Chua Wee Hian was the General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in 1972. He is also the founding pastor of Emmanuel Church, Westminster, London. God has used him to equip and empower many leaders for His kingdom. His is a noted international Bible expositor and author and travels to different countries to inspire future generations. He and his wife King Ling have three sons who together with their wives and children are fully committed to sharing God’s Word and love in the market place and local church.
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Inter-generational Preaching Sharing by Grandpa, Son, Grandson.
PREACHERS tend to look back at their “first” – first sermon, first time speaking in country X, in a hotel, under canvas, open air, in a sports arena. I shall always remember preaching barefooted in Japan; giving my first exposition in a second language (Chinese!) and having my message interpreted the first time into German. I’m having another “first” in four weeks’ time – preaching together with our oldest son Andrew and his son, Ben.
St Andrews Cathedral Singapore has invited us to speak on Living a Legacy at their conference. Andrew and Ben will respond and interact with my sermon and I, with Andrew’s. Inter-generational preaching. This will be an exciting first for all three of us and for our dear friends from the cathedral.
Messages will include legacy in family identity, wise use of words and time, work and vocation. I’m concluding the series with the legacy of overcoming (fears, anxieties, failures) So in this combined issue, I’m re-producing quotes on legacy, failures, setbacks and success.
Pass it down the generations
I’ve spent the past weeks working through generational blessings. The Lord God revealed himself to Moses as the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” the tri-generational God (Ex.6:3)
He added his other name/title – GOD ALMIGHTY.
Hebrew EL SHADDAI expresses His sufficiency, resources and power. Isaac blessed Jacob using this name (Gen.28:3) When Jacob eventually returned to Canaan, he was eager for his descendants to acknowledge the Lord as EL SHADDAI (Gen. 35) I was deeply struck that the Psalmist addresses the Lord as “The Almighty, the God of Jacob”. (Ps. 46:7,11) Generational blessing underscores the need for every generation to know Him as El Shaddai.
Legacy is defined in terms of character, values and faith. In faithfully exercising faith in an all-sufficient God, treasuring his values and reflecting his character, we shall have priceless legacy to share with those and near to us.
Powerful words
“Thank you” as two powerful words. I emphasise another set of two words “I’m sorry.” These have lasting impact if we add “Please forgive me”. All our three sons are actively following and serving the Lord today. An important factor in their commitment and devotion to the Lord was when they watched us – their Mum and Dad apologising to each other and we in turn asking them to forgive us when we hurt or misunderstood them. This was not easy for Chinese parents like us. They recognised that we live under Christ’s lordship and values. Hence, we did not hide our weaknesses and vulnerability from them. The legacy we’ll leave for them lies not in our estate and financial assets but in their godly character and values undergirded by faith in Him.
LEGACY
It is not a parent’s responsibility to have godly children. It’s a parent’s responsibility to make sure their children have godly parents. Your children will become what you are. So be what you want them to be.
One measure of leadership is the calibre of people who choose to follow you.
A comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there.
Normality is a paved road. It’s a comfortable road to walk but no flowers grow there.
The world needs dreams and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers that do.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Never, never stop growing. Plateaus should only be found in geography books, not in personal experience.
We live in a culture of excellence where success is everything. Winners win fame and fortune; losers get nothing. If the media is to be believed, winners are a race apart, each one a Midas turning everything they touch into gold.
But the reality is we all have feet of clay and the world is fickle in its distribution of good fortune and loss. What is important is how you deal with failure. Successful people fail just as much as the rest of us, but the difference is how they regard failure, how they manage it, how they turn it into success.
