When God Acts: Kingdom, Love, and the Battle for Souls - Sermon by Pastor

On a February morning in 2026, Pastor delivered a sermon that began with domestic plumbing heroics and ended at the gates of communist China's Bible printing presses. Between these bookends lay a careful examination of Mark's Gospel and its opening declaration: the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. This wasn't merely another year-opening message about spiritual renewal or New Year's resolutions. Instead, Pastor tackled a fundamental question that sits at the heart of Christian faith: what actually happens when God acts in human history, rather than when we scramble to fix things ourselves? The sermon drew from personal anecdotes—a flooded toilet, grandchildren asking for help, accident scenes on the Pan Island Expressway—to illustrate our common experience of heroes, both competent and accidental. Yet these earthly rescues, Pastor insisted, pale beside the cosmic rescue mission announced in Mark's opening verses. This is a story about sovereignty over creation and salvation, about a God who doesn't leave humanity stranded between "two nothings" of meaningless origin and purposeless death, and about what it means to live under the rightful rule of Jesus rather than the wrongful rule of Satan.

The Treason of Good News

Pastor made a striking observation about Mark's opening line that modern readers easily miss. In the Roman Empire of 2,000 years ago, "good news" was official terminology reserved for imperial announcements—another territory conquered, another tribe subdued, all hail Caesar. For Mark to pen the words "the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" wasn't just theological statement-making; it bordered on treason. He was announcing a rival king, a challenger to Caesar's throne. The title "Christ" marked Jesus as king not merely of Israel but of the world, while "Son of God" declared divine authority that superseded any earthly emperor. This context matters because Mark was writing to encourage believers facing persecution, people who needed to understand that their suffering wasn't random chaos but part of God's sovereign plan stretching from creation to final redemption.

"If you read this with some care 2,000 years ago in a Roman empire, this title is almost treasonable, because you are actually announcing a challenger to Caesar." —Pastor

Pastor emphasized that God's silence had stretched 400 years before John the Baptist appeared. No prophets, no direct communication, just waiting. Then suddenly the wilderness erupted with the hottest news of the time: a weird-looking person baptizing and preaching repentance. The whole of Judea and Jerusalem went out to him—hyperbole, certainly, but indicating this was the major event capturing public attention. John positioned himself clearly as the supporting act, the DJ warming up the crowd before the main performer takes the stage. His baptism with water would give way to Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit, signaling something unprecedented: God's permanent dwelling with humanity, not just temporary visitation upon select prophets, priests, and kings.

The quotation from Malachi and Isaiah woven into Mark's opening reveals intentionality. This wasn't a desperate last-minute plan, Pastor noted, but something prophesied and planned by God. The echo of "In the beginning" from Genesis hints at God's absolute sovereignty over both creation and salvation. For people of faith, this matters immensely. Without a Creator who also redeems, we're living between two nothings—appearing from nowhere for no reason, disappearing into nowhere with no purpose. That existence offers no framework for hope, meaning, or glory. But if the same God who spoke creation into being is now speaking salvation through Jesus, then every moment between birth and death carries weight and purpose.

The Paradox of the Flooded Kingdom

The sermon pivoted to what Pastor called "the Gospel paradox"—a tension that runs through Mark's entire narrative. On the surface, through physical eyes, Jesus' kingdom appears to fail spectacularly. Herod tries to kill him as a baby. John the Baptist, who announced his coming, ends up imprisoned and eventually executed. By the end of Mark's Gospel, Jesus dies on a cross while all the main characters preserve their own kingdoms: Pilate maintains his political position, the chief priests protect their religious authority, the crowds return to their lives. Jesus' earthly power and influence seemingly collapse entirely at Calvary. Yet the truth underneath this apparent defeat is that Jesus remains the true King, and one day he will return to reveal every false kingdom, including our small personal kingdoms over our own lives.

"The Gospel paradox is, on the surface, through our physical eyes, all the kingdoms of the soul cannot belong. But the truth is, Jesus is as true as King." —Pastor

This paradox showed up immediately in Jesus' ministry. At his baptism, the Father declares, "This is my son whom I love." Immediately—Pastor emphasized this word—the Spirit sends Jesus into the wilderness for forty days of temptation by Satan. The beloved Son experiences both divine affirmation and demonic opposition simultaneously. From birth to death, Jesus' life remained constantly exposed to danger, like living in Maasai territory where lions prowl at night and dawn. The mobilization of the entire Godhead—Father speaking, Spirit descending, Son being baptized—demonstrates the seriousness of the threat. If the Trinity had to coordinate this rescue operation, then Satan, sin, and death represent dangers we should never trivialize or dismiss.

