The Illness of Hezekiah

The Illness of Hezekiah

On 7^th December 2008, we were privileged at CDC to have brother Gong Wooi Sing speak on 2 Kings 20, the passage of King Hezekiah’s illness and how the Lord answered his prayer and prolonged his life.

Just the previous week, we had seen how King Hezekiah saw a great deliverance from the hands of the Living God when the mighty Assyrian army was forced to retreat from Jerusalem in disgrace. The death of 185,000 men in the Assyrian army could only be the work of God, and Judah was safe, in the face of insurmountable odds.

However, we immediately see King Hezekiah face another crisis. This time, it is not national, but personal, as the Lord lets him know through the prophet Isaiah that his time on earth is up – he is going to die. Death puts a certain perspective on things. What you thought was important is no longer important, and you tend to realize that people and relationships are far more important than possessions and achievements. In a way, knowing the date of your death can be a blessing because you can make all the necessary arrangements for the benefit of your loved ones, and perhaps free you to do certain things that you want to do. Most of the time, people do not have the time to put their house in order, for death often comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

King Hezekiah, however, could not accept it and cried out to the Lord, pouring out all his feelings. All the great men and women of God were honest with God. They challenged God, blamed God, begged God – the way they spoke showed the relationship that they had with God, an honest relationship. God looks at our hearts, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. We too need to learn to be honest with God and pour out our feelings to Him. King Hezekiah did not want to die –he asked God to remember his devotion, he wept before God.

And God listened to Hezekiah, and healed him. Why does God heal some and not others? Is healing the result of the faith of the person who prays or the person who is being prayed for? The truth is, none of us know, and it is a fallacy to claim that healing will definitely come because of this condition or that condition. Ultimately, it is God’s sovereign will that determines whether a person is healed, and He always makes sure things work out best for those who love Him. Our attitude should be that of Christ Jesus who prayed “Not my will but yours be done”. We are also reminded of the three friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who bravely said to the king “Our God will save us, but even if he does not, we will not bow down to you or your gods”. They were cast into the flames, but completely unharmed for Jesus was with them. A wise Christian observed that while the three left the furnace, the fourth person was still there. Our Lord Jesus is there to help any of His children who are thrown into the flames. Our attitude is to accept God’s will in trust and faith and love, whatever it may be.

It is also interesting to observe the use of a poultice of figs to heal Hezekiah. The God of healing has provided instruments of healing all over nature, and the Chinese have long known the healing power of herbs and plants. There are some who claim that faith alone will heal, and even condemn all acts of taking medicine as lack of faith. However, our Lord Jesus never discounted the value of doctors and physicians. The author of Luke and Acts is of course a doctor, and the gift of advances in science and medication is also given by God as are many other good and useful inventions. Still, it is interesting to note that miracles are usually most often seen in the more remote areas, where there is little development. In places such as these, the people do not have much to put their hope on, and perhaps that is why so many receive the incredible healing of God.

May the Lord heal those of us are sick, and help us trust in Him in every situation, believing and putting ourselves in His hands, according to His will. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Day Jesus Died

The Day Jesus Died

This Sunday, we were privileged at CDC to have our own Brother Gong Wooi Sing (my dad) give the message on “The Day Jesus Died”.

After the Lord Jesus was sentenced by Pilate, he was handed over to the Roman soldiers to be whipped. Many prisoners would not even survive the customary 39 lashings. The cruel whips were embedded with pieces of metal and bone at the end. Every lash would tear out pieces of flesh leaving the prisoner’s back and body in a bloody mess. In his terribly painful state, the cruel guards continued their torture, forcing a crown of thorns over his head and striking him on the head again and again. Yet after this terrible torture, he was inflicted with still more. Large, crude and cruel nails were hammered into his wrists and hands, pinning him to a wooden cross. After this, the cross was lifted up and driven into the ground, leaving Jesus hanging in excruciating pain. For prisoners executed by the cross, every breath was painstakingly painful because you were forced to lift yourself up on your tortured limbs just to take a breath.

With that terrifying situation as a background, three supernatural events then occurred, each one poignant with meaning.

