Breakthrough!

On 2 November 2013, I received this revelation that God has a good plan and great destiny for the believers even though it may not have panned yet out according to His plan. He has already seen the end from the very beginning as He is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end.

After all, is there anything too hard for our Creator? God can do anything. (Okay, God can’t sin, to wit.) And, God remembers and cares for us. While the children of Israel were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem to Babylon, God sent His word to them through the prophet Jeremiah. Amongst other things, He said, “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jeremiah 29:11; MSG)”

Also, didn’t Jesus say: “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (John 10:10b; MSG)”? What is eternal life? “And this is the real and eternal life: That they know You, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You sent. (John 17:3; MSG)” Did we get that? We have access to the most High God! An audience with Him in His throne room, if you will. And, we thought minion thoughts that meeting with Bill Gates or having lunch with Warren Buffet was such a big deal. Hey, let’s get our perspective and relativity of awesomeness in order.

Coming down to earth, we may be living far below what God has planned for us but that does not negate His plans. The greatest waste or loss is the gap between who we are and the person we were meant to be, in Christ Jesus. No wonder it is also commonly said that one of the richest places on earth is the cemetery where so much dreams and aspirations lay buried and wasted. One idea or product and one prepared person whose time has come can change the world.

Yes, who knows (God knows!), you may well change your world or even change the world if you would prepare and pursue all that the Holy Spirit is revealing to you. Think about it, mull over it. Do we really know our God? Don’t we know our God? If we would recall, “God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good? Numbers 23:19; MSG)”

The ball is in our court, so to speak. We can bridge the dichotomy between who we are now and all that God intends for us. It’s all up to us to respond and take this journey of faith. It’s amazing that we can trust God for our salvation by His grace or favour through faith in Jesus Christ and not apply the same faith in God’s grace for every other areas of our life.

I am repentant of this and have only just begun to see that while Ephesians 2:8 speaks of God’s grace for salvation, His grace is not confined or restricted to salvation from the consequences of our sins and our sin nature. There is so much more, in Christ!

How do we advance and step into our Promised Land -- our dream position, home, family relationships, friendships, ministry, et cetera? Faith is sacrosanct in this regards. Faith in God through our relationship with Him and in His Word. It has to be developed and proven (put to the test) over time through our a close walk with the Holy Spirit who will teach us the Word of God, reveal the truth and wisdom therein, and instructs us in our walk of faith.

^“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10; NKJV).

Also, “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Joshua 1:8; MSG).

Next, we need to guard our heart and let praise and thanksgiving spring forth. What we say will reveal the treasure of our heart -- the Word of God, no less! We will get the biggest bang for storing His Word in our heart and internalizing it so much so that we know the thoughts and ways of God. For example, that He is a good God and He has loved us with an everlasting love.

King David knew so well of how to find salvation or deliverance when he wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that: “He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God. Psalms 50:23; AMP)”

Our breakthrough is at hand. Keep believing. Do not grow weary. Keep sowing. God is all for us and we can truly live out, through obedient faith, all of what He has planned for us.

Knowing that We Died with Christ By Revelation

This is Watchman Nee's testimony on how he knew that he had died with Christ:-

"I remember one morning -- how can I forget it! -- that I was sitting upstairs reading Romans and came to the words: 'knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.' Knowing this! How could I know it? I prayed, 'LORD, open my eyes!';  and then, in a flash, I saw. I had earlier been been reading 1 Corinthians 1:30: 'ye [are[ in Christ Jesus.' I now turned to that passage and looked at it again: 'of him [God] are ye in Christ ...' The fact that you are in Christ Jesus is God's doing! It was amazing! So then, if Christ died, and that is a certain fact, and if God put me into Him, then I must have died too. All at once I saw my oneness with Christ -- that I was in Him and that when He died I died. My death to sin was matter of the past and not of the future. It was a Divine fact that had dawned upon me.

...From that day to this I have never for one moment doubted the finality of that word in Galatians 2:20: 'I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.' "

(Source: page 18, The Finest of the Wheat (Volume One) -- Selected Excerpts from the Published Works of Watchman Nee)

David’s Finest Hour

On 29 September 2013, upon listening to Pastor Jentezen Franklin preached that we already have what we need, I decided to review my notebook on sermon messages which I have already received in City Harvest Church so as to find some solid food to write another article.

