Her faith and courage

Her faith and courage

Scripture: Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Matthew 1:5a

Observation: The second woman mentioned in the line of Jesus was Rahab, who was the wife of Salmon, and the mother of Boaz. Popularly, it is believed that this was the same Rahab as the converted harlot from Jericho who had hid the 2 spies from Joshua when they came to scout out the city and thus spared their lives. In return, when Joshua conquered Jericho, he spared Rahab and her family and she lived with the Israelites all her life.

There are four main lessons we can learn here. Firstly, Rahab’s presence in the genealogy right after Tamar shows God’s heart for not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. Our God is God of all people, regardless of race or color, and it is His will for everyone to become part of His own people.

Secondly, God’s amazing providence is shown in Rahab’s meeting with the 2 spies. God led the 2 spies to the right person, possibly the only person in Jericho favorably disposed to them. For Rahab too, it was a divinely arranged meeting that changed her whole life and destiny. For us too, we have a great and providential God who moves behind the scenes to lead us to divinely appointed meetings, where our lives and destinies can instantly change for the better at any given moment. Another fine example is Joseph meeting the cupbearer in prison.

Thirdly, Rahab’s faith and courage is a shining example for us all. In Hebrews 11, she is listed among the heroes of faith. It was Rahab’s faith and belief that the true God was with Israel that caused her to risk everything to help the spies. In James 2, Rahab’s actions are listed as an example of how faith must work together with deeds to be complete.

Finally, the scarlet cord used as the sign to spare Rahab and her family reminds us of the blood of Jesus. When the army came in and saw the scarlet cord, they spared everyone within but destroyed the rest in the city. For us, it is the blood of Jesus on us that is the sign to set us apart for salvation.

Application: Praise God that He loves all of us, regardless of age or sex or race or color. Trust in God to lead us to providential meetings, according to His will and good plans for us. Ask God for faith and courage like Rahab, to believe in God even as He leads us, and step out to serve Him where He may call us. Praise Jesus for His precious blood which covers us and gives us salvation from death.

Prayer: Praise You, Father in Heaven, for Your great love for all the people. It is Your will that none should perish, regardless of skin or age or sex or color. I will trust You O Lord, even as I go about my life, that You will lead me to providential meetings where I may glorify Your name and extend Your kingdom. Give me faith and courage like Rahab, and the will to step out where You call me. Praise You, Lord Jesus, for Your precious blood which washes away my sins, and covers me that I might be spared from judgment. In Jesus precious name I pray, Amen.    

Our bodies matter

Our bodies matter

SIBKL/Pastor Chew Weng Chee/18/8/12

I’m going to preach on a subject I’ve never done before but affects every one of us. In this Scripture, Paul tells us what happens to our bodies when we die. This subject will involve every one of us without exception. Our bodies matter. Our matter matters. It is very critical. In fact, Christianity is concerned with bodies so much so that the church is described as the body of Jesus Christ.

In regard to this subject, Christianity looks at 3 main aspects – creation, incarnation and salvation – body, body, body. We cannot just worry about the spirit and forget about the body. We must understand that bodies matter.

Why is the body so important in Creation? Our bodies are created by God in design and not by default. When God created everything else, it was good, but when we were created in bodily form, it was very good. My body and your body are made in the image of God. Psalm 139:14 exclaims how are bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made. Scientists are still discovering new marvels about our body we did not know before. That’s why there is the nobel prize in medicine.

A few months ago, while doing a devotion, I used my knowledge of anatomy to explain to them how different muscles were made to behave in different ways. For example, the inner ear is the only organ in the body already in its adult size when a baby is born. The muscle there regulates the sound so that we don’t become deaf. The most important muscle is the heart. Our bodies are wonderfully and fearfully made.

Ephesians 2:10 says we are God’s workmanship. The word used here is “poema”, meaning masterpiece. Our body is a masterpiece. I am God’s masterpiece. Your body matters. God created it.

Secondly, in Christianity, the body matters because of Incarnation. The Son of God chose to take the form of humankind and confine Himself in a human body. The infinite, the timeless, the everlasting, chose to confine himself in a human body. Could Jesus have sinned? Yes. He became totally man. The Son of God took the form of you and I. He became sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. He was sinless. He could have sinned, having been tempted in every way but did not.

Thirdly, our body matters because of Salvation. The word Salvation comes from the Greek word sozo. This salvation is a comprehensive salvation of spirit, body and soul. Is our body going to be born again, saved? Yes! Sozo includes it. Our bodies matter. Our spirit is saved the moment we accept Jesus Christ as God and Savior. Our soul – our mind, will and emotion is being saved. Our will becomes conformed to the will of God. Our body? Its dying all the time. But this passage tells us that our body will be saved.

