CNY 2011 Psa 128 _Prosperity and Blessings

8/7/2019 CNY 2011 Psa 128 _Prosperity and Blessings

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CNY 2011 Prosperity & Blessings

Prepared by Laurence Lee 2011 1

Prosperity & Blessings

Introduction

Happy CNY! Every Chinese New Year, Chinese people travel back to be with their

families. Firecrackers and fireworks can be heard at the strike of midnight. Shops areadorned with decorations of red and Chinese characters. Children are heard greetingadults Gong Xi Fa Cai hoping to receive a big Ang Pow. The atmosphere of CNYis indescribably electric.

The Chinese are very big on prosperity. Have you noticed the Chinese characters

commonly pasted on walls? One very commonly posted Chinese character is Fu,

which meanings blessings. Sometimes your will even see them hung upside-down so

that the blessings will be poured out! McDonalds understand the Chinese they servethe Prosperity Burger during CNY season.

But after every CNY celebration, life goes back to normal and it makes many wonder why are some people blessed and others not as blessed? What is a blessed life? How

does one have a blessed life? Are you living a blessed life?

Lets read this passage:

Psalm 128

1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,

who walk in his ways.

2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your sons will be like olive shoots

around your table.

4 Thus is the man blessed

who fears the LORD.

5 May the LORD bless you from Zion

all the days of your life;

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

6 and may you live to see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel.

In this Psalm, the words blessed/blessing/bless appear four times and the wordprosperity appears twice. Truly, God is the God of the Chinese people!

This Psalm answers two questions who is truly prosperous? And what does it mean

for someone to be blessed and prosperous?


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Content

1. Who is Truly Prosperous? (v1)Psa 128:1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.

The answer:

All who fear the Lord All who walk in His waysThe word blessed also means happy. The Chinese usually think that those who havemuch wealth and finances are happy and blessed. The truth is, many wealthy people livemiserable lives. Prosperity and blessedness go beyond physical things.

The Chinese character for blessed or happy is f, .

God had created man and provided Eden as a place for him to dwell. A Chinese

character for HAPPINESS (f,) depicts the close relationship which existed, as

GOD (sh,) and MAN (ku,) were ONE (y,) [ie. had fellowship] in the

GARDEN (tin,) of Eden. This was the nature of mans happiness before sin

entered the world (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Source: http://www.lookinguntojesus.net/PDFs/Chinese0005.pdf William J. Steward

To be truly blessed and happy, is to be one in fellowship with God. Thats why it is said

that those who fear the LORD will be blessed. To fear the Lord is an inner attitude ofthe heart. But the inner attitude of the heart show itself by a consistent walk with Godthrough outward actions.

But what do people fear most of the time? Chinese have a lot of fears kiasu (fear offailure), kiasi (fear of death), kiaboh (fear of wife)! There are lots of superstitions and

fears that plague the Chinese.

As believers in Christ, we dont fear ghosts, poverty, sickness, or even death, because

we believe in Jesus. We only fear one thing we fear the Lord.

Mat 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be

afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The fear God is to respect, to dread to offend, to have anxiety to please, to be in fullsubmission and to have total obedience. As a child respects an honoured parent, as a

soldier obeys his commander, as one stands before a king. That is the fear of God.

When we fear the Lord, we will live a life consistent to the Lords character you willwalk in his ways. There are some Chinese customs that are in line with Gods character:

Food and Family reunions refresh our relationships with our familymembers. Its a good time to catch up with family members and bring the

love of Christ to them. Shine for Jesus and look for opportunities to share ourfaith.

Finances paying and cancelling of debts, generosity in our giving. Ifthere are debts that need to be settled, settle those debts PTPTN, creditcards, borrowing from family members. Christians are meant to be lenders,not borrowers!

Avoid sinful excesses and superstitious practices. At the same time, thereare things that we have to watch out for greed (gambling), gluttony,drunkenness, and even worship of ancestors and idols.


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We must learn how to make a stand for your faith with wisdom. The Chinese have

phobia of losing fortune with lots of superstitions. We, as followers of Christ, are notbound by superstitions, but we also should be wise not to offend unnecessarily!

It says all. If you truly fear the LORD, you will be blessed. Some may doubt doesthat include me? Yes it does. There is no disparity in sex, age, background, social status,

occupation, or season in life you are blessed if you fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

This is a precious promise for you and me.

This CNY, why not make a new years resolution that youll truly fear the Lord and

walk in his ways?