On the first page of my notebook dated 11 May 2013, I have notes on Rev Dr A.R. Bernard’s preaching on God’s plan and purposes as revealed in the Holy Bible --wherein 40 witnesses, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, consistently testify to the one true God. And, the common thread throughout the Holy Scriptures is: FAITH. Thus, a crisis in life for the believer is essentially a crisis of faith. In other words, are we going to trust God or not?

But, what gripped my attention the most was this line near the end of my sermon notes where Dr Bernard observed that: “God did not encourage David in his encounter with Goliath”. David did not require any encouragement from either God or men. The taunting of Goliath, whom he described as “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26b; NKJV), was enough to spur David into action. Based on his fellowship-cum-experiences with God and trust in Him, he has no doubt that, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37a; NKJV). It was so apt and worthwhile a fight for David that he was fixated to step on the plate and take a swing.

That day was a defining moment for David. It was the fortieth and last day that Goliath presented himself (1 Samuel 17:16). Interestingly, the number 40 in the Bible is uniformly associated with a period of probation, trial and chastisement of a covenant people. And, the number 40 is the product of multiplying 5 and 8 signifying the action of grace (5) resulting in revival and renewal (8) – a new beginning.

In that instance, I don’t think David acted out of presumption. On the contrary, he was the right person at the right place, at the right time and with the right people. 

So why did David succeed? Firstly, I think he succeeded because He had already been chosen and anointed by God to be king over His people, over Israel. He had the mantle of a warrior king. Saul, who was chosen by the people rather than by God Himself, had earlier failed the test of obedience when he and his people did not utterly destroy the Amalekites and their possessions contrary to God’s instructions. They spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and kept the best of the livestock and all that was good in their eyes.

Following from this rebellion, the prophet Samuel confronted Saul and said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22; NKJV).

God is always on the lookout for a fitting vessel for His glory; looking for a person who will obey His voice. In an e-mail from Dennis Burke Ministries of 13 October 2013 on Strength For The Task, it says, “Clearly God isn’t looking for super strength, a multitude of people, or the perfect weapon to fulfill His purposes. He is looking for individuals like you and me who are willing to do whatever He asks despite our weaknesses – knowing that our weaknesses only gives the Anointed One an opportunity to work though us” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

And, God had certainly seen the stuff David was made off notwithstanding that this shepherd boy was way out of men’s sight while he tended to his father’s sheep. David was Jesse’s eight and youngest son. As written in 1 Samuel 16:1b God says, “For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” In the centre column of my Bible, it indicates that God has literally “seen” a king among Jesse’s sons.

Secondly, I think David succeeded as he was a man who respected the authority which God had placed over him. “Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” (1 Samuel 17:17, 18; NKJV). Had he not left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse commanded, David would not have walked into his finest moment and we would not get to hear the epic combat of David versus Goliath.

David did not thrust himself into his battle against the giant.  He first went in and out amongst the people to get a feel of the situation on the ground. On hearing the king’s rewards for the man who would kill the enemy’s champion, David showed interest and asked further to confirm.

Now, there are probably at least two camps on whether the rewards of great riches, marriage of the king’s daughter and exemption of his father’s house from tax, motivated David to step up to the plate. On the one hand, some would say David would not be tainted by rewards. On the other hand, some may say that David was prepared to do battle anyway and that the rewards were merely incidental to him. I think David was following proper protocol of his days as it was his apparent interest of the rewards and, by extension, his willingness and confidence to take on Goliath, which precisely spread the word to the king’s court and prompted king Saul to grant David an audience with him.

Thirdly, I think David succeeded because he has the courage and faith to believe that this was his fight and that God will be with him even though there was no prayer uttered, no angelic visitation or any indication that God was encouraging him to go for it. Some would fight over a bus seat (think Rosa Parks) while many a man would lash out against anyone who had insulted his mother (think head-butting Zidane). To David, this was his fight, right on time. More than his resoluteness to pick up this fight, David knew in his inner man that God would back him up. He was so sure that there was no evident that he consulted with God as with his many subsequent battles. He was not about to wait for God to give him a pat and/or speak from heaven.

“Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” ”(1 Samuel 17:45; NKJV).

By faith, David declared that the battle is the LORD’s. “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47; NKJV). He was giving glory to God even before the battle is fought!

