Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Good morning, everyone.
There's quite a few things in life where you
know how to prepare for. A day like today is
not one of those. Thank you for such beautiful
expressions of love to my family and myself.
It's a day that we will not forget. I promise
you that. So what do you say on your final day
as a pastor at ECB and where do you start in
sharing? Well, I thought it was a good idea to
begin with showing you two pictures. And the
first picture was taken in July 2016, on the
day that we flew from Amsterdam to Bangkok. So
our girls were still little, as you can tell.
So Norchi is the one in the middle, and then
Elise is the one on the right, and then there
is Emma. And as you can tell, they have aged
quite a bit. Right? Contrary to Honig and myself,
we still basically look the same. But this was
it, and we really thought that we knew what this
journey would look like. It would be one year
in Bangkok, because that was the assignment that
I agreed with as an executive with my company.
One year, and then we would back home to the
Netherlands. So we looked one another in the
eye, especially Honig and myself, because the
girls were still young, and we said, That's an
exciting adventure, one year in Bangkok, and
little did we know exactly how exciting and how
adventurous this whole journey would be. The
second picture was taken earlier this year, somewhere
in 2025, and it marks the end of our journey
here in Bangkok. And now you know that what I
just said a minute ago is not true, because Honnok
and I aged as well, and it looks like nine years
to me. Nine years, 2016 to 2025, is how long
God had us here. What happened between those
two pictures, 2016, 2025, I mean, there's just
so many stories. I mean, how do you wrap nine
years of life and ministry? in a 25 -minute talk
this morning. I will not do that. But if I would
have to summarize our nine years here as a family,
I would tell you that it has been deeply transformative,
life -giving, and faith -building. And not so
much because it came without challenges, it was
stress -free, it was not, let me tell you that.
It is because we have seen God's hand all throughout
these nine years, in the highs and in the lows,
to reveal Himself to us, to shape us, and to
use us for His purposes. And although we didn't
know what was coming, probably it's a good thing
that we didn't know, otherwise we may have said,
you know what, we stay in the Netherlands, we're
not going, this is too big for us. We didn't
know what was up, but we're so glad that God
redirected our steps and had us here for all
these years. We would not have wanted to miss
out on it. And many of our experiences in these
nine years have to do with you, have to do with
ECB, our ministry here. And if you would give
me the time, I would love to share story after
story. witnessing about the things that God is
doing here in this place among his people here
in Bangkok, the people of ECB. But again, I do
not have the time and I don't desire to speak
for that long this morning. But there are three
impressions, reflections if you will, that sit
deep within me as I look back on the years of
ministry here at ECB. Three impressions. that
I will probably tell the people who ask me about
ECB in our next chapter, our next season, whenever
they ask me about you, whenever they ask me about
this church. So let me begin with the first one.
Here's my first reflection on ECB. ECB is a place
of belonging. When we first arrived in Bangkok
in July 2016, We just brought six suitcases,
which we, I mean, we just put them in our apartment
that we rented in Sukhumvit. And after unpacking
the suitcases and buying some groceries and getting
some spicy food, the next thing that we desire
to do is to look for a church. Why look for a
church? Because we needed community. We were
looking for people like us who love Jesus and
who desire to grow their faith, their relationship
with God in community. Well, let me make an honest
confession here as a pastor. That sounds weird,
of course, but we were not necessarily looking
for a good sermon and an inspiring time of worship.
I mean, that also. But we were looking for a
place where we could come to know people and
be known by people. We came from a town in the
Netherlands of 12 ,000 people where we knew many.
And now we had moved to a city of 12 million
or so, nobody knows the real number, I think,
where we hardly knew anyone. So we were looking
for a community, a place of belonging. So three
days after arriving, we had heard about this
church, ECB. We thought, that's a good place
to check out. Let's see. And we went, and don't
get me wrong, we loved the teaching. The worship
was great, really. We really appreciated Crosstown,
how they discipled our girls. But what really
did it to us was you, was the people, was the
welcome we got, the sense of community that we
experienced here. That was the real draw for
us. to decide this is probably the place where
we will be for the next 12 months remember so
we signed up for a live group at the den connection
center and we went to the live group i think
we still have some originals here the clusels
i you were in our life group right and the rouses
were in the first service and the mullah anyways
You know the story about great life groups. So
the first Friday after our first Sunday, after
arriving on that Thursday, remember, we were
in a life group and we decided to never leave
this community because we found a place of belonging
here at ECB. And why is this so important? Not
only that it's fun to hang out. I like hangout
places like these, don't you? That's great. I
mean, this is family. This is getting together.
