FORWARD2015: Vision Weekend
By Pastor Dr Daniel Ho
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen
your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 4 “Do not be
afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your
widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy
One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. (Isaiah 54:2-5)
1 A 2015 Scenario
1.1 The Global Scene
We bid farewell to 2014 and welcome 2015. What is 2015 like for all of us? The global scene today
seems to be taken right out from Matthew 24.
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name,
claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumours of
wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to
come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew
24:4-8)
There will be all kinds of lies propagated, all kinds of news of wars and all kinds of power struggle.
Everyone wants to control the world. There will be a shakeup everywhere, including the
environment. Even in our own nation, we have politicians who increasingly do not care about the
people. Analysts and economists suggested a difficult year in 2015. There is greater pressure and
extremism in religion. We see the Matthew Effect that is the rich are getting richer and the poor are
getting poorer.
1.2 Out National Scene
 Politics. Politicians are increasingly serving their own interests and not the interest of the people.
 Economics. Economists and analysts agree that there will be a hard ride in 2015.
 Religion. People are getting more extreme. Certain people are told not to wish Merry Christmas
to Christians. The church has been made the punching bag.
 Society. There is a greater disparity between the rich and poor. This does not bode well for the
future our of nation.
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2 What is the Lord seeking to do?
How can the church respond to all this? What is it that God is seeking to do amidst all these?
2.1 God is taking us out of our comfort zone
Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen
your cords, strengthen your stakes. (Isaiah 54:2)
2015 is the year of stretching.
He wants to take us out from our comfort zone into an
unknown state. Back in May 2014, God revealed to Pastor
Daniel that 2015 will be a year of stretching. We are told to
enlarge and to stretch. God told us not to hold back and to
go for it!
God wants to prepare us for the future. Stretching can
sometimes can be painful and difficult. God is stretching
different people in different ways. This is one year whereby
God wants to stretch us.
We should not stretch like a rubber band. Once we stretch
a rubber band, it cannot go back to its original form. We
should stretch like muscle. Muscle beats every metal in the
world. Metal, no matter how tough will wear out if we
keep working on it. Muscle is different as it does not wear
out. In fact, the harder we work on it, the stronger it
becomes. If we keep our limps in a cast for months, it becomes muscle-less once we remove the
cast. We must be able to response positively in our situations so we can become stronger and
better. God wants to do something powerful and amazing in our lives.
2.2 Increasing our potential and multiplying our capacity
We all have great potential in us. There is more in us than we realize. We need to trust God so we
can realize our potential.
2.3 Preparing us for greater leadership role and responsibility
During the Watch Night Celebration, Pastor Daniel shared about explosions of grace, greatness and
grief. We like to be blessed but we don’t like pain, heartache and brokenness. But grief may not be
ourselves, our family or friend. Sometimes grief can be from other people. We pray that we have the
grace of God. Step up to be an agent of change to offer comfort to people who are in grief. Let us
demonstrate the love of God.
DUMC has set up its own flood relief task force. The sports complex is turned into centre to collect
supplies and materials. Some areas in the flood affected areas cannot be reached by road. Supplies
need to be airlifted. We want to reach out to serve people regardless of their background. We want
to meet them at their point of need with no strings attached. Sometimes we may be accused of
doing good works with ulterior motives. We stand unafraid. We are clean and clear of our motives.
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3 What is out vision?
Of a transformed society
Pastor Daniel preached on Zechariah about the dream of Malaysia on the Watch Night Celebration
of the 30th year anniversary of DUMC.
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will
be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy
Mountain.”4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old
age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.
5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” (Zechariah 8:3-5)
We long for Kuala Lumpur be a city of truth. Longevity is promised. There is safety and security in the
streets.
The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the
heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of
this people. (Zechariah 8:12)
There is going to be abundance and fruitfulness. Malaysia is ranked top 5 in countries to retire in. It
is still a desired country. We hope that it is not just desirable for retirees.
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound
judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear
falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. (Zechariah 8:16-17)
It will be amazing for a nation that speaks the truth.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten
people from all languages and nations will take firm hold
of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with
you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
(Zechariah 8:23)
There is justice and fairness in the court of law. People speak
the truth. How good it is when people take hold of us because
they heard God is with us? With God all things are possible.
Many people have not seen the goodness of God. We want to share God’s goodness, grace and
mercy.
4 How are we to respond?
How do we respond as people of God?
4.1 We need to have the right view of ourselves.
Many times we are not, we will not and we shall not.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)
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Do not let anyone look down on us because of our
background, education, social strata, and ethnic
group. Do not look down on ourselves. Instead be an
influence and impact to the society.
Make a stand with regards to our commitment to our
cell group. Pray about it. Colleagues may not be
happy. When we put God first, God honours that. If
we do not take a stand in the beginning, to draw the
line clearly our boss may ask, why last time no
problem now no problem?
4.2 A right view of society
Read less news or social media and more from the Word of God.
Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be
born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than
she gives birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:8)
Pastor Daniel once spoke to the CEO of Talent Corp. He said there is no way
to get the top talents back into the nation. Pastor Daniel suggested that the
only way to do that is to request them to come back one week a year as
national service, at their own expense. They will be more than willing to do
so.
At the height of the apartheid regime, South Africa was going nowhere. They were facing sanctioned
by almost the whole world. During that time many talented blacks left. Many whites left too as they
did not like the exploitation. There are more than 100,000 whites from South Africa in London alone.
Amazingly, God intervened powerfully. When Nelson Mandela become president, instead of a time
of revenge, it was a time of healing and reconciliation. Today, they are not out of the woods yet but
they are on the right track. The nation has turned around. We need good and strong leadership for
that to happen. We need to pray for grace and mercy for Malaysia. We do not give up or give in. We
do not surrender Malaysia to the enemy. There is still hope and future for Malaysia.
4.3 We must be pioneers and not settlers
God is thrusting us into a new area to be pioneers. We are to step
out from our comfort zone to spread out and think big.
We remember before our God and Father your work produced
by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonian 1:3)
The church in Thessalonica was just set up and they were nobody.
Yet, Paul recognized their faith and love and endurance. It is very
easy to just pack up and go. We must persevere and live with hope. If we have no hope, life will fade
away. Hope helps us to garner whatever strength we have and to have the courage to live on. We
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must believe God has put us in this nation for a purpose. It is not in economic system or any system.
Our hope is in God.
Think about a person whose life we want to make a difference in. If we can do that, there will be
4,000 persons whose live will be different. We need to focus. Over the years, we would have touch
thousands of lives.
Contributed by Ngui Yuen Loong
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SERMON: FORWARD2015: Vision Weekend
Pray:

We will brace ourselves for 2015 while keeping our faith in God.

We will prepared to leave our comfort zone to answer God’s call.

No matter what happens to us, be it good times or bad, we will be humble and be obedient to God.

We will be ready to rise up to be an agent of change when the need arises.

We will choose to trust that God’s grace is sufficient for us.
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen
your cords, strengthen your stakes. (Isaiah 54:2)
MINISTRIES & EVENTS: 14-day Fast and Pray
DUMC will kick start 2015 with fast and pray from 05/01/2014 (Mon) to 18/01/2015 (Sun)
Pray:

Members will fast and pray even if they cannot make it all 14 days.

Members will be able to sleep early and wake up early for the morning prayers.

Members will get a fresh touch from the Lord as they spend time praying to God and for each other.

Members who are new to fasting will be able to go through with God’s strength.

The church will develop a habit for prayer and make it a lifestyle.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the
cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your
food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked,
to cloth them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will
break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will
go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the
Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. (Isaiah 58:6-9)
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MALAYSIA MY NATION: Flood in East Coast
The number of flood victims have exceeded 180,000. While aids are pouring in, there are reports of local
authorities not distributing supplies fairly to all. The high water level is also making it difficult for
supplies to reach the flood victims. Much work is required to clean up and rebuild the affected areas.
Sanity is a concern. Even Sabah and Sarawak have begun to experience flood.
Pray:
 Aid from government, NGOs, volunteers will reach the victims safely and timely.
 Supplies will be distributed fairly to all victims.
 Authorities will take the flood situation seriously and take necessary actions without delay.
 Safety and good health for all.
 Flood affected areas to be restored and rebuilt and victims can quickly resume normal lives.
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives
strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace (Psalm 29:10-11)
A TRANSFORMED WORLD: Safety of Journalists
Journalists risk their health and even lives when the cover news. At least 3 Al Jazeera journalist are
taken under custody in Egypt. Journalist worldwide are threatened when they are carrying their job
to bring the news to us. There have been reports of arrests, beating, rape and murder of journalists.
Pray:
 Journalists, reporters, photographers are allowed to carry out their duties professionally
with dignity.
 Safety of the journalist especially those in hazardous areas like the warzones.
 They will be respected for doing their job. Even when denied the chance to carry a
news, they will not be unfairly persecuted under the law.
 They will be able to present facts to the world.
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and
sound judgment in your courts. (Zechariah 8:16)
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