We, too, have our Goliaths to slay. God is training us through our obedience and understanding of His ways. When it’s time for us to fight the good fight of faith, may we declare, as King David did, that the battle belongs to the LORD!

Kingdom of Priests

This reflection is adapted from a message preached by Rev Dr A. R. Bernard in City Harvest Church on 21 September 2013.

In Revelation 1:5b – 6 (NKJV) we read,  “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Also, we read from 1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV), “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”.

As we have seen in the aforesaid verses, the Word of God tells us in no uncertain terms that the Christian believers are all priests and priestesses. (I will stick with priest or priests in this writing to refer to both male and female believers.) Truth be told, the moment we are born again, we become part of the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Dr Bernard asserted that every New Testament believers is a priest and our greatest privilege is to have direct access to God Himself, with great thanks to what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. We may not feel like a priest or even royalty, for that matter. Yet, the heart of the matter is that the Word of God is the final authority. When God says it and we believe in His Word, that settles it.

This will require a paradigm shift as many believers have abdicated their priesthood to the church. Thus, many sincere believers were trained over the years to get from the church rather than take up their responsibility as a priest unto God, with Jesus Christ as the High Priest.

Following from this, we could well imagine throngs of downtrodden believers coming to church for repair and maintenance. I once liken believers coming as cars to the garage of a cell group meeting for refueling, fixing-up and washing-up.

But, we were meant to be givers as the priesthood is based on sacrifices. We come not to seek the blessing but the One who gives the blessing.

Dr Bernard highlighted that as priests we are to offer the following sacrifices to God:

1)   Our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1);

2)   Fruit of our lips as a sacrifice of praise (Hebrew s 13:15);

3)   Our substance in our tithes and offerings (2 Corinthian 9:7); and

4)   Our service heartily unto God (Colossians 3:23).

When we know and become the priests according to the order of Melchizedek, doing church or playing church will longer be our weekly agenda.

We can, with diligence and discipline by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit and in the fellowship of healthy believers, become a minister of God 24/7 and seven days a week. All Glory be to God! Amen and amen.

It is my prayer and aspiration that this gentle reminder from Dr Bernard of our priesthood and the disciplines entailed thereof will help to move more and more believers to “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

Our Words are Powerful!

Our words are important; what we say matters. More accurately and more than just audible sound, our spoken words are full of power -- the ability to do things. Our tongue may be a small part of our body but we need to be reminded regarding the power of the tongue.  Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) states matter-of-factly, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Research has shown that our body listens to our brain. Specifically, the speech centre of the brain exercises control and dominion over our entire body. This is consistent with what James 3:4-5 (NKJV) has stated through the centuries, “Look also at the ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”

Indeed, there is much wisdom to adhere to the maxim of being quick to listen but slow to speak. As written in Proverbs 15:2 (NKJV), isn’t it true that “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”?

Today, we need to do an assessment of our spoken words. Do we tend to be negative, neutral or positive? Do we choose to bless or wallow in cursing? Do our words promote health or pierce like a sword?

How then are we to speak? The answer that springs out is 1 Peter 4:11 (NKJV), “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

We can also reflect on Colossians 4:6 (NKJV) which urges us to “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

When we speak wholesome words we are acting wisely for our sound words bring health to our body rather than wrought curses to our body. That’s the least we could do to steer clear from the venom of foolish words and avoid being a part of the “brood of vipers” who speak and act contrary to the Word of God.

But, there is more to our speaking than keeping a healthy body, soul and spirit. We can speak the Word of God so as to be more than conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37) and to reign as kings and priests in this life (Romans 5:17; Revelations 5:10).

The Word of God has to speak louder to us than everything else so that we can change the seen with God’s Word and shape the unseen things by calling things that are not as though they were. (Romans 4:17)

In his book “Changing the Seen & Shaping the Unseen”, Pastor Charles Capps writes that: “God’s Word is the establishing force of the image of unseen things. We should not allow circumstances and the cares of life to create images within us. Take God’s Word and change things that are seen – the things that you don’t desire – into things that you desire.”

Consider the four lepers in 2 Kings 7 where the city of Samaria was besieged by the Syrian army and beset by a great famine. Now they were at the entrance at the gate and reasoned amongst themselves that if they continue to sit around, they will die. If they enter the city, they will also die as the famine is in the city. Their final decision was to approach the Syrian camp and surrender themselves with the hope of being kept alive, at best.