How can this be? Hear me very well. Understand what happens to our body. Paul talks about 2 kinds of bodies and one state between the 2 bodies. I call it the natural body, the new body and the no body.

Firstly 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 speaks of the natural body. Paul described his body was wasting away, given over to death for Jesus’ sake. Paul talks about mortality, his body as a tent that is going to be destroyed. We are stuck with this old man. The old man is subject to death, disease and decay. Before and after we are saved, we have the same cheek, same tongue, same teeth. It is the natural body, only temporary. We will be saved one day, but this body is subject to pain, disease and decay.

At the reunion of my medical class, 40 years after the 3^rd batch of UM doctors graduated in 1971, we had former classmates come back from US, England, Australia and Singapore. Some were successful, some eminent in the medical field. However, flashed before us were also pictures of our friends who had died. Memories came back. I played ping pong with that guy. A good number of them had gone. Life is only temporary. You can be the most successful man, the most notable cardiologist, but it is still a tent. At my age, I look at the obituary and see some of my friends. This natural body is only temporary.

However, the good news is, as a Christian, when we die, we look forward to a new body. Corinthians 5:15 tells us we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven. The tent, something temporary, is compared to a building, something permanent, and not built by human hands. There is a certainty, a sureness that death is not the end for a Christian. Carrying forward from the message “do not lose heart”, when we consider the destiny of our body, who cares? You and I must understand that no matter what they do to this body, it is only temporary. One day, this natural body will take on a new body.

The Scripture says we groan, having a deep sighing, a longing for our new body. Every second we have decay and one day all will die but the good news is that we will have a new body. What is so special about this new body? 1 Corinthians 15 gives us 5 characteristics of the new body which you and I will clothed one day with when the natural body dies. When we know it, we will not be afraid of death.

Firstly, it is imperishable, it cannot be destroyed. It does not waste away, it is immortal, infinite, not finite, but like a permanent building. Secondly, it is glorious, not subject to decay and death. Thirdly, it is powerful, not weak. Fourthly, it is a spiritual body. Finally, it will be like Jesus. You and I will be like Christ. We have a glimpse of it. We will recognize one another. How do we know for sure? Jesus has prototyped it. The final enemy, death, has been defeated. Paul uses the analogy of the seed. When you put a seed into the ground, it dies and comes out a plant. This tells us two things. There is continuity and transformation. Don’t discard this body. It may be transformed but it will be the same body.

What happens in between while waiting for our resurrection body? When Jesus Christ comes, we will change instantly but what happens to those who died, the disembodied state, the no body? How do we know all this will happen? 2 Corinthians 5:5 says we are given the Spirit as a deposit. Then in verses 8-9 Paul uses home and away terminology here. If you are away from the body, you are at home with the Lord. When you are at home with the body, you are away from the Lord. The moment we die, we will be with the Lord, disembodied, waiting for the salvation of our body. The description used is as if naked, waiting to be clothed with an eternal dwelling but in the presence of the Lord. Jesus told the dying thief, today, you will be with me in Paradise.” The moment we die, we will go straight to the Lord.

My father had an out of body experience. He was the first Malaysian Director head of the Telecommunications department of the country. At the age of 70, he literally died for 11 minutes when his heart stopped. In his testimony he said “I was clinically dead. Doctors rushed to revive me. Praise God my heart beat again. At that moment, I saw Jesus Christ. He touched me and assured me not to be afraid. My spirit was constantly praising God. He took me to hell to see how terrible hell was. I felt intense heat, and I heard heart rendering screams in that place of torment. Then Jesus took me to Heaven, where there was bright light everywhere, and there was a beautiful green rainbow around God’s throne. I heard melodious singing from the angels. Jesus Christ told me to go back and tofulfill the great Commission.” He went back and led thousands to the Lord over the next 10 years.

We need not fear death. We are saved in the spirit. We are being saved in our soul. Verses 9-10 says “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” We must make it a goal to please God while still in this body.  At the judgment seat of Christ, we will be held accountable how we used our natural body.

Last year, I had a vision in a dream where I met my good friend Kim Koay in Heaven. He had passed away in 2003. He was sitting in front of a huge mansion, and he was sitting on a table. He called me “chief, how are you?” and took me around to all the rooms. I said thank God Kim is in heaven. What did he to have this big mansion? He had done nothing much. He was our event organizer at the church camps. He was never a high profile person. Every week, he would come and take me for lunch at Lake Club.

Then I realized, he had pleased God. He was a rascal, but changed when he came to the Lord, becoming more and more Christlike. I challenge you, live for God. It need not be a big thing or saving millions, but day by day, pleasing God. Let Him say day by day “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Make heaven your motivation, not just your destination. Live for God now!