But it's not only that. It's also that growing
your faith, your relationship with God, needs
healthy community. Discipleship, as we call it
here at ECB a lot, is always relational. And
therefore, discipleship can only thrive at a
place of healthy community. And that's the kind
of community, the place of belonging that my
family and me found nine years ago and that we
have helped shape over the past seven and a half
years ago. Over the years, I've seen in our community
at ECB clear marks of what the Apostle Paul instructs
to the early church in Rome. Love each other
with genuine affection. And take delight in honoring
each other. When God's people are in need, be
ready to help them. Always be eager to practice
hospitality. Be happy with those who are happy
and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony
with each other. Now, ECB is not the perfect
church. There's a lot we still need to learn
also about community. But I have recognized in
our community over the past years that we are
a people who desires to know each other and be
known by each other. A people that desires to
look after one another and serve each other.
A people that is generous and welcoming and hospitable
and is happy when one of the members is happy.
and is weeping when the other member is weeping.
That's the kind of community that ECB is, a place
of belonging. By the way, not just for us, as
those who have come to know the Lord already.
This community is compelling and inviting to
anyone who doesn't know Jesus yet. You know why
it's important to be this generous and welcoming
community to the outsider? Because to many people,
belonging precedes believing. And as we offer
people who have no clue about Jesus this welcome,
a generous welcome, a place of love and care
and support, we give them a real shot at coming
to know Jesus. So my final Sunday as pastor here
at ECB, I want to give you a charge. And it's
this. Let radical hospitality be your standard
practice. Why radical? Well, it's because welcoming
in people from the outside looks different here
in Bangkok than it does in our home context,
doesn't it? I mean, we're surrounded by so many...
People from so many different countries around
the world. People who look different than you
do. They eat different stuff. They clothe differently.
They have different lifestyles. They talk different.
They think different. They smell different. That's
how they think about you as well, by the way.
So we need to be radical in welcoming people
in. We need to get out of our comfort zones in
our particular context. of bangkok that's why
it's radical and for some of you it means that
you have to break through the bubble of like
-minded people that you prefer to hang out with
break through it be radical in your hospitality
for others of you it means that you have to let
go of your prejudices about certain people groups
about certain cultures and instead be radically
hospitable What about people who believe completely
different things than you do? And they do things
and have lifestyles that you completely disapprove
of. What about them? Radical hospitality. That's
about them. You know who Jesus loved to hang
out with? Crooks, cheats, and prostitutes. His
favorite people to hang out with. What did he
do with them? Well, he loved them, engaged the
conversation with them, and then generously invited
them to enter his kingdom. Radical hospitality.
Let that be your standard practice. Like Paul
says in Romans 15, so reach out and welcome one
another to God's glory. Jesus did it. Can you
say what he reads last? Now you. Do it. Be a
community of radical hospitality. And remember,
dear loved ones, when you do that, you allow
people who don't know Jesus to actually enter
the kingdom of God by coming to know him at this
place. Here's my second reflection on ECB. ECB
is God's workplace for healing and transformation.
One of the benefits of having been a pastor at
ECB is that I got a front row seat in seeing
God at work in the lives of so many of you. Of
all the things that I'm going to miss about being
a pastor at ECB, this one probably ranks among
the highest. I mean, there's not a lot that beats
partnering with Jesus and helping people finding
more freedom and fullness and hope in Jesus.
Jesus. Early on in his earthly ministry, Jesus
made an announcement about himself. He had opened
the scroll to the book of Isaiah. I think it
was chapter 63 in Isaiah. And this is what he
said about himself. Jesus said, the spirit of
the Lord is on me. For he has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim that captives will be released, that
the blind will see, that the oppressed will be
set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor
has come. Jesus meant what he said. You know
that, right? And we can tell on the basis of
what we read in the Gospels and in the rest of
the New Testament, we see Jesus healing and preaching
and casting out demons and making sure that people
could enter the kingdom of God. He was proclaiming
the news, the good news of the kingdom, but he
was also demonstrating the power of that kingdom.
You know how we also know that Jesus meant what
he said back then? It's by looking at how Jesus
works today, here and now, in our midst here
at ECB. We see Jesus healing people emotionally,
mentally and physically. We see Jesus helping
people to break free from strongholds and addictions
and other kinds of destructive behaviors and
attachments. We see Jesus turning lives that
are hopeless and filled with disappointment into
lives of wholeness and fullness. We see Jesus
setting people free from demonic powers here
at ECB. We see Jesus by his spirit convicting
people of their sin with this generous and loving
invitation to receive forgiveness through him
and his kingdom. It's because of Jesus that ECB
is God's workplace for healing and transformation.