Early next morning, when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, they were surprised to find that the enemy had fled, leaving behind their camp intact. There they found much spoils including food and drinks, tents, horses, donkeys, silver, gold and clothing.

Unbeknown to them, God had caused the Syrian army to hear the noise of a great army approaching them at twilight. Many believed that as the lepers moved, God moved by magnifying the sound of their several footsteps.

What is crucial is that earlier on in the chapter, Elisha had spoken God’s Word that the famine would be over by tomorrow, and the lepers had step forth into the realm of God performing His Word. They encountered what the Greeks called a kairos moment -- the right or opportune moment; the supreme moment.

As the prophet, Jesus or the man or woman of God speaks the Word of God, we, too, can step into the realm of God performing His word. God says He is ready (watching) to perform His Word (Jeremiah 1:12) and His Word which goes forth shall not return to Him void “But it shall accomplish what I (God) please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11b; NKJV)

The words of Jesus are spirit and they are life (John6:63b). When Jesus says we are healed, we are healed, indeed! When Jesus says we live, we shall not die but live! Also, as He is, so are we. Thus, we, too, are the light of the world and salt of the earth. The Word of God works because God is watching over it so that His purpose will be accomplished.

The Word of God which was revealed by Jesus Christ and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to Paul the apostle will also be proven to work. It will also work when men and women who are followers of Jesus Christ speak the Word of God.

Today is the day for us to go up one notch in our understanding and application of what Pastor John Osteen calls The ABCs of Faith, which is to: (A) Agree with the Word of God; (B) Believe the Word of God; and (C) Confess the Word of God with Your Mouth.

Our words are powerful. God’s Words are even more powerful. God’s Word in our mouths is as powerful as His Word in His mouth. We have everything to gain and be blessed by speaking God’s Word over our lives, our loved ones and our world, and let God bring about the results for His Glory.

It is Finished!

This article “It is Finished” is adapted from Dr. Yonggi Cho’s sermon at City Harvest Church’s Dedication Service on 9 July 2013 upon its move home to the renewed and upgraded Suntec Singapore, and Pastor Kong Hee’s sermon on 13 July 2013.

There are two occasions in the Holy Bible where God’s work is finished. The first is when “the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished” and God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done”. (Genesis 2:1~2; NKJV) The second event took place when Jesus died for us on the cross at Calvary and declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:28,30; NKJV)

Interestingly, man and woman were created on the sixth day and on the very next day God rested from all His work. There was no more work to be done and we entered His rest, as it were, before the curse of sin (disobedience) fell on us.

Though we fell from glory, God did not give up on us. Then, Jesus obeyed the Father and completed the work of redemption, and we the redeemed of the LORD can now say, “Salvation is finished work!”; “Sickness, you are finished because of Jesus Christ.”; “Sin, temptation and poverty, you are finished by Jesus Christ”; and “I’m a blessed person of Jesus Christ.”

Dr. Cho’s urged us, believers, to pray and find our rest in God; the work belongs to God. God wants to take over our sin, failure, work and other problems. He (Jesus) is ready to meet the needs of people who are sick, cursed, unhappy and dying. Also, Dr. Cho shared on how good and pleasant it is to meditate on and experience the truth and reality of life in the realm of God’s kingdom with particular focus on the following nuggets:

a)    Forgiveness of sins;

b)    Healing from sickness and diseases;

c)    Sanctification by the Holy Spirit;

d)    The covenant blessing of Abraham; and

e)    Eternal kingdom of God.

Take some time to just pause and reflect deeply on the aforementioned blessings of life in the Presence of God. Such an exercise will truly help us to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ rather than our despair or discouragement.

Pastor Kong’s exaltation is for us to pray, worship and find our rest in God. He touched on Matthew 6 which has two major themes: (I) Don’t worry; and (II) Jesus’ teaching us how to pray.

Reference was also made to Revelation 5:8~10, which offer a glimpse of a believer’s life of victory in Christ Jesus, with the playing of a harp representing praise/worship and golden bowls full of incense being the prayers of the saints. “And they sang a new song, saying:“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (NKJV)

Fret not, Jesus is our King who is wearing the Victor’s Crown. God has given us four things to go beyond our three-dimensional realm:

1.            THINKING

-      Change your thinking life; feed our mind with God’s Word.