Credible Christianity

Credible Christianity

2 Corinthians 6:3-7:1

SIBKL/Pastor Victor/11/8/12

Last week, in Pastor Daniel’s powerful message, “Live eternity now”, it brought back to my remembrance vivid memories from my childhood. When I was young, I used to have 2 stacks of books. One stack would have stuff like Spiderman and Enid Blyton while the other stack would have the stories of the great missionaries including Jim Elliot and his 4 friends. When I went for camps, I would now and again lift up my hand and tell the Lord “I want to serve you full time, but I don’t know how.” The story of the 5 missionaries were especially special to me. I remember reading it wondering how 5 young men would give up their lives for the Lord like that. Elizabeth Elliot who wrote the book, remarried again and saw her second husband pass away before marrying a third time. One question Christians often ask is “is it possible to be so in love yet so pure? Can passion and purity come together?” The elderly missionary said “yes”.

The Jim Elliot story became so famous that it came out in songs, and even a movie. One songs goes “I've lost track of all the Sundays. The offering plate's gone by and as I gave my hard earned dollars I felt free to keep my life. I talk about commitment. And the need to count the cost, but the words of a martyr show me I don´t know, his cross. For he is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Obedience and servanthood are traits I've rarely shown the fellowship of his sufferings is a joy I've barely known. There are riches in surrendering, that can't be gained for free and God will share all heavens wonders, but the price he asks is me.

Today’s message is to encourage those serving in ministry to press on. It is easy to start but difficult to sustain. We may be excited in the beginning but exhausted in the end. I went full time at age 24, when friends were just going into legal work. I was trained to be a lawyer. I prayed to God “Maybe I’m making a really stupid mistake right now going full time too fast, but I just want you to know I do it because I love you. After school, I made this choice, forsaking the chance to start life as a half-baked lawyer. But after all these years, how did I stay credible?

There are at least 35 ministries in SIBKL. What keeps you going? Faith? Money? Position? SIB has one of the lowest ratios of pastors to members. In ministries like hospital visitation, cancer group support, what keeps you going? How about ushering, shaking hands every week? Or the Bless ministry, with a whole range of ministries within? There are so many unknown, unheard. How do you maintain credibility without being a stumbling block?

In the passage today, we see how the creditability of our ministry is determined by 3 things, 3 theological anchors. In reading it, it helps us understand Paul’s heart for the church.

Firstly, 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 speaks of the perseverance of our faith. Paul was tested in every way - in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger, . Yet, Paul was triumphant – in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, through glory and dishonor,bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. What keeps our ministry credible is that we will persevere in testing. Testing is a given, one way or another. It is a paradox. We are tested, yet we have breakthrough. That was Paul’s theology of suffering. We have a God who allows us to be tested yet enables us to be triumphant in every way. The death of the 5 missionaries became the salvation of a whole tribe and inspired the whole world.

Secondly, 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 speaks of the posture of our hearts. It read “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you.  We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children —open wide your hearts also.” Paul exposed himself, not hiding, giving full expression, not holding back, exchanging, not hesitating. It is a picture of Jesus Christ, exposing Himself, expressing Himself, exchanging Himself for us.

Those who stab you are those in front of you and those behind you. When they stab, they stab you in the back, those you depend on. Many stop serving because the last time they served, they hurt really bad. In Paul’s case, he said “all the more will I open up myself to you”. He had a theology of sharing. We have a God who does not withhold His affection from us. The 5 missionaries died, not holding anything back, giving everything they had to the Lord.

Thirdly, 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 speaks of the purity of our hearts. Paul gave 5 rhetorical questions:- What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Light and darkness? Christ and Belial? A believer and an unbeliever? The temple of God and idols? Some people misquote this passage to say that Christians should not go into business with non-Christians. It’s not that, it must be seen in the whole context. We can be in the world but not of the world. God is distinct and different but not detached.

In conclusion, the credibility of our ministry is determined by the perseverance of our faith, the posture of our heart, and the purity of our conduct. When God wanted an inventor, He chose a slow learner (Albert Einstein). When God wanted a leader, He chose a loser (Abraham Lincoln). When God wanted a reformer, He chose a sinner (Martin Luther). 

Touching heaven, changing earth

Touching heaven, changing earth

FGB Jaya One/Pastor Kul Bal Singh/10/8/12

Just as every now and then, we may need a physical injection, so too, in our spiritual lives every now and then we need a kick up to push us to the next level. All of us have mountaintop experiences but none of us can live there all the time. A mountaintop experience could be a new project, a promotion, someone getting married. It could be at work or be a Christian experience. Perhaps we went to a Christian conference and enjoyed it, feeling ready to take over the world. It could be driving to work and having all the traffic lights green. It could be children getting a good report. Many of us go from top to bottom experiences, where it is not so fun. Most of us live between the high and low points of our lives. As Christians, we need a strategy, a formula, a method to live between.

