
being
known
is
part
of
it
so
my
question
is
how
known
are
you
in
this
church
family
by
others
being
known
is a
huge
part
of
what
it
means
to
be
a
member
in
the
household
of
God
being
known
being
real
now
one of
the
signs
of
a
healthy
church
is
people
can
come
to
the
church
not
having
to
wear
masks
they
can
be
real
they
can
come
and
be
weak
they
can
come
and
be
honest
that
I'm
a
mess
and
that's
why
I'm
coming
do
you
know
that
in
a
lot
of
churches
the
culture
is
not
like
that
people
have
the
assumption
that
church
is
for
good
well
behaving
people
so
if you
behave
yourself
if you
keep
all
these
moral
conducts
that
qualified
you
to
come
to
church
and
hang
out
with
the
good
religious
people
no
Jesus
is
not
like
that
it's
quite
opposite
and
the
mark
of
a
spirit
filled
church
community
is
one
that
you
can
be
weak
we
recently
built
a
counseling
ministry
in our
church
and
I'm
the
pastor
that
oversees
the
counseling
ministry
by the
way
a
plug
for
CCF
which
some
of
you
guys
are
taking
online
classes
through
the
CCF
it's
a
really
wonderful
resource
and
we
have
a
few
counselors
on
staff
right
now
in
the
team
we
built
a
counseling
room
near
the
office
and
about
two
years
ago
when
I
started
the
project
of
building
a
counseling
ministry
I
started
to
contact
different
churches
in
Singapore
that
have
counseling
ministries
and
just
interviewing
them
learning
from
them
asking
them
tons
of
questions
and
one
of
the
common
responses
from
the
churches
out
there
is
they
would
tell
me
if
you
build
a
counseling
ministry
and
you
have
counseling
rooms
build
it
in
a
separate
building
from
your
church
or
from
your
church
office
and
I
was
that
part
said
why
do
I
need
to
find
a
separate
location
to
build
a
counseling
room
a
counseling
ministry
why
can't
I
have
it
in
my
own
space
and
I
said
oh
you
know
what
because
people
feel
a
sense
of
shame
walking
into
counseling
room
and
being
seen
by
others
that
they
need
counseling
I
mean
I
managed
to
compose
myself
and
look
like
I'm
neutral
but
I'm
dying
inside
as I
was
dying
inside
every time
when I
hear that
I was
really
dying
inside
because
what
struck
me
is
that
are
we
saying
that
the
Christian
church
has
no
space
for
those
who
are
going
through
real
difficulties
real
struggles
real
mental
health
challenges
and
they
are
coming
in
for
help
is
that
the
kind
of
church
culture
that
we
are
sending
out
now
if
that's
the
case
I
can
see
why
non
Christians
don't
want
to
be
a
part
of
this
really
I'll
run
away
and
the
kind
of
church
that
attracts
non
Christians
coming
in
is
the
kind
of
church
where
you
and
I
receive
the
love
of
God
and
know
that
we
can
be
weak
and
when
we
come
into
this
pointing
to
the
bread
of
life
that
is
the
kind
of
church
community
I
want
to be
a part
of
a
church
community
that
is
known
people
are
known
by
each
other
that
we
can
be
weak
that
we
keep
pointing
each
other
to
our
Savior
and
one
way
to
do
that
if
you
are
leading
here
some
of
the
elders
leaders
in
various
ways
if
you
are
leading
a
small
group
let's
model
that
have
a
church
community
that
is
known
people
are
not
afraid
to
be
known
so
that
is
the
two
mark
remembering
that
we
are
chosen
by
God
not
by
each
other
and
then
the
second
thing
is
being
truly
known
how
does
that
happen
for
us
again
to
go
back
to
the
good
news
now
if
you
think
about
family
bonds
family
it
you
are
known
right
where
you
see
each
other
messes
if
I
want
to
find
out
about
Kevin's
life
all I
need
to
do
is
sit
down
and
interview
his
brother
about
things
in his
growing
up
years
because
family
members
the
group
of
people
that
you
cannot
hide
you
cannot
hide
your
dirt
you
can
come
out
from
your
home
looking
polished
looking
like
you
are
well
put
together
but
all
your
weaknesses
most
of
the
things
that
you
struggle
with
those
things
will
be
really
hard
to
hide
from
your
family
members
now
we
see
in
the
scriptures
starting
from
Genesis
chapter
4
that
the
family
though
we
assume
that
it
will
be
a
place
of
love
and
unity
and
acceptance
when
the
fall
happened
we
see
Abel
and
Cain
murdered
and
there