-      As a man thinks, so is he.

2.            VISIONS AND DREAMS

-      Visions and dreams are the preferred language of the Holy Spirit.

-      See yourself healthy, wealthy, strong and wise in Christ Jesus.

-      If your dream is from God, He will back it up.

3.            BELIEVING

-      You must believe with the faith you have.

-      “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”” (Mark 9:23;NKJV)

-      Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40; NKJV)

4.            SPEAKING

-      This is what Dr. Cho often speak of as “mouth confession”.

-      What you speak, you are going to have it.

-      There is power in your confession; your confession will change your life.

-      After suffering from a stroke at 88 years old, Dr. Stanley E. Jones (regarded as the Billy Graham of India), got the nurses to confess God’s Word over him in Jesus’ name. He was healed and went on to preach again for several more years. Hallelujah!

Dear believers, we live unto God and wanna let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify Him. We may do all we can with the help and anointing of the Holy Spirit as vessels and vehicles (hands and feet) of God and keep learning to do things with Him and in His ways.

But, ultimately, it is the LORD’s work and there are things that are simply beyond us to lift a finger. For example, healing the blind, and setting captives free from strongholds. Let God do all the heavy lifting.

However, we can come under Jesus’ anointing of ease and learnt of Him. We can get our thinking right by receiving the rhema of God’s Word (remember, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God); receive anointed visions and dreams through communion with the Holy Spirit in praise/worship and prayers; exercise our mustard seed-size faith and keep listening to God’s Word (for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God); order our conversation aright by confessing God’s Word as the Sword of the Holy Spirit.

To put a smile on your face, there is a work that God is still about. YOU! He is not done with you yet as His new creation in Christ Jesus. Hear then the Word of God by the hands of Paul the apostle, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”. (Philippians 1:6; NKJV)

Meanwhile, let’s keep fighting the good fight of faith and apply the aforesaid four spiritual disciplines as disciples and friends of Jesus Christ. We are the blessed of the LORD, indeed!

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For your spiritual edification, you may wish to check out some resources by Dr. Cho and Pastor Kong Hee by clicking on The Ink Room.

Book Review: Keys to Financial Excellence by Phil Pringle

In his book “Keys to Financial Excellence” by Phil Pringle, he provides us with clear insights on 52 keys to financial excellence and group them under the following 8 categories, namely:

A. Foundations of Abundant Living
B. Principles of Prosperity
C. Principles of Tithing
D. The Laws of Harvest Living
E. Principles of Productivity
F. Reasons to Give Sacrificial Offerings to God
G. Living in God’s Economy
H. Releasing Blessings to Others

Pastor Phil writes from a background of wide experience. As sourced from his blog, he is “the Founder and President of C3 Church International, a global movement of over 240 churches, and the Senior Minister of C3 Church in Sydney Australia. Phil and his wife, Christine, started C3 Church in 1980 and it is now one of the fastest growing, exciting and powerful churches in Australia. An entire global movement of vibrant churches has been birthed as a result of Phil’s leadership and vision as he maintains an uncompromised passion to see cities changed by a contemporary, relevant and anointed church. Phil’s dynamic and relevant preaching has made him a much sought after speaker in both Christian and secular contexts, particularly in the areas of faith, leadership, ministry of the Holy Spirit, church building and kingdom principles of finance and giving.”

In the Foreword of this book, Dr. Dick Bernal, Senior Minister of Jubliee Christian Center in San Jose, California, wrote: “Thank God there are some preachers like Phil Pringle who are prepared to step boldly and unapologetically into the fullness of what the Word of God has to say about money, prosperity, and the power of giving. His revelation of the abundance of God and how that is released through a willingness to give generously to God has become a hallmark of his increasingly influential ministry.”

The book is easy to read and unfolds like a personal sharing by the author with its readers; nothing preachy. There are waves after waves of biblical resources, anecdotes, stories and fresh insights shared generously across the pages of this authoritative guide.  

I have obtained much fresh manna through the revelation knowledge imparted through this book. For example, just when I thought I have learnt all there is to know concerning Malachi 3:10, this book taught me some more.

Consider, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house..”. All along I have thought that this meant the fulltime staff of the church would be taken care of financially as in “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."