Often we get churched by other people’s feelings, traffic hams, outside situations. As a Christian minister, I need to learn how to minister even when I am down. I was born in Malaysia, raised in Scotland, and now pastor in Australia. I am an itinerant minister, going out to release healing and miracles. Jesus is the healer. When I first went out, nobody knew me. I started my ministry going wherever I could, even to the smallest group. However, over time, I became one of the main speakers in FGB Australia, and spoke in the UK as well. God can take a nobody and give him an unimaginable ministry.

You learn in the light so that you can release in the dark. Do not release yourself or your emotions. Live in the light so you can release it in the dark. So when we travel downwards, we can touch people along the way.

There are 6 main areas in all of our lives.

Our gifts and talents are part of our skill portfolio. Our daily path is our journey and routine. Our anointing is the presence of God in our lives. All of us has an anointing because Jesus has forgiven us and we have been set free. Because we have been set free, we are able to help other people. Most of us are creatures of habit. We have breakfast at a certain time of the day, we read the newspaper a certain way. All of us have our unique identity, maturity and persona which also evolves. All of us have our unique set of experiences, hurts, victories, culture. All of come across other people daily.

When one or more of these incidents meet together, it is a coincidence. However, when 2 or more meet, it is no more a coincidence, but an assignment from God, especially when all incidents come together. Even when I am a valley Christian, I still have an assignment from God to release all I have on somebody else. God has designed it when 2 or more of these incidents meet! There is a Hillsong with the words “touching heaven, changing earth.” The favor of Heaven must so touch our hearts so that God’s favor can in us can touch someone else.

When I was a non-Christian, I had 2 young twin girls who died. I was so upset with the God I did not know. I had a lot of unique experiences with my wife who was from a different culture. A clash of cultures can be very difficult. When I lost my twins, I couldn’t understand. A year and a half after I became a Christian, Jesus came to me and I saw my twins that tall. I gave up my engineering because I found I could communicate with my experiences for godly purposes. I knew my assignment was to work for Jesus full time. An assignment can be daily or weekly or even minute by minute. It could be someone on the bus or on the train. Wherever I go, I will prayer for people.

Once I was buying an air-con in Australia during winter, when air-cons were cheaper. I noticed that the salesgirl did not look well, and she shared how she had a chronic pain in her hand and also had a severe migraine. I told her “let me pray for you”, and after that, she said she felt a little bit better. It is God who heals. My job is to minister, even in 30 seconds. My job is to encourage people, to win people for the Lord. Each day is different. I have a small garden, and I have an orange fruit tree. I give it to my neighbors so I can speak to them about Jesus. I was asked to give the prayer blessing at a gathering of 400 people. Only about a 100 were paying attention. I got the mike and shouted “Hallelujah”, God bless this people”. Sometimes we have to do something to activate our assignment. I was at a wonderful conference in New Zealand where there was healing, words of knowledge. Halfway through, I got ill. I questioned God “Lord, I’m doing my assignment. I experienced a doubtful moment. We need to increase our anointing part of life. By the time I returned to Australia, my ears were completely blocked. A rest was part of what I needed. Last year I preached 250 times in 25 nations. Whatever you do, remember that God has given you an assignment. If you don’t do it, nobody else will do it. God will bring people your way.

Neil Clark Warren was concerned whether his 3 young granddaughters would marry the right person. In America, there was so much divorce. He was a psychologist, and after doing a survey for a few years, started out a company called E-Harmony, a dating agency which today has 18 million members. All his experiences triggered him.

There was a lady who loved cats and needed money. Someone said “why don’t you write a book on cats?” She took some courses and wrote a book and made AUD30,000 just selling e-books. You and I can have skills but be so occupied that our creativeness gets stemmed down. I was not always a confident speaker but now speak all over the world. Don’t think “It’s Monday, I have to go to work.” Every moment you can be used by God to trigger something.

18 months ago, I went to Belgium where it was -12 degrees. A sick lady came to meetings 3 days in a row. After the preaching, she came forward for prayer every time. She had holes on her back because of bedsores. She was 68, and God healed her dramatically after praying for her for 3 days. She had to be carried to the meeting. I prayed that God would give her new skin. It was a small meeting, but she had faith. 90 came to the meeting, and more than 45 were saved for the very first time. God’s glory must be known all over the world.

There was a lady deaf in 2 ears and could not speak. I had prayed for her 4 times, and each time she went down but no healing. People were watching and I was worried. By the 5^th time, I was getting sacred. She fell down again, and suddenly she said “one”, repeating after me. I said two and she said two. To make sure she was not reading my lips, I went beside her and repeated, and she could hear. I learned an important lesson there of praying until something happens. Every moment you can be used by God to trigger something.