2. What is True Prosperity? (v2-6)What are the blessings and prosperity? It goes beyond finances. It is holistic yourwork, your family and your whole life.

2.1 Your work productive and you eat of its fruit (v2)Psalm 128:2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

In the agrarian society, a farmer works the ground. What does he hope for? He looksforward to a harvest. If he plants rice, he hopes to eat rice. If he plants mangoes, he

hopes to eat mangoes. Eating something is as tangible as it can get.

Ecc 5:19-20 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him

to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. 20 Heseldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of

heart.

Being prosperous means that we are involved in productive work, and were able toenjoy a salary or a profit at the end of the month. It is a gift of God that were able toenjoy our work and to enjoy the fruit of our work. The key, in Ecc 5:19, is that one is

content with whatever God has given him, to accept his lot and be happy in his work,because that is Gods gift.

To be prosperous, means that

If youre a scientist, you will experience success in your research. If youre a businessman, you will see profits in your business. If youre a teacher, you will see your students score As (and Bs). If youre a doctor, your patients will recover. If youre an engineer, your projects will be successful. If youre a student, you will excel in your studies.

When we fear the Lord we will see success in what we do.

Tan Sri Dato Francis Yeoh, eldest son of billionaire Yeoh Tiong Lay, and managingdirector of YTL Corporation shared a story of his conversion:

I was 16 and had what seemed like an insurmountable problem so I vowed thatwhichever God would help me, I would dedicate the rest of my life to Him.

I happened to wander around Bukit Bintang and dropped into the Chinese BaptistChurch. It was a Friday. I poured out my woes to the priest who comforted me and

said not to worry because by Monday my problem would be gone as promised byJesus Christ.


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True enough, the miracle happened and my problem vanished on Monday. See, if Ihad entered a temple, I might have been a staunch Buddhist today. But I believe JesusChrist directed me towards Him and found me worthy of being His servant.

As to what the problem was, Yeoh grins, I am not telling you, maybe I will reveal itin my autobiography. Being devious and an expert at adding two and two into five, I

suspect he asked Jesus to save his fathers company. He was 16 when he offered to

drop out of school to work with his father.

During the 1970s upheaval, his father decided to throw in the towel and close SyarikatPembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay. He summoned his staff to announce the news but vowedto pay their salaries and all debts by liquidating all his properties and possessions.

Many employees then came forward, declaring they would sell their jewellery and gowithout pay to save the company as they had absolute faith in Yeoh Tiong Lay to turn

it around.

If this had happened on a Monday, the 16-year-old Francis must have wept tears ofjoy as he witnessed the power of Jesus.

When I announced my conversion to Christianity from Buddhism, there was quite areaction. My parents and siblings were up in arms as I was the first in 20 generationsto become a Christian.

My family said I was insulting my ancestors as we practised ancestor worship. I gave

my siblings a Bible each which they combed through carefully to tear it apart. Thenmiraculously, one by one they became believers and then full Christians. The processtook seven to 10 years. However, my parents remain Buddhist but they understand.

Giving thanks to God for Wessex Water

He cites one stunning, recent example of the abundance of Christ. After he acquiredWessex Water in 2002 for RM8.5bil, he decided to hold YTLs annual free concert for

2003 in Bath, England.

Luciano Pavarotti was asked to sing but his only free date was Aug 7. Unfortunately,August is the wettest month and it was feared that the open-air concert might be awashout literally.

Yeoh decided to up the ante by inviting Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to join

forces as The Three Tenors.

The Yeoh family and directors who still meet every Monday as the Yeoh Cabinet,balked at the expense which was in the millions. Some questioned the need for three

tenors when Pavarotti should suffice. Finally Yeoh said, Dont worry, Jesus will paythe bill.

Chuckles the crafty man, That was one sure fire way of ending any protests as theyare all Christians! Would you believe that August of 2003 turned out to be the hottest

and driest in Baths history!

Thousands enjoyed the glorious, free open-air concert. Because the rest of the monthwas so hot, people kept using and drinking extra water and our profits unexpectedlyshot up by the same millions, the exact amount the concert cost us! So in the end, Iwas right in my faith and Jesus did pay the bill.

YTL Concert of Celebration on 8th May 2010 in Singapore

YTL threw another free concert for 12,000 people, for invited guests, includingpastors and even the president of Singapore. Francis Yeoh unashamedly declared inhis speech: I am grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for granting us the privilege to

bless the people of Singapore with this evenings YTL Concert of Celebration.