was
a
line
that
is
interesting
that
there
was
blood
the
blood
of
Abel
cried
out
to
me
cried
out
to
God
from
the
ground
and
the
metaphor
came
out
a lot
in
the
Bible
that
there
is
innocent
blood
spilled
on
the
ground
crying
out
for
condemnation
for
the
people
who
spilled
it
cries
out
for
vengeance
and
so
Cain
he
was
driven
out
he
was
put
in
exile
now
through
Christ
Jesus
what
happened
was
there
was
also
blood
his
blood
and
he
was
driven
out
so
he
was
Abel
and
Cain
at
the
same
time
notice
that
he
was
cast
out
on
the
cross
Jesus
cried
out
my
God
my
God
why
have
you
forsaken
me
so
Jesus
in
some
ways
is
a
reflection
of
Cain
and
Abel
at the
same
time
the
innocence
of
Abel
a man
who
did
not
deserve
that
punishment
at
the
same
time
he
took
on
the
punishment
of
Cain
of
you
and
I
those
who
have
committed
atrocious
sins
in our
life
so
he
shed
his
blood
and
he
was
cast
out
so
friends
this
is
how
we
receive
the
Holy
Spirit
now
earlier
I
really
appreciate
the
time
of
singing
and
worship
the
song
come
praise
and
glorify
and
there
was
a
moment
that
we
read
out
2nd
Corinthians
it's
another
reminder
that
God
has
given
us
his
spirit
in
our
hearts
as
a
guarantee
as
a
guarantee
the
spirit
is
given
to
us
because
of
what
Christ
has
the
spirit
to
us
the
spirit
now
dwells
in
the
spirit
is
like
a
guarantee
that
no
matter
what
happened
in
this
life
we
will
persevere
all
the
way
to
the
end
and
one
of
the
mark
of
a
church
is
a
loving
community
that
we
see
in
Acts
chapter
2
proclamation
of
the
gospel
they
love
God
they
love
each
other
they
truly
love
each
other
water
mark
church
I
really
just
I'm
seeing
some
really
positive
signs
of
this
church
loving
each
other
treasuring
Jesus
going back
to the
good
news
all the
time
you
have
some
good
things
happening
here
it's
just
my
hunch
a
church
that
you
know
just
now
when I
asked
who
came
to
faith
here
there
were
a
few
hands
quite
a
number
of
hands
by
the
way
and
I
think
there
could
be
non
Christians
among
us
I
think
there
is
and
you
guys
probably
have
to
find
out
ways
of
how
you
can
prioritize
health
while
you
grow
in
numbers
so
the
goal
is
not
numbers
by
the
way
the
goal
is
not
numbers
the
goal
is
always
health
how
can
we
be
a
healthy
church
as
God
bring
about
the
growth
the
growth
is
out
of
our
control
as
we
faithfully
love
each
growth
will
happen
but
when
growth
happen
how
can
we
remain
healthy
that
would
be
your
challenge
I
sense
in
the
next
few
years
if
I
ever
come
back
here
again
it
could
be
quite
a
different
church
because
I
trust
that
God
will
surely
add
to
your
people
and
when
that
day
will
happen
prioritize
health
that
will
be
my
encouragement
to
you
and
keep
loving
each
other
with
that
I
am
going
to
can
I
pray
for
us
first
before
I
pass
the
time
back
to
whoever
that
is
leading
this
portion
later
on
Lord
I
really
want
to
pray
for
this
church
Watermark
Community
Church
what a
precious
church
that you
have
given
to
us
and I
use
the word
us
because
I
feel
like
I'm
a
part
of
this
church
too
in
some
ways
connected
to
this
church
because
of
Jesus
and
I
pray
that
we
as
the
body
of
Christ
we
will
grow
in
love
we
will
grow
in
unity
I
pray
for
all
my
brothers
and
sisters
here
that
there
will
be
a
real
sense
of
your
presence
the
presence
of
the
Holy
Spirit
the
challenging
us
encouraging
us
pointing
us
towards
Jesus
again
and
again
a
community
of
real
friendship
and
fellowship
and
love
and
concerns
where
when
one
member
of
the
body
is
suffering
the
rest
of
the
body
weeps
with
them
when
one
person
is
heading
away
from
the
faith
making
bad
decisions
in
life
and
the
rest
of
the
body
love
enough
to
call
them
back
to
repentance
a
love
that
is
genuine
gentle
a
love
that
is
gracious
and
patient
and
God
only
you
can
produce
such
a
love
no
technique
no
strategy
can
help
us
do
that
apart
from
the
work
of
the
Holy
Spirit
so
Holy
Spirit
today
we
cry
out
to
you
grow
us
to
be
a
church
filled
with
love
for each
other
love
for you
and
help
us
to be
a
blessing
to
the
city
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
Amen
for
Thank you.