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Live eternally now

Live eternally now

SIBKL/Pastor Daniel Tan/4/8/12

Life is short but you are not alone! Trials and hardships are part and parcel of life. Some products come with a lifetime warranty, but have you wondered, whose lifetime? The product or ours? In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul said that our bodies are decaying but we have something that far outweighs this – life in eternity! 2 Corinthians 5:1 actually starts as a direct continuation of 2 Corinthians 4:18. The beginning word “for” leads on to tell us the reason why we should fix our eyes on what is unseen. As a tentmaker, Paul uses the metaphor of a tent compared to a building to illustrate the difference between the mortal body and the resurrection body. We fix our eyes on what is unseen because it just is so much more glorious!

In verse 9, Paul concludes, so (as a result), (the logical conclusion is), our goal is to please God. The meaning of goal here is to devote oneself zealously to a cause, and that cause is to make God happy! In verse 7, Paul explains how God gives us His Spirit as a deposit. In “the Message”, this deposit is described as giving us a glimpse of the real thing – a little bit of heaven in our hearts. In doing this, God has deposited the eternal into the temporal. Heaven is not just a destination, it is a motivation. In Colossians 3:1-3 we are called to set your hearts and pursue things that have eternal value. Why? Because you and I have received eternal life in Christ! Therefore, we should live with an eternal perspective! Why take pride in wealth, health and material possessions? Instead, why not take pride in devotion to God?

How do we possess an eternal perspective? Firstly, as stated in verse 7, we are to live by faith and not by sight. The enemy makes us focus on the temporal – the perils of life and the pleasures of life. Recently, my wife was not well for a month and was hospitalized for a week with high fever. She was cold on the inside even with three layers of blankets. It was probably the longest week of our lives. She was not only battling with physical illness but also spiritual intimidation. The enemy will try to use our physical condition to bring down our spiritual condition. Should I be believing in miracles? She thought she was dying. We prayed. We trusted God. How do we go on praying for miracles? I can’t go on in life if I have a temporal perspective. When I have an eternal perspective, things begin to make sense. God’s eternal purpose is more important than His imminent power. When I’m praying for a miracle and its not happening, I trust that it’s not that God is powerless but because God is purposeful. His power is always manifested through His purpose!

Secondly, as Paul exhorts in verses 11-12, we must fear God and not be self conceited. Verse 10 speaks about the time when we will come before the judgment seat of Christ when we will have our life flashed before our eyes. Make sure its worth watching! Those who care not about eternity fear not the eternal God and therefore disregard his judgment. C.S.Lewis once remarked “if you read Christian history, whose who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next. What motivated Paul to live for Christ? In verse 14, Paul wrote “Christ’s love compels us”. Paul was so indebted to the love of Christ that he just could not help living for Christ. Friends, have you received the love of Christ? His race? His forgiveness? Have you tasted of the goodness of the Lord? I’m so indebted to Christ that I just can’t help but live for Him and serve Him. It’s not an obligation, it’s a devotion. Hudson Taylor, the man who opened the door of missions into China would interview candidates carefully for his China Inland Mission. During the interview, he would ask them why they wanted to go. One said “that’s what the Lord says”. Another said “millions of souls are dying without Christ”. Hudson Taylor told them “all these reasons will fail you during times of testing and tribulation. Only the love of Christ will sustain you.” If not for the love of Christ, I would have quitted long ago. The love of Christ must be the single most important motivation why we live for him.

Thirdly, practice a ministry of reconciliation. In verses 16-21, there is a wealth of truths concerning salvation. However, for this message, I want to focus on our calling to practice the ministry of reconciliation. There are 2 main things here. First, since we have the message of God’s love, preach it. Second, since we are ambassadors of God’s love, live it! We may be the only Jesus that someone else knows. An ambassador represents the king not just in words, but in person. As a messenger, we connect the person to the originator of the message by delivering it and living it out.

How do we connect people to Jesus? Firstly, we have to change our lenses. In my childhood days, I had a non-Christian friends who came from a family of staunch idol worshippers. She followed me to church a couple of times but was not responsive. The family also spoke in very vulgar language. I said “If this family would be able to become Christians, elephants could climb coconut trees. Amazingly, 10 years later, the whole family came to know the Lord and more than 30 altars were removed in 2 weeks. With the lenses that I wore, I failed to see. Everywhere He went, Jesus saw helpless people, helpless souls. A changed life is followed by changed lens. Is your life changed?