Firstly, three hours of darkness descended upon the earth. From 12 to 3 pm, darkness came upon the land, leaving people confused and frightened. Many would have thought that disaster was coming. At 3pm, Jesus cried out in a loud voice “Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabacthani” meaning “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. Some mistook his words for crying out to Elijah, but it was to God that Jesus cried out! It was a forlorn cry, a cry full of the intensity of sorrow and desperation. It was a cry not borne of the terrible physical pain or even the constant mocking and insults given by those around him. It was a cry of a son abandoned by his own dear father. Jesus was finally totally deserted, all alone on the cross, and it was too much even for our Lord. When the sins of the world was placed on Jesus’ body, the Father who is completely good and holy had to turn away for that moment, Jesus was separated from God. From the beginning of time, the Lord had always been with His Father, and no words could even begin to explain the sorrow and pain that Jesus felt. Nevertheless, the Father had not forsaken him. God the Father felt every pain that Jesus felt, every blow, every nail. God is loved and God’s love for Jesus is greatest of all. Though Jesus could not feel God’s presence at that time, God was still there, and in a short time, lifted Him up as the firstborn from the dead, the Savior of all mankind…. The darkness symbolizes the sin of man, for man loved darkness, but for us, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear evil, for God is with us. Even when we don’t feel his presence sometimes, God is still there and He will protect us and save us in His good time!

Secondly, the curtain of the temple tore into two, from top to bottom. The curtain was very thick, made of linen, exquisitely embroidered and 60 feet high, and only a supernatural occurrence could possibly cause such an event to happen. In those days, the curtain concealed the most holy of holies, the place where only one priest was allowed to go in once a year, and he would have to be completely purified. Basically, the curtain symbolized the separation between man and God, and the death of Jesus tore down that separation, allowing man to come and have free access to the Holy God. The tearing of the curtain symbolized the end of the Old Covenant, and the commencement of the New Covenant, made in the blood of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus, by His perfect sacrifice did away with sin once and for all, and He stands as our faithful and perfect High Priest, able to identify with us for He suffered just like we did.

Finally, there was a great earthquake and many holy people who had died were raised to life and after Jesus’ resurrection went into the Holy City where they appeared to many people. The third sign displays God’s power over death. It shows that God can raise us from the dead too, and receive the promise of eternal life. All heaven rejoiced that death could not hold on to Jesus, and because of our Lord, death also has no hold over us.

At the end of it, the centurion at Jesus’ side exclaimed “Surely he was the Son of God”. The question for us is thus “What is our verdict?” Do we, like the centurion conclude that Jesus is the Son of God? For God so loved the world that He gave His only one and begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him would not die but have eternal life.

Brothers, sisters, friends, may you receive the Son of God Jesus Christ and have life forever more.

God bless,

Jason

New Generosity

New Generosity

This Sunday at CDC, we had the privilege of my father, Gong Wooi Sing speak on the message: New Generosity from Philippians 4:10-19.

As Paul came to the closing of his letter, the great Apostle thanked the Philippian church again for their generosity and also shared with them how he had learnt to be content in any and every circumstance. He also reminisced fondly on how the Philippian brethren were the only church to send help to him when he set out from Macedonia. Finally, he encouraged them that God would indeed meet all their needs.

10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

 14Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

From this passage, my dad drew our attention to two main principles that summed up what new generosity is really all about – Concern and Contentment.

Firstly, looking at Contentment, there are three important points. First, contentment does not depend on circumstances. Paul writes how he has learned to be content whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want. Hence, contentment is not about having enough of everything we want, but being happy and thankful for everything we have. Furthermore, contentment is learned. The Greek translation of Paul’s words basically mean “I have been initiated through the experience of life to know how to be content.” Paul learnt how to be content as he faced various experiences in life - beaten, tortured, insulted, imprisoned, shipwrecked, deserted. Contentment is not something that we have or don’t have when we are born. It is developed over time as we depend on Christ’s power to brings us through any and every situation. The Lord’s grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. Finally, contentment is a matter of attitude. Here, we are specially warned against having a covetous attitude. Contentment makes a poor man rich and a rich man poor. A man who continuously seeks more and more for himself will never be satisfied. A man who has learned to give is so much closer to contentment. In his eighties, my late granduncle shared how he was thankful to God for each new morning. Indeed, contentment is a matter of attitude.

The second principle is Concern/Giving. Being contented sets us free to be concerned about others and to give freely.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:17

Generous giving pleases God and God will definitely repay his loans with interest.

Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Furthermore, our Lord Jesus shows us that giving to the poor lays us treasure for ourselves in heaven that will last forever.

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Finally, the attitude of our heart is especially important when we give, for God loves a cheerful and willing giver.

May the Lord help us learn to be contented and happy with what we have, and be generous and kind to the poor that we may please God. In Jesus name, Amen.

God bless,

Jason