And as elders and pastors and leaders, you know
what we are? We are facilitators of that work.
And the more I learn about Jesus and his ministry,
the more I see that the more I am out of the
way and we get out of the way. and just present
ourselves as humble servants, the more we see
Jesus' power revealed, the more we see Him in
action to bring freedom and healing and fullness
and restoration to the people He so loves. The
Bible says in Ephesians 3 that God is able to
do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.
Do you know that verse? God is able to do immeasurably
more than we can ask or imagine. Do you believe
that? Do you believe that? Do you believe that
for your life? I'm not pushing for the right
answer here, but I want you to be reminded of
the truth that God is so much more able. To do
the things than the things you are praying for
currently. God is unlimited in his capabilities.
Also in your stuck situation. Also at that place
where you are desperately crying out for breakthrough.
For victory. For change. For transformation in
your own life. Or the life of your loved one.
So here's my charge. to you on my final Sunday
as a pastor here. Always expect more of God.
Why? Because He is capable of greater things
than you will ever be able to comprehend. So
always expect more of God. More of God. And after
God has shown up in ways only he can in your
particular situation or the situation of your
loved one, then again continue to always expect
more of God. There's one disclaimer that I want
to make. In this always expecting more of God,
and it's something that I had to learn the hard
way a number of times. As you expect more of
God and make that part of your spiritual life,
leave the outcome to Him, will you? It's often
when we pray for small and big things in our
lives that we do so with a pre -cooked outcome.
We present our desires, our petitions, our prayers
before God, but we want Him to move in that particular
way. It has to be that outcome, that breakthrough,
that victory. And if God doesn't do it that way,
we get frustrated, we get angry, we may even
begin to doubt God. But what if God knows better
than you do? What is the best solution? What
if God has a better perspective on your life,
what is and what will follow, than the narrow
perspective that you're applying on your own
life? What if God is working on a long -term
solution that is so good for you and so much
better than the short -term fix that you have
in your mind and that you want God to take care
of? Loved ones, Always expect more of God, but
please leave the outcome to Him. You can be sure
of the fact that God always knows perfectly well
what He is doing, that He is always working for
your good and for His glory. And when those two
come together, His glory and your good, wow.
Always expect more of God. Here's my last reflection
that I want to share with you today. ECB is an
embassy of God's kingdom. Have you ever looked
at your church as an embassy? I told you before
that in my first year and a half in Bangkok,
as an executive in the corporate marketplace,
I had to go to the Dutch embassy. A number of
times to meet up with the ambassador and his
team to explore ways to grow our business in
Thailand. And whenever I was at the embassy in
Wireless Road, I felt like I was back home in
the Netherlands. When you park your car, the
parking there, the first thing you see is statues
of cows that they have painted in orange and
red, white and blue. We don't have orange cows
and red, white, and blue cows. But we are a dairy
country, and those colors happen to be our national
colors. But it's the first thing you see when
you enter the embassy. And a big flag, red, white,
and blue, representing our country. And when
security had cleared me, and I entered the campus
ground, I was greeted in my own language. I don't
get to speak my language a lot in Bangkok. And
then when I entered the ambassador's residence,
There was art made by the Dutch master painters
of the previous centuries. And I even got stroopwafels
with my coffee, which is a Dutch cookie for those
who don't know. And whenever the ambassador talked
about the kingdom of the Netherlands, I was thinking,
wow, you really love my country and you represent
it so well. That's how I look at ECB. As an embassy
representing the kingdom of God to the people
of Bangkok and well beyond. Representing not
with cows and cookies and speaking Dutch. Don't
do that. It's hard. But by being ambassadors
for the case of Jesus. Representing him in all
of life. Many of you are deciding that whatever
you receive here on this campus, at ECB, whether
it's on Sundays or through various kind of programs,
not to keep to yourself, but to use it to have
an impact in the places where you live, you work,
you play, you study, you eat. Some of you here
today... are worshiping right next to the person
you've been praying for for years and you've
been witnessing to for the same amount of years.
And now, next to being a friend, a relative,
or a colleague, you get to call them your brother
or your sister in Christ. Why? Because you have
decided to operate as an ambassador for the kingdom
of God and to use what you've received here to
have an impact for Jesus in the places where
you are and you. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians
5 speaks about the church in this way where he
says, For God was in Christ reconciling the world
to himself, no longer counting people's sins
against them. And he gave us his wonderful message
of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors.