Secondly, we need to create a space for grace. In treating the woman caught in adultery, Jesus did not say that the woman did not sin but He did not condemn her either. The woman knew she was guilty and should be stoned to death. She never walked away when the people left. She stayed because Jesus stayed. In one of the communities GG was helping, there was a power struggle between 2 groups of parties. We had to make a choice to continue walking or go away. We decided to stay and show the grace of God. Finally, they invited us to help them reconcile and they did. One of them commented how curious it was that two parties of the same skin color needed a mediator from a different color to help them reconcile. In another community, we worked for many years with not much fruit  but we stayed and served. Last year, 15 came to the Lord. We didn’t preach. We changed our lenses. How will we do in SMCC? Let us pray for new eyes to see, new hearts to love. There is no guarantee how long we will live. So we should live life to the fullest. Heaven is not just a destination but a motivation to have an eternal perspective, purpose to live for Christ and practice the ministry of reconciliation.

In 1955, 5 young missionaries led by Jim Elliot heard the call from God to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador. On 8^th January 1956, after making first contact at 3pm, all 5 were speared to death, leaving behind 5 widows and orphans. Jim Elliot wrote famously “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. 3 years later, one of the missionaries’ sisters and Jim Elliot’s wife returned to the Auca Indians to reach out and the whole tribe were saved. This story was one of the catalysts that made me enter full time ministry.

Steve Saint, the son of the missionary who was the pilot went with his aunt to stay with the Auca Indians. He shared how people would often ask him how he could forgive the people who killed his father. However, he explained how his perspective was different. The 5 missionaries knew the risks involved in their endeavor. They had guns with them but chose to die rather than use them for the sake of this people. Steve realized how special these people were for them to do this. Later, he formed a special bond with Grandfather Mincaye, the man who had killed his father. When he first came to live with them, Grandfather Mincaye saw that young Steve did not know many things about survival and asked his aunt who would teach him. His aunt replied,” since you killed his father, who do you think should teach him?” So Grandfather Mincaye proceeded to teach young Steve like his own son how to hunt, how to survive and even make weapons. In their culture, once a man killed another man, the man’s offspring had the right to take revenge by killing him and his family. However, after receiving the grace of the gospel, Grandfather Mincaye’s perspective had so changed that he was no longer so concerned about himself, but for others. Steve and his family came to love Grandfather Mincaye as a treasured family member in this amazing true story that could only have been written by God.

Christianity in the marketplace

Christianity in the marketplace

FGB Jaya One/Quah Poh Keat/13/7/12

In the years 2008-2012, we have seen challenging times. Since 2007, we have seen recessions around the world or at least slow growth in most countries. There has been a loss of faith in the financial system, the political system and the government. Even the integrity of religious leaders are doubted. We in the marketplace are deep in the trenches, and bearing the wounds and scars yet also enjoying the victories.

Even in the marketplace, Jesus challenges us in Matthew 5:13-16. “You are salt for the Land. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except being thrown out for people to trample on. “You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. The role of salt is to preserve. Things will always go bad in themselves. We are supposed to step out, to give flavor, to bring something positive. If we lose our saltiness, we become good for nothing. We have to retain our godly nature. Sometimes we need to leave the pack, to speak up and take action.

Where there is light, there is also darkness. As disciples of Jesus, we are to show the way to the people. Then people will see our good deeds and praise God. We must be of such positive impact that when we are no longer around, people must feel there is a real loss.

Do we follow the world around us in their language? Do we lose our language and speak the same language as the masses? Can we change the atmosphere around our workplace. We need to persevere to honor God, even working within the system like Joseph, Daniel and Esther did. Sometimes, we need to make peace with the system while retaining our distinctiveness to improve the system. What does God expect of us?

In Joshua 1:9, the Lord says “Fear Not!” Fear paralyzes us. It causes us to hide away. There will be tough times. However, tough times will not last but tough people will. Charles Spurgeon once said that we should not worry about tomorrow because it robs today of its strength. Psalm 91:5 says “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day.” We should not fear the daytime or the nighttime. The terror of our day could be a stock market report, a property bubble, a political impasse or cashflow or loss of staff. The challenge is for us to fear not.

We need to expect miracles to happen in the workplace. Then we can endure the challenges. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” We need to resist, fear not, and be aware that God has a plan for each one of us. Am I valuable to God? Do I ask God “What do you want me to do?” “Shall I be a pastor to the people around me?” Even in Jaya One, do I look at the whole place as a harvest field? How about Block A or B or C or D? Be a pastor wherever you are.

In 1857, there was an American businessman called Jeremiah Lamphere who asked God “What do you want me to do?” God said “start a prayer meeting”. And on 23^rd September 1857 at 1pm, he went for his first prayer meeting. Nobody was there but after half an hour, there were 4 of them. 6 months later, prayer meetings were being held all over the US, including San Francisco. And the prayer meetings spread to Canada, the UK and South Africa and continued for 40 years. Don’t see ourselves as just Jason Tan’s office. See ourselves as beyond Jason Tan’s office.