But, there is more, as Pastor Phil explains, “Sometimes, when I’m visiting other churches, people tell me they are going to leave because the pastor doesn’t “bring the food of the Word.” I find that, all too often, the problem is simply that these people have ceased tithing. Perhaps someone told them they didn’t think the church was spending its money properly. Maybe they didn’t like the spending levels shown in the church’s annual report. Or possibly they had been experiencing problems with their own cash flow and decided to stop tithing until things improved. Gradually, however, they feel a decrease of spiritual food coming to them in the church.”

Also, consider, “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:11; NKJV) My takeaway on this is that “Success is not just dependent on the brilliance of the plan or the idea, but on being right with God. This leads to His blessing on all that we do.” And, “When Jesus rebukes something it is gone!” This was a biggie for me as Pastor Phil recounted how: Jesus rebuked the wind, and it ceased. (Mark 4:39); Jesus rebuked the demon of deafness, and it left the boy (Mark 9:25); Jesus rebuked a self-destructive spirit out of a boy, and it left him. (Matthew 17:18); Jesus rebuked an unclean spirit out of a person in the synagogue, and it left him. (Mark 1:25); and Jesus rebuked the fever in Peter’s mother-in-law, and it left her. (Luke 4:39)

Then, there are memorable stories such as ERIC STORM TELLS HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE: “YOU JUST GIVE IT AWAY” by Peter Lalor (page 47) and “THE COOKIE THIEF” by Valerie Cox (page 8).

This book is worth a re-read for me. Thank you, Pastor Phil for your generous feeding. I have been well fed!

JESUS, Our Best Friend

Many people will find it a great honour to have tea with a person of great stature such as the President or Prime Minister of their country. Indeed, many of you may have had the privilege of doing so from time to time, year after year. But, what if you have the privilege of having breakfast (by the Sea of Galilee would be nice) with the King of kings and the Lord of lords every day? Lunch and dinner are do-able, too.

On 11 August 2006, my cell group leader shared that it is a privilege to be in relationship with God and that serving God is a privilege. Upon reflection, it hit me that we must never take our relationship with God for granted. The danger is that we tend to lose what we do not value.

Once we were part of the crowd, searching for purpose and meaning in life. As the following song puts it:

One day I was wandering, what’s it all about
Life is full of heartbreak, restlessness and doubt
Then a gentle stranger whispered words of love
Pointed me to heaven, wrote my name above

Chorus:
I know where I’m going, and who I’m gonna see
I have a Friend named JESUS, waiting there for me
He has given me something that only He could give
He gave His life in payment so that I could live

JESUS is no longer a stranger to us now, but has become our Saviour and LORD. We began our walk with Him as follower amongst the crowd of new believers, moved on to become a disciple (disciplined, consistent and faithful follower), and, as we keep walking with Him, we can experience Him as a Friend (think of Abraham, Enoch and Moses).

For sure, God anoints us for roles such as shepherd, under-shepherd, king, priest, and prophet. Yet, God desires that we do not neglect spending time with Him in intimate fellowship so that He can impart His secret things (great and wondrous truths from His word) through the Holy Spirit, our Helper. Just as we share our secrets (aspirations, dreams, visions, etc.) with our close friends, God will do the same with us when we cultivate a close fellowship with Him.

And, we can become a friend of God when we choose to obey His word and the Holy Spirit. God is not a dictator who insists that we must obey Him. The truth is that God, our Creator, knows what is best for us and everything that He desires of us is actually for our own benefits, first of all. When He sees us arranging our lives under His principles, He rejoices over us because His blessing will be ours to receive. Remember, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10b; NKJV)”

In Jeremiah 7:23 (NLT), God said to the Israelites, “Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!” What a privilege it is when God is for us! The choice is ours to make by deliberate acts of obedience to His word. Hear then the words of JESUS: “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, FOR ALL THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM MY FATHER I HAVE MADE KNOWN TO YOU. (John 15:14, 15; NKJV)” What an awesome privilege it is to be a friend of JESUS!

Have we failed our Friend, Jesus, or grieved His Holy Spirit, our Helper? Repent, come back to embrace His good, acceptable, and perfect will for us. As Jesus asked Peter, He may well asks us, too, “Do you love Me?” Jesus could see that despite Peter’s failings, he (Peter) loves Him in his heart of hearts. Let’s love (agape) Jesus at all times, and He will guide and lead us towards His plan and purpose for us through the times and seasons of our life.