Who? We are Christ's ambassadors. God is making
his appeal through us and we speak for Christ
when we plead, come back to God. The strategy
that God has chosen to get the news of Jesus
out and bring people back to himself is to do
it through us. ambassadors of Jesus, representing
him wherever we are. And just like regular embassies,
it's not only about the representation, as in
talking well about the kingdom we represent.
No, no. It's also about providing visa services
to enter that kingdom. That's what embassies
do as well. You know that you and I have been
given the keys to the kingdom of God? We have
in our preaching and our discipleship, we give
the keys, we have the keys of the kingdom of
God and we are allowing people permanent visas
to that kingdom. It's powerful. By the way, this
is how the church, the universal church, has
been growing from the day of Pentecost, 120 believers,
all the way to a movement of billions by now
all around the world and of all the ages. It's
because people have decided, Jesus for me, amazing,
but I can't keep it to myself. So here's my charge
to you, dear loved ones. Expand your territory.
Expand your territory. Wherever you go and wherever
you are, you are carrying the presence of Jesus
with you. The Bible speaks that we are clothed
by Jesus, marked by Jesus. You know what it means?
That whatever place you enter is a place of influence
for the kingdom, is a place where the kingdom
of God is about to break through. So would you
please ask God and say, Lord, open my eyes for
the opportunities that I have in the spheres
that I move in every day and ask the Holy Spirit,
the creative Holy Spirit, to give you these nice,
brilliant, smart, creative ideas to seize those
opportunities and to turn them into movements
for the kingdom of God. Expand your territory.
Not because you must, Not because one of your
pastors is telling you. No, no, no. But because
you long for the same thing that God is longing
for. What is that? For his kingdom to come and
for his will to be done on earth as it is already
in heaven. That's what I wanted to share with
you this morning. Three, stick with me for the
rest of my life. as I will be reminiscing the
years at ECB. ECB is a place of belonging. ECB
is God's workplace for healing and transformation.
And ECB is an embassy for the advancement of
the kingdom of God. No wonder why these years
for our family have been transformative. Life
-giving, faith -building. I truly have. No wonder
why it is so hard to leave this place, to leave.
To leave this ministry. It's hard and we're going
to miss you. But you know what? God has made
his way so abundantly clear to us that we're
really okay with leaving you. We have made a
vow. We have committed to God that we would follow
him wherever he would send us. And he's moving
us away from a place we deeply love and we're
going to deeply miss. But we're excited for new
things. We really are. So today is not just a
sad day. It's not just a day of grieving, which
it is also. I have to be honest with you. It's
also a day of anticipation. Looking ahead to
new and exciting things that are waiting for
our family, that are waiting for you, that are
waiting for ECB. And I say hallelujah. Thank
you, Lord, for what you have done. And the last
thing before I pray is this, from a very deep
place in my heart, in our hearts, we want to
thank you for your love. We want to thank you
for your trust, for your encouragement, for your
prayers, for your support. For your intentionality,
for your care, for your hospitality over all
these years. When we stepped into this journey
that we had no idea about in 2018, it was a step
of obedience. It was a leap of deep faith. And
it has come with some real challenges. But you
have blessed us so much with all of those things
I just thanked you for and more that we were
able to run this race, to run it well, and to
finish it with great gratitude and joy. So people
of ECB, we love you. We want to express our gratitude.
We're going to miss you dearly. And thank you
for all that you have done. Thank you. Would
you join me as I pray? Jesus, thank you for your
bride, ECB. A bride of almost 60 years old now.
And throughout those decades, your faithfulness,
has been evident. And me and my family can testify
to that also over the past nine years. Jesus,
you are building your church, ECB, after founding
it decades ago, and you will continue to build
it so that your bride may shine for you. So that
your bride may be an expression of all that you
are, Jesus. So my prayer for your church, your
loved ones, your precious people, is that this
will be increasingly so a place where radical
hospitality is applied to the stranger, the foreigner,
those who are different, those who we already
know and are familiar with. Radical hospitality
for anyone to come to know you. I pray that this
place, this church, your bride, will be known
for deep faith to always expect more of you.
So Lord, increase the faith of my brothers and
sisters. And Lord, yes, I ask, expand your territory
through your church, ECB. Enlarge your kingdom,
Lord, and use the people of ECB. For that purpose.
So that truly your kingdom may come. Your will
may be done. Here. The city of Bangkok. The nation
of Thailand. And the nations of the world. Lord
I believe. Lord we believe. And it's in Jesus
name that we pray. Amen. Whether near or far,
if you are looking for community or are in need
of prayer, we welcome you to engage by sending
us an email to office at ecb .asia. If God is
calling you to support our ministries, you will
find giving options on our website. And remember
to join us next week. God bless you.