In 1857, invitations for the prayer meeting could only be made verbally. God can use anyone of us. The impact of these prayer meetings was such that when ships entered the harbor in the US, non-Christians would fall down and ask for forgiveness.

In another story, a taxi driver had just become a Christian and wanted to share the gospel to bring people to Christ. However, the only person he knew was a bartender. The bartender wanted to kill him for trying to witness but eventually became a Christian. It turned out the bartender was also a pimp, and he brought his girls to hear about Christ and 30 became Christians. In the end, the bar became a church.

In Phuket, a lady who was dying was healed by prayer and since she had come from an ignoble profession, the church bought an ice-cream cart from her to sell ice-cream. As she sold ice-cream, she led many villagers to Christ? One day she asked her pastor “Don’t you think the prime minister of Thailand needs to hear about Christ?”  and she proceeded to travel to Bangkok to see the PM. She waited from morning to evening before Abhisit finally decided to see her and even spoke with her for half an hour.

God can use a taxi driver. He can use an ice-cream seller. He can use any one of us.

Still, we have to be dependant on God. How big is your God? We may think of wood as a piece of wood, but when God thinks of wood, He thinks of the whole Amazon forest! Our God made the Himalaya mountains and the whole Pacific ocean. Our God is really a big God. Sometimes we try to “help” God when there really is no need. Abraham and Sarah had been promised a child by God and tried to “help” God through Hagar. Today, the descendants of Hagar are still giving problems to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph tried to rush the cupbearer to tell the king about his predicament, but had to wait 2 more years for his time to come. Our attitude should be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who said “God is able to save us, but even if He does not, it will be ok!”

Moses could not speak well, but God gave Him a staff that performed miracles. In the feeding of the 5,000, it all started with just 5 loaves and 2 small fish.

God expects us to be people of integrity. Yet, we tend to be economic with the truth. In 2008. the collapse of AIG and Lehmann Brothers caught the world by surprise. UK banks were mis-selling. Imagine if the 3 top banks in Malaysia suddenly disappeared.

The 10 commandments tells us we must bear false testimony, not to steal, not to covet. God expects integrity. Are we honest in computing our tax return? Do we render to Caesar’s what is Caesar’s?

We must say no to corruption. We must be honest with our creditors. Do we keep promises to our staff at the time of employment?                                                                                    What is our attitude towards the environment? Christians should be at the forefront of Corporate Social Responsibility. We need to inculcate integrity in our lives.

Once, while I was the KPMG tax partner, a client missed an important deadline and was facing a huge fine to the tune of half a million. To my horror there was no documentation to safeguard ourselves and the client was a very horrid man. I was preparing for the worst when asked to attend a meeting with them, but the staff in charge put up her hand to say it was her fault. Are we people of integrity?

I had a friend who went into a small time furniture business with a few partners and was left with a whole load of debt to pay. Renting a single storey house, he struggled to pay off the debt by selling insurance. Sadly, he contracted Hepatitis B. He had three children and the third was born deaf and blind. Later, he died of his disease, but to our surprise, he had left it in his will to pay off the creditors first from the insurance money before giving the rest to his family. What would people say at our eulogy? What will God say when we meet Him? It is only an audience of 1 that we need to please. In life, many things are gray, neither black nor white, but let us move on from gray to white.  

  

It was written on their faces

It was written on their faces

FGB Jaya One/Brother Aaron Andy/20/7/12

This afternoon, I want to focus on the first line of the FGB Mission statement – to reach men everywhere for our Lord Jesus Christ as well as to share on God’s promises and my testimony. My purpose is to encourage you to go one step forward. We have a miracle working God. In times of need, we know that as children of God, we have access to divine help as promised in Psalm 121.  I lift up my eyes to the mountains—    where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,    the Maker of heaven and earth.

I am a healthcare manager. I do wellness projects for the country at large. One time, I was organizing an event at Summit in USJ, when a lady came and asked me “Do you remember me?” I did not remember but she explained that 3 years ago, I had come to SJMC to pray for her when she was a cancer patient. Later, I had also went to her house with others to pray for her to have children. At that time, she was struggling through a period of depression and God’s Word began to mean so much to her. She leaned on the Word of God and after recovering fully went on to become the top piano salesperson in the country. I thank God that I was given the opportunity to pray for her.

Another time, a friend of mine called Bernice asked me to pray for her mother for salvation. At that time, I was supposed to go quite soon to Australia. So I told her I would come and pray after I came back. Later, God prompted me strongly that I had to go and pray before the trip. Together with some other brothers and sisters, we shared the gospel with her and she and her 2 sisters gave their hearts to the Lord. Bernice’s mother even told me “Brother, be sure to take me to church when you come back”. After my short trip to Australia, I called Bernice and to my surprise found out that her mother had just passed away 2 days ago. I am so thankful that the Lord prompted me to witness then.

