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Lord, we live in a world of change. Every day is filled with

uncertainty. We are surrounded by the twists and turns of
life, and we often feel we have little or no control over
things that happen to us.
Lord, we come to stand in your eternal presence. We come
to you to find ourselves, to find our way, to find hope. We
come to you because in Christ you first came to us. Please
protect us and lead us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Introduction: Blessed Chinese New Year to all brothers and

sisters who are celebrating Chinese New Year. The Chinese
culture has more than 5,000 years of rich human
civilization and its beliefs and norms and culture are
deeply rooted in symbols, traditions and festivals.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 offer valuable insights that can be
applied to our lives especially during this festive season:
Let us turn our Bible to 2 Corinthians 4:5
“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as
Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
We read in this verse that Paul was encouraged by the
fact that the gospel that he had been given to share
centered in a person: “We do not preach ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord.” Two words—Jesus Christ—
epitomized the message of the early church. The apostles
and evangelists didn’t preach a book, a ritual, an
institution, or a set of teachings, but a person. To them
world evangelization was the sharing of Jesus Christ with
the whole world.
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While the Gospels record many of the acts and

teachings of Christ’s ministry, they were meant to point a
person to the living Christ. Though the apostle Paul did a
great deal of writing about the atoning work of Christ, it
was not a theory of atonement that he preached, but a
person who could forgive sins. It is this aspect of the gospel
that makes it possible for all Christians to become
witnesses. Evangelism in its most wholesome form is one
believer introducing someone else to the person of Jesus
Christ.
Then again, Paul was encouraged by the fact that the
gospel did not have to be accepted by everyone to remain
valid.
Paul had understood from the beginning that sin had
created a veil over man’s understanding (v. 3) and that
people who are lost are suffering from a kind of spiritual
blindness. This is why the Holy Spirit is so important to
the work of sharing the gospel—He, the Holy Spirit can lift
the veil and open our spiritual eyes.
Dr. Billy Graham said to an audience, “You have two
sets of ears—your physical ears with which you hear what
I’m saying to you right now, and your spiritual with
which you hear what God says to you,” But I think he is
right. When the gospel is preached in all of its power, God
uses it (The Gospel) to shine a light where before there was
only darkness.

The Bible encourages us to reflect the light of the Gospel

in our lives. We must shine in the darkness, because most
people in the world today are living in darkness, in the
struggles and challenges in the world.
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Why so? Because the "god of this age," has blinded the
eyes of people in this world. And because of their
unbelief: people are perishing and being unable to see the
glory of Christ. They are fallen into modern temptations
and distractions that keep them from the Gospel.

But the Gospel reveals the true light to us: True light come
out from God. The gospel message we preach: not
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.

Through the Gospel message, God can transform our

hearts and reveals the glory of Christ through us. We must
embrace our role as Vessels of Light (v. 6). We are called to
action: be living examples of Christ's light in the world.
We are encouraged to share the Gospel with love and
compassion, not through self-promotion.
The Gospel we share to our relatives and friends promises
the hope and new life found in Christ. Let us worship
Jesus Christ and renewed our commitment to sharing the
light.
This year Chinese New Year starts from yesterday and will
last for the next 15 days and there are some traditional
practices that will normally accompany it for most
Chinese households. There are some good oriental
traditions that we can practice but some of our Chinese
New Year celebrations are earth bound and focus too
much on our temporal earthly life and tangible success.
As Christians, as much as we value our culture, we must
also seek to understand the symbols of our culture in the
right perspective and be careful about those religious
elements that do not accord with Holy Scriptures. We must
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put God first before our culture, and honour God in the
centre of our culture at the same time. It is also important
that we do not lose the non-religious part of our cultural
heritage as Chinese Christians, while not compromising
our celebration with materialistic or religious, beliefs and
experiences that are superstitious and hence displeasing to
God. Let us consider a few of them.
For example, the practice of astrology, gambling, drugs
taking, smoking, getting drank, worshipping of idols or the
veneration of the dead are strongly forbidden in the Bible.
In the festive spirit of wishing one another blessed new
year, there is the giving of "ang pows" which are red
packets with money to children or to our parents or
grandparents or other children. The giving of “ang pows”
is a good practice of giving, showing love and filial piety
that can be continued by believers.

Relevant Biblical References, the Bible is still relevant

today!
There are a lot of relevant Scriptures to be read and
contemplated on concerning festival celebration and let us
consider the following Pauline advice:
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all
for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
"Reject every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
Instead of doing evil things. We want to win souls for Jesus,
here are some prayers for winning souls:
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George Whitefield, the famous English evangelist, said, “O

Lord, give me souls, or take my soul!”
John Hunt, a missionary to the Fiji Islands, a prayer upon
his dying bed: “Lord, save Fiji, save Fiji, save these people,
O Lord; have mercy upon Fiji; save Fiji!”

By way of application:
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 is a passage from the Bible that speaks
about the importance of sharing the gospel with others. The
passage says that even if the gospel is hidden from some
people, it is still the light of the world. It also says that we
should not preach about ourselves, but about Jesus Christ.
Finally, the passage says that God has given us the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.
This means that we have access to the truth, and that we can
live our lives with hope and joy. It also means that we have a
responsibility to share this light with others.
By applying 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 to our daily and family
lives, we can make a difference in the world. We can share
our faith with others, focus on Jesus Christ, and live our
lives in a way that reflects our beliefs.

May our gracious Lord grant us true joy, peace, grace and
hope in this Chinese New Year season (which lasts for 15
days traditionally) as we pray for our family and nation
and witness to our relatives and friends for Christ with the
gospel of salvation in an edifying and godly manner and to
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honour Him before men and be a good testimony for Him

during the festive Chinese New Year celebrations and the
rest of the year till He returns. Lent is coming soon; come
and join us this coming Ash Wednesday, let us prepare our
heart in this Lent season. May the Holy Spirt lead us into
reflection and repentance.

Let us pray:
Lord, you call us to be loving; you challenge us to care;
you enable us to share your grace. We commit ourselves to
be open to you in all things. By your Holy Spirit, give us
the power and the will to demonstrate the love of Christ in
all we say and do and are. In Christ’s name. Amen.