“Thank you, JESUS, for being our Friend. You are the best friend we can ever have. Help us to nurture our friendship with you, day after day. Amen.”

(Scripture quotations are taken from:
- the Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
- Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. All rights reserved.)
© Copyright 2006, by Michael S K Chu.

(Free to Share article posted by me with FaithWriters.com on 18 August 2006)

Seeing Jesus Face to Face

During the worship segment of a City Harvest Church service on 22 June 2013, we sang of seeing Jesus face to face according to the line in one of the song. The very thought of it caught me by surprise and stirred up my inner man.

For the longest time, as believers, we treasure the experience of being in the very presence of God during our personal Quiet Time and in a congregation of believers. But, I suspect that it’s not very often that we entertain the thought of seeing Jesus face to face, be it in the here and now or hereafter.

In Genesis 14:18 Abram saw Jesus when he had communion with Melchizedek king of Salem (Peace), who is the Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ -- the Prince of Peace. Jacob struggled with God at a place he then called Peniel (Face of God) for he has seen God face to face there, and his life is preserved with God giving him his new name, Israel. (Genesis 32:30)

In the days of Jesus’s sojourning on earth, many people living in Israel had had the opportunity to see Jesus. Though they saw Him, the great majority did not see Jesus for who He is. As Jeremiah 5:21 puts it prophetically, they had eyes and see not as well as ears and hear not.

Before his proclamation of the coming Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6, the prophet saw the Lord and described his encounter in Isaiah 6:1-5 (NKJV):-

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!” ⁴ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵ So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.””

Not having seen Jesus would not make us less of a believer in Him. As Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Whether we have seen Jesus or not, we can still receive a revelation knowledge (Gr. epignosis: true, accurate, thorough, full knowledge of God) just as how Peter, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, perceived Jesus to be the Christ and Paul spoke of how the gospel which was preached by him is not according to man, but came through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).

If Jesus has a Facebook account without a picture of His face, we could still learn much about Him through his writings. And, that’s just like how we obtained much of what we know about Him through the Holy Bible and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As John, the disciple who has a thorough grasp of how much God loves him and described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, had seen Jesus again while he was exiled in the island of Patmos, it could well be that the Jesus he beheld would be one whom we are unfamiliar with, depending on our knowledge of who Jesus really is in the fullness of His glory. John said, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” (Revelation 1:17a; NKJV)

Take heart, it’s fine to wanna see the face of God and live. Though Moses did not get to see His face in the Old Testament, he did see Jesus face to face on the Mount of Transfiguration in the New Testament. As Jesus said, he who has seen Him has seen the Father.

In anticipation, much as we desire to see Jesus face to face, I think God is anticipating the look on our faces, too, when we see Him face to face.

For now, the next time we sing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus by Helen H. Lemmel, it would (I hope) bring greater depth and richness to our walk of faith.

Why even pray for the haze to dissipate?

Even as the haze covered Singapore for the past few days it was not a priority for me to pray for it to dissipate. After all, it was forecasted that the haze would persist over the next few days or so.

But as I was about to go out this morning, I felt really bothered by the discomfiture or nuisance, if you will, of the ash particles irritating my nostril and decided to get aggressive by calling for divine mercy and intervention.

The upsurge of energy to confront the haze took me by surprise and I received an assurance that somehow the haze would be dealt with – to what degree, I knew not. Nevertheless, it was an uncanny kind of peace which is unexpected but heartfelt.

With mild anticipation of divine intervention to clear up the haze, I went about my errands. By the afternoon as I was heading for church, the haze had dissipated significantly and the sun was shining brightly. All Glory be to God!

For sure, many others had been praying for the haze to dissipate. As for me, it was a real encouragement to see an answered prayer unfold in one afternoon right before my very eyes. That God cares for us and hears our prayers.

Paul's Letter to the Church of God

During Saint Paul’s era, it is common for people to dictate their letters to a secretary and then add their signature to it. Also, as pointed out by Dr William Barclay in his Daily Bible Study Series, the letters in those days would usually consist of the following sections: (i) The Greeting; (ii) The Prayer (for the health of the recipients); (iii) The Thanksgiving; (iv) The Special Contents (the main body of the letters); and (v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings.