This month is mission month in my church. Why are we here? Jesus is the Son of God. He walked on water and He is coming back again. We need to bring the salt and light into the marketplace. Acts 1:8 speaks about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit from on high and being empowered to be witness to the ends of the earth. Jaya One is part of this ends of the earth. What God has designed is for you and you alone. Everyone is in God’s plan and purpose. Do we have choices in life? Yes! Our choices will lead us in which direction we will go.

There was a young man walking by the sea who saw a strange vase, and upon rubbing it, saw a great genie appear. “Ask 3 times anything you wish for and it will be granted to you. The man asked firstly for a million pounds, followed by a red Ferrari and finally asked to be irresistible to all women. And upon his third wish, he became a chocolate. Choices determine which direction we will go.

God gave me a wonderful, married life, but I did not give priority to God in earlier years. The fact that we will have lunch after this is a reality. Death is also a reality, but we don’t want to talk about it. I used to drive my wife to church and pick her up for 10 years. We had a wonderful life. Business was good and we traveled overseas often. During one of her travels, my wife suddenly complained of abdominal pain and we sought treatment then and even when we returned and ended up in Mount Alvernia in Singapore for a CT scan. The doctor told us that this is the end of modern science for my wife had a tumor in the pelvic bone and it was malignant. She only had 2 months to live.

My wife was Cantonese, and both sides of the family had a mixture of different religious beliefs and everyone prayed for her. Still, nothing could help. Death came steadily into my life one step at a time. Every time the phone rang, it sent a shiver down my spine. I asked God “Why me?” As the doctor said, she passed away, and had a Catholic funeral. I asked the priest how I could praise God in this time of grief, and he asked me “Didn’t you have a wonderful time of marriage?” I realized that the fact that the two of us got together was already a blessing from God. Marriage is a God ordained covenant. I came to understand what it means that a tearful prayer is a successful prayer, having to bring up the children by myself. Life was like falling into a bottomless pit. I said to God, I surrender to you my time, my tithe, my family, and then everything fell into place. All my children graduated and even served in church. God never let me down.

One moment I wondered if God had gone on a holiday from my life but God never left me. I don’t know my future but I know God holds my future. Its crisis and challenges that drive us to God. In my distress I called out to God. Many depend on their own strength and intelligence but when human strength comes to an end, it is the beginning of God’s strength. In my poverty, I see God’s riches. I had to go through this situation to recognize that God is almighty! All of us have a testimony! He is true in spite of all situations. God will see us through.

When things don’t go right, firstly, don’t blame yourself. Secondly, don’t blame God but just trust Him. We had a family trip planned from 4 months earlier where we would meet in Paris and travel around Europe. However, in Paris, my son got a very high fever. The doctor said that if it did not come down, he would have to be admitted to a hospital in Paris. We prayed like never before and on the 3^rd day, my son found the strength to travel to Milan where my daughter stayed. In the hospital in Milan, we found out that he had malaria which he had caught during a mission trip just before the family trip. He spent 5 days in the hospital, and the bill was going to be 3,600 Euros. However, to our great relief and surprise, it turned out that Italy was the only country where if there is an emergency, the government pays for everything. He received a lot of care in Milan, as malaria was extremely rare in Europe.

Everyone of us has experienced God’s touch. We are called to be witnesses. In Acts 4:20, Peter and John exclaimed “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Jesus said that we are to go into the world in a most significant command. We are all in God’s plan and purpose. We are to be witnesses, to give testimony about how we overcame.

There was a Bible school student who felt God ask him to go out into the night and shout Jesus loves you. Sheepishly, with no one around in sight, he shouted Jesus loves you twice and quickly ran back indoors. Several years later, he related this incident during one of his sermons, and a young lady told him how she had been going through a very tough time and was about to commit suicide when she heard someone cry out “Jesus loves you” twice. There was no one around, and she thought it was an angel.

There are many in the world who have that longing for salvation, comfort, peace and joy and we have the answer. We are in God’s plan and He has empowered us to reach someone’s life.

In Montana, there were 20 people searching for gold when one of them found gold on a particular hill! Now they needed to go back to town to buy supplies as the gold extraction would take a long time. All of them promised to tell no one but the next morning, there were already 200 people on the hill. The truth was no one leaked the information. However, the fact that they had found gold was already written on their faces. They were so excited.

We know our sins are forgiven. We know that we are lifted up. We have a treasure far more valuable than gold. Why then do we not let this great joy and excitement light up our faces?