Pastor introduced what he called "the Kingly Pause" as a practical application. Before indulging any sinful impulse—pornography, drunkenness, judgmental criticism of spouse or family, envy of siblings, gossip—believers should ask themselves a simple question: "Do I have the right?" The answer is no. We were never meant to rule our own lives independently. God created humans to govern the world under his management, taking instructions from him. When we threw off God's management, we didn't gain freedom; we simply transferred to Satan's lordship. The kingdom of God, then, means the end of Satan's wrongful rule and the beginning of Jesus' rightful rule. Every temptation becomes an opportunity to acknowledge whose kingdom we're building—our own tiny failing empire, or Christ's eternal one.

Passing the Baton of Good News

Pastor laid out three essential movements for believers: sitting at Jesus' feet daily, surrendering specific sins, and passing the gospel both downward to children and outward to the world. He offered a blunt diagnostic: "If you're too busy to spend time with God each day, you're too busy." This wasn't about legalistic time requirements—fifteen minutes, half an hour—but about the fundamental relationship that Jesus' death purchased. Why would Christ die to reconcile us to God if we're simply going to stay too busy to enjoy that relationship until we drop dead? The Holy Spirit speaks through God's Word to identify specific sins—envy, lust, entitlement, jealousy, unforgiveness—that need surrender.

"If you're too busy to spend time with God, you're too busy. Jesus died so that you have relationship with Him." —Pastor

The Christmas services at the church illustrated the intergenerational aspect of this gospel transmission. Eight services, thousands in attendance, and for the third time in over twenty-five years, children performed. Pastor read the prayers these young voices had offered: "Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to this doubtful to be this far. Lord, forgive us for our pride and our pain that cost you and us." Another child prayed, "We deserve judgment not sin, for Lord, we care about our suffering. You came to bear our pain and take it upon yourself." These weren't rote recitations but genuine expressions of understanding. The church's heartbeat, Pastor explained, was that each five, six, seven, eight-year-old performer would grow from childhood to adulthood "beginning in Jesus." Parents carry this privilege and responsibility—to gospel their children into becoming worshippers of Jesus.

The outward mission took Pastor to Amity Press in communist China, where a staggering figure appeared on the wall: 277,915,022 Bibles printed. Most were sent overseas, with only a restricted number distributed within China itself. This testified to God's sovereignty over kingdoms and nations, working through 2,000 years of church history despite human political systems. Closer to home, the church ministers to migrant workers in Singapore, some of whom have been scammed by lawyers and lost all their savings. Pastor also mentioned tribal people from various groups studying in seminaries and Bible colleges, preparing to preach the good news. Whether in China's printing presses or Singapore's migrant worker communities or remote tribal regions, God acts to bring nations to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Living Between Acts of God

The sermon concluded by weaving together its threads into a vision for the year ahead. The theme "Maturement in Everyone in Christ" from Colossians guides the church's focus—presenting Jesus as God's only hope, the sole rescue from Satan and sin. Throughout the year, the congregation would study two Old Testament books and two New Testament books. Job would take them from mountains of blessing to valleys of suffering, wrestling with the question "My God, why did you forsake me?" First Corinthians would address practical church problems, including controversial topics like spiritual gifts, tongues, and prophecy—the issues that churches typically save for visiting speakers who can "settle things" and then leave.

"Our heartbeat is that each of those children, 5, 6, 7, 8 years old, will grow from childhood to adulthood, beginning in Jesus." —Pastor

The practical calendar included an English Presbyterian Family Conference recognizing families as the church's backbone, with sessions on special needs and ADHD. A speaker would address how the Ten Commandments remain relevant today. Friendship movie nights on the eve of public holidays offered simple fellowship—no planning required, popcorn provided. Marriage enrichment retreats beckoned all couples. These programs weren't distractions from the gospel but expressions of it, ways of living under Jesus' kingship in the mundane territories of family stress, friendship, and marriage.

When God acts, Pastor concluded, he acts in Christ to save us from Satan and sin. When God acts, he acts in our hearts to redeem us. When God acts, he acts in our children. When God acts, he acts to bring nations to believe. This comprehensive sovereignty doesn't eliminate human responsibility but establishes its proper context. We're not the main act trying desperately to save ourselves, fixing spiritual toilets before they flood our lives. We're witnesses to what God has done, is doing, and will do. We sit at Jesus' feet, surrender our small rebellious kingdoms, and pass the good news to the next generation and the next nation. The question isn't whether God's kingdom will come—that's settled. The question is whether we'll recognize we're living in it, stop building rival kingdoms of one, and start worshipping the King who loved us enough to identify fully with sinners, face down Satan, and triumph through an apparent defeat that was actually the world's rescue.

"When God acts, he acts in Christ to save us from Satan's sin. When God acts, he acts in our hearts to redeem us." —Pastor