Why did Paul write his letters or epistles, as they are commonly called? How come they can still speak to us through the years? Dr Barclay explains, “With a very few exceptions, all Paul’s letters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was something threatening in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, ‘Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation … he had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in the next generation, far less that one day people will look at them as Holy Scripture.’

We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paul’s letters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.”

Today, for our study and reflection, let’s refer  to 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (NKJV): “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In his greeting, Paul identified himself by his new name after conversion from Judaism to become a believer and follower of Jesus Christ and forsook his former identity as Saul of Tarsus. The name “Paul” is derived from the Roman family name Paulus, which meant “small” or “humble” in Latin. As for Saul (Saoul in Greek or Sha’ul in Hebrew) it denotes “asked for” or “prayed for”. He certainly never looked back. For example, he regarded himself as the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9) and consistently acknowledged that it was God who has called him to be an apostle; he did not pray or asked for it.

While Saul was still persecuting the churches and making his way to Damascus, he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-9). He was called to be a chosen vessel of Christ to bear His name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel and to suffer for His name’s sake (Acts 9:15-16).

Later on, as he testified before King Agrippa, Paul recalled the words of Jesus to him, “…for I have appeared before you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:16-18)

What I find amazing is the faith and obedience that Paul demonstrated to fulfill his calling. It wasn’t like he was launched off in double-quick time, smoothly, unchallenged and without perils to become a prominent apostle of Jesus Christ. After his calling, Paul immediately went to the synagogues preaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Jews were furious and plotted to kill him. “But their plot became known to Paul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a larges basket.” (Acts 9:24-25; NKJV)

As explained by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:32-33 (NKJV), “In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to apprehend me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”

Paul then went to Jerusalem but the disciples there found it hard to accept his sudden turnaround. Moreover, he disputed against the Greek-speaking Jews, but they attempted to kill him. “When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.” (Acts 9:30; NKJV)  

From his letter to the Galatians, we understand that Paul “went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus” (Galatians 1;17b; NKJV); “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to se Peter, and remained with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18; NKJV); and “Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.” (Galatians 1:22; NKJV); and “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.” (Galatians 2:1; NKJV)

Indeed, Paul endured much suffering just as Jesus Christ had said he would for his calling. Consider Paul’s account in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 (NKJV): “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness – besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”

Paul was diligent to make his calling and election as an apostle of Jesus Christ sure. It was an apostleship that is rooted in Christ and for the glory of Christ. He was not an apostle for his own satisfaction and achievement; he was nothing apart from Christ. Dr C. Peter Wagner briefly defines an ‘Apostle’ as a: “Christian leader who is gifted, taught, and commissioned by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the Church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.”

Also, he pointed out that his calling was by divine initiative (“by the will of God”). He set this out clearly in Galatians 1:1 (NKJV), “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead). To this, we can add divine revelation, as well, from what he disclosed in Galatians 1:11-12, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul recognized that the Church is primarily the Church of God, regardless of whether it is located at Corinth or elsewhere. He described the Christian as: (i) one who is set apart to God by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (i.e., positional sanctification); (ii) one who is marked out and being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit as specially belonging to God and devoted to God’s service (i.e., progressive sancitifcation); and (iii) one who is part of a community of believers worldwide.      

Finally, as Dr Barclay explains, “Paul speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then, as it were, he corrects himself and adds their Lord and ours. No man, no Church, has exclusive possession of Jesus Christ. He is our Lord but he is also the Lord of all men. It is the amazing wonder of Christianity that all men possess all the love of Jesus Christ, that “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.” ”

Thus in just the aforesaid three verses from 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, we have much to understand and deepen our knowledge of God’s Word. You may wish to ponder over the following questions and emulate the example of Saint Paul:

a)                  Have I truly embraced my new identity in Christ by seeing myself in the mirror of God’s Word?

b)                  Am I living out my calling in Jesus Christ or am I still enslaved to self and sin?

c)                  Am I growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ?

The following selected manifesto from Saint Paul is for your takeaway:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

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Bibliography:

1.                  The Daily Bible Study Series (Revised Edition): The Letters to the Corinthians – translated with an Introduction and Interpretation by William Barclay 

2.                  Meaning of “Paul” and “Saul” (Source: http://www.behindthename.com/name/)

3.                  Definition of “Apostle” (Source: http://www.coalitionofapostles.com/about-ica/definition-of-apostle/)

4.                  The NIV Study Bible by The Zondervan Corporation