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Source: http://lighthousejournal.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/in-god-he-trust-tan-sri-francis-yeoh/

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Yeoh

See also:

https://www.ytlcommunity.com/tansrifrancisyeoh/shownews.asp?newsid=53234

God blessed this businessman, as he feared God, despite opposition from family

members. Today, all his siblings are believers in Christ because of his example and faithin Christ.

Not all of us are big tycoons as Francis Yeoh is, but God has placed us where we are tobe salt and light in our sphere of influence.

Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for

men

When you apply biblical principles in your work, He will bless the work of your hands.

When you eat good food this CNY, and you paid for it, remember, that it is God whoprovided for you!

2.2 Your family in proper order & together (v3-4)Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

4 Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.

CNY is a good time for the whole family to come together. What great joy it is to see

the whole family come together for CNY husband and wife, and children around thetable to eat. Whether we are single or married, we all have families a blessed person

has a family that sticks together.

We see proper order in a prosperous family (see also Eph 5:33, 6:1):

The husband fears the LORD The wife is within the house The children are around the tableHaving the fear of the Lord guarantees that a family sticks together, as in this picturegiven. The wife will be like a fruitful vine, not one with thorns. She bears fruit she

fulfils her purpose as a life partner she is a helpmeet to her husband. She bears fruit intaking care of the affairs of the home, helping her husband reach his destiny, soulwinning, and even bearing children. The husband, on the other hand, leads the home,and takes care of the vine.

Your sons will be like olive shoots around your table means that children will gatheraround your dinner table to be fed. Have you heard of the saying, a family that praystogether stays together? Another saying that we can take to heart: A family that eats

together stays together.! Little olive shoots are fragile young plants that will one dayalso bear fruit.

When God is at the centre of the family, all this nonsense about divorce and abandonedchildren will be non-existent. There will be family joy. Sometimes families get it wrong

parents are out earning money but neglect time nurturing their children; husbandsneglect their spouse for the sake of earning more money.


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But when fear the Lord and walk in Gods ways, families will be in proper order and

will stick together. This is true prosperity.

2.3 Your days the churchs prosperity and a long life; all thedays of your life (v5-6)

Psalm 128

5 May the LORD bless you from Zion

all the days of your life;

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

6 and may you live to see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel.

A truly blessed life is one that experiences blessings from God daily. Once CNY isover, we may go back to life as usual, but is it possible to have the joy of the Lord allthe days of your life? I believe so. Its a prayer that we can pray.

Joh 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may

have life, and have it to the full.

A fulfilling life has two angles it is seeing the church prosper and even seeing yourchildrens children. When Jerusalem, Zion, and Israel prospers (i.e., the church), theblessings will flow from the church to your family. We can never be truly joyful if thechurch doesnt prosper thats why, as we start in this CNY, we should make a newyears resolution to pray and to serve in the church to see the church of Jesus Christprosper. Our families and each of us can never truly prosper if the church and Gods

kingdom doesnt prosper too. If the church hurts, we hurt too. Lets make a commitmentto protect the church and not harm the church (and the leaders).

Mat 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be

given to you as well.

May you live to see your childrens children is a wonderful prayer too. This speaksof old age. A man is blessed who has spent his life in the fear of the Lord. He is blessedwhen he has children, and his children also have children. There is an indescribable joyof seeing ones grandchildren. One of his greatest joys is to see the grandchildren also

come to know the Lord!

Whether single or with children if youve lived a long life serving God you areblessed.

Conclusion

Today, we are reminded that being blessed is not just a wish, a hope or something asflimsy as ones luck or fate. All of us can be prosperous when we fear the Lord andwalk in His ways.

Your work Your family Your life

30 second Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola)

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them

- Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounceback. But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass.

If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or


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even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for

it."

(Modified version):

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling THREE balls in the air. You name

them - Work, Family, and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounceback. But the other TWO Balls - Family, and Spirit - are made of glass. If you dropone of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even

shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

Our spiritual (and church) life is something we cannot neglect if it is healthy, we will

be a better employee, a better spouse, a better parent. The Psalmist said blessed are ALLwho fear the LORD they will be blessed.

Psalm 128:1,4

1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.

4 Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.

Altar call

Pray for those blessings mentioned as we fear and walk with the Lord success in your work, a blessed family, and a fulfilled life.

Those who are blessed truly fear the Lord why not make a new yearsresolution that youll truly fear the Lord and walk in His ways?

Call for salvation? Pray for salvation of family members.

Documents

CNY 2011 Psa 128 _Prosperity and Blessings