A Pearl of Great Price

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44; NKJV)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:45-46; NKJV)

When reading the above-mentioned two parables, I had all along likened the treasure-hidden-in-a-field and the pearl-of-great-price as being the gift of salvation which Jesus Christ has wrought for us upon the cross at Calvary while the man and the merchant were likened to be the believer seeking for salvation. 

Understandably, the saving of our souls from eternal death or separation from God our Creator is something that is worth more than this whole wide world and then some --- priceless, actually, upon due contemplation, hands down.

Truth be told, thanks to a recent e-mail article from Dennis Burke Ministries, the man in the two parables is none other than God Himself! All the silver and gold belongs to God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills ... the earth is the LORD's and all the fullness thereof. What more could God possibly rejoice over?

Thus, isn't it amazing that God rejoices over you and I and other besides? As recorded in Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV), "The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” We are the lost sheep, the missing coin, the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price! 

Though we be hidden, God will seek us out. And, if we were the only one left on earth, God will still see us as that one pearl of great price to pay for.

This fresh revelation of how God values us has just added a greater dimension to my understanding of Scripture concerning the magnificent and marvelous God whom we serve and worship.

Indeed, may we continue to grow in grace and knowledge of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Understanding Grace

One of the very best teaching I have heard on grace came from Dr. A. R. Bernard who preached it at City Harvest Church on 18 January 2014.

He started off his teaching on the purity of love. If there are reasons for love, it means that there are conditions. I love you IF ...., you get the drift. That's human love. 

On the other hand, God's love or God's kind of love is unconditional. A man, for example, is to love his wife redemptively, sacrificially and unconditionally. Yes, a man is to love his wife as Christ loves His church. God is love. Pure love is redemptive, sacrificial and unconditional. These constitute grace, and we need solid-food teaching in the Body of Christ on grace (and much more) to ground and establish us in the eternal Word of God. And, live life as God has intended for us; His Words are Spirit and Life.

Before the advent of Christ, we have the law which constitute the rules that govern human conduct. The law of Moses is a complete system lacking nothing.  When Jesus came, He elevated the Mosaic laws and raised the bar for He examines and deals with the intent of our hearts. It is already a sin when we conceive it in our minds before we decide whether to proceed with it or not!

In the Kingdom of Christ, we are blessed and highly favoured. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We are now in this window of time called the dispensation of God's grace. 

Grace is an expression of God's love and graciousness is the quality of being warm hearted, considerate, affectionate, forgiving and sympathetic. With grace, what we believes determines what we receive whereas the law is merit and performance based.   

In the account from John 8:1-12 on the woman caught in the very act of adultery with the male counterpart conspicuously left off the hook, the Law (Pharisees) accuses and wanted to know what Grace (Jesus) would say. Jesus said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Dr. Bernard summarized that: 

1) Jesus did not dispute the charges;

2) Jesus gave her protection from the accusations of the law;

3) Jesus gave her dignity;

4) Jesus offered her forgiveness;

5) Jesus released her from condemnation; and

6) Jesus made a demand on her lifestyle ("go and sin no more").

I think the biggest slice of takeaway from this message for the Body of Christ is that SIN HAS CONSEQUENCES as certain quarters of believers may be over-emphasizing grace to the point where sin is like a mere mosquito-bite to be soothed by the balm of Christ's blood.

As recorded in John 5:14 after Jesus had healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda who had an infirmity thirty-eight years, He cautioned him, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." 

With humility, fear and trembling, I submit the following 2 Scripture verses which shed further light that sin has consequences, too, even after we have come to an initial saving knowledge of Jesus Christ:

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away,to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:4-6; NKJV)

"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord.And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31; NKJV)

The call remains remain for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus. More grace to love people into the kingdom of God and more knowledge for us to stay in the Kingdom of God till Christ comes again. And, to be mindful that grace makes a demand on our lifestyle. For we were bought at a price so as to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:20; NKJV)

P/s: This article is adapted from Dr Bernard's sermon at City Harvest Church on 18 January 2014 and, if you are interested, please proceed to procure a CD copy from The Ink Room.

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.