Simon Wee
I would like to share a personal testimony, in relation to the message preached by Pastor Derek Hong on “The Five Marks of a Healthy Church,” on 27 May 2017.
I would like to confirm one area of application he shared on, taken from 1 Samuel 2:30 and Matthew 6:33.
This relates to an event that happened when I was a young believer back in 1995. I was a property agent, which required I show properties to potential buyers. I had advertised a property in the weekend paper, that four other property agents were also promoting and having an “open house” for on the Sunday. The open house is an opportunity when property agents can invite potential buyers to view a property. So there was myself and the four other property agents marketing the same property. Back then, buyers would contact us via a pager and we would return their calls. As I attended church every Sunday, it was during the service my pager began beeping non-stop. I remember asking the Lord, “If I honour you by not acknowledging all these calls until the end of the service, will you honour me by giving me this sale?”
After the service, I was shocked to see that some 15 calls had been sent to my pager, including one from my boss. I quickly called my boss and discovered that he had been in the office when some of the callers had rang, and he was quick to reprimand me for not promptly returning calls to the clients. It was then I mustered all my courage and for the first time said to him, “I am a Christian and Sunday is my day of worship!” He paused for a moment before asking me to attend to all the callers immediately. In doing this, I managed to arrange a viewing with one man for that evening. When I brought him to the property, he walked around and then made his way to the living room window where he stood staring outside for around 10 minutes. Suddenly, he turned to me and asked about the property price. I told him, and to my amazement, he said he wanted it, and immediately proceeded to prepare a cheque for the down-payment of 10%!
Two things stood out for me from this incident:
- 1. Mr Tan could have called one of the other property agents advertising the same property when I failed to call him back immediately.
- 2. In my work as a property agent, no buyer had ever bought a property at their first viewing.
I firmly believe that when we honour God, He will honour us and cause our hands to prosper.
To God be the Glory, honour, power and praise!